Hi!
How was Halloween? I was a pumpkin. Or my son was a pumpkin, and I wore a t-shirt with a pumpkin face on it. One of those things.
This week in Happy Wrestling Land:
AEW All Out 2022 (9/4/22) - Dum Dum Daniels
NJPW/JTO TAKATaichiDespe Mania (9/12/22) - Dum Dum Daniels
AJPW Maniax in Korakuen Hall (9/19/22) - Captain Lou
NJPW Burning Spirit (9/25/22) - Dum Dum Daniels
Stardom in Showcase Vol. 2 (9/25/22) - Dum Dum Daniels
AJPW Raising An Army Memorial Series (10/2/22) - Captain Lou
NEXT TIME!!! NJPW goes on a Royal Quest. Stardom’s 5-Star GP Finals. WWE Extreme Rules, NJPW Declaration of Power, and yes… that’s right: Takao Omori.
AEW All Out 2022 (9/4/22): Thoughts On Things Six Weeks Later
My phone was buzzing because I set it to vibrate over a decade ago.
It was a text message: “JASON”
Another text: “PUNK MELTDOWN DURING PRESSER”
Another: “JASONN….”
I wanted to type a response, but I needed to go to bed. The Message was delivered but I refused to experience it, which had actually been a theme lately. AEW’s All Out took place a half-hour from my house at the same NOW Arena I had the time of my life at last year, and I wasn’t there. I was at home. Now I was in bed. I was tired…
The words you read here, despite the occasional stars and numbers, are not seeking to review wrestling but to understand it – understand myself. A year ago I had an out-of-body experience watching CM Punk return live to wrestling. Now I was watching him from home and tired if not completely detached. What did that say about wrestling? What did that say about me??
Pro wrestling has got an interesting situation going on in regards to how it sends and re-enforces its messages: with no concrete facts (even wins and losses are suspect) if its’ participants don’t reflect on it later or its’ promoters aren’t invested in perpetuating that reflection, it falls on “us” — the spectator, the fan, the blogging reviewer — to find, interpret, and evangelize it. You’ve really got to care to do that, but us wrestling fans – we care. Usually.
When AEW began in 2019, wrestling fans were given a chance at living vicariously through the decisions of a wrestling promoter who wasn’t Vince McMahon, this time at a national viable level. When Tony Khan did this, it must’ve meant that! Even if Tony did that, it must have meant that other thing! Tony was clearly too focused on parodying this to focus on those other five things! Tony, Tony, Tony!
Then the last 12 months happened and The Business showed up. It was always going to show up – it was already here – but COVID had stalled AEW into character and story development that kind of dipped once touring resumed. The Elite and CM Punk changed The Biz but nothing was going to come close to the golden dumpster fire that was Vince McMahon’s retirement. As his last few years in charge at WWE revealed, it’s hard to get across a clear message when you’re so focused on money and bullshit.
I both enjoyed and genuinely appreciate AEW through 2020 and 2021, but the last 12 months had felt different – the bigger roster created more variety and “what ifs” but less payoff and consistency. Even before Punk’s first injury or that dumb 5-minute match with Mox it just felt off, like everyone wasn’t working together in this sport that really only works when people do. The main event scene was a drag and the midcard was too overwhelmed by all the drag to be as good as the paper might suggest — how does this keep happening!? Is the only possible alternative to WWE just TNA in bigger arenas!?
The fourth AEW All Out featured fifteen matches and took place at the NOW Arena.
0. Mixed Tag Match: Ortiz & Ruby Soho vs. Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo
Four of those fifteen matches were on the All Out Buy-In (pre-show), and this one began with Ortiz and Ruby chasing Sammy and Tay to the entrance tunnel in a golf cart. Once in the ring, Tay hit Ortiz with a Canadian Destroyer and later superplexed Ruby to the floor. At some point Anna Jay interfered and Ruby broke her nose. All in six minutes. It was a lot! *3/4
0. FTW Title: Hook [c] vs. Angelo Parker w/ Matt Menard
I like Hook. I like Parker. The match was short. The match was fine. Famous rapper (and New York’s own!) Action Bronson jumped the barricade after the match to help Hook escape a 2-on-1 beating from Parker and Menard. **
0. AEW All-Atlantic Title: PAC [c] vs. Kip Sabian
While recovering from injury, AEW Original Kip Sabian began wearing a box over his head that proclaimed he was Underrated And Over It. Here he had a match that could’ve been fine in some scenario but that scenario wasn’t this 15-match show. The match was 10 minutes of time mixed with occasional action, and Kip might’ve been rated just fine. **1/4
0. Eddie Kingston vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Wrestling’s so complicated, yeah? Shut up idiot. Their match at NJPW Capital Collision match rocked and so did this, two reputations colliding with chop after chops after chop after chop. The last few minutes were particularly great, as they usually are when these guys are trying to kill it: suplexes, lariats, backfists and brainbusters all utilized to optimal effect. Stay for Ishii’s post-match refusal to break character too, rejecting Kingston’s attempt to spotlight him in any way. ****1/4
1. Casino Ladder Match: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Wheeler Yuta vs. Penta Oscuro vs. Rey Fenix vs. Dante Martin vs. Andrade el Idolo vs. Rush vs. Joker
The order of entry was Fenix, Yuta, Rush, Andrade, Claudio, Dante, Penta, and finally The Joker, who arrived in the form of a bunch of masked guys (I thought Retribution for a second) followed by the shortest masked guy climbing the ladder, grabbing the poker chip, and revealing himself to be Stokely Hathaway!
Afterwards, “Sympathy for the Devil” by the actual Rolling Stones (the licensing fees!) hit and another masked man came out walking a lot like MJF. He was promptly handed the chip.
