NJPW G1 Special In USA Day 1: Two Titles On The Line & The NJPW US Title Tournament Begins
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IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Kazuchika Okada def. Cody to retain the title
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match: War Machine (Raymond Rowe & Hanson) def. Guerillas Of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tonga Roa) to win the titles
IWGP United States Heavyweight Title Tournament Opening Round Match: Kenny Omega def. Michael Elgin
IWGP United States Heavyweight Title Tournament Opening Round Match: Tomohiro Ishii def. Tetsuya Naito
IWGP United States Heavyweight Title Tournament Opening Round Match: Zack Sabre Jr. def. Juice Robinson
IWGP United States Heavyweight Title Tournament Opening Round Match:Jay Lethal def. Hangman Page
David Finlay, Jay White, Kushida & Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Sho Tanaka, Yohei Kamatsu, Yoshi Tatsu & Billy Gunn
Los Ingobernables (Sanada, Evil, Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi) def. Titan, Dragon Lee, Volador Jr. & Jushin “Thunder” Liger
Chaos (Trent Beretta, Rocky Romero & Will Ospreay) & The Briscoe Brothers (Mark & Jay) def. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson & Marty Scurll)
Match By Match Recap
Chaos (Trent Beretta, Rocky Romero & Will Ospreay) & The Briscoe Brothers (Mark & Jay) vs. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson & Marty Scurll)
The match begins with Ospreay and Scurll going through a series of reversals, Ospreay knocks Scurll out of the ring with a drop kick and he teases a suicide dive. Takahashi attacks Ospreay from behind and he eats a drop kick for his efforts, Fale hits the ring and he knocks Ospreay out of it. The Briscoes double team Fale and knock him out of the ring, Takahashi hits the ring and The Briscoes knock him out of it. The Briscoes then take out Bullet Club with a series of suicide dives, RPG Vice and The Young Bucks brawl in the ring. RPG Vice corner the Bucks and then nail them with some double team moves, the Bucks take out RPG Vice with some super kicks.
The Buck then attack their opponents with some suicide dives on the arena floor, Ospreay then does a shooting star press onto Bullet Club members who were on the arena floor. Mark brings Scurll in the ring and Scurll snaps his fingers, Scurll taunts Mark and he eats an enzaguri for his efforts. Members of both teams simultaneously hit the ring to take each other out, Matt catches Mark with a super kick and then Beretta takes him out with a tornado DDT. Ospreay catches a charging Scurll with a one man Spanish fly, Nick and Romero are legally tagged into the match. Romero nails both of the Bucks with Forever Clotheslines, Fale hits the ring and Romero nails him with Forever Clotheslines. Fale goes for the Grenade and Beretta saves Romero, RPG Vice eat a running clothesline from a charging Fale.
Fale uses a Bad Luck Fall to toss Beretta out of the ring and onto some of the competitors, the Briscoes hit the ring and double team Fale. The Briscoes eventually knock Fale out of the ring, the Bucks hit the ring and nail both Briscoes with super kicks. The Bucks then hit Romero with a buckle bomb into an enzaguri, Romero rolls up Matt from out of nowhere to get the three count.
Winners: Chaos (Trent Beretta, Rocky Romero & Will Ospreay) & The Briscoe Brothers (Mark & Jay)
Titan, Dragon Lee, Volador Jr. & Jushin “Thunder” Liger vs. Los Ingobernables (Sanada, Evil, Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi)
The match begins with Volador Jr taking Bushi out of the ring with a head scissors takedown, Liger and Sanada get the tags from their respective partners. Evil jumps a distracted Liger from behind, Liger recovers by throwing Sanada into Evil and then knocking Sanada out of the ring. Evil then trips up Liger so Sanada can nail him with a drop kick, a brawl breaks out between most of the competitors on the arena floor. Titan hits the ring and Sanada ties him up before nailing him with a drop kick, Sanada and Evil nail Liger with double team moves as Evil tagged in. Bushi hits the ring and he takes out Liger with a missile drop kick, Liger catches a charging Bushi with a tilt-a-whirl back breaker.
