{"id":37250,"date":"2017-01-08T15:59:24","date_gmt":"2017-01-08T21:59:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=37250"},"modified":"2017-01-08T16:18:02","modified_gmt":"2017-01-08T22:18:02","slug":"njpw-wrestlekingdom-11-review-15-pt-1-3-bullet-club-finlay-cody-osprey-new-japan-rumble-billy-gunn-tiger-mask-elgin-rpg-vice-ricochet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2017\/01\/08\/njpw-wrestlekingdom-11-review-15-pt-1-3-bullet-club-finlay-cody-osprey-new-japan-rumble-billy-gunn-tiger-mask-elgin-rpg-vice-ricochet\/","title":{"rendered":"NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 11 REVIEW 1\/4 (pt. 1 of 3): Bullet Club, Finlay, Cody, Osprey, New Japan Rumble, Billy Gunn, Tiger Mask, Elgin, RPG Vice, Ricochet"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2439078165\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3>WRESTLE KINGDOM 11 REV, pt. 1 of 3<br \/>\nJANUARY 4, 2017<br \/>\nTOKYO, JAPAN AT THE TOYO DOME<br \/>\nREPORT BY R.W. ANDREWS, PWTORCH SPECIALIST<\/h3>\n<p>Fresh off of finally making the switch from the WWE Network to NJPW World, it\u2019s Wrestle Kingdom 11!\u00a0 This is my first Wrestle Kingdom and I\u2019m without J.R. and Barnett.\u00a0 Instead we get Steve Corino and Kevin Kelly!\u00a0 Hey, I think I can work with this combo.\u00a0 There\u2019ll be a lot less gimmick table talk over the course of the show, that\u2019s for sure.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got my best tux on for this one, rented of course with the deposit f&#8212; to all hell thanks to a stain dolloped onto my lapel from an overly ambitious salsa scoop that couldn\u2019t handle the gravity of the situation.\u00a0 The Tokyo Dome is looking sharp, with a massive eyeball screen overlooking the long ramp cutting a line through the packed house.\u00a0 This is going to be a long one, so pack a lunch.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Pre-Show<\/h2>\n<h3>New Japan Rumble<\/h3>\n<p>A New Japan Rumble?\u00a0 Sure, why not.\u00a0 Some familiar music hits and I\u2019m stunned.\u00a0 Michael Elgin is the first entrant in this thing?\u00a0 I, uhhh, don\u2019t think I like this already.\u00a0 Elgin deserves to be in a match on the main card, but that could be carry-over from watching stellar performances on AXS.\u00a0 The second man out is\u2026ok, f- this.\u00a0 It\u2019s Billy Gunn.\u00a0 Billy Gunn!?\u00a0 Corino informs us that Gunn is 53, which makes his crotch chop and stripper entrance pretty weak.\u00a0 He reminds me of this guy at a gym I used to go to who was in his fifties and yoked out of his mind.\u00a0 It was weird for two reasons.\u00a0 1) He always wanted to show everyone pictures of him shirtless at the beach and 2) His body was always trapped in tremored spasms from whatever he was using.\u00a0 That guy reminds me of Billy Gunn, so I\u2019ll be keeping a look out for shaky hands.<\/p>\n<p>Elgin and Gunn tie up and do a bit of trash talking that the mics pick up.\u00a0 They exchange immovable object shoulder blocks and scream at one another.\u00a0 As they push each other around, the next man is out.\u00a0 It\u2019s the Bullet Club\u2019s own\u2026Bone Soldier?\u00a0 You guys know that I\u2019m new to NJPW, so I\u2019m going to get a slew of fresh faces on this event, but this guy is ridiculous.\u00a0 He\u2019s wearing a mask that looks like it once belonged to a Marowak and he\u2019s a few hundred jogs away from looking serviceable in the ring.\u00a0 As Bone Soldier enters the ring, Elgin has Gunn nearly up and over the top.\u00a0 Gunn survives.<\/p>\n<p>Bone Soldier lands a few punches, but is ultimately smacked around and beat up.\u00a0 As the camera begins to fade to a shot of the next man coming in, Gunn yells at Elgin to \u201chit me in the back.\u201d\u00a0 This isn\u2019t WWE, Bill.\u00a0 Let\u2019s keep the sloppy s- off this network.\u00a0 The next man out is Cheeseburger, a waif of a man tossing out plush food to the crowd.\u00a0 Cheeseburger catches Bone Soldier rushing him at the ropes, ducks, and the soldier is gone.\u00a0 Gunn grabs Cheeseburger\u2019s hair as the crowd erupts for the next man.\u00a0 Oh thank God!\u00a0 Liger is here to save us!\u00a0 He teams up with Cheeseburger against Elgin &amp; Gunn.\u00a0 They both get shoved to the mat before Gunn turns on Egin, only to get clotheslined out of there.<\/p>\n<p>The next man is out.\u00a0 It\u2019s Kobayashi, who I know next to nothing about.\u00a0 Sorry.\u00a0 He\u2019s in great shape for his age and hits a nice little spin kick on Liger.\u00a0 He hits a Fisherman\u2019s suplex on Liger, with a bridge!\u00a0 We get another entrant as Kobayashi tries to pull of Liger\u2019s mask.