So the biggest American shows ever to date for grappling companies New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring Of Honor are in the books, having played to 16,500 rapid wrestling fans in New York’s Madison Square Garden, This was a crucial moment for ROH and NJPW, with both hoping to make a great impression in a key western market for the sport. But were both companies able to succeed?
Bullet Club Jay White comes into this card with a massive wave of momentum following his victory over Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 13, having captured the IWGP Heavyweight Title from Hiroshi Tanahashi at The New Beginning- the youngest foreign champion in the company’s history. Okada’s challenging for a potential fifth heavyweight title reign after winning a tough New Japan Cup, while Tanahashi is hoping to rebound from the loss by taking Zack Sabre Jr’s RevPro Heavyweight belt. Meanwhile, ROH’s main is a three-way match where Jay Lethal has to deal with Matt Taven, Marty Scurll and the unforgiving steel of multiple ladders.
Honor Rumble
This was generally a decently booked rumble match, with most of the featured talent getting their spots in, as NJPW’s no stranger to WWE’s idea of getting as many workers on the card as possible. On the downside, some of the themes had to be altered on ROH’s PPV feed due to music right issues, so we don’t get to hear Minoru Suzuki’s “Kaze Ni Nare” theme. And as much as I adore Ryusuke Taguchi, his dubbed theme is pretty lousy.
Kenny King’s amped and ready to go entering at #1, but he’s countered by Suzuki and a hard elbow to the face. A funny moment then occurs when Cheeseburger tries to stand up to his bigger opponents, with limited success. Roppongi 3K member SHO has a fun battle with Los Ingobernables’s Shingo Takagi before BUSHI joins him for a double team, but YOH quickly comes in next for the rescue.
Rhett Titus’s lounge entrance music and insisting on posing in the middle of the ring is hilarious, before King enziguiris him in the back of the head. Rocky Romero and CHAOS’s clothesline train on BUSHI in the corner to eliminate him gets a big pop from the crowd, and Jushin Liger has some surprising success in getting out the massive Brian Milonas. Toru Yano however, is more interested in selling DVDs and commentary as Colt Cabana quickly takes his wacky friend’s place- but he quickly comes to Colt’s aid when Haku’s got him by the throat.
We eventually come down to a showdown between Liger and the Great Muta (two men that have faced off before), which gets a massive reaction simply by the two staring down. King quickly comes from behind to eliminate both, drawing in some massive boos before Muta mists him in the face.
Winner-Take-All for he NEVER Openweight Championship and ROH Television Championship: Will Ospreay © vs. Jeff Cobb ©
We can see how this is instantly going to be a style contrast when the bulky Cobb sends the high-flying Ospreay across the ring with a shoulder tackle. Cobb catches his Sasuke Special, but Will’s able to get a DDT on the floor. Before Cobb his a stalling superplex he gives Ospreay a chest chop, and I love Will’s expression as he glances towards the audience like “you people wouldn’t believe how much that hurt”.
Cobb’s nimble enough to counter Will’s bouncing around and hit some power moves as well as a moonsault for a close two, but Ospreay nails him with enough spots to get some close near falls. They have good chemistry together as oppents, as Ospreay is light enough for Jeff to easily hurl around while Cobb is a thick target that Will can connect on- including a Spanish fly, missile dropkick and code red powerbomb in short order.
An OsCutter only gets Will two to his surprise, and he goes for a super-Stormbreaker, but Cobb gives him two Tours Of The Islands to win both titles. This was a fun back-and-forth that got the main show off to a thrilling start, and let’s hope this isn’t the last time these two collide.
Rush vs. Dalton Castle
As magnificent and fabulous as Mr. Castle’s ring walk is, the former ROH World Champion doesn’t get much respect from the white bull as he kicks away Dalton’s hand. The bell rings, and Rush literally bulldozes Castle with a shotgun dropkick and multiple Bull Horns in the corner for a fast pin under 30 seconds. His Boys do their best to make him feel better, but Castle hits them with his finishers in frustration.
