Makai Club #1

This is an interesting group of people. You have Yusuke Kodama. Someone who is aesthetically appealing but missing that tangible quality. And you have Shotaro Ashino, someone with some much talent and ability. Particularly on the mat but can sometimes possess the overly ambitious ideas of Kurt Angle. Yes, I do mean that as a criticism - the way he can sometimes be working on the arm for a while then randomly throw a German for example. El Lindaman - he has personality of a 6ft5 speed fiend but the body of a 5ft4 weightlifter. And Shigehiro Irie. The man used to possess a green mohawk. And that’s all you really need to say about him El Lindaman is a perfect little shite in this match. He has a small frame, but by no means does he wrestle as such. He is very aggressive, used a ton of chokes and claw holds early on. Lindaman’s expressions make his performance. Looking into the refs eyes while he is counting to five and counting along. The little smiles he pulls when he counters something Kodama does early on or knocks Ashino off the apron. Irie being the base of his aerial moves perfectly encapsulates why the were a good little team in the match as well. Irie is the brute (and not the cuddly bear he normally portrays) and Lindaman is the smarts. Now while I enjoyed Lindaman, Kodama didn’t compel me as a face. He doesn’t look like a face and while he is impressively smooth, he isn’t able to show that fire required in the role he had in the match. I just didn’t feel in anyway like I was rooting for Kodama to get the tag. Ashino when he got worked over by Strong Hearts was similar but Ashino sold much better. His suplexes to Lindaman looked really good. I thought him and Irie going against each other felt a little flat. They seemed to be protecting that pairing for a potential singles match but from what I saw he, I’m a little cold on the idea. The finish with Ashino finally getting control with the ankle lock after the aforementioned suplexes was good. Seeing the little terror in El Lindaman tapping out was a good finish for the match. The match didn’t blow me away but I liked the brief tag work by Strong Hearts. I dug Ashino fighting against the 2 on 1 assaults. Irie was fine for what he did. And Kodama continues to be only visually enjoyable. ***1/4

Tetsuya Naito for the past several years has the most beloved wrestler in New Japan but is he one of the best wrestlers in regards to his matches? Some people would call him the best, some would call him terrible and sloppy at times. I think he is something inbetween. I find his work to be inconsistent. He can have these great matches, like the Tanahashi trilogy in 2017 and the Omega matches in the G1, which I thought were great to watch. But then just look like he is sleep walking his way through a match, like his Minoru Suzuki matches. I find him best when he is playing off his opponents rather than being worked over (I'm going to use Suzuki match) or controlling the match (his recent Ishii match in the G1). I'm going through a ton of early Naito to see if there is any difference and there are some but not a lot. Mostly a bit more aerial offence and way more bland than his LIJ character.

The match that saved Okada’s main event career after flopping so badly that anyone other than Gedo would’ve been turned off. The first real match of one of the greatest in-ring rivalries ever, in my opinion. My favourite actually. Some great storytelling to start off, stemming from the Dome interaction. Tanahashi catching Okada out several times, using his experience to keep the advantage. Which then began to turn into Tanahashi being more arrogant, playing to the crowd more and not taking Okada seriously, allowing Okada to get some ground in the match. And considering that this is one of Okada’s first matches where he is in control, without having the chance to develop that overseas, he does a pretty good job of doing it either. He is awkward at first, but gets his groove eventually, and then pulls out some nice experimental offence on Tanahashi (llave style~!). Tanahashi really had his working boots on, selling and putting over Okada big time while adding some leg work on the leg, giving the match some great drama. There were some great transitions with Okada catching Tanahashi with the tilt-a-whirl into the tombstone and then Okada moving out of the way of a rolling senton by Tana on the outside, following up with brutal tombstone on the outside. Both great ways to put over the tombstone as a big move as well. The selling near the latter stages was nice with Okada being unable to follow up after he counters the High Fly Flow with his knees. Loved the finishing stretch, as I usually do with these two. Simple and impactful. And yet, every time I see it, I get goosebumps every time Red Shoes counts the three. Nagata's, Fale's, Rad Shoes, Gedo's and especially Okada's facial expressions after that pin were all gold. Shock, surprise, amazement, the look of "OMG I did it". And…..Rainmaker Shock Indeed. ****1/4

