By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Blue Justice XIV”
October 6, 2024 in Chiba, Japan at Togane Arena
Streamed live on New Japan World
The venue is a gym with nearly all fans seated on the floor; there is a small balcony with a few spectators as well. The crowd is maybe 1,200. Chris Charlton and Walker Stewart provided English commentary.
1. Boltin Oleg, Nagai Daiki, and Katsuya Murashima vs. Shoma Kato, Toru Yano, and Masatora Yasuda. Interesting that Yano and Oleg, who are six-man tag champions, are on opposite teams, and they opened against each other. Everyone else, of course, are Young Lions and all wore basic black trunks. Murashima is thicker; he just has more size to him, and he beat up Kato and Yasuda. Oleg hit a splash for a nearfall at 6:00. Yano’s team took turns trying to take down Oleg. Oleg hit a massive gut-wrench suplex on Yasuda, then he locked in a Boston Crab, and Yasuda tapped out. Alright opener.
Boltin Oleg, Nagai Daiki, and Katsuya Murashima defeated Shoma Kato, Toru Yano, and Masatora Yasuda at 7:14.
2. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Hartley Jackson, Shane Haste, and Mikey Nicholls vs. “Bullet Club” Caveman Ugg, Taiji Ishimori, and Bad Luck Fale. The BC attacked from behind. My first time seeing Fale in months, maybe in all of 2024, and he has grown a beard that is mostly white. Hartley is a massive bull, and he easily knocked Ishimori down with a shoulder tackle, and TMDK took turns working Ishimori over early on. Caveman Ugg (looking more and more like 1980s Jim Duggan) entered at 3:00 and battled Hartley; I presume they are familiar foes in Australia. Hartley hit a Samoan Drop on Ishimori at 4:30. Haste entered and suplexed Ishimori, with Taiji landing on his stomach. Ishimori hit a DDT. Fale hit a double shoulder tackle on Haste and Nicholls at 6:30. Ugg and Hartley hit double clotheslines. Ugg hit a wind-up uranage and pinned Hartley; that felt like it came out of nowhere. Fast-paced for the time given; glad to have these Australian talents here to shore up the roster. The Bullet Club team wants tag title shots at Haste and Nicholls.
Caveman Ugg, Taiji Ishimori, and Bad Luck Fale defeated Hartley Jackson, Shane Haste, and Mikey Nicholls at 7:50.
3. “Just 5 Guys” Douki and Taka Michinoku vs. “House of Torture” Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. The HoT attacked to open. Sho and Taka traded blows. Sho and Douki fought to the floor. In the ring, Kanemaru worked over Taka’s left leg. Douki applied the Douki Chokey triangle choke at 6:00 on Sho, and he hit a suplex. Kanemaru and Taka tagged back in, and Yoshinobu immediately went back to work on Taka’s leg, and he applied a Figure Four. Taka fought it but eventually tapped out. Dull match. Sho hit a piledriver on Douki onto a folded chair after the match.
Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Douki and Taka Michinoku at 8:39.
4. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Yota Tsuji and Hiromu Takahashi vs. “United Empire” Jeff Cobb and Jakob Austin Young. Again, Jakob reminds me of a young Drew Gulak, with short brown hair and beard. Tsuji and Cobb opened; they have been familiar opponents in recent months. Cobb hit a Guerrilla Press on Hiromu at 1:30; Charlton and Stewart marveled at Cobb’s strength. UE worked over Hiromu. Tsuji got a hot tag at 4:00 but he couldn’t lift Cobb. Moments later, he hit a bodyslam for a nearfall. Cobb hit his diving forearm and a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Yota hit a Flatliner at 6:00. Young tagged in and hit a second-rope diving elbow on Hiromu. Cobb hit a Stinger Splash on Hiromu. Hiromu hit a clothesline for a nearfall on Jakob. Yota and Cobb battled some more; Tsuji blocked a Spin Cycle. Young hit an enzuigiri on Hiromu. Hiromu again applied his standing Figure Four, then dropped to the mat, and Young tapped out. This was vastly better than the first three matches.
Yota Tsuji and Hiromu Takahashi defeated Jeff Cobb and Jakob Austin Young at 9:08.
5. Shota Umino, Tomohiro Ishii, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. “House of Torture” EVIL, Dick Togo, and Yujiro Takahashi. EVIL and Tanahashi opened, and Tanahashi hit a crossbody block. The HoT took turns working over Hiroshi early on. Ishii entered at 4:00 and he knocked Yujiro down with a shoulder tackle, then he hit a back suplex for a nearfall on Yujiro, then a suplex. Shota entered and hit a fisherman’s suplex on Yujiro at 6:00. The heels began working over Shota, with Dick hitting his knife-edge chop to the groin for a nearfall. Togo choked Shota with his wire. Ishii hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip. The babyfaces surrounded and beat up Togo. Hiroshi hit a Sling Blade clothesline, and Ishii hit a sliding clothesline. Shota hit a Hidden Blade to the back of Togo’s head, then the Death Rider double-arm DDT to pin Togo. Good action.
