By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Resurgence”
May 9, 2025, in Ontario, California at Toyota Arena
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Steward and Veda Scott provided commentary. The arena iwas dark, and I couldn’t see the crowd, but the ring was really well-lit.
1. CJ Tino vs. Allan Breeze. I’ve noted in the past that CJ Tino is like a 5’9″ version of Duke Hudson. I saw Breeze recently on an NJPW Academy showcase event. Basic standing switches early on. Tino hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 2:30. He hit an enzuigiri, then a German Suplex for a nearfall. Breeze hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall. Tino got a jackknife cover for the pin. Acceptable; it didn’t overstay its welcome.
CJ Tino defeated Allan Breeze at 5:26.
* Bea Priestley (f/k/a Blair Davenport) came to the ring! She wasn’t advertised! She got on the mic and noted that her 90 days (on her non-compete) is up today. “So, which one of you bitches wants to fight me?”
2. Bea Priestley vs. Viva Van. Bea attacked as Viva got in the ring, before she even got a jacket off. She hit some punches and a shotgun dropkick into the corner. Veda said these two haven’t faced each other before. They traded forearm strikes, and Viva dropped her with a clothesline at 2:00, then she hit a huracanrana. Viva (barely grazed) her with a spinning kick to the forehead. Bea hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Bea repeatedly swore at Viva as she kicked her. Bea hit a doublestomp on the back and a pumphandle powerbomb for the pin. Short but sharp.
Bea Priestley defeated Viva Van at 4;42.
3. Fred Rosser vs. Matt Vandagriff. Matt is one of the top students at the NJPW Academy, and I’ve seen a lot of him at Las Vegas-based FSW, too. Matt dove through the ropes onto Fred; they got in the ring, and we had the bell to officially begin, with Matt in charge. He hit a dropkick. Fred hit a Whoopee Cushion; Matt got a crucifix rollup for a nearfall. They brawled on the floor, and Fred whipped him into the guardrail at 4:00. Matt hit another dive through the ropes onto Rosser at 5:30; he got a nearfall in the ring. Matt hit a diving forearm. Fred got up and hit a European Uppercut at 7:30.
Matt hit an enzuigiri for a nearfall, then some Yes Kicks. Rosser hit a series of clotheslines into the corner. He hit a belly-to-belly suplex into the corner and a running knee. Matt hit a clothesline, and they were both down at 10:30. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Matt hit a kip-up spinning kick to the skull, then a corkscrew senton for a nearfall. Matt went for a 450 Splash but Rosser got his knees up. Fred then hit a Lumbar Check-type blow for a nearfall, and they were both down. Fred locked in a Crossface Chickenwing on the mat, and Vandagriff tapped out. That built nicely.
Fred Rosser defeated Matt Vandagriff at 13:52.
4. “West Coast Wrecking Crew” Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson vs. “United Empire” TJP and Templario for the New Japan Strong Tag Titles. The champs attacked, and we’re underway! TJP hit a bulldog on Royce. Templario slammed teammate TJP onto Royce for a nearfall at 1:30. Royce hit a backbreaker over his knee on TJP, and Jorel hit a Pounce, and the WCWC kept TJP in their corner, and the crowd rallied for TJP. TJP hit a huracanrana at 5:00. Templario got a hot tag and he traded forearm strikes with Jorel, and he hit a shotgun dropkick that sent Jorel to the floor.
Templario dove through the ropes onto the Crew. TJP missed a Mamba Splash, but he hit a spin kick to Jorel’s jaw. TJP hit a tornado DDT. Isaacs hit a delayed second-rope superplex and a clothesline on TJP, and Jorel made the cover at 8:30 for a nearfall. Royce hit a DVD over Nelson’s knees. Templario hit a huracanrana and a German Suplex on Jorel. Templario hit a superkick, then a Lumbar Check on Jorel.
TJP hit a Mamba Splash for a believable nearfall, but Isaacs made the save at 10:00. TJP hit a plancha to the floor. Templario hit a springboard flying elbow, and TJP made the cover on Jorel for a nearfall, and everyone was down. Royce shoved TJP into Templario. Isaacs hit a Tombstone Piledriver on TJP. Jorel hit a pop-up powerbomb on Templario, and Royce hit a DVD on Templario over Jorel’s knees at 12:30. TJP and Jorel were trading rollups; Templario helped flip TJP into a pinning combo, and TJP scored the pin! New champions! I did not expect that!!
TJP and Templario defeated Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs to win the NJPW Strong Tag Titles at 13:15.
5. “The Good Brothers” Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows and “The Young Bucks” Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson vs. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Gedo, David Finlay, Clark Connors, and Gabe Kidd. It was hinted immediately in April at Windy City Riot that it was going to be the Good Brothers in this match, and it was made official earlier in the week. All eight brawled at the bell, and it immediately went to the floor. Nick hit a flip dive off a short stage onto several guys on the floor at 2:00. In the ring, the BCWD backed their opponents into each corner and hit a series of punches at 4:00. Clark hit an elbow drop on Anderson, and the BCWD kept him in their corner. Gedo raked Karl’s eyes at 6:00. Kidd got on the mic and jawed at the crowd.
Luke hit a sit-out powerbomb. Nick got a hot tag at 10:00 and he cleared the ring. Matt Jackson got in and hit a superkick on Kidd, then a Sliced Bread. Nick hit a Swanton Bomb, and Matt got a nearfall. Luke got back in and traded clotheslines with Kidd at 11:30, and Karl hit a Gun Stun. Gedo got a hot tag at 12:00, and he hit a buzzsaw kick on Karl, and he got a Gedo Clutch for a nearfall. Kidd hit a Rebound Lariat. The Bucks hit the EVP Trigger on Gedo, then the Meltzer Driver on Gedo. The Good Brothers then hit the Magic Killer team slam to pin Gedo. This played out just as I imagined, and it was highly entertaining. A blood-free brawl, too. The Bucks/Good Brothers offered a “Too Sweet” hand gesture, but the BCWD turned and walked away.
Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson defeated Gedo, David Finlay, Clark Connors, and Gabe Kidd at 13:39.
6. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Drilla Moloney for the NJ Strong Openweight Title. Drilla immediately hit some forearm strikes that Ishii no-sold. Ishii hit his own. I recall these two fought in the New Japan Cup, with Drilla getting the win. Moloney hit a dropkick at 2:00. He stomped on Ishii in the corner, then a back suplex at 3:30. They brawled to the floor, where Ishii immediately hit a powerslam on a thin mat at ringside. Back in the ring, Moloney hit a piledriver at 5:30, and they were both down. They got up, and Ishii hit some headbutts that dropped Drilla. Drilla hit a pumphandle powerbomb for a nearfall at 8:00.
Drilla hit a Spinebuster and a Gore for a nearfall. (Walker always says that Rhino passed his move to Drilla, so it’s a Gore not just a spear.) Ishii hit a German Suplex at 10:00, then a decapitating clothesline. Drilla fired back with a brainbuster. Ishii hit an enzuigiri and another decapitating clothesline for a nearfall at 12:30. Moloney set up for the Drilla Killa, but Ishii escaped. Ishii hit a standing powerbomb and a sliding clothesline, then a brainbuster for the pin. A very good match.
Tomohiro Ishii defeated Drilla Moloney to retain the NJ Strong Openweight Title at 13:38.
7. Konosuke Takeshita (w/Rocky Romero) vs. El Phantasmo for the NEVER Openweight Title. A week ago, these two went to a time-limit draw for ELP’s TV Title; he wore it to the ring, but it’s not on the line today. Quick reversals at the bell. ELP couldn’t hit the CR2, but he hit a superkick. Takeshita hit a discus forearm strike that dropped ELP, then he clotheslined Phantasmo to the floor and hit a flip dive onto him at 2:30. In the ring, Takeshita hit a flying shoulder tackle. ELP hit an enzuigiri into the corner that sent Takeshita to the floor, then he dove onto Konosuke, and they were both down at 5:00. ELP hit a springboard splash onto Takeshita in the crowd.
Phantasmo hit some chops on the floor. In the ring, Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. ELP hit a Burning Hammer for a nearfall at 7:00. He hit an enzuigiri, and they were both down. They traded forearm strikes while on their knees, then while standing. ELP hit a piledriver onto the ring apron at 10:00, and they both collapsed to the floor. Phantasmo set up a table on the floor. They brawled on the apron. They fought onto the top-rope, where Takeshita clotheslined Phantasmo to the mat for a nearfall at 13:00. Takeshita hit a Tombstone Piledriver, then another piledriver for a nearfall.
ELP hit a superkick. Takeshita hit another piledriver and a wheelbarrow German Suplex. ELP hit a clothesline; he leapt off the top rope, but Takeshita dropped him with a forearm strike. ELP hit a Poison Rana at 15:00 (so we would be at a draw in a TV Title match), then some superkicks. He hit the CR2 (modified Styles Clash for a nearfall). ELP hit a top-rope splash, then a springboard frogsplash for a visual pin, but Rocky pulled the ref from the ring! ELP rolled to the floor and superkicked Rocky, then powerbombed him through the table at 17:00! In the ring, Takeshita set up for Ragin Fire, but ELP got a rollup for a nearfall. Takeshita hit a running knee for a nearfall. Takeshita then hit Raging Fire (twisting Falcon Arrow) for the pin. That was stellar stuff.
