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As always, I've got a very simple five point scale laid out where a 1 is total skip, 2 you can probably skip unless you love one of the folks in it, 3 is a match that's worth watching but not necessarily worth making time for, a 4 is a solid recommendation to make time for if you can, and a 5 is a must-watch.
Mind you, these are not star ratings. They're not meant to be absolute ratings in any sense, but rather a simple (and hopefully sensible) way to determine if a match is worth your time. A one is not necessarily a bad match, but rather just one I feel like you're best off skipping. I have my biases, of course, but hopefully I can make it easy for you to adjust for them.
David Finlay, Jushin Liger, & KUSHIDA vs. Tempura Boyz (Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu) & YOSHITATSU (2)
Finlay and TATSU to start, bit of light mat grappling, and we move right on to Liger on Komatsu, the vet quickly wrapping the Young Lion around into the reverse surfboard before shifting to a headlock, bit of light lucha, Yohei eats a back body drop to the outside, KUSHIDA sets him up and Jushin takes him out with a baseball slide!
Romero Special partially on and the match breaks down, heels putting boots to Liger and charging strikes at him. Double flapjack gets a nearfall and the Boyz keep the double team going but the legend fights them off and gets a tag to KUSHIDA. Cleaning house with double axehandles, hip toss to a cartwheel dropkick and YOSHI comes in to cut him off but takes a double handspring back elbow.
Looking for the Hoverboard Lock on Tanaka, blocked, Sho reverses to a gutwrench lift Canadian backbreaker rack and Komatsu assists the Dominator... NO GOOD! Trading strikes, KUSHIDA ahead with a Pele kick but Tanaka catches him on the handspring and drops him with a German suplex!
Tags made, David on YOSHI, missile dropkick to a strike rush, off the ropes, snap scoop powerslam and the ex-WWE Superstar is pulling ahead. Finlay back in with a shotgun dropkick, charging back elbows, sliding uppercut, only a nearfall! TATSU with the crotch chops, setting up the pedigree, denied, and David catches him with the Irish Curse for a nearfall.
Stretch Muffler on YOSHI at the same time as Liger has the Romero Special on Komatsu and KUSHIDA grabs a Hoverboard Lock on Tanaka...
David Finlay, Jushin Liger, & KUSHIDA win by submission with a Stretch Muffler from Finlay on YOSHITATSU.
Pretty standard opening tag fare. I largely dug it but I'm pretty big on five of the six guys here, so watch accordingly.
Jay Lethal vs. Kenny Omega (IWGP United States Championship Tournament Semifinal Match) (4)
Kenny almost immediately on the injured ribs with a pair of vicious kicks that send Lethal through the ropes to the outside! Rib-first into the apron and then the barricade, back and forth. Back in the ring, Omega up top, Jay dodges the dive but can't quite get all the way back in at first, ending up caught in the electric chair and having to escape.
Superkick connects, looking for Lethal Injection, Kenny ducking and dodging but two more superkicks and he gets caught! Omega rolls outside, Lethal hits the trifecta of suicide dives, breaking the railing down with number two! Back in the ring, Hail to the King, only a nearfall so Jay locks the figure four on.
Kenny picking at his feet to try and force a break, but he eventually gets the ropes to achieve the same goal. Jay backing him up against the ropes, kicking his leg out from under him, shinbreaker connects, trying to stay on the leg but Omega is fighting, another attempt at Lethal Injection, Kenny counters with a lungblower!
Forearms to the ribs, Omega taking it slow and keeping stress off the leg, mounted punches, knees to the ribs from the mat, a cover goes surprisingly deep from the damage done. Lethal firing chops, whip reversed, Kenny takes his legs out with a knee and locks a deathlock bow-and-arrow on to target the ribs further.
Jay out with a pin, Omega firing shots to the ribs, chop in the corner begets a slap, another chop, Lethal on the offensive but you can see the pain on his face, ducking and dodging, Kenny wipes his leg out again. Looking for Kotaro Krusher, Lethal counters to a Blue Thunder Driver!