I did like Miyahara's posing as it added some character to the generic structure of the opening sections of the match. Miyahara really came across as the dominant ace that is still champion (that's a shoot, brother) and for some reason, despite me hating that Miyahara is still champ, I bloody loved it. Him no-selling Nomura and really treating him like garbage is so appealing. Nomura in return was okay for the most part. I thought his brief work on the ribs was forgettable and didn't add a ton to the match other than cutting off once Miyahara comeback with the spear. He didn't stand out as a top level guy but he wasn't awful either. I liked his forearms (and strikes in general) although I didn't love the strike exchange they had. There would be such long pauses in between them that it was annoying not to see them at least try and follow up while the other is trying to stay on their feet. The parts where Nomura was nailing Miyahara with the forearms late in the match ruled though. As was the rest of his offence in that finishing stretch. Showed tons of life before Miyahara hit the shutdown. Appropriate name. A good main event, one of Miyahara's better matches in 2019 (add performances to that also). It just needed more from Nomura outside of the finish. ***1/2

I like Kamitani. He is rather bland look-wise but I think he generally is good when he is on the same page as his opponent (aka not the Hideki match). Sato is just a gremlin that’ll give you brain damage. So yeah, this looked good. Striking v Power. Experience vs Youth. Ruthlessness vs Determination. Kamitani gave a very spirited performance here. I thought his suplexes and submissions were good. Loved the use of the standing variation of the stretch plum. His facial expressions when Sato was kicking his chest were good. He had a big stretch of offence in the match and he made good use of it. Sato did very little - just a few strikes until the finish. This was pretty much Kamitani dominating. So it was good but it needed a little more from Sato and the crowd, really. ***1/2

I’ve watched this a couple of times but I was never that high on it myself. The highest I ever recall myself going on it was ***1/2. But with a bit of context, I imagine this’ll come off better. Suzuki has been terrorizing New Japan for the past year. First taking Kojima’s stable, then getting to the (practically) semi-final of the G1 with no stop in sight. And now, he is facing the pure face of the promotion. The Ace. The Champion. Hiroshi Tanahashi. I liked the escalation this match had. Suzuki changing and adapting as Tanahashi began to figure him out. First on the mat, then when Suzuki starts throwing strikes and then he heads to the outside for which Tanahashi had no answer for. The match had a bit of a lull but then Suzuki began attacking the arm and that’s where the match improved tremendously. Suzuki started to show off some of his personality rather than being a bit dry early on (compared to later anyway). Tanahashi had some nice selling. Him using one arm during the slap exchange opposed to Suzuki using two was a good example of it and added to the total against the odds feel match this had. I think the match had to deal with a tough crowd, which at one point didn’t even pop for Suzuki kicking out of a High Fly Flow which probably took some of the drama that it could have. And apart from one nearfall from the Piledriver, the crowd didn’t seem to buy Suzuki winning here at all. So there are a few problems that take away. I think the overall match was fun and the post match angle is both famous (as far as what it would mean for the future of the promotion) and infamous (for its initial reception). Good main event but much more inferior to their match later in the year. ***1/2

This was hell to watch. Hell. 30 minutes long. How on earth is Shane McMahon going 30 with The Undertaker and why? This was so bad. Awful offence from Shane McMahon which was borderline parody. Taker looks old as hell and it's embarrassing seeing him sell for Shane tbh. Awful pacing, awful spots aside from one. DUD