\u00a0 It\u2019s Tiger Mask!\u00a0 Never seen him before, but I definitely know the name.\u00a0 He and Kobayashi trade kicks before Liger breaks up another mask pull.\u00a0 Tiger Mask gets a Crucifix pin on Kobayashi and the elder statesman is gone.\u00a0 ANOTHER entrant.\u00a0 It\u2019s Nakanishi.\u00a0 New name and face after new name and face, though I\u2019m not sure how much they\u2019ll be appearing on AXS.\u00a0 He hits double-axe handles on everyone, ducks and Elgin clothesline, and spears him.\u00a0 Then he does the Hacksaw \u201cHoooo!\u201d and clothesline everyone, though Elgin doesn\u2019t initially drop.\u00a0 New entrant, The Funky Weapon himself, Taguchi!\u00a0 I like this guy after seeing a few matches of his from old AXS shows.\u00a0 He hits the funky weapon and then everyone tries to pin Nakanishi.\u00a0 They hit tandem splashes and get a dogpile pin.<\/p>\n<p>Liger drops Taguchi and slaps on a surfboard.\u00a0 While he\u2019s holding Taguchi in the air, Tiger Mask jumps on top of Liger for two.\u00a0 As Yoshi-Tatsu is announced as the next man out, Liger and Taguchi roll up Tiger Mask and he\u2019s gone.\u00a0 Yoshi-Tatsu is wearing his Bullet Club Hunter gear and hopefully has stopped the Triple H nonsense that I saw a few weeks back.\u00a0 Damn it, he doubles down on it, taking a swig of water on his way to the ring, turning to the crowd, and does the spit-pose.\u00a0 He\u2019s better than this.\u00a0 He has to be.<\/p>\n<p>Yoshi-Tatsu stomps away at Elgin while Taguchi suplexes Cheeseburger.\u00a0 Taguchi rubs his rear in Cheeseburger\u2019s face as \u2013 holy s- its Nagata!\u00a0 This is my pick to win after watching that brilliant match he had with Shibata.\u00a0 Nagata enters and locks Taguchi in an armbar but it\u2019s broken up by Yoshi-Tatsu.\u00a0 They try to get a Batsu going, but this is Nagata, so you know who wins.\u00a0 Yoshi-Tatsu goes for the Pedigree, but Nagata reverses for a backdrop.\u00a0 The next man out is Hiroyoshi Tenzan, another guy who had a great match with Shibata during that Legend Killer phase he went through.\u00a0 Nagata hits a running knee to Yoshi-Tatsu in the corner as the camera cuts to Tenzan making his way to the ring.\u00a0 When the camera cuts back, Yoshi-Tatsu is at the bottom of a scrum and is eliminated via pinfall.\u00a0 Tenzan is still wearing the black mullet with gold trim, which fits him surprisingly well.<\/p>\n<p>Another entrant comes out as Nagata kicks Taguchi in the ass.\u00a0 It\u2019s Hiro Saito.\u00a0 I have no idea who he is.\u00a0 Nagata is sent to the corner, and after a running clothesline by Saito, Tenzan hits a nice suplex followed by a running senton by Saito.\u00a0 They pile up on Nagata for the pinfall elimination.\u00a0 Oh my 1998!\u00a0 It\u2019s Scott Norton!\u00a0 He actually looks pretty close to how he did 20 years ago with just a beer or two extra of weight in the gut.\u00a0 He boots Taguchi in the stomach and spikes him into the mat with a big powerbomb.\u00a0 Yeah, that\u2019s a three.\u00a0 The rest of the competitors team up to take on Elgin.\u00a0 They take turns chopping, punching, and dropping elbows, but Elgin is strong so Elgin obliterates them all.\u00a0 First goes Saito from a big clothesline.\u00a0 Then Norton, dumped over the top rope.\u00a0 There goes Tenzan, clotheslined over the top.\u00a0 Cheeseburger lands a few forearms, but is clocked really really REALLY god damn hard by an Elgin forearm. \u00a0 Cheeseburger shows some heart, fighting back to receive a buckle bomb and a spinning powerbomb for three.\u00a0 So much for heart.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1046789171\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Winner: Michael Elgin to win the New Japan Rumble<\/p>\n<p><em>(Andrews\u2019 Analysis:\u00a0 It was cool putting faces to names and seeing Nagata again after my American Horror Story fan fiction from a few weeks back, but no thanks.\u00a0 Elgin deserved better, Gunn needs to use his inside voice, and Liger is always a pleasure to see.\u00a0 That is all.)<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Main Card<\/h2>\n<h3>(1) Tiger Mask W vs. Tiger The Dark<\/h3>\n<p>Well, this is anime comes to life.\u00a0 Kind of cool, though the in-ring attire looks cumbersome.\u00a0 Probably no surprise to anyone reading this, but Tiger Mask W is Kota Ibushi.\u00a0 My guess is that this is a big opportunity for him.\u00a0 Maybe a movie role down the line or something.\u00a0 God I hope so because this is\u2026well\u2026something to do I guess.\u00a0 Tiger The Dark is none other than ACH, who I am a big fan of after a three week vacation in ROH land.