#njwk15

[silhouetteofadancer]

#kota ibushi #ibushi kota #njpw #new japan pro wrestling #njwk15

[jonmoxleys]

Many men have fought for that US title contract. They all thought they were gonna get off easy. They all hoped and prayed that the United States heavyweight champion would never return. But I am the boogeyman in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. I will get you, eventually. So whoever walks out of the Tokyo Dome with that contract, make no mistake about it. I’m coming for ya. Jon Moxley’s promo aired during Wrestle Kingdom 15

#njpwedit #moxleyedit #wk15 #njpw #jon moxley #wrestle kingdom 15 #* #gifs* #njwk15 #wrestling

[puroresu-musings]

GOLDEN GOD

#kota ibushi #njpw #wrestle kingdom 15 #njwk15 #wk15 #puroresu #wrestling #new japan pro wrestling #iwgp heavyweight champion #iwgp intercontinental championship #spoiler

[shouldasaidnaur]

prayer circle for kota to keep the belts tonight ❤️

#njpw #njwk15 #kota ibushi #jay white

[gdwessel]

BREAKING: WK15 Attendance Will Be Capped At 5,000 Persons, Possibility of Postponement?

Of course I find this out within minutes of posting my “last” post of the year.

Earlier today, according to Kyodo (relayed by Dan Orlowitz, a sports writer for the Japan Times), Yasutoshi Nishimura, the Cabinet Minister for Economic Revitalization, announced a cap on attendees of events/venues with 10,000 or more capacity at 5,000 persons until Jaunary 11, 2021. (Here’s another link.) Yesterday, it was reported there were 563 new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo, which was a new record. More than 3,000 deaths have been reported in Tokyo now. Orlowitz was reporting this from the POV of the upcoming Emperor’s Cup and Levain Cup soccer events, however this will obviously affect Wrestle Kingdom 15. 

A tweet from a competing podcast states the ticket sales for both nights of WK15 are already at over 5,000 for each night, and that that will be the capacity as of now. Obviously NJPW were hoping to get as many people as possible in, which is likely why they decided to run two nights in a pandemic, with a limited amount of matches on each night.

Now there’s a distinct possibility the event may get postponed, as it may not be worth it to Bushiroad to run with so few people. NJPW has been running at one-third capacity on all their shows since the restart. 5,000 is more like anywhere from one-eighth to one-tenth capacity, depending on whose numbers you believe for selling out the Tokyo Dome all these years (Bushiroad considers 40,000 a sell-out, Antonio Inoki regularly claimed 50,000 in the Tokyo Dome). 

NJPW thus far have not released any statements on this that I’ve found. I’ll keep you posted.

#NJPW #new japan pro wrestling #wrestle kingdom 15 #njwk15 #COVID-19 #tokyo dome

[djvillain]

Rantin Extra: Is Jay White Really Leaving NJPW (Teaser)

#prowrestling #wrestlingNews #JayWhite #BulletClub #njpw #njwk15

[silhouetteofadancer]

⭐️  G O D  ⭐️

#kota ibushi #ibushi kota #njpw #new japan pro wrestling #njwk15

[jonmoxleys]

To hold both of those titles, and beat Tetsuya Naito to do it, that makes me hotter than ever. And beating Jay White on top of that? That wipes out that 2020 record, wipes out those three losses. I think I really could become God at that point. Trial of the Gods: Kota Ibushi

#njpwedit #wrestlingedit #kotaibushiedit #kota ibushi #njwk15 #njpw #wk15 #wrestle kingdom 15 #* #gifs* #wrestling

[puroresu-musings]

NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 15 in Tokyo Dome Night 2 Review (Jan 5th 2020)

KOPW 2021 4 WAY: Toru Yano vs. Bad Luck Fale vs. BUSHI vs. Chase Owens

IWGP Jr. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato  ***1/4

NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Jeff Cobb  ****3/4

SANADA vs. EVIL  ***3/4

IWGP Jr. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi  ****1/2

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT AND IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL DOUBLE CHAMPIONSHIP: Kota Ibushi (c/c) vs. Jay White  *****

Photos.