The kind of fun match you just sort of watch play out, though I still struggle with all roads in wrestling now leading to a Money in the Bank gimmick. Big bumps, Canadian Destroyers, and sunset flip powerbombs… most into ladders. ***1/2
2. AEW World Trios Title Tournament – Final: Hangman Page, John Silver & Alex Reynolds vs. Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks
Nick Jackson dying his beard a spectacularly stupid half-blonde might’ve been a real conversation topic, if not for The Happenings after the show and if not for this match really being incredible. They delivered plenty of storytelling around Page’s relationship with Omega and The Bucks but in the confinements of an action-packed 6-man tag highlighted by an Alex Reynolds chant and John Silver convincing everyone in the arena he was going to pin Kenny Omega not once but twice. ****1/4
3. TBS Title: Jade Cargill [c] w/ The Baddies vs. Athena
Jade Cargill, going on I assume three years as TBS Champion, entered with her body painted green to look like She-Hulk. Her challenger Athena was game for a pay-per-view championship match, but nobody else was. She hit her finish a minute in, fought through some awkward interference, took some bumps and springboarded off the ropes into a pump kick. Unfortunately just felt unnecessary. **
4. Wardlow & FTR vs. Jay Lethal & Motor City Machine Guns w/ Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh
FTR’s Dax Harwood brought his actual 8-year-old daughter to the ring before the match, then she got to punch Sonjay (who was wearing a shirt making fun of her) out after. Neat! In between was a fun if not forgettable match with no less than the Motor City Machine Guns. They hit some cool stuff but any potential chemistry with FTR didn’t feel totally showcased. The Powerbomb Symphony felt most important, even if it was a 15-minute wait to get there. Hey! Samoa Joe is back too! ***1/4
5. Ricky Starks vs. Powerhouse Hobbs
This is the problem. This right here. You build these two guys up, pull off a great turn angle and great promo or two, then poof, it’s … The Grudge Match just becomes a blip on a show. I’m sure they appreciated the payday if not the placement (or runtime). Starks took a nifty shoulder bump then lost clean to a spinebuster. **1/2
6. AEW World Tag Team Title: Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland [c] vs. The Acclaimed w/ Billy Gunn
Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland are good singles wrestlers who became a good tag team, while The Acclaimed are a good tag team who became AEW’s most over act. Still, nobody expected this to be this good, this great… this epic tag match where by the end Keith and Swerve had become full-blown heels and the crowd was begging – begging! – recent babyfaces Caster and Bowens to win it all. All while Billy Gunn (“Daddy Ass”) stood at ringside too.
Anthony Bowens’ Selling The Leg was the key component in this phenomenal tag that also featured with Max going at big Keith, an incredible double stomp from Swerve and a couple Caster near falls off the Mic Drop. And the scissoring. There was scissoring. What a great and not-at-all formulaic tag team match. ****1/2
7. 4-Way Match – AEW Interim Women’s World Title: Toni Storm vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Dr. Britt Baker vs. Jamie Hayter
The 4-Way Match has become a pretty boring trope across pro wrestling, everybody pairing off to deliver fast-paced action in lieu of any real feud over a championship. Highlights included Hayter breaking up a German suplex with a tombstone piledriver and Baker breaking Hayter’s pin on Shida. Good action, forgettable match. ***1/4
8. Jungle Boy vs. Christian Cage
Before the match Luchasaurus turned on “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry for the second time this year, then the bell rang and Christian hit a spear and Killswitch to win. It was but an angle, appreciated yet forgotten this late in the card. N/A
9. Bryan Danielson vs. “Lionheart” Chris Jericho
One of the most fascinating visual and audio experiences I have ever witnessed in my many years watching pro wrestling had to be when I saw nominally-known singer Elliott Taylor emerge wearing white pants and no shirt to sing Bryan Danielson to the ring. Rarely has a clash in tone or personality felt so apparent, and I’m actually going to blame it on this match being so disappointing.
It was one of those wrestling matches that happens a lot in this business where those at the top control The Message, where two old pros face off for 20+ and probably call it in the ring and they’re respected and everyone says it’s good but despite some quality grappling and a Danielson hip swivel it never comes close to the level of their previous, better work or even many of the matches on this card. Jericho countering a Frankensteiner with the Walls of Jericho always impresses me, and they went really hard on the submission and cradle trading towards the end but even that felt a step off before a finish that came out of nowhere – the bad kind. ***1/4
10. Sting, Darby Allin & Miro vs. Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews
Let’s just get this one in quick too, sure. Fun match that came towards the end of a long show and didn’t feel like it moved anyone anywhere. 63-year-old Sting doing hot tags, however, remains one of pro wrestling’s modern treasures. ***1/4
11. AEW World Title: Jon Moxley [c] vs. CM Punk
When CM Punk beat Hangman Page for the AEW World Title in May at Double or Nothing, I knew something was wrong. Call it intuition of the wrestling-obsessed. Everyone I knew was convinced Punk was winning and every sign (logic, money, etc) was pointing that way, but the way I saw it Punk the returning pro wrestler who cut that promo last August at The First Dance had two options: put over the young champion still in need of a definitive win, or win the title and turn heel because you’re another big time wrestler stalling wrestling’s progress.
AEW went with the title switch but continued presenting Punk as a good guy until he got legitimately injured, prompting Mox to swoop in as interim champ, headline in Chicago with Hiroshi Tanahashi, and become even more popular. When Punk returned he challenged Mox to determine the real champion on Dynamite, a strange move made stranger when Mox beat him to become the undisputed AEW World Champion in under 5 minutes. Afterwards, with All Out in Chicago just a week away, AEW continued to send The Message that CM Punk was a babyface to root for all along. And somewhere under that backdrop is why when tickets went on sale for this show I didn’t lift a god damn finger.
In the comfort of my own home, though – and about an hour before Punk and the entire wrestling business seemed to once again confirm everybody’s worst assumptions – I watched a great pro wrestling match. Maybe there were a few moments of sloppiness where these 40-year-olds physical limitations caught up with them in the tornado of a modern pro wrestling main event, but otherwise this felt like two guys in their primes wrestling their asses off for a World Title.
