By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Death Invitational Vegas”
April 16, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at The Horseshoe
Streamed live on TrillerTV+
This was the sixth show of The Collective, and the third of the Thursday shows. I also reviewed the PoderMania, Dragongate USA, Hybrid/PW Unplugged Midnight Xpress, Progress Chapter 193, and Mark Hitchcock Memorial events from The Collective.
It was 8 p.m. in Las Vegas as this began. The crowd was maybe 1,000 or more — it’s pretty packed now. Veda Scott and Jordan Castle provided commentary.
* This is a large convention hall, and the lighting is tinted red. The canvas is new and clean with the Collective logo in the middle.
I’m not a ‘deathmatch’ guy, but I think only the main event is really a death match.
1. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. (mystery opponent) Fuminori Abe. They immediately tied up on the mat. The commentary track is too quiet; they got it fixed pretty quickly. Zack tied a leg lock around the waist, and he switched to an ankle lock. He kept a headlock in place and was controlling the action over the smaller Abe. He patted Abe, so Abe smacked him in the face. They traded Mafia Kicks at 4:00. They rolled to the floor and fought in front of the fans. (It is really packed in here now!)
Sabre hit some roundhouse kicks and European Uppercuts as they fought away from the ring. Abe hit a running kick to the spine at 6:30, then another! Zack hit his neck-snap between his ankles. They got back into the ring, and Sabre went to a half-crab at 8:00. Abe hit another stiff kick to the spine. Sabre hit another neck-snap between his ankles. Abe hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip at 10:00 and another kick to the spine! Sabre hit his own Dragonscrew Legwhip. Abe applied a cross-armbreaker, and Zack got a foot on the ropes.
Abe tried a Sharpshooter but went to a bow-and-arrow. Sabre went for a cross-armbreaker at 12:30, but Abe reached the ropes. Abe hit a punch, and they both went down. They got up and traded European Uppercuts and punches. Abe locked in an Octopus Stretch at 15:30. Sabre went back to an ankle lock. Abe got a rollup for a nearfall. Sabre got a rollup, then he nailed the Zack Driver for the pin. A sharp opener.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Fuminori Abe at 16:50.
2. Ishin vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Effy. Ishin wrestled on the Dragongate show; he’s thick with blondish hair. I always note that Effy is deceptively tall and thick, as he’s taller than the other two here. Lloyd hit a running neckbreaker on Ishin. Effy got a chair and jabbed it in Jimmy’s stomach at 1:30. They did some comedy as Effy danced. Ishin hit a bulldog on Lloyd. Jimmy struck Ishin with the chair. Ishin hit a back suplex, dropping Jimmy on a pile of chairs at 3:30. It appears Ishin has a cut on his cheek.
Effy hit clotheslines in opposite corners. He hit a TKO stunner on Jimmy and cranked back on Lloyd’s head. Jimmy powerbombed Effy against a table. Ishin hit a German Suplex on Lloyd for a believable nearfall at 7:00. Ishin forcibly kissed Effy in the corner, then hit a superplex, dropping Effy onto Lloyd! Ishin hit a frog splash onto a chair over Jimmy’s chest for the pin. A solid brawl that never got gross.
Ishin defeated Jimmy Lloyd and Effy at 8:19.
3) “Bustah & The Brain” Alec Price and Jordan Oliver vs. Kushida and Yamato vs. “MXM Collection” Mansoor and Mason Madden. Price leapt over the ring steps, rather than climb down them after they collapsed while he was using them on a previous show (so glad he’s good to go after that fall). MXM brought “invisible dogs” to the ring, and of course, Mansoor had to pause to ‘pet’ his pup. They danced and posed. Price, Yamato, and Mansoor opened in a knuckle lock, so we have one member from all three teams. Mansoor offered to ‘touch tips,’ but instead kicked Alec in the gut! (I see the discoloration on the back of Price’s leg from when he fell 30 or so hours earlier, but it’s not bad.)
Kushida jumped in and got a rollup on Madden at 2:00. Price and Oliver unloaded some quick team offense on Kushida. Madden hit a double suplex on Alec and Jordan. MXM worked over Jordan. Kushida accidentally kicked Yamato; Jordan Castle said it’s a first-ever teaming for them. Kushida applied a Figure Four on Mansoor, but we got a human centipede of submissions. (My picture froze a few times; the stream isn’t as smooth right now.) Everyone was down, and there was a “This is awesome!” chant.
Oliver and Kushida traded punches, while Price battled Yamato. Price and Oliver hit superkicks; Kushida and Yamato hit dropkicks at 6:00. Madden hit a spear. We lost the signal! Ugh. You could sense that coming. I am letting my clock run, but I presume we’re missing the rest of this match. The picture returned at 10:20, and the match was already over. Sad. Yes, the video was down for four full minutes. Can they fix this in post-production?
Kushida and Yamato defeated “Bustah & The Brain” Alec Price and Jordan Oliver, and “MXM Collection” Mansoor and Mason Madden at 10:08, according to cagematch.net results.
* Maki Itoh couldn’t make the show, so we have another mystery participant in the next match!
4. Starlight Kid and Dragon Kid vs. El Phantasmo and (mystery teammate) Maika. ELP gave her a pair of light-up sunglasses, and they posed together. The men opened. Dragon Kid hit a huracanrana, but ELP landed on his feet. They traded some quick rollups and had a standoff. Starlight Kid entered and hit a huracanrana on Maika at 1:30, then a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Starlight Kid pretended to cry, but ELP kicked her at 3:30! He got booed. He started to cry, pretending he had hurt his foot while kicking her! Funny.
Maika hit a bodyslam on SK. ELP got back in and stomped on her again, then tied her in the Tree of Woe. ELP and Maika both stomped on her groin as Starlight Kid was still upside down at 5:00. Starlight Kid got free and twisted his nipples. He teased that he was going to do the same to her, but the ref convinced him not to. Maika missed a Maki Itoh-style Kokeshi. She missed again! Maika tried again, but this time she hit ELP! Good humor. Starlight Kid hit a springboard crossbody block on Maika. Dragon Kid got the hot tag at 7:00 and hit a tornado DDT on ELP.
Starlight Kid and Dragon Kid hit stereo moonsaults to the floor. All four fought in the ring. Starlight Kid put ELP in a Stretch Muffler! He reached the ropes at 9:00. SK tried to suplex ELP, but she might be under 100 pounds; Phantasmo hit a brainbuster on her for a nearfall. Maika hit a powerslam on SK. ELP hit an enzuigiri on Starlight Kid in the corner, and the crowd rallied for SK. Dragon Kid hit a top-rope Poison Rana on ELP!
Starlight Kid hit a top-rope crossbody block for a believable nearfall at 11:30; I thought that was it. Phantasmo hit a buzzsaw kick on Dragon Kid, then a swinging release neckbreaker for a nearfall. Dragon Kid hit a mid-ring huracanrana on ELP, but Maika kicked DK in the face! ELP immediately rolled up Dragon Kid for the flash pin.
El Phantasmo and Maika defeated Dragon Kid and Starlight Kid at 12:32.
5. Gringo Loco and Joey Janela vs. Daisuke Sasaki and Gedo. Castle said this is the first time Sasaki and Gedo have teamed. All four traded punches at the bell. Castle said Loco and Janela have teamed once before, in Japan. They slammed Daisuke to the mat, and Joey hit a stomp to his chest. Loco hit a split-legged moonsault on Daisuke for a nearfall at 1:30. Joey threw a chair at Sasaki’s head, and I just hate that. It adds NOTHING to the match. Joey went for a top-rope cannonball, but he crashed onto an open chair. Gedo got a fork, and he stabbed Joey with it, then stabbed Loco at 3:00.
Gedo tied Janela in the ropes and jabbed his forehead with the fork. (I love ref Scarlett Donovan’s reactions to this type of action; she’s as mortified as I am.) The heels snapped Joey’s neck while it was in a metal folding chair, and they got a nearfall at 5:30. Joey again tossed a chair at Daisuke. He leapt off a chair to hit a splash in the corner, and he made the ‘Sabu pose.’ Loco hit a flip dive to the floor onto both opponents. In the ring, Loco hit a powerbomb on Sasaki onto the folded chair for a nearfall at 8:00.
Sasaki hit a tornado DDT on Loco, and he clotheslined them both over the ropes to the floor. Gedo flipped Janela through a door in the corner and got a nearfall at 9:30. Gedo got a fork; Daisuke ‘wish-boned’ Janela’s legs, and Gedo stabbed Joey in the groin! That earned a “you sick f—!” chant. Loco got a fork, and he repeatedly stabbed Gedo in the forehead. Loco then stabbed Sasaki with the fork. Loco hit a top-rope Spanish Fly, slamming Daisuke through a door bridge for a believable nearfall at 13:30, and we got a “This is awesome!” chant.
Loco picked up the door debris and cracked it over Sasaki’s head. Sasaki spun Loco to the mat and locked in a crossface. Gedo came over and jabbed the fork into Loco’s forehead. Joey finally got back in and hit a brainbuster on Gedo, dropping him on door shards. Sasaki hit a superplex, dropping Joey through a chair bridge at 16:00, and they were all down. They all got up. Joey again hit Gedo over the head with a chair; just so completely unnecessary. He slammed Gedo onto a pile of debris.
Loco missed a top-rope corkscrew moonsault, and he crashed onto the debris. Daisuke hit a top-rope chair-assisted elbow drop for a nearfall, but Joey made the save. Joey hit a snap Dragon Suplex on Daisuke, and he cracked some door debris over Gedo’s head. He hit a DVD on Gedo, dropping him onto an open chair for a believable nearfall at 18:30; that really should have been it. Joey hit a top-rope double stomp onto door debris over Gedo’s chest for the pin. I can do without all the stabbing with forks and thrown chairs, but a fine brawl.
Joey Janela and Gringo Loco defeated Daisuke Sasaki and Gedo at 18:43.
* Weapons were set up for the deathmatch main event. Light tubes were hung on the ropes. This will probably be my one-and-only deathmatch viewing from this weekend — it really doesn’t interest me at all.
6. El Desperado and Jun Kasai vs. Rina Yamashita and Masasha Takeda vs. Matt Tremont and Nick Gage in a three-way deathmatch. Takeda was dressed like a Gremlin from the movies from the 1980s. The ref wore thick gloves. They immediately started whacking each other over the head with light tubes. Tremont and Takeda traded forearm strikes at 3:00, and Takeda shoved a fork into Matt’s forehead. Takeda cut open Desperado’s mask. Rina used a blade across both Despe’s and Tremont’s foreheads. Gross.
Tremont powerbombed Rina through a glass pane bridge for a nearfall at 6:30. Guys started jabbing cooking skewers into the tops of heads. Someone hit a DDT on Matt while he had skewers sticking off the top of his head. Gage had a blade and cut open some foreheads. Jun and Takeda hit frog splashes. Gage jabbed some guys with broken light tube debris. Gage hit some Facewash kicks in several corners. This is just so repetitive, as everyone just whacked each other over the head with light tubes. Tremont chokeslammed Despe through a glass pane. (I didn’t know who it was until I realized Despe’s mask was now around his neck.) Gage hit a piledriver and a powerbomb for the pin on Despe.
Matt Tremont and Nick Gage defeated El Desperado and Jun Kasai, and Rina Yamashita and Masasha Takeda in a three-way deathmatch at 14:24.
Final Thoughts: Sabre-Abe was really good and is my pick for best match. The three-way tag could have topped it, but we literally missed 40% of it, including the finish, so it gets an ‘incomplete score.’ All I can say about the main event is that the crowd there live absolutely loved it. My personal opinion is irrelevant, but I’ll add that at least no one took a severe blow to the head. There was an uncomfortable level of blood loss here, though.
Anyone who watches an NJPW show these days knows that Gedo can be tossed around and pinned in about two minutes, so it was just hard to accept him being superhuman and kicking out of all those finishers.
This concludes my viewing of night two of the Collective; I do not anticipate watching any of the matches from the midnight deathmatch show.
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