By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
NJPW Capital Collision
Washington, D.C. at Entertainment and Sports Arena
Streamed August 30, 2024 on NJPWWorld.com
Walker Stewart and Veda Scott provided commentary. The ring is well-lit but I can’t see the crowd at all; there could be 300 or 2,000 fans there but I can’t tell. (During some fight scenes on the floor, it appears the crowd is maybe 1,200; okay but I had expected more.)
Pre-show on YouTube
1. Matt Vandagriff vs. Allan Breeze. Both of these guys appeared on the recent NJPW student showcase event that is available on Youtube. Vandagriff is more seasoned; he has been on several Las Vegas-based Future Stars of Wrestling shows I’ve seen. He was in charge early, and he hit a knee strike that sent Breeze into the ring post at 3:00. He nailed a rolling cannonball in the corner for a nearfall. Breeze has the features and haircut of Wheeler Yuta, and he powered up as Matt hit some Yes Kicks. Breeze hit a Doctor Bomb for a nearfall at 6:00. Matt hit a Tiger Suplex and a spike DDT for the pin. Decent opener.
Matt Vandagriff defeated Allan Breeze at 6:22.
2. Hanako and Mina Shirakawa vs. Viva Van and Trish Adora. Hanako is the 5’11” rising Stardom star who I’ve already seen wrestle four times in the past two weeks. She opened against Trish. Viva and Mina quickly entered and they hugged before they traded fast reversals, and they showed off… um, how well they can shake their chest. Mina applied a Figure Four Leglock, but Viva reached the ropes at 2:00. Viva tied her in a Tarantula, and Trish hit a few chops on Mina, too.
Trish did the splits on top of Mina. Hanako got a hot tag and hit a Stinger Splash in the corner on Trish. Hanako hit a suplex for a nearfall at 5:00. Trish hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. Hanako hit a bodyslam on Viva. Hanako tossed teammate Mina onto Van for a nearfall. Viva hit a DDT on Mina for a nearfall. Mina hit a spinning back fist, and she applied a Figure Four Leglock on Viva, who tapped out. Meanwhile, Hanako had picked up Trish and put her in the Torture Rack so Trish couldn’t make the save. Fun match.
Mina Shirakawa and Hanako defeated Trish Adora and Viva Van at 6:55.
Main show:
1. “Grizzled Young Veterans” Zack Gibson and James Drake vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Robbie Eagles and Bad Dude Tito in a three-way tag. GYV attacked Ishii and Tanahashi from behind to begin. Eagles hit a spin kick on Drake. Tanahashi hit a crossbody block on Drake. GYV hit some quick team offense on Eagles. Eagles hit German Suplex on Drake at 4:00. Ishii got a hot tag and hit some shoulder tackles. He traded blows with Tito, and Ishii hit a Brainbuster. Ishii hit a German Suplex on Drake, then on Gibson. Drake hit a Sliced Bread on Ishii for a nearfall at 6:30.
Tito hit a double clothesline on the GYV, and he tossed Drake onto Gibson. He clotheslined Ishii but Ishii got back to his feet. Tito hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. They traded forearm strikes and both collapsed at 8:00. Tanahashi got a hot tag and he hit a flying forearm on Tito. He hit his second-rope summersault senton onto TIto. Drake hit an enzuigiri on Tanahashi. Eagles hit a flip dive to the floor as Tito hit a sit-out powerbomb on Tanahashi for a nearfall. Ishii dropped Tito with a clothesline. Everyone began hitting basement dropkicks on knees. Tanahashi hit a Sling Blade on Tito, then a High Fly Flow frogsplash to pin Tito. Fun opener.
Tomohiro Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated “Grizzled Young Veterans” Zack Gibson and James Drake and “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Robbie Eagles and Bad Dude Tito at 11:25.
2. Yoshi-Hashi, Kevin Knight, and Rocky Romero vs. “Bullet Club War Dogs” David Finlay, Clark Connors, and Drilla Moloney. Knight and Connors opened; they have fought many times before including in BoSJ. Knight hit his leaping splash for a nearfall. (Knight finally has actual wrestling gear, too, not just orange basketball warmup pants.) Rocky tied up Connors’ left arm. Drilla and Rocky traded forearm strikes. Rocky dove through the ropes onto Moloney at 3:00; he got a nearfall in the ring. Connors hit a Pounce and he mockingly did Rocky’s dance. The BCWD began working over Rocky in their corner. Finlay entered and stomped on Rocky at 5:30. Yoshi-Hashi got in and hit the Headhunter flipping overhead neckbreaker on Finlay.
