Hi!
New Japan hosted their annual Wrestle Kingdom show last week, and besides The Return of The Wrestler it took them three nights and another roster of wrestlers to really nail it.
That was most of this week at HWL, but we’re also thinking about things like Bron Breakker and Hook too.
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom Night 1 (1/4/21) - Dum Dum Daniels
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom Night 2 (1/5/21) - Dum Dum Daniels
NJPW/NOAH Wrestle Kingdom Night 3 (1/8/21) - Dum Dum Daniels
That’s A Nice Title Reign You Got There (WWE TV 1/3 - 1/8/22) - Dum Dum Daniels
AEW in December 2021: Winter Is Crowded - Dum Dum Daniels
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 1 (1/4/22): Katsuyori Shibata Is The Wrestler
You might have heard New Japan (The King of Sports!) hasn’t been “very good” over the last few years, if you’ve heard anything about them at all. They’ll still remind you a handful of times every six months just how quality their approach to wrestling matches (and training) is, but it’s just… different, you know? Something about the Covid and clapping and questionable succession plans post-Okada. And there’s a lot of wrestling out there. There’s a lot of things.
The heat and believability of Showa-era NJPW, the bombast and industry influence of the 90s… those things will still sneak onto the show every once in a while, but they’ve been mostly swapped for the quiet confusion that followed Inoki-ISM and whatever this situation is now where Chase Owens is one of the Last Men on Earth.
New Japan on 1/4 at the Tokyo Dome has still remained a pretty consistent ground for professional wrestling though, and ladies and gentleman: welcome to Wrestle Kingdom 16 in Tokyo Dome. Night 1. Of 3? Hold on now—
0. King of Pro Wrestling 2022 – New Japan RAMBO
Like an old AJPW or NOAH opener without the charm and sometimes execution, New Japan’s take on the wrestling Rumble persists. Go in expecting nothing and you might end up pleasantly surprised when Tatsumi Fujinami and CIMA are two of the surprise entrants. Minoru Suzuki tapped all three young lions as soon as he entered while CIMA worked spots with Master Wato and got pins over TAKA and Fujinami. The final four remaining advanced to a 4-Way tomorrow but the only one actually visibly selling the gimmick that the match was over was CIMA, the networking legend who now takes his talents and GLEAT t-shirts to the main card of Night 2. *
Antonio Inoki’s message conjured feelings within me.
1. Special Singles Match: YOH vs. SHO
YOH and SHO made a good tag team but always lurking was how far either could go go post-split — well here they are. Fine sequences, well-delivered… lacking energy. SHO looks awesome as a bad guy but sometimes wrestles like he’s still uncomfortable with the whole idea, not to mention the whole House of Torture baggage. His experiments in heel life continued as he denied the crowd a dive and held back the referee for Dick Togo, but he still felt most at home anytime he was selling and stumbling to his feet.
Meanwhile, YOH’s experiments in babyface life might be working. He’s found success lately not just alongside SHO’s slow start, but also in an epic BOSJ Finals with Hiromu. Now he opens the looking like the eighth member of BTS and capturing the Tokyo Dome’s heart via leg-flailing to escape submission.
Their first was a good match if I’m being polite, their Best of the Super Jr. block match was a House of Torture-infested step down, and this was a step back up to the level of the first and I’m not just being nice. It had some run-ins but they actually seemed thought out beforehand, and in between was a good not great example of current NJPW juniors. ***1/2
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. KENTA, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo
Sometime around the ability to watch every single New Japan show, the New Japan undercard 6-man became a sort of farce, WWE TV-esque in its’ frustrating reliance on formula and only able to be any good in select situations. This? One of the situations. All six fellas went hard in the Tokyo Dome by either wrestling sequences or just reacting, with Taguchi and Ishimori in particular tearing it up early on. Then it ended with a DQ in advance of Tanahashi’s match with KENTA on Night 2. So logical it wasn’t fun. ***1/4
3. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI vs. Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb
This was more of the same, and by that I mean everybody was working extra hard in a pretty basic match. They kept it moving, previewed some Night 2 matches, and that’s kind of just it but they had enough stuff to keep the claps coming. ***1/4
4. Katsuyori Shibata Return Match – Catch Wrestling Rules: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Ren Narita
Six months after I began really paying attention to Japanese wrestling again in 2017, I found myself watching back-to-back episodes of New Japan in June where for the first hour, one of my old favorites Katsuyori Shibata was all grown up having two great matches en route to winning the annual New Japan Cup tournament. In the second hour, my friend Josh and I watched in horror and astonishment as he challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Title in one of the greatest wrestling matches of all time. It also ended up being, until tonight, Shibata’s last match.
