IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Jon Moxley vs. Powerhouse Hobbs
AEW Dynamite #238 – Jacksonville, FL – 4.24.2024

Moxley has been champion since 4.12.2024 and this is his first defense. Don Callis, Hobbs’ manager, joins commentary for the bout. Moxley and Hobbs had a match signed for this event, and Moxley decided to put the IWGP title on the line because he’s a fighting champion or whatever. This was not very good. Without watching it, you could likely handwave that because Hobbs suffered an ankle injury, but the truth is the match was not very good before that. It was unusually low energy for both competitors. They had a lethargic walk and brawl in the crowd, Hobbs attacked Moxley’s back to very little response, and even the commentators got lost in their rapport. Moxley side stepped Hobbs’ corner attack, with Hobbs landing awkwardly on his knee, resulting in the injury. They did a little bit of striking back in the ring, including Hobbs kicking out of a Paradigm Shift, only for Moxley to make him pass out in a sleeper hold at 10:43. A very weak and disappointing match. That said, this injury presents the opportunity to turn this cold defense into a rematch down the line. *½

TMDK won the STRONG Openweight titles in a four way at Windy City Riot, stealing the pin from ELP after he and Hikuleo had taken down Royce Isaacs. Now, the former champions get a chance to win back their titles in a two-on-two bout.

NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship
TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo)
NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku 2024 Night 7 – Hiroshima, Japan – 4.27.2024

TMDK have been champions since 4.12.2024 and this is their first defense. Jado is in GoD’s corner and Zack Sabre Jr. is in TMDK’s corner. The challengers have the champions number to start. Nicholls escapes a suplex from ELP and sends him to the corner. After ELP knocks Haste off of the apron, he goes for a German suplex on Nicholls, which Nicholls evades. He then spikes ELP with a DDT, and Haste sends him chest first into the barricades. TMDK attack ELP’s chest and back, using the ring apron to aid in their attack. TMDK prevent him from tagging out twice. ELP has to escape two backdrop attempts and roll under a clothesline to finally get in a tag to Hikuleo. The big man wipes out TMDK with big boots and double suplex before assisting ELP with a top rope moonsault onto both Haste and Nicholls on the floor. Back in the ring, Hikuleo boots Haste into a UFO from ELP for two, with Nicholls saving his partner. Hikuleo takes him out with a DDT. Haste avoids Sudden Death, with ELP superkicking Hikuleo by accident. Haste sends him to the floor and gives ELP an inside out suplex for two. TMDK take down ELP with the “Olivia Newton Bomb” (a stacked up powerbomb/superplex) for two. Nicholls angrily follows up with a basement lariat. ELP and Nicholls trade pin attempts, ending with a dropkick from ELP. Hikuleo powerslams Nicholls into a springboard senton/lionsault combo from ELP. Nicholls blocks Sudden Death. ELP escapes a Tank Buster and TMDK descapes a double Godsend. ELP then counters Thunder Valley with a double DDT, enabling ELP to finally hit Sudden Death on Nicholls, followed by Godsend from Hikuleo. The Super Thunder Kiss ‘86 has Nicholls down and out, but Haste shoves ELP onto Hikuleo to break up the pin. Haste turns ELP inside out with a lariat. Hikuleo powerslams Haste and hoists him up for Godsend. Nicholls sneaks in from behind with a schoolboy and pins Hikuleo at 19:46. The first half was well done but a bit slow. They ramped up the energy in the and we had some really fun exchanges between the two teams. I do like that Nicholls once again surprises his opponent with a pinning combination to make it out of the match alive, and with the frustration shown by G.o.D. after the bout combined with the way TMDK won, the rematch at Resurgence was rational. ***½

Ontario, CA – 5.11.2024

Commentary is provided by Ian Riccaboni & Veda Scott.

