I've been interested in a return to reviewing New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and now felt like the right time, with interest in my WWE reviews waning, and no current way for me to view the AEW Dynamite library. We return to the biggest force in puroresu with Wrestle Kingdom 5, the next event on my list to cover, with most of the entire event intact and available on New Japan World. Despite now being in 2011, four years from the start of the Wrestle Kingdom shows, little has changed in terms of the business model New Japan is relying upon for their biggest event. Their alliances with other companies still have a noticeable effect on the Wrestle Kingdom card, most notably with TNA and CMLL, although wrestlers from DDT Pro-Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Noah, and Pro Wrestling Zero1 also put in appearances. The main event is another iteration of the classic formula; the New Japan "Ace" defending the company from an outside threat. In this case, the former is Hiroshi Tanahashi, while the latter is Satoshi Kojima, who had started his career in New Japan, before jumping ship to All Japan in 2002 after friction with Antonio Inoki. 2010's G1 Climax saw Kojima emerge victorious, and two months later, he was IWGP Champion, dethroning Togi Makabe, turning heel by attacking Tanahashi about a week prior to this show. Kojima's heel turn and newly formed alliance with Taichi would be a central point to the formation of one of the more influential factions in New Japan, Suzuki-gun, but that's a story for another day. For now, it's all about Kojima versus Tanahashi.
- Wrestle Kingdom 5 comes to you from the Tokyo Dome, in front of an announced attendance by New Japan of 42,000, but which Dave Meltzer claims was just 18,000, which, if true, would be one of the worst turnouts for a New Japan Dome show since they began running them in 1993.
- New Japan World has two dark matches to watch for this event, with the first being an eight man tag, featuring the members of Chaos (Gedo, Jado, Tomohiro Ishii, and Yujiro Takahashi) taking on the team of Tama Tonga, Tiger Mask IV, Tomoaki Honma, and Wataru Inoue. The match gets off to a fun start, with Takahashi attacking Tonga from behind, who fires back by dropkicking all four members of Chaos. Ishii is the workhorse of this one, with some good exchanges working against Honma and Tiger Mask, Ishii is one of the most reliable workers in New Japan, and his brutish offense meshed well with Tiger Mask's counters and kicks. The faces get the win in this one, as Jado goes down to the Kokeshi Headbutt from Honma and a Spear from Inoue.
- The second dark match is a big step up from the first, as a young Kenny Omega stars, teaming with Taichi to take Ryusuke Taguchi and Koji Kanemoto. Omega is all over the place in this one, bringing tons of energy and the signature mannerisms and offense that would make him a headline act. Kenny breaks out his impressive tope con hilo, Kotaro Krusher, and snap Dragon suplex, but can't get the One-Winged Angel on Kanemoto, who smoothly counters into a kneebar. Omega's partner, Taichi, spends most of the match heeling on everyone, attacking a young lion at ringside, choking his opponents, and does the most dastardly act of them all, removing his stripper pants. But Taichi is given his just desserts when that pant-removing chicanery is met with an enziguri to the back of the head, and Taichi is then the one pinned after showboating while lifting up Taguchi, who takes Taichi down into a cover.
- The opening contest on this night features wrestlers from TNA, specifically James Storm and Bobby Roode of Beer Money, which for those that are unaware, means New Japan World doesn't have the rights to broadcast it and therefore we move ahead to the second match. It should be a good one, as Mascara Dorada (aka Gran Metalik) and La Sombra (aka Andrade El Idolo) team up to face Jushin Thunder Liger and Hector Garza. This was a highlight reel of a match, featuring as many dives as all four men could pack into 8 minutes. Dorada had the most impressive one, walking the top rope to knock all three opponent down with a moonsault press. Garza, always a favorite of mine, showed off some strikes, as well as a cool tandem move with Liger, where the former set up a backbreaker and Garza added on a moonsault. La Sombra closed the match out for his side, first hitting Liger with a corkscrew moonsault, then finishing Liger off with a corkscrew press.
