NJPW Road to Sakura Genesis 3/26/17 Review

Tomoyuki Oka vs. Bad Luck Fale

Oka is a young lion and has no chance of winning this. He tries to take down Fale with some forearms but Fale is having none of it and is not affected at all. Oka finally knocks down the Underboss with a big shoulder tackle. He goes for the pin but barely gets 2. He tries to continue the attack but is laid out by a monstrous clothesline from Fale who then connects with the Grenade for the quick win.

My Thoughts: I’m glad they went the shorter route here as I’ve seen too many Fale singles matches lately and only one of them was good. This made Fale look strong and Oka got some offense in so he didn’t come out looking too bad. Still, nothing at all worth watching here, it was just a squash.

Rating: NR

Suzuki-Gun (TAKA Michinoku, El Desperado, and Takashi Iizuka) vs. Tiger Mask IV, Jushin Thunder Liger, and Hirai Kawato

Right when Kawato gets in the ring he’s attacked by Suzuki-Gun and a brawl ensues. TAKA lays waste to Kawato in the ring even though Kawato tries to fight back. Right when he’s making a bit of a comeback, Desperado cuts him off and he’s hit with a bicycle kick from Michinoku. Desperado in now and the destruction of Kawato continues. Desperado even uses the collar of Iizuka when the referee’s back was turned. Iiuzka in now and he stomps away at Kawato and then chokes him. Liger runs in to try and help but the referee keeps telling him to get out. Suzuki-Gun is killing this poor 19 year old kid. Kawato finally hits a dropkick that knocks down Michinoku and makes the hot tag to Tiger Mask who comes in and takes out all the members of Suzuki-Gun. Liger and Desperado in now and Liger is in total control. Liger locks in a dragon sleeper but Iizuka comes in to break things up. Kawato begs Liger to make the tag and Liger does and the young lion is on fire now. The faces are now ganging up on Desperado and Kawato gets a close near fall. Iizuka brings in a chair but is taken out by a springboard missile dropkick from Kawato who then goes for a pin on Desperado who kicks out at the last second. Kawato then gets hit with Guitarra de Angel and Suzuki-Gun gets the win.

My Thoughts: This was a pretty good match, the highlight was seeing a fiery comeback out of Kawato who kept fighting the whole way through. Nothing special but it was a fun match with a fun last couple minutes and the right team won.

Rating: **3/4

War Machine and David Finlay vs. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima, and Hirotoshi Tenzan

War Machine and Finlay attack TenCozy and Makabe before the bell sounds and they fight with their Sakura Genesis opponents TenCozy. Tenzan and Kojima now go to work on Rowe with some tandem offense. Finlay and Makabe in now and they go back and forth. Finlay with a nice uppercut from the second rope but Makabe quickly fights back with a powerslam and tags in Tenzan. Tenzan now has total control over Finlay but gets kneed in the back by Rowe which allows their team to take advantage. In comes Hanson and now they’ve totally Tenzan cornered and will go to work. Even though they are more so the heelish team in this match, the crowd loves War Machine and they had a big reaction to Rowe slamming Hanson onto Tenzan and the beat down of Tenzan continues. Rowe takes out Kojima and tries to do the same to Makabe who ducks and flips him off. Rowe tried to head butt Tenzan but it ended up hurting him and Tenzan tags in Makabe who is getting the better of both members of War Machine. Hanson hits the cartwheel clothesline and Finlay is tagged in. Kojima in now and here come the chops in the corner to Finlay and I do not envy Finlay. Finlay with a corner uppercut followed by the pop-up powerslam from War Machine. Hanson then goes for a suicide dive to Makabe but Makabe moved and accidentally took out Rowe. Ten-Koji Cutter to Finlay and finally a lariat from the lariat specialist himself Kojima for the victory.

My Thoughts: I actually enjoyed this match a good amount, it wasn’t a special match but it was a solid encounter and the action was never dull. I’m very much looking forward to War Machine’s match with TenCozy at Sakura Genesis.

Rating: ***

Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs. CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Gedo, and Jado)