They got right to punching and kicking and teased a quick Punk GTS win to remind everyone of the quick Mox win nobody liked. They brawled in the crowd, Punk got busted open and Mox licked the blood off his hand. Punk began favoring his leg so Mox began to work over it, a Leg Work that put Punk at a disadvantage the rest of the match.
They got a big reaction off Punk reversing a figure-four leglock, which led towards a counter-filled and compelling finish: Mox grabbed a bully choke, Punk escaped and hit a high kick but got knocked silly by a more alert Mox. Another bully choke followed, Punk tried a GTS and Mox countered with a Death Rider for 2 before going back to the bully choke, only for Punk to reverse into a GTS for 3. The worst part? Because of a backstage fight after the show between Punk, Omega and The Young Bucks none of it even matters. ****1/2
Afterwards, the Casino Ladder Match’s Joker revealed himself as MJF and stared down CM Punk. And, well… I was tired…
Happy Thoughts: Even before my favorite pro wrestler had a psychotic episode and called out Marcia Cabana, All Out ’22 was like too many AEW PPVs: plenty of good wrestling matches overshadowed by all the good wrestling matches, then even more by the “media scrum” (Tony, Tony, Tony!) that followed. MJF’s return, Kingston/Ishii, and the Tag and World Title matches are all worth seeking out while the rest ranged from “ran together a little” to “damaged the whole territory.” 3.5 / 5.0
NJPW/JTO TAKATaichiDespe Mania (9/12/22): Wrestling Is Beautiful, Or So I Like To Say Sometimes
Starting with its name then its definition, professional wrestling is fueled by conflict: good and evil, real and fake, promise and letdown, routine and surprise, justice and, well, the opposite of that. Wrestling fans love it when they call wrestling beautiful, though they love when they can call it ugly too – as it is sometimes in its’ routine confirmation of everyone’s worst assumptions. This seemingly boundless fantasy world is ambushed weekly by reality, but if you can manage the time professional wrestling can be really beautiful. Ugly, too, though the great thing about wrestling and life is that if the moment isn’t beautiful then the context might be.
Jun Kasai is a death match icon, an absurd combination of words at first glance but the man’s Wikipedia begins like this: “dubbed the Crazy Monkey for his violent and often self-harmful style of hardcore wrestling … considered a breakthrough talent in Japanese wrestling … able to work both hardcore and technical styles.” That’s iconic. And he’s been doing it so long that there are successful active wrestlers in major companies who grew up dreaming to wrestle him.
Three years ago, one of those wrestlers – New Japan’s El Desperado – used his unique level of pull to wrestle Jun Kasai. Unfortunately, Desperado broke his jaw. Then there was a pandemic. Earlier this year, Kasai challenged Desperado to a rematch by handing him a rose. Isn’t that kind of beautiful? No? Maybe you need more context…
This celebration of three careers in wrestling was promoted by TAKA Michinoku’s JTO (JUST TAP OUT) organization and aired as a PPV on New Japan World. As with New Japan’s recent show nearby at Korakuen Hall, the crowd was allowed to be loud.
1. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku vs. Hikaru Sato, Hideki “Shrek” Sekine, Genta Yubari & Akira Jumonji
Being a JTO show, the undercard was filled with JTO and other semi-affiliated wrestlers from the Japanese independent scene. The opener saw four of them take on four members of Suzuki-gun including Suzuki himself. Hideki Sekine, a former MMA fighter whose nickname is “Shrek,” wore a Lucha mask to the ring and had to be held back from Suzuki before the bell, which created an intrigue I wasn’t expecting.
Minrou Suzuki is a pretty easy guy to play off of so everyone got to sparkle a little. Sato – blue pants – delivered some enthusiasm and leg work, while JTO rookie Jumonji blasted Suzuki in the face with a kick before falling to the sleeper and Gotch piledriver combo. An attention-grabber! A tone-setter! ***1/2
2. Misa Kagura, Sumika Yanagawa & rhythm vs. Yuu Yamagata, Hibiscus Mii & YuuRI
JTO’s joshi division was up next, and it was trying. Yuu Yamagata and Hibiscus Mii, the former Apple Miyuki, have been wrestling since the early 2000s when JTO was called Kaientai Dojo. Their partner YuuRI wears a leather jacket and made her debut during a pandemic, as did two of their three young opponents.
Less reliant on the presence of a Minoru Suzuki, they began quietly with holds and chops. The most memorable parts of the match unfortunately came from some flubbed moves like a 619 by YuuRI and bodyslam by Kagura, which created a haze that followed the action all the way to the awkward powerbomb that ended it. Occasionally charming, mostly unimpressive. **1/2
3. Ryuya Takekura, Eagle Mask & Fire Katsumi vs. Yuji Hino, Isami Kodaka & Yasu Urano
This match was JTO regulars against Kaientai Dojo Originals, though I don’t think anyone calls them that. The JTO team was led by Ryuya Takemura, a real cool guy: jacket, necklace, King of JTO Champion. His partners were young Eagle Mask and Fire Katsumi. The Eagle can move.
I caught some of Yuji Hino’s promising rookie year back in 2003-04 and boy has he gotten larger. He’s gotten over too, an over-ness that could carry a whole match. With him were Big Japan Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion Isami Kodaka and Yasu Urano, who wore a shirt with his name on it.
The story here was Hino though: a few minutes into the match Eagle was feeling it and popped him with an elbow on the apron, which he responded to by just staring ahead. When Eagle tried again, Hino implored him to focus on his opponent. When Eagle tagged in, Hino tossed him to the sky with a fallaway slam. Takekura finally confronting him was a genuine “deal” too and everybody brought out something cool for the finish, including a springboard plancha from young Fire Katsumi. Fun! ***3/4
4. Special Tag Match: Maika & MIRAI vs. Tomoka Inaba & Aoi
Maika and MIRAI stopped by during Stardom’s 5-Star GP tournament to wrestle a pair of JTO trainees, one of whom (Inaba) impressed working for Stardom this year and recently joined MIRAI in the God’s Eye stable.
