NJPW King of Pro Wrestling: Results, Grades, and Analysis

NJPW King of Pro Wrestling saw three huge main event quality matches, and some very big angles develop.

We witnessed a fantastic match between KUSHIDA & Marty Scurll, amazing storytelling between Jay White & Hiroshi Tanahashi,  and a match for the ages between Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, & Cody Rhodes. We also had some crazy twists and turns in the stories being told by NJPW, so beware of spoilers, because you will want to see these ones firsthand. With that being said, read on!

Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (c) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV – IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

Liger’s theme was interrupted as Suzuki-gun attacked him before the start of the match, and this made me sad. They got the heat on Liger and Mask for a bit before Tiger Mask made a comeback, including hitting a butterfly suplex off the top rope to the ring. Tiger Mask hit the Tiger Driver, but it wasn’t able to finish the match. After some shenanigans, Suzuki-gun managed to get the pinfall and retain their titles.

Result: Suzuki-gun

Rating: **1/4 (2 stars out of 5)

I find it quite interesting how NJPW has done quite a turn around on the Jr. Tag Titles. They went from changing them quite frequently to having Suzuki-gun hold them for a quite a while now. I think NJPW is making the right call on this one, as it helps build the titles up while challengers are made ready. Perhaps the winners of the NJPW Jr. Tag League will take the tiles from them?

Great Bash Heel (Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe) vs. Henare & Juice Robinson

Honma and Makabe got the heat on Robinson for quite a bit of the match, before Robinson made the tag out. Henare ran wild in the early portions of the match, but the veteran wiles of Makabe and Homna saw them take advantage. Honma was able to hit his headbutt after several attempts, and Makabe got the win the King Kong Knee Drop.

Result: GBH

Rating: ** (2 stars out of 5)

Bullet Club Elite (The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) Chase Owens, & Hangman Page) vs. Bullet Club Firing Squad (Guerillas of Destiny (Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga) Taiji Ishimori, & Bad Luck Fale)

Owens and Loa started the match, but it wasn’t long before Nick Jackson and Ishimori were flying all over the ring. Both men were unable to get the advantage, and it broke down between everyone as both Bullet Club factions went to war. This was a really solid back and forth match that saw the teasing of several future matches, especially more between the Bucks and GoD. GoD hit a big 3D on Chase Owens and almost dropped him on his head, before getting the pinfall.

Result: Firing Squad

Rating: *** (3 stars out of 5)

CHAOS (Will Ospreay, Hirooki Goto, & Tomohiro Ishii) vs. Suzuki-gun (Takashi Iizuka, Taichi, & Minoru Suzuki)

Suzuki-gun started the match with chaos, ironically, as the action spilled to the outside. The next several minutes saw them get the heat on Goto, except for a small portion when Will Ospreay dropped Taichi. Goto made the tag to Ishii, and Suzuki and Ishii started to exchange a series of hard blows which was just plain awesome. Ishii went for the brainbuster, but Suzuki reversed and went for the Gotch Style Piledriver, but Ishii fought out. Suzuki kicked Ishii in the face, and Ishii hit a diving shoulder block. This led to Ospreay and Taichi getting tagged in, and they got the heat on Ospreay. Ospreay managed to hit a standing Spanish Fly on Taichi, and then he hit the Storm Breaker for the pinfall! Will Ospreay is the number 1 contender for the NEVER Openweight Championship!

Result: CHAOS

Rating: *** (3 stars out of 5)

I love that Ospreay pinned Taichi here. It looks like he’s moving up to heavyweight soon, and challenging for this title is a good first step. If Ospreay moves up to heavyweight and begins to challenge for the titles there, I am very excited. NJPW knows they have an incredible talent in him, and you can fantasy book all the matches in your head. Seeing Ospreay vs. Tanahashi or Omega, for example, is one that I think NJPW will likely visit someday, and you know they will tear the house down. If NJPW moves Ospreay to heavyweight full time, you can expect a lot of incredible matches from the young star.