We are back at Ryogoku, the site of this year’s amazing G1 Finals match, for the next chapter in Ryohei Oiwa’s saga – the championship match he earned by winning that match. Let’s find out if he can complete the journey. This has become a pretty major show – as was the case with Wrestle Kingdom and Dominion, it is airing on network TV in Japan, so I’m sure this will be a newsworthy evening.

Goto Revolutionary Army (Hirooki Goto & Tatsuya Matsumoto) vs. Unbound Co. (Shingo Takagi & Daiki Nagai)

Goto’s movie, Street Fighter, is finally coming out on Friday, and it is sponsoring this show. Takagi and Goto were recently announced for a mixed tag match at Stardom’s Crimson Nightmare show on October 29 – Takagi is teaming with Natsupoi (his wife), while Goto’s partner is Yuni Mizomori – and this previews that. This is a pretty spirited little preview tag, which Unbound Co. wins when Takagi pins Matsumoto with the Death Rider; of course, Takagi called out the most famous practitioner of that move, Jon Moxley, after he beat Moxley’s faction-mate, Claudio Castagnoli, at Destruction. After this match, Moxley appears on the video screen to declare that he is returning to NJPW, though he doesn’t mention Takagi by name, which irks Takagi.

Yuya Uemura, Taichi & El Desperado vs. HOUSE OF TORTURE (SANADA, Yujiro Takahashi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

Taichi is trying to get Kanemaru to participate in his “produce by” show on Saturday, but Kanemaru doesn’t seem interested. This starts with a fun grappling sequence between Uemura and SANADA, then settles into a decent little tag match with very, very light HOUSE shenanigans (which are immediately foiled) that ends with Taichi pinning Takahashi with Black Mephisto.

Hechicero & Boltin Oleg vs. TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr. & Hartley Jackson)

Of course, the main attraction here is Sabre and Hechicero renewing their eternal technical wrestling rivalry, which seems to be leading to a one-on-one match for Hechicero’s CMLL World Heavyweight Championship; Hechicero won a three-way title match involving Sabre at CMLL’s 93rd Anniversary Show last month, but he did so by beating the third participant, Castagnoli. This starts with a technical showcase with Sabre and Hechicero, then shifts to the big meaty men slapping meat. The pairings are revisited a couple times during the match, and Boltin eventually pins Jackson with the Kamikaze. This was fun.

Konosuke Takeshita & Toru Yano vs. HOUSE OF TORTURE (Ren Narita & Shun Skywalker)

Skywalker and Narita jump the faces during their entrance, and shortly thereafter, the rest of the HOUSE runs in as well, but Takeshita fights them all off. At the end of this sequence, Takeshita goes over the top rope and tries to land on the apron but slips off in a moment that looked like it could have resulted in an absolutely disastrous injury, but he appeared to be fine afterward. The finish sees Yano counter the HOUSE’s cheating attempts and before pinning Skywalker with a low blow and a roll-up; this presumably sets up Yano as Skywalker’s next challenger for the NJPW World TV Championship. This was barely a match. I hope Takeshita never gets tired of flying halfway across the world for stuff like this.

Hiroshi Tanahashi announces a second Tanahashi Jam show for Japanese TV from Korakuen Hall on November 19; the first one was last June, and it turned out to be controversial – it featured Sabre beating Goto for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (in fact, it was the match where Goto suffered the kayfabe arm injury that covered for him going off to shoot the movie that is sponsoring this show), but it wasn’t posted on NJPW World until weeks later due to TV rights issues, which upset a lot of international fans. Let’s hope that, now that NJPW is owned by TV Asahi, they can avoid those issues the second time around.

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship: United Empire (Will Ospreay, HENARE & Great-O-Khan) (c) vs. Unbound Co. (Yuto-Ice, OSKAR & Jeff Cobb)

The Knockout Brothers regained the IWGP Tag Team Championship from HENARE and Great-O-Khan last week in a match that I haven’t seen yet (this new schedule of mine is a bear, folks), but that some people really loved. Since then, United Empire seems to be falling apart; even Great-O-Khan seems to be done with it.

HENARE and Great-O-Khan are accompanied by Jake Lee, Jakob Austin Young and Zane Jay, and are introduced before Ospreay even makes his entrance; Ospreay, meanwhile, is accompanied by Francesco Akira. This starts off with a huge brawl, and once this gets sorted out, United Empire spends several minutes working over OSKAR’s knee. OSKAR eventually gets the hot tag to Cobb – one of the great hot tag guys in the business – just as the camera spots Callum Newman watching from the entrance, and pointedly not in the United Empire corner. Ospreay and Cobb go at it for a few minutes before Yuto-Ice gets the tag and goes after the AEW World Champion. The crowd is very into this, and the sequence between the two is electric. Great-O-Khan eventually runs in to cut off Yuto-Ice, and ref Marty Asami gets bumped. Newman comes to ringside and tosses Great-O-Khan a chair, but Great-O-Khan misses the chair shot and has the chair kicked in his face by Yuto-Ice. Ospreay hits Yuto-Ice with the Hidden Blade and throws the chair out of the ring, but Asami is slow to make the count, and Yuto-Ice kicks out at two. Ospreay goes for another Hidden Blade, but takes the Takayama knee from Yuto-Ice instead. HENARE tags in and dominates both Knockout Brothers. United Empire go for the goofy triple-team move that won them the titles earlier this year, but Cobb cuts off Ospreay, who then hits a crazy Sky Twister Press to the floor. HENARE and Great-O-Khan try to put away Yuto-Ice, but HENARE accidentally hits Great-O-Khan with a flying headbutt (which Great-O-Khan sells like Terry Funk) and then HENARE falls victim to the KOB, which gives Unbound Co. the pinfall win and the titles. This was very good, but it felt like the Reader’s Digest version of a great match. 