The famous Stardom wrestlers entered with confidence – Maika cheerful, MIRAI pissed. Young Aoi followed by popping and locking to the ring, a stark contrast in approach to The Business until Inaba emerged in white carrying the Queen of JTO Championship.
Inaba kept up with the Stardom girls on holds early but it wasn’t long before they were isolating Aoi and talking shit, the only dynamic possible. Aoi isn’t a master of execution yet but there was some impressive fire whenever she was elbowing or chopping her way towards a comeback. She also punched Maika right in the gut then sort of in the face too, and when Maika hit The Superplex she got up and kicked her in the face before falling again.
Fifteen minutes in there was enough content for a Very Good Match but they tacked on a tremendous finish too as Stardom tried to close up and either Inaba kept throwing shots or Aoi kept kicking out. A kick from Inaba followed by Crossroads from Aoi got an incredible near fall, then MIRAI screamed at Maika to get her shit together and, well, they did. Action-packed, layered, and entertaining tag team wrestling. Go! Watch it!!! ****1/4
5. TAKA Michinoku Debut 30th Anniversary Match: TAKA Michinoku, CIMA & Kaz Hayashi vs. The Great Sasuke, Dick Togo & Gedo
Some wrestlers in Japan train with one company and work there for the rest of their lives; others take more of a rogue direction. The freelance junior heavyweights of 1990s puroresu are still here, still doing it, and most of them are running things somewhere. #HardWork! Gedo and Togo emerged with all the apathy of their current roles in New Japan, but they were followed by the freakin’ Great One who entered commanding respect and even kept it while doing the Too Sweet call.
TAKA began with his mentor Sasuke, a man known in the 90s for his death-defying bumps who got big reactions here for yoga-based comedy shtick. Some of these guys can still turn it up but Sasuke’s partners were Gedo and Togo who certainly can take their time on offense. CIMA and Kaz both got time to show off, Togo went up high for Kaz’ monkey flip, and then Gedo and TAKA were trading eye pokes. A classic-ish Dick Togo senton bomb ended it. More nostalgia than quality, but that’s fine. ***1/2
6. Taichi 20th Anniversary Match: Taichi & Yoshitatsu vs. Hirooki Goto & Ryusuke Taguchi
All Japan’s Yoshitatsu trained at the New Japan Dojo with Goto and Taguchi, debuting in 2002 and becoming affectionately known as NaoYama. He was eventually called to service as part of WWECW’s New Talent Initiative, where he did better than anyone will admit though when he returned home his wrestling was way more entertainment than sport. That approach didn’t keep him employed long with the King of Sports, which is weird because 25% of their roster now begins matches flexing their tits at each other.
They began the match flexing their tits at each other. Taichi failed to tear his pants off (that common New Japan spot) so he ran the ropes and took heat with his pants half-down. Goto and Taguchi beat up their old pal Yoshi and when he had the audacity to make a comeback, it cued them firing things up to the level of a quality New Japan heavyweight tag – maybe higher – filled with dramatic selling and near falls and ending when Yoshitatsu decided to reunite with his old Noojies and turn on Taichi. The job may be demanding but it’s nice to know you’re still in demand. ***3/4
7. Special Singles Match: El Desperado vs. Jun Kasai
El Desperado has a unique resume, even for someone who pro wrestles: New Japan Dojo trained, Mexico bred, mask-wearing junior heavyweight, loves a good bloody death match. A Best of Super Juniors brawl with Hiromu Takahashi helped establish him beyond tag wrestler, to the point where he led New Japan’s junior division while Hiromu dealt with a neck injury. Earlier this year he headlined (credibly) a New Japan USA show with Jon Moxley (also a death match), and occasionally he cameos on the Japanese independent scene and wrestles his heroes.
Being wrestling famous is a lot different than being actually famous, but when I started getting into all this the big dogs were NJPW and AJPW but everyone knew Jun Kasai. Most of the scars on his back and torso were there in the early 2000’s, back when I bought a Jun Kasai t-shirt on eBay after seeing like 5 matches of his because he just seemed so cool and I yearned to be a part of something, man – whatever this strange – beautiful? – thing he was part of.
Before the match weapons were assembled by ring attendants around the ring including chairs, tables, a guitar and multiple wooden boards affixed with razors, knives and cut-off aluminum cans. It was listed as a Special Singles Match in the advertising, but Jun Kasai on the marquee 99.999% of the time means a No Holds Barred Anything Goes Violent Hardcore Death Match.
They each emerged wearing white, and Despy vibed to Kasai’s theme music in a way only a Wrestling Fan could, even among thunderous chants for KA-SAI. A camera zoomed in on a little girl seated front row with a poster of Kasai’s face splattered in blood. Is this good? Bad? Cool? Weird. Take it in. Think about it.
They threw up middle fingers and began chain wrestling, showing a solid grasp of the fundamentals before someone grabbed a chair and started bleeding. Only a few minutes had passed when Kasai was slamming a chair over the barbed wire board he had trapped El Desperado under — classic!
Desperado’s mask got ripped up early too, hanging by strands and exposing his bleeding face all match as he struggled to make a comeback for 20+ minutes: Kasai laughed off his chops like they were nothing, then when Despy managed a bodyslam Kasai smashed the guitar over his head – just destroyed him. When Despy managed a superplex, Kasai threw a chair at his face and delivered a piledriver — the second one of the match. When Kasai hit a Superfly splash on the Board of Aluminum Cans, Despy’s eyes got so wide they could’ve popped out. He was bleeding, exposed, vulnerable… and exactly where he always wanted to be. Sort of beautiful.
