Elmont, NY – 6.30.2024

Zero Hour

Commentary is provided by Excalibur, Nigel McGuinnesss & Matt Menard

Kyle Fletcher vs. Serpentico

Just what we needed – a last minute 15th match added to the card. Fletcher lost the ROH TV title two days prior to Atlantis Jr. in CMLL, and had also lost an ROH World Title match against Mark Brsicoe three days prior. This was a glorified squash, with Fletcher pinning Serpentico in 3:10 after a Ganso Bomb and brainbuster onto the top turnbuckle. At one point, Fletcher ripped at Serpentico’s mask, a great display of frustration coming from his recent failings. At least the bonus match was kept short. *

Tomohiro Ishii & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gabe Kidd & Roderick Strong vs. The Kings of the Black Throne (Malakai Black & Brody King) vs. Private Marty (Marq Quen & Isaiah Kassidy)

Undisputed Kingdom members Matt Taven and Mike Bennett are in Kidd and Strong’s corner, as is BULLET CLUB War Dogs right hand man Gedo. Ishii got the biggest reaction from the crowd, especially when he tossed Black out of the match and beckoned King to enter the fray. They traded forearms with one another and staggered to opposing corners, leading to Kidd tagging himself in and chopping up King. Private Party took out Kidd and Strong with tandem offense. Kidd evaded a Fujiwara armbar from O’Reilly, and a distraction from Strong enabled Kidd to take out O’Reilly with a short arm lariat. Ishii however took out Kidd and Strong as well as Private Party with double clotheslines. King tagged back in, leading to the scariest moment of the match – a Chasing the Dragon from O’Reilly and Ishii to King, with King landing right on the top of his head. King fortunately was alright, enough so to lay out Kidd with an open handed strike. Even though Private Party was able to take out the majority of the competitors outside with stereo dives, King pinned Quen with a Ganso Bomb in 8:39. Aside from O’Reilly and Strong staring at each other a few times to tease something, there wasn’t a lot of substance to this. If the Undisputed Kingdom lasts, I wonder if they remain partners with the BC War Dogs on other crossover shows, kind of like how NOAH’s GLG has had a working relationship with the War Dogs of late. Solid match. **¾

Willow Nightingale & Tam Nakano vs. Kris Statlander & Momo Watanabe

Stokely Hathaway is in Statlander and Watanabe’s corner. Statlander and Stokely turned on Willow at “Double or Nothing”, and Willow and Statlander are set to wrestle on this week’s Dynamite in the semifinals of the Owen Hart Foundation tournament. Statlander avoids getting in the ring with Nightingale, tagging out when she became legal and jumping off of the apron until Nakano was legal again. Hathaway distracted the referee so Statlander could surprise Nakano with a belly-to-back suplex. Statlander also sweeps Willow’s legs out from under her when she is standing on the apron so that Nakano cannot escape hers and Watanabe’s beatdown. Willow and Statlander end face-to-face when Nakano dazes Statlander with a roundhouse kick and tags out before Statlander can get her bearings. Willow gets in a few forearm strikes, but Statlander tags out when Willow sends her to the ropes for the Pounce. Statlander does willingly tag back in to take down Willow with a rolling clothesline. Willow delivers a shotgun dropkick from the middle turnbuckle and tags in Nakano, who misses a high crossbody. Nakano does take out Statlander with a Tiger suplex after fighting out of a Doomsday Device. Willow meets Watanabe on the top and brings her down with a super Death Valley Driver for two. Watanabe comes back with a belly-to-back piledriver for two. Willow cuts her off with a Pounce, and also clotheslines Statlander to the floor, where she meets her with a shotgun dropkick off of the apron. Nakano meanwhile pins Watanabe with Twilight Dream (a bridging arm-capture German suplex) at 10:18. I think this effectively built up Willow and Statlander’s tournament bout while giving just enough of a spotlight to their STARDOM partners. ***

2024 Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Quarterfinal Match
Mariah May vs. Saraya

Toni Storm & Luther are in May’s corner and Harley Cameron is in Saraya’s corner. May, who is in a storyline where two women are fighting over her, with heavy sexual overtones to the story, defeated someone accused of being a TERF during Pride month, and that rules. This match did not rule, as bad politics aside, Saraya is also rotten in the ring these days. If only May defeated her more quickly. She pinned Saraya in 8:33 with Once Upon A Time (a Ranhei pin). Not good.