Two generational rivals going against each other one more time. Shinsuke Nakaura, G1 Winner against Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ace Of A Century and IWGP Heavyweight Champion. It's a high stakes match and it plays out as such. From the entrances, it felt like this had way more weight to it than most of their other matches, even the ones in the Dome. A calm hesitancy early on, both looking for openings with Nakamura, occasionally, hitting a flurry of strikes, one of which caused Tanahashi to retaliate by going for the knee. But with Nakamura being more skilled on the mat, he fought and struggled, even getting a Fujiwara armbar locked in. Both wrestlers blurred the lines of whether they'd get a little heelish with Taanahashi playing dirty with the leg but Nakamura being a bit dickish with his strikes, so the fans were split all the way through. Chants of Nakamura and Tanahashi, even boos in some cases, were prevalent throughout the bout. I loved the way they put the cross armbreaker over a dangerous move. Tanahashi's utter desperation to stay out of it anyway he could was great. The struggle which lead to Tanahashi locking on the cloverleaf which then gave Nakamura the opening to lock it on before Tanahashi got to the ropes was just fantastic. Nakamura unable to follow up on the sudden Boma Ye finish, his bread and butter, just after Tanahashi had him in the cloverleaf was great selling, very consistent with his selling the entire match. The finishing stretch wasn't a total bombfest that you would expect from a New Japan main event. Instead it was a battle of Nakamura trying to find a clean connection with his Boma Ye and Tanahashi trying to weather the storm, and hit the High Fly Flow in return. Great match with yet another tremendous Nakamura performance with Tanahashi be awesome himself, albeit the lesser of the two in the match. ****1/2

This has been a feud that's been going for a while now. Naito has beaten Tanahashi a few times now, once in the New Japan Cup in 2010, got Tanahashi to a draw, which was a win for Naito at that stage and then in the G1 in 2011, but this was his big shot at the title. The match had was a bit bland for the first half of the match, Naito dominating Tanahashi, establishing himself as a force and Tanahashi working the leg but it was very paint by numbers. The match got better as the match progressed when there was little more back and forth and Naito looking to finish off Tanahashi. Tanahashi's dragon screws near the end added some nice drama to it with Naito having to sell the leg much more and it having a bigger factor into the match. The tap out tease with Tanahashi locking on the cloverleaf was excellent. Naito began to come alive while making his comebacks which I liked a lot. It was the only time he really seemed to have any fire. The finish was decent but wasn't that homerun they were going for. The match I think really tried to have that epic feel that solidifies Naito as a main eventer but so much of the match was just generic and was done so much better in most Tanahashi title defences of the year (Nakamura, Goto, Kojima, etc). Don't get me wrong, this had a ton of good things in it but it just left you with the feeling of disappointment at the same time. ***1/4

Short little match but they go nuts having a bit of everything in one setting and it works perfectly. Tajiri at one point, goes from saying Guido's tights stink when he pulls them in the "show you arse" spot to going to town on Guido's cut which he split open with two consecutive running chair shots. This isn't just the Yoshihiro Tajiri show though. Guido is great in the match. Love his selling, he brought tons of aggressiveness to his offence and his playing to the crowd only got them more into it. ***3/4

Like Tanahashi, Okada, he is very formulatic. It can work at its absolute best but it's something I find myself burned out on. And that's from someone who loves watching New Japan main events most of the time, so it's safe to assume Miyahara has something to do with it. I wouldn't agree with the best in the world talk at all though. Miyahara is more like top 20-50, especially in 2019. Just too many lacklustre performances for me. But he does have some class matches. Both Zeus matches last year (21/10/18 & 27/07/18), Suwama (09/10/17), Shuji Ishikawa (27/08/17)

This was a very good match. I think the match went a bit too long, had a few no-selly moments at the end but mostly a well worked technical battle. They incorporated each other’s size differences well with Hero getting most of the leverage, using strength to get certain holds while Hidaka had to find holes in Hero’s game and work it to his advantage. Hero’s work on Hidaka’s arm was the main focus, and there was some good work done. Hidaka sold it nicely as well. A better finish, a better match but this was still pretty great. ****