Kickoff Match
Matt Vandagriff vs. Adrian Quest

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 fifth STRONG Survivor Match, and Vandagriff has won the previous four. Quest isn’t an academy prospect per se, but rather someone who was in the original STRONG era who is looking to find himself back in the mix. In fact, he only had two matches for New Japan in 2023, both of which were large tag bouts, and neither match Quest won. After reaching a stalemate in the opening exchange, Quest takes down Vandagriff with a tumbling crossbody and a dropkick. Vandagriff attempts a sunset bomb off of the apron, but Quest escapes and lands a twisting moonsault off of the top rope. Vandagriff stops Quest as he ascends the cornerback in the ring and takes him down with a tiger feint kick. He gets two with a springboard clothesline. Quest rolls to duck a chest kick and takes down Vandagriff with a low German suplex. Vandagriff retaliates with a standing Spanish Fly for two. Quest kicks Vandagriff to the corner and brings him out with an uppercut. A cazadora bomb gets Quest two. Quest misses a Phoenix Splash and rolls up into a clothesline from Vandagriff. A running knee strike gets Vandagriff the pin at 4:27. Between his attire and the smoothness of his offense, this was the best Vandagriff has looked to date. Establishing his own finisher instead of aping one from famous NJPW names from the past is also wise. Good stuff! **½

Kickoff Match
Mustafa Ali vs. Lio Rush

This is Rush’s first New Japan match since October 1st of last year. He blindsides the arrogant Ali with a double back handspring kick when Ali is about to enter the ring. Rush picks up the pace in the ring, sending Ali back outside and sending him crashing into the barricades with three suicide dives. Ali halts Rush’s corner punches by pulling him down into a flapjack. Ali then gets two with a backbreaker and jackhammer. Rush comes back with a headscissors that sends Ali head first into the corner. A tornado enzuigiri leads to a Rush Hour attempt, which Ali catches and turns into a backbreaker. To Ali’s shock, his subsequent 450 Splash only earns a two count. Rush evades a second splash and takes down Ali with a running Spanish Fly. Upon kicking out, Ali locks on a Koji Clutch. Rush pushes Ali onto his shoulders to escape. Ali maneuvers Rush into a sharpshooter. Rush escapes and roundhouse kicks Ali. He successfully delivers the Rush Hour and then the Final Hour for two. Rush immediately spikes Ali with a reverse Frankensteiner, but only gets two again. Ali rolls across the ring to avoid another Final Hour frog splash. Rush comes after Ali, and although Rush avoided getting his face planted into the turnbuckle, Ali hooked him in a backslide and placed his feet on the ropes to pin Rush at 6:27. They wrestled this likr a pre-show match, as it was mostly a display of Rush’s usual offense and some character work from Ali. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t really anything either until the finish and post-match angle to build to another match, which I guess isn’t the worst use of a kickoff match. Just don’t go into this expecting what you would hope from these two if they were let loose. **½

After the match, Rush shoves Ali when he won’t shake his hand, obviously unhappy with the shortcut Ali took to beat him. Ali attacks Rush from behind with a forearm to the head and then stomps him down in the corner. The lights go out, and when they come back on, black goo is coming out of Rush’s mouth as he cackles at Ali. Ian Riccaboni declares that “The Blackheart” is here. So we have this and TJP’s Aswang character now. This trend sucks.

CHAOS (Rocky Romero & Tomohiro Ishii) & The DKC vs. House of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita & Jack Perry)

The HoT toy with Romero in their corner, so Romero has some fun toying with Perry, kneeling down and slapping him after revving up for something seemingly more intense. Perry cuts off DKC with a back elbow, and Narita and EVIL knock CHAOS to the floor so they can keep the younger member of their trio trapped in their corner. Narita uses his push-up bar and a chair behind the referee’s back, resulting in Romero jumping in to save DKC and getting pitched back out for his troubles. DKC takes down Narita with a roundhouse kick and pump kicks him in the throat before tagging in Ishii, who not only takes down Narita, but EVIL and Perry when they attempt to interject. Narita slips out of Ishi’s brainbuster attempt and tries for an Octopus Stretch. Ishii hip tosses his way free, but EVIL knees him in the back when he hits the ropes and Narita drives him into the mat with a falling knee drop. Ishii tags in Romero after suplexing EVIL, who lights up the former IWGP Champion with forever clotheslines. EVIL rakes Romero’s eyes and sends him to the corner. Narita rips the corner pad off as Romero comes in, resulting in him crashing against exposed buckles. DKC kicks Narita to the floor after Romero ducks a pull-up bar strike. DKC also kick flip sentons onto Perry and takes out both Narita and Perry with a pescado. Romero scores a nearfall on EVIL with a Shiranui. When he goes for a second, EVIL escapes. He turns Romero inside out with a clothesline before dropping him with Darkness Falls for two. Everything Is EVIL (STO) gets EVIL the pin at 11:29. This was far more tolerable than most HoT matches in Japan. The cheating was organically incorporated into the match and not overdone. The crowd was also hot, especially for Romero. DKC looked very polished, and I’d like to see more from him soon, as he’s been listless since the Jr. Tag League in October. I was also surprised how little Perry did in this match. Fun opener. ***

