Death by Midwest: New Japan BRAVE PPV 4.27.08
Posted by John Gregory on 05.11.2008
Muto challenges for the IWGP Heavyweight Title.
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Out of the all the bigger puro promotions, I am least familiar with New Japan. Apparently that is a crying shame, considering they really are the second largest promotion in the world and have been consistently good for decades. So I got this awesome show and it’s hot off the damn presses! It’s got Keiji Muto returning to NJPW to challenge Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, a title he had held 3 times, and two of those reigns were nearly a year in length. It also continues the ZERO-ONE MAX vs. New Japan interpromotional feud.
We’re in the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium on April 27th, 2008
Jado, Gedo & Karl Anderson vs. Yujiro, Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Kazuchika Okada
Karl Anderson certainly has advanced past the NWA Midwest show I saw him on two years ago, and he’s here with Jado and Gedo representing the GBH faction. Jado and Yujiro start with some amateur wrestling into a standoff. Hirasawa tags in and stomps Jado. He chops Hirasawa back and Gedo tags in and gets knocked down with a shoulderblock. Big bodyslam only gets 1. Anderson tags in but gets lifted to the other corner and Okada tags in. Dropkick by Okada. Anderson responds with an awesome leg lariat. He then knocks Okada’s partners down. Jado and Okada trade chops. They triple team Okada until Yujiro breaks that up. He gives Jado and Gedo a double clothesline. Big spear on Anderson followed by a Hart Attack dropkick by Okada and Hirasawa for 2. Anderson comes back with a spinebuster on Okada followed by a stunner for the win at 5:30.
Rating: ¾* Way, way too short to really mean anything. Especially for a 6-man tag.
Milano Collection AT & Minoru vs. Shiro Koshinaka & AKIRA
Koshinaka holds the distinction of being the first ever IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. Milano is wearing Koshinaka’s t-shirt pre-match. He rips it up and Koshinaka attacks him. Milano ties him up in a ball using the ropes and showboats to the crowd. Milano goes for Koshinaka’s diving hip attack but Shiro moves. Shiro goes off the apron and hits it on Milano. AKIRA tags in, but Milano runs off and tags in Minoru. Minoru dropkicks AKIRA outside and taunts him. AKIRA sends Minoru outside and taunts him with a fake-out dive. Minoru takes his time getting back in, taking an 18 count on the floor. Shiro tags in and gives Minoru a diving hip attack off the top rope. Minoru comes back with a dropkick. Both men tag out. Diving clothesline by AKIRA. A DDT gets two on Milano. Milano reverses a double team and AKIRA gets a hip attack from his own partner. A superkick from Milano gets 2. Milano ducks a cross body and lands an enziguri. He gives AKIRA the Victoria Milanese and that’s it at 6:14.
Rating: ** Again, too short, but they fit some good stuff in there.
Hirooki Goto & Giant Bernard vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Tomoaki Honma
Ishii and Honma are two more members of GBH. Giant Bernard is the former Albert/A-Train from WWE, and is looking for revenge after GBH beat him and Tomko for the IWGP Tag Titles. Goto wants Ishii to start, but Honma attacks him instead. Ishii tries to take advantage but Goto clotheslines him outside. Bernard tags in and Ishii tags right out to Honma. He almost gets the big man down, but gets a twisting suplex from Bernard. Bad idea to try to match power with him, Honma. GBH get Goto back in the ring and isolate him. Honma chokes him repeatedly until the ref actually kicks him off Goto. Honma gets in the ref’s face for that. Goto attempts a comeback but Ishii stops him on the top rope and gives him a delay superplex. Nice. They lariat each other several times until Ishii gets knocked down. Brainbuster by Ishii and both men tag out to their partners. Big Splash by Bernard gets 2. BERNARD BOMB connects but Ishii breaks up the pin right away. They double team him and Honma gets a back suplex on him. Top Rope Splash by Honma gets 2. Goto pulls Ishii leaving Honma all alone for the Bernard Driver for the 3 at 8:33. After the match, the GBH guys attack Goto and Bernard with a chair.
Rating: **1/4 It did what it needed to do. GBH are assholes.