<\/p>\n<p>Tie-up to start before Tiger The Dark fixes his mask on an Irish Whip and the two exchange arm drags and dropkicks.\u00a0 I can see these masks being an issue all match.\u00a0 Dark clubs W in the back and lands a really nice looking dropkick that sends W outside.\u00a0 And he\u2019s off, hitting the ropes for a twisting backflip onto W outside.\u00a0 He CLEARED the ropes!\u00a0 Dark misses a clothesline and eats a W dropkick that sends him outside.\u00a0 W points to the sky, runs corner to corner, leaps onto the top rope, and scores with a beautiful moonsault onto Dark outside.\u00a0 Upon seeing it, Corino says, \u201cWait a minute\u2026nahhh.\u201d\u00a0 You keep that kayfabe, Corino.<\/p>\n<p>W rolls Dark back in and gets a two.\u00a0 Lots of mask fixing from both men.\u00a0 W lands a barrage of strikes and smacks the s- out of Dark\u2019s leg with a low kick.\u00a0 I can never do those quick strikes justice, but I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve seen them.\u00a0 W misses a PK but tries for a standing moonsault but is met by Dark\u2019s knees.\u00a0 Dark locks in a \u201cvariation of a Cobra Hold\u201d per Corino, but W fights out.\u00a0 Dark picks W up for a tombstone, but W reverses, as does Dark who plants W\u2019s skull onto the mat for two.\u00a0 Kelly tells us that our favorite NJPW stars are going to be making cameos in the show.\u00a0 By the way, there is a lot of shilling for the show on commentary.\u00a0 Corino mentioned earlier that he watched the show on Crunchy Roll and Kelly remarked that he might want to do the same.\u00a0 W ducks a clothesline to hit a snap German Suplex, followed quickly by a Tiger Suplex where he almost permanently rearranged his own neck ninety degrees for two.\u00a0 W hits a \u201cmodified Tiger Bomb\u201d per Corino for three.\u00a0 It was Ibushi\u2019s gorgeous pinning powerbomb.<\/p>\n<p>Winner: Tiger Mask W<\/p>\n<p><em>(Andrews\u2019 Analysis: There were honestly a few nice moves by W and Dark, but it wasn\u2019t the full-on Ibushi and ACH treatment.\u00a0 All in all, not a great match given who were under the masks, but that wasn\u2019t the intention.\u00a0 It\u2019s not like the character is going to hold a belt or anything.\u00a0 It was a shill job through and through.\u00a0 Shameless.\u00a0 It\u2019s not like the promotion was shilling Harrys or anything.\u00a0 You guys know Harrys, right?\u00a0 It\u2019s a fine razor that gives you a close shave leaving your skin smooth to the touch.\u00a0 I\u2019ve personally been using their razors for months and feel like a fool for throwing my money down the drain on overpriced quintuple blades that just don\u2019t do the job like Harrys.\u00a0 So visit Harrys why don\u2019t ya, and please, if you\u2019re going to buy their products through Amazon do TORCH Tower a favor and go through Amazon using the PW TORCH banner.\u00a0 That\u2019s Harrys, a baby bottom smooth shave at bargain bin prices.\u00a0 How can you go wrong?)<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>(2)\u00a0The Young Bucks (Matt &amp; Nick Jackson) (C) vs. RPG Vice (Rocky Romero &amp; Trent Beretta) &#8211;\u00a0IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship Match<\/h3>\n<p>Romero has ditched the eyepatch of him wearing an eyepatch.\u00a0 He is however wearing a trench coat with animal fur on the collar and sleeves.\u00a0 Beretta looks like a million bucks by comparison and he comes to the ring dressed like an a***ole.\u00a0 The Young Bucks are out next, completely not dressed ridiculous.\u00a0 They are draped in titles, tassels, and bandanas.\u00a0 Love it.\u00a0 They call out the Hardy\u2019s on their way to the ring, showing off their IWGP, ROH, PWG, and Superkick titles.\u00a0 F- it.\u00a0 Dibiase paid for a belt and made it legitimate for half a decade.\u00a0 Why can\u2019t they?\u00a0 They load the ref up with belts, with Matt saying to the ref as he walks to the challengers, \u201cShow them.\u00a0 Show them.\u00a0 Give em\u2019 back though.\u201d<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-295314024\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>The two teams fight instantly, with The Young Bucks dropping RPG Vice.\u00a0 They strip off their tasseled gold jackets and lob them at both men.\u00a0 RPG tosses the Bucks outside and the champs make their way up the ramp.\u00a0 Surprise, surprise.\u00a0 RPG follows, get superkicked and run over by the Young Bucks so they can get back into the ring and get the twenty count started.\u00a0 RPG sell like Dragonfly Jones on their way to the ring, tripping over themselves constantly before getting back in before twenty.\u00a0 Nick grabs Romero and throws him back out.