NJPW Wrestling Hi No Kuni live results: Suzuki vs. Naito
Big title matches headline tonight’s Wrestling Hi No Kuni in Kumamoto, Japan.
The IWGP Intercontinental Championship will be on the line in the main event, with Minoru Suzuki defending against someone who’s very familiar with being Intercontinental Champion, Tetsuya Naito. Suzuki has not been fond of Naito’s antics, spending the entirety of the tour honing in on one of Naito’s legs, continually decimating it each time he gets. That will likely play a role in tonight’s match.
Killer Elite Squad will finally get their crack at the IWGP Tag Team titles as they square off against champions SANADA & EVIL. The Squad have been racking up wins on this tour and have made it clear to both members of LIJ that they’re next. KES have the chance to be-four time champs tonight if they can knock off the World Tag League winners.
The rest of the card features a number of tag team matches. Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi will appear in a tag team match, teaming with Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens against Zack Sabre Jr., Takashi Iizuka, Taichi & Taka Michinoku. There will also be singles matches with BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi going against Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, respectively.
Join us for live coverage this morning starting at 2 a.m. Eastern time.
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REN NARITA & YUJI NAGATA DEFEATED SHOTA UMINO & TOMOYUKI OKA
Oka and Narita started off. Oka worked a headlock, but Narita used a headlock takeover to take him down. Oka used a shoulder block to regain the advantage. Nagata tagged in and went to work on Oka, who quickly tagged Umino, but he didn’t fare any better, dropping after a forearm shot. Nagata and Narita worked over the left arm. Umino came back with a dropkick and tagged in Oka.
Narita used a sweet dropkick on Oka and tagged in Nagata, who used kicks on the ground, and a Yakuza kick in the corner. Oka used a belly-to-belly for a nearfall, but Nagata went to work on his arm, forcing a tag.
Umino scored a quick nearfall, and after briefly having his arm worked again, naile Nagata with a missile dropkick. He used a Boston Crab, but Narita made the save. Nagata fired up and hit a high kick for a nearfall, then an exploder suplex, before forcing Umino to tap to a crossface. A good, very basic opener.
RYUSUKE TAGUCHI, TIGER MASK, JUSHIN LIGER & DAVID FINLAY DEFEATED SHO, YOH, ROCKY ROMERO & JAY WHITE
Romero and Tiger Mask started off. Rocky unlaced Tiger’s mask, forcing a tag to Liger. Taguchi pulled Rocky to the floor, and Liger used a baseball slide and a surfboard, before the Chaos team broke it up and went to work on him. They used Taguchi’s train spot in the corner, and SHO and YOH used some tag team offense to allow SHO to score a nearfall.
Liger came back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, and tagged Taguchi who ran wild with hip attacks on all four CHAOS members. White put a stop to that, and worked over Taguchi’s butt by spanking him and hitting an atomic drop. Taguchi tagged in Finlay, and the challenger for White’s US title later this week went to work on the champ. White got the better of the exchange, but tagged in Romero.
The match quickly broke down, with six competitors brawling to the floor. Finlay hit Romero with a stunner and covered him for the quick win.
This was short, there was not a lot to the match, and the White/Finlay exchange was the weakest of their recent outings due to the lack of time.
ZACK SABRE JR, TAKASHI IIZUKA, TAICHI & TAKA MICHINOKU DEFEATED KENNY OMEGA, KOTA IBUSHI, YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & CHASE OWENS
They opened with the mandatory Suzuki-gun brawl at the bell. Yujiro was doing well for himself until Iizuka cut him off and ran wild on the Bullet Club with his biting offense. business picked up when the Golden Lovers tagged in and cleared the ring with their tandem offense, including wiping out Sabre and Taichi with their Cross Slash/double Golden Triangle moonsaults to the floor.
Taichi was able to cut Ibushi off with a lariat, and Ibushi took a flip bump. Sabre tagged in and nailed Ibushi with uppercuts, but Ibushi was able to floor him with a kick, and tagged in Owens. Owens and Omega hit tandem superkicks, and the Bullet Club team all attacked Sabre in the corner. Owens got a nearfall with a gutbuster.
Sabre was able to recover quickly, and slapped on a submission, forcing Owens to tap out to an Octopus hold. The Golden Lovers looked good, and the crowd was into them more than anything on the show to this point.
HIROSHI TANAHASHI, JUICE ROBINSON, MICHAEL ELGIN & KUSHIDA DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA, HIROOKI GOTO, YOSHI-HASHI & WILL OSPREAY
Okada and Tana went nose to nose right away, trading strikes. Okada’s striking was stronger, but Tana came back with a Dragon Screw, allowing his team to briefly work Over Okada. Okada escaped a tandem attack from Elgin and Juice, and tagged in Goto. Goto worked over Juice with a back elbow and a chinlock, before tagging YOSHI-HASHI.
