Hello friends, as we close the chapter on 2017 for New Japan with Wrestle Kingdom 12, which you can read all about here we begin a new chapter with New Year Dash.
Today’s show takes place at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.
Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, and Yuji Nagata over Ren Narita, Shota Umino, Tetsuhiro Yagi, & Tomoyuki Oka
Winners: Nakanishi, Tenzan, Kojima, and Nagata. Kojima wins with the Cozy Lariat to Umino.
Hirai Kawato, Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger, Henare, and Togi Makabe vs. Taka Michinoku, El Desperado, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Takashi Iizuka
Winners: Suzuki-gun. El Desperado hits Kawato with the Pinche Loco.
Katsuya Kitamura vs. Switchblade Jay White
Winner: Jay White. White pins Kitamura with the Blade Runner.
Cheeseburger and Roppongi 3K vs. Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks
Winners: The Elite. Cheeseburger is pinned after a Meltzer Driver.
Ryusuke Taguchi, Kushida, David Finlay, Juice Robinson, and Kota Ibushi vs. Leo Tonga, Marty Scurll, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, and Cody
Winners: Bullet Club. Cody submits Finlay with the American Nightmare.
After the match the Bullet Club assault Ibushi and just as Cody is about to hit Inushi over the head with a chair in comes Omega to make the save for his old friend.
Omega and Cody get into a shoving match and eventually all the Bullet Club members leave except Omega. Omega gets on the mic and says he’s tired of the infighting with the Bullet Club and he’s got the solution, Switchblade Jay White!
White comes out and Omega says he’s been watching him for a long time and he reminds him of the Cleaner from 2015. Omega then offers White a spot in the Bullet Club and tosses him a shirt. White puts it on then hits Omega with the Blade Runner. Obviously this sets up the next opponent for Omega since Jericho is long gone, probably back in America by now.
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship Match
Guerillas of Destiny and Bad Luck Fale vs. Beretta, Toru Yano, and Tomohiro Ishii
Winners and new NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions: Guerillas of Destiny and Bad Luck Fale. Tama Tonga hits Beretta with the Gun Stun to win. If you ever wonder why I don’t recap the six-man title matches, it’s because the belts are pointless.
War Machine, Michael Elgin, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Killer Elite Squad, Zack Sabre Jr., and Minoru Suzuki
Winners: Suzuki-gun. Killer Bomb on Hanson for the win. Say goodbye to War Machine now.
After the match Suzuki attacked Tanahashi’s knee and then picked up the Intercontinental Championship, apparently he’s the next challenger.
Gedo, Wil Ospreay, Yoshi-Hashi, Hirooki Goto, and Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Bushi, Sanada, Evil, and Tetsuya Naito
Winners: Los Ingobernables de Japon. Naito pins Hashi after a Destino.
Afterwards, Sanada locks in the Skull End to Okada. He’s apparently the next challenger for Okada. The feud should help Sanada out a lot but I would say Okada is in no danger of dropping the title there.
After that, Naito gets on the mic and says he lost the match yesterday and he’s not going to make excuses when suddenly he’s attacked by none other than Chris Jericho! They have a pull apart brawl and for some reason the other LIJ members just stand around and watch, that was weird. But hey, this match and feud should be awesome. It was actually teased a bit in the Wrestle Kingdom press conferences but people weren’t sure if Jericho was even staying. Apparently, he is.
So there’s a lot to take from this show. Okada/Sanada, Tanahashi/Suzuki, Omega/White, and Jericho/Naito all look to be future programs so those seem interesting. But the big takeaway is what looks to be the inevitable split of the Bullet Club. Only question is, will it be Cody who’s kicked out, will the Elite succeed, will Omega be kicked out, or something even different? But this has been a long time coming and I wouldn’t be shocked to see the next US show headlined by Omega vs. Cody and if not, I would expect them to to the official split there similar to when AJ Styles was kicked out. But I love the inclusion of Ibushi into this feud.
In the mean time check me out on Twitter at Eddyc85 and or PIWShow and rate/review/subscribe to my podcast, “Politically Incorrect Wrestling Show” on iTunes, Stitcher, and Podbean. Will be having a NJPW show coming out this weekend so check that out. Until next time, thanks for reading.