After the match, Newman attacks OSKAR’s injured knee; meanwhile, Lee, Young and Zane go after Cobb while Akira looks on disapprovingly. (After Akira’s heel performances this spring, his sudden face turn feels a bit unearned.) Newman gets out his sword and Ospreay grabs him from behind; Newman takes a swing at Ospreay with the sword, and then they go face to face. Newman dips, and Ospreay turns his attention to Yuto-Ice, whom he challenges for the IWGP Tag Team Championship at Power Struggle on November 3 in Hiroshima. Yuto-Ice says that’s cool, but we get to choose your partner, and that partner is Callum Newman. There’s a moment when Ospreay is leaving when he looks at someone at ringside and motions at Yuto-Ice in a sort of “Can you believe this guy?” manner, which was funny.

NEVER Openweight Championship: Aaron Wolf (c) vs. Kosei Fujita [TMDK]

The build to this one has been labored, to say the least, what with Wolf falling ill and missing the G1 Final – when the challenge was supposed to be issued – and Fujita getting pulled from the trios match at Destruction because Uemura got sick. But, finally, here we are.

Fujita gets a slightly updated entrance, with an extended intro to his ROTTENGRAFFTY theme. It’s kind of funny that the 24-year-old is the trusted veteran in this match, but that’s obviously how it’s going to go in a match with Wolf. The story here is, of course, that Wolf has a huge size advantage, but Fujita doesn’t care. Fujita has the advantage early, but Wolf uses his size and his judo skills to take over. There’s an interesting head-and-arm choke/Anaconda Vise sequence where Wolf demonstrates terrific technique, but he can’t put Fujita away with it. Fujita hits a deadlift German on the much larger man, but only gets two. This is a really hard-hitting, back-and-forth match, and eventually Fujita makes the fatal error of going for the Thrill Ride. Wolf battles out, hits the Angle Slam for two, and then hits what Walker Stewart called a Northern Lights Bomb, but looks more like a Jackhammer for the pinfall. This was also very, very good.

IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship: Gabe Kidd (c) vs. Shota Umino

This week, Umino mentioned PAC in the lead-up to this match, saying that in his challenge for the IWGP Global Championship at Forbidden Door (where PAC stood in for Kidd because Kidd was having visa issues), he respected the title in a way that Kidd doesn’t.

During Kidd’s entrance, there is an empty chair in the entryway with a PAC memorial towel on it. This starts off quickly with Umino taking the fight to Kidd, who turns the tables by hitting Umino with the belt. This opens up Umino and causes the “W” on the belt to fall off; Kidd picks it up, puts it in his mouth and spits it at Tanahashi, which is a nice little bit of improvisation. Kidd dominates for several minutes but can’t put Umino away. Kidd hits a brainbuster on the apron and tries to put Umino through a table at ringside, but Umino battles back and powerbombs Kidd through the table instead. (Kidd’s back gets cut up in the process, as Japanese tables always take their toll.) Umino drives Kidd into the ringpost, which opens Kidd up. Back in the ring, they go back and forth with very physical moves and strikes, and the crowd is getting deeply into this. This is bringing the best out of Umino – I’ve never seen him closer to being the guy NJPW has wanted him to be for years than he is here. Kidd applies the Brutalizer, but Umino counters with a pin attempt into an STF, but Kidd gets to the ropes. Umino gets two with a lariat after a strange rope-running sequence, and then Kidd responds with the O-Knee for a near-fall of his own. Kidd goes for a Fisherman Buster, which is what finished off Drilla Moloney at Destruction, but Umino counters with an inside cradle for two. Umino keeps going for the Second Chapter, but Kidd slips out and eventually hits the Fisherman Buster for the pinfall and the successful title defense, which noticeably sucks the air out of the building once again. This was very good, although, as with the Moloney match at Destruction, the ending felt anticlimactic and the outcome felt all wrong.

After the match, Kidd calls for a challenger but initially gets no response. As Kidd is leaving, though, Taichi enters the arena and answers the call, promising to end Kidd, who accepts the challenge for Power Struggle.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: YOH (c) vs. Robbie Eagles [TMDK]

Every time I see the junior champion presentation, I get a little jump scare when Marty Scurll pops up. Again, I didn’t see the YOH/Robbie X match from last week, but I did not hear particularly good things.