More of a segment than a match, this was an effective way to make Rush look like a killer threat for ROH down the road. It’ll be interesting to see how Castle’s character progresses, as he’s been in something of a funk after losing his title to Lethal. Juice Robinson isn’t having much better luck either, being assaulted backstage by an unknown assailant…
Women Of Honor Championship: Mayu Iwatani © vs. Kelly Klein
Klein focuses a lot on Iwatani’s back and working her leg to start in the hopes of grounding her and not allowing her to get any physical momentum, hitting a Samoan drop for two. Mayu quickly locks in a rear naked choke, but her crossbody is turned into a Klein fallaway slam. But Mayu’s able to connect with a crossbody from the top rope to the floor, which gets a big pop.
Klein gets the better of a strike exchange, but Iwatani gets her reverse frankensteiner and a kick for two. Kelly kills her with a german suplex on her head and a lariat, but Klein’s foot is on the ropes wen Mayu hits a dragon suplex. Mayu’s moonsault comes up empty, and Klein hits a lariat and powerbomb two two-counts, followed by two death valley bombs to become the new champion. This was an okay match, but a little sloppy in spots and the ending felt a bit sudden.
Following the match, The Beautiful People and Mady Leon run in to beat down Klein, officially forming their new heel stable “The Allure”. I generally see what ROH is going for here, as the diva-esque Velvet Sky and Angelina Love would ideally be obvious villains in as ports-centric women’s division. But Love’s average at best as a worker- and Velvet Sky, charismatic as she is, has always been pretty lousy in the ring, so I’m unsure about this.
So here comes MegaRan to hype up the crowd some more by singing his Welcome To The Garden theme song live, but he’s bullied by, well, Bully Ray- who gets “ECW” and “WE WANT TABLES” chants. Flip Gordon meets him for his NYC Open Street Fight challenge, garnering more chants as Silas Young and Shane Taylor join forces with Bully. But Juice and Mark Haskins arrives with a bin full of weapons as Robinson announces it’s a six-person tag.
Juice Robinson, Mark Hasiks & Flip Gordon vs. Bully Ray, Shane Taylor & Silas Young
So this match is just a fun car wreck. Springboard moonsaults, kendo shots, and double suicide dives abound, with Gordon insisting that Team Bully wail on him with the kendo sticks to prove his toughness- not a good strategy in the long term. All six guys have a sort-of lightsaber kendo war, and Bully tries to cower out but Juice throws him back inside. He low blows the good guys, but Flip and Haskins fight back before Taylor kills Flip with a trash can to the head.
Team Bully gives Gordin a super-powerbomb through a table, but Bully screams “OW MY BALLS” when Juice pulls him into the ringpost. Young gives Haskins a sick suplex onto a chair, Haskins hits a cool stomp onto Young using the chair, then Taylor murders Haskins with a driver. Juice cracks Taylor with a chair and cannonballs him into a wood plank.
Lifeblood then gives Bully his own Wazzup Drop, and another OW MY BALLS from Bully. Gordon 450s Bully for the win, in a pretty damn great garbage brawl. Bully is just a fantastic heel you love to hate, and Juice is an amazing never-quit babyface who’s only getting better as he hones his craft.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Taiji Ishimori © vs. Dragon Lee. Vs. Bandido
Bandido and Dragon Lee have some nice lucha action to start, but Ishimori doesn’t take long making his presence felt. Lee hurricanranas Bandido to the outside and Ishimori, who’s really cut and in insanely great shape, hits them both with a dive right away. Lee gets the better if him back inside with a backbreaker and kick before Bandido breaks the pin up. Bandido reminds me a lot of Hayabusa in how he’s able to keep up with just about anybody, and he’s got a fairly similar look too.
Lee hits Taiji with a powerbomb for two, but Bandido gives Lee a rana from the top. All three guys work at a breakneck pace- Ishimori’s takedown of Bandido and Lee’s Canadian Destroyer on Ishimori happen in mere seconds, drawing “This is awesome” chants. Bandido gives Ishimori a pop-up cutter for two. Lee stomps Bandido, but Ishimori counters into a roll-up and gets Bloody Cross on Lee two. Bandido hits a top rope flipping slam on both guys, showing some amazing power and agility.
So then Dragon gives Bandido a sick reverse rana, then gives Ishimori the Desnucadora for the win and the title. Dragon Lee’s working ability is totally insane, Ishimori’s a fantastic bad guy and Bandido is awesome. This was a crazy light-heavyweight match where all three guys tried to pack in as much excitement as possible in a shot window of time.