A few months later, as New Japan kept a tight lid on what appeared to be a career-ending head or brain injury suffered after one of many headbutts thrown in that match, Shibata’s theme song played at the the G1 Climax ’17 Finals and he entered then sat cross-legged in the ring with a glean of hope in his eye (and a healthy dose of love for the biz-ness) that maybe he’d eventually get to wrestle in one again. It was so long ago that the same show had Tag Title defenses by The Young Bucks and now-Viking Raiders.
With a likely (and sensible!) retirement from in-ring competition coming (though never confirmed!), Shibata’s next act was to move to Los Angeles and become head trainer of the revitalized LA Dojo, teaching the ways of Real Pro Wrestling to a few of New Japan’s best grappling young lions and like triple-digits of American and European guys. If he could not do it inside the ring, he could help re-build the foundation of New Japan as a trainer.
But still. Health aside, guy was such a good wrestler. Such a good presence. The guy who re-invented the formula by just re-rerouting it back to one of its’ original forms. I accepted he was done, but four outrageously ridiculous years later with a mini-tease vs. KENTA in between, he announced he was going to wrestle again. The match would be at Wrestle Kingdom and held under Catch Rules with no strikes allowed, but still: The Wrestler was wrestling.
As I sat with no expectations other than a general excitement and confidence about how cool this was going to be, Shibata emerged in the black boots and towel and grabbed the mic to say fuck your Catch rules — I’ll kick if I want, let’s pro wrestle.
His mystery opponent? Ren Narita, one of his most promising trainees who’s also spent the last couple years at the LA Dojo. And he got to do some matwork, hit an elbow or two… but in his return to the ring Shibata basically did a 10-minute spotfest of ass-kicking. There were boots, kicks, and a spectacularly real and nasty-looking STO. Shibata simply pulls Narita’s hair to prevent a suplex, and soon after it went like this: slap, sleeper, Penalty Kick. Great to see you again, hope to do it again sometime. ***
5. NEVER Openweight Title: Tomohiro Ishii [c] vs. EVIL
Can Ishii sell enough to have a good match with EVIL? I don’t know, kind of. They went like 12 minutes which is a timeframe Ishii’s grimacing can carry well enough, and his shoulderblock and superplex are reliable comeback spots. The Torture House interferes but gets chased off partly by new hero YOH, wearing white short shorts and absolutely shellacking SHO with an elbow to the side of the face.
Scream, headbutt, counter finish, counter low blow, jumping kick to the face… these are the weapons Ishii employs to fight the EVIL. They could’ve worked too, except for a lame championship belt shot that ultimately ended it. ***
6. IWGP Tag Team Title: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. [c] vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
I’ve seen a lot of variations of this match over the last couple years or at least feel like I have, but these four really have risen to some kind of status and them keeping it under 20 minutes here was one of the best possible variations of this match. The Tekkers brought the pain and Goto the random fire, while YOSHI brought the fact that he is undeniably in SHAPE. When ZSJ kicks Goto off the apron it seems like a finishing sequence is near, but YOSHI’s able to rally back all on his lonesome before a few close falls by everybody and eventual Tokyo Dome triumph for our pal YOSH. Great match for a fan, OK match for others, call it somewhere in the middle. ***3/4
7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: El Desperado [c] vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Hiromu is so extra that his Wrestle Kingdom entrance attire this year doesn’t feel completely extravagant, even if it is. When El Desperado emerges in the all-white champion fit though, it’s crystal clear: are watching a major event take place, baby.
This feud has carried NJPW’s junior division as others moved up weight classes, left the company, or were just unable or unwilling to enter the country. I am quite fond of it. In 2018 they had an awesome brawl around Korakuen Hall in BOSJ ’18 which each gave each guy more range, and the IWGP Jr. Title match that followed as a result was more less violent but still very good. After Hiromu returned from injury and Despy became a cult favorite dominating the tag scene, they matched up again in an all-time great BOSJ ’20 finals and again in a more low key but still excellent match in the BOSJ ’21. Hiromu made (and won) the BOSJ ’21 finals, Desperado did not, but Desperado is the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. And now we’re here: the semi-main event at the Tokyo Dome.
It’s another good match in the series. Great match! Instead of a feeling out process or chucking chairs at each other in the crowd (if they’d even want to at this point in their rivalry), they just got right to the fighting and somehow maintained an intent to win while delivering some really wild stream of consciousness wrestling. They pulled off a ton of complex or dangerous spots but unless there was selling to (briefly) do each move seemed to flow right to the next, like a DVD to Stretch Muffler to (iffy) Canadian Destroyer, or Despy ending an offense run from Hiromu with a spinebuster and instead of a breather rolling right into another big slam. The crowd is shocked at a successful defense, but the boy in the mask got his big shot and he’s not letting anyone take it back. High-quality and big deal wrestling if not the peak of their powers. ****
8. IWGP World Heavyweight Title: Shingo Takagi [c] vs. Kazuchika Okada
Shingo Takagi’s surprising and downright exemplary year of dominance concludes with him entering second in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, but waiting for him in the ring is the last guy who had a great run on top of New Japan and even though he’s felt dormant the last couple years, Kazuchika Okada entered with a new trim and old school robe that had him looking like Antonio Inoki’s heir apparent if Inoki had a spiritual awakening on an amusement park ride.