Classic BxB Hulk entrance~! Hulk just radiates stardom. Some beautifully fluid exchanges between BxB Hulk and CIMA early on. WORLD-1 do a superb job of establishing control early on with Speed Muscle, being the best tag team in Dragon Gate history, along with BxB Hulk’s coolness on offence staying ahead of WARRIORS with some good tag work. The switches of control were solid, helping the match along, allowing the commentum flow. The triple team work by WARRIORS was also good - that triple drop kick was insane in both theory and execution. And GAMMA hitting BxB’s little Hulks with a kendo kick was brutal. Great heel work that establishing the difference between the teams. Loved it coming back to haunt him with a great little comedy spot that didn’t detract at all. Dragon Kid really stood out in the match. Loved the interactions with all of WORLD-1, the Yoshino hurricanrana/powerbomb sequence especially. The FIP section Dragon Kid had was a great mix of tag wrestling and great selling. One thing Dragon Gate matches excel at and do better than anyone is the chaotic finishing stretches where everyone comes in and goes nuts. It’s both chaotic but worked perfectly. Seamless action - it’s incredible. The finish with BxB Hulk protecting Yoshino who has the Sol Nociente locked on GAMMA as well. It was just incredible wrestling. Great tag team action, great individual sequences, great performances all round. ****3/4

This was everything I expected it to be but even more. Usually both guys, Davey especially, have great ideas but lack the follow through or the pay off to fully utilise it correct but here he did. Loved the early strike exchange but I loved Davey wanting to isolate Ibushi’s arm use to neutralize his supperios strikes. And the fact that he kept it up the entire match just brings his performance together. The work on the arm was great, as was the use of it for the finish. Ibushi was exclectiiying with his aerial dives and strikes as well. He worked superbly as the underneath wrestler. A heck of a match. Much more well rounded than I thought. ****1/4

This was too raw for me. Seriously. The stiff strikes. The scarily realistic screams of agony. This is wrestling! The fact that there isn't much people at the shows makes this even better as you can hear each individual cheer and talk about the match. Hero's work on the knee was so nasty and violent. The horrible (as in good) ankle picks were a nice touch to add onto the knee work, as well. Totally blew me away. ****3/4

Different ball game from the G1 Finals match. Kojima now has Taichi by his side, he has turned heel after attacking Tanahashi in December. This is the Tokyo Dome, could he pull off the win in his element? Loved the battle of the individual limb works really on with Tanahashi attacking the strong arm of Kojima and Kojima attacking the leg of Tanahashi. Kojima comes across well in the aggressive role. Especially against Tanahashi’s flashy offence and he has the facials for it. I loved some of the counters they had for each other, or the little struggle they would have whenever they would attempt something big, like Tanahashi countering Kojima cutter midair with an elbow which looked awesome. Their selling was really good as well. It wasn’t crippling pain in a way where they couldn’t move, rather than take a little longer to hit or follow up on certain moves. Also, big credit to Tanahashi. He doesn’t really strike me as someone who takes spine chilling bumps but he took a wicked neck bump on the apron after a Kojima lariat. The finishing stretch was really well done as well. Tanahashi doing some dragon screws on the arm of Kojima which prevented Kojima making the immediate cover once he hit the lariat a few minutes later. The nearfalls for the dragon suplexes that Tanahashi was teasing for the entire match. And it was kept pretty brief compared to today’s standards as well and it made for a quick and fulfilling finish. So back to the “can Tanahashi do it” question. Yes. Yes, he can. Great match. It felt much bigger than most main events of this era that I watched. The Dome atmosphere, the match layout. Everything felt big. ****

I remember watching this live and all I remember from it is the little kid chanting “let’s go cena” for the entire time. One part of me was annoyed and wanted him to shut up but the other part makes me feel for him seeing his hero get destroyed. So yeah, let’s go Cena. A hot fire start with Lesnar going right in for the kill early, hitting the F5 which set off the pure dominance that Lesnar had the entire match. Cena’s selling for the entire match was great. Loved his desperate attempts at mounting a comeback only for Brock to shut him down - the AA nearfall was amazing. Lesnar’s suplexes were brutal as you can get outside of the neck drop era of All Japan with Cena landing right on top of his head. Lesnar proved his greatness by mocking the Undertaker sit up and sticking his tongue out on Cena who is trying to recover in the corner - what a guy! One of the best squashes ever! ****1/4