Winner-Take-All for the ROH and IWGP Tag Team Championships: Guerillas of Destiny © vs. EVIL & Sanada vs. Villain Enterprises vs. The Briscoe Brothers
G.O.D, EVIL & Sanada and PCO have a subtle contest to see who’s got the most badass entrance, but I’d say PCO’s Frankenstein-influenced walk out with an electric chair was the winner here. He’s got bite with the bark, hitting a tope con hilo immediately before he and Brody brawl with G.O.D.
Sanada hooks Tanga Loa in the Paradise Lock followed by the butt dropkick. Brody cannonballs him for more abuse, then gives him and the Briscoes a dive to the outside. Mark Briscoe hits a corkscrew senton of his own before him and Jay double team Tama Tonga, then EVIL gives Tama the EVIL Home Run as the champs take a nasty beating early.
Jay gives SANADA a Jay-Driller and Mark hits an elbow for two, but PCO givesMark a brutal swanton bomb into the ring apron. King piledrives Mark, and PCO punishes him some more with a big moonsault for two before GOD break it up. The Guerillas then give PCO an insane double powerbomb, outside from the ring to the floor. PCO does a brief Undertaker sit-up for a huge pop, but the move still did its damage.
Tama gun stuns Brody and Tanga Loa hits a super powerbomb for the win and the championships. I would have really liked to have seen EVIL and SANADA have a stronger presence in this match, but it was still a pretty exciting four-way. Unfortunately, Toru Yano decides to steal G.O.D’s IWGP belts just for the hell of it.
Following Yano’s thievery, the crowd’s distracted by some fans brawling with the Briscoes in the front row, who turn out to be the infamous wrestler-turned-rapper Enzo Amore and his sidekick Big Cass. Apparently they’ve signed a deal with ROH, though this angle was shot to look as if it was real (Although there’s video floating around ringside where you can see Jado shrugging his shoulders like “oh well” while Enzo wreaks havoc.). The MSG crowd is none too pleased to seethe self-proclaimed Real One interrupting the show, and officials struggle to get them out as loud “F*** YOU ENZO” chants ring out across the arena.
This is a very odd decision form ROH I can’t help but question. Yes, I get that Enzo is so obnoxious to the point where he seems like a great heat magnet, but is it the right kind of heat? Do they really want the baggage of someone who’s coming off assault charges (and is also a terrible, profoundly untalented excuse for a rapper), and Cass as well after his failed singles push in WWE? I guess time will tell whether or not these signings blow up in Ring of Honor’s faces.
RevPro British HeavyWeight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. © vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Let me just say it right now: Enzo is not worthy to be in the presence of Tanahashi, eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and professional wrestling royalty. There’s something oddly surreal about such an absurd worked shoot, complete with Bully Ray conveniently pointing out how the security is just standing around (“Do your f***ing jobs!”), occurring right before he and ZSJ proceed to put in a mat wrestling clinic. I mean, the ROH broadcast has the Tana/Sabre graphic up and Kevin Kelly’s trying to hype up the match, while F*** YOU ENZO is still loud in the background. It’s hilarious and unbelievable.
The gradual wear and tear on Tanahashi’s body over the years has played a key role in the stories of most of his matches for the past couple of years, making Sabre an ideal opponent for Tana at this stage of his career. ZSJ knows this, callously kicking away at Tana’s arm, but the ace fires back with elbows.
He’s too hurt to skin the cat however, and Sabre pounces on his arm like a shark sniffing blood in the water. Hiroshi responds with dropkicks, a slam and the second rope senton for two, but ZSJ makes the ropes on a cloverleaf attempt The crowd is split for both guys as Zack and Tana trade abdominal stretches.
Finally, Tana is able to get a dragon screw and cloverleaf, but Zack hooks in an armbar to counter. Tanahashi gets the cloverleaf again before ZSJ makes the ropes. He gets a sling blade and tries for a High Fly Flow, something he hesitated to use in the New Japan Cup due to knee damage, but Zack meets him on the ropes with an armbreaker and a Japanese clutch hold for two. Tanahashi gets a clutch hold of his own for two, then a dragon screw before ZSJ hooks the European clutch for a close near fall. Tana then gets the three twists-and-shouts, then another sling blade for two.