So Wrestle Kingdom culminated with a fantastic show that was even better than yesterdays event, which didn’t seem possible, but it did. With a slightly smaller, but weirdly more lively, crowd of 7,801 this was non-stop action. I missed the KOPW match that opened the show, but I honestly couldn’t muster any enthusiasm to go back and watch what was undoubtedly a forgettable comedy outing, after the bang this show went out on. I did see Yano win, after hitting a double low blow on Chase and Fale, and pinning a seemingly comatose BUSHI. The IWGP Jr. Tag Title outing was a fun little 13 minuter, that served its purpose on the card. This was nowhere near the best match on either show, but was lots of fun whilst it lasted. Desperado hit Pinche Loco on Taguchi for the win to retain the belts.

Next up, Shingo defended the NEVER Openweight strap against Jeff Cobb in an out and out war. This was an outstanding match, and was quite possibly my second favourite match of either Dome show. These guys beat the hell out of each other, with Lariats and suplexes for 21:11 in glorious fashion. Cobb, who put in probably the best performance of his career, looked like the monster he always should have been booked as, throwing Shingo around like he was Ishimori. Ideally, Cobb potentially should have gone over here, but much like both of his Empire stablemates yesterday, he lost absolutely nothing in defeat. And Shingo is obviously at God levels at this point. After trading standing Moonsault Powerslams, the finish came after Takagi countered a Tour Of The Islands attempt into a Pumping Bomber, and put the Olympian away with Last Of The Dragon. Fantastic stuff all round.

After intermission, we got the Grudge Match between two former tag partners that was SANADA taking on EVIL. This started like any serious grudge match would; with SANADA putting EVIL in the ridiculous Paradise Lock, of course! Once that nonsense was out of the way, this turned into a physical brawl, which featured all the EVIL and Dick Togo shenanigans, but they enhanced the story here, and didn’t outstay their welcome. After escaping a garrotting by Dick Togo, who was inadvertently put through a table at ringside by EVIL (Togo took a great bump here), Cold Skull got his revenge over the Turncoat that is EVIL, after nailing him with his own Everything is Evil STO, a pop-up TKO, and a Muto Moonsault, for the win at the 23:40 mark. Another great match here.

The IWGP Jr Championship bout in the semi final was the highest placing this Championship has ever had in Tokyo Dome. This was another truly excellent outing and more than earned its placing on the card. It would likely be impossible for these two to have anything other than a great match. This featured loads of the crazy spots both are known for, Ishimori worked over Hiromu’s arm, hitting a 450 on it and constantly trying for the Bone Lock. Takahashi’s unbridled babyface fire shone through, culminating in him hitting a Death Valley Bomb into the exposed turnbuckles, and hitting Time Bomb for a great near fall. He goes for Time Bomb II, but Ishimori counters into another Bone Lock. Hiromu escaped, hit a spinning Victory Royal, and finally nailed Time Bomb II to regain the Junior strap after 25:31 of fab action.

Then the main event. First things first, this went loooooong. It was near 50 minutes, which will be off-putting to some, but it really did feel half of that, and was also a masterpiece of a match. It was the culmination of a year long struggle for Ibushi, and his redemption over a guy who beat him both in the G1, and at Power Struggle to take his No.1 Contender’s briefcase. I unashamedly loved this match-up. It was my favourite on either WK15 cards, and as dramatic as the top two matches of yesterdays shows were, neither could touch this on the drama front. Both guys were outstanding in this; White as the despicable heel, and Ibushi as the ultimate babyface who went through a war the night before, and fighting from underneath. There’s something about Jay that enhances his matches for me; I think he’s a tremendous worker, and I’m generally a huge fan of his matches, but I never want to see him win. Which is a testament to how good he is at his job, that he’s such a dick, and so loathsome in his role, you always want to see him get his arse kicked. After Jay dropped Kota on his head with a bunch of deadlift Germans and Sleeper Suplexes, Ibushi hit that devastating Deadlift German off the second rope, then hits Kamigoye, but Switch Blade kicks out. Kota followed up with his beautiful Phoenix splash, but that dastardly Gedo pulled Red Shoes out at 2.99999, which was incredible. Gedo hits the ring with Brass Knucks, but is taken out with Kamigoye, but whilst he’s not paying attention, Jay hits Blade Runner which scored a heart-stopping near fall. After escaping a TTO, Ibushi lays White out with a high kick, then kills him with a reverse Kamigoye to the back of the head. He drops the knee pad and hits a final Kamigoye to the face, and end the match at 48:05, finally becoming God, so it would seem. The post-match saw SANADA come out and offer the first challenge to Ibushi, which was accepted. Ibushi cut a promo, Milano Collection A.T. wept, everyone went home happy, and all is right in the wrestling world. Sometimes pro-wrestling is tremendous.