Loved both guys and the match but it’s not without its criticism. For one, the match felt way too long. It was a great 20 minute match that went 40. So it felt bloated and admittedly a little dry in parts. The early work was good and simple. It played off the set up well (thank you, video package). Bate sold fairly well but I really didn’t like him doing the “strong boi” spots that he does. It wasn’t the match for it and it didn’t respect the back work or the weight difference nearly as I liked but I wouldn’t say he no sold it completely. I would just want a little less power moves from Bate. Especially early on. Maybe one or two here to make it matter more. The ending wasn’t great either. Went on way past its peak. The rest was a well worked match had two very good performance. Bate worked the underdog role well and WALTER fit the big man monster well too. Even if it got marred down by the forced epicness of every Takeover main event trope. ***3/4

I didn’t like this as much the second time round. It was just a basic back and forth match with momentum switching back and forth every now and again, and that can work sometimes but it felt way too surface level to be anything than solid. It could’ve done with it being shorter but a bigger narrative mid match. It felt like a match you’d see two random wrestlers on Raw have, not Kenny Omega and PAC. Wasn’t terrible but I wanted more. Omega’s facial expressions were really bad all match as well. Like really bad. **1/2

Live experience makes it so much better. I bought a ticket to see an Okada match and I got a hell of a smackfest. I was in complete awe of Okada. The guy had a magnatism that you couldn't take your eyes from and Suzuki... oh well he made sure it was him that you couldn't take your eye off. For the longest match of the show by a considerable margin, this was superbly wel paced. The early 5 minutes breeze by with the two masters of wrestling, controlling the crowd, playing off each other and their other matches well. Which then built and built until they had an awesome strike off. The striking from Suzuki was amazing - his elbows were viscous and pinpoint as was his slaps. Okada sold every strike like a champ - the pain after each shot, the determination to not let Suzuki win the battle by getting back up and firing off his own even if they didn't have any effect. The closing stretch was top notch, also. Great drama with the dropkicks being used to great effect and the teasing the Gotch piledriver. Just two fantastic performances that was able to take components of their previous matches and up the ante for the unfamiliar (ish) crowd. This is everything I wanted from these two and then some. ****3/4

Slow start with both men feeling each other out with pushes into the ropes until they brawl on the outside. Then the match starts getting better when Nakamura starts heeling it up a bit, going to town on Goto’s midsection with his brual knee strikes and kicks. There is a really good sequence when Namakura locks on a cross armbreaker out of nowhere with Goto broke with a stomp, leading to a nasty breaker on the ropes which Nakamura sells excellently. The match grew from that point on with Goto bring out his biggest bombs like the Ushigoorishi and Nakamura getting more depertete and urgent in his attacks. Nakamura has a great cross arm breaker counter when Goto tries to hit the GTR, jumping up and headscissoring Goto over into the move. The strike exchanges were so well done too. They didn’t go to long and they lead to the finish with Goto hitting a big lariat with a running lariat attempt countered into a knee by Nakamura and then the Boma Ye for the finish! So the match turned into a great one after a mediocre start. Nakamura’s selling was great. His bumping for Goto made Goto look like a force to be reckoned with and I loved the urgency he had near the end of the match, not wasting any time hitting the Boma Ye when he got the chance to. Goto was rather bland as the fight from beneath guy early on but excelled more as he gained control. ****

Pre-Weirdo Nakamura! I know people prefer Nakamura’s character later on, but I love his serious demeanor. There is something “big match” about it. And against someone like Takayama, you need to match his intensity. The first half of the match is all Takayama - a real mauling. Takayma lays in the strikes hard early on and completely nosells Nakamura’s (weak) forearms. And beats on Nakamura with his brutal knees on the outside, and then, in a great feel moment, he makes the count to 10 himself. And then he elbows Nakamura right on the bridge of the nose! Nakamura sells really well too. He really seems out of it at times, just lying motionless. Nakamura slowly starts to get back into the match though and keeps up the selling, taking more time to pull things off like the german suplex, for example. Nakamura has some really nasty knee strikes to the stomach that would make any normal person vomit. Loved the counter from Nakamura from a clothesline attempt into an armbreaker. Nakamura following it up with kicks to the elbow was even better. There was some really good struggles for it later on with Takayama breaking out of an armbar stomping on Nakamura’s face which was followed up by a wicked knee to the face - a call back to their more famous match in six years prior. The finish of Takayama and Nakamura exchanging punches and kicks allowing Nakamura to catch Takayama off guard and nail the Boma Ye was absolutely amazing. Had me off my seat. Great way to end the match, highlight both guys strengths (Takayma’s strikes and Nakamura’s wit and counters). Never watched this match before I don’t believe, never really hear it brought up as a match to even watch let along a great match. But that’s what this was. Takakyama looked like a total behemoth beating the hell out of Nakamura with his violent offence. Nakamura brought him great selling to the match, some great counters and striking too. Excellent main event for the Tokyo Dome. Maybe I'm overrating it but what the hell. ****1/2