Both Mina Shirakawa and Storm raise May’s arm on the stage, further building up their title match tonight and their desire for May’s sole affection. This reminds me though, on Dynamite, Mina accidentally broke a champagne bottle over May’s head and this wasn’t followed up at all on this show. Stupid!

Ingobernables de Japon (Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & Titán) vs. The Lucha Bros. (Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero Miedo) & Mistico

Alex Abrahantes is in the Lucha Bros. and Mistico’s corner, sporting what looks like Rey Bucanero style face paint. Them teaming is a pretty big deal, as CMLL and AAA are so at odds that even current CMLL wrestlers teaming with wrestlers formerly associated with AAA was an issue. The Lucha Bros. being signed to AEW and no longer working AAA dates made this first time triumvirate a reality. Fenix got the better of Titán during their exchange, and Penta got the better of Tsuji during their exchange, so Takahashi went right for Mistico’s masks in the hopes of not suffering the same fate. He failed, as he was armdragged out to the floor. HIs partners cut him off momentarily, but Misitco turned a double Irish whip to the ropes into a twisting pescado onto Takahashi. The Lucha Bros. then laid out Tsuji and Titán with double superkicks and a wheelbarrow splash. Mistico had Takahshi pinned after a Swanton when Titán and Tsuji made the save. They also sent the Lucha Bros outside with a double Frankensteiner and followed with suicide dives. Takahashi then sunset bombed Mistico to the floor. Mistico is then beaten down by LIJ until Mistico took out Takahashi with a headscissors, Tsuji with a superkick, and Titán with a backbreaker, and tagging in Penta. Penta got the match back on track for his team, with Sling Blades to Tsuji and Hiromu and assisting Fenix with a running punt and a super splash. Titán laid out both Mistico and Fenix with superkicks, leaving everyone laying. Fenix helped Mistico with a dive onto Tsuji and Titán, and then the Lucha Bros. put down Takahashi with a Fear Factor/double stomp combo. Mistico’s La Mistica to Titán earned him the submission victory at 12:01. This would’ve been one of the best matches on the proper PPV, but as a match to grab some last minute buys, I could see it being successful. It was action packed and a crazy amount of fun. This was all about the luchadores, and LIJ was a perfect trio for them to be put against to show themselves in the best light. Starting the campaign for Lucha Bros. in World Tag League 2024 now. ****

Main Show

Commentary is provided by Excalibur, Taz, Nigel McGuinness & Matt Menard.

MJF vs. Hechicero

Once they learned CMLL apparently was not cool with RUSH being on the show, they blew off him vs. MJF on Dynamite (which MJF won) and pivoted to a different luchador. I argue that MJF didn’t need to have a match on the show at all, but I suppose they didn’t want to leave him off of a Long Island card. MJF does his usual showboaty shtick until Hechicero picks apart his left arm. MJF is able to fight out of a cross armbreaker and an armbar variation, and after a Long Island Sunrise (Adam Cole’s Panama Sunrise), he pinned Hechicero with a vertical drop brainbuster at 9:51. This was inoffensive but pointless, which for an MJF match is a positive. **¼

Hiroshi Tanahashi & The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) vs. The Elite (Kazuchika Okada, Matthew Jackson & Nickolas Jackson)

