New Japan Pro Wrestling’s first full-blown show in the United States aired live on AXS TV and NJPWWorld.com on Saturday night. If you missed it, I would suggest that you check out the replay on AXS TV or on NJPW World.
Here are the results:
CHAOS (The Briscoes, Roppongi Vice & Will Ospreay) defeated The Bullet Club (The Young Bucks, Marty Scurll, Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi)
Good match to start the show. They started off hot with a bunch of crazy moves. The Bucks almost had the match won and were about to hit the Meltzer driver but Romero got a roll up and the win. Matt Jackson was upset at ringside and said that they can’t lose on TV because they have a merchandise deal with Hot Topic. That was meant to pop the fans at home that got the reference.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Sanada, Evil, Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi) defeated Jushin “Thunder” Liger, Dragon Lee, Titan and Volador Jr.
Takahashi came out to the ring with a stuffed animal. Jim Ross and Josh Barnett said that they had no idea why he had the stuffed animal but it seemed to calm him down so it’s good that he has it. Liger got the biggest pop from the crowd. Titan was pinned after Takahashi hit the Time Bomb. This was after Evil hit him with a chair while the referee was distracted in the corner.
IWGP United States Championship Tournament (first round match)
Jay Lethal defeated Hangman Page
The story of the match is that Lethal was selling his ribs after injuring them (storyline) in his match with Beer City Bruiser. There were several near falls but Lethal ultimately got the win after hitting a second Lethal Injection.
IWGP United States Championship Tournament (first round match)
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Juice Robinson by submission
Another good match. Lots of really cool submission moves. Sabre Jr. got the win after locking in an Octopus hold. Robinson has come a long way since his days as CJ Parker in NXT. Trust me, he is 1000 times better and it seems like he will continue to get better before he gets offered a deal by WWE to return.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kushida, Jay White & David Finlay defeated Billy Gunn, Yoshitatsu, Yohei Komatsu and Sho Tanaka
This might have been the weakest match on the card but it was still fine. Gunn was booed every time he got in the ring. Tanahashi wrestled with a torn bicep which is amazing if you really think about it. White got the win after hitting Yoshitatsu with the flat liner.
— Intermission —
War Machine (Ray Rowe and Hanson) vs. Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa)
This became a No DQ match that included tables and chairs. Chase Owens got involved in the match and hit Rowe with a chair. The finish saw War Machine hitting the Fallout through a table. They are the new IWGP Tag Team Champions.
IWGP United States Championship Tournament (first round match)
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Before the match, Naito refused to get in the ring unless the referee held the ropes open for him but he eventually relented and got back in. Both men traded vicious chops to the chest to start off the match. Awesome match with tons of high impact spots and near falls. Ishii won the match after hitting a brainbuster. He will take on Zack Saber Jr. in the next round of the tournament.
IWGP United States Championship Tournament (first round match)
Kenny Omega defeated Michael Elgin
This is the final tournament match of the night. Excellent match and I wouldn’t have expected otherwise from these two. There were tons of near falls, chops, kicks to the head, reversals, etc. in this match. Ross called The Young Bucks (who were at ringside), the boils on the ass of life. Good line from JR. Late in the match, Elgin hit a German suplex on the ring apron. Elgin then hit a sit-down powerbomb off the top rope. Omega barely kicked out as the fans got up on their feet and clapped for both men. Less than a minute later, Elgin hit a sick looking lariat clothesline. He went for the pin but Omega kicked out. Omega hit two nasty looking knees to the head. That wasn’t it. He hit another one and that one looked absolutely brutal. Omega then hit a package piledriver. Pin attempt, kick out. Omega followed up with another knee and the one winged angel. Omega got the win. Fantastic match.
Big Mike @MichaelElgin25 with the perfect apron-side German suplex on Kenny!
LIVEâ–·https://t.co/pZiGp4aZKD#njpw #njusa #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/bQqOhHsDaD— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) July 2, 2017
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada vs. “The American Nightmare” Cody
Cody’s wife Brandi Rhodes sat at ringside in the first row during this match. Okada was insanely over with the crowd and Cody got a mix of boos and cheers at times but mostly boos. This was another excellent match. Brandi left her seat and got back to the ringside area late in the match as Okada had control and her man was in trouble. Okada was about to hit the rainmaker late in the match but Cody spit at him. Okada then proceeded to hit the rainmaker but he wouldn’t let go of Cody’s arm. Okada hit another rainmaker but Omega came down to ringside with a towel in his hand. The Young Bucks came out to ringside to try to convince Omega not to throw the towel. Omega gave the towel to Brandi. Cody tried to fight back but Okada hit his trademark dropkick. Cody reveresed another rainmaker attempt and hit his own rainmaker clothesline. Cody almost got the 3-count. Cody grabbed the towel and threw it in Omega’s face so it’s clear now that there are issues within the group. Ross said that Cody thinks he is the leader of Bullet Club but Omega thinks he is the leader. Cody went for Cross Rhodes, Okada countered and Okada hit the Cross Rhodes and went for a pin but Cody kicked out. Cody and Okada traded forearm shots. Cody went for the one winged angel but Okada countered and hit a German suplex. Okada tried for the rainmaker, Cody counters, Okada counters and hits a jumping tombstone piledriver. Okada hits the rainmaker and gets the pin to retain.
After the match, Omega got in the ring and said that he is jealous of Okada because he got to main event this show in front of “all these great people.” He said that he won’t ruin his night but they have a rematch coming but tonight is Okada’s night. Gedo spoke and then Okada asked the fans how they liked NJPW as fans changed “New Japan.” He said that he will continue to make it rain strong style all over the world. His music played and Okada celebrated at ringside with fans before heading back up the rampway.
When it rains, the champ makes it POUR! @rainmakerXokada is unstoppable!
LIVEâ–·https://t.co/pZiGp4aZKD#njpw #G1USA #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/AbHpmnUECb— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) July 2, 2017
