Matches To Watch: January & February
There’s a lot of wrestling these days. It can be hard to keep up, especially when NJPW runs all of their shows at 4am. For that reason, New Japan Pro Wednesday is now providing a list of “Matches To Watch,” so that you can keep up with all of the highlights.
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January:
Wrestle Kingdom 12 (1/4/2018) IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) (c) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA)
A wild, hard-hitting brawl. With the likes of Jericho & Omega on the card, this war was left out of most Wrestle Kingdom discussions. So violent was this match, that EVIL suffered an eye-injury that he’s still yet to fully recover from.
Wrestle Kingdom (1/4/2018) IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match: Marty Scurll (c) vs. Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi vs. KUSHIDA
It’s rare for NJPW to have multi-man clustermucks like this match, but what a beautiful bit of mayhem this was. Hiromu and KUSHIDA did a good job of not becoming tag-alongs to the long-running Ospreay/Scurll feud that takes center stage in this fantastic Tokyo Dome match.
FANTASTICAMANIA (1/21/2018) Star Jr. & Drone vs. Disturbio & Puma
NJPW runs such a tight ship that it’s rare for a match to sink to the lows of this show opener from January. Dron showed up in the proverbial “no condition to perform.” While everyone in the match compensates nicely, Drone’s timing is off and he practically crawls up the ring steps during his entrance. This is a must watch for the morbidly curious.
FANTASTICAMANIA (1/22/2018) Atlantis & Hirai Kawato vs. Barbaro Cavernario & Gedo
From the worst of FANTASTICAMANIA to the best, this was Hirai Kawato’s last match in NJPW before heading off on excursion to CMLL. Kawato was an extremely popular Young Lion in New Japan’s dojo. This match sees him team up with a bonafide legend of CMLL, Atlantis. Add in the wacky antics of Barbaro Cavernario & Gedo and you’ve got a must see tag contest.
New Beginning In Sapporo (1/27/2018) IWGP Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki.
This match can be hard to watch. Suzuki doesn’t so much wrestle, as he tortures the Ace of New Japan throughout this contest. This match hugely affected the New Japan landscape for February and a must watch for wrestling and MMA fans alike.
New Beginning In Sapporo (1/28/2018) IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Match: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Jay White
This is Jay White’s first great match under his new “Switchblade” persona. His debut against Hiroshi Tanahashi didn’t allow him to appear a credible threat, but this match showed exactly how the New Zealander has grown since his time as a Young Lion. While the match is overshadowed by the tear-inducing post-match angle, them match itself retcons Jay White’s lesser debut match, and prove that he has no trouble putting together a believable main event.
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February:
New Beginning In Osaka (2/10/2018) IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. SANADA
The match that marks SANADA’s graduation to the main event scene. With EVIL injured, SANADA was able to carve out a stellar singles career. His G1 showings were always spectacular, so this was no surprise, however this match was next level. Okada is nothing short of a Wrestling God, and the fact that SANADA was a credible threat throughout the match tells the whole story.
Honor Rising (2/24/2018) The Golden Lovers vs. Marty Scurll & Cody
This year’s Honor Rising events were solid shows, but until the closing night lacked a true classic. The story of The Golden Lovers reunion came to a head in the main event of Honor Rising’s final night, and the results were marvelous. While much of the match felt like it was copied from the previous night’s six-man tag match, seeing Cody steal a kiss from Ibushi was an unsettling, indelible image. This match made the cover of Tokyo Sports magazine for good reason.
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