\u00a0 Beretta hits the ropes and is double-backdropped by The Young Bucks.<\/p>\n<p>Matt dropkicks Romero through the ropes and we get our first action from the guardrail as Romero slams into a section with his back.\u00a0 Back inside, Nick whips Beretta up and over the turnbuckle and slaps him with a superkick.\u00a0 As Beretta leans against the ropes for stability, Matt comes around the corner and pulls his legs out from under him.\u00a0 \u201cTrip!\u00a0 See ya!\u201d\u00a0 Nick tags in Matt, which marks our first tag of the match.\u00a0 They hit Romero with something that smacked against the speakers while the camera was focused on Beretta.\u00a0 Beretta rolls into a pin for two, followed by Matt kicking him over and over again.\u00a0 Matt uses Beretta\u2019s arms like a marionette, chopping his crotch with his appendages before Romero rolls in and slaps him.\u00a0 Romero gets superkicked for making a stand.<\/p>\n<p>Beretta sticks Matt with a tornado DDT at the corner, sending him outside.\u00a0 The Young Bucks keep Beretta in the corner, but miss a superkick\/enzuigiri combo.\u00a0 Beretta shuffles outside, as does Nick in hot pursuit, but misses a field goal attempt on Beretta\u2019s face, but not Matt.\u00a0 Nick chases after Beretta who is flopping around to find solid ground, but the intended superkick annihilates a bystander.\u00a0 \u201cYoung Boy down!\u201d screams Kelly.\u00a0 Romero gets the tag as Nick enters.\u00a0 He hits a cross-body and a hurricanranna within seconds of getting in.\u00a0 He\u2019s fast, I\u2019ll give him that.\u00a0 Matt comes in and gets a boot to the face.\u00a0 Both Bucks shuffle into opposite corners for Romero to hit forever clotheslines.\u00a0 Romero flips out of a double backdrop and hits a double clothesline.<\/p>\n<p>Romero goes for Sliced Bread, but is held up for tombstone.\u00a0 He slithers out, drops Nick as Beretta comes in, and they both hit running knees on Matt.\u00a0 Romero hits the ropes, hunting down Nick with a suicide dive outside.\u00a0 Beretta hoists Matt up in a fireman\u2019s carry belly-first, flips him effortlessly in the air to put Matt in the Torture Rack position, and Romero comes off the top and drops both knees on the served-up Buck.\u00a0 Really cool sequence.\u00a0 They get a two.\u00a0 Beretta lifts up Matt for Strong Zero, with Matt held in a position as if he was caught halfway through a sunset flip, as Romero leaps onto the top rope.\u00a0 Interception!\u00a0 As Romero springs off, so does Nick, who shoves Romero aside mid-air and dropkicks Beretta for Matt to land a destroyer!<\/p>\n<p>Nick smacks Romero in the face with a boot in the corner and both brothers hoist him up top.\u00a0 They climb up with him, lifting Romero for a double superplex, but Romero knees his way out of it and is perched back where he started.\u00a0 Matt goes back up and is met by Beretta charging behind him for a second rope German!\u00a0 The Bucks are huddled outside as Beretta hits the ropes for takeoff.\u00a0 He floats over the top, keeps floating as he\u2019s halfway through a front flip, and splats back-first outside as the Bucks evade.\u00a0 It was a loud, painful landing that made the crowd \u201cOoooh\u201d in unison.<\/p>\n<p>The Bucks have Romero two on one, but Romero holds back on a double-superkick and lands a double hurricanranna.\u00a0 The crowd applauds the effort as Romero is swept onto the mat ass-first and double superkicked in the face.\u00a0 Nick hits a running knee as Matt rolls Romero up for two.\u00a0 Matt calls for a buckle bomb and hits it as Nick cracks Romero\u2019s skull with an enzuigiri at the point of impact.\u00a0 Matt props Romero\u2019s feet on the second rope and holds him under the armpits so he can\u2019t go anywhere and is forced to take a 450 splash from Nick.\u00a0 He covers, but Romero kicks out.\u00a0 Superkick by Nick, superkick by Matt, double superkick by both guys\u2026and Romero kicks out!\u00a0 The heart!\u00a0 Matt lifts up Romero in the fireman\u2019s carry and charges towards the corner as Nick hops up top for More Bang for Your Buck.\u00a0 Matt stuffs Romero, but Beretta comes alive and jumps onto the apron to trip up Nick as Romero rolls up Matt in a crucifix pin for three.<\/p>\n<p>Winners: Roppongi Vice to capture the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Titles<\/p>\n<p><em>(Andrews\u2019 Analysis: That was a really good match.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen Beretta twice now and I\u2019m damn impressed by his willingness to try risky s- for his size.\u00a0 I\u2019m starting to warm up to Romero as well.\u00a0 The first time I saw him I thought, \u201cWho\u2019s the Santino clone?