NJPW Kizuna Road
Night 3
#njkizuna
Event Date: June 16, 2019 (18:30 JST)
aired live on NJPW World
City: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
Venue: Korakuen Hall
Attendance: 1,713
Series: Kizuna Road 2019
Commentary (English): Mavs Gillis, Chris Charlton
Commentary (Japanese): Milano Collection AT, Haruo Murata, Taichi (5 – 7)
Ring Announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki (1 – 4), Makoto Abe (5 – 7)
Video
Some of the winners and losers from Dominion are shown. Also, some of the people who announced at Dominion that they wanted to be in this year’s G1 Climax are shown (KENTA, Shingo Takagi, Will Ospreay, and John Moxley). Then some of the big title matches on the Kizuna Road tour are previewed.
Match 1
Yuya Uemura vs Yota Tsuji
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Yota Tsuji wins via submission with a Boston Crab
Time: 8:50
Match Thoughts
Good match. The commentators were talking about how Tsuji and Uemura have 21 draws against each other and have just been trading the few wins they have against each other. So understandably, the match was very evenly fought throughout. There were some nice technical sequences in the beginning, then they moved on to some dropkicks and strikes. I liked this opener and would like to see these two against each other again.
Match 2
Douki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Taichi vs Ren Narita & Tomoaki Honma & Tomohiro Ishii (NEVER Openweight Champ)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Taichi pins Ren Narita after a superkick
Time: 11:59
Match Thoughts
Good match. Suzuki Gun started as they often do, which is to say the match started with a brawl before the opening bell. Everyone paired off, and eventually Narita made it back into the ring. Narita stayed legal in the match for quite a while, and he did a nice job taking on all three of his opponents. Honma had his turn, then Ishii and Taichi had a nice back and forth segment. Narita tagged back in late in the match, and he probably got the crowd the most excited with some of his near falls on Taichi. This was a fun match.
Match 3
Ryusuke Taguchi (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champ) & Mikey Nicholls & Juice Robinson vs Jado & Guerrillas of Destiny (ROH Tag Champs & IWGP Heavyweight Tag Champs)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Ryusuke Taguchi forces Jado to submit to Oh My & Garankle
Time: 8:58
Match Thoughts
This was fun. The match started with a brawl, then Robinson and Nicholls worked together to get an advantage. After a while, Taguchi was tagged in. Taguchi started calling plays, but Bullet Club quickly eliminated Nicholls and Robinson from the ring. From there, Taguchi had his but literally beaten for like five minutes. This match was pretty lighthearted. I enjoyed it.
Match 4
Shota Umino & Tiger Mask & Jushin Thunder Liger & Yuji Nagata & Kota Ibushi vs BUSHI & Shingo Takagi & SANADA & EVIL & Tetsuya Naito (IWGP IC Champ)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Shingo Takagi pins Shota Umino after the Pumping Bomber
Time: 10:38
Match Thoughts
Good match. LIJ worked great as a team, as usual. The other side had some strong individual efforts, particularly from Ibushi and Nagata, but it felt like LIJ was nearly always in control of the match. I think the big draw here was seeing how Ibushi would react to being in the ring with Naito after their brutal match at Dominion. Naito mocked Ibushi, but Ibushi seemed fired up. They weren’t in the ring against each other very long tonight, but Ibushi dominated Naito and even bloodied his mouth. This definitely built more interest for a potential IC Title rematch or a possible altercation during the G1.
Ring Area
After the match, LIJ remains in the ring after their opponents have left. Naito puts his fist in the air, and Shingo raises his fist. BUSHI, SANADA, and EVIL hesitate to meet Naito’s salute. Eventually BUSHI joins Naito and Shingo, but EVIL doesn’t. EVIL leaves the ring and walks to the back.
Naito smiles a little, and Shingo raises his fist again. Naito and BUSHI join in on the saute, and SANADA does as well.
Video
The participants of this year’s G1 Climax are announced.
A Block: Kazuchika Okada, Zack Sabre Jr., Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, EVIL, SANADA, Bad Luck Fale, Lance Archer, Will Ospreay, KENTA
B Block: Tetsuya Naito, Tomohiro Ishii, Juice Robinson, Toru Yano, Hirooki Goto, Jay White, Jeff Cobb, Shingo Takagi, Taichi, John Moxley
Match 5
Yujiro Takahashi w/ Pieter & Chase Owens & Jay White w/ Gedo vs Toru Yano & Togi Makabe (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champs) & Hiroshi Tanahashi
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Chase Owens pins Togi Makabe with a schoolboy (and a handful of tights)
Time: 10:52
Match Thoughts
Good match. This was one of the more evenly fought matches of the night. No single person really stood out, and even the interest in seeing the a pair-off between White and Tanahashi didn’t dominate the match. Really, I think this match was more about building some interest in the 6 Man tag title match between the champs and Bullet Club. They certainly built interest in that title match with the way tonight’s match ended.
Match 6
Lance Archer & Zack Sabre Jr. (RPW British Heavyweight Champ) & Minoru Suzuki vs Toa Henare & YOSHI-HASHI & Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Heavyweight Champ)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Lance Archer forces Toa Henare to submit to a brain claw
Time: 14:30
Match Thoughts
Good match. The first part of the match was mostly focused on an extended preview of Sabre versus YOSHI-HASHI. They fought kind of evenly, though Sabre seemed to be more in control. Suzuki helped Sabre punish HASHI at one point, and that really signified the beginning of Suzuki Gun being in complete control of the match. Minoru Suzuki was pissed throughout the entire match, and he took out his frustration about not being in this year’s G1 Climax on Okada. Suzuki punished Okada with no regard to the rules or even trying to win the match. Eventually, Archer tagged himself in and that led to a finish with Archer and Henare. This was a very interesting match, mostly due to Minoru Suzuki’s actions throughout.
Ring Area
After the match, Minoru Suzuki asks why he isn’t in the G1 Climax. He says he can beat everyone in the G1, and the people want to see him in the tournament. Suzuki wants in.
Match 7
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match
El Phantasmo (RPW British Cruiserweight Champ) & Taiji Ishimori vs Roppongi 3K (IWGP Jr. Tag Champs)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: El Phantasmo pins Yoh after CRII (and a low blow)
Time: 23:00
Match Thoughts
Good match. It got a little messy towards the end, but overall with was quite enjoyable. The first half of the match was fast paced with both teams looking good. RP3K worked better as a team, but Bulet Club didn’t look bad with their teamwork either. About three-quarters of the way through the match there seemed to be some hesitations and stalled communication, but it was a huge deal. Everyone still worked together to make a solid (and intentionally frustrating) finish.
Ring Area
After the match, ELP and Ishimori try to attack Roppongi 3K. Ryusuke Taguchi runs to the ring and chases ELP and Ishimori away.
From the English announce table, ELP says that Bullet Club is going to beat Taguchi’s team for the 6-Man titles, and ELP will defend his RPW title later on against Taguchi. ELP and Ishimori leave, and Taguchi calls Sho and Yoh back to the ring. Yoh takes the mic first, but he wants Sho to talk instead. Sho can’t think of anything to say.
Show Impressions
This was a pretty good show. There were some interesting moments, mostly having to do with previews for upcoming title matches and reactions to the G1 announcement. The main event was pretty good, but I do think it could have been better. It was a fine main event, but I think some of the upcoming Kizuna Road shows might have better title matches.
Match of the Night
El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori vs Roppongi 3K
Despite some breif awkwardness, this was still a good match.
Official Results (Japanese): https://www.njpw.co.jp/tornament/187679?showResult=1