An enzuigiri against the ropes staggers Kenny, but Omega has the Lethal Injection scouted and snaps off the Dragon suplex before he can even run the ropes. Aoi Shoudou connects, off the ropes, Jay catches him with a boot but a second try yields the V-Trigger. Lethal firing more forearms, a V-Trigger, off the ropes, running V-Trigger... NOPE!
Small package nearfall from Kenny to counter another figure four attempt, Dr. Wily Bomb connects, off the ropes for the V-Trigger to the back of the head, electric chair, Jay trying a counter into a Frankensteiner, Omega blocks, hosses him right back up...
Kenny Omega wins by pinfall with One-Winged Angel.
A compact match playing off Lethal’s rib injury from last night, this was a damn sight better than that match for sure. Good stuff, and worth your time if you have room for sure.
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. (IWGP United States Championship Tournament Semifinal Match) (5)
Feeling out, Sabre decides he doesn't want to fool around and throws uppercuts on Ishii, earning a single forearm that knocks him on his ass. More uppercuts, one more forearm, same result. Stone Pitbull throwing disdainful slaps, more uppercuts, ZSJ staggers himself with a headbutt and Ishii throws one in return that knocks him into the corner.
Big chops, Sabre's taking 'em but he wants more! Tomohiro knocks him down in the corner, disdainful stomps, Zack gets the Pele kick to the arm, figure four armscissors, kneeling down and grinding an elbow into the shoulder. Stepover armbar, taking the Chaos man down, grabbing the foot and wrenching back, twisting armscissor for the break.
Boots while Ishii tries to get to his feet, the Stone Pitbull spits at him! Another headbutt knocks Sabre down and gives Tomohiro time to find his wits. Charging lariat, Zack with a whip but Ishii knocks him right down with a shoulder and sets him up top. Looking for the superplex, ZSJ blocks, looking for a Kimura lock and he gets it but Ishii gets out of it before the five count.
Lifting Sabre up, superplex connects, only good for a nearfall! Off the ropes, Zack gets a roundhouse kick, kick to the arm, rolling northern lights suplex into an armbar! Stone Pitbull rolls through but Sabre keeps the hold so he has to go to the ropes to force the break. Wristlock, ZSJ really wrenching it, Jim Breaks Special, but Ishii is able to get a back suplex to counter!
Looking for the Tenryu powerbomb, Sabre counters, going for the Pele, blocked, European Clutch applied... NOT ENOUGH! Pele kick to the arm connects, arm wringer, Stone Pitbull headbutt! Off the ropes for the sliding lariat, SABRE CATCHES HIM INTO AN ARMBAR! HE TRAPS THE LEG TO KEEP ISHII FROM THE ROPES! HE CATCHES HIS OTHER HAND BUT ISHII FLIPS HIMSELF INTO THE ROPES FOR THE BREAK!
Kicks to the arms, Ishii fired up, off the ropes, Sabre knocked down but the damage is done! Stone Pitbull forearms, the arm is so damaged he can't push it, flying Kimura lock, Ishii out, the Penalty Kick finds home but gets a lariat in return! Suplex lift...
Tomohiro Ishii wins by pinfall with the vertical drop brainbuster.
Awesome match, absolutely worth the watch. That ALLCAPS sequence right there was SO damn good, but the whole thing from Zack deciding he wanted Ishii's fight through to the armwork to the Stone Pitbull's utter indestructability carrying the day was excellent.
Dragon Lee, Jay White, Juice Robinson, Titan, & Volador, Jr. vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito) (4)
Volador and Naito to start, soaking in the atmosphere a bit, but when the CMLL man wants to get going, the Stardust Genius sidesteps him repeatedly. Pyrotechnics intensify, Tetsuya takes a nap and Hiromu runs in to put boots to Volador with BUSHI. Up and over, to the apron, Asai moonsault wipes both Ingobernables out!
The match breaks down, Titan and BUSHI squaring off in the ring as EVIL tells us that everything is evil. SANADA in, tying Titan up in a ball, Juice trying to make a save but he gets tied up as well, and a dropkick nails both men in the keister, fast-paced tight offense from Los Ingobernables, Naito legal now, dropkick and Titan is in a bad way.