This is two of the best wrestlers in New Japan and the world at large having a 30 or 40-something main event at Wrestle Kingdom. If you have seen a New Japan main event or even just most G1 Climax matches before, it might seem too familiar. If you haven’t seen one, I would like to think this is just a whole incredible treat. It has the usual build-up that can teeter between an auteur’s approach and just killing time, but a counterpoint to that might be that it is Shingo Takagi and Kazuchika Okada doing it. Maybe these two should be transcending familiar, though they did deliver all strikes and spots and other attempts at bodily harm with the speed and fluidity of two guys who have rocked with some of the greatest flyers of all-time.
Shingo seems in control all match, either because he was dominating or because Okada has done such a disappearing act. He’ll throw in little easter eggs too, a finger wave before charging or flexing his biceps after mocking the Rainmaker pose like he’s just programmed to add a little meat in between every single thing. However: the robe and the haircut. The final act of the match does that finish thing and picks up intensity with 10 minutes to spare, and when the bell finally rings a decent portion of the clap-mandate crowd just audibly reacts their guts out. ****1/2
Happy Thoughts: Highlighted by the mid-show return of seriously actually Katsuyori Shibata himself, this show just had a consistency to it. The crowd situation remains awkward and outside of Shibata and the main event not much felt like must-see, but… it was just consistent. It just worked. Good, solid fun. 7.0 / 10.0
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 2 (1/5/22): New Japan Has A Normal One
Back in 2020 when New Japan still rocked with concepts like momentum and ambition, January 4th‘s annual Wrestle Kingdom became a two-night event. On January 5th, Jushin Thunder Liger wrestled his retirement match and Tetsuya Naito finally won the big one. Then: the virus. And so on and so forth.
The two-night presentation continued in 2021 despite the wholly different world it took place in, and in 2022 the two nights turned to three in partnership with Pro Wrestling NOAH. These days.
At Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 1, Katsuyori Shibata returned to the ring and Kazuchika Okada won his fourth IWGP World Heavyweight Title. Or a version of that title. I don’t really want to talk about it.
Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Wrestle Kingdom 16 in Tokyo Dome! Night 2.
0. Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Bad Luck Fale, Jado & Gedo
“YA CAN’T BREATHE,” chortled Gedo as he looked over his incapacitated opponent. There might have been an attempt to up the energy for the Dome, but my word: it’s still Jado & Gedo. *1/2
0. Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato vs. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & TAKA Michinoku
This second of three pre-show matches felt as basic and negligible as any other until, suddenly: that goofball Master Wato hit a Tenzan Tombstone Driver! But then he missed a dive and got speared by Desperado. But then he caught Desperado in a submission! But then Desperado escap– no… but then Desperado tapped out!!! Master Wato (blue hair, average master) begins 2022 getting eliminated by CIMA in a New Japan Rumble then submitting the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. **
0. Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI
Hiromu began this either mocking or earnestly wanting to play along with Zack Sabre Jr.’s technical professional wrestling, and for a few minutes they brought some high-quality pre-show action. Hiromu/Taichi is pretty fun too, then DOOK fires off a few sweet dives before getting put down. After a pair of big losses, Shingo and Hiromu rock on. ***
1. 3-Way Match – IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask IV [c] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo
Can’t decide if Rocky Romero or CIMA is the craftiest professional for pulling off a 2-night stay in the Tokyo Dome in 2022, but so much respect to both. Half of this match is pushing or past 40 but they still pulled off a fun high-speed opener, even compared to the embarrassment of riches New Japan used to possess for these junior tags.
