We are back for Night 2 from the Tokyo Dome. There was a pre-show with three pointless multi-man matches but I got enough of those last night so I ain't watching them tonight. On to the main show!
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Flying Tiger (c) vs. Mega Coaches vs. BULLET CLUB's Cutest Tag Team
This was a fun match. Lots of action and high flying. El Phantasmo used his loaded boot to work over people before laying out his partner and all the babyfaces team up to remove his boot and prove it is loaded. Heels get DQ-ed from the match and it becomes a standard tag match. Some more fast paced action before Robbie Eagles gets the tap out on Rocky Romero. ***
Mayu Iwatani and Starlight Kid vs. Saya Kamitani and Tam Nakano
This was a sprint of a match. All the women went in trying to show what they could do and what their promotion was all about and they did a great job in that regard. Lots of great action and exchanges from all 4. The tag rules were more or less useless here but it oddly worked here because this was 4 individuals, not 2 teams. Very fun watch and big moment for Stardom. ***1/4
Four Way Match for the NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling Championship: Toru Yano vs. Chase Owens vs. CIMA vs. Minoru Suzuki
A pretty nothing match. Loved seeing El Lindaman and T-Hawk with CIMA and seeing CIMA going up against Suzuki. Lot of comedy and 4 way spots. Yano does his comedy and it was fine. Suzuki gets his hands on him, dropkicks him and piledrives him to win it. Nothing much here. **
NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship Match: EVIL, SHO and Yujiro Takahashi (c) vs. Hirooki Goto, YOH and YOSHI-HASHI
Another house show match. Babyfaces jump the heels as the make their entrance and take the fight to them. Heels cut off Goto with their cheating ways, get some heat on him before the hot tag. Babyfaces look to have the match won but more cheating and SHO pins YOH as revenge for last night. Another nothing match. **
Before intermission, we get Keiji Muto entering the ring with the NOAH roster for Saturday's New Japan vs. NOAH show. Muto introduces himself and the roster. Kenoh runs down the New Japan promotion as Shingo, Bushi and Hiromu come out. Shingo and Kenoh trade insults before the New Japan guys leave. Kenoh runs down New Japan more and Muto takes a selfie of the roster. This was kind of neat but did nothing to make me that excited for the show.
SANADA vs. Great-O-Khan
This was a nice straight up wrestling match between two goo workers. Both try and out wrestle the other all match and even use each other's offense to mess with each other. O-Khan hits a Moonsault like SANADA only to get caught with a roll-up when O-Khan goes for the finishing blow. Nice effort by both men. ***
Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb
This was a really good match! Both men had their strategies: Cobb looks to use his power to man-handle Naito while Naito looks to pick at the knee of Cobb and take away his power. Great chemistry from these two. Naito makes Cobb look like a monster while at the same time chipping away his armor. Cobb's knee finally takes enough damage and Naito is able to counter the Tour of the Islands to hit Destino to conquer the big man. ***3/4
No Disqualification Match for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: KENTA (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
This was a fun weapons match. They used the gimmick well and seeing Tanahashi use weapons was pretty neat. A lot of time in between spots for the set up especially at the ending with the ladder KENTA had to set up but the payoff of Tanahashi hitting a High Fly Flow off a ladder through a table was insane. ***3/4
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Will Ospreay
A phenomenal match! Okada comes in hurt and beat up from last night's war with Shingo, so Ospreay plays it smart and looks to wear down Okada over time. He works at a slower pace while working the back and neck of Okada. Meanwhile, Okada makes a target of the previously hurt neck of Ospreay to set up for the Rainmaker. The chemistry between these two was unreal! They knew everything that the other could throw and had an answer and counter for it. Both men used their opppenont's finishing move to try and put the other away. In the end, Okada is able to weather the storm and out-wrestle Ospreay and finally hit the Rainmaker clean to put him away. Fantastic wrestling match! *****
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