He managed to put Kasai through a barbed wire board but otherwise Despy’s struggle continued: low blow, fork to the head, double-arm Canadian Destroyer through another barbed wire board. All three of those things range in plausibility if used in an actual fight, but in this world they all made equal sense. Then Kasai stabbed himself in the forehead with a fork.
The crowd actually making noise was obviously a huge boost too, reactions of glee and astonishment for Kasai mixed with hope and pity for Desperado. They got extra loud when a board of butcher knives entered the ring, and even louder when Despy dropped Kasai head-first onto it and finally managed to turn the tide. Then they threw bloody elbows and punches at each other until there was a winner.
Kasai still works regularly and his matches won’t always be this great — this might’ve been his best ever actually — but for over two decades by embracing the ugly side of wrestling he’s delivered one of it’s most compelling — beautiful? — journeys.
Here, two of wrestling’s most fascinating and unheralded characters delivered an epic, violent, memorable wrestling match that could’ve easily settled for the visceral reactions made possible with all the dangerous props, but not for any second of this half-hour spectacle did it feel like anyone settled.
Afterwards, Kasai spoke on the mic to the young wrestler who wanted this so bad, delivering a beautiful message of encouragement enhanced by the fact it was delivered in this bloody, sweaty and ugly environment. Why would someone do all this for a living, and why would someone watch so much of it? Crazy Monkey doesn’t have all the answers but go watch this match then listen. *****
Happy Thoughts: Good wrestling, good fun, good celebration, and an introduction to a buncha fun new wrestlers. Five-star main event too, yep. The crowd reactions helped but Taichi, TAKA and Desperado booked a strong card and the talent took it from there. 4.5 / 5.0
Captain Lou’s Review: AJPW Maniax in Korakuen Hall (9/19/22)
Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi vs. Izanagi & Black Menso-re
HAAAAAAAAAA! That’s the sound of DoiKuma returning to Korakuen Hall. Literally. The boys were in top form, squashing the life out of your favorite masked icons before announcing their re-entry in the tag title picture. Powerful stuff.
Atsuki Aoyagi, Christopher Daniels & Cyrus vs. Yoshitatsu, TAJIRI & Rising HAYATO
Considering the sheer randomness of the lineup, this was better than it had any right to be. CD brought a fun vibe to the action, from his early rocking out to Atsuki’s theme to the Moonsault comedy bit – he had the crowd in the palm of his hand and the crew seemed eager to work with him. HAYATO/Aoyagi did a bunch of Cool Shit and Cyrus once again popped the crowd with some wild oversized spots. Also, TAJIRI almost brought back the Tarantula!? That’s worth all the stars, bro. ***
Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger
Well. This wasn’t exactly Sayama taking on Rollerball Mark. You might know Tatsuhito Takaiwa as a no non-sense powerhouse, but the Black Tiger gimmick finally allows him to explore the finer points of pro-wrestling. Yes, I am referring to psychologically-advanced techniques such as Kicking People in the Balls. *3/4
Yuji Nagata & Dan Tamura vs. Takao Omori & Ryo Inoue
Let me tell you something important. Ryo Inoue is showing more natural ability and confidence than both Dan and Hokuto when they were at his current experience level. The kid just ripped through his traditional young boy offense with ease and looked like a million bucks overwhelming Tamura with rollups during the finish. The whole match was pure midcard bliss – Dan responding to Ryo’s preternatural skills by taking his head clean off. **3/4
Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuma Anzai
A lot more one-sided than Anzai’s match with Nagata, but the super rookie still held his own. MiSu stretched the living crap out of him and Yuma tried his best to power through. Non-stop joint manipulation with the occasional babyface comeback from the ace prospect. The crowd really wanted him to survive all the stomach-turning submissions, so that’s a good sign. **1/2
Jake Lee, Shuji Ishikawa, Yuma Aoyagi & Hokuto Omori vs. Suwama, TARU, Minoru & Toshizo
Another chapter in the long-term Jake Lee babyfication story. This time around, his new pals in Hontai 2.0 helped him out with a 4-man corner finger gun. Outstanding. Unless they’re planning to torpedo this entire saga by going full Russo and turning Lee back heel, now would be a good time to get the man out of the Total Eclipse gear. Elsewhere, the Voodoos were showing signs of potential implosion. Is this the end of the Internet’s favorite heel stable or are these guys simply awful people!? **3/4
Shotaro Ashino & Ryuki Honda © vs. Jun Saito & Rei Saito – AJPW Tag Team Titles
Their Budokan return match hinted at great things. This was the full confirmation. The world’s oldest young boys have improved a lot while on their American meat-eating excursion. While I did appreciate the throwback clunkiness of their early days, there’s no denying that this newly-acquired ring polish makes them feel like a bigger deal.
It also helped that GOA treated them like actual monsters and made their offense look like dynamite. Super generous performance from the champs – staying on defense for most of the match and letting the crowd familiarize themselves with the Saito’s skyscraper-sized playbook. Note-perfect example of looking strong in defeat – Jun and Rei are made men in the tag division after this one. ***1/2
Kento Miyahara © vs. Naoya Nomura – Triple Crown
Weight belt enthusiast Naoya Nomura has been tearing through the All Japan roster ever since returning from his self-imposed exodus. It might’ve been a weird proposition at first, but his new outsider’s edge (R.I.P. Scott Hall) is now allowing him to stand out from his former Nextream friends and rivals. The shy but ultra-promising young hope of yesteryears has been replaced by a black-clad, pissed-off wrestling machine. Real Blood 4 life, brother.
One thing that hasn’t changed for Hollywood Nomura 2.0 is his unreal chemistry with Kento Miyahara. Their last matches occurred during Kento’s 2018-2020 monster reign and were among the best from that era. Fast forward to 2022 and we get this banger – a timely reminder of what these two can do together, with the added twist of Nomura’s newfound PART-TIMER GRIT.