NDT

#njpw #wrestle kingdom 15 #njwk15 #wk15 #review #new japan pro wrestling #puroresu #wrestling #wrestling review

[shouldasaidnaur]

jay and kota are going to tear the fucking house down, im so excited

#kota ibushi #jay white #njpw #njwk15

[worldnewsinpictures]

Wrestle Kingdom 15 Let's get crazy elpwrestling ! *^* Vnulb - Dang Gan Lu [?] Hui https://worldnewsinpictures.com/njwk15 #Wrestle #WrestleKingdom #WrestleKingdomLets #DangGan #DangGanHui #GotSee #GotSeeSee #Kingdom #elpwrestling

[prowrestlingpost-com]

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night Two | Preview

On Tuesday, January 5th, 2021 New Japan Pro Wrestling Presents Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night Two | Preview @WWEBNRL #njpw #njwk15

It is the most wonderful time of the year….for a second night of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15! The biggest show of the New Japan Pro Wrestling year, Wrestle Kingdom, is back at its traditional January 4th date. This will be the second straight year with two exciting nights of Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th and 5th. That is over eight hours of New Japan action over two nights. Who needs sleep the first…

View On WordPress

#Bad Luck Fale #Bushi #Chase Owens #El Desperado #EVIL #Hiromu Takahashi #IWGP Heavyweight Championship #IWGP Intercontinental Championship #IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship #IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship #Jay White #Jeff Cobb #Kota Ibushi #Master Wato #Never Openweight Championship #Ryusuke Taguchi #Sanada #Shingo Takagi #Taiji Ishimori #Toru Yano #Yoshinobu Kanemaru

[djvillain]

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 Review

#njpw #njwk15 #njwkday2 #NewJapanProWrestling #JayWhite #KotaIbushi #IWGPChampionship #JeffCobb #StrongStyle #ShingoTakagi

[silhouetteofadancer]

WK15 Day 1⭐ || WK15 Day 2⭐ || NJ Dash⭐

#kota ibushi #ibushi kota #njpw #njwk15 #njdash

[puroresu-musings]

NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 15 in Tokyo Dome Night 1 Review (Jan 4th 2020)

New Japan Rambo  *1/2

BOSJ 27 vs. SJC 2020 IWGP Jr. Heavyweight No.1 Contenders Match: Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo  ****

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Guerrillas Of Destiny  ***1/2

IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Championship Right To Challenge Match: KENTA vs. Satoshi Kojima  ***1/2+

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan  ***1/2

Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay  ****3/4

IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Double Championship Match: Tetsuya Naito (c/c) vs. Kota Ibushi  ****1/2

Photos.

So the first night of WK15 is in the history books, held in front of a socially distanced crowd of 12,689, which is an amazing number given the state of the world at present (I’m in the UK and we can’t even have two people in the same room, so near 13,000 seems mind-blowing!). This is the biggest crowd to have seen a wrestling show in Japan since last years Dome shows, and the biggest major wrestling show held anywhere since March of last year, so it’s quite the achievement. In quick results from a very fun show:

Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, BUSHI and Toru Yano (who never even made it to the ring) were the “winners” of the annual Rambo and will face each other in a 4-way to determine the KOPW champion on tomorrows show. The Rambo was as it always is, which is very forgettable, very long, and not especially very good. After a Japanese Don King (who sings!) introduced Riki Choshu (a guy who, in this very building in 1998, squashed FOUR guys in a row in his “retirement” match), and his young grandson, to the masses for a nice opening, BOSJ winner Hiromu Takahashi pinned everyone’s favourite/most hated douchebag heel, the 2020 Super J Cup winner El Phanatsmo, in 17:46, when he turned CRII into a Frankensteiner and cradle. This was an excellent match that was a great way to start the show. Hiromu essentially played crash pad to ELP’s highflying moves, and seemed to be saving himself for the Ishimori match tomorrow, which he earned with this win.