\u201d\u00a0 Oh he\u2019s so much better than Marella as far as in-ring goes.\u00a0 The Young Bucks were brilliant as usual, hitting the apex of creativity in the match with that amazing springboard shove\/dropkick to thwart defeat.\u00a0 Great stuff and a damn fine tag team match.\u00a0 Far better than their six-man stuff with Omega, though that is by design given the parameters in which they have to work.)<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>(3)\u00a0Satoshi Kojima &amp; Ricochet &amp; David Finlay (C) vs. Bullet Club (Hangman Pace &amp; Yujiro Takahashi &amp; F- Me It\u2019s Bad Luck Fale) vs. CHAOS (Yoshi-Hash &amp; Will Ospreay &amp; Jado) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA &amp; EVIL &amp; BUSHI) &#8211;\u00a0IWGP Never Openweight 6-man Tag Team Championship Gauntlet Match<\/h3>\n<p>I\u2019m in good spirits.\u00a0 I truly am.\u00a0 But this is hell on Earth.\u00a0 Three six-man tag matches in one.\u00a0 Why is this happening?\u00a0 I wore a tux for this god damn thing!\u00a0 But you know what?\u00a0 You have to go through hell to get to heaven, so I\u2019m going to approach this with an open mind.\u00a0 Oh s-, nevermind.\u00a0 I almost forgot about Fale.\u00a0 Well there he is, again making a gesture at the ring announcer.\u00a0 Did he cut Fale off in traffic AGAIN?\u00a0 On the bright side, Takahashi has a bevy of attractive women who don\u2019t mind showing off floss in front of a gargantuan audience.\u00a0 Well, I guess more than one young fella in the audience got their first deposit in the spank bank after that entrance.\u00a0 Corino calls Liger a \u201cdirty old man\u201d as he\u2019s shown applauding loudly to the entrance.<\/p>\n<p>The Bullet Club attacks before the bell even rings, with Ospreay and Jado being thrown out right away as Page and Takahashi go out with them.\u00a0 That leaves none other than Bad Luck Fale and Yoshi-Hashi in the ring.\u00a0 Fale punches Yoshi-Hashi in the stomach, whips him in the corner, and lumbers forth to get himself clotheslined.\u00a0 Yoshi-Hashi clotheslines Fale again, but Fale just looks at him.\u00a0 Yoshi-Hashi runs the ropes, disorienting Fale with movement, and lands a leaping clothesline that puts Fale down.\u00a0 Good.<\/p>\n<p>Yoshi-Hashi gets clotheslined over the top, held by Takahashi, and booted in the face by Page.\u00a0 They toss Yoshi-Hashi back in, but instead of going for a pin, Fale tags out.\u00a0 Takahashi is in, slapping Yoshi-Hashi before hitting a snapmare and a running leg drop.\u00a0 Page is tagged in so they can hit a whip-assisted clothesline and jumping DDT for two.\u00a0 Page goes for a suplex, but it\u2019s reversed into a dropping neckbreaker.\u00a0 Yoshi-Hashi tags in Ospreay and all hell breaks loose.\u00a0 Ospreay hits a few diving shoves to Page and races towards the Bullet Club\u2019s corner for a double dropkick.\u00a0 He hits an upper-torso-ranna at the ropes on Page and gets ready for takeoff as the Bullet Club huddle up.\u00a0 He hits the ropes and uses a cartwheel to eject his body up and over the top rope for a backflip splash!\u00a0 Unreal!<\/p>\n<p>Page rolls in, giving Ospreay the opportunity to springboard back in with a diving forearm.\u00a0 Ospreay hits a running shooting star, and in one fluid movement leaps onto the second turnbuckle for a moonsault, which Page moves out of the way of.\u00a0 Ospreay lands on his feet and launches into another backflip, but Pages rolls out of the way.\u00a0 Ospreay lands on his feet again and hits a standing shooting star press!\u00a0 He\u2019s not down, jumping to the turnbuckles to hit a sick corkscrew for two.\u00a0 As Page tries to get up, Ospreay hits a spinning leg drop that is damn near in the 1080 neighborhood.\u00a0 He gets greedy though, going for a springboard cutter that is caught by Page.\u00a0 Page shoves him towards the ropes and charges, but Ospreay uses the ropes to flip out of the way, sending Page to the apron.\u00a0 Ospreay hits the ropes, and while his back is turned, Page flips over the ropes and scores with a lariat that turns Ospreay inside out.\u00a0 Oh, I already know that I want to see these two have a singles match.\u00a0 Page goes for the Right of Passage, but Ospreay counters and drops to the apron, only to surprise Page with an enzuigiri.\u00a0 He tries to springboard in, but Takahashi swipes him off the ropes and Ospreay spills back in the ring.<\/p>\n<p>Takahashi is in with Page, both working together to whip Ospreay into the ropes.\u00a0 Ospreay springboards back and lands a beautiful backflip knee that gets both Takahashi and Page on the backs of their heads.\u00a0 Ospreay gets the tag to Jado as the crowd erupts.