By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Battle Autumn”
October 30, 2022 in Chiba, Japan at Makuhari Messe International Conference Hall 1
Streamed live on New Japan World
This show had Japanese-only commentary. The venue is a massive concrete gym and attendance was probably 800 or so; it is one of the smaller buildings they use.
As I’ve noted before, New Japan has started a 16-man, single-elimination tournament for the newly created TV title. Zack Sabre Jr. and Evil have already advanced to the semi-finals; this show has the final two quarterfinal matches.
Note: Kazuchika Okada, Jay White, Shingo Takagi, El Phantasmo, Sho, Yoh, Minoru Suzuki and Yujiro Takahashi are in the U.S. right now, leaving the roster in Japan a bit thin.
1. Douki defeated Kosei Fujita at 7:57. They traded chops and Douki dominated early. Fujita hit a nice dropkick for a nearfall at 4:30. Fujita applied a Boston Crab, but Douki eventually reached the ropes. Douki hit an enzuigiri, and he applied the “Douki chokey” modified Triangle Choke, and Fujita tapped out. Basic opener.
2. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan defeated Ryohei Oiwa & Yuto Nakashima at 3:39. All four brawled at the bell. Oiwa hit a shoulder tackle but O-Khan didn’t budge. Cobb and O-Khan worked over the Young Lions. O-Khan hit a running neckbreaker to score the pin on Oiwa. Short and to the point.
* Cobb got on the mic and challenged FTR to a tag title match. O-Khan then addressed the crowd in Japanese.
3. Hikuleo & Master Wato defeated EVIL & Dick Togo at 6:22. They all brawled before the bell. Wato hit a head-scissors takedown on Togo, and they brawled to the floor. The heels worked over Wato. Hikuleo finally made the hot tag at 5:00 and hit running boots on both heels, then a running double clothesline. He hit a nice powerslam on Togo, while Wato dove to the floor on EVIL. That allowed Hikuleo to chokeslam Togo for the pin. Once again, Hikuleo looked like a dominating monster in his (literally 80) seconds in the ring.
* Hikuleo got on the mic and called out Yujiro Takahashi for a singles match on Nov. 5. He again vowed that he would take on Karl Anderson for the Never Openweight championship down the line. “I’ll be waiting,” he said.
4. Alex Zayne, David Finlay, and Tiger Mask defeated Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, and Taka Michinoku at 10:08. Sabre and Finlay started and this is already the best action of the show as traded European Uppercuts. Sabre applied an anklelock on Tiger Mask at 2:30. All six brawled on the floor. Back in the ring, the heels worked over Tiger Mask. Zayne finally made the hot tag at 6:00, and he hit his corkscrew senton on Taichi for a nearfall, then his summersault kick to the back of Taichi’s neck. Taichi hit a spin kick on Zayne and they were both down.
Taka tagged in at 8:00 to face Finlay. Taka hit a running kneestrike to the jaw for a nearfall and a superkick for a nearfall, then he applied an STF. Zayne made the save and all six brawled in the ring. Finlay nailed the Trash Panda/neckbreaker over his knee on Taka for the pin. Easily best match so far, as Zayne continues to shine here. Sabre and Finlay continued to jaw after the match.
5. El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Taiji Ishimori and Gedo at 10:47. This is essentially a heel-heel matchup. Ishimori and Desperado started with good reversals. Gedo and Kanemaru entered at 2:00. Gedo clipped Kanemaru’s knee from behind. They brawled to the floor and he tied Kanemaru’s knee up in a guardrail and kicked at it. Kanemaru makes for a poor choice for a beatdown; he generates zero sympathy or reaction from the crowd.
Desperado made the hot tag at 6:00 and he traded fast-paced reversals with Ishimori. Deperado hit a spinebuster. Ishimori fired back with a handspring-back-spin kick, and they were both down. Kanemaru hit a Helluva Kick on Gedo for a nearfall. Gedo tied Kanemaru in a Figure Four Leglock, but Kanemaru reached the ropes at 9:30. Gedo hit a superkick for a nearfall. Kanemaru applied a Figure Four on Gedo, who tapped out; at the same time, Desperado had the Stretch Muffler locked in on Ishimori, stopping Taiji from being able to make the save.