Robert Eagles was the belle of the ball, another really impressive performance from him. He hit a springboard plancha kitty corner across the ring and springboard frankensteiner, two spots that both looked spectacular and put a stop to some dumb thing ELP was doing. The finish is shockingly amazing too, not for a bunch of near falls but because Eagles actually pulls the steel plate out of ELP’s boot and ELP gets kicked out of the match. ***1/4
2. Stardom Special Match: Saya Kamitani & Tam Nakano vs. Mayu Iwatani & Starlight Kid
They got right to work like they only had 10 minutes and in getting all their shit in delivered a quality cliffnotes of the Stardom experience with more clapping than your average undercard. Mayu in particular seemed to relish in popping the Tokyo Dome with spots, and after Saya hits a particularly wild Firebird splash Nakano is right there filled with pride. ***
3. 4-Way Match – KOPW 2022: Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki vs. Chase Owens vs. CIMA
The KOPW championship. What’s going on here? Some kind of favor? Something for the boss? CIMA walking the Wrestle Kingdom ramp with T-Hawk and Lindaman at his side showing off GLEAT t-shirts was an incredible sight to witness, as was a bewildered handcuffed Suzuki after the match ended. Otherwise, this sucked. *
4. NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Title: EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO [c] vs. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & YOH
This had the similar hard work and energetic pace of last night’s undercard; it was just in a feature spot and for a championship so it’s, like, complicated. The House wins. ***
5. SANADA vs. Great-O-Khan
Besides the Great O-Khan doing a pescado, this felt as cold as it did when first announced. It’s a little better than SANADA’s G1 run last year but a lot lesser than O-Khan’s, and each guy exits the Tokyo Dome in pretty much the same spot. **3/4
6. Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb
Tetsuya Naito, ungovernable and in black jacket. Jeff Cobb, still loading. His vertical suplex to the post then floor with an Oklahoma Stampede modification and his vertical suplex to gorilla press slam were very cool, very impressive. They had a solid and occasionally impressive match that felt a little lesser than among so many similar matches and third from the top at Wrestle Kingdom. ***1/4
7. No DQ Match – IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Title: KENTA [c] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
I regret to inform you that Hiroshi Tanahashi did not do much to re-invent the hardcore match format. Tanahashi delivers a Sling Blade on a pile of chairs and takes a falcon arrow through a table, but this didn’t feel like much beyond a lesser-than semi-main event.
Until that goddamn ladder. KENTA has to leap off a very tall ladder — not as an attack on Tanahashi, but because Tanahashi was trying to push the ladder and it wasn’t budging. Poor KENTA absolutely bites it on the bump, then to make matters worse Tanahashi follows up with a High Fly Flow off the ladder through a table that shatters on impact and leaves him a crumbled and bloody mess. ***
8. IWGP World Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Will Ospreay
I’ve liked a lot of Will Ospreay matches if not the Will Ospreay presentation (not to mention the Tweets), and the presentation hasn’t been helped by him returning to New Japan after a gap year in the U.S. acting like a budget Jake Paul if Paul was promoted as the best pro wrestler in Japan. The Sasuke Special countered with a tombstone, moonsault off a steel pillar, and the crowd’s delight for that final Rainmaker were good classic Tokyo Dome spots but the substance was missing in between.
Both parties seemed to lose the plot while Ospreay was missing and what resulted was Shingo getting shafted and Okada’s re-coronation coming in the form of, like, a 2018 Johnny Gargano match. They had a sub-serious and punier variation on what Okada just did for over a half-hour the night before, and even that was beginning to feel repetitive. Good match, inadequate show-ender. ***1/2
Happy Thoughts: Night 1 had three great matches follow a consistent undercard (and Shibata!), while Night 2 went up and down and ended with Ospreay. It was lesser than. What both nights did share was they overcame the abnormal and unmoving nature that post-Covid New Japan usually gives off, and they rightfully placed The Rainmaker back on his throne. 4.0 / 10.0
NJPW/NOAH Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 3 (1/8/22): Come On, Just F*ck Already
Pro Wrestling NOAH used to be my favorite wrestling company in the world, but New Japan was just an easier entry point when I got back into all this Japanese wrestling business. The last cooperation I saw between them was incredible, but that was in 2004 and involved Jushin Liger (who’s retired) and Jun Akiyama (who’s running DDT??).
Years later I avoided the darker age of cooperation that saw Jado and Minoru Suzuki alpha-dog the entire company, but in the half-decade since NOAH almost literally picked itself up by its bootstraps and made something of itself. Old friends like Naomichi Marufuji, Takashi Sugiura and Go Shiozaki kept the ship steady as new heroes like Kaito Kiomiya, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kenoh established themselves enough to where NOAH got brash enough to drop the trademark green ring.
To begin 2022, New Japan and NOAH are at it again. Following Wrestle Kingdom 16 Night 1 & Night 2 comes something new: Night 3. At the more intimate Yokohama Arena.