\u00a0 Yoshi-Hashi is in as well.\u00a0 Yoshi-Hashi hits a running clothesline to Takahashi in the corner, followed by Jado\u2019s spin kick, and a boot to the face by Ospreay.\u00a0 Yoshi-Hashi catches Takahashi with a flipping neckbreaker and Jado covers for two.\u00a0 Close count.\u00a0 Jado locks in the crossface and dammit, Fale blobs his way into the shot and breaks it up with a hefty boot to the side of Jado\u2019s head.\u00a0 Yoshi-Hashi and Jado whip Fale into the ropes, but are shoulder-blocked to the mat.\u00a0 Fale splashes Jado in the corner and Page flies into the camera shot to hit a low dropkick.\u00a0 He goes for the cover, but Ospreay breaks it up.\u00a0 Page is in and chucks Ospreay outside.\u00a0 Page heads to the apron and runs it to hit a diving shooting star onto Ospreay.\u00a0 Again, these two in a singles match please!\u00a0 Back inside, Takahashi lands a short DDT on Jado for three.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, the six-man fun has just begun.\u00a0 Los Ingobernables de Japon are headed to the ring. It\u2019s BUSHI, EVIL, and the guy I always believed in, SANADA.\u00a0 EVIL and SANADA don\u2019t look silly at all coming to the ring.\u00a0 Seriously, they don\u2019t.\u00a0 Yes, EVIL has his plastic sickle.\u00a0 Sure, SANADA has a baseball bat.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure BUSHI is packing a mist capsule somewhere in his maw.\u00a0 It\u2019s all gold!\u00a0 Whatever, I still like their in-ring work.\u00a0 Corino: \u201cBUSHI must have been cold because he literally took off seven layers of clothing.\u201d\u00a0 Corino again:\u00a0 \u201cIt could be SANADA\u2019s year.\u00a0 It could be Yoshi-Hashi\u2019s year.\u00a0 It could be Fale\u2019s year.\u201d\u00a0 That was immediately followed by a chuckle.\u00a0 Your stock is rising Steve Corino.<\/p>\n<p>SANADA starts out against Takahashi.\u00a0 I kind of think I would have preferred to see SANADA vs. Ospreay.\u00a0 Hopefully down the road.\u00a0 Page jumps in and clubs SANADA as BUSHI and EVIL get knocked off the apron and stalked by Fale.\u00a0 Good, keep his ass busy off camera.\u00a0 Takahashi and Page double-team SANADA inside, scoring with a whip-assisted elbow.\u00a0 They hit a double leg drop\/senton combo before Fale reappears to hit a big splash on SANADA.\u00a0 The hops!\u00a0 Takahashi covers, but EVIL and BUSHI are in to break it up.\u00a0 And they\u2019re back out.\u00a0 SANADA gets booted around by Page and Takahashi.\u00a0 Page goes up top, but EVIL shoves him off.<\/p>\n<p>SANADA reverses a waist-lock and shoves Takahashi into the ref to mow him out of the way.\u00a0 BUSHI hits a dropkick on Takahashi, evades Fale\u2019s charge by ducking out of the way so Fale can tumble out of the ring, and dives onto Fale outside.\u00a0 A chair glides into the ring for SANADA to scoop up as Takahashi tries to scramble to his feet.\u00a0 Here comes EVIL with a chair of his own.\u00a0 SANADA horse-collars Takahashi and EVIL takes a homerun cut, sending the other chair flying in the air.\u00a0 You can actually hear that glorious sound like when someone connects solidly on a pitch with an aluminum bat.\u00a0 Corino, ever the eagle eye, informs us that a grip got hit in the head with the other chair as it shot out of the ring.\u00a0 SANADA disrespectfully snatches the ref by the collar and drags him to the middle of the ring.\u00a0 He locks in a dragon sleeper on Takahashi for the tap out.\u00a0 I\u2019m REALLY starting to get into this guy.<\/p>\n<p>Here come the champs to tremendous theme music \u201caltered due to the musical rights\u201d.\u00a0 Hey, I\u2019m a fan.\u00a0 This is my first look at The \u201cCeltic Prince\u201d David Finlay, who along with Cody Hall prove that wrestling isn\u2019t 100% nepotism.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure it\u2019s in the 95-98% range though.\u00a0 I like seeing guys make it on their own.\u00a0 Good for him.\u00a0 Ahh, Ricochet.\u00a0 Sly Cooper agility combined with hellacious snap to his offense.\u00a0 Hey, JR isn\u2019t here, so someone had to use the word.<\/p>\n<p>With EVIL and BUSHI rocked outside by belt shots, Ricochet sends SANADA outside with a picture perfect dropkick.\u00a0 Finlay enters, running the ropes in tandem with Ricochet to go up and over the ropes with front flips onto all three members of Los Ingobernables.\u00a0 Whelp, that answers my question on whether Finlay wrestles like his old man.\u00a0 Back inside, the champs take turns hitting clotheslines and a standing shooting star press on SANADA.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure you can figure out who hit what.