By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Academy Showcase 3”
March 23, 2024 in Los Angeles, California at the NJPW Dojo
Streamed on the New Japan YouTube Page
This show was released Friday for free on YouTube. Jordan Castle and Mark Warzecha provided commentary. They said we have seven matches tonight, and it’s a sold-out show. The lighting is really good, honestly much better than many of the NJPW Strong tapings. The crowd was standing and it’s full, but I bet it was only about 100 fans.
1. Cameron Gates defeated Casey Ferreira and Grant Watts at 6:14. Gates has long hair and a tattoo that covers his whole back; I’ve seen him at least once before. The other two are new to me. Casey is from Vancouver and he has short curly hair on the top of his head with the sides shaved. Watts is from North Carolina and has short, thick hair. Watts hit a slingshot senton for a nearfall. Gates hit a backbreaker over his knee. Watts applied a Boston Crab on Casey. Casey hit a German Suplex on Watts. Gates got a Crucifix Driver for the pin. Solid action.
2. Davion Jacot and Christian Andrews defeated Dameon Shadows and El Lycan at 9:13. Lycan wore a cowboy hat. Shadows is much smaller and thinner. Davion is Black with long dreadlocks and he wore a hockey jersey; his last name is pronounced “Juh coh.” Christian is Black and bald. Christian and Davion, at first glance, seem much thicker and stronger. Lycan and Christian traded mat reversals early. Shadows entered for the first time at 3:30 and locked up with Jacot. Jacot hit a fallaway slam. Jacot and Christian hit a double shoulder tackle and they began working over Shadows. Jacot and Lycan traded chops. Lycan hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 8:00. Shadows got the hot tag and hit some (fairly weak-looking) punches. Andrews hit a TKO stunner on Shadows for the pin. The right team won.
3. Alex Gracia defeated Mylo at 8:02. Gracia has been wrestling a while and she wore metallic pink but her hair is no longer pink; I know she’s had AEW TV matches before. Mylo has long black hair and wore white-and-black top and bottom; I have seen her just a few times and her looks are similar to Deonna Purrazzo. They shook hands, and they traded offense while in a knuckle lock. Gracia tied up the right arm and kept Mylo grounded. MYlo got up and they traded forearm strikes. Gracia hit a running knee. Mylo nailed a Lungblower. She tied up Gracia’s legs, leaned back and applied a Muta Lock! Gracia raked the eyes to escape and she was booed. Gracia hit an X-Factor faceplant for the pin.
4. The DKC defeated Romeo Guzman at 9:43. Romeo is a Black man and he has good size to him; Castle called him the “Dominican bruiser.” DKC has been in the system a few years now and is a trainer; he’s done Japan tours and is fairly polished, and the commentators said this is “teacher vs. student.” Guzman immediately tied up the left leg. DKC tied up Romeo’s arms. Romeo hit a deep armdrag. The commentators said Guzman has lost 30 pounds, and I think he still has the weight advantage on DKC. Guzman hit some hard chops at 5:00.
Guzman hit a clothesline for a nearfall. DKC hit some spinning back fists and a shotgun dropkick at 7:30, then a cannonball as Romeo was against the ropes. DKC hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. DKC hit his knife-edge chops to the chest. Guzman hit a powerbomb for a nearfall. They traded chops. DKC hit an enzuigiri. DKC hit a springboard flying leg drop for the pin. That was good action and just at a quicker clip than the first two men’s matches.
* Fred Rosser came to the ring; the former Darren Young is a trainer here. He talked about Windy City Riot on April 12, which features a four-way tag match. He and Tom Lawlor will be partners in that match.
5. Zara Zakher defeated Jada Stone at 12:18. Stone is a short, athletic Black woman with red braids and I’ve always been impressed with her; she was on some early Deadlock Pro shows in North Carolina. These two teamed up the next day at an all-women’s show. The commentators put Zara over for being so good just a year into her career, and she recently did a Japan tour. They are the same height but Zara is thicker (not fat!) and clearly more of a powerhouse. They traded standing switches early on. Zara hit a basement dropkick to the back at 3:00. Jada hit a stiff kick to the spine and she took control. She did some push-ups and was showing some arrogance.
