Tokyo, Japan – 7.5.2023

Commentary is provided by Ian Riccaboni & Chris Charlton.

Kickoff Match
Six or Nine (Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato) & Oleg Boltin vs. Dragon Libre, Rekka & Takahiro Katori

Taguchi squared off with Libre and Katori in a six man tag during yesterday’s kickoff, where Taguchi stole Katori’s stuffed bunny rabbit which he had shoved down the front of his pants. That same bunny gets passed around to his partners as they simultaneously wear down and taunt Katori in their corner, who seems aimless without his companion. Katori finally recovers his bunny from Taguchi, which gives him the energy to take down with an enzuigiri and tag out to Libre. He runs wild until Taguchi’s hip attack finally connects. Rekka wrecks Wato with a one-legged dropkick in the corner and nails him with a flying shotgun dropkick for two. Taguchi then saves Wato from being pinned after taking a triple dropkick from the FREEDOMS juniors. Wato rolls his way out of Rekka’s Inferno finisher and delivers a leg lariat. Wato spikes Rekka with Recientemente and then pins him with the Tsutenkaku German suplex at 11:37. Another solid outing for the FREEDOMS juniors, especially Rekka who reminded me a lot of a younger YAMATO. The crowd appreciated the bunny humor, and again, I like a match with levity up top when you’ve got a bloodbath coming later in the night. **½

Satoshi Kojima vs. Oskar Leube

Kojima replaces JR Kratos, who was removed from the match due to a head wound he sustained in yesterday’s six man tag. Leube starts strong with a shoulder block, but Kojima gives him one right back and lights him up with rapid fire chops in the corner. Leube halts Kojima’s corner fire up and gets him in the Boston Crab after multiple forearm strikes in the corner. Kojima uses the ropes to escape but is slammed back down for two. Kojima delivers the Koji Cutter and the lariat to pin Leube at 5:23. This was your garden variety Young Lions match, where they got in a couple hope spots but are otherwise gobbled up by the veteran. The crowd were happy to see Kojima as the replacement, and he continues his streak of winning his singles matches with lariats intact. Leube’s output was perfectly cromulent. *½

Homicide & Ryohei Oiwa vs. Catch 2/2 (TJP & Francesco Akira)

It was interesting to learn that this is the first time Homicide and TJP have been in a match together where TJP was not under a mask. Oiwa got to showcase his strength, even scoring a nearfall with a bridging gutwrench suplex to Akira. Homicide looked to help Oiwa, but TJP bandera’d him to the apron and Akira dropkicked him to the floor. Catch 2/2 alley-ooped Oiwa for a two count, and then delivered the 2×2 for the pin at 12:09. The match was competent, and got Catch 2/2 back on the right track after losing their Junior tag titles last night. Not much more to say than that. **½

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) vs. CHAOS (Rocky Romero & YOH)

Connors & Moloney have been champions since 7.4.2023 and this is their first defense. Rocky challenged the new champions to make this a title match before the bell. The War Dogs at first aren’t game for it due to being hungover from their celebration last night, but then say F it and the change is made. Even though they jump CHAOS before the bell, YOH and Romero actually come out on top of a pre-match brawl around ringside. Connors strikes YOH to Moloney who is waiting on the apron with another strike, and the War Dogs beat down YOH in their corner. YOH takes down Moloney with a dragonscrew leg whip and dropkicks Connors to make the opening to tag out to Romero. He headscissors both of them before battering them with forever clotheslines. Moloney escapes a 3K, and Connors Pounces YOH before he and Moloney deliver a chop block/Gore combo. YOH saves Romero from the Full Flip and assists him with a super Shiranui on Moloney, which Connors breaks up from the floor. Romero and YOH pull off 3K on Connors, and this time Moloney saves him from being pinned. YOH accidentally superkicks Romero. Connors takes out YOH with No Chaser. Romero tries to clean up with a Shiranui, but Connors catches him and passes him off to Moloney for the Drilla Killa. The Full Clip then gets the War Dogs the pin on Romero at 12:05. CHAOS were just the right pair of decorated juniors for the War Dogs to defeat to give them instant credibility as champions. It will probably be awhile until we see the titles defended again, and the crowd was hyped for the surprise, so it was a win all around. It’s crazy how good Moloney and Connors are as a tandem already. ***¼