Tanahashi’s dragons suplex attempt is reversed into Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than The Last; The Inexorable March Of Progress Will Lead Us All Into Happiness for the submission and a successful title defense. Zack continues to be one of Tanahashi’s deadliest rivals in New Japan, and this was another huge win for the British submission master that will elevate his platform even more.
After being on top on the world to close WK13, Tana’s in a bit of a bind after the loss to Jay White earlier this year . I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes a break soon, as he’s earned it.
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito © vs. Kota Ibushi
Naito’s pretty Tranquilo to start this match, not wanting to mix up with Ibushi immediately, And I can see why, because Naito took a whipping during this match. I mean he just lets his body get battered here. He and Ibushi have fun matches generally, but sometimes he’ll take some bumps from him that make me wonder how he’s going to fare physically after his wrestling career is over. Not that he’s totally broken down or brittle, because he gives Kota ha hard time after taking a hard hurricanrana from him and just beats on Ibushi mercilessly outside.
Naito gets a dropkick and neckbreaker for two and works over Ibushi’s neck in hopes of softening him up for the Destino, but Kota meets him with a dropkick, strike combo and standing moonsault for two. The Stardust Genius’s shotgun dropkick drops Ibushi on his head directly for a two count.
As fun as this match was, it left me badly worried for the state of both guys’ necks, especially when Kota gave Naito a frankenstriner from the apron to the floor and Naito spiked him with a tornado DDT right afterwards. Another frankensteiner and an especially nasty Gloria get two, then Kota crushes Naito with a lariat.
Ibushi then hits Naito with a second rope german suplex and Naito falls directly on his head from an elevated height, which I honestly think could have killed the guy right there had he landed the wrong way. He follows that up with a german suplex for two, but Naito is somehow still conscious, apparently not human, and able to get a rollup for a near fall. They slug it out, then Naito gets a reverse rana and Destino for an extremely close two-count.
A second attempt by Naito is countered by a roundhouse kick and “This is awesome” chants. Ibushi follows with two Bomaye knees on Naito for two , then a Gold Star Bomb and a Kamigoye knee for the three-count and his first Intercontinental title. This was a great moment for Ibushi’s career, and a hell of a match that was incredibly stiff, reminiscent of something you’d see in 1990’s All-Japan Pro Wrestling, But jeez Naito, take it easy on the kind of bumps you allow yourself to take, because it’ll come back to haunt you.
Triple Threat Ladder Match for the ROH World Championship: Jay Lethal © vs. Marty Scurll vs. Matt Taven
The MSG crowd is sort of lukewarm on Lethal, but they love Marty Scurll and they despise Matt Taven. All the purple lighting in Matt’s entrance reminds me a lot of Velveteen Dream, and they have similar athletic ability- as is evident by his dive onto both guys to start the match. But I think Scurll, who nails the Kingdom leader with a tornado DDT, Lethal who suplexes Matt on the outside, and Dream come off a bit more charismatic than Taven at this point, who still feels like he’s trying to properly define his persona.
Marty and Lethal battle inside with the ladders, with the former battering the ROH Champion with chairs in the corner. He tries to use his trademark umbrella to unhook the belt in a cute spot before Taven kicks him off and kicks the ladder into Jay’s face. Lethal gets some revenge with a ladder-assisted figure four on Marty, and Taven’s all “well since you two are preoccupied I’ll go up this ladder.” Marty’s knee is too damaged for a moonsault and Lethal gives him a cutter on the apron, then Taven powerbombs Lethal onto a ladder.
Marty is obviously the crowd favorite as Taven gets from huge boos after DDTing Scurll, drawing some loud “F*** YOU TAVEN” chanting, and massive “Whoop Whoop” cheers after Marty suplexes him. Lethal’s able to counter a chickenwing attempt, but Scurll and Taven make their way up the ladder and Marty gives Matt the finger break. Taven’s fingers are too damaged to grab the belt down in a nice bit of selling.
Lethal eventually hits a Lethal Injection on Marty, then climbs up a massive ladder for a Randy Savage elbow drop on Taven, through a table in a cool spot. Scurll and Jay fight on one ladder while Taven then climbs up a gigantic customized purple ladder. Marty gets knocked to the mat, and Taven smacks Lethal in the head with the belt to knock him off and claim the belt, becoming the new ROH World Champion.
