{"id":13533,"date":"2019-10-16T14:23:04","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T13:23:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/?p=13533"},"modified":"2019-10-16T14:23:12","modified_gmt":"2019-10-16T13:23:12","slug":"njpw-king-of-pro-wrestling-2019-results-and-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/2019\/10\/16\/njpw-king-of-pro-wrestling-2019-results-and-review\/","title":{"rendered":"NJPW: King of Pro Wrestling 2019 Results and Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NJPW’s King of Pro Wrestling is now in the history books and it has been one of the best shows of the entire year despite a lot of mishaps and changes in the card. Here is my review of the recently concluded event.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Match #1 – Tag Team Match (El Desperado Comeback):<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

El\nDesperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru def. Roppongi 3K<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So this was originally supposed to be a six man tag\nfeaturing DOUKI on the Suzuki-Gun team and Taguchi with RP3K but the card\nchanged as well as other matches due to some travel issues that we’ll get onto\nlater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was Desperado’s first match back since his\nrecovery from a jaw injury suffered at the hands of Jun Kasai in an independent\nshow. Boy did he looked great! He did not miss a step and looks to be in better\nshape. Plus he wore the same attire that still got the blood during the\naforementioned match where he suffered the injury. As expected from these two\nrival teams it was a fast-paced action that saw Desperado get the win over SHO\nwith a Pinche Loco at the 10 minute and 44 second mark. A solid way to open up\nthe show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Match #2 – Tag Team Match (Tanahashi’s 20th Anniversary Match):<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiroshi\nTanahashi & Tomoaki Honma def. Most Violent Players<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s just appreciate Hiroshi Tanahashi’s greatness\nfor a moment. The Ace has been going at it strong for two decades straight now and\nhas dedicated his life to New Japan Pro Wrestling. To me, he will always be the\ngreatest of all time in the company’s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that out of the way, I thought this was a\npretty good match considering all the men involved. Makabe actually took some bumps\nif you can believe it, Yano did his thing, and Honma was okay for a man who was\nnearly crippled. Overall it was just a fun little match that did not overstay\nit’s welcome. Tana got the pin over Yano with his signature High Fly Flow at\nthe 9 minute and 43 second mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rumor of Chris Jericho returning and attacking\nTana to set up a match at Wrestle Kingdom did not take place, if this was true\nthen it was probably interfered by the super typhoon Hagibis as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Match #3 – Tag Team Match:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tetsuya\nNaito & Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi & DOUKI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another change on the card, originally a six man tag\nft. LIJ’s Naito, Shingo, and BUSHI against Suzuki-Gun’s ZSJ, Archer, and\nTaichi. Unfortunately for Zack he wasn’t able to travel in time so DOUKI\nreplaced him and this got turned into a tag-team match because Lance Archer was\nmoved into the US Title match which we’ll get more into later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was just a typical tag match. Nothing\nnoteworthy really. Ended in a disqualification when the Suzuki-Gun members\nattacked everyone on sight with foreign objects. Taichi would then berate Naito\nafter the match setting up a special bout between the two at Power Struggle. I\nhonestly am not sure where this rivalry leads to but it sucks to see Naito on\nmidcard feuds right now as a fan of his but I’ve already complained enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Match #4 – Special Singles Match:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minoru Suzuki def. Jushin “Thunder” Liger<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