They hype up the Zero One vs. New Japan feud, including Tanaka pinning Kanemoto 2 weeks earlier.
Masato Tanaka & Shinjiro Otani vs. Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi
Tanaka is the first and reigning Zero-One World Heavyweight Champion. Lots of heat for Tanaka and Otani. Kanemoto attacks Tanaka at the bell and we get a big brawl. Taguchi goes off the ropes but Tanaka kicks him in the back. Tree of Woe Dropkick by Otani on Taguchi. Crowd is REALLY against the Zero One team. A double shoulderblock gets 2. Running forearm in the corner by Tanaka! Tanaka blocks Kanemoto from intervening and he gets sent back to his corner. Tanaka and Otani double team Taguchi with a drop toe hold, elbow drop and a dropkick to the face! That gets 2. Otani chokes him on the ropes while Koji and Tanaka go out to the floor again. Half crab with SICK CRANK by Otani. Koji shoves the ref away and breaks it up. He is pissed. Taguchi finally tags Koji in and he takes Tanaka down with a vicious knee strike. Koji stares Otani down and FACEWASHES TANAKA. He lifts one of Otani’s moves right in front of him. Awesome. Tanaka and Koji trade strikes until Tanaka spears him. Otani tags in and right away FACEWASHES Kanemoto and gloats to the crowd. He goes for another but Koji stops him and dragon screws his leg. ANKLELOCK by Koji! Taguchi can’t hold Tanaka for long and he breaks it up. Taguchi lands 2 straight Missile Dropkicks on Otani for 2. He gets a Fisherman’s suplex with bridge…for 2. Otani gets pissed and kicks Taguchi in the face. I love Otani. He’s so angry. FLURRY OF ELBOWS by Tanaka but Taguchi stops his charge and gives him a German Suplex…NO SOLD…Lariat by Tanaka! That gets 2. Superplex by Tanaka ROLLED INTO A BRAINBUSTER…Koji breaks the pin up. Otani powerbombs Taguchi for a FROG SPLASH by Tanaka. But only for 2. Tanaka goes for Sliding D but Koji stops him with a kick. TIGER SUPLEX by Taguchi…for 2. HUGE Missile Dropkick by Otani knocks Taguchi down. Koji kicks him but Otani grabs him for a DRAGON SUPLEX. Tanaka takes advantage…LARIAT followed by a TWISTING BRAINBUSTER…for 2! He gets back up for the SLIDING D! That’s it at 12:56. Tanaka and Kanemoto get in each other’s faces after the match until their seconds break it up.
Rating: ***3/4 Really good tag match. Both teams bringing the hate and the crowd ate it up. Tanaka scores another win on a New Japan show, and that can’t make Kanemoto happy.
Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask IV & Tetsuya Naito
4 legends, a major player in Nakanishi, and the possible future junior ace in Naito-now’s that a bunch of talent for one match. Mask and Liger start with some fast action. Mask fakes a dive, tries a plancha but Liger moves, and Liger fakes a dive of his own. Naito dropkicks him and Nakanishi planchas onto Liger. Naito throws Liger into his corner, daring Choshu or Chono to tag in. This kid’s got balls. He hits a missile dropkick on Choshu. He goes for the SCORPION DEATHLOCK on its inventor but Chono kicks him off. Chono hits a sliding kick in the corner. Nakanishi tags in and Chono gives him a piledriver for 2. Chono locks on an ab stretch and Choshu hits him with an elbow. Lariat by Nakanishi gets 2. He spears Choshu (kinda) and clotheslines him. Liger and Mask back in and Mask hits a 619. Yeah, even the Japanese call it that. Liger gives him a superplex and gives him a palm strike. Mask dives onto Choshu and everyone brawls. Flying forearm by Naito gets 2 on Liger. Diving forearm gets 2 as well. Lightning fast tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Liger. Shining Yakuza Kick by Chono on Naito and that’s it at 8:52.
Rating: ** I was loving it when Naito was just being a young punk, but after that it didn’t seem to accomplish much other than just getting these guys on the card.
Hiroshi Tanahashi comes out in a sharp suit, limping, and delivers a promo. Damn I wish this had subtitles.
Then a video of the press conference between the main event stars airs. Again, subtitles dammit!
Then there’s a video chronicling the Christopher Daniels vs. Wataru Inoue series, showing Daniels winning in a non-title match on Feb. 17th.
This is Inoue’s 3rd defense. He had previously defended it against Daniels at the Tokyo Dome in January. Inoue looks for a cross armbreaker right away but Daniels blocks it. Inoue catches him into a facebuster. Daniels for a plancha but crashes and burns. They head up the entrance ramp and Daniels gets backdropped on it. Inoue works over Daniels’ shoulder until Daniels drapes him over the ropes and knees him in the back. Daniels punches Inoue several times in the stomach. Inoue gets a sunset flip for 2, but Daniels lands a Reverse STO into the Koji Clutch. Daniels goes for the cross-armed iconoclasm, but Inoue blocks and tosses him outside. Inoue goes for a tope, but Daniels had grabbed a chair on nails him with it in the stomach on the way down! 10 minutes gone now.
That gets 2 after Inoue takes a 18 count on the floor. Running forearm gets 2 after that. Double clothesline and both men are down. Inoue fires up and takes Daniels down with a series of chops. A second rope missile dropkick follows that. Daniels throws him outside again. Daniels grabs a chair again, but Inoue kicks it into his face. The ref stops Inoue from using the chair. As the ref is stepping back in, Daniels throws Inoue into him. Daniels takes advantage and hits Inoue with a chair, but the ref is down so no pin count. Daniels goes for Angel’s Wings but Inoue blocks and hooks on the Triangle Lancer. Daniels is tapping out but the ref is still down. The ref is back up and Daniels gets an enziguri and a Blue Thunder Bomb…for 2. BEST….MOOONSAULT…EVER…no one home! Daniels blocks a Cross-Legged Brainbuster and hits one of his own! Springboard Moonsault by Daniels…gets KNEES. ANGEL’S WINGS by INOUE! But he can’t make a cover. SPEAR by Inoue…for 2. They go up top where Daniels tries a Super Angel’s Wings, but Inoue blocks. Daniels blocks a super brainbuster. Daniels shoves him off and gets a sunset flip, but Inoue rolls out and SPEARS him again. He picks him up…ORACION FLAME! That’s it at 19:28 and Inoue retains.
Rating: ***1/4 Good match but not great. It went surprisingly slow, and the crowd seemed a little dead, as I expected a bigger reaction for things like Inoue lifting the Angel’s Wings. It felt much a WWE semi-main event, which isn’t a bad thing really.
This should be VERY personal. Makabe and Yano are members of GBH, and won the belts on Feb. 17th. That same night, GBH leader Tenzan had been betrayed and the champs helped to kick Tenzan out of the group. Tenzan beats Makabe down with Mongolian chops. GBH stops that by double teaming Tenzan. It backfires, though, and the heels take a powder. Yano threatens to walk out while Makabe grabs a chair. Yano distracts the ref and Makabe goes to hit Iizuka with the chair but Tenzan saves him by taking the chairshot. They go outside and Tenzan get hit with Makabe’s chain. Tenzan is busted open and Yano gets beating on him on the outside. Tenzan barely makes the count back into the ring. They slam him into an exposed turnbuckle. Tenzan hits a jumping clothesline but Yano smartly comes in and knocks Iizauka off the apron so a tag can’t be made. Great tactics from GBH in this match. Tenzan is bleeding all over the place. He suplexes Yano at 10 minutes gone.
Tenzan can’t tag out to Iizuka as he’s distracted by Makabe again. Makabe hooks Tenzan in a half crab. Iizuka comes in and breaks it up but Tenzan gets double teamed again. Tenzan gets a burst of energy and clotheslines both men down but still can’t make the tag. He crawls his way over there, you see their hands inches apart…and Iizuka gets off the apron! Yano and Makabe continue to beat on Tenzan as Tenzan’s seconds beg Iizuka to help him. Tenzan fights back with a double clothesline. Tenzan heads up top and hits a diving headbutt on Yano. Spinning heel kick connects on Makabe. He picks up Makabe for the TTD. But Iizuka comes in and puts Tenzan in a sleeper hold. Crowd is SHOCKED. Makabe heads up and hits the King Kong Knee Drop and that’s it at 15:14. After the match, Iizuka beats on a helpless Tenzan with the rest of GBH and even beat up Tenzan’s seconds. Iizuka leaves with the heels, all but confirming he has joined them. Tenzan is stretchered out still bleeding heavily.