The crowd’s crushed by this, as they were totally behind Marty- and I can’t blame them, considering how much he connected with the audience. Taven’s had a long storied career in ROH so I can see why they went with him as the winner. Hopefully Scurll eventually gets a world title reign soon while his star’s still on the rise.
IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Jay White © vs. Kazuchika Okada (New Japan Cup Winner)
Not having the belt around his waist doesn’t stop Okada from getting a massive pop and crowd chants. It’s felt like most a New Japan-loving crowd than a ROH-centric one for the most part. Not that there aren’t any Ring of Honor fans there, but it feels like the NJPW stars are noticeably more over than their Ring of Honor contemporaries.
Okada has the crowd in the palm of his hand, and White- who gets massively booed upon his entrance- is a wonderful heel who knows how to get under the crowd’s skin. Every time his manager Gedo tries something underhanded or even seems like he’s merely in the position to do so, thunderous “F*** YOU GEDO” chants can be heard across the Garden. H’s able to distract Okada enough for Jay to keep the Rainmaker grounded early, but Okada gets a big boot and neckbreaker for a two count.
White battles Okada on the floor and eats a boot over the railing, but Jay drives Okada into the post and gives Okada a snap suplex into the guard rails. He works over Okada back inside with sick knife-edged chops and a back suplex for two, followed by a DDT, an Indian deathlock with a Muta-style bridge, and more hate from the audience. Okada’s able to reverse his fortune with a flapjack, a series of elbows ad DDT for a near-fall, followed by dropkicking the Switchblade to the outside and cross-bodying both him and Gedo in a repeat of Wrestle Kingdom.
Back inside Jay fires off a bunch of suplexes, but Okada hits the reverse neckbreaker to halt him and then levels him with a John Woo dropkick, before a missile dropkick for two. He hits Jay with the slam and flying elbow, and his Rainmaker poise gets a huge reaction. White really pisses off the crowd as he makes his body limp to avoid Okada’s signature lariat, then gives Okada a complete shot and a brutal german on his head. A uranage, suplex to the outside and a Kiwi Krusher back inside get a two count for the champion, but Okada buys time with a tombstone piledriver.
A strike war results in Okada getting a cherry red chest, but he still manages two dropkicks- before unfortunately getting hit by White’s sleeper suplex. He gets a third dropkick and spinning rainmaker, followed by the regular one for two. White hits his Blade Runner, but he’s too banged up to capitalize. Another Gedo distraction allows White to low blow Okada, but Okada recovers enough for a sick german suplex. He maneuvers out of a Blade Runner for another dropkick and two more Rainmakers, a spinning piledriver and a final Rainmaker to win his fifth IWGP Heavyweight Title- the first to do so outside of Japan.
A lot of people were wondering how well Jay would fare with the MSG crowd, given it was supposed to be Kenny Omega facing the Cup winner at this event. His rapid rise to the main event coincided with the Elite’s departure, so there was a bit of pressure on him to deliver- and I feel he did so, with some great villain work alongside Gedo playing an awesome Bobby Heenan-style manager.
Okada of course was a perfect babyface foil, and given that NJPW is seemingly pushing him what they hope is a “modern Antonio Inoki” status in terms of representing the company, I can see why they opted to put their top title back on their ace. White’s wins over Tanahashi and Okada as of late have already put him in a high tier strength-wise, and I predict he’ll have more championship reigns if he continues improving at the rate he has.
Overall thoughts: So the general sentiment following Supercard was that New Japan put on a great show with some solid wrestling, while ROH totally embarrassed themselves. Heck, there were fans calling for NJPW to end their partnership with ROH and contact All Elite because they were so down on the ROH half of the card. But personally, I think there was more good than bad on this show, and it’s thanks in part to both companies.
Granted, ROH did some things I didn’t like. Scurll’s loss was a bit of a letdown, but I don’t dislike Taven, and both guys have upside going forward. The Enzo stuff was totally stupid and I don’t see that situation being a positive for Ring of Honor, and I’m meh on the Allure. But the street fight and four-way tag were pretty fun, and I liked the ladder match outcome aside.
I do agree that NJPW was very impressive, with Okada/White, the Junior Heavyweight and IC title matches being super memorable, and ZSJ/Tanahahsi is worth a look if you want to see old school throwback mat wrestling. Generally, I’ll happily recommend this show to wrestling fans of either promotion.