NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night 2: Results, Grades, and Analysis

Jay White (Bullet Club) vs. Kota Ibushi

White rolled to the outside of the ring as soon as the bell rang, saying that he was going to take his sweet time, fighting on his own terms. Gedo tired to distract Kota, but he turned around and countered White right away. Ibushi then hit a series of strikes and a standing moonsault for a 2 count. White countered an Irish whip with some forearms and the sent Ibushi onto the apron.

White shoved Ibushi off the apron into the guardrail on the floor. White threw Ibushi into the guardrail hard, and then slammed Ibushi into the apron. White hit a neckbreaker back in the ring for a 2 count. White screamed at Ibushi that the crowd didn’t care about him anymore as he tried to choke him out.

Ibushi responded with a kick and then as White ran at him, he hit a hurricanrana. Ibushi hit a tope to the floor that dropped White. Back in the ring, Ibushi managed to hit a slam, and a moonsault from the second rope for a 2 count. White responded with a DDT when they were both standing. White hit a running European uppercut and then a Death Valley Driver for a 2 count.

White went for a tombstone, but Ibushi floated over backwards and hit an inverted piledriver and both men were down. Ibushi stomped on White’s back and tried to pick him up for a lawn dart into the corner, but White fought out with several elbows. Ibushi responded with a forearm that dropped White. Ibushi yelled “Come on!” and begged White to hit him.

White tried again, but Ibushi immediately dropped him to a roar from the crowd. Ibushi got him to hit him again, and Ibushi dropped him with one shot. Ibushi picked White up and asked for one more, it went the same way as the others, and White kept falling to the mat as Ibushi just stood their eating the strikes.

White slapped Ibushi and ducked a strike from Ibushi before unleashing a few hard strikes, but Ibushi followed up with a lariat that killed White. White fought out of a lawn dart attempt and shoved the ref into Ibushi. As Ibushi pushed the ref aside, White hit a flatliner on Ibushi and a dead lift Saito suplex.

White asked Gedo what he should do next, so he hit a twisting suplex and then the Kiwi Crusher for a 2 count. White tried for a sleeper suplex, but Ibushi fought it, so White just went back with another Saito suplex that dropped Ibushi on his head. White ended up on the top rope, but Ibushi cut him off and went for a springboard hurricanrana into the ring.

White caught him mid jump and tied him up on the top rope. White picked Ibushi up and hit a uranage from the top rope into the ring! White picked him up and hit a half nelson suplex, but Ibushi fired up and hit a V-Trigger, and both men were down. Ibushi called for the Bomaye, but White scouted it, so Ibushi rolled into a German suplex for a 2 count and then hit the Bomaye for a 2 count.

White went for the Blade Runner, but Kota countered with a kick. White pulled Ibushi into the referee, who dropped to the floor. Gedo grabbed a chair and hit Ibushi with it, but Ibushi no sold it and turned around like he was going to kill Gedo. Gedo tried several strikes, so Ibushi smashed him with one palm strike, and Gedo crashed to the floor.

White tried to use the chair, but Ibushi kneed him in the face and hit the last ride powerbomb, but there was no referee. Ibushi helped the referee into the ring and picked up White, but White dead weighted him and refused to be pulled up. Ibushi hit 2 kicks and a Kamigoye but Gedo pulled the referee out of the ring so hard he flew over the guardrail onto the announce table.

Gedo grabbed a pair of brass knuckles, but Ibushi blocked the shot with it. White threw a chair into Ibushi’s head, and he almost no sold it, but Gedo punched him with the knuckles and dropped him. White picked up Ibushi and hit a Bloody Sunday and went for Blade Runner, nailing it! White wins!

Result: Jay White

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Jay White worked a perfect heel match here, and Ibushi was screwed out of the win. We know that if Gedo didn’t pull the referee from the ring, White would have lost. NJPW is committed to pushing White as the top heel, which is a good idea going into 2020. Ibushi will get his revenge later in the year, as he works on his redemption story.

I think Ibushi will win the IWGP Heavyweight championship before the year is out, but for now NJPW needs him to be in the sympathetic position of trying to recover after two losses at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14. Ibushi was fighting to get away from the Young Lions, looking like he wanted to kill White and Gedo. This was great stuff.