Dirty Work (Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor) vs. The West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs)

I don’t think Rosser and Lawlor’s team name was inspired by the best film of 1998, or the only good Austin Mahone song. WCWC officially left Team Filthy by attacking Lawlor last month and shaving his head, just like Team Filthy did with Fred Rosser years ago. The teams brawl around ringside to start the match. Rosser leaves Nelson laying in the crowd after giving him a backbreaker on the apron. Lawlor ties his shirt around Isaacs’ throat and tosses him around the ring. Dirty Work double team Isaacs until Nelson makes his way back in from the crowd. Nelson clotheslines Rosser from the apron after Isaacs gives him a Hot Shot and then Pounces Lawlor across the ring. Rosser is beat down by the WCWC until Rosser surprises Nelson with a superplex when Nelson ascends the ropes for an elbow drop. Lawlor tags in and fights off both Isaacs and Nelson, earning a nearcount on Isaacs with a Kamigoye. Nelson sends him head first into the barricades. The WCWC gets two on Rosser with their Dominator/neckbreaker combo, Rosser takes them out with a double clothesline. He takes out Isaacs with a running kneeling slam. Lawlor and Rosser nail Nelson with double rolling forearms before Rosser tosses him to Lawlor for a Gut Check. Rosser then knee strikes Nelson into a rear naked choke from Lawlor. Rosser puts Isaacs in the chickenwing to keep him away, but Isaacs hoists Rosser up onto his back and falls onto Lawlor and Nelson to break up the submission. Nelson slingshots Rosser into a powerslam from Isaacs. A piledriver from Isaacs and top rope elbow drop from Nelson on Lawlor got the WCWC the pin at 11:54. This was less intense and engaging than I was hoping for. Lawlor and Rosser just aren’t fully competent as a tandem yet, and the action got sloppy at inopportune times. WCWC looked fantastic, though, and I am still waiting for them to get their due in New Japan proper. I may be waiting for Godot. **¾

NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship
TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo)

TMDK have been champions since 4.12.2024 and this is their second defense. TMDK snuck out the win in their STRONG Title victory, and then in the first defense against G.o.D a couple of weeks earlier. The challengers get the better of Nicholls to start. TMDK double drop toe hold Hikuleo into a fist drop/senton combo for two. One overhand chop knocks down Haste like a tree. Nicholls grabs ELP’s foot when he hits the ropes, tripping him into a basement dropkick to the head from Haste. Nicholls then DDT’s ELP from the apron and to the floor. ELP escapes their grasp and tags in Hikuleo, who wipes out both of TMDK with a double clothesline. Hikuleo slams Nicholls into a springboard Swanton/lionsault combo from ELP for two. Nicholls blocks Sudden Death from ELP and strikes him down. TMDK pummel Hikuleo before giving him a neckbreaker/backdrop combo. ELP is Power Bottomed for two. ELP escapes the Tank Buster at first, but succumbs to it after a basement lariat from Nicholls, with Hikuleo jumping in to save him from being pinned. Hikuleo evades Thunder Valley and powerslams Nicholls. He hoists him up into Godsend. When he escapes, ELP sends him to the floor with Sudden Death. Hikuleo turns Haste inside out with a clothesline and ELP suicide dives onto Nicholls. Hikuleo drops Nicholls with Godsend before assisting ELP with Thunder Kiss ‘86, giving G.o.D. the win and the titles at 10:17. I’m a bit disappointed TMDK’s run as champions didn’t last longer, but if it means moving onto the IWGP titles, I will take it. As for this match, it was good, and had a hot ending, but it did feel like a retread of their Dontaku tour match. I get it, most people who watched this show didn’t see that match, but I did! This was just a notch below that bout. ***¼

NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Alex Windsor

Vaquer has been champion since 3.10.2024 and this is her second defense. Windsor challenged Vaquer to this match at Windy City Riot. Vaquer stomps on Windsor’s hand during their exchange. Windsor kicks Vaquer in the shoulder after knocking her down with a shoulder block. Windsor yanks Vaquer off of the middle turnbuckle and kicks her in the shoulder blades twice. She holds Vaquer in a cravate and throws knees at her face in the process. Vaquer Judo throws Windsor. Windsor is mindful of Vaquer stomping on her hand this time, avoiding a second stomp and delivering a savate kick. She skullf*cks Windsor after for a two count. Although Windsor is superkicked in the throat, she manages to take down Vaquer with a clothesline after, leaving both competitors laying. Windsor lays Vaquer on the middle rope and comes off of the turnbuckle with a dropkick to the side of the head for two. Vaquer counters a back suplex with Sole Food and then hoists Windsor up into a back suplex for two. Windsor clobbers Vaquer with clotheslines into the ropes twice before giving her a modified back suplex for two. Vaquer grabs the rope to escape a sharpshooter. She surprises Windsor with a jawbreaker and superkick. Windsor headbutts Vaquer in the chin after escaping a package piledriver and knocks her down with a rolling clothesline for two. Vaquer captures Windsor in the corner with a dragonscrew leg whip. After double knees in the corner, Vaquer is able to pull off a Package shoulder breaker for the pin at 10:53. This was a solid match that the crowd wasn’t all that invested in. Truthfully, I don’t think these two had the best chemistry either. Compared to the terrific AZM defense last month, this was bland. Vaquer is much better as an aggressor, so going against another Rudo did not let her shine as brightly as she could. **¾

Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji) vs. BULLET CLUB (David Finlay & KENTA)

This is Tsuji’s first match in the United States. LIJ wears down Finlay to start the match. KENTA trips Naito from the apron and sends him face first into the ring post. He throws some punches at Naito’s head before passing him back to Finlay inside of the ring for a diving uppercut. BULLET CLUB beats down Naito until Naito takes down KENTA with a neckbreaker and gets the room to tag in Tsuji. Tsuji stomps Finlay’s face into the mat. Finlay failed to pin Tsuji with a schoolboy while holding onto his tights, so he instead hits him with a backbreaker onto the knee for two. Tsuji uses a hard overhand chop to end a strike exchange with Finlay. Finlay is superkicked to the ropes and rebounds with a clothesline. Tsuji counters a suplex with one of his own, sending Finlay crashing into the corner. Naito gets in a few shots before Finlay puts him down with a standing Blue Thunder Bomb. KENTA attempts several pinfalls as soon as he tags in and maneuvers Naito into a DDT when those fail. He delivers a diving clothesline when Naito gets back to his feet and gets two with a Falcon Arrow. Tsuji takes out Finlay with a curb stomp and then turns into a boot from KENTA. Naito tornado DDT’s KENTA and pulls him into Esperanza. Tsuji pump knees KENTA into Destino from Naito, getting Naito the pin at 14:45. Between an uninspired Naito and BULLET CLUB going through the motions, this had serious middle of the card house show tag team match energy. Tsuji looked good and got a solid reception from the crowd, but that’s about the only positive from this bore. **¼