The Acclaimed defeated The Young Bucks in a Tag Team Title Eliminator match on the June 19th episode of Dynamite. The week after, the Bucks attempted to book a six man tag with themselves and Okada against the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn, but the Acclaimed had a literal Ace up their sleeve. It is interesting politically that we have AEW EVPs on one side of the match and the NJPW President on the other. Tanahashi had some fun with the Acclaimed, helping Bowens with a leg drop to Matthew’s groin. The Elite trapped Caster in their corner after a double enzuigiri/back elbow combo. When Matthew tried to strike Bowens off of the apron during this, Bowens blocked him and punched him into a backdrop from Caster. Tanahashi and Okada finally end up in the ring together after Okada initially avoided Tanahashi in the early part of the match. Tanahashi had Okada in a cloverleaf when Nickolas cracked him upside the head with an enzuigiri. The Acclaimed took down Okada with The Arrival (Bowens) and The Mic Drop (Caster), and then gave Tanahashi clearance for the High Fly Flow. Unfortunately, Matthew’s interjection gives Okada enough time to recover to get his knees up when Tanahashi goes for the move. Tanahashi countered the Rainmaker into a small package for two, and fought off the Bucks on his own. However, when Tanahashi went for the Sling Blade, Okada cut him off with a dropkick and hit the Rainmaker for the pin at 13:01. It would be easy to argue this wasn’t the most effective use of Tanahashi. Maybe a “dream” singles match would have been more tantalizing, but would have exposed Tanahashi more than anything else. To see him and Okada across from each other again was a fun moment, especially since they were both involved in the fall. It was a pretty standard match overall, but I do appreciate that we are getting some momentum before the Acclaimed challenge for the tag titles. ***

2024 Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Quarterfinal Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi

This is a rematch from Dragon Gate USA’s Enter The Dragon event in 2010, which kicked every ass. Danielson comes into the match with kinesio tape on his shoulders and neck, and that damage is exacerbated when Takagi gave him Total Anarchy on the floor after catching his suicide dive attempt. Takagi enjoys the advantage back in the ring until Danielson evades a Sliding D and desperately kicks him in the side of the head. Danielson uses German suplex and the hammer and anvil elbows to do his own damage to Takagi’s neck, punctuated with a major belly-to-back superplex that also hurts Danielson upon landing. Danielson throws elbows at Takagi’s head as he has him in a triangle choke, but that does not stop Takagi from muscling Danielson up into a powerslam. Takagi pulls off his own superplex before delivering a sliding lariat for two. Danielson slaps at Takagi from the apron when he signals for the Pumping Bomber, so Takagi hoists him to his feet. Takagi side steps a Busaiku Knee and turns Danielson inside out with the Pumping Bomber, but Danielson kicks out of Made In Japan at two. Takagi mocks the Yes Chants before dishing out his own Hammer and Anvil elbows. When he goes for another sliding clothesline, Danielson catches Takagi’s arm and manipulates him into a LaBell Lock attempt. Takagi gets to his feet and headbutts Danielson. Danielson roundhouse kicks Takagi after escaping another Made In Japan and gives him a Regalplex. Danielson connects with the Busaiku Knee this time around, but Takagi kicks out from the subsequent pin attempt. Danielson tells the crowd he is going to kick Takagi’s head in, and he does just that. He goes back to the Triangle Choke with elbows, and when Takagi tries to power out, Danielson elbows him back down and converts into an arm lock that sees him damn near pull Takagi’s shoulder out of its socket. Referee Aubrey Edwards calls for the bell at 20:19, awarding the match to Danielson. You could make an argument over which of their two singles matches were better, and while I give the 2010 bout the slight edge, this was also fantastic. Takagi did his best to get in Danielson’s head and targeted his obvious weakness and still fell short to the Best in the World. I’m glad Takagi finally got a high level match in AEW, and he is who I would lean on from New Japan to have the dream matches on subsequent crossover shows. ****¼

AEW Women’s World Championship
Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa

Storm has been champion since 11.18.2023 and this is her sixth defense. Luther is in Storm’s corner and Mariah May is in a neutral corner, supporting both Storm and Shirakawa. Shirakawa damages Storm’s knees, but that doesn’t stop Storm from cutting her off with a back cracker in the corner. Storm however misses a hip attack into the ring steps, and Shirakawa takes both her and Luther out with a crossbody off of the top turnbuckle. Inside the ring, Storm uses Shirakawa’s positioning on the middle rope to pull her down into a sit-out slam for two. Shirakawa dropkicks Storm’s knee out to cut off another hup attack attempt and then gives her an electric chair facebuster before applying a figure four leg lock. Storm uses the ropes to escape. Shirakawa blasts Storm in the throat with a rolling forearm smash before climbing to the top rope, where she brings down Storm with a diving DDT! Shirakawa follows that with an elevated DDT for two. Storm fights free from the Glamorous Driver and German suplexes Shirakawa, hitting a Hip Attack in the corner successfully afterwards. Shirakawa has Storm laid out with a backfist and haymaker, and pulls her up into the Glamorous Driver for two. A pair of headbutts and German suplex lead to Storm stuffing Shirakawa with Storm Zero for the pin at 11:42. With the way this feud was built, you would have rightfully expected this match to be more lighthearted or goofy, but instead, they had one heck of a back-and-forth battle. That seriousness made the match all the better, and to me made more sense that they would embrace after a battle such as this then a more carefree outing. ***½