YOSHI-HASHI used a dropkick for a nearfall, but Elgin quickly broke up the pin attempt. Okada and Tana brawled out to the ramp. Okada teased hitting a Tombstone, but Tana slipped out and hit a Sling Blade on the ramp. Back inside, Ospreay continued to work on Juice, but Juice was able to tag KUSHIDA.
Ospreay hit a 619, then the two went into a very cool flip sequence, ending with KUSHIDA scoring a nearfall. Ospreay came back with a standing Spanish Fly in the middle of the ring, before tagging YOSHI-HASHI. KUSHIDA hit a DDT and tagged in Tana.
Tana hit a flying forearm, but Goto cut him off. Elgin entered and hit a senton on Goto, and dropped Tana on to YOSHI-HASHI with an Electric Chair, which YOSHI-HASHI turned into a small package for a nearfall. Ospreay and KUSHIDA jumped in, and Ospreay used a double underhook spinning neckbreaker, before taking KUSHIDA outside.
Tana and YOSHI-HASHI were still the legal men. Okada jumped in and teased the Rainmaker, but Tana slipped out and hit a Dragon Screw, before climbing to the top. He hit a High Fly Flow on YOSHI-HASHI, and picked up the pinfall victory.
After the match, Okada snapped. He teased leaving ringside, then charged back, and attacked Tana on the floor. Tana’s teammates kept Okada at bay, but not before he got some shots in. Tana charged bcak at Okada, and they did a pull-apart. Okada then got in the ring, and invited Tana in. They each went for a Tombstone, but neither were able to connect, and their faceoff ended in a stalemate.
The post-match was very good, and there was some good action in the bell-to-bell here.
BUSHI DEFEATED EL DESPERADO BY DQ
BUSHI jumped Desperado at the bell, and choked him with his t-shirt. Desperado came back with a spear, and threw BUSHI to the outside. They brawled on the ramp, and Desperado went for BUSHI’s mask. Back in the ring, Desperado used a sleeper, and again went for the mask.
BUSHI hit an enziguri and a DDT. He hit a missile dropkick and double knees in the corner for a nearfall. Desperado went for a charge into the corner, but BUSHI crotched him on the top rope, and followed up with a reverse Frankensteiner for a nearfall. Desperado hit a spinebuster for a nearfall, and a stretch muffler for a near-submission.
BUSHI was able to reach the ropes, and regained control with a Codebreaker. He went for MX, but Kanemaru ran in and attacked for a DQ. Kanemaru and Desperado again went for the mask, but Takahashi ran in to make the save, which led to…
HIROMU TAKAHASHI DEFEATED YOSHINOBU KANEMARU
Kanemaru jumped Takahashi after he made the save, and sent him to the floor. He hit a suplex on the floor and they teased a countout. Back inside, Kanemaru hit a suplex for a nearfall, and hit a drive-by dropkick to a prone Takahashi on the apron after a single-leg crab.
While Kanemaru took the ref, Desperado attacked Takahashi on the floor, and they teased another countout. Kanemaru worked over Takahashi’s lower back. Takahashi tried to reverse a vertical suplex, but the back gave out, and he was forced to resort to a more hard-hitting attack.
Takahashi hit a big lariat, and clotheslines in the corner. He hit a low dropkick for a nearfall, and they exchanged strikes. Takahashi hit a big suplex, but Kanemaru came back with a DDT off the ropes. Takahashi went for an enziguri, but Kanemaru blocked the attack and turned it into a Boston Crab. After along struggle, Takahashi reached the ropes.
Kanemaru hit a scoop slam, but missed a follow-up moonsault. Hiromu hit an overhead belly-to-belly into the corner.
He went for Time Bomb, but Kanemaru pulled the ref in the way, then shoved the ref into BUSHI. Kanemaru tried to hit Hiromu with the whiskey mist, but he ducked and it went into Desperado’s eyes. BUSHI woke up and hit Kanemaru with the black mist.
Takahashi hit the Dynamite Plancha for a nearfall, then a fireman’s carry into the turnbuckle pad, then hit Time Bomb for victory.
There was far more gaga here than you see on a typical New Japan show. It got a good reaction from the crowd in the building, but didn’t do anything for me. It feels like Takahashi is being wasted in this program, but even working at half-speed so that Kanemaru could keep up, he was very good here.
IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS EVIL & SANADA DEFEATED DAVEY BOY SMITH JR & LANCE ARCHER TO RETAIN THE TITLES
Archer and Smith’s standard pre-bell attack had limited impact, as SANADA was able to hit Archer with a dropkick in the ring, while EVIL clotheslined Smith to the floor. Archer recovered and hit a chokeslam on the apron on SANADA, and teased a Bossman Slam on the floor, but SANADA was able to escape.
Smith recovered and pulled a table from under the ring. They teased putting SANADA through it, but EVIL saved. Back in the ring, Smith hit a belly-to-belly for a nearfall, then worked a chinlock. He tagged Archer, who hit an assisted slam for a nearfall. He put SANADA on the top rope, then clotheslined him to the mat. Killer Elite Squad was firmly in control.
