Post by Josh Spicer on Jun 19, 2020 8:20:49 GMT -5
Aired on New Japan World 3AM Eastern, 11PM Pacific
New Japan Road
SAT. JUNE 20. 2020
Live from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
The show starts off with a VTR detailing the New Japan Cup brackets for both Heavyweight and Junior Heavyweight and detailing all of the rewards contained within, all leading up to Dominion.
Once that's ended, we go ringside where Kimihiko Ozai gets the night going.
He details the card from top to bottom to remind all the fans in the arena and watching on New Japan World.
Once he is done, the bell rings and we get our first match. He introduces Chaos' Japan first followed by LIJ.
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vs.
Special 10-Man Tag Team Match
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, Sanada, BUSHI, and Hiromu Takahashi) vs. Chaos' Japan (Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Kushida, and Roppongi 3K with Rocky Romero)
Kevin Kiley and Chris Charlton do a good job at ringside detailing the recent rise of Chaos' Japan, as well as having a crack at Rocky Romero not announcing for the moment just so he can manage Roppongi 3K. They detail that with the departure of long term leader Kazuchika Okada and the gutting of both Chaos and Taguchi Japan as groups they have decided to officially band together under Chaos' Japan.
Meanwhile they detail LIJ's recent loss of Shingo Takagi and reveal that the remaining five members are attempting to fill his void. They don't explain further than that though as even they don't know.
The match isn't all too exciting, though the fans show their typical love for all ten men involved. Kushida takes the brunt of the offense from LIJ but it's an even match that sees all ten wrestlers get a spot. There's not much to write about as a lot of the focus was on the upcoming future. Kevin and Chris focused a lot on Naito's Double Gold Dash at Dominion as well as Chaos' Japan's future involvement in the New Japan Cup. Kevin and Chris actually bring up an interesting point: now that Okada isn't the leader, the idea of stablemates never interacting or facing off seems to have disappeared. Hiroshi Tanahashi actually seems to love the idea and is willing to allow anybody a shot if they manage to earn it.
The finish comes after Naito has Yoh alone in the ring. A quick Destino while everyone else is outside of the ring puts this match away. LIJ does a good job of making sure no other member of Chaos' Japan enters the ring.
Winners: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, Sanada, BUSHI, and Hiromu Takahashi) at 8:32
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Following that match we get the first IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Tournament Semi-Final. Kimihiko Ozai introduces The Lions' Roar followed by the two veterans to a monstrous applause.
vs. 
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Semi-Finals
Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask vs. The Lions' Roar (Ren Narita and Shota Umino)
Kevin and Chris let us know that The Lions' Roar gained some negative attention recently following their decision to break from tradition as young lions and leave their excursion early to sign with New Japan. They make sure to let us know that Liger and Mask aren't keen to forget that.
Ren and Shota still don their black trunks even if they're no longer traditional young lions. Despite this lack of identity they make up for it by getting things started right out the gate. They attack Liger and Tiger right after the bell rings with simultaneous dropkicks. The bulk of the first half of the match is Shota and Ren double teaming Tiger and really focusing on his arm. They get a good solid half of the match to showcase their stuff and while it's not anything too impressive yet, it's enough to get the crowd into the match, albeit cheering for Tiger.
Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall from the moment the match was announced. Tiger outsmarts the two youngsters to make the tag to Liger. After taking care of the rookies and getting Shota alone, Liger puts an end to it with a quick Liger Bomb.
Winners: Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask at 7:47
After the match, Ren attempts to apologize and bow but Tiger doesn't give him an opportunity. He slams him to the mat and kicks him out of their ring. Tiger is unhappy and makes it vocally known. Liger attempts to calm him down and the two leave the ring less than happy.
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Up next, Kimihiko announces the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Semi-Finals. He introduces The Good Brothers first followed by The Legion of Doom.
vs. 