Through out the years, the former Nextream guys all struggled with matching Kento’s larger-than-life charisma and each had to find different strategies to assert themselves when sharing the ring with him. For Nomura, the gameplan’s always been crystal clear: Ruthless freakin’ Aggression. This latest chapter of the Kento/Nomura story stayed the course – Naoya absolutely nuking the champ from start to finish and smartly cutting off his well-worn signature spots.
In a poetic callback to their second match of 2019, Nomura once again found himself one super finisher away from getting the big win. In that previous meeting, they hinted that the fabled Spinning Maximum would’ve sealed the deal and the same thing happened here with the Infinity (basically an inverted Maximum) – Kento escaping it at the last second to steal the victory.
A top 3 AJPW match for 2022 (up there with Kento/Yuma and the CC finals) with all the hallmarks of a classic Miyahara title defense. They made the most out of everything – from the early spear rollup panic to the raging strike-fests and closing mega near-falls. It all landed. More than anything, this once again underlined how important Naoya Nomura is to All Japan. You are legally obligated to watch this wrestling match. ****1/2
NJPW Burning Spirit 2022 (9/25/22): They Were Killing Time at Kobe Hall
The brief return of an audience’s noise during New Japan’s Burning Spirit tour stop at Korakuen Hall delivered one of their best shows in years, but when the tour ended at Kobe World Hall it was back to rhythmic clapping like the fans were just another pre-arranged piece on a predetermined show. Three IWGP title matches were planned for Kobe, featuring some of my least favorite New Japan wrestlers. Wait—
1. Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. KENTA, Hikuleo & El Phantasmo
The Shingo/ELP rivalry continues: ELP attacked Shingo at the start of the match, Shingo pinned ELP at the end of it, and afterwards ELP kept asking Shingo “who’s your daddy?” while Shingo growled “I’m daddy!” back at him. In the middle, 7-footer Hikuleo went up for a suplex and managed to block KENTA’s book-shot. **3/4
2. Toru Yano vs. Doc Gallows
It wasn’t good, not in the moment and not on reflection. Also, how did Toru Yano overpower Luke Gallows enough to reverse his Irish whip? They both got counted out in under 4 minutes. DUD!
3. Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens
Much respect to Fale and Owens for remaining gainfully employed during this odd New Japan time but they have to be one of the worst tag teams New Japan has featured in a while and have you seen some of the guys New Japan is OK featuring. Neither team has a defining characteristic so you’re left with some quiet and nondescript wrestling with few highlights, mostly because of Cobb’s nice dropkick and standing moonsault and ability to bodyslam Fale. **1/4
4. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
All these guys work really well together, though like any other match more noise could’ve helped. After some fooling and harassing by Taichi, he pulled up Naito by his tights to belly-to-belly him. A few minutes later he countered SANADA’s Japanese leg roll clutch by pulling his own pants over SANADA to keep him down for more than a 3-count. Taichi and SANADA traded masks after as some kind of perverted show of respect then Naito and ZSJ scrapped. ***
5. Kazuchika Okada, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. JONAH, Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito
Bad Dude Tito wore a bright red 90s wrestling singlet that’s the perfect shade for HD cameras and threw some mean chops too. Like at Korakuen Shane Haste once again flexed his biceps to try and stand out, though it wasn’t as productive thanks to the lack of crowd noise and Tanahashi’s sculpted definition. The Okada/JONAH interactions (their rematch is at Sumo Hall in a couple weeks) were, uh… brief. **3/4
6. Tama Tonga & Jado vs. Jay White & Taiji Ishimori
Tama Tonga’s original partner KUSHIDA was sidelined before the show with Hand-foot-and-mouth disease, a mild virus that sounds and – based on experience with our 4-year old – looks pretty nasty. They powered through with Jado in his place, and while the original match didn’t sound like a classic this was probably lesser than what it would’ve been. Jado, somehow immobile from booth muscle and age, took a beating from the World and Jr. Heavyweight champs, then he tried to tap Taiji before tapping himself. The Switchblade/Tama exchanges were more robust than the Okada/JONAH ones but still pretty brief too. **1/2
7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Francesco Akira & TJP [c] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato
United Empire members Francesco Akira and TJP have matching wrestling tights now, which was almost the most notable part of this quiet and competent rematch. I say almost because for better or worse Master Wato is always good for something interesting now: here he hit an incredible More-than-Everest German suplex on Akira (new signature move?), then took a Kenta Kobashi bump off a Flatliner (though I don’t think it was on purpose). ***
8. NEVER Openweight Title: Karl Anderson [c] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Karl Anderson is here! How about that? He was a big part of New Japan once: Bullet Club heater, Tag Team Champion, even made it to the G1 Climax finals once. He left for WWE when Nakamura and AJ Styles did in 2016, though in the last year he and tag partner Luke Gallows began working for New Japan again. The result? Anderson won the NEVER Openweight Title from Tama Tonga in May, Gallows had two singles matches with Toru Yano, and Anderson successfully defended the NEVER Openweight Title from Hiroshi Tanahashi here. A couple weeks later, Anderson and Gallows left for WWE again. None of this was good.
Tanahashi took a Gun Stun on the floor, endured a chinlock, hit a dragon screw leg whip – all in a day’s work. He hit Gallows with a dragon screw on the apron too, which Gallows took like crap but sold like death. Anderson caught Tanahashi with a spinebuster and Gun Stun for 2; Tanahashi applied a Texas Cloverleaf then hit a really pretty Sling Blade. Yano came out to stop Gallows’ interference, but he blew it and Anderson – leaving in a few days – retained the title. Just a barely good match.
After the match Hikuleo turned on Jay White to help Tama Tonga for a bigger pop than you could ever imagine. ***1/4
9. IWGP US Heavyweight Title: Will Ospreay [c] vs. David Finlay
After last year’s New Japan Cup and this year’s G1 Climax, this was Ospreay and Finlay’s third quality singles match together. It was their first for a championship, second main event, and I think their best match overall though an occasional lack of credibility kept it from reaching a peak at the end.
