NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed Review and Results

Jay White & Gedo vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA

An angry Tanahashi rushes Jay White at the beginning of the match and starts laying into him. He dominates for a bit, but Jay White is patient and sends the Ace tumbling off the top turnbuckle when he tries to go up prematurely. Switchblade continues with a brutal, calculated assault on Tanahashi. Meanwhile, evil Gedo attacks KUSHIDA and makes his way back to the apron in time to help White pick apart a wounded Tanahashi.

Jay White is taking a breather, and Tana gets free from Gedo long enough to tag in KUSHIDA, who runs off a bunch of offense and locks in an armbar. White decides to get back involved just in time to break up the submission. Tana’s back in and starts picking up some momentum. He goes up for the high fly flow, but White distracts the ref as Gedo rocks the Ace with a brass knuckle assisted right hook. Switchblade smells blood and the Bladerunner ends it.

This Jay White push is no joke. He did not need to pin Tanahashi. Not at all. But he did, and the Switchblade is really starting to look like a legitimate threat. The match itself was nothing special at all, but the result is extremely significant. I still don’t see White taking Tana’s Wrestle Kingdom contract, but recent events have certainly made me a bit less sure.

Rating: **1/2

After the match, White’s on the mic trying to talk, but the crowd is just relentless with boos and NSFW chants. Eventually he gets them to quiet down and cuts a promo on NJPW and Tanahashi, saying they hate the thought of an all gaijin Tokyo Dome main event, but it’s too bad cause he is the new era and he’s going to take the Tana’s Tokyo Dome main event contract.