San Jose, CA – 1.13.2024

Commentary is provided by Walker Stewart & Veda Scott.

Kickoff Match
Matt Vandagriff vs. Goldy

This match is billed as a “STRONG Survivor Match”, pitting prospects from the NJPW Academy against one another on a bigger, more visible stage. This is the third STRONG Survivor Match, and Vandagriff won the first two. Goldy made their NJPW debut in August during the kickoff of the All Star Jr. Festival USA, defeating Vinny Pacifico. Goldy halted Vandagriff’s attempt to pick up the pace of the bout using Vandagriff’s momentum to slam him on the ring apron. He continued to wear down Vandagriff’s back until Vandagriff used his legs to pull Goldy face first into the corner buckle and then followed up with a tiger feint kick. Goldy came back quickly with a fisherman’s suplex. Vandagriff escaped an Ushigoroshi and landed an enzuigiri before fighting through his hurt back to pull off a 630 Splash for the pin at 6:09. This was another good showing for Vandagriff, but these matches are just too short to really get a significant look at the competitors. I wonder if they have any idea what this STRONG Survivor series will lead to, or if they have any plans to “graduate” people like Vandagriff to the main show. **¼

Kickoff Match
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Viva Van

Van is a recent NJPW Academy trainee and is returning to the U.S. after a couple of dates with Tokyo Joshi Pro. Vaquer returns after unsuccessfully challenging Mayu Iwatani for the IWGP Women’s Title at “Lonestar Shootout.” Vaquer did not like that Van got so close to submitting her with a cross armbreaker, or that she took her down with a headscissors, so Vaquer angrily kicked Van in the back of the head to turn the match into her favor. Vaquer also traps Van in the ropes with a cross armbreaker and steps on her neck while it is on the bottom rope. Van gets her foot up to block a corner attack, only for Vaquer to capture the boot and deliver a dragonscrew leg whip. Van drives her head into Vaquer’s chin to break a chinlock and surprises her with a leg sweep, picking up a nearfall after with a running Meteora. Vaquer kicks out after a top rope dropkick, so Van tries a high crossbody. Vaquer rolls through and locks in a crossface. Van uses the ropes to escape and captures Vaquer in a Tarantula submission. Vaquer shotei’s Van off of the top turnbuckle but misses a double knee strike, allowing Van to pull Vaquer up onto her shoulders. Vaquer digs her fingers into Van’s face to escape and DDT’s her into a victory roll for two. She unleashes a barrage of headbutts to Van and then connects with double knees into the turnbuckle. Vaquer pins Van with a Package Backbreaker for the pin at 9:55. It seemed like Van was going to be more competitive at the beginning, but ultimately the match turned into a showcase for Vaquer. It’s very clear Vaquer should be the next IWGP or STRONG Women’s champion. She checks all the boxes and the fans respond to her. **½

Fred Rosser, Jacob Fatu & Shota Umino vs. Team Filthy (Tom Lawlor, Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson)

Fatu is signed with MLW, and this is his NJPW debut. After Lawlor and Rosser wrestle to a stalemate, Isaacs and Nelson attack Rosser from behind and knock Fatu and Umino off of the apron. Team Filthy beat down Rosser in their corner, though it becomes clear that Lawlor and the West Coast Wrecking Crew aren’t entirely on the same page. This dysfunction gives Rosser the chance to catch Isaacs off guard with a running Death Valley Driver. Fatu tags in and runs roughshod on all of Team Filthy, popping up Lawlor into a Samoan Drop and wiping out Nelson with a suicide dive into the barricades. The crowd goes wild after Fatu dives onto Lawlor and Isaacs on the opposite side of the ring. Umino also cleans house, scoring a nearfall on Lawlor with a fisherman’s suplex. Isaacs saves Lawlor from the Death Rider and Nelson pounces him to the corner. Fatu and Rosser then save Umino from being pinned by a triple powerbomb. Rosser takes out Nelson with a backbreaker on the ring apron and Fatu Cactus clotheslines Lawlor to the floor. Umino and Isaacs fight for their respective finishing moves, with Umino eventually pulling off the Blaze Blade and the Death Rider for the pin at 8:59. The dysfunction in Team Filthy continues when Lawlor accepts Rosser’s post-match handshake despite Isaacs and Nelson refusing to do so. I am interested to see what the future of Team Filthy is, and wonder how Limelight and Kratos fall into the picture. This was a fun match, with Fatu in particular winning over the crowd. I hope this isn’t a one and done appearance for him. The U.S. crowd also took to Umino, which is a very good sign, and him picking up the win was the right call. ***