They delivered what the wrestling fan wants or at least says they want, a modern combo of heavyweight and junior style wrestling where stiff elbows, chops and headbutts are complemented by rapid rope-running, swanky counters and a mid-match Orihara moonsault. They brought the gimmicks too: Ospreay chucked a table at David’s head and David slammed a shillelagh on Will’s hand, the latter of which led to a mid-match bandaging of Will’s hand that kind of killed the vibe.
Finlay’s Acid Drop through two tables didn’t break them though a powerbomb did, and they brought the energy and athleticism for the finish that was highlighted by near falls and Ospreay doing a Pedigree to a silence more deafening than the one already present. ****
Happy Thoughts: New Japan has mostly figured out how to deliver wrestling shows with their clapping crowds but even their best ones are still mostly for the already initiated and most patient of viewers. This was not one of those best ones. Ospreay vs. Finlay was good, but not that good. 2.0 / 5.0
Stardom in Showcase Vol. 2 (9/25/22): Bikes, Balloons and Blue Stars
This past July Stardom presented Vol. 1 of Stardom in Showcase, an experimental show taglined “Anything can happen.” It delivered, featuring babyface Fukigen Death★ followed by swimsuits and super soakers followed by an I Quit Match followed by a brawl inside a big blue inflatable elephant followed by a Hardcore Match followed by a Coffin Match. It was like a better, hornier Extreme Rules.
Vol. 2 came in September, at the end of the 19-show tour that was the 5-Star GP 2022 tournament and right before next week’s finals. Before things got weird, there were two more GP matches.
1. 5★STAR GP – Blue Stars: Hanan vs. Saya Iida
Two of Stardom’s young guns were young-gunning, with Iida’s tight headlock transitions and Hanan’s bump on a shoulderblock standing out early. They kind of lost each other in the middle for a minute before Iida brought it back with her cool diving shoulderblock. Short match, solid wrestling. **1/2
2. 5★STAR GP – Blue Stars: Starlight Kid vs. Suzu Suzuki
Starlight Kid and Suzu Suzuki can hit some really cool moves, but even after Kid’s Asai moonsault, Suzu’s bridge to avoid a crossbody, Kid’s standing moonsault, Suzu’s blockbuster suplex hold, Kid’s stretch muffler, Suzu’s spider German suplex and a few other really cool things, the match never got going. **3/4
3. Anywhere Fall 4-Way Battle: Mayu Iwatani vs. AZM vs. Maika vs. Ram Kaicho
Ram Kaicho is making her third Stardom appearance after impressing on their summer “New Blood” shows, while the other three have been working tournament singles matches the last couple months. Anyways, this match was crazy.
In the first few minutes Maika did the Terry Funk spinning ladder spot, AZM rode a bicycle down the aisle, and they all brawled inside the blue bounce house mouse setup by the entrance and filled with multicolored balloons that were themselves filled with powder. Maika emerged a changed person, popping balloons in faces as an offensive maneuver. AZM and Mayu exchanged rolling cradles all the way to the backstage area, where the camera followed and the match continued.
Maika (deranged!) tossed Kaicho at people and taped her to a cart, then AZM and Mayu fought up an escalator before Mayu took a bump (bumps) down like three flights of concrete stairs. Maika then rolled everyone back to the ring on the Kaicho cart where ladders were waiting. AZM dropped a double footstomp off one. Maika threw the bike at everyone, then everyone pinned her so they all won and she lost.
Wrestling runs on a system of formulas but is nothing without its ability to just Try Stuff Out Sometimes. This was a match of trying stuff out, and whatever it lacked in cohesion or sense it made up for in FUN!! ***1/2
4. Cosmic Rules Match II 3-Way ~The End of Summer~: Tam Nakano & Natsupoi vs. Mina Shirakawa & Sayaka Unagi vs. SAKI & Hikari Shimizu
As established at Stardom in Showcase Vol. 1, “Cosmic Rules” is mostly about boobs. Everyone began the match in white dress shirts over swimsuits, then wrestled each other / tried to take off each other’s shirts. After getting hit with a Super Soaker, Shirakawa seductively stared into the camera and took off her own shirt. Unagi used a triple headscissors to tear everyone’s buttons, then they all brawled to the back over copyrighted music before returning in white towels. Amid the confusion the referee just DQ’d Shirakawa and Unagi. Stay for Shirakawa’s reaction to the result and perfectly timed air horn to complement it, and if you’re into them the boobs. **3/4
5. Hardcore Rules Match: Giulia & Rina Yamashita vs. Momo Watanabe & Ruaka
Like the 4-Way Falls Count Anywhere match, they were trying so many things here and most of them were fun. I think it was Rina Yamashita’s first match in Stardom, though not her first hardcore match — a mid-match bump into a board of aluminum cans emphasized that, though she also seemed comfortable just doing double-team moves with Giulia.
Momo embraced the environment right away; she choked Giulia with a chain, kicked her with a trash can over her head, tried to drop a cement block on her. Yamashita stepped in and smashed everyone with chairs before Momo chucked a ladder at her, then dropkicked it into her for a 2-count. A great beat followed when after all that Momo made a tag out to Ruaka.
