Thus far on this blog, I've reviewed three separate Wrestle Kingdom events; the 1st, 3rd, and 5th editions. I've yet to review any other New Japan pay-per-view, but as I begin another trek through the promotion's history, that's what I'm hoping to do. The path begins at the start of 2012, as New Japan made it's way to the Tokyo Dome on January 4th for yet another annual supercard. This year would be the tipping point of the company gaining international prominence, largely thanks to two factors. The first was the purchase of NJPW by Bushiroad, a trading card distributor that struck a deal to buy the promotion from Yuke's for 500 million yen (which, at the time, would've converted to be about 6.5 million dollars). That purchase was made official on January 30th, less than a month after this event. Bushiroad had big plans to stabilize the former titan of puroresu, pushing for expansion into new markets, and the beginning of an online streaming service, which would eventually become NJPW World, the provider for everything New Japan for a number of years now. The second factor of New Japan's resurgence was the return of Kazuchika Okada from excursion in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Okada was a blue chip prospect in the New Japan ranks, a "Young Lion" that top brass thought held a massive future, a future that was put in jeopardy by TNA's booking team, who gave him almost nothing to do, and turned him into a joke by re-naming him "Okato", designing a look that was based on Kato from the Green Hornet TV series, many decades after that character had been relevant. Though Okada could now be seen as damaged goods, New Japan still had big plans for the 23 year old, and quickly announced that he would make his return in a singles match on this night.
- Wrestle Kingdom 6 comes to you from the Tokyo Dome, in front of yet another disappointing turnout (Dave Meltzer has claimed the attendance number was a meager 23 thousand, and a large amount of empty seats can be seen in the early matches). New Japan would turn the corner eventually, but attracting a sizeable crowd for a card this weak was always going to be a monumental challenge.
- We start with the sole dark match to take place before the official action began, a tag bout that pits Captain New Japan and Tama Tonga against Tomoaki Honma and Kyosuke Mikami (the future El Desperado). There were a couple highlights in this one; I liked Tama's twisting back splash, Mikami's snap powerslam, and Honma's deadlift vertical suplex, the move that got the loudest pop of the match. Tama's counter of a Mikami powerslam into a DDT was slick, and got his team the win.
- Our opening contest is for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, as Davey Richards and Rocky Romero, representing the No Remorse Corps from Ring of Honor, defend against Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi). This was an excellent choice for an opener, a step down from what Devitt and Taguchi could achieve with the Golden Lovers, but still one of the most exciting matches of the night, and it easily hooked the crowd. By far, the biggest highlight was the sequence where Taguchi took an electric chair knee drop from the champions, leading Devitt to break up the pinfall with his gorgeous diving double foot stomp, which the crowd went nuts for. It definitely seems as if a title retention is inevitable, as the champions are in complete control for the final few minutes, but they just can't put Taguchi away. Taguchi kicks out of both a top rope brainbuster and a folding powerbomb from Davey Richards, before stealing the win by countering an attempt at another powerbomb into a sunset flip. Everything looked crisp in this match, and while the high spots weren't plentiful, the contest still brought the jolt of electricity that it needed to.
- Eight man tag team action up next, as Taichi and Taka Michinoku, two of the primary villains of the junior heavyweight scene, team up with CMLL representatives Atlantis and Valiente to take on Kushida, Tiger Mask, Mascara Dorada, and Jushin Thunder Liger. This match is pure shtick, with very little intense striking or trading of holds, as Taichi spends several minutes attempting to remove the masks of Tiger Mask, Dorada, and Liger, before everyone takes turns diving to the outside. Dorada had by far the best dive, I love the velocity with which he can connect with a large pile of bodies, it's always a stunning sight. Valiente and Liger are left to battle for the finish, with Valiente breaking out a cool Tombstone gutbuster, before going down to the Liger Bomb and a brainbuster.