The major talking point of this match (and perhaps the entire show) was the aftermath of this trio’s bout. Jack Perry, who has not been seen since AEW’s All In event, where he and CM Punk had an altercation backstage, attacked Umino from the crowd. He uses the guardrail to deliver an elevated DDT and cracks Umino with a pumping knee inside of the ring.Perry rips up his AEW contract in the middle of the ring and puts on an armband that has the word “Scapegoat” written on it. I don’t give a hot fuck about any of this AEW stuff, but it clearly got a lot of people talking and interested. Perry vs. Umino should be a good match whenever it happens (likely in Chicago in April), and the story could get even spicier if Moxley, Umino’s mentor, gets involved.

Volador Jr. & Mascara Dorada vs. Rocky Romero & Soberano Jr.

This is a preview match for the upcoming Fantastica Mania tour in February. Volador and Dorada were Romero’s big CMLL rivals in 2023. Volador took Romero’s hair in a Lucha de Apuesta, and Dorada won the CMLL Welterweight title from Romero last month. Soberano Jr. competed the previous two months alongside Atlantis Jr. in the World Tag League. Some of Romero’s Rudo tendencies may have rubbed off on Soberano, as we see him bite Dorada’s hand while he and Romero attempted to keep him at bay in their corner. Dorada and Volador took back control of the contest by sending both opponents into the barricades with stereo topé suicidas. Romero took a page out of Beretta’s book, using a belly-to-back piledriver to take out Volador and tag Soberano back into the match. Soberano took down Dorada with a twisting crossbody and also kicked Dorada out of mid-air when he tried a lionsault. Dorada came back with an impressive electric chair neckbreaker. Dorada uses Romero to pull off a step-up Frankensteiner to Soberano, sending him to the floor and following with a twisting dive. Volador then puts away Romero with a Destroyer for the pin at 11:11. That was one of the cleanest, easy to follow, and fun Lucha showcases we’ve seen from these U.S. shows. It succeeded in making me interested to see Volador and Dorada on the Fantastica Mania tour. It was just a good showcase match with enough character work to get the crowd invested beyond the action. ***

David Finlay vs. TJP

At Wrestle Kingdom nine days ago, TJP won back the IWGP Jr. Tag Titles from the BULLET CLUB War Dogs, and Finlay became the inaugural IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion. This is a non-title match, as Finlay is set to defend his title at the end of February against Nic Nemeth. Before that, though, Finlay and TJP will be across the ring from each other in a ten man tag team steel cage match. TJP attacks Finlay during his entrance, but it’s Finlay who ends up in the driver’s seat by suplexing TJP onto the entrance ramp. Finlay attacks TJP’s back for several minutes, but when he tries throwing TJP to the floor, TJP swings through the ropes and underneath Finlay’s legs. He maneuvers Finlay to the mat and snaps his right shoulder, capitalizing on when he was able to send Finlay shoulder first into the ring post earlier in the contest. TJP also snaps the arm across the top rope when Finlay tries to pull him back into the ring. TJP lands a standing Mama Splash to the floor and also splashes Finlay’s back as Finlay lay across the top rope. The crowd is very into TJP’s facewash kicks, and the springboard DDT he delivers to earn a two count. Finlay scoops up TJP as he runs towards him into a Blue Thunder Bomb. The Irish Curse backbreaker and a spin out backbreaker lead to Finlay delivering a Dominator to TJP for two. TJP developed the ability to use a red mist at Wrestle Kingdom, coming back from the dead after losing a casket match, and he uses that mist to block Finlay from using the shillelagh. TJP then lands the Mamba Splash for two and puts Finlay in a Cobra Stretch. Finlay counters that into a Snake Eyes and clotheslines TJP for a one count. A piledriver only gets Finlay two, so he busts out the Overkill for the pin at 13:07. For a bout that could be seen as a throwaway, these two worked their asses off and put on a very compelling match. Once TJP’s mist came into play, we actually had a hint of doubt that Finlay would come out on top, which is a feat. I thought this over delivered and that both men came out looking very good. ***½

NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship
Guerrillas of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Alex Coughlin & Clark Connors)

The Guerrillas of Destiny have been champions since 10.9.2023 and this is their fourth defense. Coughlin is a former STRONG Openweight Tag champion and Connors is former IWGP Jr. Tag Team champion. They attacked G.O.D. after they successfully defended against The West Coast Wrecking Crew at Lonestar Shootout to set up this bout. They came to the ring in black jeans instead of their usual wrestling gear. Connors chop blocks Hikuleo’s leg, leading to the challengers attacking his left leg to take away his size advantage. They also choke him in the corner and pull ELP to the floor just when Hikuleo is about to tag out. Hikuleo explodes out of the corner with a double clothesline to finally shut down both Connors and Coughlin and tags in Phantasmo. He fights off the challengers, landing a lionsault onto Coughlin and rolling to the apron after to tornado DDT Connors onto the floor. ELP uses a Symbiote DDT on Coughlin and Hikuleo boots him into a Burning Hammer from Phantasmo for two. Coughlin blocks Sudden Death from ELP and German suplexes Hikuleo. He then muscles ELP up into the Dreadnought Driver. Connors Gores Hikuleo, then with Coughlin takes out Hikuleo with Hit & Run (lariat/chop block combo) for two. Coughlin assists Connors with the No Chaser brainbuster, and Hikuleo kicks out of that as well. ELP has to break up the pin after Hikuleo takes the Full Clip. ELP also saves Hikuleo from a spike tombstone piledriver, knee striking Coughlin off of the top turnbuckle and to the floor. ELP hits Sudden Death on Coughlin into the Godsend chokeslam from Hikuleo. Super Thunder Kiss ‘86 gets ELP the pin on Coughlin at 12:06. I discussed how much G.O/D has grown and improved in my review of their Wrestle Kingdom match, and that growth stands out even more when they’re pitting against a less experienced duo. Coughlin and Connors have great chemistry just from the years of training and living together they have, and from being part of the same stable, but they just weren’t as cohesive as the champions. They also managed to make the biggest man in the match come off as an underdog, so kudos for that. Really good stuff from everyone in this contest. ***½

NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship
Giulia vs. Trish Adora

Giulia has been champion since 7.5.2023 and this is her eighth defense. Adora’s Ring of Honor partners, The Infantry of Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean, accompany her to the ring. Giulia failed to turn the opening handshake into a Saito suplex, which showed Giulia exactly what kind of competitor she was dealing with, Adora wore down her left arm, and cleverly managed to counter Giulia’s high angle submission with a Cerebro Lock. She also countered a charge from Giulia into a backbreaker and capitalized on that with more offense to her lower back. Adora rocked the champion with several forearm strikes, but Giulia ducked a clothesline and rolled Adora into a STF. Adora gets to the ropes to escape. She also resists a Northern Lights Bomb and German suplexes Giulia. Giulia gets right to her feet and German suplexes Adora, and Adora then comes back with a second German suplex. She once again goes for a lariat, which Giulia ducks and turns into a Saito suplex. Adora whips Giulia to the mat by her left arm to escape another Northern Lights suplex attempt. After a sit-out full nelson bomb, Adora goes for Cattle Mutilation, though Giulia maneuvers to the ropes before it can be fully applied. Adora powerslams Giulia on the floor. Giulia works her way out of a suplex, sending Adora into the barricades and pulling off a suplex of her own. Back in the ring she pulls off an avalanche butterfly suplex, which Adora kicks out of at one. Giulia ducks a right hand and cracks Adora with one of her own. Giulia then finally delivers the Northern Lights Bomb for the pin at 13:02. This was successful in the same way the Megan Bayne defense was successful, in that Adora was a believable challenger due to her size advantage. While that was a much bigger story in that match, it was utilized effectively here as well, along with Giulia’s naivety of Adora putting the challenger in the driver’s seat for most of the match. The crowd was also very into this. An Adora upset would’ve been awesome, but I will be happy with a rematch as well. ***¾

A video plays on the screen with Mustafa Ali at a press conference, telling us he is bringing his campaign to New Japan Pro Wrestling. He specifically calls out Hiromu Takahashi as an unfit representative for New Japan, and states that the two of them will have a match on April 12th at Windy City Riot. That should be excellent.

TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr. & Bad Dude Tito) vs. The Chosen Bros. (Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle)

This is Riddle’s NJPW debut. He challenged Hiroshi Tanahashi to an NJPW Television Title match via satellite during New Year’s Dash, so this match serves as a warm-up of sorts as he stands across from the previous champion, Sabre Jr. Cobb was a mystery partner for Riddle, which they spoiled by putting up Cobb’s lower third by accident during Riddle’s entrance. They teamed as the Chosen Bros. in 2017 and 2018, and are former PWG World Tag Team champions. Just when it appeared they had Tito isolated, Tito backed Riddle quickly to the corner where Sabre tagged himself in. Sabre Sick Kicked Cobb to the floor from the apron and then nailed Riddle with a running uppercut in the corner. Sabre twists up Riddle’s barefoot as Tito mauls Riddle with strikes. Riddle PK’s Sabre to escape TMDK’s grasp and tags in Cobb, who uses Sabre to knock Tito to the floor. Cobb clobbers Sabre with a diving uppercut into the corner before slamming him. Sabre evades a standing moonsault and uses his feet to twist Cobb’s neck. Sabre counters the Spin Cycle with a crucifix pin, and then takes him down with a tornado DDT. Riddle fallaway kicks Tito to the corner. Tito fights out of an exploder suplex and deadlifts Riddle into a German suplex for two. Sabre gets Cobb into a sleeper hold on the floor as Riddle and Tito fight it out. Tito gets two with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Riddle comes back with a twisting senton block. Sabre counters Riddle’s fallaway kick into an ankle lock. Riddle rolls forward, sending Sabre into Cobb’s arms. Cobb tosses Sabre into a jumping knee strike from Riddle. Tito does his best to fight off both Cobb and Riddle, even firing up from a German suplex from Cobb and a roundhouse kick from Riddle. Ultimately, Riddle scoops him up into the Brostone piledriver to get the pin at 11:45. This was a very solid match that was elevated by the intensity everyone brought. Riddle and Cobb picked up like no time had passed since their last match. Sabre had great chemistry with both opponents, and Tito’s exchanges were very enjoyable. He was clearly the fall man of the match, which is a shame because I think he’s so good and just hasn’t been given a chance to be more than that. I’m not thrilled Riddle’s around, but putting my personal feelings about him being in New Japan aside, this was good. ***½

AEW Continental Crown Championship
Eddie Kingston vs. Gabe Kidd

Kingston has been the Continental Crown Champion since 12.30.2023. This is Kingston’s third defense of the AEW Continental Championship, his tenth defense of the ROH World Championship, and his eleventh defense of the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship. Kidd and Kingston were supposed to wrestle last year at “Collision in Philadelphia.” The match was delayed indefinitely, but Kidd got tired of waiting and attacked Kingston last month at “Lonestar Shootout”, resulting in the match finally being put back on the schedule tonight. Kidd attacks Kingston during his entrance and ends up taking a backdrop onto the floor when he attempts a piledriver. He pulls off a German suplex moments later on a different side of the ring. He pulls Kingston’s shoulder into the ring post thrice before bringing him into the ring to officially start the match. A lengthy chop exchange concludes with Kidd biting Kingston’s forehead, though Kingston quickly comes back with a t-bone suplex. He lights up Kidd with rapid chops in the corner, though Kidd makes Kingston punch drunk with a back elbow and forearm strikes. Kingston ducks a strike and half-nelson suplexes Kidd. He hits a Backfist for two. Kidd counters out of a Northern Lights Bomb with a dragon suplex and drops Kingston with a tombstone piledriver for two. After minutes of striking on the mat, Kidd spits on Kingston three times. Kingston’s eyes go wide before he relentlessly open hand strikes Kidd and knocks him down with a Backfist. The momentum sends Kidd to the floor, and Kidd has to use the ring apron to pull himself up to his feet. He pulls Kingston to the floor where they throw chops at each other. They both dismiss the referee telling them to get back in the ring, so he starts the count as they continue to strike one another. Kingston exploder suplexes Kidd onto the floor. Kingston is about to get in the ring as Kidd grabs a microphone and asks if that’s all he’s got. Kingston turns around and pummels Kidd, and the match is rendered a double count out at 12:06. The two men have to be pulled apart, though they do break away from the officials and staff a few times and strike one another. Alex Coughlin and Clark Connors attack Kingston from behind just as he is about to clobber Kidd with the AEW Continental title, and instead, Kidd lays out Kingston by giving him a piledriver onto the title. As a set up match, this was great. It was suitably violent without going overboard, involved two people you can believe would lose themselves in a skirmish where the rules would get away from them, and the crowd has a genuine desire to see them wrestle again. I do wonder if this result was the plan all along, or if this Continental Crown situation muddied things up. Either way, this was successful. ***½