6. “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Tetsuya Naito, Titan, Bushi, and Hiromu Takahashi defeated “United Empire” TJP, Francesco Akira, Aaron Henare, and Gideon Grey at 10:55. Bushi and Akira started and traded stiff forearm shots. Naito hit his slingshot dropkick on Akira, and LIJ worked over Akira. Akira tied Naito in a Tajiri-style Tarantula in the ropes at 4:00. TJP hit a catapult senton for a nearfall, and the UE worked over Naito. Naito finally hit an enzuigiri, and he made the hot tag to Titan at 7:00.
Titan hit a springboard crossbody block on TJP and they traded good reversals. Akira and TJP hit their Team X-Factor Faceplant on Titan. Grey entered the ring at 8:30, still wearing his jacket, and he hit chops on Hiromu, who no-sold them entirely. Grey got angry and whipped his jacket and T-shirt to the mat. Naito entered and hit a few blows on Grey. In a funny spot, Grey put his T-shirt and jacket back on to avoid the blows, but of course, Naito and Hiromu still beat on him. LIJ took turns hitting blows on Grey. Hiromu hit his shotgun dropkick on Grey, then he applied a Boston Crab, and Grey tapped out.
* A reminder that TV title tournament matches have a 15-minute time limit. We’ve had a few matches top 14 minutes, but no draws, which is a good thing, as the tie-breaker is a coin flip.
7. Ren Narita defeated Toru Yano in an NJPW TV title quarterfinal match at 9:05. Narita got the needed win over Tomohiro Ishii in the first round, and should win here. Narita came out first, and he attacked Yano on the walkway to the ring. (I start my stop watch at first contact or the bell, whichever comes first.) Narita dragged Yano into the ring and continued a beatdown. Narita hit a Mafia Kick. They went to the floor at 2:00 with Narita continuing to stomp on Yano. However, Yano got a roll of tape and he hog-tied Narita’s feet together, and he tossed Ren under the ring. Narita barely got back in the ring before being counted out.
Yano immediately stomped on Narita as he reentered the ring and he was now in charge. Narita hit an overhead belly-to-belly suplex, and he applied a cross-armbreaker while having a leglock around Yano’s neck. Yano hit a belly-to-belly suplex at 7:00. Narita again applied the cross-armbreaker. Narita hit a Grimes-style Cave-in to Yano’s chest for the pin. (More of a running kneedrop than a stomp with the bottom of the feet, but it looked the same.) Wow, that was a dominant victory.
8. Sanada defeated Kenta in an NJPW TV Title quarterfinal match at 13:29. Stalling at the bell as Kenta didn’t want to tie up. Sanada finally hit a kick to the gut at 3:30; yes that is the first time they touched, and he tied Kenta in the Paradise Lock. Kenta hit a Mafia Kick that sent Sanada to the floor. They brawled on the floor, and Sanada hit a drop-toe-hold onto the guardrail at 7:00.
Back in the ring, they began trading stiff forearms as the match finally picked up. The ref got bumped, and Kenta hit a suplex. Kenta got a chair from under the ring. However, Sanada hit a dropkick onto the chair in Kenta”s hands, then he hit a top-rope moonsault at 11:00. He went for a second one, but Kenta got his knees up, rolled up Sanada, and got a nearfall. Kenta nailed a top-rope double stomp for a nearfall. They traded rollup attempts. Kenta hit some hard open-hand slaps to the face. Sanada shoved Kenta face-first into an exposed turnbuckle, and he got an O’Connor Roll for the pin.
* Sanada got on the mic and spoke. Narita got in the ring, stood toe-to-toe with him, spoke on the mic, and left; no punches were thrown.
Final Thoughts: I thought Kenta would win, but I’m glad Sanada won, as I think Sanada-Narita will be one of the best matches of the tournament. That main event really started slowly and I began thinking we were going to have our first draw of the tournament, but the last three or so minutes were really good.
I didn’t mind the vicious mannerisms of Ren Narita. He attacked before the bell and was unrelenting in the ring, but he really didn’t resort to cheating.
The TJP and Akira vs. Bushi and Titan action continues to carry the undercard, and that should be a good tag title match down the line. A shorter show, clocking in at just under two-and-a-half hours.
Be the first to comment