\u00a0 Finlay goes up to the second rope, but SANADA kills the momentum by grabbing Finlay\u2019s leg and tripping him down.\u00a0 Tag to BUSHI, who takes off his shirt to strangle Finlay.\u00a0 Corino: \u201cThat eighth layer of clothing really helping out.\u201d\u00a0 Finlay comes back with a spinning uppercut and he tags to Ricochet.\u00a0 Ricochet shoves EVIL off the apron, dumps SANADA into the 619 position, goes between the ropes to deliver a knee shot, cartwheel-flips over an EVIL charge, boots EVIL in the face, springboards onto the top rope, and launches skyward to come down with a big clothesline.\u00a0 That was all in the space of thirty seconds.\u00a0 Grab your inhalers for a puff.\u00a0 BUSHI rushes in to get suplexed by Ricochet, who holds onto him and rolls through for a stalling brainbuster.<\/p>\n<p>BUSHI misses an enzuigiri, but whips his foot back around to tag Ricochet in the face.\u00a0 EVIL and Kojima get simultaneous tags.\u00a0 EVIL misses a clothesline in the corner and Kojima hammers his chest with chops.\u00a0 SANADA comes in, but is laced in front of EVIL where he receives a deluge of chops, but they kind of look like Kojima is just giving him a s****y massage by\u2026well\u2026me.\u00a0 As does EVIL once SANADA falls.\u00a0 SANADA recovers and drops Kojima before shoving Ricochet and Finlay off the apron.\u00a0 He and BUSHI whip Kojima into the ropes where BUSHI dives at him with both knees.\u00a0 Kojima is kicked by EVIL, punted by SANADA, and tattooed by a lariat from EVIL off the ropes.\u00a0 In the background SANADA is pulled outside and whipped off camera.\u00a0 A LOUD clang followed about a millisecond later.\u00a0 Kojima DDT\u2019s EVIL as Ricochet enzuigiris BUSHI.\u00a0 Finlay is back in, hoisting SANADA up in a fireman\u2019s carry pickup, but not before Ricochet kicks him in the side of the head.\u00a0 Finlay throws SANADA into the air where he crashes down into a Ricochet lung-blower.\u00a0 Beautiful!\u00a0 Ricochet runs at EVIL, who throws Ricochet into the air.\u00a0 BUSHI leaps into the shot, grabbing Ricochet by the back of the head and sticking him in the chest with both knees in an absolute crash landing!\u00a0 It looked unsafe as all hell!\u00a0 With Ricochet possibly out of the match, EVIL redirects Finlay into a SANADA missile dropkick.\u00a0 Kojima gets a cutter on EVIL and hits a twisting lariat on EVIL.\u00a0 The pinfall is broken up by SANADA, who eats a brainbuster from Kojima.\u00a0 Kojima goes for another lariat, but EVIL ducks and runs into the ref, causing the distraction for BUSHI to enter and mist Kojima in the eyes.\u00a0 EVIL scoops Kojima up for a layout powerbomb, clutching his legs for the pin.\u00a0 But Kojima kicks out, his face lathered in dye!\u00a0 EVIL hits EVIL on Kojima and its good for the win.\u00a0 New champs!<\/p>\n<p>Winners: BUSHI, EVIL, SANADA to win the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions<\/p>\n<p><em>(Andrews\u2019 Analysis: It was a six-man gauntlet, so it dragged and dragged and dragged at points.\u00a0 That being said, each matchup had highlights sprinkled throughout.\u00a0 Ospreay and Page is a match I NEED to see.\u00a0 SANADA showed his dickish side against Bullet Club, and Ricochet\/BUSHI really shined in the last matchup.\u00a0 The crash landing double-knee was reckless and might have taken a year or two off of Ricochet\u2019s career.\u00a0 Overall, don\u2019t watch it if you don\u2019t like six-man tags, but maybe put it on and play fast-forward roulette and see where you land.)<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>(4) Juice Robinson vs. Cody<\/h3>\n<p>Another new face and a face that I know but have never watched in the ring.\u00a0 Hey, you guys know I\u2019m not a WWE guy.\u00a0 I just know the name.\u00a0 Cody enters the arena to plumes of smoke and \u201cThe American Nightmare\u201d on his eyeball video.\u00a0 His song is a little Randy Orton-ish for my tastes.\u00a0 It\u2019ll probably show up in one of those facacta Fast &amp; Furious movies or something.\u00a0 Uhh, is the name Rhodes really trademarked?\u00a0 That is a f****ng shame.\u00a0 Cody\u2019s father is one of the biggest legends in wrestling, but business is business I suppose.\u00a0 No name for you, Young Man.\u00a0 On the bright side, he\u2019s part of the Bullet Club, so there\u2019s gold in them thar hills.<\/p>\n<p>As Cody applies an armbar, Kelly compares Cody\u2019s path to New Japan to that of A.J. Styles and how he quickly joined Bullet Club and rocketed to the top.\u00a0 Interesting.\u00a0 Cody hip-tosses Robinson over the ropes, leaps up top and flies into an overhead belly-to-belly on the outside.\u00a0 Robinson is all kinds of fired up, slamming the apron and screaming \u201cI\u2019m in the f****ng Tokyo Dome!