As if there was any doubt, Kazuchika Okada will be the face of New Japan Pro Wrestling when the company celebrates their 50th Anniversary on March 1st. NJPW’s New Years Golden Series closed with the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion hitting longtime rival Tetsuya Naito with a Rainmaker lariat, delivering words of hope to the Sapporo crowd, and wearing the title proudly amidst a downpour of golden confetti.
A humbling loss, Naito had a winning record in the Golden Series tour stops that led to Sunday’s main event. With both men tied at five wins apiece, Naito had hoped turn the tide on the popular star. Despite having a counter to ever hold, and even hitting the rare Stardust Press, Naito couldn’t get the job done.
.@s_d_naito "Stardust Press"
Sign up Now & Stay tuned to https://t.co/CcdQ1XamUA#njpw #njgoldenFINAL #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/4qLRAROh6H
— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) February 20, 2022
Naito’s loss is a big blow for the freak brigade; the misfits that had begun to finally take their places in NJPW’s title picture over the past couple months. This weekend saw Toru Yano and Minoru Suzuki fight over a pair of handcuffs and a man-sized dog cage, ass-maniac Ryusuke Taguchi teaming with objective misfit Master Wato to fulfill his quest to be 69th IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, and YOSHI-HASHI nearly becoming a double champion, but Naito and Okada brought the weekend all the way home with an instant classic that can stand among their best matches.
While it would’ve been a delightful sight to see the unconventional Tetsuya Naito as the face of NJPW’s 50th anniversary, Okada is a generational talent. The shadow that Antonio Inoki cast over the first 50 years of NJPW, is the same shadow that Okada will cast over the next 50 years. Iron sharpens iron, and in the way that Masa Saito made Antonio Inoki who he was, Naito made Okada the champion that he is today.
Cursed to rise at the same time as Okada, Naito’s blinding charisma and technical skill forced Okada to become that much better over the years. At the conclusion of Sunday’s title match, Okada and Naito shared a long, exhausted fist bump that represented the intimate-yet-antagonistic relationship the two wrestlers have. There may not be anyone on the roster that knows each other better.
Naito wasn’t the only one to have his winning ways quashed on Sunday. CHAOS has been relatively able to keep Bullet Club’s House of Torture at bay, neutralizing their guerrilla tactics by fighting fire with fire. After defending their IWGP Tag Titles last night, House of Torture was able to adapt and overcome on Sunday. Distracting the referee, using the wrench, it was the usual ingredients in a different package, but the results were the results, House of Torture remains at the top of the NEVER division.
KOPW 2022 trophy holder Minoru Suzuki found himself handcuffed, inside a man-sized dog cage, fuming mad, choking out an unfortunate Young Lion trapped in there with him. Much like one uses a hunk of raw meat to trap a rabid beast, Toru Yano caged the Suzuki-gun leader to regain the KOPW trophy that has become like a friend and confidant to Toru Yano. Much like Okada entering the 50th Anniversary with the IWGP World Title, Toru Yano carrying the KOPW 2022 Trophy into the anniversary event just feels right.
Elsewhere on the show, noble perverts Taguchi & Wato bested Desperado & Kanemaru, proving that their title win on Saturday wasn’t just a fluke. Great-O-Khan continued to unleash his wrath on NJPW legends, earning a solid victory over Satoshi Kojima.
Here are the full results:
2/20
NJPW New Years Golden Series
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Bullet Club (El Phantasmo, Taiji Ishimori & Jado) def. Robbie Eagles, Tiger Mask & Kosei Fujita by pinfall. (6:44)
Taiji Ishimori pinned Kosei Fujita via Bloody Cross. - Suzuki-gun (Taichi & DOUKI) def. Tomohiro Ishii & Ryohei Oiwa by pinfall. (9:11)
Taichi pinned Ryohei Oiwa via Dangerous Backdrop. - Six or Nine (Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi) def. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) by pinfall. (10:31)
Ryusuke Taguchi pinned Yoshinobu Kanemaru via Rollup. - Great-O-Khan def. Satoshi Kojima by pinfall via Eliminator. (10:23)
- Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Yuji Nagata by pinfall. (11:16)
Shingo Takagi pinned Tomoaki Honma via Last of the Dragon. - KOPW 2022 Dog Cage Match: Toru Yano def. Minoru Suzuki (c) via locking him in a man-sized dog cage. (13:48)
- NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Championship Match: House of Torture (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO) (c) def. CHAOS (YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto & YOH) by pinfall. (17:07)
Yujiro Takahashi pinned YOSHI-HASHI via BIG JUICE. - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) def. Tetsuya Naito by pinfall via Rainmaker. (29:34)
New Japan Pro Wrestling will return with the NJPW 5oth Anniversary Show on March 1st at 4am ET on NJPWWorld.com