Next up, the GOD won the IWGP Tag Titles for what must be the 476th time. The match was very good (once it got going), but at 19:18, it felt very long, and the finish and result were lamentable; after a ref bump and prerequisite Jado interference spot, Tama nailed Taichi with his own Iron Fingers From Hell, which allowed Loa to hit Apeshit and win the belts. Honestly, I could have done without this title change. The Guerrillas with the belts just feels like I’ve been transported back in time three or four years, and the Dangerous Tekkers felt both fresh, and like they were just getting going as champions. Whatever. After a video taped Jon Moxley promo, KENTA defended the U.S. Title Right To Challenge Briefcase against the legend that is Satoshi Kojima, in a very good little match. Obviously, Koji was a late replacement for the broken orbital boned Juice Robinson, and honestly, with all due respect to Juice, this was a much better match for it. Even though no one feasibly bought him winning, Kojima was on fire here, showing the world that he does indeed “still have it”, and drove the action throughout. It wasn’t to be though as KENTA retained the briefcase after a Go 2 Sleep at the 14:12 mark. So KENTA will challenge Moxley in the U.S. at some point, which should be a fun match.

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated the returned-from-excursion Great-O-Khan in my least favourite match of the show. This was far from bad, but realistically, this was the match where I started to lag, as it just wasn’t all that interesting at times. The former Tomoyuki Oka has a very weird gimmick, and his offence is like something from a 1970s regional promotion in the U.S. He isn’t a bad worker, he’s very solid, but this wacky Mongolian gimmick, which I first clapped eyes on at a Rev Pro show what must have been 7 years ago now (it was three, but time has no meaning anymore), is going to need some serious revamping. Tanahashi was his usual great self here, carrying this beyond what it should by all rights have been, and had the babyface fire of a thousand babyfaces. After surviving O-Khan’s Claw based offensive manoeuvres, The Ace scored the win at 17:13 after hitting a High Fly Flow to the back, followed by one to the front, to get the winning three count.

From here the show picked up considerably. Okada sought revenge on former protege Will Ospreay, in a fantastic, dramatic outing, that would most likely have been a Tokyo Dome all-time-classic under regular conditions. This went 35:41, which sounds long, but felt half of that whilst watching. It told a great story, and the work from both guys was exceptional. This was less the inventive spot fest of their 2019 G1 classic, and instead was a stiff strike war. It was also the final point of Ospreay eschewing the Junior mantle, and becoming a full fledged heavyweight. Like most Okada matches, this really turned into something special in the last 10 minutes, after Ospreay hit a nasty Brainbuster through the timekeepers table, and stomped the bejesus out of Okada’s face, the newly crowned “Commonwealth Kingpin” escaped a Money Clip, hit Okada with a Tombstone, and his own Rainmaker for a great near fall. Okada dropkicked Will out of the air on a Super Oscutter attempt, which looked great, then turned a Storm Breaker attempt into a Fire Thunder Driver, and hit a stiff Rainmaker, for the first time in A YEAR, to score the win and seemingly awaken the Okada of old. Tremendous stuff here.

And the Double Title Main Event that followed had a lot to live up to, but was another excellent outing. Obviously, with the last few times these guys have squared off being borderline public executions, my heart was proverbially in my mouth on some of the spots here. With the notable exceptions of Ibushi taking a German Suplex on the ramp, which he of course landed square on top of his head for, an insane Frankensteiner off the apron, which saw Naito land very hard on the floor, Ibushi taking a reverse rana off the second rope, and both guys taking signature spots onto their heads, this was, on the whole, the “tamest” match these two have had against one another in maybe 5 or 6 years now. Ibushi hit Kamigoye for a great near fall, but misses a Phoenix Splash. Naito hits Destino, but Ibushi gets the shoulder up. Naito kicks out of another Kamigoye, then drops Ibushi on his head with Valentia, and goes for another Destino. Ibushi escapes and hits a wrist clutch V-Trigger, followed by a third, knee padless Kamigoye to FINALLY win the two top prizes in New Japan after 31:18 of great action. There was a really wacky bit, that only Ibushi could do, after the match, where he seemed to sell being in a “fugue state”, tried to pin Naito again after the match, and sold disbelief when Red Shoes explained to him that he’d won. Naito presented The Golden Star with both belts, then Ibushi’s opponent tomorrow, Jay White, came out in the post match, and cut a promo, promising Ibushi’s reign would only last 24 hours. Ibushi informed Jay that he is mistaken, and that Ibushi will indeed become a God. This was a show built around happy ending babyface wins (in the major bouts), and was a dose of positivity the world needs right now. Bring on Night 2 already.

NDT

#njpw #wrestle kingdom 15 #review #njwk15 #wk15 #new japan pro wrestling #puroresu #wrestling #wrestling review

[shouldasaidnaur]

jay is really looking like a whole meal tonight #dripblade

#njpw #njwk15 #jay white