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Semi-Finals
The Legion of Doom (Animal and Hawk) vs. The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson)
A huge pop comes when The Good Brothers make their entrance and and an even bigger one comes when LOD arrives.
Rocky Romero finally shows up for commentary. The three detail that Doc and Karl haven't officially realigned with Bullet Club even if Rocky seems sure they're back in the fold. Meanwhile Chris and Rocky can't help but mark out for LOD despite their usual impartiality.
The match itself isn't anything to note. It's a reunion piece for both teams. It seems pretty even on both sides and there's even a pause to let the crowd soak in the match itself. This ends when Doc distracts the ref, allowing Karl to whack Hawk in the back with a chair. The rest of the match is spent focusing on Hawk and keeping him isolated. The crowd is on their feet and chanting for LOD loud enough to shake the rafters. To satiate their appetite, Hawk manages to bust out of a Magic Killer and throw Karl into Doc, sending the latter out of the ring. The hot tag brings Animal in.
By that point it's academic. A couple moves by Animal to take The Good Brothers down before sending it home with a Doomsday Device to Karl.
Winners: The Legion of Doom (Animal and Hawk) at 9:11
After the match, the two teams are in the ring, staring at each other. LOD offers a hand to shake, but before The Good Brothers can decide to reciprocate, five masked individuals wearing suits and gloves to hide every inch of their body pop out of the crowd. They attack both teams, laying them all out with kicks and punches. They toss Hawk into the barricade, Doc into the post, send Animal through a table with a powerbomb, and piledrive Karl onto the Japanese announce table. Kevin, Chris, and Rocky are outraged and assume correctly that this is the mysterious Organization that hijacked New Japan's Twitter last Monday.
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After the dust settles and the remnants have been removed, we get a schedule update from Kevin detailing the matches planned to take place tomorrow.
New Japan Road
SUN. JUNE 21. 2020
Live from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
New Japan Cup Heavyweight Block Match 3
Chaos' Japan's Tomohiro Ishii vs. Chaos' Japan's Hiroshi Tanahashi
New Japan Cup Heavyweight Block Match 4
Bullet Club's KENTA vs. Chaos' Japan's Kota Ibushi
New Japan Cup Junior Heavyweight Block Match 3
Los Ingobernables de Japon's BUSHI vs. Dragon Lee
New Japan Cup Junior Heavyweight Block Match 4
PAC vs. Chaos' Japan's Kushida
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Semi-Finals
Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL and Sanada) vs. The World's Best Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Semi-Finals
The Major Stars (John Hussy and Matthew Breeze) vs. The World's Best Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas)
Special 6-Man Tag Team Match
Chaos' Japan (Will Ospreay and Roppongi 3K) vs. Bullet Club (Jay White and Guerrillas of Destiny)
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This allows enough time for Kimihiko to introduce the first match of the New Japan Cup, specifically the Junior Heavyweight Block. Ishimori is introduced first followed by Ospreay.
vs. 
New Japan Cup Junior Heavyweight Block Match 2
Bullet Club's Taiji Ishimori vs. Chaos' Japan's Will Ospreay
Kevin details the history between these two factions and the short history between Ishimori and Ospreay but for the most part the three men just let this match play out. It's an impressive show of athleticism that only both men can bring.
Taiji does manage to keep Will down long enough to work on the leg. Unfortunately it isn't good enough and in the end Will busts out the heel kick to Taiji. Will goes for the Hidden Blade, but his leg stops him from actually nailing it. Taiji capitalizes and works on the leg some more, making sure to damage it any way he can.
Taiji looks to end it with the Bloody Cross, but Will ducks out and hits an Ushikoroshi which sparks up the crowd. The announcers remark this as a shout out to Hirooki Goto--another name lost to the Chaos fallout. Will then hits the Stormbreaker to Taiji to end it and advance in the tournament.
Winner: Will Ospreay at 15:09
After the match, Taiji focuses some more on Will's leg, using a chair to break it down even further. Kushida runs out and stops Taiji. Rocky steps off commentary briefly to check on Will as well. Will is helped to the back by Kushida and a few young lions while Kevin and Chris wonder how this might affect his match tomorrow and in the tournament.
