RICOCHET & MATT SYDAL vs. THE YOUNG BUCKS vs. reDRAGON vs. RAPPONGI VICE (16:42): Richochet might just be the most entertaining wrestler in the world, so adding him to the mix definitely made this even more exciting and fun than these tag-team melees usually are. And, let's be honest...I could watch any of these four tag teams fight each other on every show until the end of time and never get bored. A ton of high-flying, super-kicks, comedy, action. This was awesome stuff. Sure, it's all been done before, but it's still a fucking spectacle. The Young Bucks won the Jr. tag titles. ***1/2 (out of ****)
THE BRISCOE'S & TORI YANU vs. BAD LUCK FALE, TAMA TONGA, & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI (11:34): Nice to see the Briscoe brothers from ROH make their NJPW debut. And the crowd kind of got into them (they are awesome). The other derelicts in this match are fairly mediocre, though, so it was entertaining but nothing special. The winners won the (new) 3-man tag titles. **1/2
MICHAEL ELGIN vs. JAY LETHAL (12:00): You know...having the ROH title defended on this show might seem like a good idea. More people probably watch this show than ROH. It makes the title seem global and special. Introduce Lethal to Japan (Elgin was in last year's G1 tournament...and got a good crowd response). But it was short, early in the show...and ended up making the title feel less special. It was a good enough match (except for the lame, Vince Russo ending where Lethal hit Elgin with a book then pinned him to retain to title). I'd have rather seen this as a thirty-minute main event match on a ROH ppv. **1/2
KENNY OMEGA vs. KUSHIDA (12:48): This was a great match. Omega and Kushida flew all over the ring. It was crazy move after crazy move and wild and kinetic. The finish, a reversal into a small-package, was a bit of a letdown...but this was awesome stuff. Kushida won the Jr. heavyweight title. ***1/2
TOMOAKI HONMA & TOGI MAKABE vs. DOC GALLOWS & KARL ANDERSON (12:49): Honma, the crowd favorite and my favorite, and Makabe won the tag titles here. In December they won the tag tournament to get this shot. Decent match. The Bullet Club dudes, Gallows and Anderson, are dull, but Honma is awesome and that made up for every detraction. **1/2
HIROOKI GOTO vs. TETSUYA NAITO (12:16): The evil Naito put Goto through a table. Funny how the tables in Japan are small and built sturdy. Naito as a villain is amusing but not as exciting as he was before. This was just okay. **
KATSUYORI SHIBATA vs. TOMOHIRO ISHII (17:19): Well they beat the shit out of each other. And early it was as awesome and it gets. Shibata sat down and let Ishii kick his back. Then Ishii sat down and let Shibata kick his back. A test of wills! It did get a little slow in the middle...but picked up at the end. Not either guy's best match, but worthy of expectations. Shibata won the NEVER openweight title. Yes, there are too many titles. ***
AJ STYLES vs. SHINSUKE NAKAMURA (24:18): Exceptional match. The last ten minutes of this (the near-falls, the drama, the big moves, the brutality) was the best wrestling you will ever see in your entire life. And, sure, with two of the best wrestlers in the world wrestling for the first time on Japan's biggest show of the year, you expected a classic...but AJ hurt his back last month and had to leave early during NJPW's tag team tournament. He did wrestle on Ring of Honor's Final Battle ppv in the main event against Jay Lethal a few weeks ago, but he didn't look 100%. In this match he didn't look on top of his game early, but by the end when he was doing somersault splashes from the top rope he was on fire. The match was brutal. It was hard to watch when Nakamura was delivering flying knees and back breakers knowing AJ is hurt and probably won't be wrestling too much longer. The final minutes were a masterpiece and this was the match of the show. Nakamura retained the IC title. ***1/2
KAZACHIKA OKADA vs. HIROSHI TANAHASHI (36:01): This is the current generation's Rock vs. Austin rivalry. They're the two big names battling for the third time at Wrestle Kingdom in the main event for the title. Okada came in as champ and left as champ and he finally defeated Tanahashi to do it. With that said, this was their worst match against one another. There are a myriad of reasons. The match before this was hard to top. These two have had big matches before so it's a little old now. They're also both older in age and Tanahashi is on the down-swing of his career. It was also too long. The first half felt like filler. And after seeing Ricochet and Kushida and Styles flying all over the place, a lot of what these guys did felt a little less bombastic in the early going. The final five minutes were awesome, though, with near-falls and drama and emotion and a hot crowd. It was a good match, alas not great. **1/2
Excellent show. And, really, the end of an era. After the show, word came out that AJ Styles, Nakamura, Gallows, and Anderson, were going to the WWE. Styles may in fact be at the Royal Rumble. And this is sad news since, realistically, you'll never see a match as good as Nakamura vs. Styles in the WWE. What you'll see is comedy and run-ins and poor booking. And I can't see Nakamura being a star in the WWE. And isn't Styles still hurt? So this show is the last time you'll probably see some of these guys on a NJPW show. They've still got Honma and Ishii and Okada and Tanahashi so they'll be okay. But...man...I'm going to fucking miss seeing Styles and Nakamura in big NJPW matches. It'll be different without them, that's for sure.
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