Wrestle Kingdom 9 Results IWGP Championship Match, Six Title Matches, AJ Styles

We get the standard Japanese opening on the GFW broadcast o the show, running down the night's matches.

Four-Way Tag Team Match
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
ReDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) (c) vs. Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero) vs. Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & Kushida) vs. The Young Bucks

Kushida and Fish start things off with Fish working the arm, which quickly turns into a chain sequence that ends in a double dropkick. Kushida lands one and Kyle is tagged in, but Shelley is tagged in as well, but the Young Bucks hop in and try to mock Time Splitters, only to be bounced from the ring.

Time Splitters are making quick tags until Fish knocks Shelley from the apron. Koslov is tagged in and lands a running headscissors on Fish. He puts on the hat and does his dancing kicks to Fish, but Kyle grabs Koslov, allowing Fish to hit him. ReDRagon work Koslov over, but the Young Bucks end up tagging in and clear the apron with dropkicks and headscissors.

Nick accidentally kicks Matt Jackson, but turns his attention right back to Koslov, who hits a big kick to the head of Nick Jackson. Rocky Romero is tagged in and cleans house with kicks. ReDRagon and the Bucks are in each corner and Romero goes crazy with no less than a half-dozen clotheslines. He and Kozlov merry-go-round each other into Matt Jackson

Kushida hits the ring and bounces the Hooligans, before DDT'ing Matt Jackson. The Time Splitters are on a roll and really take it to Nick Jackson with a double kick. Shelley superkicks Fish, who comes flying off the apron and Kushida gets stopped before he can dive.

A sequence of dives sees Romero, Koslov, The Young Bucks and Kushida all land big jumps, with a particularly impressive one from the Bucks. The Time Splitters hit Matt Jackson with a moonsault/neckbreaker, but his brother breaks up the count.

Koslov in the ring, but is superkicked by Matt Jackson. Bobby Fish lands a few kicks of his own, but Nick Jackson looks poised for a superkick party. Shelley and Koslov get the Bucks up for a Doomsday Device but the Bucks flip out of it and Superkick everyone! Meltzer Driver, but it only gets two on a shady ref count.

Young Bucks set up for More Bang For Your Buck, but Fish breaks it up. ReDRagon end up hitting Shelley with the Two Man Smash Machine and Matt Jackson with an assisted double-arm DDT. Fish hits an insane Whiplash off the top, then an exploder suplex, before finishing Koslov with Facing The Dragon.

Winners: ReDRagon via pinfall (Facing The Dragon) to retain the IWGP Junior Heayvweight Tag Team Championships

That match was insane. Fantastic.

Six-Man Tag
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Jeff Jarrett & Yujiro Takahashi w/ Karen Angle) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojimo & Tomoaki Honma

All hell breaks loose immediately and everyone is brawling, as Fale gets double teamed. Kojima goes at Takahashi with chops, but Fale is tagged in and drops him. Jarrett gets a tag and hits a short arm clothesline followed by a running clothesline to drop Kojima.

Fale is tagged back in, works Kojima over and tags Takahashi back in, but eats a Koji Cutter and Honma is tagged in. Honma hits big elbows and a bulldog but misses a falling headbutt. Takahashi hits a fisherman's brainbuster for two. Honma hits a jumping headbutt, but Jarrett is in the ring with a guitar while the ref is distracted. Jarrett accidentally hits Takahashi!

Fale is clotheslined out of the ring and the faces hit Takahashi with the 3D. Honma goes up top and finally hits the diving headbutt for the win! The crowd goes crazy!!

Winners: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojimo & Tomoaki Honma via pinfall (diving headbutt)

The Bullet Club are 0-2 on the night now.

8-Man Tag
Suzukigun (Shelton X Benjamin, Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr, & Takashi Iizuka) vs. Mikey Nicholls, Naomichi Marufuji, Shane Haste & Toru Yano)

Suzukigun jumps the faces from the start. Yano and Iizuka go at it, and Iizuka hits Yano with the turnbuckle pad. Benjamin is tagged in and hits the dragon whip kick, then tags in Archer.

Archer kicks Yano but runs in to the exposed turnbuckle, which allows Yano to tag out. Nicholls and Haste go right after Archer and Smith, but Smith breaks up a double press slam with a big kick, and Archer follows with a giant chokeslam.

Marufuji and Iiuzka tag in and Marufuji lights him up with huge kicks. Benjamin runs in and hits a huge belly to belly superplex. Marufuji still manages to superkick Iizuka, who is using every dirty trick in the book.

TMDK hit a big double team slam, and Marufuji hits his tiger knee lift for the win.