Konosuke Takeshita defeated El Phantasmo to retain the NEVER Openweight Title at 17:47.
8. Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (w/Shane Haste) for the IWGP World Title. Of course, Goto won the belt from Sabre a few months ago. Standing switches and Sabre immediately tied up the left arm. He snapped Goto’s neck between his ankles at 2:30. He did it again, this time on the ring apron, and they fought to the floor, with Zack hitting some European Uppercuts, while Goto hit some forearm strikes. Back in the ring, Sabre kept Goto grounded, tying him in a pretzel in the middle of the ring. They got up and Goto hit some chops at 5:30, then a clothesline and they were both down.
Goto hit a back suplex for a nearfall. He hit a neckbreaker over his knee at 8:30. They got up and traded forearms and European Uppercuts. Sabre hit a Zack Driver, and they were both down at 10:30. Sabre hit a running Penalty Kick for a nearfall. Goto hit a GTR from the corner. Sabre got a backslide and immediately tied up both of Goto’s arms behind his back, and he grabbed an arm, too! Goto got a leg free and onto the ropes at 13:30 to break the hold. Sabre hit some running Penalty Kicks. Goto got up and hit a clothesline, then a GTW slam for a nearfall. They traded rollups with Sabre getting a believable nearfall that the crowd thought was a three-count. The ref counted to three as clearly all four shoulders were down! Sabre was irate with the non-decision.
Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr. went to a draw via double pin at 17:22; Goto retains the title.
9. Mercedes Mone vs. AZM vs. Mina Shirakawa for the NJ Strong Women’s Title. I was at Windy City Riot when AZM and Mina went to a double count-out, leading to this being a three-way. (Clearly, this is set up to take the belt off Mone, but with her not eating a pin, right?) Of course, Mercedes came out last with her four title belts. Mercedes wore blue-and-red that I presume is meant to be Spiderman-themed gear.They traded quick reversals early on. Mercedes tripped AZM at 2:30, and they fought on the floor. Mina hit a top-rope splash onto both of them on the floor.
In the ring, Mina hit a springboard flying knees on AZM. Mercedes hit some rolling suplexes on Mina at 4:30. Mone hit a flying double knees on both opponents on the floor. Mina hit a Gory Bomb on Mone and repeatedly rammed Mercedes’s knee into the mat. AZM applied a double armbar (on both women!) AZM hit a top-rope doublestomp to Mone’s stomach for a nearfall at 9:00. Mone hit a double Lungblower to both women’s backs – one knee in each! All three were down. They got on their knees and traded forearm strikes; AZM and Mina began working together to strike Mone.
Mone hit a Lungblower to the chest for a nearfall. Mina hit a crossbody block. Mina hit a DDT on AZM while she also had Mone’s legs tied up. Nice. Mina hit a swinging faceplant on AZM, then put her in a Figure Four at 13:00, but Mercedes broke it up. Mina put both opponents on top of each other, and she applied a double Figure Four. Nice! Mone and AZM eventually got to the ropes. Mina hit a DDT on AZM for a nearfall at 15:30, while Mone was down on the floor. AZM got a rollup on Mone for a nearfall. AZM hit a Canadian Destroyer on Mone. Mina rolled up AZM, but Mone made the save. Moments later, AZM rolled up Mina for the pin; Mercedes wasn’t able to make it there in time to break it up, and she looked shocked at the outcome.
AZM defeated Mercedes Mone and Mina Shirakawa to win the NJ Strong Women’s Title at 17:52.
* Mone threw a temper tantrum; Mina chased Mone to the back, leaving AZM alone in the ring. She got on the mic and thanked the crowd, mostly in Japanese, but then shouted, “I’m so happy!” The crowd chanted, “You deserve it!” at her.
Final Thoughts: A very good show. I thought there was a strong possibility that Sabre was winning the belt here; Goto has been so over in Japan this year, it might be difficult for him to lose it there! I didn’t mind the double pin, and I like that they didn’t get ‘cute’ by having one guy or both guys get a shoulder up and the ref not see it. No, it was a clear case where all four shoulders were on the mat. (For what it’s worth, I am almost positive that Sabre-Goto was listed as the main event on the NJPW website. When it came on second-to-last, I immediately suspected a copout finish.)
So, I’ll still go with Sabre-Goto for best match, ahead of the women’s three-way, with ELP-Takeshita taking third. The Ishii-Moloney match was really strong, too. Some good surprises here, too. Bea’s return was kept under wraps. I truly had not considered TJP and Templario were winning the tag belts, as TJP apparently isn’t doing as many tours in Japan now. Those tag belts in particular have been treated as a hot potato, but I still didn’t expect it.
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