NJPW DESTRUCTION in Beppu Results and Review
from: njpw1972.com
NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto(c) vs Taichi (with Miho Abe)
LETS GO TAICHI. COME ON! YOU CAN DO IT.
English commentary is playing up how dismissive Goto has been in the lead up to the match. Kelly reminds everyone of Taichi missing out on the G1, and he brings up a twitter poll in which Goto came out the overwhelming favorite. They’re really making it seem like Taichi is the longest of long shots.
The bell rings. Goto moves forward into Taichi’s corner, but he nonchalantly ducks under the rope, forcing Goto to back off. The Holy Emperor then slides under the bottom rope to the outside and smiles as he fixes his hair. He continues to slowly saunter around the ring, occasionally breaking the count, just to slide right back out. Taichi will fight when he wants to fight.
Eventually Abe rolls into the rings and distracts Goto and Red Shoes, allowing Taichi to toss Goto out of the ring, where Kanemaru attacks him. Goto fights back, but Taichi blasts him with a chair.
Taichi makes his way into the ring and holds up the NEVER title. Goto claws his way back into the ring and Taichi stands over him and taunts. He’s really starting to get some heat from the crowd, as the match is about five minutes in and pretty much nothing meaningful has happened. Abe distracts Red Shoes again, and Taichi takes Goto up the ramp. He attempts the powerbomb, but Goto reverses it into a snap suplex.
.@510njpw "Brainbuster"#NJPWWorld Watch now▶︎https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP
— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) September 17, 2018
9.17 #njpw #njdest pic.twitter.com/ZUT8L32Suv
Back in the ring, and this starts to feel like a pure wrestling match for the first time. They each reverse a few signature maneuvers and begin trading kicks. Taichi connects with a BEAUTIFUL jumping enziguri to cap off the exchange. Goto fights back, but Taichi stops him in his tracks with a big clothesline, followed by a buzzsaw kick. Goodness, he’s being stiff. THE PANTS ARE OFF, and Goto’s in trouble.
Taichi sets up for the thrust kick, but he settles for a saito suplex and another enziguri. The champion isn’t down for long, as the challenger quickly lays in more kicks and goes for the powerbomb. Goto reverses and gets the back body drop, then an Angle slam of sorts. The Samurai fires up and locks in the sleeper. Shoutout Shibata. Taichi looks to be out and the GTR is about to be delivered when Taichi pulls down Red Shoes in desperation and Kanemaru jumps in and goes after Goto. WHAT EVIL VILLAINS THEY ARE.
.@taichi0319 "Taichi-style Last Ride"#NJPWWorld Watch now▶︎https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP
— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) September 17, 2018
9.17 #njpw #njdest pic.twitter.com/OILLsVV9Q4
Goto quickly disposes of Kanemaru, but Desperado soon follows. Goto sends him over the top rope too, but it turns into a mic-stand-wielding Taichi. RPG 3k is out to run off the goons and distract Taichi long enough for Goto to get his bearings. Ushiguroshi, Shouten, but no count, as Uno is still down. Goto’s pissed, and he just starts battering his opponent. The headbutt connects as Red Shoes finally gets back into the ring. Reverse GTR, But TAICHI KICKS OUT. Goto sets up for another GTR, but Iizuka runs down the ramp and distracts. Taichi capitalizes with a low blow and Gedo clutch for another great near fall. The crowd is eating it up. Thrust kick/powerbomb combo, but Goto kicks out again. The Holy Emperor picks up his opponent one last time and hits a jumping air raid crash. 1 2 3. TAICHI’S CHAMP.
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Yes. Yes. Yes. A thousand times YES. Taichi running with the NEVER belt is going to be loads of fun. He’s such a unique change-of-pace-guy on New Japan’s roster when they let him do his thing, and I’m glad he’s being given this chance. The match was solid. It probably would’ve been better off with about half the interference, but oh well. It gets the heat, and as long as it isn’t completely nonsensical, I’m fine with it. Still, it’s a bit frustrating, since Taichi has proven he’s completely capable of having a great match without all the shenanigans.
It started off a bit slow, and most of the match felt somewhat convoluted, but everything came together nicely for the closing stretch. The near falls were fantastic. It was awesome that Taichi kicked out of the GTR. It makes him look like so much more than just a typical weak, opportunistic heel going forward.