Fighting Spirit Unleashed/ King of Pro-Wrestling *spoilers*

Hi guys,

NJPW has been on a role since it's break from the G1 so this week's post is a hybrid of two NJPW show reviews. Because NJPW Fighting Spirit Uncleashed on 30th Sept (US time) was asamazing as was Monday's King of Pro-Wrestling, I thought I'd combine the two (also I didn't have much time the week of FSU).

The lead up Fighting Spirit Unleashed wasn't too in your face during the Destruction tour but, as soon as the card was released, we had some crackers of matches. I've always loved the tag matches that start the NJPW shows and these were no different! I also can't forget the Tanahashi/Kushida v Jay/ Gedo match which was always going to be a favourite for me just because of the Wrestle Kingdom briefcase implications and of course, Jay White is probably my favourite wrestler at the moment. It was brutal, sneaky but with a perfect amount of pure wrestling. Of course Jay won with sneaky tactics but he's a heel so Gedo hitting Tana with knuckles was great. It ended with the crowd booing Jay as he stood over Tanahashi with the briefcase and demanded a shot to bring NJPW into his new era. I really can't wait for this match, whenever it is!

So, we started the main section of the show with the Jr Heavyweight title qualifier between Scurll and Ospreay and is was amazing - it was high risk (I mean I was scared at so many points when they were on the top rope) and brutal - I mean the guys put each other through hell. The crowd chanting 'this is awesome' perfectly described the match and even though I wanted Ospreay to win, Kushida v Scurll will definitely be a match to watch at King of Pro-Wrestling. We then had two title changes in the heavyweight tag titles and the US championship which made me sad. G.O.D v Young Bucks was a great and had a surprisingly clean win from G.O.D. It did stress me out a bit, especially after Matt twinged his back at the start and my confusion to if it was a work or real but, like the pro he was, he fought through it. We then had Cody beat Juice for the US title by questionable means and a lot of help from Brandi but I mean it was still a great match and it makes me wonder what's next for Juice.

The show ended with a tag match of the ages but it was the aftermath that helped set a nice lead up to King of Pro-Wrestling. After Kenny and Kota picked up the win against Ishii and Okada, the Elire came out and Cody recommended that, to make sure there's Kenny v Kota without the singles match tension, there should be a triple threat for the title. Even though no one knows what Cody's intentions are, it's a great match to have and will definitely be one to watch because I don't actually know how it'll play out but it had me excited for King of Pro-Wrestling!

A week later, King of Pro Wrestling was probably even a better show than the one in the US and I even thought about writing a separate post for it. I mean we started with a title match for the Jr tag team belts, which Suzuki Gun retained, a great Taguchi Japan interfaction match and an as per usual very personal match between BC OG and BC Elite (which I though Chase Owens was actually going to win because it was the anniversary of his NJPW debut 4 years ago). I also got giddy excited when Jr Ospreay pinned NEVER champion Taichii, I mean could Ospreay be the first Jr to win the belt that was meant to be for new stars? We even had Chris Jericho come back to beat up Evil, on his extra ass entrance, before he could even get into the ring with my home boy Zack Sabre!

But, no matter how good these matches were, King of Pro Wrestling's theme had to be new members. We first got the announcement that Taji Ishimori's partner for Jr Tag League is going to be Robbie Eagles. We even had the reveal of the new L.I.J member (and Bushi's tag partner) who is Shingo from Dragon Gate. I don't know much about him, and I really thought it was going to be Kawato (who is on a Mexico excursion), but he seems to be a good fit for the faction. He'll never replace Hiromu in my heart but I have good feelings about him.

The theme of 'new members' didn't stop there. We then had the match I was most looking forward too - Tanahashi v Jay White for the WK main event contract. The match itself didn't disappoint and it was full of everything I love from both superstars from Tanahashi's high fly flo's and White's brutal suplexes. There was also low blows, mock air guitars, chairs and Gedo getting involved whenever he could. But, even after all that, the Ace showed why he is still at the top of the company in the people's hearts. He did everything to win and we even saw him hit Jay in the Jesus Eggs and win with a small package. But, it was what happened after the match that really made this show great. In a nutshell (even though I say you should defo watch all of the segment) Jay went to attack Tanahashi before, who'd have guessed, Okada came out to save him. Then we had The BC OG;s coming out and who'd have guessed it but Gedo, Jedo and my boy Jay are the new members of Bullet Club. Apparently, the story is that this has been the plan all along since Fale and Devitt met Jay in London in 2014. It's probably some of the best storytelling around and really explains a lot, like is this why Jay said no to Kenny in January?

I also can't forget the 3-way match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship with Kenny v Kota v Cody (which was suggested at FSU). I'm always pretty sceptical about any title matches, especially with Kenny, because I always worry that they'll go on too long or they won't live up to the igh standards I have for any Kenny match. Luckily, I shouldn't have worried becaise it was definitely a match of the year contender. Not only was it technically an amazing match, it was a piece of story telling genius! You saw the conflict in Kenny and Kota's eyes when they had to fight each other and you saw the initial reluctance to fight turn into determination when breaking up pins made the match personal. Cody's role was also great. We saw him team with both guys against the other man, draw on their commitment to friendship. Even though the match went on for longer than 30 minutes, I would've gladly watched it for another hour!

So, it's been a crazy few weeks for NJPW and with Jr Tag League and Power Struggle starting on the 16th October, the next few weeks will probably be very NJPW heavy! I want to know, going into these tours, what have you guys been thinking of the NJPW product? Is there any storyline's that your especially invested in? Let me know either in the comments, on social media (@wrestling_chat on Twitter and Wrestling Chatter on FB).

Until Next Time

Bye!