NJPW Kizuna Road Review 06/26/17

So NJPW did the last of the 3 big Kizuna Road shows back to back so it’s a double review! This is the first one which is the 6/26/17 Review

Hirai Kawato, Tiger Mask IV, and Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs Suzuki-Gun (TAKA Michinoku, Taichi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

This was solid for what it is which is Suzuki-Gun bullying poor Kawato and Tiger Mask and Liger having to step in to help. Kawato continues to show a lot of fire in these matches with the vets, his multiple roll up attempts trying to secure the victory tell a great story. In the end Suzuki-Gun prevail after Kanemaru pins Kawato.

Match Rating: ***

Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata, and TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) vs Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, and Jado

These old man tags can be fun especially with TenCozy involved. Two underrated guys that can go when they are called upon. Plus Ishii and Goto on the other side, how bad could it be? Turns out not bad at all, solid work from these guys here and you couldn’t ask for anything more. Yano wins with a roll-up after a low blow.

Match Rating: ***1/2

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada and Gedo) vs Suzuki-Gun (El Desperado and Davey Boy Smith Jr.)

It was nice seeing Davey Boy as I think he is pretty solid and a good big man. Him and Okada shared some heated exchanges during this match, possibly hinting at a match down the road? Not to sure but i’d be down for it. Desperado gets the win for Suzuki-Gun here, pinning Gedo.

Match Rating: ***3/4

Taguchi Japan (Ryusuke Taguchi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Juice Robinson, and David Finlay Jr.) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, BUSHI, and EVIL)

These matches never disappoint me and now with Togi Makabe added in the mix this should be a fun one. A ton of brawling in this match as per usual in these matches and with the added Makabe component made for a fun watch. Everyone knows of Taguchi Japan’s antics, well they even got Makabe involved and it was a nice comedic moment. Usual match between these teams but there’s no problem with that.

Match Rating: ***3/4

Minoru Suzuki vs YOSHI-HASHI

This match is for the NEVER Open weight Championship. This comes off the heels of HASHI challenging Suzuki at Dominion after he defeated YOSHI’s stablemate, Hirooki Goto. I want to say this real quick, CHAOS aren’t real friends. The only person to come out to back up HASHI was Okada unlike Suzuki-Gun who was there for Suzuki. This was a brawl from the outset with HASHI being punished from all angles, and whenever Okada tried stepping in he’d get pummeled too. But HASHI wasn’t letting this go without a fight as he came back and made a valiant effort to win the match but the numbers game was too much. A big brawl ensued with all the members of the dueling factions coming out leading to Suzuki being able to lock on a submission and get the victory.

Match Rating: ****