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

This is the thirteenth singles match between Tanahashi and Sabre in New Japan. Tanahashi leads the match record with 7 wins to Sabre’s 5, and Tanahashi also won their last singles match (Wrestle Kingdom this past year for the TV Title.) Tanahashi puts his feet on the ropes to escape a grounded straightjacket choke. Sabre catches Tanahashi trying to elbow his way out of the corner. Tanahashi stomps on Sabre’s foot, giving himself the space to pull off a second rope crossbody. Sabre trips Tanahashi to block a neck crank and gives Tanahashi a dragonscrew leg whip. Tanahashi uses the ropes to get to his feet to engage Sabre who kicked him in the chest to toy with him. Tanahashi absorbed a pair of lifters and knocked down Sabre with a running forearm strike. He pulls off the neck crank using his feet this time, and then lands a cannonball senton off the second turnbuckle for two. Sabre goes for an Octopus Stretch to halt Tanahashi’s Sling Blade attempt. Tanahashi reverses and ends up giving Sabre a dragonscrew leg whip of his own. Sabre is able to get Tanahashi into a double shoulder stretch while also applying a kneebar, and then transitions into a STF. Tanahashi scoots to the ropes to escape. Sabre once again chest kicks Tanahashi, and Tanahashi sits up after each one, egging on Sabre to keep coming. Tanahashi grabs his leg, dropkicks out his other knee, and then drops him three consecutive Twist and Shouts. Tanahashi then pulls off the Slingblade for two. Sabre rolls through a High Fly Flow and blasts Tanahashi with a PK. Tanahashi victory rolls out of a Zack Driver, leading to a pin exchange. Tanahashi gets dangerously close to a three. Sabre counters a waistlock from Tanahashi into a European Clutch for two. Sabre takes down Tanahashi with his own Sling Blade, and an offended Tanahashi gets to his feet after only a one count. Sabre steps through a dragonscrew leg whip. He uses his feet to snap Tanahashi’s neck and then drops him with the Zack Driver for the pin at 12:12. THIS is the match I’ve been looking for all night. It was engaging, the transitions were smooth, and they wrestled a match where none of Tanahashi’s weaknesses showed. It helps that they’ve wrestled so many times that they could have a good match with minimal effort by this point. I also like Zack having to bust out the Zack Driver to win a match for the first time in awhile. Zack having a win against Tanahashi under his belt heading into Forbidden Door and G1 season isn’t too bad either. These guys rule. ***¾

NJPW World Television Championship
Jeff Cobb vs. Lance Archer

Cobb has been champion since 5.3.2024 and this is his first defense. This is their third singles match in New Japan, with Cobb winning both previous matches. Archer is back in his American Psycho persona for the night, old theme music and water throwing included. In the first five seconds, Cobb takes down Archer with a standing Spanish Fly. Archer escapes the Tour of the Islands but takes a German suplex and rolls to the floor. Archer mi paso’s Cobb to the floor and then wipes him out on the floor with a cannonball senton from the apron. Archer then chokeslams Cobb onto the ring apron. The fans jeering Archer distract him as he has Cobb hooked for a suplex, and it allows Cobb to turn the suplex in his favor. The trade forearms on their knees and then chops on their feet, ending with Cobb dropping Archer with a uranage and landing a standing moonsault for two. Cobb blocks the EBD Claw, but Archer ripcords him into a swing out slam for two. Archer impressively pulls off the Blackout on the large Cobb, but once again only gets a two count. Archer charges at Cobb in the corner. Cobb catches him in his arms and brings him out with the Spin Cycle for two. Archer drives Cobb into the mat with his boot to cut him off. He then walks across the top rope while holding a grip of Cobb’s left hand. Cobb pulls him down into the Tour of the Islands for the pin at 11:35. Both of these guys are much better pitted against smaller guys, but work totally fine together. A couple of impressive moves punctuated a solid back-and-forth match. When it comes to Archer, I definitely prefer the more charismatic Murderhawk to the stoic, dull American Psycho. ***

After the match, Tomohiro Ishii comes out and challenges Cobb to a TV title match which Cobb accepts. The title match between the two of them would be made for Dominion on June 9th.

Before the match, a vignette airs with HENARE, who has been MIA since incurring an injury during the barbaric cage match between the United Empire and the BULLET CLUB War Dogs in February. He says the NEVER Openweight Champion is his destiny, and that he is coming for whoever holds that title.