Winners: Mikey Nicholls, Naomichi Marufuji, Shane Haste & Toru Yano via pinfall (running tiger knee lift)

Quick match, the pace of this show is wild but will likely slow down as the show goes on.

(4) Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazushi Sakuraba

JR plays up that these are the two greatest students of Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson, respectively, and that fans have been waiting their entire lives for this fight. It can only end by KO or submission.

Minoru drops to the mat right away and he wants to wrestle. Sakuraba goes for a leg lock but they roll into the ropes. Saku starts throwing rights and lefts but he gets caught in the triangle choke in the ropes. They end up fighting up the ramp and trading punches and knees, with Sakuraba putting on the Kimura. The ref ends up separating them eventually, but the damage is done to Suzuki’s arm.

Eventually he rolls back into the ring and gets hit with a dozen kicks that take him down. The ref gets to a 9 count before he gets back up. Minoru fights back with palm strikes and starts slapping the hell out of his opponent. He’s caught in the cross arm breaker, which you’d assume would have broken most human beings, but he fights through and gets in the ropes to break it. He’s still screaming in pain though, grabbing at his arm.

Saku continues to pick apart the injured arm, but Minoru yells at him to keep going. He fights back with hard slaps and a kick to the face, and locks in the rear naked choke out of nowhere. Saku tries leap out of it, but Suzuki hangs on through it. Sakuraba passes out and the referee stops the match.
Winner: Minoru Suzuki

Sakuraba extends his hand after the fight and Minoru takes it, and the two hug. The crowd pops for that.

NEVER Openweight Championship
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Togi Makabe

Ishii has his arm heavily tapped. We get a “bowling shoe ugly” comment and a “slobber-knocker” from JR. 

Ishii with a belly-to-belly throw right away, but Makabe hits him with a stiff elbow. Ishii with knife-edge chops that have no effect; Makabe with right hands that have no effect. A very physical feeling out process early on, with the champ having a very small advantage. 

Ishii with a lot of throws but Togi comes back and hits a Northern Lights suplex and goes on the attack in the corner. He hits move after move (mostly suplexes) but can’t pick up the pin. Tomohiro yells back at him as he gets chopped. He gets planted on the top rope, and Makabe picks him up and drops him with the Super Fireman’s Carry slam. The challenger can’t believe it, and hits a wicked lariat, but Ishii kicks out at one! 

The champ comes back with an exploder suplex followed by a stiff clothesline for a two-count. Slowly both guys get back up and trade short-arm clotheslines. Makabe with chops to the shoulders, but Ishii headbutts him and gets a running clothesline for a very close nearfall. Step-up enzuigiri connects. Again then collide with more clotheslines; this time Ishii takes the advantage with a gorgeous Dragon suplex for two. 

Slow rise again from both men. Ishii fires off with a dozen elbow shots; Makabe kicks out at one. Makabe hits a crazy hard clothesline; Ishii kicks out. The challenger goes to the top rope and comes down with a diving knee to the back of the neck. 1…2…3. 

Winner and NEW CHAMPION: Togi Makabe

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Kenny Omega

The Young Bucks are ringside. Omega is in super heel mode. 

The champ tries to have some fun to kick this off, but Omega spits in his face. They do a cruiserweight combination that ends with Taguchi arm drags. He does a Rick Rude style hip gyration and mocks the Bucks a bit. He tries for the ankle lock but settles for dumping Omega over the top rope. 

Striker mentions how the Americanized heel tactics of the Bullet Club “pollute” the product in the eyes of the Japanese fan; obvious statement, but very well said. 

Kenny does a weird “chainsaw” thing with his arm and starts raking the eyes of the champ. The referee gets in his way and Omega shoves him over. He sets in with a few knife-edge chops and Taguchi gets caught by the Bucks on the floor. The champ throws Omega over the ropes to take them all out, then vaults over himself for good measure. 

After order gets restored,Taguchi goes for Three Amigos but Kenny counters and kicks out his opponents knees. They fight to the top turnbuckle, exchange elbow shots, and it ends with both guys doing mid-air dropkicks. Omega does an impressive dead-lift gutwrench powerbomb for two. He follows up with an electric chair drop into a German suplex, then a running knee strike. Kenny hits the One Winged Angel  for three. 

Winner and New champion: Kenny Omega

IWGP Tag Team Championship
Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows w/ Tama Tonga & Amber O'neal) (c) vs. Meiyu Tag (Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata)

Anderson and Goto start and they stare each other down after a chain sequence. They trade strikes before Anderson whips Goto into a kidney shot from Gallows. Goto accidentally hits his partner and runs into a superkick from Gallows.

A big senton and splash from the Bullet Club gets a two count, and Anderson rubs the forearm in Goto's face. Anderson hits an amazing calf kick that gets a two count, but he repeatedly tries the pin.