0. Kosei Fujita vs. Yasutaka Yano
The rookies will bring it more than anyone for these inter-promotional shows, an absolute razzing backstage promised with defeat. As they struggled over keylocks and wristlocks the individual styles of both companies were on display, Yano more emotive and lighter on his feet opposite Fujita who seems meaner and when in doubt hits a dropkick. He just stomps and stomps Yano’s poor head to put on a crab hold the struggle is freaking harrowing. Back up Fujita does another dropkick and another crab hold, which leads to another harrowing struggle that only ends when Fujita lets up a little because the bell rings for a 10-minute draw. ***1/2
0. Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. King Tani, Mohammed Yone & Akitoshi Saito
The Funky Express is an undercard trio dressed for disco made up of Shuhei Taniguchi, BattlARTS adjacent afro maestro Mohammed Yone, and Akiyama’s old partner Akitoshi Saito. Their entrance is a necessary experience, all the energy of someone who the Bar Mitzvah videographer just put the camera on. Before the match Tenzan stands before them in his 1997 Buffalo costume just disgusted with these jokers. Pretty standard wrestling match otherwise, though I watched Kojima’s lariat finish four times. **1/2
1. Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Daisuke Harada, Hajime Ohara, Daiki Inaba, Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada
Compared to either company’s normal undercard the level of energy in this match was cranked up to the point of culture shock, all of pro wrestling’s problems solved right here and now by way of fresh opponents. Hirooki Goto throws elbows with speed and intent and Master Wato throws kicks with fire and grace — really. Ishii and Inamura tag in and create a whole feud, and Team NOAH rallying each other as they tried to take down major star YOSHI-HASHI towards the end was good but also adorable. ***1/2
2. SHO vs. Atsushi Kotoge
Atsushi Kotoge seems like a decent high-flyer who looks like a scrubby SHO, which would be bad for him except SHO is now an scrubbier SHO. Heel SHO was trying faces out and the ref grab to spear spot was actually really well-timed, but then: a wrench. *1/2
3. HAYATA & Seiki Yoshioka vs. Taiji Ishimori & Gedo
HAYATA is a whole shroud of stringy-haired and 2003 CZW pants-wearing mystery, but Seiki Yoshioka earns my admiration when he enters sporting such a well-delivered disgust then becomes my new favorite by making a Taiji Ishimori & Gedo tag kind of good. Gedo lying on the mat with a chinlock applied is something that can and has defined a lot of matches, but here was Yoshioka with his high-speed rope-running and stiff kicks to introduce himself. He does a step-up curb stomp that’s wild on its own, but then followed it with a perfect Asai moonsault right after. Good wrestler! ***
4. El Desperado & DOUKI vs. YO-HEY & NOSAWA Rongai
NOSAWA is still NOSAWA, more power but same as where I last left off. YO-HEY, meanwhile, is outrageous. He and DOUKI have a few exchanges of indie scum invasion but this is, like most shows, The Despy Show. He’s one of the only guys in New Japan who is still regularly showing any kind of fury, so he was up to the task here of beating that competition ass. **3/4
5. Takashi Sugiura, Kazushi Sakuraba & Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & TAKA Michinoku
Back when I watched as much NOAH as I could, Takashi Sugiura was a young and talented junior heavyweight who was going to take over the world if he wasn’t so short. Upon hearing he went on to take over the NOAH world as GHC Heavyweight Champion and top guy anyways, it brought pride to my heart — hold on, WHY is Toru Yano teaming up with him and this Kazushi Sakuraba-looking guy who just threw the weakest-looking jumping knee I have ever seen? The rest of the crew laid it in a little more and Sugiura vs. Suzuki was a treat, but this was 6-man filler of the mid-rangiest degree. **3/4
6. Go Shiozaki & Masa Kitamiya vs. EVIL & Dick Togo
Go Shiozaki wears NOAH green, back in the ring after missing most of 2021 with shoulder surgery. His partner Kitamiya is a classic dough boy with an incredible senton bomb. None of it matters because HEY THERE, FANS: it’s the House of Torture! Kitamiya’s big Saito suplex and the flex he does after applying the prison lock were late highlights, as was Go’s final “fuck this dude” lariat for Togo. **3/4
7. Naomichi Marufuji & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
This match was a major reason I wasn’t letdown when the card was announced, an honest-to-gosh NOAH dream match. Yoshinari Ogawa — still doing it — against Zack Sabre Jr. delivers the casually incredible European-influenced technical wrestling that due to each man’s gangly appearance has an extra whimsy to it. Marufuji and Yoshinobu take a turn at re-creating a magic I’m not sure they ever really had too, though they work hard for a match booked for nostalgia. Fun reunion special of a match and thanks to the rat something different from the norm. ***1/2
8. Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh, Manabu Soya, Tadasuke & Aleja
Los Ingobernables de Japon moves on from the Tokyo Dome by putting on their best outfits and showing up united at Yokohama Arena for a 5-on-5 featuring each company’s bad boys. Katsuhiko Freakin’ Nakajima is All Grown Up and has grown into his natural menacing skin, while Kenoh is so cool it is literally influential. My first notes on their partners were this: Manabu Soya bulky boy with red hair who should be in G1, Tadasuke blonde guy with jacket and glasses, Aleja… mask.
After seeing so many crappy New Japan tags the last few years it was bittersweet to experience this beautiful match. Cards filled with tag matches is just how things are done in Japan, load management that keeps singles matches fresh. When most guys are aligned to a group it’s just easier to book too, a built-in conflict for any match… unless your groups and their conflicts get old and don’t change besides a splintering of the worst group. Then, outside of special cases, it doesn’t matter if the boys are working hard or not — they’re missing the juice!