Finlay nailed the Irish Curse backbreaker over his knee on Yoshi-Hashi at 8:00. Knight entered and hit some punches on Moloney, then his dropkick to Drilla’s face. He hit a flying clothesline. He hit a double Pele on Drilla and Clark! Kevin hit a jump-up Frankensteiner on Moloney for a nearfall at 9:30. The BCWD hit their front-and-back kicks on Knight for a believable nearfall. Rocky hit his Forever Clotheslines in the ring on Drilla and Clark. Moloney nailed the Drilla Killa spike piledriver on Rocky! Knight hit his leaping DDT on Connors. He got a rollup on Drilla out of nowhere for the pin! Finlay hit Yoshi-Hashi with the shillelagh. He hit Knight with it, too. Clark hit the Full Clip spear off the ropes on Knight, too.
Yoshi-Hashi and Kevin Knight and Rocky Romero defeated “Bullet Club War Dogs” David Finlay and Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney at 11:52.
3. Fred Rosser and Tom Lawlor vs. “West Coast Wrecking Crew” Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs in a tornado rules tag match. In NJPW, WCWC turned on Lawlor in August.The camera showed these four fighting backstage (I start my stopwatch immediately) and they brawled out into the arena and I can finally see the crowd; it is far more sparse than I imagined. Lawlor leapt off a stage onto Royce. They got in the ring and the bell sounded to officially begin at 1:30. Rosser dropped Nelson across an open chair. Royce and Rosser brawled on one side of the ring while Lawlor and Jorel brawled elsewhere on the floor.
Jorel slammed Lawlor across two open chairs at ringside, and Royce hit a powerslam on Tom onto the thin mat at ringside at 6:00. They dragged Lawlor in the ring and continued beating him up. Rosser got in and tossed Jorel to the mat. Jorel dove through the ropes at 10:00. The WCWC put a garbage can over Lawlor’s head and hit it with chairshots. Royce hit a leaping piledriver on Rosser, onto a folded chair, for a nearfall. Lawlor applied a rear-naked choke on Jorel, and they fell through a door bridge at ringside. Meanwhile, Rosser speared Royce through a door in the corner and scored the pin on Isaacs. Good brawl.
Fred Rosser and Tom Lawlor defeated “West Coast Wrecking Crew” Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs at 13:28.
4. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Titan. First-time-ever singles match; Titan has done NJPW tours but typically sticks to juniors matches while there. They opened in a knuckle lock and standing switches. Zack began targeting and twisting the left leg. They had a standoff at 3:30. He snapped Titan’s neck between his ankles. Zack hit some European Uppercuts, and he applied a leg lock around the neck. Sabre tied him up on the mat, but Titan reached the ropes at 6:30. They got up and traded chops. Titan tied Zack in a Trailer Hitch leg lock. Titan grabbed each of Zack’s arms and tied him up on the mat.
They got up and traded forearm strikes and open-hand chops. Titan hit a tornado DDT at 11:00 and a buzzsaw kick and they were both down. Sabre applied an anklelock. Titan got a magistral cradle for a nearfall. Sabre applied a Dragon Sleeper on the mat, but Titan reached the ropes. Sabre hit a Pele Kick to the shoulder at 13:00 and got a rollup for a nearfall. Titan hit a superkick. He nailed a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall. Sabre tied up both legs in a leglock on the mat, and Titan tapped out. Good match but the winner was just never in doubt.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Titan at 14:53.
5. Tetsuya Naito vs. TJP for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.. Naito wore his white suit and he carried the IWGP Title. This is another first-time singles match. TJP attacked Naito as he was removing his suit! TJP hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip, then a Plancha to the floor at 2:00. He twisted Naito’s left leg around the ring post, then dropkicked the knee. TJP stood on the apron and glared at the ref, finally entering the ring at the 19-count. (Seems awfully dangerous to me to risk getting counted ou!) TJP continued to target the knee, applying a Sharpshooter at 5:00; he leaned back and turned it into a Muta Lock. Walker Stewart noted TJP started his wrestling career in 1999.