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy

Sabre issued this challenge to Cassidy, feeling he had unfinished business from last year’s Forbidden Door four-way bout. Cassidy went the mind games route, rolling under the bottom rope instead of accepting Sabre’s invite in through the middle rope, and surprising Sabre with his submission escapes and reversals. Cassidy was actually so successful that it made Sabre more aggressive, starting with him cranking Cassidy’s neck using his feet, and then stretching out his full body using his arms and legs. Sabre also mocked Cassidy with some weak kicks before blasting him with a chest kick. Cassidy matched Sabre’s aggression by taking him down with multiple dragonscrew leg whips. When Sabre tried to come back with a Zack Driver, Cassidy turned it into a Michinoku Driver of his own. Cassidy then spiked Sabre with a flying DDT for two. Sabre countered the Orange Punch and pulled Cassidy’s arm down to the mat and stomped his upturned elbow and wrist. Sabre angrily snapped Cassidy’s fingers before walking away. Cassidy angrily stomped on Sabre’s leg before turning him into a cloverleaf. Sabre rolled underneath Cassidy and put his injured arm into a double wristlock, which Cassidy countered into a Beach Break. Sabre fires back with a PK after taking an Orange Punch, which makes sense given Cassidy’s arm had been weakened during the match. Sabre and Cassidy countered each other’s clutch attempts. When Cassidy went for the Mouse Trap pin, Sabre converted into a modified version of his Clarky Cat submission, tying up all of Cassidy’s limbs, until Cassidy submitted at 16:22. Most everyone knows how great of a wrestler Cassidy is by this point, but you don’t often get to see his technical acumen on display. Sabre was the perfect person to bring that out of Cassidy and show that Cassidy is not only proficient in technical wrestling, but that he is also capable of nearly besting one of the top technical wrestlers in the world. This wasn’t necessarily a story that needed closure, but I’m glad that it did and that Sabre was the one who came out on top. ****

Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata & Hook vs. Jeff Cobb & The Learning Tree (Chris Jericho & Big Bill)

Bryan Keith is in the Learning Tree and Cobb’s corner. Jericho originally tried to recruit Minoru Suzuki as his partner, but Suzuki stated he would much rather face Jericho for his FTW Title. Jericho then recruited Cobb, who had put out an open challenge for Forbidden Door, and who Jericho used as a hired gun to take out Jon Moxley back in 2020. Cobb proved valuable here too, turning the tide for his team on two separate occasions. He also found himself tripled teamed in the opposition’s corner and nearly pinned by Shibata. Cobb would get revenge later with a Spin Cycle to Shibata. Moments later, though, Hook would impress with a t-bone suplex to the big man. Joe would neutralize Cobb on the floor with a sleeper hold as Hook pinned Jericho with the Judas Effect at 14:02. This went on way too long. I really like the triumvirate of Joe, Hook, and Shibata, but I can’t think of anything less interesting than them being against Jericho and his Learning Tree. For their sake, I hope they don’t spend the Summer in the Jericho vortex. ***

AEW TNT Championship Ladder Match
Dante Martin vs. El Phantasmo vs. Jack Perry vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Lio Rush vs. Mark Briscoe

