NJPW finished laying the road to King of Pro-Wrestling with their last event tonight. While also stoking many of the feuds, the show ended with a face-off between former friends and partners El Desperado and Douki for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Douki comes out with the title he swiped from El Desperado. He feels he is still the champion as he was never beaten for the title. He had to forfeit it at Wrestle Kingdom due to an injury and referee stoppage. On the microphone, Sho called Douki the real champion and anyone who believes he isn’t is an idiot.
Before the introductions Red Shoes took the belt from Douki and draped it over El Desperado’s shoulder. Douki attempted to kick a distracted Desperado…but that ain’t happening. Young Lions on the floor are told by Red Shoes to take Sho to the back. He wants this to be a fair match.
Deperado drops Douki with a shoulder tackle and steps on and over his back as Douki drops down to avoid whatever Desperado has planned. Douki resorts to pulling Desperado’s hair and mask to gain the advantage. Red Shoes and the crowd are not happy about that. Douki throws Desperado to the floor. He bounces Desperado’s head off the ring apron but Desperado reverses things smashing Douki’s head off a steel post. Douki steal the bell hammer from the official. Desperado cuts Douki off taking it away. As Desperado hands it over to the official, Douki grabs the championship belt hitting Desperado in the face with it.
Still on the floor, Douki picks up Desperado and crotches him on the steel post. After a very brief time back in the ring, Douki gives Desperado a neckbreaker with his steel pipe on the floor. Desperado gives Douki three kicks to his knee and then a drop kick, so begins him targeting that injured knee.
Desperado is very close to tapping out to the Douki-Choki, however, he makes it to the bottom rope. He puts Douki in the Stretch Muffler only to have Sho enter the ring and nail him with wrench in the head. Kuukai enters the ring fighting Sho off for a time before taking a wrench to the head as well. Sho tries the same thing on Desperado who just hauls off punching him in the face.
Desperado catches Douki coming in with his pipe biting his forehead and clocking him with the pipe instead. Desperado lands Pinche Loco but there is no official. Sho has taken him out on the floor.
Desperado grabs onto Sho from the apron. Sho has that black mirror in his hands and whacks Desperado in the head with it. Desperado is put in the Darkness Stretch by Douki as Sho bashes him over the head repeatedly with the mirror. Sho rolls the official back into the ring who declares Douki the winner. Douki begins his second reign as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.
Road to King of Pro-Wrestling
El Phantasmo and Jado vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuya Murashima
El Phantasmo’s bright LED glasses are a bit dim because as he admits, he forgot to charge them. He switches them out with a fan’s pair at ringside. Tanahashi doesn’t have a hope because he is teamed with Young Lion Murashima tonight. The Ace backs up ELP into a corner and instead of breaking he punches him in the gut. Not cool! The fans boo.
ELP fires back with a flying splash off the ropes. The Ace and ELP battle over Tanhashi’s air guitar. ELP surrenders it, reaches under the ring for an air drum set throwing them into the ring and setting them out. ELP and The Ace jam as their partners try to talk sense into them. They later join in.
Katsuya powerslams Jado. The Ace pins him with High Fly Flow. The Ace and ELP share some words. They meet at King of Pro-Wrestling next week.
Winners: Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuya Murashima
Bullet Club War Dogs (Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors) vs. House of Torture (Sanada and Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Drilla continues to wear the RIP Sanada shirt immortalizing his date of death as the King of Pro-Wrestling.
War Dogs attack the House before the bell even rings. The fight goes immediately to the floor. Connors chokes Kanemaru out with a chair. Drilla slams Sanada’s head into a metal sign over and over then slams his back into a steel post.
Connors tries to nail Kanemaru with his car tire…but misses. Kanemaru dings Connors’ head off a steel ring post then smashes his knee into the concrete floor.
Finally in the ring, Kanemaru whips Connors off the ropes drop-kicking his knee. The House works over the knee. Sanada punches Drilla in the face. As Drilla attempts to enter the ring, Sanada kicks the middle rope up into his…well, you know. Connors powerslams Sanada giving him a chance to tag in Drilla. Drilla ties Sanada in the ropes making him ride them like a bronco.
Sanada grabs onto the official to avoid the Drilla Killa. He kicks Drilla in the “lower abdomen” and retrieves his guitar. He swings at Drilla and misses. Drilla returns the kick and picks up the guitar. Sanada flees the ring because he can become a smash hit.
Sanada takes a seat in the crowd and allows himself to be counted out.
Winners: Bullet Club War Dogs (Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors)
After the match, Drilla calls out Sanada for taking the easy way out and running away all the time. “You cannot run from me because in one week’s time I want to make your funeral a NO DQ! We are going to make it so you cannot break any rules! The only thing you are going to break is your neck!” he said.
House of Torture (EVIL, Sho, Don Fale and Dick Togo) vs. Boltin Oleg, Kuukai, Tiger Mask and Toru Yano
Fale plants Tiger Mask with a Grenade. Sho pins him with Shock Arrow. The House swarms Tiger Mask and Boltin. The House makes Boltin watch as Evil locks the Scorpion Death Lock on Tiger Mask. As Evil berates him on the microphone, the House makes Boltin polish the Never Openweight Championship belt so it is nice and clean for Evil when he challenges for it at King of Pro-Wrestling.
Winners: House of Torture (EVIL, Sho, Don Fale and Dick Togo)
Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, Titan and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, Taiji Ishimori and Gedo)
Titan kicks the crap out of Gedo. Tsuji hits the sliding Lariat. Hiromu pins Gedo with pumphandle knee strike, stealing Eita’s move from NOAH. Gabe Kidd and Tsuji climb into the stands and play a game of chicken where they charge at each other from opposite ends of the arena. Neither man goes down. They continue brawling. They will battle for the Global Heavyweight Championship at King of Pro-Wrestling.
Winners: Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, Titan, and Hiromu Takahashi
Oskar vs. Shota Umino
A running lariat and Second Chapter slam.
Winner: Shota Umino
Yuto-Ice vs. Yuya Uemura
Uemura puts Ice in an arm breaker. Uemura lets go. Ice says “F–k you!”, spitting on him. Uemura locks it on again. He taps out.
Winner: Yuto-Ice
El Desperado (c) vs. Douki – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match
Winner: …and new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Douki.
Here is the King of Pro-Wrestling card for October, 13th:
