The only wrestling show today with the presentation and star power to rival
WrestleMania is New Japan's yearly opus Wrestle Kingdom. Earlier this month,
the tenth annual event exploded from the Tokyo Dome, feeling like a
continuation of two key storylines from last year's event: the Bullet Club saga
and the rise of the "Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada. I'm a bit late with
this review since I didn't get around to watching the event until this week.
Champions and contenders from America's Ring of Honor promotion came out in
full force, putting Young Lions and NJPW legends alike on notice.
That aforementioned crossover is where my love with this promotion begins.
Nothing in the current pro wrestling landscape makes me quite as happy as the
union between New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor. Both companies stress
in-ring ability over photogenics, forging iron on iron with some of the best
young talent the world of wrestling has to offer. It's no wonder ROH alumni
like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and Seth Rollins go on to such staggering success
by the time they make their way to the 'E. Ring of Honor and NJPW are the
places you go when you want the very best. If this piece on Wrestle Kingdom is
overflowing with gushing praise, it's only because the show is that damn good.
Especially when compared to the tired product the 'E is peddling right now.
The show kicks off with an interpromotional battle royal. Crafty veteran
Jado won the Royal Rumble-like affair, but the breakout star here, in my
opinion, is ROH's own Cheeseburger. The featherweight grappler passes out plush
burgers to kids in the crowd before paying his dues in a ring full of grumpy
older New Japan vets. He takes lickin' and even gets in a little offense of his
own. Cheeseburger has gained a cult following within the ROH community, but
seeing him on this grand a stage doing his thing made the kid seem like the
real deal. He isn't strong, he isn't all that fast, and he's not too smart when
picking his fights, but the Burger Man has heart, and that's the ingredient fans
of New Japan's fighting spirit empathize with.
Following the battle royal, the show begins in earnest with Matt Stryker
from Lucha Underground and Kevin Kelly from Ring of Honor TV at the announce
table. Yoshi Tatsu joins them for some perspective and additional color
commentary, but sadly, he doesn't add much. Maybe it's the language barrier or
maybe he's too timid on the mic, I can't say for sure. I'm not as excited for
this year's announce team as I was last year, as Jim Ross did not return. Of
the nine matches remaining on the card, eight of them are title matches. One of
which will be for the Ring of Honor title! Can you imagine the WWE strap being
defended in a foreign promotion? No, you cannot.
The main show begins with a four-way tag team match for the IWGP Junior
Heavyweight Tag Team titles between the reigning reDRagon, the Young Bucks,
Aerial Dogfight, and RPG Vice. Several of the competitors here were in the same
match last year, and from what I recall, it was a fast and furious affair with
lots of high spots crammed into a ten minute opener. This year, the four way
tag went for a solid fifteen minutes and the parties involved were able to slow
down and build some genuine heat during the match. The Young Bucks' Nick
Jackson and Matt Jackson steal the show with their superkick party antics and
ultimately steal the titles, bringing the gold back to the Bullet Club.
Everyone got their stuff in, and even underappreciated guys like Rocky Romero
got a chance to shine. This seems to be the go-to opener for New Japan PPVs; it
gets the crowd warmed up and acts like a highlight reel of the kind of tag team
action you can get on the regular if you watch ROH weekly.
The first thing you might notice if this is your first New Japan show is
how quickly the action moves along. Whereas a WWE show will cut the action with
backstage segments and other promo bits, the next match at Wrestle Kingdom
begins as soon as the performers from the previous match leave the ring.
There's a never a lull or dull moment to be found. I don't know what a ticket
to Wrestle Kingdom 10 costs, but it's probably the best dollar-to-wrestling
value around. The second thing you might notice is how relatively quiet the
fans are. You hear occasional pops and chants, but for the most part the New
Japan crowds are truly entranced with the in-ring action, so much so that many
matches in the "strong style" (i.e. very physical) create a stunned
silence as fans eagerly anticipate the fates of the wrestlers. There is genuine
suspense and drama. The crowd can buy it as a "real" contest because
the wrestlers themselves make it so. Treat your art seriously--What a concept!
Next up is the introduction of another NJPW concept as well as the awarding
of a new belt: the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship. Yeah, it's a
mouthful, but it's basically a tag team title for teams of three. The NEVER
Openweight division within New Japan is kind of like a "hardcore"
wrestling division. Although not every match results in a blood bath, NEVER
matches are a bit stiffer, and usually involve more less-than-savory tactics.
ROH representatives Jay and Mark Briscoe teamed up with the Santino
Marella-like Toru Yano to face Team Bullet Club, consisting of Bad Luck Fale,
Tama Tongo, and Yujiro Tanahashi. What defines the Bullet Club as villains in
the eyes of New Japan purists is their swagger, and that is on full display
here in the form of Yujiro Tanahashi. With his "Bullet Babe" Shiori
in tow, he struts to the ring in a manner that reminds me of Scott Hall and
Kevin Nash during the glory days of WCW's New World Order. In fact, there are
many parallels between the NWO and the Bullet Club, but that's for another blog
post. This contest was fun to watch, and a great platform for the Briscoes to
do their thing in front of a larger audience. The Briscoes and Yano win the new
belts after a carefully choreographed spot fest involving all of the
competitors' signature moves with a little NEVER openweight edge. Not a bad
match, but not truly memorable, especially with some of the real barn burners
later in the show.
The New Japan crowd gets a taste of the best that Ring of Honor has to
offer with the next contest, a match between reigning champ Jay Lethal and
"Unbreakable" Michael Elgin for the ROH World Title. Elgin is a
former champ himself, albeit briefly. After his short run with the belt, his
"Big Mike" persona began to manifest. Whereas the old Elgin was a
no-nonsense grappler in the vein of Dean Malenko, the new Elgin is bitter,
hungry, and more focused on using power moves to rattle his opponents into
submission. The champ Jay Lethal is a man on a quest to become known as the
greatest first generation wrestler, preaching the word of Truth and heralded by
his manager/advocate Truth Martini. Lethal runs circles around Elgin for a
spell, but eventually Big Mike is able to slow down the pace. In the end,
Lethal marks his NJPW debut with a victory, soundly going over the challenger
and backing up his claims. At this point, Lethal is a dominating figure in ROH
and I wouldn't be surprised to see him chase down some New Japan gold. Maybe
he'll make a run for one of the IWGP belts at next year's Wrestle Kingdom . . ?
The Bullet Club's battle for supremacy continues in the next match: Kenny
Omega vs. Kushida for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Matt Striker
informs us there is a 225 lb. weight limit on competing in the junior division,
so think of this belt like the old WCW/WWE Cruiserweight title. Except, as with
all the titles in New Japan, it's a serious prize to be sought and holding ANY
title in this promotion means you are one of the absolute BEST. No dud belts
here, true believer. This time last year, Kushida was teaming with Alex Shelley
as the Timesplitters, and while that team has parted ways for now, he's still
keeping the Back to the Future-inspired gimmick alive. There's even a guy
cosplaying as Doc Brown who introduces him. Silly stuff like this reminds me of
the more outlandish gimmicks that the indy promotion Chikara employs. His
opponent, Kenny Omega, is a loud-mouthed, arrogant, leather duster and
sunglasses wearing certified prick who lives up to every reverse moral the
Bullet Club stands for. And remember, when talking about a wrestling heel,
words like "arrogant" and "prick" are actually compliments.
This was the first match on the card I was genuinely looking forward too, as
the ascension of Kenny Omega as a singles star, with or without the Bullet
Club, has been fun to watch. He has every tool a good bad guy needs, and they
are all on display here. He does the favors for Kushida though, dropping the
belt after an intense match that saw the champ bully poor Kushida around the
ring, only to have it thrown back in his face by a very game Kushida. Solid
stuff.
Now it's time for the obligatory "hoss fight". Two of the
heaviest teams on the card in terms of pure tonnage, G.B.H. (Great Bash Heel)
and the Bullet Club team of Doc Gallows and "Machine Gun" Karl
Anderson clashed for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles. G.B.H.'s Makabe and
Honma are a couple of NEVER Openweight regulars who care about dishing out pain
and punishment just as much (if not more) as they care about winning titles. Honma is the sillier of the two, specializing in accidental headbutts and other goofy attacks. This time last year, Honmamania was running wild, but now he's a bad guy I guess(?). They're a perfect opponent for Gallows and Anderson, who act as the muscle of
the Bullet Club mafia. Matches like this and Shibata/Ishii match later on pay
homage to the strong style classics of old, mixing stiff shots with displays of
strength. This match is more about who can take the most punishment and is a
far cry from some of the more technical encounters that played out in the last
two matches. This is the second year in a row I've seen Gallows and Anderson
defend the tag titles at Wrestle Kingdom, but this time the challengers come
out on top. As the show goes on, we see the Bullet Club starting to slip. Is
New Japan fighting back? And what of this CHAOS group we're hearing rumblings
about throughout the night? It seems Japan is looking to counter the Bullet
Club by fighting fire with fire. I expect/hope to see a full-on faction war
between the Bullet Club and CHAOS during the year.
The next match isn't for any title, but rather the continuation of feud
stemming from another NJPW event, last year's World Tag League. Hirooki Goto
went one on one with Naito in a solid singles match, build around showcasing
the recent changes to Naito's style and demeanor. Last year, Naito lost against
A.J. Styles and this year he doesn't fare much better, coming up just short
against Goto, even with his comrades Bushi and Evil in his corner. Goto and
Naito were also a part of Ring of Honor's War of the Worlds event last year,
which saw Japanese talent invade American soil to bring the fight to us. Good
match, but I'm not familiar enough with the paths of either man to comment on
where we'll see them next.
Shades of the big man tag match earlier are present in the NEVER Openweight
Title match between Katsuyori Shibata and Tomohiro Ishii. Ishii is a big, bad,
bald man with a penchant for putting on 4 and 5 star matches despite his size
and the slower pace of his offense. What makes his great is his intensity;
there's no doubt in your mind that Ishii and his opponent are struggling. He
creates a big fight atmosphere with his fighting spirit and the Japanese fans
really respond to it. He's a great match for Shibata, a former tag champ and
accomplished mixed martial arts fighter. There's a sequence in this match where
both guys play, "Thank you sir, may I have another" with
flesh-searing kicks to the back, attempting to one-up each other. It gets to be
a bit too much for Ishii, who clearly disrespects and underestimates his
smaller opponent. Shibata takes the NEVER Openweight belt after a grueling
marathon of chops, stiff lariats, and shin kicks.
The battle between New Japan and The Bullet Club came to a head with the
first of two big main events when A.J. Styles took on arguably the hottest
talent in wrestling today, Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental
Title. Styles is a household name, even in the states, thanks to his lengthy
runs with TNA and ROH. Nowadays, he's the scion of the Bullet Club, picking up
where former leader Prince Devitt (that's Finn Balor ya'll) left off. His
finishing move the Styles Clash has resulted in several (kayfabe) broken necks
and he's known for putting Japanese wrestlers on the shelf with injury if the opportunity
presents itself. Most of his matches are structured around the move, with
opponents nervously scrambling to avoid the Clash, only to end up on the
receiving end of one of Styles' thousands of other methods of attack. He can
mat wrestle. He can fly. He can do it all. Nakamura is the fastest rising star
in New Japan's stable, with the exception of Okada. He's a hybridization of Ric
Flair and Freddie Mercury, and if the relatively new IWGP Intercontinental belt
has any value, it's due to his hard work. The self-proclaimed "King of
Strong Style", Nakamura combines the functional with the flashy, wearing
down an opponent mentally with japes and mockery and wearing them down
physically with stomps and stiff forearms.
As an aside, one of my favorite moments from all of wrestling last year was
Nakamura mocking the ROH pre-match handshake at last year's War of the Worlds.
He shakes his opponent's hand, the referee's hand, and then rolls out of the
ring to shake the hands of random fans before getting back in to face his opponent.
This guy's a card, I'm telling ya.
I can easily say the match between Nakamura and Styles is my favorite match
since . . . let's see here . . . oh! It's the best match I've seen since
Nakamura's match at last year's Wrestle Kingdom. But seriously, these two don't
pussyfoot around. It's fast and frantic from bell to bell, with A.J. only
opting to slow things down at one point during the match to build up some heel
heat. Nakamura retains the title, giving New Japan the edge over the Bullet
Club as their leader stands defeated. Both men are rumored to be showing up the
WWE soon, so stay tuned for that I guess. Despite their treatment of KENTA
(Hideo Itami), I'm always a little worried about how foreign talent are booked
and utilized when they go to the 'E. Styles is probably the biggest wrestling
star to never wrestle in a WWE ring since they signed Sting, now that I think
about it.
And finally, there is a passing of the proverbial torch between Hiroshi
Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada. Last year, these two met in the main event for
the IWGP Heavyweight Title as well, but the roles were reversed. Now the
"Rainmaker" Okada is champion and Tanahashi has to make the climb. It
appears he earned this title shot by winning a contract in a briefcase, a la
WWE's Money in the Bank. Tanahashi is embraced like a manga superhero by the
crowd, and when he strikes his signature pose, the Tokyo Dome comes unglued.
Okada literally makes it rain on his way to the ring, as Okada-bucks with his
face on them rain down from the ceiling. He's flanked by his manager Gedo, who
behind the scenes is actually the head booker for New Japan. This match is
wonderfully put together. Spots like Okada's running dive on the outside and
his lariat set-up echo events of last year's match, but with both men bringing
fresh counterattacks to the table. They obviously looked at last year's match
over and over when putting this one together. After a thirty-six minute
high-power slugfest, Okada retains his title, securing his spot as "the
man" in NJPW.
Hmm . . . I didn't think I was going to go on quite that long but hell, if
the WWE would put together a show with that many noteworthy matches I'd write
more about them. The recent resurgence New Japan has found thanks to streaming
PPV's and English commentary has made the product accessible to a slew of new
fans. And if you've found the current WWE product lacking, look no further than
NJPW or Ring of Honor.
All right, my head hurts from making all these words appear on the
computer. Thanks for reading, as always, and follow me on Twitter @ChrisBComics
for more rasslin' and whatnot.
