New Japan Makes History In Dallas

New Japan Pro Wrestling made history on July 6, 2019, at 5 p.m. CST in Dallas, when Guerrillas of Destiny and Roppongi 3K squared off in the opening bout of the company’s first solo-promoted show in the United States.

Mere feet from where the legendary Sportatorium once stood, New Japan would take away the safety net of working with a U.S.-based promotion, such as Ring of Honor. Instead, NJPW would rely on its own talent, living and dying by its own ambition and bravery. The 47-year-old promotion would do it by kicking off of the largest, grandest and most prestigious tournament in pro wrestling today: the G1 Climax.

In a time where All Elite Wrestling and the ever-looming behemoth that is WWE are jockeying for position in the American consciousness, we were reminded not to count out the boys from across the sea. NJPW has come with a mission and purpose – to establish itself as the premier wrestling company in the world, full of rich history, spectacular talent and compelling stories, and to not only reinforce those ideas in those whom already believe, but also make converts of the skeptics. NJPW has come to prove it is not a niche promotion, but a legitimate global powerhouse in professional wrestling.

When asked about its quest for U.S. market share and running shows where only the WWE has run before, Kevin Kelly, the lead English announcer and host of English content for New Japan, said:

“There are New Japan Pro Wrestling fans all over the world and there is plenty of market share to go around. There are people with different tastes and- people are willing to eat at different restaurants. It’s still food- it’s still wrestling. It’s just a different flavor. There are millions of fans who only watched on Monday nights during the peak of the Attitude Era, where did they go? Did they all get taken in the rapture? They’re still around they just haven’t been spoken to.”

With their mix of high flying and strong style as well as deep love and respect for in-ring storytelling, the men of New Japan took their opportunity to speak to those who had shown up to listen.

As previously mentioned, the night opened with Guerrillas of Destiny and Roppongi 3K in a high-intensity bout, clocking in at just less than seven minutes. The pin came when Tama Tonga gave Sho a top rope powerbomb. The second of four tag matches saw Jeff Cobb and young lion Ren Narita face off against Tomohiro Ishii and young lion Shota Umino. This match gave a unique clash in styles as all but Narita are known for a much more ground-and-pound style. Narita got the first big pop of the night by giving a brainbuster to the much larger Ishii and then promptly collapsed. Cobb was then on the receiving end of a hot tag and gave Ishii a Tour of the Islands leading Ishii to kick out at two. Then Ishii German suplexed Cobb and got the hot tag to Umino, who brainbustered Cobb after teasing his ability to lift the much larger man. Ishii then got the tag and fell prey to another Tour of the Islands, this one leading to the pin. Afterward, Ishii and Cobb got into each other’s faces and traded blows.

The third tag match of the night saw Goto and Yoshi-Hashi of CHAOS face off against Jay White and Chase Owens of the Bullet Club. The match started with Goto and Jay White in the ring before White made a quick tag to Owens, who got Goto to turn his back to the BC corner, leading to a cheap shot from White. Goto then beat on both Owens and White in the center of the ring before chasing White outside. Owens then baseball slid Goto into the barricade. Goto responded by putting Owens into the Texas Cloverleaf in the opposite corner. Goto then completed the Goto Revolution to pin Chase Owens.

The fourth and final tag match was a 6-man pitting Jushin Thunder Liger, Toru Yano and Juice Robinson against Los Ingobernables de Japón members Naito, Takagi and Bushi. This match will most likely be Jushin’s last match in the U.S. It was a typical feel-good bout that was short and sweet and ended with Yano catching Bushi in a small package for the win. Then came the main attractions.

The first match in the A block was Will Ospreay vs. Lance Archer. Ospreay got the match off to a frenetic start with a Phoenix Splash and a Spanish Fly leading to a near fall at two. Ospreay followed up with a Sasuke Special on the outside, but was caught and powerbombed through the announce table. After a few moments, Ospreay and Archer made it back into the ring before the ref began his count. Archer maintained control at this point, walking the ropes from the red to the blue corner before coming down with an axe handle chop, leading into Ospreay’s back handspring drop kick and a top rope 619. They traded finishing moves and near falls until Archer applied the Iron Claw (a move made famous in Texas nearly 70 years ago by Von Erich family patriarch Fritz Von Erich) and forced Ospreay into a pinning predicament. The match came in at 17 minutes and 40 seconds.

