New Japan Invasion Attack results 4-5-15: AJ Styles vs. Kota Ibushi

By Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com

Yohei Komatsu & Captain New Japan & Alex Shelley & Kushida & Yuji Nagata vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi & Sho Tanaka

Not that much of a match, very house show like in design. Shelley got the win for his team after submitting Tanaka with the automatic midnight.

Tencozy and Tomoaki Honma vs. Cody Hall, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi

Heels worked on Tenzan for a while. He hulks up and tags in Kojima who does the comeback. It boils down to Hall and Honma. Hall tries the edge but Honma slides off. Tenzan and Kojima help him out as Honma hits the torpedo kokeshi then a kokeshi off the top rope for the win. People loved the finish.

IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice

They did a spot where the Bucks were overwhelmed, so they left with the titles. RPG Vice came up to them and in a surprise superkicked them, racing back to the ring before the twenty count. Vice struggle to get to the ring until Romero throws Beretta into the ring after the 19 count. Bucks get the heat on Beretta. The Forever Hooligans felt stale by the end but boy do the RPG Vice feel totally fresh. Romero makes the hot tag, and from here it’s a lot of great back and forth action. Bucks hit the Indytaker for a nearfall. They try the More Bang for Your Buck but Beretta makes a blind tag drives out one of the Bucks, then pins the other with the Omori driver/dropkick combo to win the titles. Excellent match.

Romero cuts a promo after the match, I believe saying they’re partying in Roppongi tonight.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega vs. Mascara Dorada

Dorada did some great lucha maneuvers early. He’s able to do it in a way that makes everything he does look so gracefully, he’s amazing in how he moves. He goes for a rana off the apron but Kenny grabs him and powerbombs him onto the apron. Kenny winds up on the apron and Dorada runs over, hops over the ropes and hurricanranas Omega off the apron. Wow. Omega comes back with a spinning torture rack for a nearfall. Dorada follows that by tying Omega’s legs on the ropes and launching off with a ropewalk rana for another nearfall. Ropewalk moonsault doesn’t do it either. Omega comes back with a snap dragon suplex then follows with the one winged angel for the pinfall. Good match with some insane spots.

Omega says he is the master of dark custodial arts. That sounds like a terrible WWE line. He’s cleaned up Mexican and Japanese garbage (his words, not mine) and now wants to clean up the worst of them all- American garbage, or to be more exact, Motor City garbage. Alex Shelley, who’s attending to Dorada, hears this and is none too pleased. Omega says he’s next as they have a staredown.

IWGP Tag Team Championship: Bullet Club (Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows) vs. The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Michael Bennett)

The cameramen made sure to take lots of gratuitous shots of Maria Kanellis. Story of the match was the Bullet Club wanted Maria for some reason. Maybe to tell her she’s a swell gal, I dunno. They take her into the ring at one point but Bennett makes the save, only for Anderson to take him out and they get the heat on him. Taven made a great comeback then tagged in Bennet again, where they get the heat on Anderson. The action’s good, but the crowd does not seem to care for this match at all. Anderson takes down Bennett but Maria distracts him on the outside. Gallows grabs Maria as Anderson tells him to stop, and Taven makes a comeback. He hits a big tope on the outside as Bennett sets up Anderson and Taven launches off with the spike tombstone (that completely missed) for the win and the belts. Nothing wrong with the match technically but the crowd didn’t care one bit, and they didn’t react at all at the finish.

Gallows argued with Anderson after the match as the Kingdom posed with the belts.

Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito, and Togi Makabe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Yoshi-Hashi and Tomohiro Ishii

Nakamura and Goto started things off. Ishii and Makabe tagged in and this is where the crowd woke up. They were totally into these two, who wailed on each other much to the crowd’s delight. They were the real story of the match, though Naito and YH did have some good interactions together as well as Goto and Nakamura. Nakamura went for the boma ye but Goto switches it to the neckbreaker on the knee and a side suplex for a nearfall. Goto then hits the shouten kai for the pinfall. This totally sets up Goto for a Intercontinental title match. Good match with good heat.

Goto motions for the title after the match. Makabe and Ishii get into it too, signaling that they aren’t over yet either by a long shot.

Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Toru Yano and Kazushi Sakuraba

Yano made sure to avoid Tanahashi as he tags in Sakuraba quickly. He and Shibata go at it for a bit, then it’s Tanahashi and Sakuraba. Looks like Sakuraba went for a footstomp and missed by a country mile at one point. Sakuraba and Shibata went at it and Shibata pummeled Sakuraba with some sick kicks to the back. Sakuraba comes back with a kimura and surprisingly Shibata taps out. I wonder where they’re going with this. Pretty good whenever Yano wasn’t in there.

Bad Luck Fale vs. Kazuchika Okada

Okada jumps him right at the bell, but it’s not for much as Fale soon dominates, including taking one of the announcer’s ties and choking Okada with it. Okada makes a brief comeback but eats a big boot for a nearfall. Okada tries for a crossbody over the barricade, but Fale grabs him, only for Okada to escape and deliver a big lariat over the guardrail to the floor. Okada foes for the rainmaker but Fale responds with a tree slam that sends him to the turnbuckle. Fale tries the bad luck fall but Okada counters with the neckbreaker. He tries the tombstone but Fale counters by splashing him to the floor. Fale goes to the top rope and hits a big splash but Okada somehow kicks out. Great back and forth here. Okada hits the tombstone, then hits the rainmaker for the win. Great match. ***½

IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles vs. Kota Ibushi

They start out slow, then exchange a flurry of near falls, with Ibushi countering a styles clash attempt into another roll up for a nearfall. Ibushi tries for the moonsault to the floor but AJ dodges. Ibushi land on his feet but AJ nails him with a nasty german suplex. After some more back and forth, AJ gains control, starting to work on the knee. Kota comes back with a huge moonsault off the top rope to the floor, this time connecting. Great exchange between the two as Styles hits the pele kick but Ibushi comes back with one of his own. Ibushi tried deadlifting Styles off the apron with a dragon suplex but Styles throws him off and hits a facebuster for a nearfall.

Styles hits the bloody Sunday DDT but Ibushi breaks away from the Styles clash only for AJ to transition into the calf killer, with Ibushi eventually reaching the ropes. Big lariat by Styles as Ibushi lands right on his head in a scary move. Styles takes Ibushi to the corner but he fires with a springboard hurricanrana off the top rope. Ibushi lays him out and goes for the phoenix splash, but Kenny Omega stands on the apron. Ibushi looks at him, but Omega stands down. Ibushi tries for the phoenix splash, but Styles grabs him in mid air and hits the Styles Clash for the win. Terrific match with some amazing moves, and a hell of a finish.

Omega doesn’t look too thrilled to see his former (?) friend Ibushi lose as he looks indifferent to Styles winning. But suddenly, Okada runs in and lays out the Bullet Club, then gives Styles the rainmaker to a huge pop. Okada grabs the title and poses with it as Gedo cuts a promo, most likely saying Okada’s next in line for a shot as confetti flies, Okada standing strong and looking to reclaim his status of ace of the promotion after months of some tough losses. Great angle to close out the show.

Overall, a really superb show highlighted by a great main event and the Junior title matches totally delivering. Dontaku next month has some possibly great matches as well with Goto/Nakamura, Makabe/Ishii, Shelly/Omega and Okada/Styles teased.