Well Suzuki-Gun attacks before the bell sounds, that’s not a first for the night. Jado, Gedo, and Goto then take control with some triple team offense which was pretty entertaining. Jado goes for that rope hung DDT that injured Honma but Kanemaru counters. Jado on the outside now and Daichi attacks him with the mic stand and then Suzuki and Goto brawl intro the crowd and nails him with a chair and viciously chokes him with an umbrella it looks like. Suzuki-Gun now with complete control as they corner Jado. El Desperado out now to cause a distraction and Taichi uses various weapons while the referee’s back is turned. The referee is now being a total idiot as he’s yelling at Minoru while the Jr. Tag Champs double team Jado and Taichi does a weak ass low blow. Suzuki in now to lay waste to Jado. Suzuki has Jado in an armbar and Goto runs in to stop it but he’s locked in a heel hook from Suzuki while he still has the armor on Jado. Jado and Suzuki now trading chops and Suzuki’s sound much more vicious. Both men down now and Jado tags Goto who runs wild. Back and forth between Suzuki and Goto. Suzuki went for the PK but was caught by Goto. Both men trading blows now. Kanemaru in now and Goto tags in Gedo. Jado runs in and knocks down Taichi and now Gedo and Jado work over Kanemaru who gets hit with a fireman’s carry neckbreaker from Goto and a superkick from Gedo but the pin is broken up. Gedo goes for a pin but is kicked in the head. Kanemaru jumps off the top rope but Gedo low blows him and the referee is down after Kanemaru unintentionally hit him. Suzuki runs in, goes for the Gotch-Style Piledriver on Gedo but is cut off by Goto who brawls with Suzuki and they head to the outside. Taichi brings in the mic stand but it backfires and Gedo uses it on Desperado. Gedo is then hit with one of the Jr. Tag Titles by Taichi and Kanemaru hits a top rope DDT for the pin and win.

My Thoughts: The booking of having the Heavyweight and Junior Tag Title #1 Contenders lose their matches back to back is pretty dumb. I feel like either War Machine or Gedo and Jado’s teams should’ve won at least one of these. What credibility do Gedo and Jado have as a team heading into a title match if they couldn’t win here? Granted Suzuki-Gun cheated, but my point still stands. The match was a bit chaotic which made it fun but the ending was overbooked and the outcome wasn’t the smartest. Not the best worked match but it was fine for what it was and not offensive in the slightest quality-wise.

Rating: **3/4

Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Chase Owens, and Yujiro Takahashi) vs. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and Beretta)

Glad to see Chase Owens back, he hasn’t wrestled in New Japan since December. I’m a big fan of 4 men in this match, so let’s just hope we get as little Yujiro and Yano as possible. We start off with Takahashi (ugh) and Yano (ugh). So yes, we’re starting with the only two guys in this match that I do not like. Yano does his usual antics that I don’t enjoy but the crowd sure does. Chase Owens and Beretta in now and they go back and forth. All members of BC on the outside now and Beretta hits a swanton onto all of them! Beretta and Owens back in the ring, Trent goes for a tornado DDT but Owens shoves him off and hits him with a brutal gutbuster. Owens tags in Kenny and they corner Beretta, I assume for an eventual Ishii hot tag. Kenny got caught low by Trent and Trent tried to make the tag but Owens ran in and took out Ishii and Yano which allowed Kenny to stop Trent. Kenny continued control for a little bit until Beretta hit a tornado DDT and tags in Ishii who runs wild on BC. Ishii went for a lariat but Omega ducked and connects with a hurricanrana. Omega and Ishii trade blows but Kenny does a Fireman’s Carry Roll and hits a moonsault for a near fall. Ishii then connects with a German and then tags in Yano (ugh). Kenny and Yano actually have a bit of a fun exchange. They fist bump and Yano thinks they’re friends now but Kenny pulls him by the hair and slams him down. Yano’s back up and unties the turnbuckle. Chase Owens in now and he isn’t having any of Yano’s shit as he pops him right in the mouth. Yano shoves the referee, low blows Chase, Ishii hits a lariat, and Yano rolls up Owens for the win.

My Thoughts: This was solid when Yano wasn’t in there, but not out of this world. The best part was the Ishii/Omega interaction but that didn’t last too long. This was a decent match but I just don’t care to see Yano wrestle ever. This honestly did almost nothing for me but it was decently fun at points. The stuff with Yano just left a bad taste in my mouth but the others put in solid work. This was better than the last match but still not great.

Rating: ***

Tanahashi and Friends (Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, Juice Robinson, Manabu Nakanishi, and Ryusuke Taguchi) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, EVIL, SANADA, and BUSHI)