Alex Zayne & Lance Archer vs. TMDK (Bad Dude Tito & Kosei Fujita)

Archer declared himself and Zayne as “Monster Sauce”, but I suggest “Tex Mex Monsters” as an alternate name. Tito and Archer throw heavy hands to start. Tito prevents Zayne from tagging out when he takes down Fujita with a rolling clothesline, and also knocks Archer off the apron. TMDK keeps Zayne trapped, and perhaps unwisely taunts Archer while doing so. Tito flips out of a back suplex attempt from Tito and knocks him down with a pump kick, and Archer unleashes body blocks and repeated running back elbows onto both TMDK members when he enters the ring. Archer chokeslams Zayne into a moonsault on Fujita. Zayne then tries to take out Tito with a pescado, but Tito catches Zayne and drops him on the barricade! Tito then exploder suplexes Archer into a pin from Fujita, which Zayne jumps in just in time to break up. Zayne takes down Fujita with a rolling heel kick on the top turnbuckle. Archer Boss Man Slams Tito as he enters the ring. Zayne guillotine legdrops Fujita, and Archer takes him down with a lariat for the pin at 9:31. With them teaming on back to back nights, and Archer introducing him and Zayne as Monster Sauce to the crowd after the match, I’m curious how far this Archer and Zayne alliance will continue after this. I could see them as an outside team in World Tag League, or some undercard STRONG tag matches. They’re off to a good start, but I think more work is to be done if they are to become more cohesive. I was hoping for more Fujita and Archer interaction, but overall this was fine. **½

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & The DKC vs. Team Filthy (Tom Lawlor, Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson)

JR Kratos joins commentary for this bout. Lawlor and Nelson double Hot Shot DKC to stop his offensive reign. Isaacs then does a full lap around the ring with DKC in a vertical hold before suplexing him onto the floor. Lawlor and Nelson meanwhile double suplex Tanahashi inside of the ring. Team Filthy takes pleasure in pummeling DKC in their corner, especially when an impressive Pounce from Nelson sends him to the apron. Tanahashi’s attempt to save DKC from a knee bar also fails. DKC ducks a corner attack from Nelson and sends a charging Lawlor to the floor, and then karate kicks Nelson before tagging out to Ishii. Isaacs impressively matches Ishii’s strength and knocks him down with a diving shoulder tackle off of the middle rope. He also knocks Ishii down to his knees with a rolling elbow. They dizzy each other with German suplexes and lariats, knocking them both down to the mat. Nelson suicides dives Tanahashi into the barricades, and Lawlor assists Isaacs with a Falcon Arrow on Tanahashi. DKC re-enters the match to break up the pin. He gets pitched back out, and Isaacs cracks Tanahashi with a knee trembler for two. Tanahashi shoves Isaacs into Nelson, and then into Lawlor when he tries to interfere. Ishii holds onto Lawlor while Tanahashi small packages Isaacs for the pin at 13:10. I am pleased Team Filthy had such a strong showing, especially Isaacs who truly looked dominant in the ring against two NJPW stalwarts. A win for them felt like a natural way to get a future NEVER Six Man Tag match on the books, but it was not to be, and I’m not quite sure why. Regardless, I think Team Filthy proved their worth this weekend, and would certainly fit in seamlessly to any New Japan tour. ***

NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship
Willow Nightingale vs. Giulia