- Next up is a "Deep Sleep to Lose" match, where to win, you must choke your opponent unconscious. The maniacal Takashi Iizuka is taking on fan favorite Hiroyoshi Tenzan, and these two stocky brawlers get into it early after Iizuka attacks a member of the commentary team and goes after Tenzan during the latter's entrance. They spend a portion of time fighting outside, before Tenzan finally takes control back inside of the ring after persevering through Iizuka's sleeper hold to a big pop. Tenzan works to choke Iizuka out with an Anaconda Vise, but the wily madman still has one trick left, attacking the referee. Iizuka wants to lay into Tenzan with a metal glove, but is stopped by Tenzan's second, and Tenzan spikes Iizuka on his side with a Northern Lights Bomb. Tenzan then gets the Anaconda Vise cinched in, and the official calls it. The stipulation of this was intriguing, as it seemed to promise some truly barbaric offense, but I thought this was extremely underwhelming, a plodding brawl with little energy or entertainment value, just two aging veterans slowly grappling with each other.
- We skip right past the Rob Van Dam-Toru Yano Hardcore match, heading to a Tokyo Dome rematch between Yuji Nagata and Minoru Suzuki. The two faced off at Wrestle Kingdom 1 four years prior, a match that I really enjoyed, so I'm looking forward to seeing them run it back. This is exactly what you'd expect with these two, lots of stiff strikes, particularly kicks, and a lot of focus around their signature submissions, Minoru's sleeper and Yuji's seated armbar. Nagata is ultimately able to get the better of Suzuki thanks to his array of suplexes, as a series of three straight backdrop suplexes, the final one with a bridging hold, gets him the win. This was a little long considering how limited the offensive repertoire was, but it was still a crunching battle between two of the best out there, and it was great to see Nagata get his win back.
- Two future stars of the business put on an absolute classic here at Wrestle Kingdom 5, as Prince Devitt (aka Finn Balor) defends his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Kota Ibushi. This singles bout builds off several tag matches between Devitt and his partner Ryusuke Taguchi, collectively known as Apollo 55, and the Golden Lovers, Ibushi and Kenny Omega. Ibushi and Devitt get a straight singles match here, and it's a banger, as both men bring their A-game. Ibushi controls much of the match with his blazing speed, unleashing laser-quick strikes on Devitt, a slick snap German suplex, and thrilling the crowd in a sequence where he chains together a standing corkscrew moonsault into a moonsault feint off the top rope and lands it from a standing position. Devitt fires back with a double stomp to the back of the head, then plants one to the gut, but Ibushi kicks out. Devitt needs the Bloody Sunday to end it, but Ibushi fights that off, so Devitt switches to a cradle reverse DDT for another near fall. There are so many two counts in this match, as both men have the crowd in the palm of their hand, building to the finish. Devitt is on the top rope, and Ibushi nails him with a handspring Pele kick, the second time in this match he's connected with that move. Ibushi springs to the top, but Devitt catches him, hooks the arms, and delivers a top rope Bloody Sunday. Holy bleep, that was awesome. It's enough to do it, as Ibushi has crumpled into a mess on the mat, coming up just short but putting on a stellar display. This match was packed full of thrilling, fast-paced and innovative offense, but it wasn't a complete spotfest. Both men sold well for each other, and even started the match with some chain wrestling, and guess what, they were great at that too. This was an excellent match that foreshadows future greatness for both challenger and champion.
- Kazuchika Okada has returned, briefly, from his excursion to team with Hirooki Goto and take on Pro Wrestling Noah representatives Takashi Sugiura and Yoshihiro Takayama, whom I known primarily from his classic fight with Don Frye in PRIDE. This match continued to showcase the connection Okada had already forged with the New Japan fans, as a spot where Sugiura kept kicking him in the face and Okada kept firing up got a resounding cheer. Goto also showed off his heavy hitting, nailing a discus lariat that got a solid pop, but the end came down to Okada in peril. The youngster kicked out of a big knee from Takayama, with extra impact after Sugiura had launched Okada into the knee, and a backdrop driver from Takayama that the crowd was convinced would be the finish. Okada had proven his fighting spirit, but wouldn't walk away victorious, as Takayama got the job done on the third ask, finishing Okada off with a bridging German suplex.
