By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni”
April 29, 2023 in Kagoshima, Japan at Kagoshima Arena
Streamed on New Japan World
There was Japanese-only commentary..
1. “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg at 4:37. Again, Oleg is the big, bald Young Lion who reminds me of Lars Sullivan. Oleg put Goto in a Boston Crab at 3:30, but Yoshi-Hashi made the save. Bishamon hit their Shoto team slam on Oleg for the pin. Adequate.
2. “House of Torture” EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi (w/Sho, Dick Togo) defeated Shota Umino and Oskar Leube at 6:41. The HoT attacked at the bell and they all brawled to the floor. The HoT beat up Leube; Shota made the hot tag and hit a summersault off the apron to the floor on the heels. In the ring, Shota hit a diving forearm on EVIL at 4:00 and a Northern Lights suplex for a nearfall. Leube entered and hit a supex and a Hogan Legdrop on Yujiro for a nearfall. Sho hit Leube in the head with his wrench, and Yujiro nailed the Pimp Juice jumping DDT on Leube for the pin. Exactly as you’d expect here.
3. “United Empire” TJP, Francesco Akira, and Aaron Henare defeated Kushida, Kevin Knight, and Tomoaki Honma at 9:14. TJP has a bandage on his forehead from a cut he sustained a couple days ago. Knight and Kushida wore their newly-won IWGP Junior Tag Team title belts. All six brawled at the bell. The UE worked over Honma in their corner. Henare hit Sheamus-style blows to the chest at 4:00 and got a nearfall. Kushida entered and traded kicks with Akira. Honma missed the Kokeshi falling headbutt on Henare at 7:00.
Kushida hit a handspring-back-double elbow, and he held Henare in place, allowing Honma to hit the Kokeshi. Akira hit a plancha to the floor on two opponents. Henare hit some headbutts on Honma. Henare applied the Full Nelson, and Honma tapped out.
4. “United Empire” Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan defeated “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Kosei Fujita at 11:21. O-Khan wore his Rev Pro title and he started against Kosei, and Fujita hit a dropkick and tied up O-Khan’s legs. Sabre entered at 2:00 and went to work on O-Khan’s left leg. The UE worked over Fujita in their corner, with Cobb hitting a delayed vertical suplex at 5:30.
Sabre tagged in and hit a running forearm in the corner on Cobb, and he applied a modified Triangle Choke, but Cobb powered out. Fujita entered and applied a leglock on O-Khan, but GOK reached the ropes at 10:00. O-Khan nailed a head-capture suplex on Fujita. Fujita got an O’Connor Roll for a believable nearfall. However, O-Khan bent Fujita over his knee and applied the Sheepkiller submission hold, and Fujita tapped out. Solid.
5. Yuto Nakashima and “Strong Style” Minoru Suzuki, Ren Narita, and El Desperado defeated Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Togi Makabe, and Ryohei Oiwa at 12:10. Narita and Okada opened by immediately trading stiff forearms; Ren is clearly stepping up to challenge Okada soon. Yuto and Makabe traded shoulder tackles at 2:00. On the floor, Ishii whipped Desperado into a guardrail. Suzuki entered and hit a Mafia Kick on Makabe. Desperado and Ishii traded stiff forearms at 5:00, and Desperado hit a spinebuster.
Desperado went for his Angel’s Wings faceplant, but Ishii avoided it. Desperado hit a spear and they were both down. Okada and Suzuki entered and traded stiff forearm shots at 7:30. Ren entered and hit a Northern Lights Suplex on Okada. Okada hit a dropkick. Ren hit a belly-to-belly suplex for a nearfall on Oiwa. Ren Narita then applied a mid-ring Octopus hold, nad Oiwa tapped out. Good match. Ishii and Desperado continued brawling after the bell.
6. Hikuleo & Tama Tonga, Jado, and Master Wato defeated “Bullet Club” Kenta, David Finlay, Taiji Ishimori, and Gedo at 9:43. Finlay and Kenta attacked Hikuleo to start. Wato and Ishimori traded blows. All eight brawled. The BC worked over Jado in their corner. Tama Tonga finally made the hot tag at 7:30 and he bodyslammed Gedo, then he traded blows with Finlay. Tama peeled off his vest and was fired up. Wato hit a top-rope diving elbow. Tama clotheslined Finlay to the floor, then he hit the Gun Stun to pin Gedo. Very basic. Kenta attacked Tama with a kendo stick after the match.
7. “Just Five Guys” Sanada, Douki, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (w/Taka Michinoku) defeated “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Tetsuya Naito, Bushi, and Hiromu Takahashi at 12:19. All six brawled at the bell, with Douki and Naito trading blows. Sanada and Hiromu traded forearm shots on the floor at 3:30. In the ring, Kanemaru hit a senton on Naito. Sanada worked over Naito, hitting a snap suplex for a nearfall. Douki entered and applied the ‘Douki Chokey’ modified Triangle Choke on Naito. Naito finally hit a tornado DDT on Douki at 7:00.
Hiromu and Sanada made the hot tags, with Hiromu hitting a head-scissors takedown, then a basement dropkick for a nearfall. Hiromu hit a Falcon Arrow and they were both down at 10:00. Bushi entered and hit a huracanrana on Sanada. Sanada applied the Skull End dragon sleeper, but Naito entered to break it up. Douki nailed a dive through the ropes on Naito. Sanada again applied the Skull End; Bushi got a rollup for a believable nearfall. Sanada applied the SKull End again, and Bushi tapped out. Good match.
* Sanada had the referee put the title belt around his waist. Sanada and Hiromu argued in the center of the ring; they face each other May 3.
8. “Aussie Open” Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis defeated “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls to retain the IWGP Tag Team Titles at 24:49. Davis and Nicholls opened with an intense lockup. Haste and Fletcher entered and hit some quicker reversals. They all brawled to the floor. Haste slammed Fletcher back-first on the ring apron and got a nearfall at 6:30. TMDK worked over Fletcher in their corner for several minutes. Davis made the hot tag at 9:30 and beat up TMDK.
Fletcher dove through the ropes on both opponents. In the ring, Davis and Nicholls traded forearm shots. Haste hit a Falcon Arrow on Fletcher for a nearfall. Fletcher hit his assisted stunner on Haste for a nearfall at 15:00. Haste hit a sit-out powerbomb on Davis for a nearfall. Davis hit a release German Suplex on Nicholls, then a decapitating clothesline for a nearfall at 16:30. Haste hit a top-rope crossbody block onto both AO, then a flip dive to the floor on Fletcher.
All four men traded forearm shots while on their knees, then while standing, with the blows becoming faster and harder. TMDK hit a team faceplant on Fletcher for a nearfall at 22:00, but Davis made the save. Fletcher hit a double DDT. Davis hit an enziguri and Fletcher hit a tombstone piledriver on Nicholls. AO hit their front-and-back clotheslines on Haste, then the Koryallis swinging slam for the pin. That was really, really good, althought I never thought Aussie Open was going to lose here, so quickly after winning the belts.
* They shook hands and TMDK left. As Aussie Open celebrated with their belts, they were attacked by the four members of the House of Torture. EVIL and Yujiro posed with the title belts. The rest of the United Empire ran to ringside to make the save, and the HoT bailed without the belts.
* The next match has five different ways to typically win a match such as a submission or a pinfall or knockout; to win the “Takagi Triad” match, you must get three different styles of wins. Shingo previously won this type of match against Aaron Henare in a 38-minute bout over WrestleMania week.
9. Taichi (w/Just Five Guys) defeated Shingo Takagi (w/LIJ) in a Takagi Triad Match to win the KOPW Title at 43:38. They immediately traded stiff chops. There is an on-screen graphic showing (in Japanese) the five different ways to win the match; all five boxes for both competitors are blank. they brawled on the floor and dove back into the ring before being counted out at 4:30. They fought to the floor, where Taichi hit a back body drop at 8:30. Shingo got back in the ring before being counted out, and out of nowhere, he rolled up Taichi for a pin at 9:42. The match continues without a break (a circle has been put in that box on Shingo’s scorecard.)
Shingo hit a senton; he went for a pin but the ref reminded him he can’t get any more pins. So, Shingo applied a crossface on the mat. Shingo hit a Death Valley Driver on the ring apron, and they both crashed to the floor at 14:00. They got in the ring, and Taichi got a rollup for the pin at 14:47, so we are tied 1-1. Shingo hit a German Suplex; Taichi popped up and hit a Saito Suplex, and they were both down. Taichi hit an enziguri and a release powerbomb, then an Air Raid Crash at 20:00, and they were both down. Taichi got a knockout at 21:33 when Shingo was unable to get to his feet before the 10-count. Shingo nailed the Last of the Dragon pumphandle sit-out powerbomb, then a Pumping Bomber clothesline.
They traded clotheslines and the sweat was really flying off them. Shingo hit a powerbomb and another Pumping Bomber, then another Last of the Dragon, and Taichi didn’t get to his feet and was KO’d at 26:50. The score is now tied 2-2. Shingo hit a second-rope swinging Death Valley Driver at 29:00, and he hit repeated elbows to the side of the head. Shingo applied a sleeper. Kanemaru hopped on the ring apron and was debating whether to throw in the towel! However, Taichi reached the ropes at 31:30. Taichi rolled to the floor and was nearly counted out. In the ring, Taichi hit a Saito Suplex. They hit clotheslines and both fell to the floor.
Shingo barely dove back in the ring before being counted out at 35:00. They got up and traded chops. The crowd was really into this, as Shingo nailed a headbutt that dropped Taichi at 38:00. Taichi nailed a superkick, and he applied a modified Dragon Sleeper in the center of the ring, but Shingo powered out. Taichi hit another enziguri, and he again applied the modified Dragon Sleeper. Hiromu now hopped on the ring apron with a towel in his hand, and his face showed turmoil, but he ultimately set the towel down rather than throw it in. The ref checked Shingo and determined he had passed out.
* Taichi spoke on the mic. From Chris Charlton’s Twitter translation: “It might not be the IWGP World heavyweight title, it might be blue, might not have the history. But Takagi elevated this to an incredible level, and I treat it as just as important. We’re all now running at a level one step higher.”
Final Thoughts: I actually expected Taichi to win here, as the newly-formed Just Five guys really needed a big win to keep momentum rolling for their faction. Shingo has really turned into an ironman, with one long match after another. The tag title match was fantastic, but as I noted already, I never once bought into the idea that Aussie Open were on the verge of losing here.
NJPW continues to move forward the storylines for the conclusion of this tour on Wednesday, May 3, which includes Sanada vs. Hiromu, Jeff Cobb vs. Zack Sabre Jr., and Tama Tonga vs. David Finlay.
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