- Kazuchika Okada makes his return to NJPW in our next bout, as he takes on perennial midcarder Yoshi-Hashi. Considering how integral Okada is to the lore of New Japan, both across this last decade and likely extending far out into the future, it's great to see him enter to his signature theme for the very first time, also giving us the first look at his "Rainmaker pose". I anticipated this to be an exhibition squash, where Okada easily dispatched of Yoshi-Hashi after showing off his range of offense, but instead, this was highly competitive for the 6 minutes it lasted. Part of that might be the limitations that the young Okada still possesses, as he doesn't have much to bring to the table other than dropkicks and uppercuts. After missing a Swanton Bomb, Yoshi-Hashi feels the brunt of Okada's finishing sequence, as Okada plants him with the Air Raid Crash Neckbreaker, before finishing this one off with the Rainmaker, which isn't as iconic as it would come to be, as Okada holds onto Yoshi-Hashi after delivering the lariat, landing on the mat as opposed to remaining standing. It doesn't have the awe-inspiring impact yet, and the crowd has almost no reaction to it, not realizing that's the finish. This wasn't a great showing for a man that would come to define this promotion, but as we'll see later in the night, that did nothing to dissuade the company from strapping the rocket to Okada anyway.
- Another tag match sees Yuji Nagata team up with Wataru Inoue (a partner in Nagata's stable, Seigigun) to take on two former mixed martial artists, Masayuki Kono and Masakatsu Funaki (not to be confused with the Funaki that wrestled in WWE). This Funaki is booked to be a badass, tossing everyone around and getting into several exchanges with Nagata. Nagata gets the better of Funaki during the match, scoring a takedown on the bigger man and applying his "White Eyes" seated armbar, though Funaki delivers when it counts, turning Inoue's lights out with a big roundhouse kick for the win. Afterward, Funaki and Nagata aren't down, with Funaki slapping and headbutting Nagata, leading to a fracas that had to be separated by ringside officials. I'm pretty certain this was scripted, although Funaki had a legitimate gripe to pick with Nagata, who broke an orbital bone in Funaki's face, leaving the latter out of action for half a year. Their feud would be settled on an All Japan Pro Wrestling show a number of months down the line, and I'm sure that match wouldn't be for the weak of heart.
- MVP and Shelton Benjamin, two future partners in the Hurt Business faction in the WWE, team up on this night to take on Masato Tanaka and Yujiro Takahashi. Despite the wide differences in culture and wrestling style between MVP and Shelton and the rest of the roster, the fans are still very into them, popping for MVP's Ballin' elbow drop and Shelton's hellacious spinning back heel kick. Gedo and Jado, partners with Tanaka and Takahashi in the Chaos faction, cause some mischief on the outside, but their shenanigans don't make a difference. Shelton awes the crowd by leaping to the top rope for a cravate suplex, and MVP gets the win by tapping Takahashi out with a Crossface. Bonus points to this match for starting with Tanaka's table spot, that was fun.
- The second title match of the night is for the IWGP Tag Team Championships, as Giant Bernard (the former Albert and A-Train in WWE) and Karl Anderson defend against Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima, perhaps the most experienced and popular tag team on the roster. This was probably my match of the night, not necessarily in terms of moves, but in terms of crowd response, because the folks at the Tokyo Dome treat this like a prestigious main event clash. Kojima and Anderson start with some pec flexing, before the champions take full control with their immense size, speed, and power. Anderson's running sit-out powerbomb to Kojima was insane, and he breaks out a whole truckload of Gun Stuns, while Bernard is splashing everyone in sight. The crowd is super into Tenzan, who somehow survives both a series of big splashes by the champions, and a ridiculous elevated powerbomb by Bernard. That was a stunning near fall, executed perfectly by everyone to get the maximum reaction. Tencozy make their comeback, isolating Bernard, and put one of the biggest men in New Japan away with the sterling combination of Kojima's lariat and a moonsault from Tenzan, which got another insane pop.
- Hirooki Goto's black and gold robe and astonishingly long red wig are the highlights of his clash with Takashi Siguira, a largely forgettable 12 minutes of wrestling that seemed to exist as filler on this card. Goto is entertaining, don't get me wrong, and the bump he took for Siguira's German suplex into corner makes him worthy of all kinds of respect, but this was a nothing match. Goto tosses Siguira around with multiple Saito suplexes and big lariats, before finishing him off with the Shouten.
- Another totally pointless singles match followed, as Togi Makabe battled the aging Yoshihiro Takayama. Takayama was never the most energetic wrestler, but he's noticeably slower than when I've seen him compete before, moving like he's trapped in quicksand and unable to really sell for anything Makabe dishes out. I will say, though, that Takayama earned all kinds of points from me for taking a Spider German suplex by Makabe, a ridiculous bump for a young man to take, let alone a competitor that's midway through his 40's without a whole lot left to prove. The crowd still treated him with reverence, as his presence is still intimidating and his name still carries weight, and they went nuts for that spot. Makabe gets the win by following the Spider German up with a diving knee drop.