Rating: ***1/4 Not a great match but one hell of an angle. Looking back, Iizuka was HELPING to distract the ref for Makabe and Yano, and never helped Tenzan when he was double teamed and bleeding buckets. Therefore it makes sense later on, rather than stupid turns in tag matches that happen quite randomly. GBH gets the best of their former leader again, and Tenzan is again left without allies in his quest for revenge.
They play a video showing Muto with the IWGP title in his younger years, and contrasts it with Nakamura beating Kurt Angle to unify the IWGP titles. They show more classic Muto clips along with interview bits from both men. They paint this as the new generation vs. the legend
MASSIVE reaction for Muto. This is Nakamura’s 3rd defense after winning the belt at the Jan. 4th Tokyo Dome show. To the mat they go, with Nakamura alternating between an armbar and a kneebar. Muto shoves him off and takes a break outside. Nakamura kicks him in the arm and keeps working it over on the mat. He hits a Divorce Court and Muto goes outside again. Nakamura dropkicks him in that arm off the apron, goes for a plancha, Muto moves, Nakamura lands on his feet, and Muto dropkicks him in the knee. He then gives Nakamura a mini-Shining Wizard while up against the rail. Dragon Screw against the rail by Muto! Muto catches him going back in and gives him another dragon screw. He gives him another and locks on a figure four. Nakamura makes the ropes but Muto kicks him in the knee repeatedly. Nakamura blocks another figure four and goes for the cross armbreaker at 10 minutes gone.
Muto blocks the full armbreaker but it is still trapped in an armbar with a headscissors. Muto rolls a few times and makes the ropes. Nakamura gives him a few knees but Muto catches him and dragon screws him again. Nakamura springs up and locks on a Triangle Choke! A clothesline by Nakamura gets 2. MOONSAULT by Nakamura! He goes for a second one but Muto moves. He dropkicks the knee again. Another dragon screw into the figure four again. Nakamura makes the ropes. Muto goes for another dragon screw but Nakamura gets an enziguri. Muto messes up by taking a spinning heel kick with his back. Rolling Germans by Nakamura….for 2! Muto fights off another suplex but gets hit with the LANDSLIDE…for 2. Muto comes back with a corner Shining Wizard. Obviously he’s been watching his CM Punk tapes. SHINING WIZARD…BLOCKED, and Nakamura hooks on the cross armbreaker! Muto struggles for over a minute but finally makes the ropes. Muto avoids another Landslide and basement dropkicks Nakamura in the face. He hangs Nakamura on the ropes…HANGMAN’S NECKBREAKER! SHINING WIZARD! Muto up again…REVERSE SHINING WIZARD! SHINING WIZARD #3! But it only gets TWO. Nakamura goes for the Shining Triangle but Muto powerbombs him. SHINING WIZARD #4…for 2. Muto goes up top for the MOONSAULT for the win and the title at 22:34.
Rating: ***1/2 A hot last few minutes, but it’s got a lot of problems that weigh it down. Muto never really sold the arm. He kicked out of the Landslide far too easily. He stalled a lot. Nakamura for the most part looked good by kicking out of 4 Shining Wizards. Unless Nakamura is the one to win the title back from Muto, though, I don’t see the long-term point to this, and it seems like a step backwards.
The 411: I reviewed a NOAH show recently, and this one flowed a lot better in comparison. This was a good show despite not having any must-see matches. You get the blowoff for Inoue vs. Daniels, more awesomeness from the Zero-One feud, GBH vs. Tenzan getting taken to a new level, and Muto recapturing IWGP gold. Best of all, this made me definitely want to see the next big show. Thumbs up!
Glad to see you back!
The difference between NOAH and the rest is NOAH treats it like a sport still while the rest have finally accepted Kayfabe. This gives NOAH great matches but dick all for storylines.
Posted By: Matt (Guest) on May 11, 2008 at 06:28 PM