This match, with its liveliness and aggressiveness and compulsory great wrestling sequences, ran nearly half an hour but had enough juice for more. It definitely setup more matches, or at least created demand for them. LIJ with new toys freaking thrived, Hiromu the sudden big league prick and Naito giving off a vibe all match of “ah, these poor guys.” Even SANADA was running wild, brother.
Shingo reliably goes hard but when looking amused by Aleja or taking a beating from Kenoh he is his most interesting self. Tadasuke goes in for the kill on him 25 in and for a brief moment anything seems possible — and then it does for a few more moments after Tadasuke kicks out of the Pumping Bomber. ****1/4
9. Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Keiji Muto & Kaito Kiyomiya
Even Golden Inoki-era Kazuchika Okada becomes his most interesting self when he can be a bully, a tyrant, a real jerk. Kiyomiya brought the fire against New Japan’s top two and had some great chemistry with Okada, but they could only get so much going given the physical capability of Tanahashi who wrestled a No DQ Match a few nights ago and Keiji Muto who is definitely still Keiji Muto. Man just always finds a way back. ***1/2
Happy Thoughts: The third night of Wrestle Kingdom 16 was the best night of Wrestle Kingdom 16 and the best New Japan show in years with good wrestling all over the card carried by a dynamic that was so straightforward it was practically accessible. Let’s go again! 4.5 / 5.0
That’s A Nice Title Reign You Got There: Hey, It’s WWE TV (1/3 – 1/8/22)
This week on WWE TV, Brock Lesnar went from babyface stalking Roman Reigns to heel taunting him over the course of a match. The only thing it cost was Big E’s run with the WWE Title — hey.
Note: With WWE’s Premium Live Events (I call them PLEs) moving from Sunday to Saturday nights, the WWE TV week at HWL begins on Monday now.
WWE TV Highlights (1/3 – 1/9/22)
Bianca Belair interrupts Becky Lynch and Liv Morgan (RAW 1/3/22)
Fatal 4-Way Match – Winner Faces Brock Lesnar for WWE Title: Big E vs. Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens vs. Bobby Lashley (RAW 1/3/22)
All four New Year’s Evil matches (NXT 1/4/22)
NXT UK Women’s Title: Meiko Satomura [c] vs. Blair Davenport (NXT UK 1/6/22)
Street Fight – SmackDown Tag Team Title: The Usos [c] vs. The New Day (SmackDown 1/7/22)
Stuff Happening: Big E loses WWE Title, Bianca Belair confronts Becky Lynch, Omos squashes AJ Styles, T-BAR squash on Main Event, Carmelo Hayes wins NXT Cruiserweight Title, Bron Breakker wins NXT Title, Meiko Satomura/Blair Davenport, Johnny Knoxville in the Rumble, Rollins Challenges Reigns
Good Work: Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, Bianca Belair, Big E, Carmelo Hayes, MSK, Imperium, Mandy Rose, Tommaso Ciampa, Bron Breakker, Meiko Satomura, Naomi
RAW (1/3/22)
What’s the wrestling term? Hotshot? The first RAW of 2022 was stacked with championships and gimmicks, not many of which could overcome having to be a part of RAW.
Suddenly, Brock Lesnar is WWE Champion again. The four losers who lost to him closed the show in a Fatal 4-Way where the winner challenges him at the Royal Rumble, and though Big E got shafted on Saturday WWE was doing everything but pointing bright cartoon arrows at Bobby Lashley all night.
Bianca Belair finally re-entered the title picture by triumphantly interrupting another exchange between Becky Lynch and Liv Morgan, and the cadence and delivery was incredible.
The Alpha Academy scored an upset over the RAW Tag Team Champions. There were, also, matches for WWE’s Tag Team, United States, and 24/7 Championships.
Reggie hit an incredible standing somersault press in that last one.
WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix joined her husband (also Hall of Famer) Edge on MizTV, Mr. McMahon did a Larry David bit for Austin Theory, and no less than two tag teams and a silver-haired Johnny Knoxville announced they were entering the Royal Rumble.
Alexa Bliss’ journey back to RAW begins next week too. Hopefully she brings Mahaan.
Bobby Lashley will, indeed, wrestle Brock at the Rumble.
Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
NXT (1/4/22)
New Year’s Evil 2022 wasn’t quite “Premium Live Event” but it was mostly comprised of four really good wrestling matches. Always nice when the wrestlers wrestle.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Roderick Strong for both the North American and Cruiserweight Championships was one of those matches NXT used to have. A really great version of one actually, and young Hayes was setting the pace against one of its’ wisest practitioners. That top-rope X-plex too. You kidding me?
Did Grayson Waller say a guy in the front row didn’t watch RAW? Is it OK to joke about RAW at the office?
The Riddle & MSK vs. WALTER & Imperium was pretty breezy, a fun novelty rather than something incredible even though it could probably be something incredible.