Archer teased a Razor’s Edge off the top, but SANADA was able to hit a missile dropkick. He hit Smith with a low dropkick, then made the tag to EVIL. EVIL hit a bulldog and a standing senton for a nearfall. Smith accidentally hit Archer when breaking up the pin. EVIL and SANADA hit a tandem vertical suplex on Archer for a nearfall.
They went for a Magic Killer, but Smith cut them off with a big boot. SANADA and Archer brawled to the apron. Smith joined them, and they jumped to the floor, slamming SANADA through the table, which was not a DQ. Red Shoes just gave them a disappointed head shake.
Back inside, Smith accidentally hit Archer with a dropkick. EVIL came in, but Smith cut him off immediately with an Angle Slam, and applied a Sharpshooter. EVIL reached the ropes, but Archer pulled him outside and hit a fallaway slam on the floor. Killer Elite untied a turnbuckle pad and rammed EVIL’s face into the exposed buckle, then whipped his back into the buckle.
Smith hit a powerslam off the middle rope for a nearfall. Archer hit a splash, and Killer Elite hit a Magic Killer for a nearfall. They went for another, but SANADA jumped in with a dropkick to break it up. SANADA used a Dragon Sleeper on Archer. Smith tried to cut him off, but SANADA slapped a Dragon Sleeper on him as well.
The LIJ team hit the Magic Killer, but Archer pulled Red Shoes out of the ring as he was counting the pin on Smith. With the referee out, Archer wedged a chair in the corner, but ended up sent into the chair himself. EVIL put a chair around Smith’s neck, and hit the legs with another chair. That was a creative way to do a chairshot to the head without any impact to the skull.
EVIL hit Darkness Falls for a nearfall. Archer went ot make the save, but SANADA hit a plancha on him. EVIL hit Everything is EVIL on Smith, and scored the victory.
These guys could have had a killer match without all the plunder, but they chose to go a different way. They kicked out of too many finishers for my liking, but this was good, and the crowd got into it.
LIJ are 3-0 over Suzuki-gun going into the main event.
TETSUYA NAITO DEFEATED MINORU SUZUKI TO WIN THE IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Naito entered wearing a tremendous suit, complete with cape and a full face mask. Amazing.
Naito hesitated locking up, the tossed Suzuki outside and did his pose. Suzuki responded by doing a pose of his own. Also amazing.
They brawled on the floor, with Naito gaining the advantage, whipping Suzuki into the barricade twice. Back in the ring, Naito used a headscissors, then transitioned to a lateral press for a one count. Naito tried to taunt Suzuki with kicks to the face, and spit at him. Naito went to the apron, but Suzuki locked on an armbar, then sent Naito to the floor with a kick.
Suzuki sent Naito sternum-first, up and over the barricade, then piled a barricade and chairs on him. He used a barricade-assisted wristlock, then the two just beat the twenty count back inside. Suzuki used kicks to the chest, then a snapmare and a kick to the back. Suzuki used a kimura, and bent Naito’s fingers back. He tied up Naito’s leg as well, then went back to a strike-based attack with knees and kicks.
Naito spit at Suzuki, then used a double sledge and a low dropkick as he re-established a vertical base. Naito used strikes, targeting Suzuki’s neck, but Suzuki came back with a closed fist to the ribs, then a Yakuza Kick. Naito hit a Tornado DDT, but Suzuki made it back to his feet first.
They traded forearm shots, and Suzuki got the best of the exchange. Naito hit a flying forearm, an inverted atomic drop, and a slingshot corner drop. Red Shoes took a bump, and Suzuki used a rope-assisted kneebar on Suzuki, who had wraps on both knees. Suzuki focused his attack on Naito’s right knee, slapping on a kneebar, while grapevining the left leg. Naito reached the ropes, forcing a break, but tremendous damage was done.
Suzuki applied a Figure Four in the center of the ring, and the crowd really got behind Naito, who was just able to make the ropes, forcing a break. Naito hit two DDTs, then went for Destino, but Suzuki again attacked the right leg with a heel hook and kneebar. Naito was able to reach the ropes and make it to his feet, but Suzuki applied a sleeper. Naito used a swinging neckbreaker that was kind of botched to escape.
Suzuki was first up, and went for a slap, but Naito beat him to it, and used a dozen or more slaps. He seemed to be gaining the advantage. Naito hit a brainbuster, stunning Suzuki. Suzuki was busted open from the nose. Naito hit Destino, and picked up the victory, winning the title, and making it a clean sweep for LIJ tonight.
Suzuki has such an aura, and is so great at what he does that it’s almost impossible for him to have a bad match. That said, there are limits to what a guy who is 49 years old can do in the ring, and his style doesn’t lend itself to long singles main events. The finish here felt sudden, as they really didn’t do any nearfalls, and the crowd wasn’t buying that Naito was going to submit.