NJPW Road to Castle Attack results: Ibushi & Nagata vs. LIJ

Recommended matches —

• Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi vs. Kota Ibushi & Yuji Nagata 

Report —

Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Yuya Uemura defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado (8:57)

This wasn’t good, but I’ll say this for Jado — he’s moving much better than he has in recent years. 

Jado and Uemura began as the legal men. Goto and YH stopped G.O.D. from interfering. Jado hit a tackle and cut Uemura off. G.O.D. brawled with Goto and YH on the outside. Bullet Club spent several minutes working on Uemura. 

Uemura came back with a dropkick and tagged Goto. Goto hit a bulldog for a near fall on Tama. Goto and YH double teamed an interfering Tanga. YH got a tag and got triple teamed by G.O.D. and Jado. Jado hit a draping DDT for a near fall. 

Uemura stopped Jado from using a kendo stick as everyone jumped in at the finish. YH hit a lariat for a two count, then used the butterfly lock to submit Jado. 

Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb (w/Bea Priestley) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yota Tsuji (9:28)

This was paint-by-numbers. 

United Empire attacked while Tanahashi was posing on the ropes during his entrance. Tenzan and Ospreay ended up the legal men. After a short triple team on Ospreay, Tenzan found himself on the wrong side of the ring and being worked over by United Empire. 

O-Khan taunted Tenzan with Mongolian chops. Cobb joined in and hit Tenzan with Mongolian chops. Ospreay tagged in and hit some as well. Tenzan came back with a wheel kick on Ospreay. 

O-Khan and Tana got tags. Tana hit a high cross for a near fall. They traded strikes. O-Khan blocked a slingblade and used a kneebar. Tana forced a break. Cobb tagged in and was hit with a dragon screw. Tana tagged out to Tsuji. 

Tsuji used a dropkick on Cobb. Cobb was tripled up on. Tsuji hit a splash for a near fall. Cobb got rolled up for a two count and placed in a crab. Cobb forced a break. 

Cobb hit a spin cycle for a two count. All six men were in. O-Khan used a claw to drag Tana to the floor. Cobb then hit Tour of the Islands for the pin. 

SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Yujiro Takahashi, El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori (9:55)

I’m not advocating for these Road to shows to be longer, but with about five extra minutes this could have been a good match. Instead, it was a standard house show undercard tag that felt too quick. 

Ishimori and ELP tried to double team BUSHI at the opening bell. BUSHI and Hiromu fought them off. Yujiro caught BUSHI with a boot from the apron and Bullet Club turned this into a ringside brawl. 

Back in, Ishimori teased going after BUSHI’s mask. Yujiro tagged in for more of the same. ELP tagged in for some of his comedy spots. Ishimori and ELP tagged in and out and continued the assault. 

BUSHI made a tag after a step-up enzuigiri on ELP. Hiromu got a hot tag and took on Ishimori and ELP 1-on-2. He hit a double shotgun dropkick and avoided ELP’s airplane spin neckbreaker. 

SANADA and Yujiro tagged in for the closing sequence. Each bit the other’s hand.Yujiro hit a basement dropkick and fisherman buster for a two count. SANADA avoided Miami Shine and landed on his feet off a suplex. LIJ hit a triple dropkick. 

ELP, Ishimori, Hiromu and BUSHI brawled to the floor. SANADA used Skull End with a body scissors for the submission win. 

ELP gave Hiromu and ELP t-shirt after the match. That was kind of him. 

EVIL, Jay White, Chase Owens & Dick Togo (w/Gedo) defeated Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & SHO (14:28)

This was the best match on the show to this point. 

Bullet Club kicked the ring announcer out of the ring as CHAOS made their entrance, but the cameras missed it. Bullet Club wisely retreated out of the ring as CHAOS entered to avoid a sneak attack before the bell. 

All eight brawled around the ring. Owens again teased a strap match with Yano, using the strap on the outside. Yano ended up getting a Bullet Club beatdown in the ring. EVIL sent him into an exposed buckle. Owens tagged in and repeated the spot with a second exposed buckle. 

Owens attached himself to Yano with the strap. The referee untied them after a couple of comedy spots. Ishii and White tagged in. Ishii was sent into the turnbuckle. SHO entered for a double team and hit a jumping knee strike. Ishii used a powerslam. 

White avoided a vertical drop brainbuster and hit a DDT after an intricate series of counters and teases between the two. White hit a DVD. Ishii came back with a vertical suplex. 

Okada and EVIL got tags. Okada hit a running back elbow. EVIL dumped Okada over the post to the floor and Okada landed awkwardly. EVIL went after Okada’s left leg. EVIL ducked a Rainmaker and avoided a dropkick. Okada avoided Darkness Falls. EVIL hit a misdirection lariat. Okada hit a DDT. 

SHO and Togo tagged in and had a very nice exchange. CHAOS went 4-on-1 against Togo. EVIL jumped in for the save and hit Everything is EVIL on SHO. He then took out Okada with a lariat. 

With SHO down after taking EVIL’s finisher, Togo covered SHO for the pin. 

White and Gedo choked Ishii with a scarf after the match. EVIL put Okada in the Darkness Scorpion. Owens attacked Yano with the strap. Bullet Club stood tall. 

Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi defeated Kota Ibushi & Yuji Nagata (16:26)

Naito and Ibushi began the match with mat work, as they did yesterday. It was very good and different than anything that anyone in the promotion is doing right now aside from Sabre. Their grappling ended in a stalemate. 

Nagata and Shingo tagged in. Naito entered for an illegal double team to help Shingo gain the advantage. Naito went after Ibushi on the outside and sent him into the barricade. Naito tagged in for a long chinlock on Nagata. 

Shingo fired off some short, taunting strikes to Nagata. Nagata fired up and hit a kitchen sink. Ibushi and Naito got tags. Naito worked on Ibushi’s left leg with a low dropkick and other kicks. Ibushi hit a mid kick and standing moonsault for a near fall. 

Naito escaped a last ride attempt. Naito hit another low dropkick and did a weird delayed sell of an Ibushi mid kick to set up a double down. Shingo tagged in and continued to target the left leg. Ibushi hit a snap rana and tagged out. 

Nagata hit a boot in the corner and a suplex for a near fall. Shingo blocked another boot and hit a dragon screw. Nagata fought off a figure four and landed a series of kicks. Naito hit an exploder. Shingo answered with a lariat. 

They traded strikes. Nagata missed an enzuigiri and Shingo hit a sliding lariat. Naito cut off a tag to Ibushi from Nagata and hit a combinacion. Nagata blocked Destino and used a Nagata Lock. Shingo broke up the hold with elbows. Ibushi entered, but Naito took out his leg with a dropkick. 

Naito used a jackknife cradle for a near fall as Ibushi saved. Naito then hit Destino for the pin and mocked Nagata’s salute as he held the pin. 

Naito closed the show with a promo.