- NJPW and Pro Wrestling Noah collided earlier in the night for the Goto-Siguira match, and meet up again for a tag bout, as Shinsuke Nakamura and Toru Yano, two of the leaders of Chaos, take on Go Shiozaki and Naomichi Marufuji. I've read fantastic reviews of Shiozaki and Marufuji's work, so I was ready to have my socks blown off by this one, and, uh, maybe my expectations were a little too high. The presence of Yano plays a part in holding this back from truly reaching dream match level, as while his antics (ambushing from the outside, exposing one set of turnbuckles, and using referee Red Shoes as a buffer to hit a low blow) were somewhat entertaining, it seemed like the other three guys used Yano as a decoy to allow them to put in a lesser effort. There were some hints at more, especially between Nakamura and Marufuji, as the former nearly caved in the latter's ribs with a big running knee in the corner, but this match passed by with few highlights. Go, after escaping several pinfall predicaments, puts Yano away with a Brainbuster.
- It's "Genius versus Genius" in the semi-main event, as the "Pro Wrestling Genius" Keiji Mutoh takes on the "Stardust Genius" Tetsuya Naito. Mutoh is as predictable as a main event wrestler can get, as you know any singles match he's in will include a plethora of Dragon Screws, Figure Fours, and Shining Wizards, but even though the formula is stale, the crowd still enjoyed it. Mutoh takes Naito's leg apart with Dragon Screws in the barricade and ropes, though Naito never appears to be in true danger of tapping out, and abandons selling the leg for his comeback. Naito's fighting spirit is displayed, as he nails a flipping senton, a Frankensteiner, and an enziguri, avoiding any attempt at signature offense from Mutoh. But the Stardust Press finds nothing but canvas, leaving Naito as dead meat for Mutoh the vulture. A whole bunch of Shining Wizards connect, as not even the mat wrestling of Naito can save him, with Mutoh escaping an inside cradle to stay on the attack. Mutoh wins it with a moonsault, which would've been more impressive if Tenzan hadn't broken one out earlier.
- Main event time, as Hiroshi Tanahashi, back in another Wrestle Kingdom main event, defends his IWGP Championship against Minoru Suzuki. It's a battle of two of the biggest names in the promotion, and two of the best wrestlers in the world, but this never felt like the epic collision that befit the moment. Despite wrestling for over 25 minutes, they never seemed to get out of first gear, with a lot of trading offense and little in terms of intriguing story-telling or riveting melodrama. I did enjoy how they took each other apart; Suzuki's big dropkick was nuts, and Tanahashi bleeding from the mouth created a stirring visual. Suzuki's counter of a Dragon Screw into a cross armbreaker was gorgeous, and I would love to see more technical wrestling out of him. I would've been into an exhausting battle towards the finish, with both men fighting to outlast the other, but any sense of intense warfare is abandoned for finisher spamming. In fairness, the crowd went ballistic for Tanahashi kicking out of the Gotch-style Piledriver, which was a big show main event kind of moment, so I can't speak too ill of that call. But the fans quiet down for Tanahashi's trio of High Fly Flows that end it, which is absolutely not the way a match of this magnitude should be concluding, I think the audience just couldn't believe that a Wrestle Kingdom main event was going to end after this little action. Though the match was forgettable, NJPW at least created some buzz after the final bell, as Hiroshi Tanahashi's traditional post-victory speech was interrupted by Kazuchika Okada, who smugly posed in the champion's face, and challenged him to a title match. New Japan is all in on Okada, and while any perception of Okada as a true main event star is mostly artificial at this point, it certainly wouldn't stay that for much longer.
5/10
This was by far the weakest Wrestle Kingdom I've watched, with very little I'd recommend to anyone that isn't a die-hard fan. You can find far better from just about everyone involved, as this show fit the very definition of filler, which shouldn't happen for the biggest night on the calendar. It's really only worth watching for Okada's re-debut, and even that only holds value in hindsight.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: The New Beginning 2012, as Kazuchika Okada challenges Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Championship, in a match that resulted in the now iconic "Rainmaker Shock". See you soon.
- Henry
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