Desperate overhand chops, Tetsuya shrugs them off, step-up enzuigiri, German suplex, Titan lands on his feet, leg lariat, hoping, crawling, he needs the tag and he gets it! Robinson in, lariats ahoy! Cannonball for SANADA, one for Naito, the Juice is loose! Corner dropkick combo cuts the rally, Hiromu in, a leg lariat takes him out and Dragon Lee comes in!
Whip, low knee, basement dropkick, schoolboy pin gets a nearfall, and they slug it out with overhand chops! Lee with a rolling solebutt, fast passes off the ropes, flying headscissors escaped with a cartwheel but Takahashi catches him with a wheelbarrow suplex! German suplex in return, action fast and furious, overhead belly-to-belly suplex into the turnbuckles!
EVIL in on White, Jay throwing chops and forearms, off the ropes, duck a lariat, leapfrog, wipe the bigger man out, charing uppercut, thinking back suplex but the King of Darkness denies him. Charging forearms traded, SANADA with a kick from the apron and EVIL is able to drop White with a side slam and tag BUSHI in!
Missile dropkick connects, follow-up DDT and LIJ clear the apron to being the process of systematically destroying Jay White. Neckbreaker gets a nearfall, up top for MX, dodged, Dragon Lee comes in to kick off our "everybody does something cool" section of the match!
Juice wipes EVIL and SANADA out with a double clothesline, forearm to Hiromu, Asai moonsault from Titan, going two-on-one on BUSHI, lungblower into a Rock Bottom... NOT ENOUGH! Jay clutches him low...
Dragon Lee, Jay White, Juice Robinson, Titan, & Volador, Jr. win by pinfall with a swinging reverse STO from White on BUSHI.
There's a LOT going on in this one folks, it's prettymuch what you'd expect from a giant lucha tag on a NJPW show. Super fun stuff, not exactly essential, but close.
Bullet Club (Hangman Page, Tama Tonga, & Tanga Roa) vs. Michael Elgin & War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe) (3)
HAKU IS HERE. WHY IS HE NOT WRESTLING?
Anyway, Elgin and Page to start, bit of bull moose action, Hangman runs into a HUGE Rock Bottom out of the corner and has to bail, tagging Tonga in. Roa comes with him, so Big Mike tags both members of War Machine in, which I'm not sure is legal but is cool. Double dropkicks, War Machine recover quickly and lawn dart both members of GoD at each other!
BIG MIKE with a delayed vertical suplex, they stack GoD up in the corner, cannonball from Hanson, and the big men take a moment to pose for the crowd. Warbeard snapmare on Tama, raking his beard across his face, Tongan Twist, a dropkick to wipe the other men off the apron and Bullet Club begin working Hanson over.
Roa with a delayed powerslam on the big man, Page in, yanking him by the Warbeard, dropkick for a cover but it's only two. Quick tags, Hanson fighting but Tanga drops him with a lariat and keeps him away until the big man Banzai Drops him! Page and Elgin legal, slingshot plancha from the apron, big corner lariats but Tonga comes in to try and kill the rally.
Low bridge, drop toehold puts Roa on the ropes and a hip toss puts Page into him! Falcon Arrow follows it up, Hangman with a book, a forearm, superkick, staying one step ahead of BIG MIKE until he gets caught by a German suplex! Ray in, Page lands on his feet off another German but Rowe catches him! He gets away, bear hug, HART ATTACK! NO DICE!
Back suplex lift, thinking Fallout, Hanson crotched, Tama gets Rowe up, and Roa helps him take him down! Looking to superplex Hanson, Elgin comes over and pulls them down, forearms are on sale two-for-one but the Tongans are fired up and they want more! Off the ropes, punches to a neckbreaker, BIG MIKE rolls outside, WARBEARD CANNONBALL OFF THE TOP!