Giulia hit a missile dropkick off a ladder then Ruaka smashed a seemingly non-gimmicked guitar over her head – then did it again, but Yamashita (who had recovered from the aluminum cans) helped Giulia rally and get the win. ***1/2
6. Rossy Ogawa Bodyguard Army vs. Reaper Army Captain’s Fall Match: Syuri, Utami Hayashishita & Lady C (c) vs. Reaper #3 (Nanae Takahashi) (c), Yuu & Reaper #2 (Yuna Manase)
Team Rossy are Stardom regulars, while Nanae and Yuna were at one point. They removed the Reaper gear and revealed themselves before the match, probably for the best even if it resulted in a pretty normal 6-man tag that felt lacking following the last few bouts of insanity. ***1/4
Happy Thoughts: We love it when wrestling tries something different, though I’m not confident many other companies could try this many things in one show and pull it off. Stardom in Showcase did, and is 2 for 2. 3.5 / 5.0
Captain Lou’s Review: AJPW Raising An Army Memorial Series 2022 (10/2/22)
Takao Omori, Shuji Ishikawa, Izanagi & Hokuto Omori vs. Yoshitatsu, TAJIRI, Jun Saito & Rei Saito
The art of the opening match. These men understand it. To pay homage to the recently passed Antonio Inoki, Yoshitatsu revived the TOUKON TATSU persona of his 2021 feud with Suwama. Cobra twists and Octopus holds were firmly locked in, the World Famous One once again confirming he is the true heir to strong style. There is simply no denying this. Hokuto trying to out-sumo the Saito Bros was also very good. **1/2
Toshizo © vs. Dan Tamura – GAORA TV Title
Fresh off his feel-good All Asia tag title win at the Budokan, Daniel Tamura tried to kick his career up another notch by becoming double champ. Spoiler: he did not succeed, but he got a pretty solid match out of old Tosh’ in the process. Beside a weird middle section where a belt spot seemed to go overtime, these guys delivered an acceptable amount of no non-sense GAORA TV wrasslin’. As always, Toshizo knows how to dish a mean heel beatdown and Dan can certainly play the role of babyface protagonist. ***
Toru Yano vs. Black Menso-re
There we have it. The full YTR cinematic experience inside the blessed Zen Nihon ring. This isn’t something that should be repeated too often, but Menso-re was the ideal dance partner for Yano. The match peaked early when they tried to out-grift each other with their various merch offerings and business cards.
Jake Lee & Yuma Aoyagi vs. Suwama & KONO
Absolutely stacked episode of RAW is ZEN NIHON. Not only did this continue the #1 blood feud of 2022 (Kyohei Wada vs. Voodoo Murders), but it also featured a shocking Saito Bros heel turn – the 36-year-old super rookies pivoting to the dark side to aid Suwama and TARU in their quest for global domination. Can you believe this shit? The wrestling before the angle hinted at a fun Jake/Aoyagi dynamic for the RWTL, with Yuma playing babyface in peril, Jake supplying the hot tag and the two uniting for wacky double teams. **1/4
Kento Miyahara, Takuya Nomura, Ryo Inoue & Yuma Anzai vs. Yuji Nagata, Yuto Nakashima, Kosei Fujita & Ryohei Oiwa
Japanese interpromotional warfare is where humanity peaked when it comes to arts and crafts. I’m all for variety in wrestling tropes, but ‘angsty young men defending their dojo system by bashing each other’s brains out’ is extremely hard to beat. Anzai experiencing this chaotic scenario in his only third match ever was pretty wild. And he did great! The super rookie stood up to resident NJPW young lion monster bully Nakashima, unleashing as many forearms as he received.
This was actually my first time seeing New Japan’s latest batch of youngsters (most commonly known as Noojies) and let me tell you – the future looks bright for Gedo and friends. Oiwa already has Ace-level handsomeness, Nakashima looks ready to fill Togi Makabe’s furry shoes and Fujita was very adept at beating up Ryo Inoue.
The hate-meter stayed in the red for all tense 14 minutes, Korakuen time-traveling back to the pre-pandemic era and lapping up all the bloodlust. Nomura’s inclusion was the icing on the cake. Who better than this man when it’s time to slap some sense into an insubordinate brat? WRESTLING. ****
Shotaro Ashino & Ryuki Honda © vs. Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi – AJPW Tag Team Titles
If the use of U2’s Where The Streets Have No Name in the intro package didn’t make it obvious enough – this match was WRESTLE-1: The Movie. Four big-boned lads who came up in Keiji Muto’s wrasslin’ factory, battling it out for tag team gold. It didn’t reach the heights of GOA’s best defenses, but the action was as solid as you’d expect.
I’m not sure if DoiKuma have ever hit that ill-advised stacked samoan drop properly? Unless it happened in non-AJPW territory, I have yet to see this miracle. Other than the challenger’s overly ambitious double-team schemes, the wrestling stayed simple and hard-hitting. Honda is clearly positioned as the main character in this Gungnir tag reign and it’s a good look for him. Really dug those clubbing lariats near the end.
Another highlight here was Ashino’s insane bump for the DoiKuma double dropkick, which felt like the perfect metaphor for this match. As much as I enjoy them, DoiKuma never quite feel like world tag caliber, but the former Enfants Terribles crew always do their best to make it seem like they are. ***1/2
Atsuki Aoyagi © vs. Rising HAYATO – AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title
This was the first AJPW junior title match to main event Korakuen Hall in a billion years and it ripped. The rarity of such an occasion clearly wasn’t lost on these kids. They used the platform to showcase their vision to the fullest. Far-removed from the more technical approach of junior division stalwarts like Hikaru Sato, this felt more in line with something from Dragon Gate or a high-stakes AEW bombs-fest.
Both Aoyagi and HAYATO are still super young, so there’s room for improvement – but the SCOPE of what they went for here has to be commended. They played the familiarity card to the max, constantly one-upping each other and raising the high spot difficulty level as the match went on. Self-sacrificing dives, graceful high-flying and Kento Miyahara losing his shit on commentary – it all felt big.
Some of the reverse frankensteinering near the end bordered on Too Much, but HAYATO’s heart and the sheer ‘Can they actually pull this off’ vibe of it all kept things in balance. For anyone still doubting HAYATO’s new gimmick – this is the match that should put all concerns to rest. He looked and wrestled like a star – a perfect long-term rival for Atsuki. ****