New Japan Pro Wrestling made their second return to the Walter Pyramid for Fighting Spirit Unleashed. This was their fifth show in California, as part of their expansion into the United States. Overall the show card was solid from top to bottom and may have even exceeded expectations. The highlights of the show included the match between Marty Scurll and Will Ospreay, Cody Rhodes becoming the new IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, the Guerrillas of Destiny taking the tag-team titles from The Young Bucks and the main event Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii against the Golden Lovers, Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi.
Here is a full rundown of the show:
1. ACH & Ryusuke Taguchi & Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Roppongi 3K & Rocky Romero
This match was a great way to kick off the show, it got the crowd hyped and did everything an opening match is supposed to do to get the ball rolling.
Of course the crowd loved Jushin Thunder Liger so everything he did got a response. ACH was the only non New Japan regular but his crisp offense made him the star of the match.
2. The Addiction defeated Chase Owens & Hangman Page
This was a real good tag-team match. The crowd loved The Addiction (Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels) since both of them spent the early part of their careers wrestling in the SoCal area. Most of the match was Chase Owens & Hangman Page working over Kazarian until he made the hot tag to Daniels. The work from Owens and Page was impressive considering they’re not a regular team. The Addiction won with the Best Meltzer Ever.
3. Jeff Cobb & Chris Sabin & Flip Gordon Defeated Hirooki Goto & Baretta & Chuckie T
This match was designed to get Jeff Cobb over and it did just that. He was suplexing people all over left and right. And much of the focus was on his budding rivalry with Hirooki Goto. Jeff Cobb picked up the win by hitting the Tour of the Islands.
4. Zack Sabre Jr. & Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer defeated Tetsuya Naito & Evil & Seiya Sanada
In-ring wise there was nothing special about this match. However, the crowd was hyped and loud for Tetsuya Naito; the crowd treats and sees him as the superstar he is and that made this match. Naito hit all his signature moves and gestures and the crowd ate it up. Everyone else in the match benefited from Naito’s superstar aura. The finish was Sabre Jr rolling up EVIL.
5. Jay White & Gedo defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kushida
This was a basic tag match but the story of the match was Jay White once again beating Hiroshi Tanahashi. Jay White has really grown with the Switch Blade character. Post match Jay said that New Japan would never want two foreigners to headline Wrestle Kingdom but he’s going to change that.
15 Minute Intermission
6. Marty Scurll defeated Will Ospreay
Marty Scurll and Will Ospreay cannot have a bad match at all. The second they stepped into the ring everything changed. The energy rose to another level and it was all action from start to finish. Marty and Will respectively have their own very unique wrestling styles and they have a brilliant way of complementing each other in the ring. This was one of the best matches of the year. Both guys shined and came out as bigger stars. So many moments of this match will be remembered.
7. Guerillas of Destiny {G.O.D} defeated the Young Bucks for IWGP tag team titles
The G.O.D had a point to prove and they did. They had a great match with the Bucks and them winning the belts added a lot to this rivalry. The match also answered wether or not the G.O.D can hang with the Bucks. They can.
8. Cody defeated Juice Robinson for IWGP U.S Heavyweight Championship
This is another match that the crowd took to another level. The match was far better than their previous match and it showed the growth of both guys. Brandi got involved and added a great element to the match. The finish was Cody countering a superplex into a cradle in which it appeared it would be a double pin but Cody got the shoulder up. making Cody a double champion holding both the IWGP U.S Heavyweight Championship and the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. This was also the biggest shocker of the night.
9. The Golden Lovers {Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi} defeated Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii
When you have four amazing workers in the same ring you’re going to get an amazing match and that’s exactly what we got. This match was at the level of the Golden Lovers/Young Bucks match from the last Long Beach show. All four guys shined and all four guys went at it at such a fast pace. The crowd absolutely ate it up, the strike exchanges between Omega and Okada, and the intensity between Ibushi and Ishii. The Golden Lovers got the double V Trigger on Ishii for the win.
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