Hiroshi Tanahashi now just has two matches left in his 26-year wrestling career. He defeated El Desperado at today’s NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome event but will face Kosei Fujita tomorrow and take on his career rival Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 20.
Like all of The Ace’s opponents of late, Desperado focuses on his vulnerable knees. Desperado though gets so frustrated by The Ace’s counters that he bails from the ring and starts pacing around the floor while the crowd chants The Ace’s name. The Ace plays air guitar in the middle of the ring. Tanahashi puts Desperado in a head lock that he cannot escape from until he twists that into an arm bar and a head lock of his own.
Desperado catches some boos after he grabs Tanahashi by the hair throwing him over the top rope. The Ace ‘skins the cat’ to get back in. The Ace misses a moonsault off the ropes. Desperado jumps at the chance to lock on the Stretch Muffler. The Ace fouls that up by rolling to the ropes.
The fight goes to the floor where Desperado slams The Ace’s back into the steel guardrail and then slaps him in the face. The crowd doesn’t like that. Desperado places a steel chair under one of the Ace’s legs and rears back with another steel chair in his hands. Red Shoes tries to talk him out of it. Desperado shoves him aside and whacks The Ace’s trapped knee hard. There is a smattering of applause but the crowd mostly rains boos down on Desperado.
They fight-walk through the crowd until Desperado throws a fan’s jacket off their chair and begins crushing The Ace’s knee with it. Desperado stomps and kicks The Ace’s knee some more until Red Shoes convinces him to walk back to the ring leaving The Ace fighting to beat the count.
Leaping and staggering, Tanahashi makes it back just in the nick of time. After another Stretch Muffler and The Ace reaching for the ropes once again, Desperado gives The Ace a frog splash from the top rope. The Ace kicks out. The Ace blocks and fights his way out of a Pinche Loco. It is a slugfest in the middle of the ring. Desperado wins it with his haymaker punch. Back on his feet, The Ace reverses another Pinche Loco with three Twist and Shouts in a row. Sling Blade for a two count. Flying body press from the top rope and a High Fly Flow ends the match.
After the match, Tanahashi held up Desperado’s hand and they embraced.
NJPW Road To Tokyo Dome Results
House of Torture (DOUKI and SHO) versus KUUKAI and Tatsuya Matsumoto
Matsumoto has Douki in a Boston Crab. Sho saves him. Douki rakes his eyes, taking him down with a few kicks. Matsumoto rolls Douki up twice and almost pins him. As Matsumoto grabs him in a waist lock, Douki grabs the official dragging them both into the ropes. Sho nails Kuukai with a chair from the floor. Matsumoto is put night-night by the Douki Chokie.
Winners: House of Torture (DOUKI and SHO)
Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma versus Katsuya Murashima and Zane Jay
It is great to see Makabe and Honma teaming up once again. Come on, NJPW. Give them another BIG run. Makebe puts Young Lion Jay away with his King Kong knee drop from the top rope.
Winners: Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma
Satoshi Kojima, Taichi, Masatora Yasuda and Tiger Mask versus Master Wato, Shoma Kato, Toru Yano and YOH
Yasuda has Wato all dazed and confused with roll-up after roll-up. Wato stops playing around pinning Young Lion Yasuda with his springboard punch in the face.
Winners: Master Wato, Shoma Kato, Toru Yano and YOH
Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Oleg Boltin, Shota Umino and Yuya Uemura versus House of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita, SANADA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Yujiro Takahashi)
As Narita holds the official in the corner obscuring their view, Dick Togo chokes out Uemura with his garotte. Umino attacks Togo from behind breaking things up. Yujiro swings his cane at Umino. Umino disarms him and throws it at Narita. Narita catches it. Umino direct the official’s attention at Narita. Umino and Uemura’s timing is off. Umino waits for Uemura to set Yujiro up for a German suplex so he can clothesline him at the same time. Umino bounces off the ropes but Uemura keeps moving so he cannot hit his clothesline. Uemura finally just suplexes Yujiro and picks him up. As Umino looks like a moron just running the ropes for no reason. Umino throws his hands up in frustration and the crowd boos. They finally get the double team move right. Uemura pins Yujiro with his bridging suplex.
Winners: Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Oleg Boltin, Shota Umino and Yuya Uemura
United Empire (Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan and Jakob Austin Young) versus Daiki Nagai, Hiromu Takahashi and Shingo Takagi
Newman tosses Takahashi out of the ring. The other members of the face team are forced to watch Newman nail Nagai with his Prince’s Curse (Single Underhook Brainbuster) for the win. Newman punches Naigai in the face over and over after the bell rings. Hiromu chases him off. Takagi brings a steel chair into the ring. Khan tries to stop him but Takagi chops him over and over forcing him to let go. A pissed off Takagi throws the chair out of the ring at a fleeing Newman. Newman taunts Takagi.
Winners: United Empire (Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan and Jakob Austin Young)
OSKAR, Taiji Ishimori, Yuto-Ice and Yota Tsuji versus TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa and Zack Sabre Jr.)
Tsuji pins Jackson with a million super kicks to the face, a running knee strike to the face and his Geneblaster spear. The tag team champs, Yuto-Ice and Oskar continued to jaw with the World Tag League winners, Ryohei Oiwa and Zack Sabre Jr.
Winners: OSKAR, Taiji Ishimori, Yuto-Ice and Yota Tsuji
Hiroshi Tanahashi versus El Desperado
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi
