McXal's Reviews

It's Night 2 of Honor Rising 2017 weekend. Like Night One, you shouldn't expect any seismic thrills or spills and this is still very much a low-level New Japan house show. But this one does feel like the 'bigger' of the two shows. Or, should I say 'better line-up' since this takes place on a Monday night in a Korakuen Hall which is significantly less full than it was the previous night - making it feel like the lesser of the two events. The ROH World Title will be defended at Honor Rising for the second consecutive year as Bullet Club's Adam Cole faces CHAOS' Yoshi-Hashi. New Japan gold is on the line too with Punishment Martinez getting a huge opportunity to challenge Hirooki Goto for the NEVER Openweight Championship. The card also includes a big Bullet Club 8-man main event plus a big showdown between the Guerrillas Of Destiny and War Machine. Kevin Kelly and Rocky Romero are live in the building for a second night of commentary in Tokyo, JP.

Having a high proportion of empty seats on the hard cam side and behind the commentators seems like poor planning. Kevin Kelly instantly pisses me off by calling New Japan the 'hottest promotion in the world' and talking about ROH's 'privilege' teaming up with them. An attitude which sums up this entire toxic relationship. 

Jado once again dons a 'Real Man' shirt and has apparently gotten on board with Silas' attitude. Perhaps he could be the one Silas brings back to the US to help he and Beer City Bruiser challenge for the ROH Six-Man Title? For the second night running this feels like a waste of ROH fan favourite Kushida. It's a shame Silas has only gotten bottom-feeding matches for this tour too, but at least that makes sense as he isn't a New Japan talent. Kushida should have done something more significant...

Like last night, Silas takes the microphone for a generic heel promo before jumping his opponents to start the match. He bad-mouths Kushida in particular...until Kushida starts kicking him hard (in the arm) then flies to the floor with a tope atomico. Jado catches him with a hanging DDT on the way back in though, turning the match in the favour of his team. They have a lot of fun with it - so much so that at points Jado is basically working a comedy match. That slack attitide leads to Kushida hitting a handspring elbow then tagging Finlay in. Urinage backbreaker on Silas gets 2. The Last Real Man fights back with a Killer Combo on Kushida. PLUNGE NAILED for 2, and he executed that so much better than last night. Kushida is thrown into the crowd by Jado, and inside the ring Silas hits Misery for the win at 08:23

Rating - ** - Jado was working a completely different match to the other three guys. He was pottering around doing comedy work and keeping the impact to an absolute minimum, but the other three really felt like they were fired up for this. Silas Young looked much better here than he did yesterday, with his vulgar language, continual aggression and ultimate victory in the match making him feel like a real star. Poor Finlay was basically a passenger booked in this solely to lose the match. He contributed so very little.

LIJ in ten man action here against Taguchi and a LOT of friends. I have a concern here about how well Dalton and Liger will get on as partners - having faced each other a few times in the last eighteen months. We know that Liger was particularly enamoured with The Boys too. Taguchi is dressed like a lunatic, but in a manner which I think is supposed to be inspired by Dalton. He even nabs Dalton's Boys to help him with his entrance too! Even Delirious is wearing a Boy mask, completing one of the strangest five-man tag teams ever assembled.

The entrances for this match probably last longer than the actual bout with plentiful Boy-related shenanigans, Naito and Rocky Romero nearly getting into a fight, Taguchi and Takahashi going nose to nose and more. Delirious starts and goes wild as usual - but made more entertaining this time since LIJ no-sell it so hard they basically ignore him. In truth the sparse crowd aren't that interested either. They are happier that Castle comes in - and starts grappling with Sanada in such a fun little exchange that I'd immediately prefer to see a singles match between them. Sanada does the Paradise Lock...provoking Dalton sufficiently to hit an overhead suplex to send Cold Skull back into his corner. Bushi and Tiger in, quickly followed by Liger as the veterans try to team up and bully Bushi. Evil, Sanada and Naito pile in to even the odds and the numbers of LIJ quickly overwhelm their unfamiliar opponents. Naito drags Delirious into the crowd and ties him to a barrier by his tassels! Bushi almost rips Tiger's mask off too. Hiromu tries to come off the top...but is caught with a rope-run Japanese armdrag (of sorts) by Mask. Taguchi wants a piece of Takahash, and inevitably starts doling out hip attacks to all of LIJ. Takahashi runs in fear as Taguchi tries to put him in the anklelock, setting up that thread for their forthcoming title match. The Junior Champ hits back with a belly to belly into the turnbuckles. Evil and Dalton tee off on each other, leading to a Saito suplex from Castle to Evil! Leaping Lariat by Delirious, looking for payback on Evil for the chairshot yesterday. There are bodies all over ringside again with too much action to cover. Delirious actually wants to use a chair but referee Tiger Hattori stops him, allowing Evil to steamroller him with a lariat. EVIL STO wins it for LIJ at 10:32

Rating - *** - This was more entertaining than I'd expected. It was low grade stuff and I'm not sure Liger or Naito were ever legally involved in the match at all. But getting to see all of LIJ in one place gave the whole bout a chaotic, unpredictable, wild vibe which kept things interesting. Naito tying Delirious up in the crowd (his gimmick and his comedy were not over and were detracting from the rest of the match) was the clear highlight, however some of Dalton's work with EVIL and SANADA was really strong as well. I'm actually surprised NJPW hasn't sought to bring him in more regularly since the fans seem to love his act and he can go with anyone they put him in the ring with. Using this one as a vehicle to promote Takahashi/Taguchi did give this one some fleeting long-term relevance as well. 

In the aftermatch of the match Hiromu and Taguchi are still brawling like crazy, Naito steals Tiger's mask and chucks it into the crowd (whilst Liger and young boys cover his face with a towel) then tries to attack Tiger Hattori as well. This is total insanity for such a low-level Monday night show...

We saw Hanson and Rowe triumph in their rematch with Bullet Club's junior heavyweight tag kings the Young Bucks yesterday - potentially rocketing themselves back into the ROH Title picture in the process. Tonight they look to score a win over Bullet Club's premier heavyweight tag act as the contendership race for CHAOS' IWGP Tag Title belts hots up...

Tonga takes a cheap shot at Hanson...so Rowe smears Loa off the apron in response. GERMAN SUPLEX from Rowe to Tonga! Despite his snake-like ability to evade opponents, Tama is on the receiving end of a beating from both members of War Machine in the early minutes. He makes a desperate dive towards Loa, who shows his impressive power by easily tossing Rowe around with spinebusters and slams. GOD combo moves start landing at great speed, giving Ray very little opportunity to even get off the mat. It's his turn to crawl and make a frantic dive for his corner - bringing back Hanson for the Romero gimmick infringement clotheslines. Double Bronco Buster nailed, but Tonga counters Decapitation with a victory roll for 2. Powerbomb/neckbreaker combo gets GOD another nearfall. Pop-up powerslam by War Machine in response, immediately followed by an elbow suicida to the floor from Hanson. Tanga knocks him off the top as he tries to set up Fallout, whilst inside the ring Tonga lands a DDT on Rowe. Guerrilla Warfare blocked...Cement Mixer on Tama! Cartwheel lariat nailed as well leaving both Guerrillas on the ground. Shotgun Knees knock Loa to the floor...then Rowe CATCHES Tonga going for Gun Stun...DRAGGING HIM BACK UP FOR THE FALLOUT! What a counter! War Machine win at 09:21

Rating - *** - They weren't too adventurous and didn't break any new ground, but this was very decent - working the traditional tag formula lay-out well, whilst finding plenty of opportunities to sprinkle in their 'big boys move like juniors' spots. The presentation of War Machine in NJPW is so much more credible than how they were coming off in ROH in the same time period (where they've looked like one-dimensional goofs whilst The Addiction, the Pretty Boy Killers and then the Sullivan family all had their turn beating them up). They looked like killers here and the finish, where they swept aside the GOD's signature office and roundly crushed them, was a real statement. It would be less than two months before they'd go on to capture their first IWGP Tag Championship...

Rowe gets on the microphone and puts the tag division on notice - they are coming for the belts, regardless of who holds them when they come back to Japan.

This one continues Jay Lethal's ongoing war with Bullet Club, as he recruits yet more friends from NJPW's roster to help him oppose the villainous group. Korakuen Hall feels a long way away, but it was still Bullet Club who shaved his head in the US, who ruined his title matches and then went on to take his ROH World Championship, and it's Bullet Club's Cody who he is preparing to meet in a Bullrope Match over WrestleMania weekend. A win over Fale, Page or Yujiro makes a major statement to Adam Cole that he is still in the hunt for his belt, and sends a message of intent to Cody as well.

Hangman and Lethal get us started, and the immediate advantage goes to Jay as he snaps Page down with a neckbreaker. Page hits back by going after the busted nose that Juice sustained last night. Bullet Club quickly identify Robinson as the weak link and start f*cking him up. Fale almost snaps him in half with a hard whip into the guardrails. They continue to attack his injured nose as well - attacking a legitimate injury always makes an act come off like that much more of an asshole. Yujiro obviously has all the fun with this, basically remodelling his entire offence to consist of slaps, kicks and bootscrapes to Juice's face. Bullet Club are also working hard to keep Tanahashi off the apron and unavailable for a tag. Tana re-emerges once more and finally gets a tag - drawing arguably the biggest pop of the night. Yujiro blocks the Sling Blade and hits a sliding kick into his face though. Lethal and Juice rescue Tanahashi, setting Hangman up for a HART ATTACK SLING BLADE for 2! Fale blocks the Lethal Injection, setting Jay up for the BUCKSHOT LARIAT! Page gets a huge win at 09:10!

Rating - *** - NJPW can even do a better job of presenting Adam Page than ROH, even though Hangman is basically a complete job guy in New Japan! This match was fun as any on what has been a deceptively enjoyable show. It didn't have the crazy and chaotic vibe of the LIJ match, but the villainous antics of Bullet Club were fun, whilst Juice Robinson was an absolutely incredible babyface in peril. Obviously Tanahashi helps, but Juice's work setting the stage meant the eventual hot tag to Tana (who, like a lot of the big names, isn't working hard on these shows at all) got as big a reaction as anything from the entire weekend. Page going over felt like a big deal too, and I really hope ROH plays on it when the two get back to the US. 

Goto and the NEVER Openweight belt are no strangers to big boys beating the hell out of each other in no-f*cks-given brutal battles. As such Martinez should fit just fine as an opponent and challenger. He has excelled in every opportunity given to him in ROH, and is rightly positioned as one of the promotion's top rising stars as the likes of Donovan Dijak and (soon) Lio Rush vacate the scene. Clearly both the ROH and NJPW offices acknowledge his talent to put him in this position. Can he cause an upset by defeating Goto?

Martinez is an ominous presence, and he laughs like a super-villain when the champ tries to intimidate him in what is arguably the biggest match of his career. Goto has to scamper to avoid a crushing stomp from the challenger. He tricks Punisher into falling to the floor...except Martinez simply bounces back into the apron and marches back to BOOT Goto to the floor. The challenger forces the champion into a disgusting bump against the guardrails which really seems to rattle Hirooki. He barely gets back to his feet before Punishment is on him again with a spinning heel kick. Ugly, heavy diving elbow drop off the top opens the door for Goto to return - a challenge which Punisher meets with some NASTY elbow strikes. Goto doesn't back down and returns fire just as hard. LARIATOOOOO by Martinez! Martini Killer gets 2! Goto is almost unresponsive now and barely gets a shoulder up when Punishment hits a falcon arrow moments later. The champ has no choice but to leave the ring trying to escape...so Martinez SUICIDE DIVES OVER THE TURNBUCKLES AFTER HIM! Super spinning heel kick back in gets the closest nearfall yet. Martinez calls for South Of Heaven...COUNTERED TO THE GTR! Goto retains (barely) at 10:49

Rating - **** - Delirious is on this card. He really should be concerned that NJPW is literally booking all the ROH talents better than he does. Martinez has star quality and is freakishly gifted. He has delivered no matter what ROH has thrown at him, and he stepped up again here in one of the biggest matches of his life. He was thrown a bone in getting this match and Goto was extremely generous with him - but his own performance was outstanding. He was menacing, he showed far more personality than he does in his ROH US dates, and it was completely believable that this total newcomer was beating the sh*t out of respected tough guy champion Hirooki Goto. On both nights of this weekend fans have given Martinez almost no reaction. Hell, most ROH fans don't know who he is yet. But his presence and ability won this crowd over, and this match turned out to be one of the best of the weekend. The quiet build, with Punisher dominating and Goto getting more and more desperate, was brilliantly done. 

Goto is the winner, but he looks beaten to sh*t...whilst seconds after the bell Martinez is already back on his feet with a demented grin. He marches off knowing he has made a major statement even in defeat this evening...

Obviously Honor Rising needs an obligatory Ring Of Honor Title defence, which is a little awkward because ROH has already got major title matches booked out for their champ through three major shows coming up. Adam Cole has Bobby Fish at Manhattan Mayhem, Christopher Daniels at 15th Anniversary and Dalton Castle at Supercard Of Honor - effectively making this one a little redundant. However, Tomohiro Ishii was in a very similar position last year when he challenged Roderick Strong for the ROH TV Title...and wound up putting a major spanner in ROH's plans. Can Hashi follow the example of his CHAOS stable-mate this evening? He does have a pinfall win over Cole in this very building to prove he is capable...

Perhaps that victory Yoshi owns over him is what causes Cole to take his time in the early going. He is more interested in playing to the fans than getting involved with Hashi...which turns out to be smart strategy as the challenger starts using his power to repeatedly take him off his feet. Cole shoves him from the top rope to the floor when he tries a dive, leaving Hashi on the floor with leg and back injuries to exploit. After every bump he now clutches his back in pain; something Cole is quick to capitalise on with whips into the guardrails and turnbuckles. Last Shot countered into a neckbreaker by Hashi, although he is so injured he stays on the ground alongside his opponent. Head Hunter nailed, setting up a dropkick to the exposed neck of the champ for 2. Florida Key blocked...so Cole clocks Yoshi with a Shining Wizard instead. Yoshi's neck and back are really starting to go - he slumps in a heap on the ground after a DVD over the knee. Most of the crowd are vocally behind Cole by the way. Bare Knee Wizard blocked, into a shoulderbreaker by Hashi...before he then dumps Adam on his neck with a powerbomb. Loose Explosion blocked with knees into Hashi's bad back though! Butterfly Lock cranked onto Cole's neck and shoulder! The champ gets the tiniest of toe-grazes on the bottom rope to break the hold. Hashi recognises that Cole is injured and weakened, so goes for the kill with a sleeper hold transitioned to a lung blower. LOOSE EXPLOSION...gets 2! Karma blocked by ramming Yoshi's bad back into the turnbuckles...then Cole tries to turn his lights out with repeated Superkicks. PANAMA SUNRISE for 2. Cole can't believe it isn't over, then takes so long setting up the Last Shot that Hashi almost beats him with a small package! Superkick flurry...but Hashi won't go down! BARE KNEE WIZARD GETS 2! LAST SHOT! Now Cole retains at 16:27

Rating - **** - I didn't have the highest of expectations and Hashi is far from my favourite talent on the New Japan roster, but this was really good; probably the biggest surprise package of the entire weekend even over Goto/Martinez. This wasn't fancy or ambitious, and it had a really weird crowd dynamic where Cole acted like a heel jerk but the fans loudly cheered for him and crapped on Hashi. But through simple, high quality and physically intense professional wrestling they delivered something special. I could nitpick about how they were selective in how they sold their injuries, and it felt like it peaked a little early then had a burned out crowd for the climactic stretch...but still a really good match.

The headline here is that IWGP Heavyweight Champion Okada and Kenny Omega are back in the ring together just over a month after their all-time classic at Wrestle Kingdom. Omega is making his return to NJPW this weekend and will be intent on making a statement at the expense of the Rainmaker. Jay and Mark Briscoe squaring off with the Bucks is also of interest - since the Briscoes have twice failed to take the ROH Tag Title from the Jacksons, supposedly sending Jay into something of a downward spiral. The Briscoes have plenty of history with Bullet Club too, all the way up to last night when Kenny and Adam Cole got the best of them in the Night 1 main event.

Okada and Omega demand to start, each with a smile on their face. Okada decides he isn't interested in wrestling Kenny again though and massively pisses off The Cleaner by tagging out to Mark. The younger Briscoe is too quick for Cody, but Nick Jackson is quickly on the scene to assist his partner in levelling Jay with a leapfrog dropkick. Ospreay tries to embarrass Nick with his speed, and actually propels both Bucks out of the ring with some springboard armdrag action. Pip Pip Cheerio blocked, only for Will to counter the IndyTaker into a hurricanrana. Cody and Kenny recover things, slowing the Aerial Assassin down and keeping him on the ground for a prolonged period of isolation from his partners. Bullet Club have fun coming up with some innovative ways to put the boots to Ospreay which Kevin Kelly for some reason puts over as so dastardly there should be an 'investigation'? More entertaining is the brilliance of all of Bullet Club jerking a partner off the apron as Will makes a dive for a tag. Ospreay starts ducking and diving for all he's worth...into the TRUST FALL SUPERKICK FLURRY with Cody and Omega feeding him into repeated shots. ELEVATED SOMERSAULT SENTON TO THE FLOOR! Standing moonsault/springboard splash combo gets 2 for the Bucks. The clock reaches ten minutes with Ospreay in serious trouble (also meaning that Okada has spent ten minutes standing around doing literally nothing). Flipping Stunner nailed on Kenny though, followed by a satellite DDT which opens the door to a hot tag...for Okada to finally get involved! Double flapjack on the Bucks. Disaster Kick by Cody! Cross Rhodes countered to the Air Raid neckbreaker by Okada, and that's enough work for him. The Briscoes fly in as a team, crushing Matt in the corner with a succession of kicks. Elbow suicida by Jay! Cactus Elbow by Mark! Kenny tries to stop Ospreay hitting a dive, so Will BACK FLIP kicks him away and hits the HANDSPRING MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! Okada climbs the ropes...and Rhodes is going after him! Obviously Okada isn't taking that bump, but here's Will Ospreay taking his place, eating a SUPERPLEX TO THE FLOOR! I love that Ospreay quite literally (and very loudly) pointed out that he was taking this one for Okada. It leaves 'The Cleaner and the Rainmaker' alone in the ring and exchanging strikes in front of a baying crowd. V-TRIGGER! One Winged Angel blocked...Rainmaker blocked...DOUBLE SUPERKICK SNAP DRAGON COMBO! TRIPLE SUPERKICK! Handspring Pele by Ospreay...but he is instantly flattened by a Cody powerslam. Jay socks both Bucks with a double lariat, and is literally shoved out of the way so Okada can hit Omega with the big dropkick. Superplex on Omega...into DUELLING DIVING ELBOWS by Mark and Okada! The champ calls for the Rainmaker, to loud jeers from the audience! Rainmaker COUNTERED to the V-Trigger! RUSH HOUR BY OSPREAY! Will climbs to the top, and actually lands on his feet when Cody dodges his attempt at an SSP. OsCutter COUNTERED TO CROSS RHODES! Bullet Club win at 20:15

Rating - **** - If you were making a checklist of things you wanted to see in this match, I think they ticked all the boxes. We got Okada/Omega interaction, Young Bucks combo moves, a dive sequence, Will Ospreay insanity, and a great finish involving Cody. It wasn't necessarily the most inventive, but it didn't need to be. As I've said a number of times with Young Bucks multi-man main events, the fact that they deliver this level of excellence so often that it feels almost 'routine' now is staggering and should not go unappreciated. It didn't tell the story or have the drama of Goto/Martinez and didn't have the sound wrestling fundamentals of Cole/Hashi...but this was everything you wanted to see in a house show main event.

Kenny Omega goes on (and on...and on) about transcending 'good guys and bad guys' and that he and his friends are truly 'The Elite'. Him calling Tanahashi an 'old f*cker' is pretty fun though, as is Matt Jackson telling the Japanese fans that they have to go back to the US to 'get better gear', have sex with their wives and 'have more children'...but plan to return to Japan with the heads of those 'cocksucker' Hardy Boyz. 

Tape Rating - *** - By far the best of the four NJPW Honor Rising events we've seen. The undercard wasn't necessarily great and, like yesterday, was a barrage of tag matches. The difference was that they were all kept brief, and all of them (except the opener) had a genuine hook to make them interesting. From the total chaos of the LIJ vs Liger and friends tag, the brilliance of the Juice Robinson heat segment during the Bullet Club trios match, the statement made by War Machine beating GOD. It wasn't that they were incredible bouts or that all involved needed to work at their hardest, but they did just enough to make them memorable. The second half delivered an hour of outstanding wrestling. If you have an NJPW World subscription you would be well-served to dig this out and watch the final sixty minutes of nothing else since all three matches were, by the standards of NJPW b-shows, genuinely very good.

3) Hirooki Goto vs Punishment Martinez (****)

2) Kenny Omega/Cody/Young Bucks vs Kazuchika Okada/Will Ospreay/Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe (****)

1) Adam Cole vs Yoshi-Hashi (****)

5) War Machine vs Young Bucks (*** - Night 1)

4) Hirooki Goto vs Punishment Martinez (**** - Night 2)

3) Kenny Omega/Cody/Young Bucks vs Kazuchika Okada/Will Ospreay/Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe (**** - Night 2)

2) Adam Cole vs Yoshi-Hashi (**** - Night 2)

1) Kenny Omega/Adam Cole vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe (**** - Night 1)