Gallows and Goto go after each other with clotheslines, and Goto finally tags Shibata who knocks Anderson off the apron. Shibata beats down Gallows in the corner but runs into a huge clothesline. Shibata answers with a dropick to Gallows and an abdominal stretch to Anderson, but it's broken up.

Goto and Shibata hit the Bullet Club with seated dropkicks and a double back suplex but only get a two count. Anderson bicycle kicks Goto, and then destroys Shibata with a big kick. The Bullet Club follow up with an elbow drop/backbreaker to Shibata and a fireman's carry/dropkick to Goto.

Bullet Club hit a back suplex/neckbreaker for two on another wonky ref count, but Goto comes in and cleans hours. Anderson almost hits the cutter, but Goto and Shibata destroy him with kicks.

Gallows with the Gallow's Pole, but gets tossed off the turnbuckles. Goto and Shibata with a fireman's carry kick and a PK for the win!

Winners: Meiyu Tag via pinfall (PK) to win the IWGP Tag Team Championships

Back-to-back matches with title changes, and the Bullet Club has one winner out of eight competitors so far tonight.

AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito 

Styles attacks during the entrance but Naito avoids a springboard moonsault and hits him with a running dropkick into the barricade. They roll back in the ring and AJ goes after his opponent’s knee. He’s trying to take the high flying game away from Naito and set up the Calf Killer. 

Eventually Tetsuya fights back with arm drags. He hits a running senton splash and fires up the crowd. JR puts over Styles as the “greatest star TNA has ever developed”, just as Naito drops him on his head with a neckbreaker from the second rope. He goes to work with rest holds in the middle of the ring, but AJ counters with a neckbreaker that may as well have been a DDT. 

They trade positioning for suplexes, which AJ eventually wins. He hits a massive German suplex, but on the second one Naito rolls through for a close count. Enzuigiri connects, followed by a running shoulder tackle. He body slams his opponent and sets up for the Stardust Press, but Styles crotches him in the ropes. Styles tries to suplex him off the ropes, but he lands on his feet instead!

AJ hooks in the Calf Killer now, taking advantage of those early attacks. Naito nearly passes out and the ref almost throws out the match, but he fights back and gets to the ropes. On one leg, he hits an enzuigiri and follows up with a modified STO. He tires to dead-lift press AJ, but settles for a Dragon suplex for a very close two. 

Pele Kick out of nowhere. AJ hits Bloody Sunday (modified Brainbuster, finisher of Prince Devitt the former Bullet Club leader). He tries for the Styles Clash, but Naito throws him threw the ropes to save the match. Styles rolls back into the ring at a 19 count, and JR questions why he didn’t take the count-out loss here to retain. He pays for it, as Naito dropkicks him into the bottom rope. 

They fight up tot he top turnubuckle and Naito tries for a Frankensteiner, but AJ catches him in the air and hits the Styles Clash from the top rope for the win!! 

Winner: AJ Styles

IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Kota Ibushi

Nakamura extends his hand, then kicks the hell out of his opponent and lands a kick to the back of the head. Ibushi responds with forearm shots and then mocks the signature kick in the corner to play some mind games. Shinsuke gestures for him to “come here” and throws him in the corner, doing the corner kick routine himself. 

They slow things down as Shinsuke goes to a rest hold, and William Regal gets a shout-out. Apparently that’s too boring, as they speed it back up with a contest of elbow shots. Kota with knife-edge chops and a slap to the face; Nakamura counters with the backstabber. Ibushi counters a suplex and lands on his feet, then hits a hurricanrana and dropkicks the champ to the floor. Kota follows up with the triangle springboard moonsault to take them both into the barricade. He rolls Nakamura back into the ring but only gets two. 

Shinsuke comes back with a standing one-leg dropkick; both men down. The champ with a feint kick into an enzuigiri, then follows up with knees into the back of the neck (Ibushi has a history of concussions). He puts the challenger on the top turnbuckle, but Ibushi comes back with the Super Frankensteiner and a Dragon Suplex, followed by a standing corkscrew moonsault for two. Wow. 

We’re headed towards the end now, as they’re taking their time and focusing on the bit spots. Nakamura is caught with a superkick to the side of the head, and looks like he’s knocked clean out. Kota picks him up and puts him down with the Last Ride powerbomb for two-and-a-half. He goes to the top and tries for the 450 but Nakamura rolls out of the way and hits a running knee strike to stay alive. 

They throw the playbook out the window and start trading closed fists; as JR points out, they are NOT usual in New Japan. The referee goes down but is back as the champ puts Ibushi in the armbar! To counter, Kota literally stands up and starts kicking Nakamura in the face. He wastes time mocking him, kicking him in the side of the head and then throws him across the ring with an exploder suplex. More mockery and he hits the Boma Ye (knee strike) with the theatrics! 1…2..kick-out! 