Tanahashi reads the championship declaration and then takes the belt from YOH, who pats Tanahashi’s belly like he’s the Pillsbury Doughboy. I still maintain that most of Tanahashi’s general schlubbiness problem is caused by his suits all being too small – if he wore clothes that fit, his gut wouldn’t be so noticeable. Eagles controls early, working on YOH’s knee to attempt to set up the Ron Miller Special. YOH fights back and locks Eagles in the Anaconda Vise, but Eagles gets to the ropes. Eagles runs YOH into the corner with a reverse backpack type of move, and then locks in the Ron Miller Special, but YOH makes it to the ropes himself. Eagles hits the missile dropkick to the knee, but YOH blocks Hyperion and hits a lariat. YOH performs Drop the Needle, but onto his bad knee, and then hits a Falcon Arrow for two. YOH hits a German for two and tries for Direct Drive, but Eagles hits the Turbo Backpack. Eagles hits the 450 to the knee and goes for the Ron Miller Special, but YOH counters with another Direct Drive attempt that Eagles blocks, and the two rapidly exchange holds and pin attempts until YOH gets a flash pin with the Five-Star Clutch. This didn’t really get going until the end, and it certainly didn’t help that the crowd was deceased from the Global title segment, but it was fine.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Yota Tsuji [Unbound Co.] (c) vs. Ryohei Oiwa [TMDK]

During the VTR, Tsuji is seated in front of a record collection where a lot of the vinyl is being improperly stored. Lots of stacks of horizontal records. It hurt my soul a little and kind of made me question whether I want this man as my champion.

Tanahashi reads the championship declaration, and away we go. The crowd is solidly behind Oiwa, whose hair looks extra skunky tonight. The two test each other’s strength, but every time Oiwa seems to take control, Tsuji uses his experience to counter Oiwa’s offense. Eventually, Oiwa manages to grab the Big Rock and drags Tsuji to the outside and around the ring, but Tsuji counters with the uranage backbreaker, then hits a double stomp from the second turnbuckle to the floor. That looked like a broken ankle waiting to happen, but Tsuji was fine afterward. Oiwa beats the count back into the ring, but Tsuji spends the next several minutes working over Oiwa’s midsection. Every time Oiwa battles back, Tsuji responds with a shot to the gut to regain control. Oiwa finally manages to grab the advantage with his power and applies the standing cobra, which he turns into a slam, but when Oiwa goes for the splash from the top, Tsuji gets the knees up, and then goes for the Marlowe Crash, but Oiwa avoids it and hits the Tenzan suplex for a double-down. Oiwa starts going after Tsuji’s arm and applies the R Clutch (an arm-capture headlock), but Tsuji tosses him over the top rope, hits a tope suicida and then rolls him back into the ring and hits another double stomp from the top for two. Oiwa recovers and avoids a couple of Gene Blaster attempts before hitting a great-looking Chaos Theory for two. Tsuji blocks The Grip and hits Silver Linings for two. Oiwa blocks the Gene Blaster and hits a Doctor Bomb, leading to another double-down, during which Red Shoes applies the count and gets to eight. Back up, they hit a double headbutt and are right back down. They exchange strikes, then Tsuji hits a lariat; Oiwa kicks out at one, but then takes a Gene Blaster for two. Tsuji applies the Boston Crab, then tries for a slingshot, but Oiwa counters with the Big Rock at the 30-minute call. Tsuji tries everything to escape, but Oiwa keeps reapplying. Tsuji eventually gets out, but falls victim to a Zack Driver for a near-fall. Oiwa tries to re-apply the Big Rock, but Tsuji counters with a Fire Blaster. Tsuji goes for another Gene Blaster, but eats a lariat. Oiwa goes for the Grip, but Tsuji counters with a Fire Blaster for two. Tsuji hits another Fire Blaster for the pinfall. This was a God damn great match, and thankfully, the crowd seems more receptive to Tsuji winning than they were with Kidd.

After the match, Tsuji gives respect to Oiwa but declares that he’s the leader of the new generation. After he finishes, the lights go out and a funny video message from Kenny Omega plays in the arena. Omega essentially calls Tsuji a coward for ducking AEW and challenges him to a match. Tsuji says he won’t accept the challenge until Omega comes to Japan to face him in the ring. Then, Boltin Oleg comes to the ring and seems prepared to challenge Tsuji, but Omega runs in and runs the two into each other, hits dragon suplexes on both, and then hits Tsuji with a V Trigger and the One-Winged Angel. Omega, in full heel mode, challenges Tanahashi to make the match with Tsuji. That was a hell of a thing.

Presumably, we’ll get Super Junior Tag League participants and confirmation of the meat of the Power Struggle card sometime this week, not that there’s a ton of ambiguity there. See you soon!