By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Battle Autumn”
October 27, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
New Japan Pro Wrestling continued its “Battle Autumn” tour with the second consecutive show at Korakuen Hall. This show had Japanese only commentary.
As I’ve noted before, New Japan has started a 16-man, single-elimination tournament for the newly created TV title. The first round is now complete, so this show has the first two quarterfinal matches.
1. Aaron Henare defeated Ryohei Oiwa at 7:41. Henare hit a shoulder tackle early on and was in control. Henare tied Oiwa up in the ropes and cranked on his head at 3:00. Oiwa fired back with a dropkick in the corner. They traded stiff forearm shots. Henare hit a senton for a nearfall, then he hit his running football tackle for the pin. Decent opener.
2. Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano defeated Yuto Nakashima and Ren Narita at 8:47. Ishii lost to Narita in the title tournament a day earlier, so look for him to get some revenge here. All four brawled at the bell. Ishii and Yano took turns beating on Yuto early. Narita tagged in and applied a cross-armbreaker on Yano at 4:30. Yuto hit a kick to Ishii’s back that just ticked him off, and they traded stiff forearm shots. Ishii applied a Boston Crab on Yuto and sat down for pressure, but Yuto reached the ropes at 8:00. Ishii hit a few more forearms, applied the Boston Crab again, and this time, Yuto tapped out.
* After the bell, Narita hopped back in the ring and attacked Yano from behind; these two will meet in the next quarterfinal matchups on Sunday.
3. Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb defeated Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma at 10:13. O-Khan and Cobb attacked as soon as they got through the ropes to start the match. O-Khan has his face wrapped like a mummy, selling the effects of Great Muta’s green mist a day ago. Funny. Cobb held Honma upside down for several seconds, before hitting a backbreaker over his knee and he surfed on Honma’s back. O-Khan peeled off the face wrap and continued the beatdown of Honma. Honma hit a flatliner and DDT combo on his opponents.
Togi made the hot tag at 6:00 and traded blows with O-Khan. Cobb and Honma traded forearm shots. Honma and Togi hit simultaneous clotheslines to Cobbs chest and back, and Honma nailed his Kokeshi falling headbutt. O-Khan hit his Mongolian Chops on Togi. O-Khan whipped Honma at Cobb, who caught Honma and hit his Tour of the Islands swinging powerslam for the pin. Decent match; the winners were never in doubt.
4. Bushi, Titan, and Hiromu Takahashi defeated TJP, Francesco Akira, and Gideon Grey at 9:14. Grey attacked at the bell. Akira hit a Doomsday senton on Hiromu. Akira hit a head-scissors takedown. Titan entered at 3:00 and battled Akira. Hiromu hit a basement dropkick on Akira for a nearfall. Akira hit a leg lariat on Bushi at 5:39. TJP and Titan entered and traded quicker offense, with TJP hitting a running knee into the corner and a tornado DDT for a nearfall.
TJP missed the Mamba Splash (frogsplash), but he hit an inverted DDT. Grey tagged back in and he tied Titan in a mid-ring Octopus. Titan hit a springboard frogsplash on Grey for a nearfall. Titan then hit his double stomp to Grey’s back for the pin. Solid action. Titan and Bushi jawed at Akira and TJP, as they will be having a junior’s tag title match Nov. 5.
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hikuleo, Alex Zayne, and Tiger Mask defeated Taka Michinoku, Taichi, El Desperado, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 8:59. Kanemaru thought he was going to start against Wato, but when he turned around, the massive Hikuleo had replaced Wato; funny exchange. Hikuleo hit a triple-noggin-knocker and he is just being presented as a beast on this tour. Taichi and Tanahashi entered at 2:00, and neither man could get the upper hand. Taichi’s teammates jumped in and they started working over Hiroshi.
Zayne made the hot tag at 5:00 and traded good offense with Desperado. Wato entered and hit some spin kicks to Desperado’s chest. Desperado nailed a spinebuster on Wato. Taka tagged in and he tied up Wato in a Crippler Crossface. Hikuleo entered and beat up all the heels. Wato tied up Taka on the mat, applied the double-armbar and cranked on Taka’s head, until he tapped out.
6. Tetsuya Naito and Sanada defeated Kenta and Gedo at 9:46. Kenta stalled and refused to lock up with Sanada; these two are the other quarterfinal match set for Sunday. Gedo entered instead, but Sanada ignored him, as he continued to taunt Kenta to get in the ring. All four brawled to the floor, with Gedo working over Naito. Kenta applied a leglock around Naito’s waist in the ring at 3:00.