Charging lariat ducked, fireman's carry rolling neckbreaker combo sends Hanson outside, thinking Guerrilla Warfare but Ray slips out, blocks a forearm with a headbutt, over the back arm drag, big knee, Page with a lariat...
Bullet Club win by pinfall with Rite of Passage from Hangman Page on Ray Rowe.
Another good solid undercard tag. Not quite as above-average as the ten-man, so I'm going middle of the road. If you watch this, you'll likely enjoy it, but if you don't, you won't wake up in a cold sweat thinking something is missing in your life.
NJPW Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi is welcomed to the ring for a promo. He thanks the fans (through a translator) for making this historic weekend possible and announces a return to the United States in 2018.
Roppongi Vice (Beretta & Rocky Romero) vs. Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) (c) (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship) (5)
Rocky and Matt to start, right into a bit of light lucha, first superkick blocked, Black Magic blocked, right into the Sharpshooter but Romero makes good his escape. Jackson piefacing Rocky and asking him to show him something, and he gets a big slap in return. Nick and Trent in, the match breaks down, lots of missed sentons, four-way dropkick and we have a stalemate.
A shoving match gives way to stereo Frye/Takayama punches, the Bucks pull ahead, ducking and dodging but in the end the charging lariats connect and RPG Vice suplex on Buck into the other! Looking for the wheelbarrow knees but the Bucks get back into it with a pair of superkicks and dump the Vice boys outside. Slingshot dropkick into an assisted springboard moonsault to the outside!
Rocky in the ring, isolated, running knee into an elbow drop gets a nearfall but a senton atomico finds Romero's knees up! Beretta gets powerbombed up the apron, a running knee wipes Rocky out on the apron and then the senton atomico takes him from the apron to the floor! Back in the ring, only a nearfall, but they keep working Romero over.
Stomps in the corner, chops traded, Rocky's rallying, pumphandle into the Tombstone clutch, thinking Indytaker but Romero slips out and shoves one Buck into the other! Back rake, nobody there for the tag, Rocky flipping out of back suplexes and landing on his feet, Forever! lariats, first set begets a superkick but the second wipes the Bucks out!
Tag to Trent, big chops on Nick, a kick, back elbow, looking for the tornado DDT but Nick throws him off and Matt catches him with a shot to the back that drops him. Up and over, Nick wipes out hard on the apron and this time the tornado DDT connects! Up top, Matt cuts him off, powerbomb / enzuigiri combo connects, back to the Sharpshooter but Rocky is right there with the save.
POWERBOMBING ROMERO ONTO BERETTA'S INJURED BACK! NO GOOD! Big slaps and forearms from Rocky, ducking superkicks, double Frankensteiner but then the superkicks find home! Legsweep, basement superkicks on Trent, bit of a issue figuring out what to go for but Matt has an idea... INVERTED MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK TO TARGET THE BACK! BERETTA LIVES!
Sharpshooter applied, Trent fighting, Nick looking to dive on him to put the kibosh on but Romero runs interference and Beretta makes the ropes... only to get caught with the senton atomico on the second pass! Trent's in agony, fighting the urge to give, and Rocky makes the save with a dropkick!
Nick tags in, Romero catches him with a forearm, thinking shiranui, countered into a Tombstone clutch but Rocky gets to the apron, where Matt has a superkick for him. Tombstone clutch on the apron, Nick up top, Romero pushes Matt into him, uppercut, Beretta gets Matt in an electric chair, knee lift Doomsday Device from the apron!
Nick back on the apron, waistlock denied, HUGE running knee wipes Trent out but he recovers... PILEDRIVER ON THE APRON! In the ring, busaiku knee, Jerry Lynn (explosion sound) piledriver... NOT ENOUGH! Going for another, the back gives out on him and Nick throws chops, off the ropes, Rocky back in and they hit tandem knees.
A dive from Rocky, Nick up, Strong Zero... NICK JACKSON LIVES! Matt in, illegal men drag their legal partners over for a tag, and Matt and Romero square off. Trading right hands, Jackson pulls ahead but when he goes off the ropes he eats a knee. Superkick begets Black Magic, Rocky takes him outside, suicide dive, Matt catches him, Nick running over, thinking Meltzer Driver but he's short and it's "just" a somersault dropkick-assisted Tombstone Piledriver!
