By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Road to Tokyo Dome”
December 22, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
Chris Charlton and Walker Stewart provided commentary.
1. Togi Makabe and Shoma Kato defeated Satoshi Kojima and Katsuya Murashima at 5:32. The Young Lions opened against each other; both are quite small and I’ve compared both to Taka Michinoku. Satoshi entered and hit a standing neckbreaker on Kato, then his rapid-fire chops on Togi at 3:30. Togi applied a Boston Crab, and Katsuya tapped out. Basic but acceptable.
2. Toru Yano and Yoh defeated Boltin Oleg and Ryusuke Taguchi at 5:03. Oleg and Taguchi again wore masks. Yano forced Taguchi to run the ropes until he was exhausted. Oleg flipped Yoh around in his arms at 4:00, showing off his power. Yoh rolled up Taguchi out of nowhere for the pin. Lots of comedy here.
3. Tomohiro Ishii defeated Callum Newman at 13:25. Newman slapped Ishii in the face in the early seconds; Ishii responded by dropping him with a shoulder tackle. Charlton talked about what a big opportunity this is for Callum. They traded forearm strikes, with Ishii getting the better of the exchange. Ishii applied a half-crab, but Newman reached the ropes at 3:30. Newman hit a dropkick to the face, then a running Penalty Kick. Newman hit a roundhouse kick to the chest. Ishii hit a suplex and they were both down. Ishii hit a powerslam for a nearfall at 5:30. Newman hit a second-rope moonsault to the floor! In the ring, Newman hit a top-rope flying forearm to the back of the neck.
Ishii hit a high back suplex at 7:30 and they were both down, then a German Suplex and a decapitating clothesline for a nearfall. Newman hit a second-rope missile dropkick and a shotgun dropkick, then a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a believable nearfall at 10:00 and this crowd was going NUTS for that move. Newman hit a butterfly suplex for a believable nearfall. Ishii hit a leaping headbutt. Callum hit a springboard stunner for a believable nearfall. Newman missed a top-rope corkscrew moonsault. Ishii hit an enzuigiri at 12:00. Ishii hit a clothesline for a nearfall. Charlton said they are treating this like it’s their Wrestle Kingdom match. Ishii hit a sliding clothesline for a nearfall. Ishii nailed the brainbuster for the pin. WOW that was a show-stealer. NJPW, please have more random singles matches like this on shows.
4. “Bishamon” Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto defeated Yuto Nakashima and Oskar Leube at 7:26. Bishamon carried their World Tag League trophy as well as their tag titles. All four brawled at the bell. The tall Leube hit some big chops on Goto. Yuto made the hot tag at 3:30 and cleared the ring. He hit some roundhouse kicks to Yoshi-Hashi’s chest. Yuto applied a Boston Crab on Yoshi-Hashi, and Leube hit a legdrop on the back of Y-H’s head. Yoshi-Hashi eventually reached the ropes at 6:00. Goto entered and hit a neckbreaker over his knee on Leube. Yoshi-Hashi hit the Headhunter flipping neckbreaker. They hit the Shoto team slam, with Yoshi-Hashi pinning Yuto. Good energy; the winner was never in doubt but they worked at a fast clip.
5. El Desperado and Master Wato defeated “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi at 9:36. Wato and Desperado had a really nice run in Super Jr. Tag League and I believe this is their first team-up since then. Desperado and HIromu opened. LIJ worked over Wato. Desperado entered and hit a back suplex on Hiromu at 4:30, then a Spinebuster, and he applied the Stretch Muffler, wrapping Hiromu’s leg behind Desperado’s neck, but Bushi made the save. Hiromu hit a Falcon Arrow on Desperado and they were both down at 6:30. Bushi hit a dive through the floor on Wato, then a Lungblower in the ring for a nearfall at 9:00. Wato got a rollup for a nearfall. He then got a jackknife cover on Bushi for the pin. Entertaining.
* A casket was again wheeled to ringside.
6. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Dan Moloney and Clark Connors defeated “Catch 2/2” TJP and Francesco Akira in a casket match at 17:05. The BCWD attacked from behind and they tried to put Catch 2/2 in the casket almost immediately. Akira hit a nice springboard dive off the middle rope, over the casket, and onto the heels. In the ring, Akira hit a Doomsday Senton on Moloney at 2:00 and they rolled him into the casket but he fought free. Clark hit a Pounce and a snap suplex on Akira, and the BCWD worked Akira over. Akira hit a top-rope crossbody block on both at 4:30.
The BCWD hit stereo spears. Moloney tossed a dog collar into the ring! He put it around TJP’s neck and choked him with it at 8:00. Meanwhile, Connors has a dog collar around Akira’s neck, and he dragged Francesco into the ring. They traded opponents but kept beating down C22. TJP tied Connors in the Tree of Woe and kicked him in the face at 11:00. Akira hit a swinging neckbreaker on Moloney. TJP hit a Mamba Splash on Moloney! He rolled Moloney into the casket, but Dan fought out.
Connors hit a spear on TJP on the ring apron and rolled him into the casket at 13:00, but Akira made the save. Akira hit a doublestomp on Moloney’s chest. C22 hit their team X-Factor faceplant on Moloney. They hit front-and-back knee strikes on the BCWD, and they went to push Moloney into the casket, but Connors took out a referee! Connors hanged Akira over the top rope by the dog collar! (This looks like Swerve-Page.) TJP made the save at 16:00. Connors hit a flying blow using the title belt on TJP’s head. Connors hit a spear on an upside-down TJP, and they rolled TJP into the casket and slammed it shut for the win! A very good match.
7. Kazuchika Okada and HIroshi Tanahashi defeated “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Kosei Fujita at 16:44. Sabre and Tanahashi opened with standing switches and the crowd was HOT. Okada hit a bodyslam on the thin mat on the floor on Fujita at 4:00, and he dragged Kosei away from ringside. Okada and Tanahashi began working over Kosei in the ring. Sabre got in and tied Okada in an Octopus, and he tied Okada in a pretzel on the mat. Tanahashi made the hot tag at 9:30 and hit a flying forearm on Sabre, then a second-rope summersault senton for a nearfall.
Fujita entered and hit a Shotgun Dropkick and forearm strikes on Okada. Okada hit a neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 14:30 but Sabre made the save. Sabre and Hiroshi traded forearm strikes, and Tanahashi hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip. Kosei hit a German Suplex on Okada for a believable nearfall at 16:00! Okada hit his dropkick on Kosei. Okada set up for the Rainmaker, but instead rolled up Fujita for the pin! Charlton said that was a message to Bryan Danielson. Tanahashi and Sabre continued to jaw at each other, as they are meeting at Wrestle Kingdom.
8. “Just 5 Guys” Sanada, Taichi, and Yuya Uemura defeated “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, and Yota Tsuji at 18:35. Taichi held his KOPW trophy. Sanada and Naito opened and this crowd is hot before they locked up. They locked up but Naito spit in Sanada’s face. Uemura and Shingo entered at 4:30; Yuya wanted Tsuji, though, so Shingo tagged out. Shingo and Yota hit a team shoulder tackle, and LIJ began working over Yuya in their corner. Yota hit a dropkick at 9:00. Taichi made the hot tag and he hit a Helluva Kick on Shingo. Taichi and Shingo traded clotheslines, and they were both down at 11:30.
Sanada and Naito again tagged in, and Naito applied a leglock around Sanada’s head. Sanada missed a moonsault but landed on his feet. Sanada set up for Deadfall but Naito escaped, and Naito hit a tornado DDT at 14:00, and they were both down. Yota and Uemura tagged back in and hit shoulder tackles. Yuya hit a uranage and he was fired up. Yota applied a Boston Crab at 16:30, and he dragged Yuya to the center of the ring and sat down; Taichi hit a spin kick on Tsuji to make the save. Tsui hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall, then a Rollins-style Stomp on Uemura’s head. He set up for a spear, but Uemura caught him with a deep armdrag, rolled up Tsuji, and scored the pin. That was great stuff.
* Yuya Uemura got on the mic and spoke toward Tsuji. Uemura has a bloody lip. Tsuji took the mic and said they’ll have a singles match, but when and where? Uemura grabbed the mic and responded with what I presume is “Wrestle Kingdom!”
* Sanada got on the mic and told Naito that Just 5 Guys won the match, so he and LIJ need to leave, and they did leave. Taichi spoke on the mic but he really didn’t say much before giving it back to Sanada. Sanada got on the mic and announced it was Douki’s birthday! The crowd chanted for Douki, who didn’t seem to know this was coming, and he climbed into the ring. Douki said thanks, but it’s actually on Dec. 24 and he handed the mic back to Sanada. Funny. Sanada told the fans to pull out their phones, and the lights went out, so the phones lit up the room. Taka took the mic and shouted “Just 5 Guys!” They walked through the crowd and shook hands with the fans; a nice feel-good way to close the show.
Final Thoughts: The show Thursday was solid but hardly spectacular; it was saved by a really good six-man main event. This show, however, was spectacular. NJPW closed out 2023 with a tremendous show. Make a point of watching Ishii-Newman. Over the course of the year, Chris Charlton has compared the youngster Newman to Finn Balor, and I really see it. The skills are there and he’ll undoubtedly add some size. Ishii is Ishii and he always delivers. I wrote this in my match notes, but I really wish NJPW had more random mid-show singles matches like this. So, I’ll give that best match.
The main event kept moving and we had some great action from all six guys, and I’ll narrowly give that second-place, ahead of the Bullet Club War Dogs vs. Catch 2/2’s casket match for third. Okada and Fujita had some great exchanges. The first two matches were sure skippable but everything else clicked. Even Bishamon vs. the Young Lions had some extra energy to it. And no one seemed to mind that we didn’t have any sign of the House of Torture.
Again, I want to see more random singles matches like that Ishii-Newman match. Jeff Cobb was in the building on Thursday; he should have had a random singles match, maybe against Yoh? Sure, Cobb would go over, but it would benefit Yoh to have that match, too.
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