Ah, the next installment in the never ending LIJ vs. Tanahashi and Friends trilogy. I want that new Naito shirt that he’s wearing here and has worn on a recent event or two. It’s really nice. LIJ attacks before the bell, not like we’ve seen that twice already tonight. Looks like Naito and Taguchi will be starting this one. Tana and Friends in now to team up on Naito. Naito dropkicks Taguchi in the ass which is what Taguchi’s ass deserves for being so fucking annoying. KUSHIDA and Takahashi are now going at it, they face off at Sakura Genesis. Naito tags in EVIL and I think KUSHIDA is legal now. Taguchi tries to help but is stopped by LIJ and they continue to work over KUSHIDA. KUSHIDA nearly makes the tag but Naito and EVIL run in to knock the faces down. KUSHIDA then takes out Naito and EVIL but Takahashi stops KUSHIDA. KUSHIDA then gets a near fall following a hurricanrana. Both men trade pins and kicks and both of them are down. KUSHIDA makes the tag to old man Nakanishi who isn’t taking shit from LIJ, mainly because he can barely bump at this point. Lariat to EVIL for a near fall. Torture Rack from Nakanishi who throws EVIL onto SANADA and then he tags in Tana. Tana and EVIL go at it in a bit of a NJ Cup rematch. Tana goes up top for the High Fly Flow but is cut off by EVIL and the referee was knocked down. BUSHI in now, mule kick to Tana but Tana fights right back and tags in Taguchi who I assume will just hit BUSHI with his ass a bunch, and he does. Taguchi is no good in unimportant matches because it’s just him hitting his opponent(s) with his ass for the most part. Taguchi and BUSHI go back and forth and BUSHI hits a neck breaker. Taguchi tags in Juice who I forgot was in this match because this is the first time he’s been the legal man. Codebreaker from BUSHI after help from Naito and now LIJ has control. Triple dropkick from Naito, SANADA, and BUSHI which was nice. SANADA’S legal now and he hits a back suplex for a near fall. SANADA goes for Skull End but Tana stops him and now everyone is coming in and taking out people. This is getting wild. SANADA hits a TKO on Juice for a near fall after the ring is cleared. SANADA goes for Skull End again but it’s countered and Juice hits Pulp Friction for the win. LIJ brutally beat down the faces afterwards though and stand tall.

My Thoughts: This was enjoyable the whole way through, constant action as per usual in these types of matches. We got barely any Nakanishi which was good but not enough Naito which wasn’t good. This isn’t worth going out of your way to watch but I liked it for the most part. It was solid and the best match on this show thus far, but still nothing you haven’t seen before and this same variation of this match has happened way too much.

Rating: ***1/4

Katsuyori Shibata and Yuji Nagata vs. Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI

Fuck yeah, we’re going to start this match with a preview of the Sakura Genesis main event as Shibata and Okada start. We get a nice, relaxed start as both men feel each other out. HASHI is tagged in now and he wants Nagata and Nagata is tagged in. I don’t blame HASHI for wanting Nagata and not wanting to mess with Shibata, at least not yet. Negata bitch slaps HASHI after some back and forth and not too long after violently kicks him in the back. HASHI pulls Nagata to the outside and now Okada and Shibata are going at it on the outside. Okada slams him against a wall way in the back of the crowd as Nagata and HASHI continue to brawl on the outside. Back in now and HASHI works away at Nagata in the corner and then locks in a chin lock. Okada tagged in and now they’re going to corner Nagata. Okada mocks Shibata by doing his signature pose of sitting down and crossing his arms. Ohhhhhh snap. Negata started to fight back as he locked in a crossface but HASHI quickly regained control. Okada back in now to continue the beating on Nagata. Okada is caught by a throwing belly to belly from Nagat who crawls to tag in Shibata and gets there. Shibata takes down Okada and takes out HASHI and then kicks Okada in the corner. Shibata connects with his signature running dropkick in the corner and the crowd is solidly behind “The Wrestler”. Shibata locks in the abdominal stretch which you know can’t feel good at all. Okada makes it to the rope but is kicked in the chest and Shibata locks it back in before dropping down. HASHI runs in to break it up but Shibata takes him out and goes back to work on Okada who counters Shibata’s offense with a flapjack followed by a DDT and a running uppercut for a 2 count. Now we’re getting going as both men go back and forth. Shibata goes for the PK, Okada ducks and then hits a beautiful dropkick. Negata and HASHI are tagged in now as they trade offense. Negata hits a neck breaker and an exploder suplex for a 2 count. HASHI with a running blockbuster and then a chop in the corner followed by a dropkick to the back of a rope hung Nagata. Negata fights back and locks in the arm bar which is broken up by Okada to lots of boos from the fans. HASHI and Nagata both hit kicks and they’re both down. Negata is able to tag in Shibata who runs in and immediately kicks Okada off the apron, Okada came in angry and they began to go at it. Okada went for the Rainmaker but Shibata countered it into the sleeper and went for the PK but HASHI cut him off with a lariat followed by a powerbomb for a near fall. Shibata smacks HASHI and locks in the sleeper, kicks Okada off the apron and then hits the PK on HASHI for the big win.

My Thoughts: This match was great and did its job of getting us even more excited for Okada/Shibata. Their encounters were awesome and Nagata and HASHI played their parts really well as well. This was easily the best match on an otherwise average show. Glad to see Shibata get the win heading into Okada’s title defense against him on April 9th.

Rating: ***1/2

Overall this was an extremely average show with some questionable booking but nothing bad. I liked the main event a lot so if you have some time this week watch that. Outside of that everything was either decent or just okay. Nothing bad but nothing you haven’t seen before.

Overall Rating: 5/10