No Disqualification Match
Jon Moxley vs. Shingo Takagi

Takagi made this challenge to Moxley backstage at “New Years Dash” on January 5th.Moxley defeated Takagi in their only other singles match during the G1 Climax in 2019. I can’t help but think “KAMIKAZE USA EXPLODES!” watching this. Believe it or not, Takagi is the first one to be busted open in this match, courtesy of a trash can lid being smashed across his forehead. I almost puke when Moxley digs a broken kendo stick in Takagi’s mouth and eye at the same time. Takagi is able to take control with a lariat, but that is short lived due to Moxley biting Takagi’s open wound. Takagi gives Moxley a taste of his own medicine by blasting him in the forehead with the trashcan lid to cut off Moxley’s suicide dive attempt. This also busts open Moxley, and the two men engage in a headbutt battle back in the ring. Moxley ends their strike exchange with a Death Rider, with Takagi able to connect with a Sliding D afterwards before collapsing. Takagi uses a chain to knock down Moxley and then sets up a table ringside. Unfortunately, Moxley choked out Takagi with the same chain and then put him through the table with an elbow drop off of the top turnbuckle. Moxley sets up another table in the ring, and Takagi surprises him with green mist after Moxley has ascended to the top turnbuckle. Takagi then proceeds to put him through the table with a super Last Falconry. A Pumping Bomber and Takagi Driver only get him a two count, as does a Made In Japan onto a steel chair. Moxley cuts him off with a jump-up Ace Crusher. He curb stomps Takagi before giving him the Death Rider. The crowd explodes when Takagi gets his shoulder up just before the three count. Moxley almost has Takagi passed out with a rear-naked choke, but Takagi fires up and lifts Moxley up into a Bloodfall position. Moxley escapes and lands a knee trembler, but only gets a one count. Moxley King Kong lariats Takagi before giving him a Death Rider on a propped up chair for the pin at 26:16. The only downside to this match for me was the amount of dead time between moments. They were pretty creative with the usage of weapons and didn’t delve too deep into gore territory.. Takagi using mist is something I haven’t seen before, and I wonder what resulted in him deciding to do so. I think the strength of this match is how much the crowd was into the nearfalls, especially the moment when Takagi got his shoulder up right before the three count after taking the first Death Rider. After that happened, it made perfect sense for Moxley to add a chair and try the Death Rider again to keep Shingo down for good. This was a really strong performance for both competitors, and I hope Shingo becomes a staple of the U.S. shows after this. ****

After the match, Moxley says there is only one name on his mind: Tetsuya Naito. Moxley says the time has come. A singles match between the two of them would later be confirmed for Windy City Riot on April 12th.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay challenged Okada to this match just before Wrestle Kingdom, wanting to prove he could defeat Okada outside of a tournament setting in a big match. Ospreay will be heading to AEW in February, making this his last opportunity to do so. Shortly after this show, we learned Okada would also be exiting New Japan, so they may have the chance to wrestle again sooner than we think. In singles matches Okada has won 7 of their 9 singles bouts, although Ospreay won their most recent match during the G1 Climax in July. Okada is also responsible for bringing Ospreay into New Japan back in 2015, after being impressed by Ospreay during their first singles match in Rev Pro in 2015.