A typical Tanahashi start to a match. There was a solid exchange on the mat with both ringling around, grabbing limbs and reversing them. Shiozaki fluffed an armdrag sadly but his wicked chops more than made up for it. Loved the transition into Tanahashi attacking the leg with Tanahashi blocking a knee lift attempt and dropping Shiozaki while in the ropes. The usual Tana idiosyncrasies take place - stomps to the knee, the knee bar. Unfortunately Shiozaki blew it off pretty much straight away not showing any signs of Tanahashi’s attacks. The little sequences with the spinning back fist into a superkick leading to the slingblade was really good and sometimes they can come across as contrived but it didn’t here. There was a good near fall by Shiozaki, which is a good accomplishment considering he is facing Tanahashi in the Dome, where he hits some of his biggest bombs followed by a moonsault. The finishing stretch was a bit weak unfortunately. Shiozaki had a big chunk off offence and then Tanahashi made a comeback and that was that. It never felt “earned” to me, although the set up for the Dragon Suplex near fall was slick as hell. I do wish they kept on with the initial leg based offence early on but I think it was probably for the best. The rest of the match was really good. Shiozaki got a bunch on Tanahashi, got some really good nearfalls and looked good for the most part, until the easy loss. Tanahashi did a good job from fighting from beneath. Tana has great comeback offence for the most part but he doesn’t feel go all out for the finish, I feel. Probably indicative of the spot on the card. ***1/2

Loved the hesitant, slow start of the match. Since this was impromptu, it makes sense that everyone wants to start off slow. A few of these wrestlers wrestled earlier as well. So it’s natural to take your time and let the match progress. There is some really smart wrestling, short in and out tags. Also some small details that set apart the two teams with Generation Next being the more aggressive and heelish group early on. There is an awesome section of the match where the face team show great tag team chemistry when they trap Jack Evans into their corner, have short turns making Evans pay for GenNext’s crimes. Evans bumping was really good during this part, that flip bump for Mark Briscoe’s lariat especially. Roddy showed his big promise in the match. At one point, he spat at the face team while Mark Briscoe was crawling to the corner,to bait them into the ring and prevent the tag. The escalation of violent and action was superb. The pace of the match getting a bit more frantic, a bit more intense as the match progressed. A great mix of tag and singles wrestling. The whole pacing of the match was just excellent and helped the run time of 40 minutes wiz by. It’s hard to pick an MVP. Maybe Roddy gets my pick but everyone was superb and played their roles well regardless of how big or small it was. ****3/4

Miyu Yamashita pummeled Misao early in the match with some nasty kicks, and knees to when she trapped her in the corner which was awesome. Sakisama doing the paradise lock (eat your heart out SANADA) and then sitting on Miu Watanabe was great heel work. And then baiting Yamashita to come in and move out of the way of her dropkick, which then hit Watanabe was just the tip of the iceberg. Biishiki-Gun as a duo worked well together, cutting off the ring, working so viciously on Miu’s arm. Yamashita when she came in looked top level with how smooth and finesse she is. Everything she did came across as flawless from her strikes to simple things such as snapmares. Her strike battle with Sakisama was awesome. It didn’t feel aimless or pointless, every strike had poise and painful intent behind it. Miu’s run on offence was so much fun. She has that uncanny ability to make you root for her. She had that plucky underdog offence that works so well when you have the domineering wrestlers in the match alongside you. The match got streamers after the fact and trust me, this was well earned. ****1/4