Back in the ring, Trent crawls in defiant, responding to slaps with spit and calling for it. Superkick connects, two more to the back, over to Rocky, Meltzer Driver, Sharpshooters on both men...
Young Bucks win by submission with a Sharpshooter on Rocky Romero, retaining the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
I'd put this a click below their Dominion match, but it was very much cut from the same cloth and quite good in its own right. I particularly want to shout out the inverted More Bang For Your Buck, thought that was super clever. Watch it!
Ricochet hits the ring and wipes the Bucks out with a tope con giro! He cuts a promo and does the Rock's "finally" gimmick before issuing a challenge to the Young Bucks for the titles, with Ryusuke Taguchi as his partner. He wanted to be here earlier but a certain "underground fighting company" is holding him down!
Rocky Romero gets on the mic after, saying he and Rocky spoke about a five year plan years ago. The first step on the plan was the tag titles, and they did that three times, or maybe four, he can't remember. The second thing was the Super Jr. Tag Team Tournament, and they won that.
The last thing he promised was that when it was time Trent would move up to the heavyweight division without him and he has his blessing, and since they didn't win, he promised they'd be done with the tag titles, and he thinks it's time for Trent to show the world what he's made of in the heavyweight division.
They hug, and Roppongi Vice is no more.
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Cody Rhodes, Marty Scurll, & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Chaos (Jay Briscoe, Kazuchika Okada, Mark Briscoe, & Will Ospreay) (1)
Mark and Marty to start, a bit of light grappling gives way to fast exchanges off the ropes, Redneck Kung Fu meets chickenwing flaps, bit of a stalemate, Briscoe lights him up with a chop and the Villain goes crying to Cody. Jay tags in as well, and Rhodes decides he'd rather not. He and Scurll tag back and forth while Briscoe becomes increasingly annoyed and even their partners are perplexed.
The crowd wants Fale, he tags in... for a second, and tags right back out, so they shift to Yujiro and tag him in. And of course, he tags right back out. Okada comes in... and Cody bails, nearly taking a seat in the crowd. Ospreay tags in and finally we get some action! Or, uh, not, as he just chases Rhodes for a second and tags Jay back in.
Finally, a wrestling hold, collar and elbow, Cody with a snap scoop powerslam, Briscoe snaps a Frankensteiner off, tag to Will, kicks, charging uppercut, hesitation dropkick, Marty does some... stuff on the ropes, baffling Ospreay, and giving Cody the opportunity to take him off the top with an arm drag.
Takahashi in, basically just to swivel his hips, the Villain in, same deal, Cody joins the fun and flips the crowd off before trying to convince Bad Luck to play along. The big man makes like he's going to but just sits down on Ospreay for a nearfall. Scurll back in, Will is fighting back, trying for a tag, fakeout superkick, Marty clears the apron.
Chickenwing taunt takes too long, Ospreay wakes up, enzuigiri, tag to Jay Briscoe! In hot with lariats, superkick for Rhodes, the circling jabs, uppercut, a dropkick, swinging neckbreaker, looking for a German suplex but Yujiro bites his thumb. Basement dropkick, snapmare, off the ropes, another basement dropkick but Briscoe gets back in with a rolling elbow.
Tags made, Fale and Okada legal, boot, DDT, the IWGP Heavyweight Champion running wild but he goes for a slam and gets stopped short. Slip out of a slam in return, off the ropes, elbow, Okada connects with the body slam this time! Up top, thinking elbow, Bad Luck up too quick, fallaway slam, big splash, only a nearfall.
Grenade countered with a dropkick but Fale wipes Kazuchika out with a lariat and tags Rhodes in to pick the bones. Slugging it out, duck the Disaster Kick, escape the Rainmaker, Okada gets the flapjack and some room to think. Tag to Ospreay, he eats a drop-down kick but slips out of an Alabama Slam, reverses a suplex into a stunner and he's feeling it!