TJP put on Naito’s T-Shirt and was booed! He hit the Facewash kick in the corner. Naito hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker at 7:30. He hit another neckbreaker out of the ropes, and he reclaimed his T-Shirt. Naito hit a flipping neckbreaker out of the corner at 9:30. TJP applied a mid-ring Octopus Stretch, but Naito got to the ropes. TJP went for the Mamba Splash but landed on his feet. Naito hit a tornado DDT and they were both down at 11:30. Naito shoved TJP into the ref! TJP sprayed red mist into Naito’s face, and he hit a running knee for a nearfall. TJP then nailed the Mamba Splash for a believable nearfall, and he switched to a Figure Four, but Naito reached the ropes at 13:30. Naito hit a Destino out of nowhere for a nearfall. Moments later, Naito got an enzuigiri and an inside cradle for the pin!
Tetsuya Naito defeated TJP to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at 14:59.
6. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls vs. Virus and Hechichero for the New Japan Strong Tag Titles. I’ve seen Virus just a couple times; he has some face paint on and doesn’t wear a mask and he’s much smaller than everyone else in the match. Nicholls and Hechicero opened. Veda talked about Hechicero’s ongoing rivalry with Sabre. Haste tagged in at 2:00, so Virus entered, too. Stewart said Virus is 5’5″ — I didn’t guess that short. He tied up Haste’s right arm on the mat. NIcholls tripped up Virus, allowing Haste to take control.
Nicholls hit a neckbreaker, with Haste getting the cover for a nearfall at 6:30. Hechiceo finally got a hot tag at 8:30 and hit a missile dropkick. He tied up Haste on the mat. Virus hit a baseball slide dropkick to the floor on Haste. Haste hit a uranage on Hechicero for a nearfall at 10:30. They began working over Haste in their corner. Virus hit a neckbreaker for a nearfall, but Mikey made the save. TMDK hit the Tankbuster team faceplant on Virus for the pin. Standard tag match. They all shook hands afterwards.
* Tanahashi and Ishii hit the ring and confronted TMDK, as Walker quickly reminded us those two won their match earlier. Hiroshi got on the mic and challenged them. “The President says so,” he said. Haste responded, “where I’m from, we don’t have a president, we have a prime minister,” and that got booed (why?). They accepted the challenge for Royal Quest in the UK on Oct. 20.
“The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls defeated Virus and Hechichero to retain the New Japan Strong Tag Titles at 13:33.
7. Mustafa Ali vs. Hiromu Takahashi. No secret service agents with Ali tonight. Veda and Walker discussed how Ali won their prior meeting in April at Windy City Riot. They fought to the floor, and Hiromu whipped him face-first into the ring post at 3:00. Ali hit a DDT onto the thin mat at ringside, and he grabbed Darryl the stuffed cat and teased hitting it. “That feline has a family!” Walker shouted. He pushed the stuffed animal off the apron and earned a “you sick f—!” chant. Eye roll. In the ring, Ali was in charge. Ali hit a twisting neckbreaker for a nearfall at 5:30.
They went to the floor. Takahashi hit a German Suplex onto the thin mat at ringside, then a DDT. In the ring, Hiromu hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. Ali hit a dropkick to the face as Hiromu was lying on the bottom rope. On the floor, Ali hit a stunner across the guardrail at 10:30. Ali then hit a flip dive to the floor on Hiromu, landing on his feet. In the ring, Hiromu hit a backbody drop that sent Ali crashing into the ring post, and we got a “this is awesome!” chant at 12:00.
They got up and traded chops and hit stereo clotheslines. Ali hit a superkick; Hiromu hit a clothesline and was fired up. Ali applied an STF and cranked back on the head. Ali stretched Hiromu along his back, then hit a swinging faceplant for a nearfall at 15:30. Hiromu butterflied the arms and hit a piledriver for a nearfall. Ali nailed a Poison Rana; Hiromu popped to his feet, stumbled and went down. Awesome sell-job. Ali went for a top-rope 450 Splash but Hiromu got his knees up. Hiromu put Ali on his shoulders and hit the Time Bomb slam for the pin. A very good match and best of the night so far. Ali walked over to the commentators, noted they are tied at 1-1, and he wants the tiebreaker at the next Best of Super Juniors!
Hiromu Takahashi defeated Mustafa Ali at 17:20.