NEVER Openweight Championship
Shingo Takagi vs. Yuya Uemura

Takagi has been champion since 4.6.2023 and this is his second defense. Uemura challenged Shingo to a match at All Together on May 6th. Takagi accepted, and after Uemura took the fall in the main event, Takagi told Uemura he needed to do something to stand out, and put his NEVER title on the line. Uemura holds steadfast onto a side headlock for the opening minutes. Takagi does eventually send Uemura to the apron with a jab and DDT’s him onto the floor. Takagi continues attacking Uemura’s neck back in the ring. Uemura reverses a suplex and takes down Takagi with a pair of armdrags and a dropkick. Uemura nurses his neck as he ascends the ropes, and even though Takagi tries to bring him down, Uemura fights him off and successfully lands a high crossbody. Takagi fakes out Uemura with a lariat, resulting in Uemura ducking and making himself vulnerable for a DDT. Takagi uncharacteristically uses a modified Pedigree before whipping Uemura forcefully into the corner. Takagi rocks Uemura with a lariat, lands a falling elbow drop and then folds up Uemura in a powerbomb for two. He transitions into a STF and Uemura uses the ropes to escape. Uemura’s body bounces from a superplex, but still manages to kick out from Takagi’s pin at two. Uemura victory rolls his way out of Made In Japan, so Takagi clotheslines him in the neck. Uemura surprises the champ with a Pele kick to buy some recovery time. Uemura gets in some shots before going for his Deadbolt suplex. Takagi escapes and takes down Uemura with a Death Valley Driver. Uemura worming out of Made In Japan results in Takagi settling for a neckbreaker onto his knee, and that enables him to hit Made In Japan on the second go around for two. When Uemura escapes Last of the Dragon into a sunset position, Takagi uses his feet to twist Uemura’s neck. Takagi headbutts Uemura down into a basement Pumping Bomber. Uemura’’s adrenaline allows him to get to his feet. Uemura is taken down with another Pumping Bomber. Uemura escapes Last of the Dragon again, and this time pulls off the Deadbolt Suplex afterwards for a nearfall. Uemura also gets a nearfall with a frog splash. Takagi fights out of a full nelson. When Uemura rocks him with a forearm, Takagi grabs his hair and lands a headbutt. Uemura responds with a headbutt. Takagi follows him into the ropes with a Pumping Bomber. Uemura stops him on the second go around with an O’Connor roll for two. Takagi falls to the mat with Uemura when he hits another Pumping Bomber and cradles Uemura to get the pin at 21:00. This match was a prime example of Uemura winning in losing. He withstood a ton of damage from Shingo, fought back valiantly, and had the crowd chanting his name and hoping he would pull out a victory. It’s a match that hopefully creates a stronger positive association between Uemura and the U.S. fanbase at large. I was a bit weary when I saw the runtime of the match, but they filled it well, and in the end, both men came out of the match looking good. ****

NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship; No Ropes Last Man Standing Match
Eddie Kingston vs. Gabe Kidd

Kingston has been champion since 7.5.2023 and this is his thirteenth defense. Kingston defeated Kidd all the way back on STRONG #73. They were supposed to face one another in Philadelphia last Spring, but the match was canceled due to Kingston’s injury. A month later, Kidd joined the BULLET CLUB War Dogs. He would get a shot at Kingston at Battle In The Valley, and the match ended in a double count out. Kingston and Kidd would lead teams of four in a No DQ match at Windy City Riot. Kidd’s team won, with Kidd getting the winning pin on Kingston’s mentor Homicide. After the match, Kingston challenged Kidd to a No Ropes Last Man Standing Match, bringing us to tonight. Kensei Abbot performs Kidd’s entrance live. Kidd has also updated his look to include a Kobashi-like entrance robe, which he first wore when he challenged Takagi to the NEVER title two weeks earlier at Wrestling Dontaku.

