By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Battle Autumn Night Three”
October 16, 2022 in Niigata, Japan at Ao-re Nagaoka
Streamed live on New Japan World
New Japan Pro Wrestling announced this week it is creating a “TV title” through a 16-man, single-elimination tournament. So far, Zack Sabre Jr., David Finlay, EVIL and Yoshi-Hoshi have advanced to the quarterfinals. Two more first-round tournament matches headline this show. We have Japanese-only commentary today.
* Hiromu Takahashi hopped in the ring to warm up the crowd. This building appears to be a large gym, with a crowd of 1,200 to 1,500.
1. Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe defeated Ryohei Oiwa and Kosei Fujita at 9:44. Honma and Makabe worked over Fujita early. Oiwa hit a nice dropkick on Honma. Oiwa hit a nice gut-wrench suplex on Makabe, and he applied a Boston Crab, but Togi reached the ropes. Honma hit a flying shoulder tackle on Oiwa, and Makabe applied a Boston Crab, with Oiwa tapping out. Very basic match.
2. Tomohiro Ishii, Yoshi-Hoshi, and Toru Yano defeated “The United Empire” Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, and Gideon Grey at 7:23. Yano and O-Khan started; they are meeting next week in the TV title tournament. The heels worked over Yano early. Ishii entered at 4:00 and traded shoulder tackles with Cobb. Cobb and Yoshi-Hoshi traded blows. Grey entered and he beat up Yoshi-Hoshi. Yano hit a low blow on Grey, and Yoshi-Hoshi immediately slapped on an arm submission hold on Grey, who tapped out.
3. EVIL, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi, and Sho defeated Jado, Hikuleo, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, and Ryusuke Taguchi at 8:38. All eight brawled at the bell. Taguchi hit his flying butt bump on Sho. Hikuleo entered and overpowered Sho. The heels began working over Jado. HIkuleo got back in at 6:30 and he slammed EVIL for a nearfall. Hikuleo hit a running Stinger Splash on EVIL. Tenzan applied a submission hold on EVIL on the mat, but Togo got in and choked him. However, EVIL hit his Everything is Evil uranage on Tenzan for the pin. OK match.
4. Ren Narita, Alex Zayne, Tiger Mask, Master Wato, and David Finlay defeated Zack Sabre Jr., Taka Michinoku, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Douki at 8:27. Wato and Desperado started; they will be fighting in a four-way match soon for the junior title. Douki and Tiger Mask entered and traded reversals. Desperado bodyslammed Wato on the thin mat at ringside. The heels continued to work over Tiger Mask in the ring. Tiger Mask hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee on Douki at 3:30.
Narita hit a nice Northern Lights Suplex on Kanemaru for a nearfall. Sabre entered for the first time and he tied up Narita. Finlay got in and hit a running European Uppercut on Sabre; these two will meet in the quarterfinals. They traded rollup attempts. Zayne entered at 7:00 to battle Taka. Taka nailed a superkick. Zayne hit a Michinoku Driver then a top-rope Phoenix Splash to pin Taka. Better than expected, as they kept this going.
5. Shingo Takagi and Hiromu Takahashi defeated Taiji Ishimori and Gedo at 9:20. Ishimori and Hiromu started, and these two also will be in a four-way with Desperado and Master Wato for the junior title. LIJ worked over Ishimori. All four brawled to the floor. In the ring, Shingo bodyslammed Ishimori, but he missed a senton. Ishimori hit a handspring-back-spin kick on Shingo, and they were both down at 8:00. Gedo tagged in and hit a superkick on Takagi for a nearfall, and he jawed at the ref. Hiromu hit a shotgun dropkick on Gedo. Hiromu hit a superkick on Gedo, and Shingo immediately hit the Pumping Bomber clothesline for the pin. Decent match.
6. Tetsuya Naito, Bushi, and Titan defeated “The United Empire” TJP, Aaron Henare, and Francesco Akira at 12:39. Titan and Akira started with standing reversals. The UE took turns working over Titan. Naito and Henare traded offense, with Aaron hitting a Thesz Press and punches to the face at 7:00. Naito hit an enzuigiri. TJP and Akira worked over Titan. TJP hit a running Facewash in the corner on Titan. Titan put TJP on his shoulders and dropped him stomach first. Titan hit a double stomp on TJP’s back for the pin. Easily best match of the show so far.
* A reminder that TV title tournament matches have a 15-minute time limit. In the event of a draw, a coin flip determines the winner.
7. Kenta defeated Hirooki Goto in a first-round NJPW TV Title tournament match at 9:28. Kenta hit a running boot to start the match, and they quickly brawled to the floor. In the ring, Kenta whipped him into a corner where the padding had been removed at 3:00, and he was in control. Goto hit a spin kick in the corner and a running bulldog at 6:00. The ref got bumped. Goto hit a running clothesline, but Kenta put a chair up and Goto’s arm hit the chair, and he sold the pain. Kenta hit a low blow, put his feet on the ropes, and got a nearfall, but the ref saw his feet and stopped counting. Kenta began paint brushing Goto with open-hand slaps. Goto initially avoided the Go To Sleep knee strike, but seconds later, Kenta hit it for the pin.
8. Sanada defeated Taichi in a first-round NJPW TV Title tournament match at 14:50. This is an intriguing match because these two have been feuding recently, but after the last match, they had a sign of respect and the announcers wondered if these two could even team up. They opened by having a push-up challenge, but Taichi jumped him and went for a quick rollup. Taichi choked him on the mat and was in charge early. Sanada hit a dropkick on Taichi’s knee at 5:00.
Sanada hit a dropkick, and Taichi bailed to the floor. In the ring, Taichi hit a spin kick to Sanada’s left elbow at 7:00. Sanada hit a TKO stunner. Taichi nailed a Saito Suplex. THis has been really good. Sanada hit a Tiger Suplex and a roaring forearm, and they both fell to the floor at 9:00. They traded mid-ring Mafia Kicks. Taichi caught him with an enziguri, and they were both down. Taichi nailed a standing powerbomb, made a jackknife cover, and got a believable nearfall at 11:30.
Sanada applied a Skull End sleeperhold, and fell to the mat. He let go of the move to hit a top-rope moonsault for a nearfall at 14:00. He went for another, but Taichi got his knees up. They traded rollups, when Sanada suddenly leaned back for leverage and got the pin. The crowd was seemingly well aware we had a 15-minute time limit, and I think this was the first match where a draw was entirely possible. I liked how Sanada let go of the Skull End, sensing that Taichi could “run out the clock,” so he had to switch gears to a different move. They “bumped fists” after the match as yet another sign of respect, before Taichi left the ring.
Final Thoughts: Maybe it’s because they are familiar foes, but Taichi-Sanada was the first match of the tournament I felt could go either way. (I incorrectly assumed Cobb was beating Yoshi-Hoshi a day ago.) It was an exciting match and probably best of the tournament so far.
Kenta and Goto was fine. They are both solid but never seem to reach that third gear anymore, bringing a good match to a great match.
New Japan Pro Wrestling actually has a number of events over the next week, but the tournament takes a break until the Oct. 26 show, with the final two first-round matches of Ren Narita vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano vs. Great-O-Khan.
This tour is already light on star power (no Okada, Jonah, Jay White, Tama Tonga, Ospreay or Tanahashi), and it appears that El Phantasmo’s match a night ago was his last on this tour as well, leaving a thin roster even thinner. The two main takeaways from the undercard matches this week is that Ren Narita is getting a good push and Hikuleo is being treated as a monster, really dominating his interactions with smaller competitors Sho, Yujiro and Dick Togo.
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