8. Gabe Kidd vs. Lio Rush for the NEVER Openweight Title. A nice video package aired for Lio Rush, including him doing the Black Heart gimmick. We had a dancer, a drummer and a pianist who played Lio Rush to the ring. Lio has gray face paint; he’s gone halfway into the Black Heart stuff tonight. Gabe has the significant height and weight advantage. Lio did his misdirection offense early. He flipped Gabe, but Kidd landed on his feet. Lio hit several dives through the ropes, barreling onto Kidd, and Gabe fell to the ground at 1:30. Kidd powerbombed Lio onto the ring apron. They got into the ring, where Kidd unloaded some hard chops.
Lio went for a frogsplash but landed on his feet; Kidd immediately hit a flying kick to the face at 4:00. Kidd hit an overhead release belly-to-belly suplex, then another, for a nearfall. Lio applied a sleeper, but Kidd went backward into a corner to knock Lio off. Lio unloaded a series of chops. Lio went for the Rush Hour stunner out of the ropes, but Kidd blocked it. Lio hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 8:00. He nailed a superkick, but he again couldn’t hit the Rush Hour. Lio hit a huracanrana off the second rope, a spear, and he finally hit the Rush Hour for a nearfall at 12:00.
They traded punches in the corner. Kidd nailed a top-rope overhead release belly-to-belly suplex for a nearfall. Kidd swung a chair but it hit the ropes and ricocheted into his face. Lio hit the Final Hour Frogsplash for a believable nearfall at 15:00. Lio tried some clotheslines. However, Kidd hit a decapitating clothesline for a nearfall. Lio was bleeding. Kidd hit a running knee, then a brainbuster for a nearfall. Kidd hit a piledriver for a nearfall at 17:00. Kidd then hit the Doctor Bomb for the pin. A very good match.
Gabe Kidd defeated Lio Rush to retain the NEVER Openweight Title at 17:55.
9. Mercedes Mone vs. Momo Watanabe for the New Japan Strong Women’s Title. Momo wore black with some leather straps dangling from her jacket; she looks like the female version of EVIL, as far as ring gear goes. Mercedes had two guys breakdancing on stage as she entered. Mercedes wore red, white and blue, looking quite patriotic. She had her New Japan Strong and AEW TBS Title belts with her. A feeling-out process early on. Mone walked across Momo’s back and she danced. They had a standoff at 3:00. Mercedes tied up the head in a crossface move, but Momo reached the ropes. Mercedes hit running double knees to the face as Momo was in the ropes, and Watanabe rolled to the floor to regroup.
The ref got bumped. Mercedes came off the ropes, but Momo hit her across the waist with a bat at 6:00! Momo mockingly did the CEO dance, while Mercedes recovered on the floor. Back in the ring, Momo tied up Mercedes on the mat. She playfully kicked at Mercedes and kept her grounded. Mone hit a Lungblower at 9:00. Momo tied her in the Tree of Woe and hit a series of kicks to the exposed waist. Mercedes hit several Meteora running double kneestrikes in the corner, then one off the second rope for a nearfall at 11:00. She applied a Boston Crab and pulled Watanabe toward the middle of the ring, but Momo eventually reached the ropes.
They collided knees and were both down. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Momo hit her form of a Tombstone Piledriver for a nearfall at 14:00. Momo hit a Peach Sunrise overhead release suplex, then a running knee strike for a nearfall, and the 15-minute call is spot-on. She hit some rolling snap suplexes. However, Mercedes hit two suplexes but couldn’t hit a third. Momo hit some roundhouse kicks to the chest, then one to the head that dropped Mercedes at 18:00. Mone applied the Bank Statement. Momo got to the ropes but also grabbed the bat! The women fought over it. Mone fell backward into the ref! The women fought over the bat. Mercedes hit the Money Maker faceplant. She locked in the Bank Statement, and Momo tapped out. Good match.
* Mercedes got on the mic and said it has been 466 days since she was in a New Japan ring. The last time, she thought her career would be over. She thanked the fans for coming out and supporting the show.
Mercedes Mone defeated Momo Watanabe to retain the New Japan Strong Women’s Title at 19:55.
Final Thoughts: A solid show with a great final hour. I enjoyed Lio-Kidd for best, Hiromu-Ali for second, and the main event for third. The lineup was filled with some first-time-ever matchups, but there wasn’t a lot of suspense over who was winning many of them. Sabre and Naito weren’t going to lose. TMDK weren’t going to lose. The setup with the entrance near the ring, and no fans around it, made this event feel smaller than it was. I enjoyed the show, but I’ll add there were no must-see matches here, either.
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