Kidd rolls to the outside after being mounted and struck by repeated forearms from Kingston, avoiding a knock out call from the referee in the process. Kidd pulls a chair out from under the ring and throws it at Kingston’s head as he sets up to charge at Kidd from inside of the ring. Kidd busts open Kingston with another chair thrown to the head. In the ring, Kidd blasts him in the head with another chair throw, and then in the head with a chain assisted clothesline. Kidd DDT’s an unsteady Kingston, who from his knees then begs Kidd to attack. Kidd obliges by biting his open wound and digging one of the ring post hooks into Kingston’s mouth and face. Kingston is able to send Kidd face first into the ring post, with Kidd falling to the outside after. Kingston pummels and chokes Kidd with the chain he introduced into the bout. Kingston inflicts more damage using a STOP sign and trash can lid. In the ring, Kingston batters Kidd with an actual trash can. Kidd fights out of a half-nelson suplex onto the can and gives Kingston a Saito suplex onto the edge of the can instead. Kidd brings a ladder and a chair wrapped in barbed wire into the ring and gives Kingston a piledriver onto the chair. Kidd places the chair onto two other chairs. Kingston escapes a suplex and lights up Kidd with chops. Kingston throws Kidd face first onto the barbed wire chair, and then double stomps Kidd’s ribs onto it. After taking a Saito suplex, Kidd makes it to his feet long enough to make the referee’s count. Out of frustration, Kingston props up a table between the ring apron and the guardrail. He backfists Kidd when Kidd tries to fight back. He backfists Kidd a second time, and when the referee reaches a nine count, Kingston stops him. Kingston then pulls a pair of military grade handcuffs from under the ring. He places one cuff on his own wrist, and the other on Kidd’s wrist. It backfires on Kingston, as Kidd chokes Kingston with the chain and suplexes Kinigston through the table he set up. Kingston’s leg hits the guardrail as well. Kidd makes it to his feet by the ten count, but Kingston does not, making Kidd the winner and the new STRONG Champion at 20:19. Kingston’s emotional volatility makes him his own worst enemy, and that’s what we saw in this match. He had the match won but decided that taking out his frustrations on Kidd was more important, and because of it, he came out of the match titleless and injured. The match was appropriately brutal without going overboard and the crowd was into all of it. This will best be remembered for what happens after the bell, but the actual match itself should not be overlooked. ***¾

David Finlay and Kensei Abbot celebrate the victory with Kidd before heading backstage. Kingston meanwhile is borderline motionless and being checked on by staff. Kingston ends up crawling back into the ring on his fists. Jack Perry walks down the ramp and stares at Kingston. Kingston eggs Perry on as he slowly makes his way to his feet. From behind, The Young Bucks attack Kingston from behind and Perry joins in on the beatdown. It is their first time in a New Japan ring since Wrestle Kingdom 13 in 2019. Matthew Jackson calls Kingston an idiot for picking a fight with them on Wednesday night and then showing up in their hometown on Saturday night. He trash talks Ontario before Nicholas praises the partnership between AEW and NJPW, as it gives him two places to kick Kingston’s ass. He also looks forward to beating Kingston at AEW All Out in an Anarchy In the Arena match. The Bucks leave Kingston laying with the EVP Trigger. Matthew thanks the crowd but also says they likely won’t see them again since this is beneath them now. I don’t like Kidd’s crowning achievement instantly being an afterthought for an AEW angle. I understand why they did it, but seriously, is this going to be favorable for New Japan in any way? Unless AEW does something equitable like allow New Japan a Dominion on “Double or Nothing”, I don’t know what New Japan gains in the long term from this. Unfortunately, Kingston’s knee injury resulted in him needing surgery and being replaced in Anarchy in the Arena, so this was all for naught.