The second match saw Evil face off against Bad Luck Fale. They opted to abandon the ring as the bell rang and work on the outside. Fale suplexed Evil onto the ramp and made his way back to the ring with Evil’s seemingly lifeless body. Evil then suplexed Fale before crashing to the mat himself. Fale wrapped a steel chair over Evil’s neck, driving him into the ring post and moving him back into the ring. Evil recovered and nailed Fale with a lariat. This began a series of near falls in rapid succession until a ref bump. Fale took the opportunity to low blow Evil before hitting him in the face with a steel chair and pinning him.

The third match pitted Sanada against Zack Sabre Jr. in a surprisingly technical display. After all, Sanada is not typically known for his skill in mat wrestling. The main spot came when ZSJ was finally put into the Paradise Lock by Sanada, a feat that he has tried to achieve since ZSJ arrived in New Japan. ZSJ then put Sanada into a choke hold, which was broken when Sanada dropped ZSJ with a suplex rolling into a bridge for the pin.

The fourth A block match showcased international superstar KENTA’s first match back in a New Japan ring as he faced last year’s runner up Kota Ibushi. The match built slowly as the two traded blows but began to pick up speed when Kota got tangled in the ropes and caught a kick to the ribs. This was a true change in form for KENTA as he returned to his Pro Wrestling NOAH persona, casting his Hideo Atami NXT identity in the past. KENTA turned Kota inside out with an absolutely hellacious kick to the sternum before pinning him with one foot, staring down Red Shoes who refused to call the pin. KENTA then counted his own pin.

As Red Shoes got KENTA off of Kota, it gave Ibushi time to recover as they moved to the next spot, in which Kenta was on the receiving end of a pair of twin suplexes off the top rope. Kota then delivered a back handspring drop kick before being thrown off the apron into the guard rail. Kenta then leapt from the apron to the guard rail, delivering a double stomp. Kenta set up a Go To Sleep, but Ibushi countered by rolling KENTA with a small package for a near fall. KENTA then delivered several kicks to the head of Kota before pulling him into the GTS for the pin.

The fifth and final block match of the night was between the ace of New Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada. This match comes with a metric ton of history and build up attached, dating all the way back to Okada’s return from excursion in 2011. These two have faced off with one another a handful of times and it always proves to be an exciting and hard-hitting affair. This match was no different, with both men acknowledging that their likelihood of winning the A block was tied directly to the result of this match.

Okada backed Tanahashi into the ropes with a clean break that was followed up with a massive elbow to the face from Tanahashi. They both began to run the ropes with Tana catching himself and hanging on as Okada attempted a drop kick in the middle of the ring. Okada then drop kicked Tanahasi over the top rope and down to the floor. Once back in, Okada hit a running knee and stood on his chest for the pin, which was not counted by Red Shoes. Tanahashi gave Okada a Dragon Corkscrew leg whip to bring him down to the mat. Okada wrapped an arm over Tanahashi’s face to keep him grounded on the mat. Okada also attempted to kick Tanahashi, which was caught and reversed into another Dragon Corkscrew leg whip. Tanahashi then came off the second rope with a rolling senton bomb for a near fall.

This ends with Okada tied up in the ropes and another Dragon Corkscrew leg whip, which is then transformed into a Texas Cloverleaf. Okada forced the rope break, spilling to the outside. Tanahashi then dove from the top rope to the outside. Back in the ring, Tanahashi reversed a Rainmaker attempt into a Twist and Shout for a near fall. Tanahashi climbed to the top rope for a splash, but Okada got his knees up. Okada then transitioned into a full Rainmaker while still maintaining wrist control. Tanahashi rolled Okada into a small package for another near fall before suplexing him in the middle of the ring. Okada then set up for another Rainmaker, but it was reversed into what looked to be a Twist and Shout, but that was reversed again into a Tombstone Piledriver, which transitioned into a Rainmaker for the pin.

After the match Okada had this to say: “Dallas! How was G1 climax? [Cheers] tonight is the first time the G1 is in America. But not the last. So we’ll come back. So when I come back to Dallas I will be thr G1 Climax winner and IWGP Heavy weight champion. Thank you!”

New Japan announced it would be holding three more solo-promoted shows in the U.S. this year: from September 27-29, NJPW will hit the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Boston, the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York and the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. Legendary referee Tiger Hattori also announced that he will retire at the NYC show.

Results So Far

KENTA 2
Okada 2
Sanada 2
Bad Luck Fale 2
Lance Archer 2
Tanahashi 0
Ibushi 0
ZSJ 0
Will Ospreay 0
Taichi 0
Ishii 0
Jon Moxley 0
Goto 0
Shingo Takagi 0
Naito 0
Juice Robinson 0
Yano 0
Jay White 0
Jeff Cobb 0