The winner of this match becomes the new AEW TNT Champion. They established right away that it was Perry vs. everyone else. He was surrounded by the other challengers around the ring and knocked out back in the ring with a hard forearm shot. The others fought, and when Perry re-entered the match, Rush sent him crashing stomach first into a ladder and wiped him out with an enzuigiri. ELP spun out Rush onto a ladder, with it crump;ing underneath him. ELP tried to do the same to Martin, but Martin knocked out ELP with a jumping knee strike. Briscoe then used a ladder to knock ELP to the floor, and also crushes Takeshita through a table on the floor using a chair and ladder assisted tope con hilo. With everyone out, Perry takes the opportunity to go after the title, but ELP’s double nipple twist put a stop to that. Perry set up a table ringside and was placed onto it by Perry, and Briscoe splashed onto him from off of a ladder set up inside of the ring, but the table did not break. Takeshita accidentally pops Rush onto a ladder that he is readying to climb, but instantly fixes that by powerbombing Rush onto a ladder set up against the turnbuckles. ELP and Takeshita fought on the ladder, ending with ELP nailing Takeshita with Sudden Death twice. Takeshita got his revenge by putting him through two ringside tables with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Briscoe put Takeshita through a ladder with a Jay Driller and began to climb the ladder. Just as he got close, Perry hit him in the ribs with another ladder to end his ascent. Perry smashed Briscoe with a chair repeatedly before climbing the ladder and grabbing the TNT Title at 16:56. The Elite were going to hand Jack Perry the TNT Title, but instead, they held this ladder match. Now, Perry earned the title after valiantly fighting off five people who were targeting him specifically. How exactly is he the bad guy here? I’d consider this an above average multi-man ladder match, mostly because it wasn’t heavy on contrivances and they kept a good pace. Takeshita and Perry were the highlights of the match, especially Takeshita’s Blue Thunder Bomb to ELP through the two tables ringside. On that note, I am happy with ELP’s level of involvement in the match as well. ***¾

NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship & AEW TBS Championship
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Mercedes Moné

Vaquer has been the NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion since 3.10.2024 and this is her fourth defense. Moné has been AEW TBS Champion since 5.26.2024 and this is her second defense. Vaquer strikes Moné during the opening remarks from the referee. She also showed up Moné by pulling off a double jump armdrag across the ring with more effectiveness, but Moné then took her down with a tijeras on the floor. Vaquer drives Moné’s back into the ring frame after avoiding double knees, which is important as Vaquer and her partner damaged Moné’s back on last night’s episode of Collision. Vaquer then wiped her out with a springboard crossbody from inside of the ring to the floor. Vaquer boot scraped Moné back in the ring, and gets her in arm and neck scissors upon interrupting Moné’s Three Amigos attempt. She skullf*cks Moné to a big reaction from the crowd, but moments later, Moné cuts off Vaquer’s crossbody attempt with a dropkick in mid-air. Vaquer blocks the Money Maker with a DDT and victory roll for two. Moné avoids the package backbreaker and both women take each other down with simultaneous clotheslines. Moné escapes a crossface and then headscissors Vaquer into her own crossface, surprisingly earning boos from the crowd. The crowd approves when Vaquer gives her a Gut Check and boos again when Moné comes back with two backbreakers. They’re thrilled with Vaquer’s gnarly dragonscrew leg whip and double knees in the corner. They fight for offense, which sees Moné pull off the Money Maker and submit Vaquer to become the new NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion at 16:51. The crowd’s dislike of Moné absolutely helped the ending of the match, even it devolved into annoying anti-Boston sports chants. Better than silence I suppose. It was obvious Moné was going to defeat Vaquer but they at least gave her a fighting chance. I personally think she upstaged Moné. Hopefully Vaquer sticks around New Japan after this loss. Her going after Mayu Iwatani’s IWGP Women’s title would be neat. ***½

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Jon Moxley vs. Tetsuya Naito

Moxley has been champion since 4.12.2024 and this is his fifth defense. He defeated Naito to win that title, and after Moxley demanded his next challenger after defeating EVIL, Naito stepped up, stating since he lost the title to Moxley, it was his duty to win it back and bring it to Japan. Naito has stated that if he loses this match, he will forfeit his G1 Climax 34 spot to Moxley. Red Shoes Umino is the referee for the bout.