They go back to trading elbows and beating the hell out of each other. Ibushi gets up on the top rope and dead-lift suplexes him into the ring for two. JR is going crazy for the first time tonight. He tries for a headlock, but Nakamura headbutts him off. He comes off the second rope with the knee, but Ibushi no-sells it. They both do knees and collide, and the champ follows up with the Red Arrow for two. Another Boma Ye connects! 1…2…3. 

Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura

IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada

Here we go… Okada tries for a wrist lock early, that ends up as a Tanahashi headlock. Okada takes it over and holds it in place for a few minutes. While they work the rests, JR talks about how Hiroshi was the wrestler that turned New Japan around in the last decade, but Okada will be the one to carry them into the future. 

Eventually the champ gets out of the headlock and they back off. They lock up yet again, but Okada decides he’s had enough of the slow start and throws a stiff elbow. Tanahashi does the same and they trade forearms in the corner with the referee not even trying to get in between them. The action spills to the floor and Okada gets a bit boot that sends them over the barricade. He hits the Hangman’s DDT (shades of Randy Orton) and rolls back into the ring to break the count. 

Not done yet, Okada rolls out and they fight up the ramp. He sets up for the Tombstone, but Tanahashi fights back with stiff shots. Elbow trades lead to a massive Fireman’s Carry slam from Okada, right on the ramp. Finally they take it back to the ring, and Okada is 100% in control as he connects with a baseball slide to the face. 

Tanahashi fights back by rolling out of the way of a senton, and hits a flying forearm followed by a senton of his own off the second rope. The momentum doesn’t last long, as Okada rolls into a cross arm breaker with a modified sleeper that puts him back in control.

He gets a bit too cocky and lets the champ get up, screaming at him to hit him in the face. Tanahashi throws elbows and closed fists but every time Okada decks him and comes back for more. Challenger throws three elbows, then gets a fourth in the corner, followed by a dropkick that sends Tanahashi inside-out into the bottom turnbuckle. He goes for a Samoan Drop but the champ avoids it and rolls him up for a two-count. 

For the first time in 15 minutes, the champion rallies back and hits a few big power moves. He gets off a release suplex and then heads tot he top rope, but comes up empty on the High Fly Flow (frog splash). This puts Okada right back in control, and he comes off the ropes with a diving elbow drop. He motions for the Rainmaker but Tanahashi avoids it and counters with a Dragon Screw! 

The champ works the leg and now he finally has an opening. The match has been around the younger guy putting down the older guy, btu JR makes the point that age means nothing if Okada’s knee is blown out. Okada spills hard over the barricade and Tanahashi rolls back in to break the count. He goes to the top rope and, despite huge protest from commentary, hits the High Fly Flow from the ring, over the barricade and takes them both down!!

Tanahashi rolls Okada back into the ring and goes for the High Fly Flow a third time; Okada counters and looks for the Rainmaker; Tanahashi counters and hits the Slingblade! The champ comes off the ropes but is dead-lifted by Okada! Challenger looks for the Tombstone, but Tanahashi reverses, then Okada reverses…Tanahashi reverses again and hits the Tombstone Piledriver! 

Both guys are down. After a minute, the champion is back to his feet first. Okada fights back with a hard uppercut. Tanahashi nods in acknowledgement, and it’s uppercut time for him as well. He hits the Slingblade again and motions for the Rainmaker! He goes for it, but Okada counters and hits the Rainmaker! 1…2…kick-out! 

At the count of nine, both guys are to their knees exchanging elbow shots. Nobody has energy left (including me). They get to their feet, still throwing elbows. Both guys are putting everything into just standing at this point, until Okada throws a massive uppercut. He goes for the Tombstone, but Tanahashi rolls threw into a two-count. 

The champ hits a picture perfect Florida Key for the closest two-count I’ve ever seen. He hits a bridging German suplex but Okada holds on and tries for the Rainmaker; Tanahashi dodges and rolls him up for another nearfall. Getting desperate, Tanahashi goes into the ropes and hits a second and third Dragon Screw using them for leverage. He hits the High Fly Flow while Okada is trapped in the ropes, then does a fourth Dragon Screw. Yet ANOTHER High Fly Flow connects…but Tanahashi goes to the top and hits ANOTHER High Fly Flow 1…2…3. 

Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi

Overall a great show Tanahashi Celebrated after the show at least 15 minuter

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Wrestle Kingdom 9 Results IWGP Championship Match, Six Title Matches, AJ Styles

4/ 5

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Pada 07:29:00