Sanada and Kenta brawled on the floor and under the ring, then back into the ring. Kenta tried to tie Sanada in the Paradise Lock but couldn’t figure it out. Kenta hit a DDT at 7:30 and they were both down. Naito and Gedo got back in, with Naito applying a leglock around the head. Naito hit an enziguri and rolled-through on a rollup to get the pin on Gedo.
* A reminder that TV title tournament matches have a 15-minute time limit. The first round had a couple matches that topped 14 minutes, but no draws.
7. EVIL (w/Dick Togo) defeated Yoshi-Hoshi in a NJPW TV Title quarterfinal match at 11:42. They immediately brawled to the floor. EVIL distracted the ref so Togo could get in some blows on the floor. They traded chops in the ring. Yoshi-Hoshi hit a basement dropkick on the knee at 4:30. He hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker for a nearfall. After a ref bump, EVIL nailed a chairshot to Yoshi-Hoshi’s gut, and he used another chair to hit the chair around Yoshi-Hoshi’s neck. EVIL nailed a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 7:00. However, he couldn’t hit the Everything is Evil/uranage.
Yoshi-Hoshi fired back with a Dragon Suplex and they were both down. EVIL hit a clothesline but Yoshi-Hoshi no-sold it. Yoshi-Hoshi hit a hard clothesline that dropped him, then a Jackhammer-style slam for a nearfall at 9:30. EVIL got a chair but he accidentally hit Togo. Yoshi-Hoshi hit a superkick onto the chair in EVIL’s hands, and got a rollup for a nearfall. Yoshi-Hoshi hit a backbreaker over his knee. They both shoved the ref as EVIL tried to use it to take advantage. EVIL nailed the Everything is Evil for the pin. Just so-so match; on the low end of expectations for these two.
8. Zack Sabre Jr. defeated David Finlay in a NJPW TV Title quarterfinal match at 12:54. If Yoshi-Hoshi had won, I would have assumed Sabre wins here, but with EVIL advancing, I instead predict Finlay wins. (That said, Sabre got an embarrassingly quick win against EVIL in the G1 Climax tournament, so there is a story there to play on.) Mat wrestling to open, of course, and they traded rollup attempts. Sabre twisted the left wrist and fingers at 5:00. Finlay hit a dropkick and was fired up.
Finlay hit a running European Uppercut and was in control. Sabre applied a cross-armbreaker on the mat, and twisted fingers, but Finlay reached the ropes at 8:30. Finlay hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Finlay hit a second-rope superplex for a nearfall. Sabre applied a Fujiwara Armbar on the mat. Finlay launched his body and hit a flying European Uppercut for a nearfall, then he hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 11:30.
Finlay went for a Sliced Bread, but Sabre blocked it. They traded believable nearfall rollups. They got to their feet and traded forearm shots. Sabre got an O’Connor Roll out of nowhere for the pin. Interesting (and surprising) that New Japan has gone with a heel-heel semi-final. Finlay expressed frustration with himself for losing.
* Sabre got on the mic and mixed some Japanese with his English, making clear he wasn’t concerned about the time limit. “Zack Sabre Jr. is strong style!” he shouted, getting a nice applause. “That TV title is mine.” He said something in Japanese that got a laugh. He called EVIL a “pumpkin-head dick-head” and added “I’ll see you in Osaka!”, then he tossed the mic aside and left the ring to a polite applause. The crowd respects his talent, even if he’s a heel. Sabre went backstage, where he added that he will win the title and will defend it all over the world.
Final Thoughts: Sabre-Finlay has to be near the top, with that Narita-Ishii match, for best match of the tournament, and as you can see by my thoughts, I felt it could have gone either way. Give New Japan credit here; they swerved me by making me think Finlay was winning so we’d have the tradition face-heel matchup.
I wrote this earlier in the tournament: I would like to see a lower-tier title like a TV title have a simple rule, that if you are a former world champion, you are ineligible to compete for the TV title. It should be for rising stars who aren’t at the main event level yet. Point being, EVIL shouldn’t be in this tournament. Even though he was a disappointing champion, and has never been as good as when he was in LIJ, a TV title tournament should be beneath a former world champion.
The undercard was solid. I like that Narita took a cheap shot on Yano, making clear they are fighting in the next round, and I really like how Hikuleo is being booked now. The show clocked in at about two-and-a-half hours.
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