Shota Umino, Tomohiro Ishii, and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated “House of Torture” EVIL, Dick Togo, nad Yujiro Takahashi at 8:45.
6. Tomoaki Honma and “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi & “Jet Setters” Kushida and Kevin Knight vs. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gedo, David Finlay, and Gabe Kidd. Kidd apparently wrestled at the AEW/ROH taping just days ago. All 10 brawled at the bell. Kushida and Connors brawled away from ringside and near the wall. In the ring, Goto kept flipping teammates onto Gabe. Honma hit a Kokeshi falling headbutt, but he missed a second one. The heels began working over Yoshi-Hashi in their corner. Goto tagged in at 6:00 and he battled Finlay some more; they also have been familiar foes this year. Finlay hit a diving European Uppercut for a nearfall. They hit stereo clotheslines and were both down.
Connors and Knight entered at 8:00 and traded quick reversals, with Kevin hitting a picture-perfect dropkick to the face, then a Stinger Splash, then an impressive jump-up Frankensteiner. Connors blocked the leaping DDT attempt. Connors hit a snap powerslam. Knight hit his spike DDT on Drilla. Connors hit a spear, and the four juniors were all down. Gedo jumped in the ring and attacked Knight. Knight hit a springboard crossbody block. Kushida hit a handspring-back-double elbow. Knight hit an impressive springboard dive to the floor onto multiple guys at 10:30. Knight then hit a springboard clothesline in the ring on Gedo and scored the pin. It appears Kushida injured his knee right on the finishing sequence of the mat and struggled to get to his feet, and this appears to be a legit injury; they helped him to his feet but he did limp to the back.
Tomoaki Honma, Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, Kushida, and Kevin Knight defeated Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gedo, David Finlay, and Gabe Kidd at 11:17.
7. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Tetsuya Naito, Bushi, and Shingo Takagi vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Kosei Fujita, and Ryohei Oiwa. Oiwa, a recent Young Lion graduate, just joined TMDK a week ago. Naito and Sabre opened and they avoided each other’s signature offense. Kosei tagged in at 1:30 and battled Naito. Shingo and Oiwa fought on the floor; they have a singles match coming up. Meanwhile, Naito was tying up Kosei on the mat. Naito hit a standing neckbreaker at 4:30. Shingo hit a suplex on Kosei for a nearfall. Fujita nailed a spin kick to the head and they were both down. Oiwa tagged in and hit some shoulder tackles on all three opponents.
Shingo hit a short-am clothesline on Oiwa at 6:30, and they traded stiff clotheslines. Shingo hit a back suplex. Bushi dove through the ropes and barreled into Oiwa at 9:00. In the ring, Sabre snapped Bushi’s neck between his ankles. Sabre and Naito tied up again, with Sabre going for a hammerlock. Oiwa applied a sleeper on Bushi in the middle of the ring, then Oiwa hit a discus clothesline for the pin. Sharp action. Naito was barely in this one; this felt more about setting up the Oiwa-Shingo match. Sabre sat down on the mat, and put his G1 Climax trophy in front of Naito and taunted him.
Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, and Kosei Fujita defeated Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, and Bushi at 10:15.
8. Yuji Nagata and Jun Akiyama vs. Go Shiozaki and Atsushi Kotoge. I saw Shiozaki wrestle live at ROH shows in Chicago in 2006 and he still looks great. Kotoge and Shiozaki wore black-and-green “Team NOAH” shirts. Jun is representing the DDT promotion. Charlton said Nagata has now competed in 11,000 matches, and he opened against Shiozaki, with Yuji hitting some spin kicks to the thighs. Jun entered at 3:00 and faced the younger Kotoge, who has reddish tints in his hair, and those two fought to the floor. In the ring, Jun hit a piledriver at 5:00. Jun hit a stiff kick to the spine. Nagata tagged back in and they worked over Kotoge. Shiozaki tagged in and hit some chops on Nagata, and he tied up Yuji on the mat.
Yuji and Shiozaki got up and traded forearm strikes. Kotoge whipped Nagata into the guardrails at 9:30. In the ring, they traded forearm strikes, and Nagata hit a belly-to-belly overhead suplex. Jun entered and hit a Stomp on Kotoge at 11:30. Shiozaki and Yuji got back in and traded chops. Go hit a second-rope twisting superplex on Nagata for a nearfall at 16:00. Nagata hit an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall, but Kotoge made the save. Go hit a clothesline on Yuji for a nearfall at 18:30. Go missed a moonsault, and Jun hit an Exploder Suplex. Yuji hit a brainbuster on Go for a believable nearfall. He then hit a back suplex for the pin. A strong showing from Yuji today.
Yuji Nagata and Jun Akiyama defeated Go Shiozaki and Atsushi Kotoge at 19:43.
Final Thoughts: I actually really enjoyed Cobb/Young vs. Yota/Hiromu for best match, then the LIJ-TMDK six-man for second. The main event was solid and takes third. Nothing really must-see here, unless you are really excited about seeing guys from multiple promotions fight in that main event.
Between the Australia-based talents showing up, along with the return of Connors, Moloney, Knight and Kushida, this lineup got a much-needed boost with some different faces mixed in.
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