The final (and much more appropriately named) Destruction show took place today. Michael Elgin, defending his IWGP Intercontinental title against Los Ingobernables de Japon leader and former IWGP Heavyweight champion Tetsuya Naito, headlined the show, though that wasn’t the only big news coming out of Kobe.
Tranquilo!
Tetsuya Naito became the new IWGP Intercontinental champion, and the first true Grand Slam champion (wining the NJ Cup, G1, NEVER Openweight title, Junior and Heavy tag titles, and the IWGP heavyweight title) The match was a rematch from the G1 which saw the same result in a match that should be on the list of top matches of this year, however this time the prize was even greater. The match started with Naito and Elgin trading taunts in an attempt to get in the others head, before Naito went for the injured knee of Elgin. Naito used lots of innovative submissions to try and get big Mike to tap, however the momentum turned and Elgin took control, only for Naito to take the referee down with him. From there we saw the usual LIJ shenanigans as SANADA, BUSHI, and EVIL all attacked before KUSHIDA and Tanahashi attempted to make the save, only for LIJ to stay in control. The Canadian powerhouse eventually got back to his feet and took out the interfering stable mates of Naito out of the equation; power bombing BUSHI onto the outside into the arms of his teammates. Naito then hit a Destino out of nowhere for the near fall, Elgin got back in control with some huge lariats and a buckle bomb, however the follow up Powerbomb was countered into another Destino, Naito picked him up, hit a third and got the pinfall. After the match, Naito took the mic and said that he “never wanted this, but the belt came to me, why? So I can be further in the zone” (Thanks @reasonJP for this)
With Naito once again holding gold in NJPW (before thowing it to the ground once again) who knows what chaos this might bring to the company.
Brace Yourself, Okada vs Marufuji is Coming.
The co-main event saw the CHAOS/NJPW team of Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HAHSI (terrible hair cut), Gedo & Jedo take on the Pro Wrestling NOAH team of Naomichi Marufuji, Daisuke Harada, Atsushi Kotoge, and Toru Yano. While not as heated as the Shibata lead inter-promotional tags of recent weeks, this still had its moments, like Marufuji’s sonic-boom like chops, Yano been Yano, and of course the main focus, the build for the upcoming IWGP Heavyweight title match between Okada and Marufuji. The match itself was back and forth, with YH and his terrible hair (have I mentioned he has the worst hair this side of a Zoolander background character) picking up the win. The aftermath was the part that caught people’s attention, as Marufuji and Okada argued on the ring apron. No mics were needed for all the eyes in the building to be on these two, eventually YH and Yano stepped in, setting up a GHC tag title match that will take place on a future NOAH show.
Missing! Matt Sydal. Step in David Finlay
Matt Sydal was unable to make the show due to “travel issues”, so the NEVER trios titles were vacated, with the team of former holders Ricochet and Kojima teaming with David Finlay to take on the Young Bucks and ADAM COLE BAY BAY. The match featured a lot of the usual stuff that you would see from the Young Bucks and Ricochet, with lots of high spots mixed in with the heavier hitting style of Kojima and David Finlay. This match served as a proper coming out party for not only Finlay, who has finally shed his Young boy black trunks (that sounded weird), but also for ADAM COLE BAY BAY, who after an OK match with Will Ospreay needed something like this to showcase him in a better light. The match saw the original holders (switching Sydal for Finlay) win back their titles with Ricochet hitting a shooting star press for the win. After the match, Finlay and Ricochet challenged the Bucks to a IWGP jr tag title match, which will be something. If anyone knows the whereabouts of Matt Sydal, please inform NJPW immediately.
CAPTAIN FOOKIN NEW JAPAN
So, normally you would get this on a bullet point, but something amazing happened, something so amazing that people were still talking about CNJ after his match. It was supposed to be him and Yoshitatsu vs the Bullet club of Chase Owens and the Tokyo Pimp, Yujiro Takahashi. Quick side note, two ladies in gowns today joined Takahashi, a little more tasteful than the Donnie Darko dominatrix pairing he had with him in Hiroshima. Don’t worry though; they quickly disrobed so we got the usual show. Somewhere Charles Wright is sat deciding whether to call his lawyer or to nod with pride. Anyway, Yoshitatsu and CNJ have been struggling as of late, with CNJ staring at so many ceilings he could get a job as a roofer. Yoshitatsu put his WWE social media training to use and did a twitter poll to decide whether he continues teaming with Captain, and he would announce the result in Kobe. Before the match, YT took the mic ready to announce that Captain New Japan had to “Get the fook outta here” only for CAPTAIN TO ATTACK HIM. He laid the boots to YT as the two BC members joined in, eventually the referee rang the bell and Captain stood by as Takahashi hit his kneeling DDT for the quick win. Captain then took the Bullet Club flag and laid it over YoshiTatsu, and then botched a too sweet with the BC members. What comes next for Captain New Japan, who knows? Is this a big moment or have the Bullet Club officially jumped the shark? The world is in anarchy my friends.
Other Notes
Quick results
· Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Teruaki Kanemitsu · reDragon defeated Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata · David Finlay, Ricochet & Satoshi Kojima defeated The Young Bucks & Adam Cole to become the new NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions · Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale & Guerillas of Destiny defeated The Briscoes, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto · SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI defeated Juice Robinson, Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA · Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI, Gedo & Jado defeated Naomichi Marufuji, Daisuke Harada, Atsushi Kotoge & Toru Yano · Tetsuya Naito defeated Michael Elgin to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship This was the best show of the tour by far with every match offering something. Check out the podcast for more NJPW discussion, as well as everything from unfortunate Dave Meltzer comparisons, and all the news from WWE.
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