To me and possibly a lot of other fans, this was the\nmost anticipated match of the night. Months and months of buildup went into\nthis. I’d say it was all worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suzuki and Liger are pretty much legends at this\npoint but this match proved as to why. Personally when I usually watch matches\nI sometimes check my phone or open up a new tab in the PC or whatnot but not in\nthis one. I was glued into my eyes for the whole 17 minute match and every move\nwhether it’s a simple submission hold or a strike fest feels like it meant\nsomething. It speaks volume to the greatness of these two when it comes to controlling\nthe crowd even beyond those who are live in attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the match itself though these two have\nseemingly built up a lot of hatred through the months getting into this. We\nwere promised a fight, a blood bath even. What we got though was a straight up\nwrestling match reminiscent of the days of Pancrase. At least that’s how it\nfelt to me. Very UWF-esque if you will, add in with some modern day strong\nstyle. I actually liked it although I would understand the disappointment of\nsome expecting a more death match style but honestly, this was as perfect as\nany match two men in their 50’s could give. Some are also expecting another\nappearance of Kishin Liger and I thought he’d return too but we got\n“Fighter Liger” which I thought worked fine. Kishin is supposed to\nappear rarely, it is like mythology. The version of Liger we saw is like a\nsuperhero finally taking on the super villain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end though, Suzuki got the win after a hard\nfought battle between the two with a Gotch Style Piledriver. For a moment I\nthought Liger would be the first one to kick out of that move but nobody ever\nwill it seems like. It all concluded greatly and I got chills for real, with\nSuzuki bowing to his arch nemesis. Proving that there will always be respect\nbetween these two icons of pro wrestling. Will possibly go down as my favorite\nmoment of the entire year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Match #5 – IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will Ospreay def. El Phantasmo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Let me go ahead and say it, this was El Phantasmo’s\nbest match in his NJPW run so far and possibly of his entire career, while for\nOspreay? Well with his body of work this was just another 4-star+ level match\nfor him. This is only Ospreay’s second defense of his third reign as IWGP Jr.\nHeavyweight Champion, funnily enough the first one was against Robbie Eagles in\nthe Australian tour whom he has been since recruited to CHAOS from Bullet Club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was just a fantastic match from top to bottom,\nespecially if you’re a fan of the highflying style. For most of Phantasmo’s\nmatches in New Japan, he seems to be more into his character more than\nanything. Taunting the opponents and the fans but this time it’s different. It\nwas all serious business with him for the most part. Even the interferences\nfrom their respective partners (Eagles & Ishimori) added to the story of\nthe match. I really enjoyed this and from a technical perspective this is\neasily match of the night but from a sentimental point of view I still give the\nedge to Liger and Suzuki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought they would’ve gone all in to Phantasmo\nhaving been dominant since his debut at BOSJ, winning the Super J Cup and the\nJunior Tag Titles but Ospreay is still alive as champion and will likely enter\nWrestle Kingdom with the belt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Match #6 – Six Man Tag Team Match:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goto,\nIshii, and YOSHI-HASHI def. Jay White, KENTA, & Yujiro<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was more of a “breather” match before\nthe final three title matches. Building up the Power Struggle matches between\nJay White vs. Hirooki Goto for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, and the\nrematch between Tomohiro Ishii and KENTA for the NEVER Openweight Championship.\nNot much to say other than it was your standard six man tag. All men involved\ngot their stuff in and didn’t really clogged a lot of the match time which was\nfine. A GTR to the Tokyo Pimp got the CHAOS trio the victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Match #7 – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship (Vacant):<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lance Archer def. Juice Robinson<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As you all know originally Jon Moxley was set to\ndefend the US Heavyweight Title against his rival Juice to possibly conclude\nthe feud here. But alas, typhoon Hagibis came to play and had to interfere what\nwould’ve been one helluva match. Mox was not able to travel from the States to\nJapan and NJPW were forced to relinquish the belt from him and vacate it\ntemporarily. The man who replaced him though is Suzuki-Gun member: Lance Archer\nwho had a resurgence for his singles career this year with the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The match went on with its No DQ stipulation, it was\njust an all out chaotic brawl but didn’t last too long. Archer dominated for\nthe most part but Juice still managed to get some hopeful comeback spots. In\nthe end though the dominant big man got the win and his first singles\nchampionship in his New Japan run. All the work Archer has put through has\ntotally been worth it and I’m glad it’s getting paid off with this solid\nvictory! As for Juice though you gotta feel bad, he was probably set to win the\nbelt over Mox to get his win back but alas natural disasters got in the way and\na new champion was crowned, it wasn’t him though. Pity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We got a return after the match though, David Finlay\n(son of Fit Finlay) is back after months of recovery from injury as well! Him\nand Juice have formed a bond being school mates in the dojo before, Finlay\nattempted to rescue Juice from Archer after a post-match beatdown but he himself\nfaced the wrath of Archer. Personally, I’m not the biggest David Finlay fan in\nthe world, I think he needs a new gimmick other than being a fourth generation\nwrestler, but we’ll see where he goes from here. Other than the obvious World\nTag League run with Juice down the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Match #8 – IWGP Heavyweight Championship No. 1 Contender Match:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kota Ibushi def. EVIL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It was Light vs. Darkness. What else is there to\nsay? Ibushi also had a solid run so far this year, possibly one of, if not the\nbest, year of his career. EVIL continues to prove why he is such an underrated\ntalent. Put all of those factors together and you got yourself a great match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ve witnessed a solid back-and-forth between the\ntwo. As usual though in the middle of the match, EVIL was dominating for the\nmost part before Ibushi went on to have a babyface comeback only he can deliver\nand ending up getting the win after a Kamigoye at the 24 minute mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only thing I’d say “bad” about it, was\nthat I enjoyed their G1 Climax match earlier this year just a tad bit better.\nObviously this was still top notch performance, but there was something about\nthat match that I just enjoyed a little bit more than this one. Probably the\nresult. Other than Ibushi successfully retains and this won’t be the last time\nwe’ll see him in the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Match #9 – IWGP Heavyweight Championship:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kazuchika Okada def. SANADA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

193 days as champion in his fifth reign. This is\ndefense number four for Okada and his best one yet in terms of emotion. As\nusual we get the slow start that would pick up the pace as we go through the\nclimax and conclusion. It’s the formula for an Okada match at this point and it\nstill works for me and for a lot of fans too. It can be polarizing but hey, as\nlong as it is not broken, don’t fix it as they say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of callbacks from their previous matches, and\nas soon as the pace started to go faster everything went smoothly. The only\nthing I’d hope though is that this is the last time we’ll see these two for\nnow. Keep the “friendly rivalry” going but once SANADA truly breaks\nout as a singles star (being gone from Naito’s shadow in LIJ) then you can come\nback to this. Because that’s the thing, I’m not as invested into this match\nunlike their previous ones first at the New Japan Cup finals and at Wrestling\nDontaku.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway,  instead\nof going all out with the Skull End submission hold, SANADA decided to go for\ntheatrics and attempted a Mutoh Moonsault in tribute to his senpai but it cost\nhim the match. One Rainmaker was all it took for Okada to successfully defend\nthe championship once more. An emotional SANADA was in tears post match and man\nit truly made you feel for him. Another “failure” in his book after\nhaving just built up some momentum. We’ll see where he goes from here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the match, Kota Ibushi officially challenged\nOkada for the main event of Night 1 at Wrestle Kingdom 14. It was accepted and\nit has been set. Okada vs. Ibushi at the Tokyo Dome. It’s going to be\nfantastic!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NJPW’s King of Pro Wrestling is now in the history books and it has been one of the best shows of the entire year despite a lot of mishaps and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":13535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,204,37,22],"tags":[44,1053],"class_list":["post-13533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-njpw","category-njpw-reviews","category-reviews","tag-njpw","tag-okada"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9jnWd-3wh","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/9_1-3.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13533"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13536,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13533\/revisions\/13536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}