Willow has been champion since 5.21.2023 and this is her third defense. Giulia made a comment about Willow being a “big girl” in the post-match comments yesterday, and Willow used that size advantage to neutralize Giulia’s early offense. She fails to slam Willow, with Willow falling on top of her for a two count. Giulia scores with a DDT when Willow attempts to break her guillotine choke with a suplex. Willow comes back with a Pounce and a cannonball senton in the corner before dropping Giulia with a running Death Valley Driver for two. Giulia is able to block the Babe With The Powerbomb with a jackknife pin attempt, but Willow rolls through and muscles Giulia up into a buckle bomb! Giulia rolls out of the way of a moonsault and headscissors Willow into a modified Bianca, and even though Willow escapes, she was worn down enough in the submission for Giulia to pull off a hammerlock brainbuster. Giulia staggers Willows with open hand strikes. Willow responded with a pair of lariats for a two count. She tries the Babe With The Powerbomb, and this time Giulia counters with a Yoshi Tonic. Giulia follows Willow to the top turnbuckle and brings her down with a super fisherwoman’s buster. Incredibly, Willow kicks out, but she’s so worn out that she falls forward when going for a lariat. Giulia knees Willow in the face before dropping her with a Northern Lights Bomb for the pin and the title at 13:29. I had a bad feeling that Giulia would walk right through Willow, so to see Willow treated as a legitimate obstacle for one of the top Joshi stars today made me really happy. The story of Giulia having to work hard to combat the larger opponent was told well, with her ability to do more to Willow as the match wore on and the champion was more worn down. I am sad to see Willow’s title reign end, but if rumors are to be believed, she was never going to be champion to begin with, so I’ll be happy with what we got. Hopefully it means she’s on to big things in TK land, and that Giulia will finally come to the U.S. ***½

IWGP Tag Team Championship
Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Alex Coughlin & Gabe Kidd)

Bishamon have been champions since 6.4.2023 and this is their first defense. Yesterday, the War Dogs defeated Bishamon and took their STRONG Openweight Tag Team Titles. This time, Bishamon was ready for their pre-match attack, and ended up getting the better of Kidd and Coughlin on the floor by throwing them into the barricades. War Dogs turn things around, with Kidd using a chair on YOSHI-HASHI in the crowd as Coughlin chokes Goto on the bottom rope. Coughlin tosses Goto around as Kidd keeps YOSHI-HASHI on the floor. Goto knocks down Coughlin with a rolling clothesline and finally tags in YOSHI-HASHI, who blisters Kidd with a chop before dropping him with a neckbreaker. Like yesterday’s match, Coughlin surprises YOSHI-HASHI with a chair shot from the floor. Kidd ribs of Goto so he and Coughlin can deliver a double Muscle Buster to YOSHI-HASHI for two. They set him up for the Highjack Piledriver, but Goto knocks Coughlin off of the top turnbuckle. Kidd uses YOSHI-HASHI to knock Goto to the floor, Kidd bites YOSHI-HASHI to end a chop exchange. YOSHI-HASHI then knocks him down with a double overhand chop. Kidd blocks the Violent Flash but is superkicked by YOSHI-HASHI. YOSHI-HASHI also superkicks Coughlin into a Death Valley Driver from Goto on Kidd. Bishamon successfully pulls off Shoto on Kidd for the pin at 11:29. So this back-to-back title scenario went exactly as expected – The War Dogs walked away with the STRONG titles, and Bishamon kept the IWGP Tag Titles. It’s the right choice given logistics and I think the way it was executed was logical and satisfying. Bishamon were better prepared for the War Dogs tactics this time around, not to mention them being a more experienced team meant they would be more dominant in a relatively fair fight. This was a very good follow up to the match the night before, though I did prefer last night’s affair slightly more. ***¼

NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship
KENTA vs. Eddie Kingston

