NJPW “THE NEW BEGINNING IN OSAKA”, 2/11/14 (WPW/PPV/iPPV)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
6,400 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (c) beat KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley (13:05) when Matt pinned Shelley after the More Bang For Your Buck (2nd defense).
2. Katsuyori Shibata beat YOSHI-HASHI (5:21) with a PK.
3. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. beat Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Tama Tonga (7:53) when Smith used the Killer bomb on Tonga.
4. Special Tag Match: Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Prince Devitt & Bad Luck Fale (9:53) when Taguchi pinned Devitt.
5. NWA World Tag Team Title #1 Contender Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima beat Big Daddy Yum Yum & Michael Tarver (12:54) when Tenzan used the Anaconda Vice on Tarver.
6. Special Tag Match: Daniel Gracie & Rolles Gracie beat Yuji Nagata & Kazushi Sakuraba (9:28) when Rolles used a gi choke attack on Sakuraba.
7. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Jushin Thunder Liger beat Shinsuke Nakamura & Yujiro Takahashi (12:43) when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on Takahashi.
8. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) beat El Desperado (13:34) with a Phoenix splash (1st defense).
9. NEVER Openweight Title: Tomohiro Ishii beat Tetsuya Naito (c) (23:41) with a brainbuster to become the 3rd champion.
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) beat Hirooki Goto (22:51) with the Rainmaker (8th defense).
* In front of the second packed house in two days, Kazuchika Okada’s dominance of New Japan Pro-Wrestling continued as he made a successful V8 defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Title over the recently returned Hirooki Goto. Goto had failed in SIX previous attempts to win the big one, but some felt this could be the day. Okada, who entered holding a giant Final Fantasy-esque sword and huge Godzilla like dinosaur, had other ideas. After 22 minutes of fierce combat, Okada flattened Goto with the Rainmaker and his reign approaches one year in length (April 7th). Maybe Goto’s eighth attempt will be luckier…
Shibata, who easily beat YOSHI-HASHI earlier in the show, was told by Okada that he’d have to win the New Japan Cup if he wants to challenge, while Gedo told Goto that he was again at the back of the line as far as contenders go.
* The biggest cult favourite in New Japan, Tomohiro Ishii, delighted fans everywhere by upsetting Tetsuya Naito to win the NEVER Openweight Title in a thrilling semi final. Ishii has spent most of his career in undercard matches, but some outstanding performances in the past year have seen him grab big wins, today’s being among his biggest. In a match of the year contender that many felt outshone a strong main event, Ishii spiked Naito with his brainbuster to become the 3rd NEVER champion. With the IWGP IC Title becoming so prestigious, it was probably best to have Naito drop it to a “lesser” name, and it can now be defended more regularly.
* Kota Ibushi made a successful V1 defense of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title over the new mysterious masked man El Desperado. Desperado appeared out of nowhere at the Tokyo Dome to issue a polite challenge and put up a good fight in his first attempt at the junior strap, but fell short to the new leader of the division. Ibushi landed a perfect Phoenix splash for the three count and moves on to whoever the next challenger will be.
* The Gracies returned after losing to Nagata & Saku by DQ at the Tokyo Dome in January, facing the Japanese veterans in a rematch. It was another underwhelming bout with the Gracies still not really accustomed to pro wrestling, but they won when Rolles choked out Sakuraba. Incredibly, Yano & Iizuka came out and issued a challenge to the Gracies in what could be one of the weirdest matches ever seen.
* TenKoji are now number one contenders for the NWA World Tag Team Title (held by Rob Conway & Jax Dane) after beating Big Daddy Yum Yum & Michael Tarver today. Kojima successfully defended the NWA World Heavyweight Title against Yum Yum in Hiroshima, but Tenzan fell to Tarver on the same show. That was avenged today as he forced the former Nexus member to tap out to his Anaconda Vice.
* The Young Bucks overcame Time Splitters in an exciting opening match to successfully defend the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title for the 2nd time. The Jacksons have impressed since joining the Bullet Club and overcame former champions KUSHIDA & Shelley today when Matt pinned Shelley following the More Bang For Your Buck.
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Originally Posted by Mike Skillz
I love how he completely no-sells it; like him conquering dinosaurs with ridiculously sized swords is an everyday occurrence.