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With no time to waste, Kimihiko introduces the first match of the New Japan Cup Heavyweight Block. Sabre is introduced first followed by Dunne who gets a fairly decent pop.
vs. 
New Japan Cup Heavyweight Block Match 2
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Pete Dunne
Kevin, Chris, and Rocky sell-up Pete's debut in New Japan as well as both men's lack of allegiance following Suzuki-gun being disbanded.
Both men are amazing at technical wrestling and it shows when they trade holds back and forth. Zack comes out on top as the smaller man able to bend where needed to.
Not a lot to say here but it's a hard hitting affair where neither man really gets the better of the other.
The ending comes when a member of the Organization distracts the ref while another comes out with a chair. He nails Zack in the back with it. He goes for Pete, who ducks and sends him out of the ring. A hard right hand sends the other member to the floor. A Bitter End to Zack seals the deal and the advance.
Winner: Pete Dunne at 12:38
After the match, The Organization members flee as they entered allowing Pete to leave on his own accord.
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Once Zack has exited the arena, the Junior Heavyweight Block is revisited, showing Will Ospreay's advance earlier and a reminder that on June 28th he will face the winner of the following match.
Kimihiko introduces Devlin first followed by Steamboat, the latter of which gets a tremendous ovation.
vs. 
New Japan Cup Junior Heavyweight Block Match 1
Ricky Steamboat vs. Jordan Devlin
In a match nobody ever expected to see, Kevin, Rocky, and Chris focus heavily on Ricky with the latter two once again refusing to stop marking out. This is translated into the match where Ricky really has the brunt of the offense with arm drags and slams galore.
Jordan cuts Ricky's Flying Crossbody off with a dropkick mid-air. Jordan keeps Ricky isolated and to the mat from there, making sure focus on the veteran's abdomen and ribs. For a contrast of styles and having never fought before these two really meshed well.
In another finish that will shock no one, Ricky manages to escape Jordan's fireman's carry into a quick and sudden crucifix slam which is tight enough to keep the younger man down for a three.
Winner: Ricky Steamboat 11:57
After the match, Ricky offers a handshake to Jordan. He shakes his head in response and leaves in a fowl mood which does him no favors with the Tokyo crowd.
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Once again, the Heavyweight Block is reviewed and a reminder is provided that the winner of this match will face Pete Dunne on June 27th.
Kimihiko introduces Jay first followed by Hennig. Jay is also accompanied by KENTA and Guerrillas of Destiny.
vs. 
New Japan Cup Heavyweight Block Match 1
Curt Hennig vs. Bullet Club's Jay White with Guerrillas of Destiny and KENTA
Bullet Club immediately make themselves known by attacking Curt before the bell rings. Curt fights back and gets the three ringside members out before Jay capitalizes and attacks.
The match is a back and forth affair with Jay doing a good job of keeping Curt down but not before getting some good shots of his own, including a slam into the barricade from the apron which really hinders Jay's ribs.
The match is the longest of the night and arguably match of the tournament so far. Curt eventually nails a Perfect Plex, but the ref is distracted by Bullet Club. This is when the Organization appear and chase off the ringside BC members. Once again, one of them distracts the ref while the other pops in with a chair to the back of Jay. Curt rolls Jay up, but he kicks out. Curt wastes no time and segs the small package into another Perfect Plex to end the match and advance.
Winner: Curt Hennig at 20:12
After the match, Curt hightails it from the ring, leaving Jay White alone to be double teamed by the two members of the Organization. The remaining Bullet Club members (Taiji included) run out and chase them off, leaving Jay alone to stew in anger. The night ends with Bullet Club walking away disappointed and Jay shoving them away in a justifiably pissy mood. He doesn't even go for his usual post-match monologue, opting instead to just leave.