KENTA has been champion since 5.21.2023 and this is his first defense. Kingston is nursing his right elbow, which is bandaged up. KENTA angers Kingston with an open hand strike, and even though he is able to bait him into a few stomps on the mat, Kingston comes back fairly quickly with a butterfly suplex. Kingston accidentally chops the ring post with his right arm, and KENTA quickly targets that arm by twisting it up in the barricade and backing Kingston into it while in a hammerlock. He attacks the arm back in the ring until Kingston shuts him down with a pair of chops to the neck and a t-bone suplex. Kingston Saito suplexes KENTA, but the pain in his elbow renders him temporarily inert. KENTA pulls down the referee to escape a sleeper hold. He uses a BULLET CLUB shirt to frame Kingston for choking him and shoves him into the referee. KENTA tries to clobber Kingston with the STRONG title, but Kingston stops him with a knee to the gut. Kingston considers using the title himself, but instead gives it back to the timekeeper. KENTA pulls out his DEFY Championship while Kingston is doing so and cracks him with it when he turns around. He wakes up the referee before landing a top rope double stomp, but Kingston is able to kick out from the follow-up pin! Kingston blocks a Go 2 Sleep and pulls KENTA down into the Stretch Plum. KENTA scoots his way to the ropes to escape. He chops down Kingston with multiple open hand shots to the face. KENTA cracks him with a Busaiku Knee, and a dazed Kingston gets his shoulder up at two. Kingston blocks the Go 2 Sleep and gives KENTA a jumping enzuigiri. Two Backfists to the Future only get Kingston a two count. He takes out KENTA with a lariat for another two count, firing up the champion. Kingston kicks KENTA twice in the head before giving him a Backfist and a 2k1 Bomb for the pin and the title at 13:30. It is interesting that both Kingston and Giulia won their title matches with the same move. As an enormous fan of Kingston and not at all a fan of this iteration of KENTA, this result made me incredibly happy. We did get a flicker of the old, fiery KENTA in the final moments of the match which was nice. Kingston was beloved by the Korakuen crowd and it made his comebacks, especially after getting hit with the title belt, come across all the better. Most importantly, this win came off as an important, career defining moment, just as it did when Rosser won the title last May.Kingto also now heads into the G1 with more credibility as the STRONG champion, and every loss he incurs means a potential new challenger for his title. It’s a beautiful thing. As I said yesterday, KENTA matches have a low ceiling these days, but Kingston got by far the best title match out of either of his reigns. ***½

Final Death Match
El Desperado vs. Jon Moxley

This is a rematch from “Music City Mayhem”, which Moxley won via referee stoppage. Just like in that match, there are barbed wire boards in two corners of the ring, and Desperado brings a guitar and roses to the ring. Desperado sliding to the floor to avoid being sent crashing into one of those barbed wire boards led to him and Moxley brawling around ringside. The Japanese tables live up to their reputation and don’t break from a hip toss, elbow drop, or double sledge from Moxley off of a stage. Moxley does end up putting Desperado through one of the boards first, and also digs Desperado’s broken guitar into his neck. Desperado manages to reverse an Irish whip, sending Moxley crashing through the other board. Not content with that, he places the board wire first onto Moxley’s back and bashes it into him using a chair. Desperado pays tribute to his partner from yesterday, Jun Kasai, who is on commentary, by utilizing his top rope splash. Another board is placed on a table ringside, which Desperado puts both himself and Moxley through with a Russian leg sweep off of the ring apron! When they get back in the ring, Desperado pulls out skewers, and also gives Moxley some. They dig them into one another’s forehead before engaging in a forearm exchange, ending with an Ace Crusher from Moxley. Moxley gets Desperado in the Bulldog Choke, which ended their match last Summer, but Desperado flips off Moxley to show he won’t with it this time. Moxley relents and decides to try the Death Rider, which Desperado counters into a spinebuster. He also blocks a second Ace Crusher and lands Pinche Loco for two. He gives Moxley a Praying Mantis Bomb. He rolls Moxley to his feet and tries Pinche Loco again, but Moxley counters into the Death Rider. Desperado kicks out and the Korakuen crowd roars. Desperado also stands up after a curb stomp from Moxley, but the King Kong lariat and a second Death Rider put him away at 20:33. This was such an improvement over their first match in every way. The level of violence and drama were higher and the crowd was way more invested in the competitors, especially Desperado. For those reasons, this battle felt like a journey for Desperado to get his comeuppance rather than a hardcore match for the sake of spectacle. While Desperado did not win the match, he did leave with the fans’ adoration and Moxley’s respect, which is a win in and of itself. It’s strange that a moment like this, which feels like a moment of elevation for Desperado, won’t be capitalized on eminently since he’s a junior and the G1 Climax is on the horizon. Nevertheless, I am more invested in Desperado now coming out of this match than I was going in, and I already was fairly invested in him. ****

It was not only important for the first pair of STRONG shows in Japan to have great matches, but to also feel important. With four title changes between those shows, as well as the debut of Jun Kasai, that feeling was achieved. I recommend giving both shows a watch, especially the top halves of the events, and hope this becomes an annual (or semi-annual) tradition.