New Japan World Pro Wrestling on AXS
May 29, 2015

Man, I was really looking forward to recapping some of the BOSJ XXI from the return show on 5/22. Unfortunately, I can’t find a copy of that show anywhere. I can’t even find the KUSHIDA-Ricochet finale anywhere.

Your hosts are Mauro Ranallo and Josh Barnett.

• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. Time Splitters – (Dominion 6.21.14)
  

Ranallo describes the Young Bucks as internet trolls. Nick and KUSHIDA start the match. Headlocks and wristlocks and crotch chops to start. Matt tags in and he is stuck in the Time Splitters corner as they tag in and out working a wristlock for the lulz. Off a whip, Matt grabs the ropes to avoid a superkick from Shelley and bails to the floor only for KUSHIDA to catch him when he’s not looking with a running seated senton off the apron. In the ring, Nick takes a double-team knee lift to send him out to the floor to regroup with his brother. STEREO PESCADOS ON THE YOUNG BUCKS~! JIP ahead to the Time Splitters cutting off the Young Bucks usual backflips and headscissors offense. KUSHIDA wipes out both Jackson boys with a somersault plancha. JIP again as the Time Splitters do some fancy moves only for Shelley to hold Nick in place for a low dropkick to the face from KUSHIDA. I-94 from the Time Splitters! Cover on Matt, 1-2-NO! Nick makes the save. To the floor, Nick hits his tornado DDT off the apron onto Shelley. KUSHIDA delivers a handspring back elbow to Matt. He tries a tilt-a-whirl, but Matt counters to set him up for the Indytaker. Cover, 1-2-NO! Buckle Bomb and enziguri kick to KUSHIDA. With KUSHIDA draped in the ropes, Nick delivers a 450 Splash for 1-2-NO! Time for MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK, but the Time Splitters completely ruin that. HOVERBOARD LOCK from KUSHIDA to Nick! He taps out for the Time Splitters to regain the tag titles. (8:41 shown) Everybody looked good here, but there must be something I’m missing because most people are going MOTYC on this one. I know I’m not the biggest Young Bucks fan. It was really good, but not great in my eyes. Maybe those other eight minutes missing here are really awesome. ***½

• CHAOS (Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba) vs. Suzukigun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka) (w/TAKA Michinoku) – (Dominion 6.21.14)
  

LOL, what is this doing here? Anyways, clearly Yano wants him a piece of Iizuka for turning on him and CHAOS on the last edition of NJPW on AXS we saw back in April. To kick things off, Suzuki and Sakuraba start out doing some mat work. Of course, the real issue is with Yano. While Yano and Iizuka brawl around ringside, Suzuki takes Sakuraba into the crowd as we go to commercial. When we come back, Iizuka has a microphone cord around his face. Sakuraba tags Yano and tries to set up Iizuka in a cross armbreaker, but Suzuki provides the distraction. Iizuka chokes down Sakuraba with the cord. Suzuki boots Sakuraba in the corner and goes for a kimura, but Sakuraba counters to a triangle choke. Suzuki escapes into a sleeper and calls for the GOTCH STYLE PILEDRIVER, but Yano breaks it up. A corner gets exposed and Yano fails each time to whip in Suzuki. Yano starts yanking guys down by their hair. He cradles Suzuki for a nearfall. Iizuka pulls out the ref to prevent the three-count. TAKA slides in a chair to Suzuki to take out CHAOS. Suzuki weakens Yano with the sleeperhold so that Iizuka can deliver the IRON FINGER FROM HELL. While TAKA grabs hold of Sakuraba’s leg, the GOTCH STYLE PILEDRIVER ends Yano. (11:59 shown) Well, this was a mess. I’d rather not discuss this match any further if that’s okay with you. *

• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet – (Dominion 6.21.14)
  

Here are the two best high flyers in the world for the past five years. ICYMI, Ricochet won the BOSJ XXI tournament by defeating KUSHIDA to earn this title shot. Ricochet is NO-SELLIN’ what Ibushi is throwing at him to start. He ducks the low kick and avoids the standing moonsault, but then Ibushi rolls away from the standing SSP to which Ricochet lands on his feet. Back in, Ricochet pounds the back and hits a Zig Zag for two. He avalanches Ibushi in the corner and kicks him in the back. Ricochet grabs a Cloverleaf-style submission on the mat until Ibushi makes the ropes. Ricochet kicks him down in the corner and punishes the back some more with a diving European uppercut. More strikes in the corner on Ibushi, but then he gets on the move and drills Ricochet with a missile dropkick. To the floor, Ibushi delivers the GOLDEN TRIANGLE MOONSAULT MAMMA MIA~! Back in, they trade elbow smashes. Ibushi wins that battle with a roundhouse kick and a standing corkscrew moonsault for two. Ricochet kicks away the running lariat and hits a missile dropkick. With Ibushi rolling out to the floor, Ricochet shows off with a somersault plancha. Back inside, he hits a springboard flying body press on Ibushi for two. BENADRYLLER gets 1-2-NO! After a struggle in the corner, Ibushi tries the springboard hurracanrana only for Ricochet to land on his feet! Ricochet looks to end things with a northern lights suplex and then the deadlift vertical suplex for 1-2-NO! They exchange kicks and nearly knock each other out. Ricochet lands a combo, but Ibushi hits the Kobashi lariat. Golden Star Bomb to Ricochet gets 1-2-NO! Time for the Phoenix Splash, but Ibushi misses. Ricochet lands a springboard SSP though for 1-2-NO! Ibushi ducks the BENADRYLLER, but Ricochet still connects with a spinwheel kick. BENADRYLLER again gets countered to a hurracanrana by Ibushi for 1-2-NO! Ibushi is ready to call it a day and delivers the PHOENIX PLEX for the win. (13:37) Now *this* was a MOTYC. Hard-hitting action, high flying moves that make you hit the rewind button, and Ricochet really coming out as a legit contender to Ibushi makes this an easy recommendation to me. ****½

NEXT WEEK: Plenty of tag team action from the heavyweights from the Dominion 6.21 show. Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows take on Hiroshi Tanahashi and Togi Makabe (!!). Plus, the Killer Elite Squad meets TEN-COZY~!