By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Road to the Tokyo Dome”
December 22, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
New Japan Pro Wrestling held its second-to-last show of 2022. New Japan posted that both shows were near-sellouts in advance. We have Japanese commentary.
* Ryusuke Taguchi came to the ring with a mask and a big bag of gifts. He’s in green, and this is weirdest Santa skit I’ve seen. The first three matches are all the Young Lions in singles matches against members of the United Eimpire.
1. Francesco Akira defeated Kosei Fujita at 8:03. A good exchange here. Akira hit a nice snap Dragon Suplex for a believable nearfall at 7:30. He then hit a (Alex Shelley-style) swinging faceplant for the pin. Decent opener.
2. Aaron Henare defeated Yuto Nakashima at 9:19. Yuto has the great size among the Young Lions, and this is a good matchup for him. They traded shoulder tackles with neither man budging. Henare began targeting Yuto’s (legit weak) left elbow. Yuto always wears a cover over it. Yuto applied a Boston Crab at 7:30. Yuto ran the ropes but Henare cut him in half with a spear for a believable nearfall. Henare then applied the full nelson, dropped down to the mat, and Yuto passed out. Solid match.
3. Great-O-Khan defeated Ryhei Oiwa at 8:40. Where the last match was a big-man matchup, these two traded intense reversals at the bell. Oiwa hit a nice gut0wrench suplex, and he applied a Boston Crab at 7:30. O-Khan applied an Anaconda Vice on the mat, and Oiwa tapped out.
4. Jeff Cobb defeated Tomoaki Honma at 8:50. Good to see Cobb back here, as he wasn’t a part of World Tag League (I last saw him at ROH Final Battle.) Cobb overpowered him and shoved Honma to the mat. They immediately traded stiff forearm shots. Cobb surfed on his back at 3:30. Honma hit a bulldog, but missed his Kokeshi falling headbutt. Cobb missed a Kokeshi! Honma then hit one. Funny exchange. Honma hit a second-rope Kokeshi for a nearfall.
Cobb nailed a Spin Cycle spinning back suplex, then a standing moonsault for a nearfall, earning a nice pop. Cobb hit a superkick, but Honma didn’t go down. Cobb hit the Tour of the Islands spinning powerslam for the pin. Decent match but the winner was never in doubt.
5. Tetsuya Naito, Sanada, and Shingo Takagi defeated Shota Umino, Togi Makabe, and Satoshi Kojima at 11:51. Shota will team with Great Muta and Tanahashi to take on LIJ at Wrestle Kingdom, so this is a bit of a preview. Stalling at the bell. Sanada and Kojima traded chops. Everyone brawled to the floor, with Naito tossing Umino over the guardrail. Back in the ring, Shingo worked over Kojima, hitting a suplex for a nearfall at 5:30. Kojima hit a DDT on Naito and a stunner on Sanada, and he made the hot tag to Shota. Shota hit deep armdrags and dropkicks and a Northern Lights Suplex on Sanada for a nearfall at 8:00.
Really good exchange between Shota and Shingo here. Makabe made the hot tag and he hit a powerslam on Shingo. Shingo nailed a Pumping Bomber clothesline, then the Made In Japan pump-handle DVD to pin Makabe. Entertaining, particularly when Shota was in the ring.
6. Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi defeated Jado and Ren Narita at 10:41. Narita and Sabre are opponents at Wrestle Kingdom for the newly created TV Title, in the finals of that tournament. They opened against each other, and they took turns trying to apply cross-armbreakers. Taichi entered at 2:30 to face Jado. Sabre applied an anklelock on the floor on Narita. Meanwhile, Taichi kept beating down Jado in the ring with basic chokes, etc.
Narita made the hot tag at 6:30 and traded kicks with Sabre. Narita hit a butterfly suplex. Sabre tied him up mid-ring. Jado got back in and applied a Crossface on Taichi. Sabre and Narita hit simultaneous Mafia Kicks and were both down at 10:00. Taichi hit a flying forearm to Jado’s jaw for the pin. As expected, the Sabre-Narita exchanges carried the match.
* The next match is a four-way tag match. Each team has a participant who will be in the four-way match at Wrestle Kingdom for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title.
7. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi and Hiromu Takahashi & Bushi and Taiji Ishimori & Gedo in a four-way tag match at 8:43. Everyone brawled at the bell. The four heels began beating down Taguchi in the middle of the ring. Taguchi, with the help of Wato, hit his running butt bumps on all the heels. Wato hit a flip dive to the floor. Hiromu hit a running shotgun dropkick from the ring apron to the floor, and suddenly everyone was down at 5:00.
Wato hit a Frankensteiner out of the corner on Ishimori. Bushi hit a Lungblower on Gedo for a nearfall. Desperado hit a back suplex on Hiromu. Ishimori hit his jumping Lungblower on Desperado for a nearfall at 8:00. Desperado hit his Daniels-style Angel Wings X-Factor to pin Gedo. Good match that could have gone longer.
* Storyline update: On the Dec. 14 NJPW show, Minoru Suzuki announced that Suzuki-Gun would disband at the end of 2022. So, this is their second-to-last show as a team. We haven’t heard or seen any reaction from the other members of the team.
8. Kazuchika Okada, Yoh, and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated “Suzuki-Gun” Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, and Douki at 20:52. Minoru and Okada opened, with Suzuki targeting the left wrist and fingers. Archer entered at 2:30 to face Tanahashi. Tanahashi wanted a test of strength, so Archer ripped off his shirt and held his hands high in the air, where Tanahashi couldn’t reach. They finally tied up, with Archer dominating the test of strength. Archer hit a shoulder tackle, so Hiroshi rolled to the floor to regroup.
Yoh tagged in at 5:00, so Archer tagged in Douki. Douki dropped Yoh throat-first on the top rope, allowing Suzuki-Gun to take control. They all brawled to the floor, and Archer yelled at little kids some more while beating down Okada. Suzuki choked Hiroshi against a guardrail. In the ring, Suzuki hit a forearm shot that dropped Yoh, and he got a nearfall at 8:30. Archer got in and hit some deafening chops on Yoh. Okada got in and traded offense with Archer.
Okada hit a neckbreaker on his hip on Suzuki. Tanahashi made the hot tag at 12:00 and traded punches with Suzuki, then he hit his second-rope summersault slam for a nearfall. Suzuki fired back with a Helluva Kick. They traded stiff forearm shots. Tanahashi hit a swinging neckbreaker. Suzuki applied a sleeper, and he set up for the Gotch-style piledriver, but Tanahashi powered out at 15:00. Suzuki applied an anklelock, and Tanahashi reached the ropes at 17:00.
Yoh finally made the hot tag and he traded punches with Douki. Douki hit an enzuigiri. Yoh nailed a dropkick and a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 19:00. Archer hit a running crossbody block on Tanahashi. Yoh nailed a neckbreaker over his knee on Douki, then a Moxley-style double-arm DDT to pin Douki. Good match.
Final Thoughts: A satisfying show that accomplished its goals. The matches that they could promote for Wrestle Kingdom were highlighted, from the four-way juniors match to the Sabre-Narita matchup. Shota Umino continues to show why he is a star and headliner for years to come.
I always say I don’t care for the matches when the Young Lions face each other, because they are so rudimentary and stick to the fundamentals, but getting a chance to open it up with better competition like Henare or Great-O-Khan creates satisfying matches.
The final show of the year will be held Friday, featuring a four-on-four main event of the eight members of Suzuki-Gun, before they disband.
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