Jada hit a Lungblower-style move to the left arm at 5:00 and she kept Zara grounded. Zara hit a standing powerbomb and they were both down. Zara hit a hard chop that caved in Jada’s chest. She hit an enzuigiri and a Spinebuster for a nearfall at 8:00. Jada hit a superkick. Zara hit a handspring-back-elbow into the corner. Zara hit a suplex for a nearfall at 10:30. Jada hit a buzzsaw kick and a stunner for a believable nearfall. Zara hit a decapitating clothesline at 12:00, then a modified Cradle Shock for the clean pin. This match had no business being this good. Jordan Castle said “the word prodigy is tossed around” but it’s appropriate when talking about Zara.
6. Lucas Riley and Dom Kubrick defeated CJ Tino and Allan Breeze at 13:22. Tino is white; Breeze appears to be Latino. I’ve seen Riley and Kubrick before and they wore identical purple-and-black pants. Breeze and Riley opened; Riley wears a bandana on his head and he’s clean-shaven. Riley and Kubrick worked over Tino. Kubrick has a thick beard. Breeze got the hot tag and he stomped on Kubrick. Tino and Breeze hit a team slingshot suplex at 6:30. Breeze hit a nice faceplant move on Kubrick, and Tino made the cover for a nearfall at 8:30. Kubrick hit a huracanrana, then an Angle Slam on Breeze, and they were both down.
Riley and Tino both got the hot tag, and Riley hit a huracanrana and a dropkick. Riley hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall at 11:00. Tino hit an impressive deadlift German Suplex for a nearfall, and suddenly all four were down. They all got up and traded punches. Riley hit a nice springboard stunner as we hit 13:00 and a two-minute warning. Riley flipped Tino in the air, where Kubrick caught him for a powerbomb. Riley then pinned Tino. That was good stuff and built nicely.
7. Bad Dude Tito defeated Zane Jay at 15:50. Tito rightfully gets the comparisons to Dr. Death Steve Williams and he’s now appearing in MLW. I remember being REALLY impressed with Zane on the last student showcase event; he’s got a great physique and his hair is pulled into tight cornrows. His size/body shape makes me think of Jordan Oliver. Castle stressed that Zane has never wrestled elsewhere, unlike many of the other students who have come to the NJPW dojo after experience in other promotions. Tito immediately tied up the left arm and kept Zane grounded. Zane fired up and hit some quick offense so Tito rolled to the floor at 4:30 to regroup. Castle pointed out this match has a 30-minute time limit.
Tito hit a spinebuster. They traded chops. Zane wore a chain around his neck; Tito ripped one of them off. They brawled on the floor and Tito was in charge. Tito hit a slingshot senton into the ring for a nearfall at 9:00, then he applied a Camel Clutch. Zane fired back with a huracanrana and a dropkick and they were both down. Zane hit a springboard dropkick, then a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 11:00. Tito hit a deadlift German Suplex for a nearfall. Tito hit a powerbomb for a nearfall. Zane hit a D’Lo Sky High powerbomb at 13:30, then a top-rope elbow drop for a nearfall. They traded forearm strikes while on their knees, then while standing. Tito hit a hard clothesline, then the Tequila Screwdriver brainbuster for the pin. The winner was never in doubt but that was fun, and we got a “that was awesome!” chant.
* Zane cut a short promo, thanking the fans for coming out, and he reiterated he has only trained here for the past year. Matt Vandagriff walked to the ring; he’s one of the best guys from the Las Vegas area. Vandagriff challenged Zane to a match at Windy City Riot! I’m sure that will be a ‘dark match’ but I’m looking forward to seeing that one.
Final Thoughts: I will go with the main event for best match. I really like the overall look and style of Zane and I’m looking forward to seeing him get out of the dojo and get some matches in GCW, Prestige and West Coast Pro. One thing I don’t like is wearing chains during the match. I couldn’t help but think about Razor Ramon, who made a big deal of removing them before a match, then threatening the person he gave the jewelry to. He has a legit sports presentation, so those chains have to go.
Stone-Zara was really good and earns second. I’ll narrowly go with Riley/Kubrick’s tag match over DKC’s match. These students are clearly well trained and look like athletes. I have seen some bad, barely-trained indy wrestlers near where I live and I basically stopped going to shows in western Wisconsin because the quality of action just isn’t there. I like how this show is a nice mix of brand new wrestlers and some who have wrestled for a year or two but wanted to ‘start over’ with the NJPW dojo. No, you probably don’t know these wrestlers, but this show is free and it was a good two-hour event.
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