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Jon Moxley vs. Shota Umino

Moxley has been champion since 4.12.2024 and this is his third defense. After winning the title from Naito at “Windy City Riot”, Moxley challenged Umino to a title match, stating this would be Umino’s “final exam” as his protege. Last week, Moxley defended the title successfully against another Reiwa Musketeer, Ren Narita, at Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka. Umino shows no warmth towards his mentor, dropkicking Moxley as Moxley poses on the apron during his entrance. Moxley embraces Umino’s mindset, raking Umino’s back before suplexing him on the entrance ramp. Umino turns things around with a neckbreaker in the ring. He does further damage to Moxley’s neck until Moxley pummels Umino down in the corner and stands on his neck. Umino traps Moxley in the ropes for a trifecta of Cheeky Nando’s Kicks, perhaps learned from his battle with Ospreay last Fall. Umino switches his focus to Moxley’s left knee, throwing it into the ring post and then dropkicking it into the guardrail. Moxley uses the ropes to escape a kneebar, which he’s surprised to see Umino knows how to do. Moxley knocks Umino to the floor after side stepping a charge. He takes some time to shake out his leg before suicide diving onto Umino. Moxley hammerlocks Umino’s arm before sending him shoulder first into the ring post twice. Moxley further damages Umino’s shoulder in the ring and gets two with a piledriver. Moxley sets up a table ringside, and by the time he gets back inside, Umino has mustered the energy to pull off a dropkick. He uses the ropes to smash Moxley’s face into the ring apron, and then puts Moxley through his own table with an elbow drop off of the top turnbuckle. Umino perches himself on the top rope as he waits for Moxley to come back in the ring. When he does, he cracks him in the side of the head with a dropkick and then delivers Ignition for two. Umino double underhooks Moxley, but Moxley swings out and drops Umino with an Ace Crusher. He locks on a Bulldog Choke, which Umino rolls into a STF. Umino drives forearms to Moxley’s neck repeatedly. He brings a dazed Moxley to the top turnbuckle where he looks for a super Death Rider. Moxley fights him off, but several back rakes from Umino allow for him to pull of a single underhook superplex for two. Moxley counters the Blaze Blade with a Paradigm Shift, with Umino popping up and nailing a diving European uppercut before succumbing to the damage. Umino and Moxley dump one another on their head with suplexes. Umino dropkicks Moxley, but Moxley comes back with a King Kong lariat. Umino bursts with a kick out at one, but is too worn down to do much else but flip off Moxley with both fingers from the mat. Moxley pulls him up into the Paradigm Shift for two. Umino plants Moxley with a leaping DDT to block the Death Rider. He then gives Moxley a cradle DDT for two. A diving uppercut and a swing-out Death Rider gets Umino the closest nearfall yet. Umino Blaze Blades Moxley in the neck and goes for another Death Rider. Moxley escapes by throwing Umino shoulder first into the mat. Moxley curb stomps Umino into the mat and drops him with the Death Rider for the pin at 34:18.

The mission coming into this match was to elevate Umino in the eyes of the U.S. audience, and to that end I think they were successful. Having him start the match as the aggressor and be on top for a good portion of the match helped portray him as being on Moxley’s level. While this easily could’ve made this into a brawl, I think Moxley’s wearing down of Umino’s shoulder paying off was more satisfying. You could have trimmed some of the fat on this match, but I don’t think this match felt its length at all. It did come at the end of a very long show, however, and I do think that was a tough ask for the crowd (who gets a ton of credit for being noisy throughout the match.) Umino was the heart and soul of this match, and I hope they have proper follow up planned to keep the momentum he earned in this bout going. ****

Moxley and Umino embrace after the match. They’re interrupted by an attack from EVIL and Ren Narita. As Narita holds off Umino with his modified push-up bar, EVIL tells Moxley that he is the real IWGP Heavyweight Champion, and that Moxley will challenge him next. EVIL then takes black spray paint and covers most of the gold plates on his title. He says Everything Is EVIL and drops the mix. The ring is bathed in purple, with EVIL holding up the title and Moxley and Umino left laying.

This show at five hours was way too long. It took me several sittings to get through, and if you watch it, I recommend doing the same. I do appreciate that a lot of what happened ties directly into the next big New Japan domestic show, Dominion, as I do think coherence between the U.S. and Japanese shows strengthens their importance. Overall it was a good show with some great matches, it’s just too long!

The next couple of U.S. shows won’t have many ties to what’s going on in Japan, as we have Forbidden Door in June and a Fantastica Mania show in July, so hopefully post G1 we get some stuff filtering into the Capital Collision August show.