Marty runs in, wishbones the fingers and we get into the "everybody does something cool" segment of the match. Okada with the dropkick on the button, the Villain blocks the Rainmaker with his umbrella and Cody's Disaster Kick finds home! Will with a double handspring kick... SPACE FLYING TIGER DROP!
The falling corkscrew roundhouse, thinking OsCutter but Cody catches him with the Disaster Kick...
Bullet Club win by pinfall with Cross Rhodes from Cody Rhodes on Will Ospreay.
Unless you really want to see a standard NJPW undercard tag match wrapped in layers on layers of schtick, you don't need to watch this. Hard pass.
Billy Gunn vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) (IWGP Intercontinental Championship) (1)
Feeling out early, Gunn using his size and strength advantage to back the old ace off a few times running. Offering a test of strength, accepted, Tanahashi using both hands to try and get the leverage going but he's denied. Soon enough he changes it up, side headlock takeover, Billy shoots him off but the 1/100 Dude goes right back to the takeover and gets him on the mat.
The action spills outside, Mr. Ass working the arm over against the ringpost and the barricade before taking it back in the ring, Jackhammer connects but the champ kicks out. Top wristlock applied, shifting to a Kimura lock but the old ace is fighting and get away. Boots up, he comes off the second right into a punch to the gut and Gunn starts laying punches to the head in.
Tanahashi pulls his trunks down but the underwear is still up so we don't get a full moon. Flying forearm, hip toss, elbow drop, standing somersault senton, Billy is still fighting and pulls Hiroshi's trunks AND underwear all the way down. Cobra clutch slam gets him a nearfall after.
Thinking Fameasser, Tanahashi gets a low dropkick off, dragon screw neck whip, but Gunn gets the Fameasser... NO GOOD! Drawing him up, crotch chops and the order to suck it, big right from the old ace, Sling Blade connects, he climbs up top, crotch chop...
Hiroshi Tanahashi wins by pinfall with High Fly Flow, retaining the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
This was just sad. In outline the match isn't the worst, but it's just such a bummer to see one-armed Tanahashi working so slow and weak. Billy was clearly trying, Tanahashi's did the best he can on one arm, but it just didn't come together at all.
Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii (IWGP United States Championship Tournament Finals) (5)
Intense grappling to start, Ishii trying to lock Omega down with a side headlock, but he abandons that strategy in favor of slugging it out with forearms once he gets half a chance. Ducking and dodging, Kenny pulls ahead, kicks to the back and the Stone Pitbull wants more! He gets two more but it just fires him up, so Omega starts stomping away at his head.
Rake of the eyes, Kenny wipes the eye goo off on referee Red Shoes Unno but this gives Ishii time to suplex him, and Omega seeks refuge outside. Big chops as Tomohiro follows, pushing the Cleaner over the barricade and taking him into the crowd, dumping him into some chairs and laying more and more chops into his chest.
Continuing to fight in the crowd and back to ringside, the Stone Pitbull still in control, chopping and putting Omega into the barricade. Looking for a German suplex on the floor, Kenny hanging onto the barricade for dear life, Ishii puts him into the barricade and then gets the German suplex!
Omega with a straight suplex in return, back in the ring, thinking Terminator but Tomohiro comes back in and wipes him out with a shoulder block before he can. Chop, headbutt, choke in the corner, Kenny tries to rake the eyes but finds himself blocked. Chops and forearms, Stone Pitbull unmoved, snapmare, kick to the back and now Omega wants more!
He gets one and rises, where they trade chops in the middle of the ring, the Cleaner eventually stumbling to the apron. Ishii lands a headbutt and jaws at Omega, bringing forearms in return. Hard whip, boots up, high angle snap scoop powerslam gets two! Chops and forearms staggering the Stone Pitbull, off the ropes for a boot, blocked, so he plants him with a DDT!
Trading strikes again, Omega reverses to a fireman's carry, Finlay Roll, springboard moonsault, only a nearfall. Overhead elbows, duck a lariat, low dropkick, Kotaro Krusher connects! Terminator tope con giro! Omega clutching his knee as the Young Bucks and Red Shoes check on him but he rolls back in the ring as Ishii writhes in pain on the floor.
