NJPW Kizuna Road
Night 4
#njkizuna
Event Date: June 17, 2019 (18:30 JST)
aired live on NJPW World
City: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
Venue: Korakuen Hall
Series: Kizuna Road 2019
Commentary (English): Mavs Gillis, Chris Charlton
Commentary (Japanese): Milano Collection AT, Shigeki Kiyono, Kota Ibushi (5 – 6)
Ring Announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki (1 – 3), Makoto Abe (4 – 6)
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: Yuya Uemura wins via pinfall with a bridging double underhook belly-to-belly overhead suplex
Time: 8:10
Match Thoughts
This was another good match between these two men. As the commentators were saying, these two are very evenly matched even though their attacks are often quite different. Uemura hits some explosive throws and dropkicks, while Tsuji focuses more on strikes and submissions. It’s always a fun fight with Uemura and Tsuji, and it will be interesting to see who finally breaks their deadlock of draws and trading wins back and forth.
Match 2
Toa Henare & Tomoaki Honma vs Shota Umino & Yuji Nagata
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Toa Henare pins Shota Umino after the Toa Bottom
Time: 11:00
Match Thoughts
Good match. Umino started the match for his team like many of the young lions do. Umino did well, but he eventually had to tag out to Nagata. Nagata and Honma had a pretty fun segment against each other, then the match ended with Henare and Umino legal in the ring. Nothing really made this match stand out too much, but it was good.
Match 3
Tiger Mask & Jushin Thunder Liger & Satoshi Kojima & Kota Ibushi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs BUSHI & Shingo Takagi & SANADA & EVIL & Tetsuya Naito (IWGP IC Champ)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: SANADA forces Tiger Mask to submit to Skull End
Time: 10:47
Match Thoughts
Good match. This was Tenzan’s first match back after taking time off to heal an injury, and it was fun to see Tenzan start the match against Naito. Naito showed Tenzan zero respect, and that started the match with a very contentious feeling. Kojima came in to fight Naito next, and Kojima was able to capitalize on what offense Tenzan managed to get. That brought in the rest of LIJ who shifted control back in their favor. From there, the match was mostly in LIJ’s hands until Ibushi sped things up with a sequence of offense. This was a fun match, and I think it was most interesting watching how LIJ interacted within themselves since four out of the five of them have been announced for the G1.
Ring Area
After the match, Naito and SANADA put up their fists in the LIJ salute. BUSHI joins next, then Shingo joins as well. EVIL watches from the corner, but he doesn’t join the salute. For the second night in a row, EVIL leaves the ring and walks away from his stablemates.
Video
The dates, locations, and matches are announced for every night of the G1 Climax.
Match 4
Taiji Ishimori (IWGP Jr. Tag Champ) & Guerrillas of Destiny (ROH Tag Champs & IWGP Heavyweight Tag Champs) & Jay White w/ Jado, Gedo vs Ren Narita & Mikey Nicholls & Juice Robinson & Hiroshi Tanahashi
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Taiji Ishimori forces Ren Narita to submit to the Yes Lock
Time: 10:45
Match Thoughts
Good match. Out of everyone, Ren Narita stood out the most here in this match. Tanahashi was having trouble with Jay White, and Narita repeatedly broke up submissions and escaped from White. White began to get frustrated with Narita, and that gave Tanahashi enough time to recover and mount a comeback. Later in the match, Narita tagged himself in when Juice was in trouble. Narita finished the match with a good showing against Ishimori. This was a fun match all around, and even though Bullet Club was dominant overall, I really enjoyed how Narita handled himself throughout the entire match.
Match 5
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Title Match
El Phantasmo (RPW British Cruiserweight Champ, IWGP Jr. Tag Champ) & Yujiro Takahashi w/ NANA & Chase Owens vs Ryusuke Taguchi & Toru Yano & Togi Makabe (NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champs)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Toru Yano pins Chase Owens with a low blow and a schoolboy
Time: 15:43
Match Thoughts
This was a fun match. With all of these guys involved it was half a comedy match, but I really enjoyed it. Taguchi did a lot of work early in the match, but after a while he seemed to get eliminated which left Yano and Makabe to fight Bullet Club almost on their own. I think it worked out well. Yano’s style of cheating as much as possible was as fun as ever. Bullet Club seemed to take their opponents too lightly throughout the match, and that cost them tonight.
Match 6
10 Man Elimination Tag Match
Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Taichi & Lance Archer & Zack Sabre Jr. (RPW British Heavyweight Champ) & Minoru Suzuki w/ Douki vs Roppongi 3K & YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii (NEVER Openweight Champ) & Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Heavyweight Champ)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: YOSHI-HASHI is the sole survivor
Time: 31:30
| Elimination Order | Wrestler Eliminated | Elimination Type | Eliminated By | Circumstance | Time Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minoru Suzuki | DQ | himself | Suzuki attacked the referee | 13:54 |
| 2 | Yoshinobu Kanemaru | Ring Out | Kazuchika Okada | Okada kicked Kanemaru off the top turnbuckle down to the floor | 15:03 |
| 3 | Kazuchika Okada | Ring Out | Lance Archer | Archer pushes Okada over the top rope by the throat | 16:31 |
| 4 | Yoh | Ring Out | Lance Archer | Archer throws Yoh over the top rope | 17:59 |
| 5 | Sho | Pinfall | Lance Archer | Archer pins Sho by holding him down on the mat with the EBD Claw | 18:33 |
| 6 | Lance Archer | Ring Out | Tomohiro Ishii | Ishii pulls Archer over the top rope from the apron | 21:30 |
| 7 | Tomohiro Ishii | Ring Out | Taichi | Taichi throws Ishii over the top rope | 21:51 |
| 8 | Taichi | Ring Out | YOSHI-HASHI | YOSHI-HASHI throws Taichi over the top rope | 25:36 |
| 9 | Zack Sabre Jr. | Ring Out | YOSHI-HASHI | YOSHI-HASHI knocks Sabre off the apron after Sabre tries to pull HASHI out to the floor | 31:30 |
Match Thoughts
Good match. I usually enjoy elimination matches, and this was a fun one. It took a while before the first elimination, and most of the time was spent brawling at ringside (and out through the crowd). The brawl was of course initiated and dominated by Suzuki Gun. Minoru Suzuki was still pissed about not being in this year’s G1 Cilmax, and he was taking his frustration out on Okada. When the action eventually got back into the ring, Suzuki was trying to hurt Okada with no regard to the referee or the rules. That got Suzuki into trouble, and that started the eliminations.
From there, the eliminations came at fairly regular intervals. Lance Archer dominated a portion of the match, and the final portion of the match was all about a preview of Sabre versus YOSHI-HASHI. Most of the eliminations were by ring out (you can eliminate people by throwing them over the top rope and out to the floor), but even without many pins or submissions I think this was fun to watch.
Ring Area
After the match, YOSHI-HASHI asks Zack Sabre Jr. if he feels confident about their upcoming title match now. HASHI says maybe he’ll take Sabre’s title and take his spot in the G1 at the same time. Sabre gets mad and attacks YOSHI-HASHI. That starts a brawl with both factions. The brawl ends with Sabre being downed by a lariat from HASHI.
Show Impressions
This was a fun show. I think I liked it a little more than last night’s Kizuna Road event. The bigger matches are coming later in the tour, but these past two night were good.
Match of the Night
10 Man Elimination Tag
I think this was more fun than the 6-man title match.
Official Results: https://www.njpw.co.jp/tornament/187680?showResult=1