At the five minute mark, Okada DDT’s Ospreay on the floor after evading a pescado. He then uses the apron for an elevated DDT to the floor. In the ring, when Okada attempts a DDT, Ospreay counters into a suplex. He sends Okada back to the floor with a back handspring kick and connects with the pescado this time around. He connects with Pip Pip Cheerio at the ten minute mark for a two count. Okada utilizes a kneeling Air Raid Crash before applying the Money Clip, doing more damage to Ospreay’s neck. Ospreay escapes, but Okada gets his knees up to block a running shooting star press and takes him down with a dropkick. Ospreay escapes a tombstone and delivers two hook kicks before landing the OsCutter for two. Okada shotgun dropkicks Ospreay after moving out of the way out twisting dive. He puts down Ospreay with a tombstone on the floor. In the ring, Okada lands a super elbow drop before calling for the Rainmaker. Ospreay escapes at first, but Okada is able to try again when he catches his OsCutter attempt. Ospreay counters the Rainmaker with a standing Spanish Fly for two. Okada comes back with the Landslide and goes for the Rainmaker again. This time, Ospreay ducks and sunset flips Okada, pulling him up into the Styles Clash for two. Okada surprises Ospreay with a StormBreaker, and after that he is able to successfully pull off the Rainmaker. Ospreay gets his shoulder up, shocking Okada. Okada is also surprised to hear support from the fans for Ospreay as he pulls him up to his feet. Okada goes for a dropkick, and Ospreay cuts him off mid-air into a sit-out powerbomb. They exchange strikes, ending with a running back elbow from Ospreay after ducking a clothesline. He knocks down Okada with his own Rainmaker for two, and then gets yet another two count with the StormBreaker. Okada halts a Hidden Blade attempt with a dropkick, then pulls up Ospreay into a slam when he charges again. Okada holds onto Ospreay’s wrist, despite Ospreay striking him to avoid a Rainmaker. Okada clotheslines Ospreay twice, resulting in Ospreay dropping to his knees in exhaustion. He decides to drop Ospreay with a kneeling slam before pulling him into the Rainmaker for the pin at 28:34. This was about as good of an Okada vs Ospreay match you could get without any stakes. Okada working over Ospreay’s neck was effective and Okada seemed to have no problem playing into the fact that the crowd was at least partially against him. Like many New Japan main events, this went long for no reason other than to try and be more epic, and it did not work for me. It mostly just resulted in repetitiveness. The move stealing didn’t work as well here as it did in more meaningful matches (see Ospreay vs. Omega), but it did work in that it just so happens that the moves Okada stole from Ospreay were still neck-focused. Even if it paled in comparison to some of their better bouts, I’m glad we got to see this one last time in a New Japan ring, and I think fans of either wrestler will enjoy this. ****

Okada and Osperay embrace after the match. Their show of gratitude was interrupted by the BULLET CLUB War Dogs of Gabe Kidd, Alex Coughlin and Clark Connors. The leader of the War Dogs, David Finlay, sneaks in from the other side of the ring and cracks Okada with his shillelagh. Kidd, Coughlin, and Connors then ambush Ospreay. United Empire members Jeff Cobb and TJP, along with Eddie Kingston finally come to Ospreay’s rescue just as Finlay is about to crack him with a shillelagh. They clean house, sending the BCWD retreating to the back. Ospreay tells Kingston he “owes him one.” He also tells Finlay that he will take care of him and the War Dogs in Osaka in the upcoming 5 vs. 5 Steel Cage match between the BCWD and United Empire. Ospreay says he grew a lot and learned a lot about himself in the eight years he was in New Japan, and is thankful they gave him the room to do so. He also calls Okada the greatest wrestler ever. He is grateful to wrestle his last singles match for New Japan in San Jose. He also notes that the U.S. will be his home for the next few years and that they will get to know each other very well. Before this chapter closes, he will be in the first steel cage match in front of fans in New Japan, and will bury the piss ant BULLET CLUB in Osaka on February 11th. Ospreay, Cobb, and TJP pose to end the show.

This was a very good, well rounded show overall that is worth your time. I very much appreciate that this show had implications for New Japan at home, and also built a lot for the next U.S. show in April.