Mandy Rose defended the NXT Women’s Title against Raquel Gonzalez and Cora Jade in a Triple Threat Match that honestly rivaled the quality of at least 50% of Wrestle Kingdom. Kay Lee Ray and Io Shirai would’ve made for more interesting challengers (a singles match would be nice too), but somewhere among the weapons and spills to the floor this just held together.
Andre Chase‘s fan club/student body in the crowd has been one of the more adorable things to come out of NXT 2.0. On the other hand, as a wrestling obsessive I am pretty desensitized to bad wrestling but Von Wagner‘s promo was really, really bad.
Less than 3 months since first appearing in our homes and on our screens, Bron Breakker has finally reached the mountaintop. The son of Rick Steiner beat Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Title in a big improvement over their first match and something everyone involved can be proud of. Bron’s missed crossbody and spear both hit with dedication, and Tom Ciampa did all he could with the situation at hand. WWE crowns a new hero as well as they seemingly can, though the last time someone beat a guy McMahon wasn’t hot on with a Camel Clutch the someone actually led to someone else.
Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
MAIN EVENT (1/5/22)
Special alert: T-BAR squash. Teebs really dished out a beating on poor Dennis Daniels, so much so that maybe it goes somewhere.
Special alert: The Mysterios vs. The Hurt Business. It was conventional, but they should keep running these back for Dom.
Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
NXT UK (1/6/22)
On the same day WWE announced William Regal was leaving the company, NXT UK’s success story WALTER announced next week will be his last match before NXT U.S. or SmackDown or something.
Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter advanced over Symbiosis in a tournament for a shot at the NXT UK Tag Team Titles, though it feels as if there has been some variation of one happening since NXT UK began.
The middle of the show was a Xia Brookside squash and pretty solid Ilja Dragunov promo.
Meiko Satomura defended the NXT UK Women’s Title against Blair Davenport in a quality TV main event between an icon of credible pro wrestling and a capable opponent who can hit really freaking hard. Blair attacked Meiko after the match, which is WWE’s way of saying there will be more.
Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
SMACKDOWN (1/7/22)
The first SmackDown of 2022 featured Roman Reigns attacking Brock Lesnar and a New Day/Usos match.
The Universal Champion made his return to WWE TV after Christmas break and little bit of Covid, and he just seemed bored talking his way into another match with Brock that’s just a raincheck for a match that was already a rehash.
WWE’s most trusted and gifted celebrity handler Sami Zayn was thrown over the top rope by Johnny Knoxville to promote the Men’s Royal Rumble, and for the Women’s Rumble they just listed over half the field.
Naomi went long enough with Charlotte Flair to seem competitive, but the match was not very good. Sonya Deville may be headed towards a second singles match at WrestleMania, which is a little complicated but genuinely impressive.
Madcap Moss dressed up as Drew McIntyre.
New Day vs. Usos, it was good again. It was a Street Fight.
Roman ended the show learning that his Royal Rumble opponent was Seth Freakin’ Rollins, who knocked on his locker room door to the comforting beats of The Shield theme. It’s, uh… yep. I guess!
Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
205 LIVE (1/7/22)
205 Live really needs Nikkita Lyons or somebody kicking through a purple “2-0-5” sometime to really sell the shift. Might need a new show name too.
Malik Blade beat Draco Anthony with a pretty sweet springboard dropkick.
Nikkita Lyons dropped Erica Yan with a front-face DDT that was either a safety hazard or the next best finisher in wrestling.
Ikeman Jiro returned to 205 Live and beat young Ru Fung in the main event. Vic Joseph really said it was a return. Acted like a homecoming or something.
Rating: 2.0 / 5.0
**1 ⁄ 4 / ***** (-)
AEW in December 2021: Winter Is Crowded
“If you’re gonna be the future, perhaps you should consider letting go of the past.” – Alex Abrahantes to Jungle Boy, 12/29/21
Last December, AEW aired a really great episode of Dynamite called Winter is Coming. They were still taping from Daily’s Place with a small crowd every week but finding a way to put on good shows in spite of it. Kenny Omega won the AEW World Title in the main event, MJF won a shot at a second Dynamite Diamond Ring in the opener, and somewhere in between Sting showed up seeking justice and stuck around for another run after.
In the year since, leaps were made. Touring resumed. Crowds returned. Rampage began. Names were signed from Big Show to 2point0 to 3 of 4 of The Undisputed Era. The Last Dance in August through Full Gear in November was a blitz of promotion that kept the hits coming, though by the second Winter is Coming (12/15) everything was feeling a little crowded. The TV wasn’t so consistent and AEW found themselves a tier of people lost in the shuffle as the world-building began to feel like world-managing.
Overall satisfaction remains high though because AEW continues to do some of those bare minimum pro wrestling things: maintaining momentum, having a fun roster, accentuating the most expensive and promising talents. Sometimes there’s a CM Punk promo or Danielson match too. But tighten your shit up. And don’t tweet.
