NJPW Destruction in Kobe Results and Analysis

NJPW’s last major show of September has wrapped up; Kenny Omega and Juice Robinson capped off a decent night of action with a five-star classic.

As with the previous two Destruction shows, much of the NJPW Destruction in Kobe card was designed to hype King of Pro Wrestling in October. There were a few standalone epics, however. Firstly, Baretta got his singles career off to a hot start with a win over ‘The Tokyo Pimp’ Yujiro Takahashi. Their match was far more entertaining than most would expect, given Takahashi’s diminished role in recent years. But the G1 veteran can still go, and Baretta showed enough fire to warrant entering the conversation for next year’s G1.

Credit: NJPW1972 Twitter

Secondly, major props to the three Heavyweight tag teams: War Machine, G.O.D and K.E.S. They were given a tough gig, repeating their match for the third time. The novelty was lost after night one, but fortunately a ‘no DQ’ stipulation kick-started the feud. All three teams were over with the Kobe crowd, who were in awe of the tag moves and table spots. Particular shoutout to one of the new Champions, DB Smith Jr., who had Hanson crash through him and a table, cutting up his back and arms. War Machine weren’t expected to make it out of all three matches as Champions, and K.E.S will likely go into the World Tag League with the belts.

IWGP US Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega (Champion) vs Juice Robinson

Juice Robinson is keeping the babyface alive in pro wrestling. His facial expressions on the way to the ring showed a man trying to conjure confidence through all of his nerves. It’s that kind of genuine emotion that most modern babyfaces lack. Kenny wasn’t his cocky self either, playing once again into his uncertainty due to his ailing knee. The storytelling surrounding Omega’s injury is a rare treat, and something for Western fans to enjoy given how it transcends the language barrier.

Kenny’s expressions showed anguish any time he buckled his knee. He cranked up the pace, hoping to finish Juice early and save his knee further damage. Juice would nearly plant Kenny though the ring with a Spinebuster and Full Nelson Slam, wearing down the champion. Through each of Kenny’s offensive moves, he would wince with the strain on his knee.

As Juice came closer to defeat, he made the pained decision to take out Kenny’s knee. He was clearly conflicted, but showed that the US Championship meant too much to him. This blurred the face/heel lines, something NJPW doesn’t shy away from, especially given Omega’s popularity.

Juice took it a step further, with a Figure Four wrapped around the ring post, a Scoop Slam on the ropes, and a Diving Headbutt directly targeting the injured leg. Still Kenny survived, with Juice looking more dangerous than ever before.

Then, an absolutely sickening suplex from the apron to the floor had Juice making noises like a deflating balloon. He could have suffered a winding, broken ribs, or anything in between. Still the punishment didn’t cease for either man. Knees, Clotheslines and straight right hands. Then, an utterly jaw-dropping finish. Juice hit the Pulp Fiction, but was too battered to cover quickly enough, only scoring a two-count. He desperately set up Kenny on the turnbuckle, only to get caught by a One-Winged Angel from up top, retaining the title for The Cleaner.

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Most of us were dubious with Kenny’s ‘legendary title defenses’ beginning with Juice, but those fears were wholly put to bed. A five-star classic, and Juice’s best performance to date. We can still be dubious about a Yoshi-Hashi clash however.