\u201d\u00a0 Yes you are.\u00a0 During the replay Kevin Kelly is screaming \u201cMy God!\u00a0 My God!\u201d\u00a0 Apparently Robinson cannonballed Cody against the guardrail.\u00a0 The replay shows that he did and probably didn\u2019t deserve the eardrum treatment I just received.\u00a0 Robinson wiggles on the apron although Kelly says that Robinson hurt his knee.\u00a0 He goes up top and leaps over Cody, reassuring us that he indeed has knee damage as his leg buckles and Cody drops down to toe-tap him in the face.<\/p>\n<p>Juice shrieks, \u201cAmerican Nightmare my ass!\u201d and gets planted into the mat with an Alabama Slam.\u00a0 Cody covers for two and kicks Robinson\u2019s knee repeatedly upon kickout.\u00a0 Cody steps outside, springboarding back in to hit a missile dropkick.\u00a0 There is a \u201clet\u2019s go Cody\u201d chant that breaks out as Cody tells Kelly to call the action.\u00a0 Cody places Robinson in the corner and smacks him across the face.\u00a0 Robinson gets pissed, screaming \u201ccome on Mot*******er\u201d.\u00a0 Cody dropkicks his knee to put him back in his place.\u00a0 Cody hits the ropes, but is axe-kicked by Robinson.\u00a0 BIG chop by Robinson, and another, followed by a standing dropkick.\u00a0 Robinson hits a trio of running clotheslines leading to a reverse lungblower that doesn\u2019t quite connect.\u00a0 Cody reverses out of a stalling suplex and chop-blocks Robinson.\u00a0 Cody races after Robinson in the corner and gets his jaw blown up by a left hook.\u00a0 Robinson tries to go on the attack, but Cody ducks a charge and rolls Robinson into a modified Indian Deathlock.\u00a0 Cody moves in the ring a lot better than I ever thought.\u00a0 It was a slick roll-through.\u00a0 Robinson yells and screams in agony, eventually reaching the ropes.\u00a0 Robinson rolls out to the apron where Cody reaches out, grabs his hair, and chucks him into the ring post.\u00a0 Showing really good agility, Cody darts towards the corner to spring off the second turnbuckle and deliver a leaping enzuigiri to the side of Robinson\u2019s head.\u00a0 He pulls Robinson over the ropes for a DDT.\u00a0 Robinson is out at 2 \u00bd.\u00a0 Cody bounces off the ropes to a Robinson lariat.\u00a0 Robinson\u2019s knee buckles on a powerbomb attempt which give s Cody the opening to hit the Cross Rhodes.\u00a0 Hell, is that even what it\u2019s called given the trademark nonsense?\u00a0 Anyways, it\u2019s good for three and the win.<\/p>\n<p>Winner: Cody to win my respect<\/p>\n<p><em>(Andrews\u2019 Analysis:\u00a0 In all honesty, I was willing to yawn through this one, but Cody RHODES can wrestle.\u00a0 He moves really well in the ring and his offense is far less WWE-style than I anticipated.\u00a0 The match centered on Robinson\u2019s knee and he never really got out of first gear to show much of anything other than brief spurts of agility.\u00a0 Overall, just an okay\u00a0match, but don\u2019t go out of your way)<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2017\/01\/08\/njpw-wrestle-kingdom-11-review-14-pt-2-3-kushida-vs-takahashi-oreilly-vs-cole-roh-hvt-title-iwpg-tag-team-triple-threat\/\"><strong>CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 OF 3 OF THIS REPORT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-20513582\"><div id=\"pwtor-2051713841\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WRESTLE KINGDOM 11 REV, pt. 1 of 3 JANUARY 4, 2017 TOKYO, JAPAN AT THE TOYO DOME REPORT BY R.W. ANDREWS, PWTORCH SPECIALIST Fresh off of finally making the switch from the WWE Network to <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2017\/01\/08\/njpw-wrestlekingdom-11-review-15-pt-1-3-bullet-club-finlay-cody-osprey-new-japan-rumble-billy-gunn-tiger-mask-elgin-rpg-vice-ricochet\/\" title=\"NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 11 REVIEW 1\/4 (pt. 1 of 3): Bullet Club, Finlay, Cody, Osprey, New Japan Rumble, Billy Gunn, Tiger Mask, Elgin, RPG Vice, Ricochet\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,18,542],"tags":[2169,404,4571,94,4572,303],"class_list":["post-37250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spotlightarticles","category-tvshowsandevents","category-new-japan-ppvs","tag-cody-rhodes","tag-njpw","tag-tiger-mask-w","tag-tokyo-dome","tag-werstlekingdom","tag-young-bucks"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/01\/WrestleKingdom11_stage_3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37250"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37267,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37250\/revisions\/37267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}