The Main Event(s) Momentum
New AEW World Champion Hangman Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson at Winter is Coming was the big match of the month, and they had of those 60-minute time limit draws wrestlers used to have. It was an entire classic that continued each guy’s very reasonable next beginning. The rest of the month built up a rematch in January.
MJF got a boost in some feature spots like his third Dynamite Dozen Diamond Ring (12/8), a 6-man tag in Greensboro (12/22), and a ton of well-delivered insults opposite the very popular CM Punk. Wardlow mercifully found himself back on the radar too as a guy frustrated with MJF, annoyed with Shawn Spears, and doing powerbombs. Seems good.
Kenny Omega took time off after Full Gear, so The Elite’s business in December was handled by The Young Bucks and shady Adam Cole, who looped Bobby Fish then Kyle O’Reilly (12/22) into the family as they feuded mostly with The Best Friends — who got Trent back (12/8). And he’s shredded.
Yep: They Sent Hook
After creating a buzz most wrestlers would possibly literally kill for by just looking cool in the background on TV, the memes became real-life when Taz’ son Hook made his in-ring debut with Taz on commentary not containing his excitement (12/3). By swagger, suplexes, and tremendous TV presentation he delivered in just two short matches an introduction that overshadowed many of of AEW’s up-and-coming “pillars.”
Britt Baker spent December processing the news of a challenge for the Women’s World Title from Riho, Darby Allin played background in the Greensboro 6-man (12/22), and Jungle Boy won some matches and ended the month with a Tag Team Title shot.
I Guess We Could Talk About Cody
Sammy Guevara was TNT Champion most of December, defending vs. Tony Nese (12/3) and delivering an awesome babyface save (12/17) and promo (12/25) to build-up a defense against the increasingly complicated Cody Rhodes. Cody, whose wife Brandi Rhodes also returned to the ring, began December getting booed in Atlanta and setting a table on fire (12/1) then ended it beating Sammy for the belt on Christmas.
Cody reads more off-putting than interesting doing what he’s doing, and he kind of also single-handedly created an entire aimless midcard. Andrade el Idolo recovered from Atlanta’s flaming table working a gentleman named Kaun on Dark (12/20) and ended the year looking thirsty for relevance from Darby (12/31). Malakai Black tried to rip out PAC‘s eyeball (12/3), mentioned a king (12/15), and harassed the Hollywood Blonds. Anthony Ogogo returned and wrestled several times on Dark to little reaction too.
Winter Got Crowded
Two months later the decision to stretch the TBS Title Tournament out over two months seems a bit much, but maybe there’s value in the time to breathe. December’s semi-finals were Ruby Soho over Nyla Rose and Jade Cargill over Thunder Rosa with the assistance of the incoming Mercedes Martinez. The finals are set for January.
The Lucha Bros navigated numerous affiliations rivalries and overcame a Tag Team Title challenge from FTR before entertaining one from Jurassic Express. Chris Jericho and Eddie Kingston started beefing over assumed ties to Santana & Ortiz in a feud against 2point0, Daniel Garcia and possibly PAC too, but only maybe.
Team Taz vs. Dante Martin/Lio Rush and The Nightmare Family vs. Dan Lambert‘s Men of the Year were those kind of wrestling feuds that only sort of happened, and I forgot about Miro and Christian Cage.
AEW Dark and Dark: Elevation’s December collection of names from the past, present and future included Tony Nese, Marina Shafir, Josh Woods, Cin Delaney, Prince Nana, Shalonce Royal (does Opera), and Dean Fleming (wears suit). Matt Lee of 2point0 pinned Colt Cabana (12/14). The Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss‘ saga may have come to a close with an overshot splash through a table (12/28). “Blood here… we got blood on Dark!”
Top 10 Matches
1. AEW World Title: Hangman Page [c] vs. Bryan Danielson (Dynamite 12/15/21)
2. TBS Championship Tournament – Semi Final: Ruby Soho vs. Nyla Rose w/ Vickie Guerrero (Dynamite 12/22/21)
3. Fuego del Sol vs. Hook (debut) (Rampage 12/10/21)
4. John Silver w/ Dark Order vs. Bryan Danielson (Dynamite 12/8/21)
5. Street Fight: Tay Conti & Anna Jay vs. The Bunny & Penelope Ford (Rampage 12/31/21)
6. Riho & Ryo Mizunami vs. Emi Sakura & Mei Suruga (Dark 12/14/21)
7. Sting, CM Punk & Darby Allin vs. MJF & FTR (Dynamite 12/22/21)
8. Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb (Rampage 12/15/21)
9. Orange Cassidy, Trent & Chuck Taylor vs. Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish (Dynamite 12/29/21)
10. TNT Title: Sammy Guevara [c] vs. Cody Rhodes w/ Arn Anderson and Brandi Rhodes (Rampage 12/25/21)
See more in the full post at Happy Wrestling Land.