- In another clash between NJPW and Noah, Shinsuke Nakamura meets Go Shiozaki. This was a heck of a scrap, two guys pummeling each other with stiff strikes and crisp technical suplexes and slams. I will admit to not knowing a ton about Shiozaki going into this show, but I was very impressed by what I saw here, and would absolutely be down to watch anything else he's been involved in. Nakamura and Shiozaki have a few terrific exchanges in this one, my favorite sequence coming when Shiozaki just leathers Nakamura with three straight spinning palm strikes, which is shortly followed up an eye-popping lariat. Go's leg work in this match was top notch, ramming Shinsuke's shinbone into the post, which resulted in a gnarly clonking sound, before slapping and kicking at every part of the leg within reach as the match wore on. Despite all the work Shiozaki had done, Nakamura was able to persevere, and dropped his opponent with the Bomaye to pick up the win. If you're into strong style, this is your sh**.
- Two tough and violent men square off in the penultimate match of the night, as Togi Makabe battles Masato Tanaka. The highlight of this match came late on, as Makabe sent Tanaka crashing through a table with a powerbomb off the apron, a rare sight in New Japan, who don't book many table spots, and it created a tremendous visual as Makabe celebrated his deed on the apron. Everything up until that point had been entertaining chaos, as Makabe smacked Tanaka in the head with a chair, got put through part of a table himself, and kicked out of multiple spinning brainbusters and a sliding forearm. Makabe's diving knee drop followed up the powerbomb through the table, and was enough for victory, another well received win for a New Japan loyalist.
- Main event time, and it's for the IWGP Championship, as Satoshi Kojima defends against Hiroshi Tanahashi. The drama for this match centers around Kojima's deadly lariat, which Tanahashi needs to avoid at all costs. These two men have excellent chemistry, and put together some excellent sequences. Tanahashi manages to counter a neckbreaker, landing on Kojima with a big forearm, while Kojima strikes on multiple occasions with his standing cutter. As the match wears on, the focus on that lariat becomes more and more pivotal. Tanahashi dodges one attempt, quickly taking Kojima down and working on his favored right arm, doing some damage by driving it into the mat. Tanahashi attempts to quicken the pace, bouncing off the ropes, dodging lariat after lariat, before dropped by Kojima, who switched to the left arm to catch the challenger flush. That got me to jump out of my seat, and the crowd erupted, first for the lariat, then for Tanahashi's kickout. Kojima then connected on a second lariat, but this time hit with his right arm, a costly mistake, as he rolls around in pain for several moments before he can squirm over to make the cover, giving Tanahashi the time he needs to once again get the shoulder up. That was terrific selling by Kojima, a realistic near fall that rewarded the audience for paying attention to everything that had come before that moment. Once again, Tanahashi begins to run the ropes, and this time, he keeps his head on a swivel, avoiding all lariat attempts to land the Sling Blade. Tanahashi connects with a High Fly Cross, then the High Fly Flow, capturing the IWGP title for a fifth time. We get a trademark grandiose celebration for Tanahashi, who is presented with multiple large trophies, and stands in front of a pyro display to close the night. This wasn't the best action presented on this card, but it told an engaging and dramatic story, playing to the best abilities of both competitors to put together a worthy main event.
8/10
I can't judge this show for the involvement of the TNA guys, although I've been told that Jeff Hardy's match with Tetsuya Naito was horrible, which does have a minute impact on my final grade. Overall, this was a really solid event for New Japan, who are finally starting to put the pieces in place for their best years still to come. I would definitely recommend checking out Ibushi/Devitt and the main event, two tremendous matches in their own way.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: It's time for me to look at a non-Wrestle Kingdom show from New Japan, as I cover Dominion 6.18, which features Hiroshi Tanahashi defending against Hirooki Goto, and the rematch between Prince Devitt and Kota Ibushi.
- Henry
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