Since this match happened, there’s been a lot of discussion if Naito is washed. I think at this stage, Naito is in rough shape and needs the right opponent to bring him up to his best level. Looking back at the G1 semifinals and finals, where he defeated Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada, are great examples. So is Naito vs. Moxley at Windy City Riot, which is why this match being lesser than was so puzzling. However, another talking point about this match is how Moxley’s been half-assing his AEW efforts. One fan went as far as to say he’s “quiet quitting.” I thought about this comment quite a bit, and it does occur to me that there is a level of spark and “pep” you see in Moxley’s New Japan matches this year, and even his match with Josh Barnett at Bloodsport Bushido, that hasn’t been there with his AEW matches of late. Who knows why this is or if this is imagined, but I think those two things taken together resulted in a subpar IWGP World Title match. That said, I do think people are being too hard on this match overall. The action was mostly fine, though it was very clear the audience did not care about this match at all. Then in the ending stretch, Naito botched Destino, and it took a lot from Moxley to muscle him into the right spot. Naito ended up beating Moxley with a 2k1 Bomb and a Destino at 17:04, regaining the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. I am glad the title is firmly back in New Japan, but this was rough. **½

AEW World Championship
Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay

Strickland has been champion since 4.21.2024 and this is his fourth defense. You’re going to be hard pressed to find a more athletically impressive match all year. Both of them are very confident in their abilities, with the key difference being Ospreay wanting to best his opponent and win matches, with Strickland willing to do whatever it takes. This includes the level of risk taken, as evidenced by the Swerve Stomp Strickland gave Ospreay to counter and OsCutter, and then an insane Swerve Stomp off of the top rope and onto the announcers table, with Swerve landing on Ospreay who was standing on the floor and crushing him onto the dasher board of table. After that, Swerve would also give him a powerbomb onto the barricade, which is very thin and has a large margin of error. After Strickland kicked out of an OsCutter followed by a StormBreaker, he called for the Tiger Driver, which he vowed to retire after injuring Bryan Danielson with it. Strickland turned it into a victory roll and cracked Ospreay with his own Hidden Blade. Strickland missed the Swerve Stomp, and when Ospreay went for the Hidden Blade, Strickland ducked and Ospreay instead hit referee Paul Turner. While Turner was out, Don Callis came to the ring and tried to get Ospreay to use a screwdriver. Ospreay refused, but still for whatever reason felt the pull of using it on Prince Nana when Nana shoved down Callis. Ospreay relented and went back into the ring where he was immediately greeted by Strickland’s House Call. Ospreay would kick out of a Swerve Stomp and a Hidden Blade, but left punch drunk. Ospreay;s Hidden Blade afterwards was so ineffective because he was so worn down, and Strickland then delivered the third House Call of the match and Big Pressure (fka the JML Driver) for the pin at 27:05. They started with the thing I hate most in wrestling, “the indie standoff”, where they just showed off and then posed at each other to get cheers. But after that, the match was damn awesome. Very exciting wrestling, lots of moments where each man showed their personality, and a genuine feeling of importance in winning from both of them. Then the Don Callis interjection both ruined the momentum of the match and created a paradoxical moment. Why is it that Ospreay was eager to use the Tiger Driver, a move that he swore off of due the physical harm it caused Bryan Danielson when they wrestled two months earlier, but hesitant to use a screwdriver to harm his opponent? Because it’s a foreign object? Strickland will get over being busted open more quickly than he would neck or spinal damage. While I think people are being too harsh to the NJPW title match, I also didn’t think as fondly of this match as many others do. I liked Ospreay’s PPV matches against Takeshita and Danielson this year more. It will be interesting to see where Ospreay goes from here. I wouldn’t have beat him this early, but he’s pretty damn popular and should be fine. It’ll be a crime if he’s saddled with MJF for All In. ****

Despite the fact that I rated four matches at four stars, the most of any Forbidden Door PPV I’ve reviewed, I still feel that this was the weakest Forbidden Door yet. The aura isn’t there anymore and the crowd was weaker than both Chicago and Toronto. Many of the other matches felt like filler. Now that AEW has Okada, Ospreay, and Jay White under contract, they can’t rely on the same people from NJPW’s popularity peak in the mid 2010s to be as good as they were then. If this show is going to continue, the Reiwa Musketeers, Gabe Kidd, Yuya Uemara, and others are going to need to be factored in going forward to carry the weight that the Tanahashi’s, Naito’s, and Ishii’s of the world no longer can. It’s incumbent on New Japan to build those stars and present them as such to the U.S. audience, like they have been doing with Shota Umino. Let’s hope in 365 days we have a younger, stronger, fresher New Japan roster being featured on this event.