It's a ruse, as the Bucks set up a table on the outside and Kenny jogs around the ring and does a few jumping jacks for good measure. Up top, missile dropkick just CLIPS the back of the Stone Pitbull's head something wicked, and Omega follows with a back elbow. Clubbing away, trying to keep Ishii off balance, targeting the ear now, intermittently throwing disdainful slaps.
Tomohiro fires up and starts walking through the forearms! Breaking Kenny's arm against his skull! Omega pops off a Frankensteiner for some breathing space, and Ishii finds himself on the apron in front of the table. Kenny firing kicks off to knock him down but he gets caught by a forearm, front facelock applied, Omega lands on the apron, slipping out of the suplex!
Thinking German suplex, Stone Pitbull hanging on for dear life! Clubbing away, thinking maybe shift to the Dragon suplex, he gets the full nelson applied... ISHII BITES THE ROPES TO BLOCK! Clubbing away, back to the nelson hold... DRAGON SUPLEX OFF THE APRON THROUGH A TABLE! RED SHOES IS COUNTING! ISHII BACK IN AT THE COUNT OF NINETEEN! COVER... NO GOOD!
V-Trigger connects, a second, Kenny knows it'll take more than just two, takes the knee pad down, hits a third but Ishii catches the knee! Forearms in return, still in pain from what Sabre did earlier in the show, another V-Trigger, off the ropes for the sliding V-Trigger... SO CLOSE! Up in the electric chair, the Stone Pitbull counters into a DDT!
V-Trigger blocked, a lariat connects but Ishii can't capitalize! Corner lariat once both men are on their feet, struggling in the turnbuckle... SUPERPLEX! SOMEHOW OMEGA FINDS THE WILL TO KICK OUT! Hard chops ahoy, both men stumbling, spent, the exertion of three hard matches in a little over 24 hours weighing on them, V-Trigger gets a headbutt, Ishii off the ropes, another V-Trigger!
Going for yet one more, the Stone Pitbull meets him with a lariat... NO GOOD! OMEGA HITS ISHII'S OWN BRAINBUSTER ON HIM! IT'S NOT OVER YET! Looking for one more V-Trigger, sidestepped, Omega happy to hit a German suplex but Ishii is right back on him with strikes, the sliding lariat... STILL NOT ENOUGH!
Looking for the brainbuster, Omega slips out, V-Trigger, leapfrog to the electric chair, Ishii plants him with One-Winged Angel! NO GOOD! Trying the brainbuster again, again Kenny slips out, backslide roll-through, V-Trigger connects! Crawling to their feet, back to forearms in the middle of the ring, Stone Pitbull strings a few in a row but Omega pastes him with a palm strike!
Aoi Shoudou connects, gun fingers, off the ropes, another V-Trigger but Ishii wakes right up for forearms! Dragon suplex, V-Trigger... ISHII KICKS OUT AT ONE! POISON FRANKENSTEINER! JUMPING V-TRIGGER! ELECTRIC CHAIR, ISHII THROWING PUNCHES...
Kenny Omega wins by pinfall with a wrist-clutch One-Winged Angel, winning the IWGP United States Championship.
So that was a hell of a match. I do think it maybe went a little long in the late stages, one too many forearm exchanges perhaps, but that's a minor quibble. This was excellent and you should watch it with all haste.
As Omega is presented with the title, Cody shows up to yank it out of his hands, creating a tense moment that's defused when it turns out he only wants to put the title around his waist personally.
Overall
A show with higher highs than night one, but lower lows as well. All the tournament matches as well as the junior tag title defense are very much worth your time, but the second half of the show was a real slog at times. But we got some interesting story movement as well, with Cody playing very nice with new champ Omega and Beretta looking at going to heavyweight.
And thankfully, English commentary, while not perfect, was much smoother tonight, and most of the production issues were ironed out.
Agree? Disagree? Feel free to toss in your two cents below, Cagesiders.