Liger then drops a charging Evil with a palm strike, Takahashi and Lee get tagged in and they start exchanging chops right away. Lee then nails a charging Sanada with a running knee strike, Volador Jr and Titan catch Bushi and Sanada with some suicide dives. Lee and Takahashi go back at in on the inside of the ring, Titan tags in and he hits Takahashi with a springboard high cross body. Titan then drops Takahashi with a tornado head scissors, Takahashi recovers by propelling a charging Titan into the corner. Los Ingobernables quadruple team Titan for a near fall, Takahashi distracts the ref as Sanada and Evil take out Titan with chair shots. Takahashi hits Titan with the Time Bomb for the three count.
Winners: Los Ingobernables (Sanada, Evil, Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi)
IWGP United States Heavyweight Title Tournament Opening Round Match:Jay Lethal vs. Hangman Page
The match begins with Page jumping Lethal from behind, Lethal and Page start brawling on the arena floor until Page tosses Lethal into the ring. Lethal knocks Page back out of the ring before catching him with a suicide dive, Lethal tosses Page back into the ring before attacking him with chops. Lethal follows that up by catching Page with a Lethal Combination for a near fall, Lethal traps Page in the corner before attacking him with more chops. Lethal misses an escape in the corner and Page drapes him on the top rope, Page then knocks Lethal out of the ring with a kick. Page follows that up by nailing Lethal with a shooting star shoulder tackle, Page then tosses Lethal back into the ring.
Page then catches Lethal with a running clothesline followed by a senton bomb, Page catches Lethal with a pump handle pinning combination for a near fall. Lethal tries fighting back and Page counters a Lethal Injection with an abdominal stretch, Lethal tries fighting back again and Page reapplies the abdominal stretch on him. Lethal escapes and he clobbers Page with a series of kicks and a roaring elbow strike, Lethal drops Page with an ace crusher. Lethal goes to the top rope and he catches Page with a top rope elbow drop for a near fall, Page catches Lethal with a small package for a near fall. Page recovers and he drops a charging Lethal with a lariat for a near fall, Page sets up for his finisher and Lethal counters to hit him with a super kick followed by another Lethal Combination.
Lethal barely connects with a Lethal Injection and he grabs his injured ribs after landing the hold, Lethal and Page exchange strikes in the middle of the ring. Lethal rocks Page with a series of enzaguri’s, Lethal nails Page with a second Lethal Injection for the three count.
Winner: Jay Lethal
More action on Page Two…
IWGP United States Heavyweight Title Tournament Opening Round Match: Juice Robinson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
The match begins with Sabre Jr taking Robinson down and Robinson gets to the ropes, Robinson kicks Sabre Jr in the midsection before smashing him into the turnbuckle a few times. Robinson then catches Sabre Jr with some jabs and a standing drop kick, Sabre Jr follows that up by catching Sabre Jr with a back breaker into a Russian leg sweep. Robinson then catches Sabre Jr with a senton bomb, Sabre Jr tries fighting back and Robinson attacks him with chops. Sabre Jr drags Robinson to the mat and he stomps away on his bent arm, Sabre Jr stomps away on the downed arm of Robinson. Robinson stands up as Sabre Jr just kicks away at him, Sabre Jr briefly locks Robinson in the abdominal stretch.
Sabre Jr bends the arm of a downed Robinson before stomping away on it, Robinson recovers to catch Sabre Jr with an elevated gut buster. Robinson then clobbers Sabre Jr with a running clothesline in the corner, Sabre Jr recovers and he catches Robinson in a kimura. Robinson breaks free and he nails Sabre Jr with a Jack Hammer, Robinson then hits Sabre Jr with a cannonball in the corner. Sabre Jr recovers and he kicks Robinson right in his injured arm, Sabre Jr catches Robinson with a roll up from out of nowhere followed by a penalty kick. Sabre Jr again bends the arm of Robinson while stomping away on it, Sabre Jr then kicks away at a downed Robinson.
Robinson gets up and he attacks Sabre Jr with a series of punches and chops, Robinson then hits a charging Sabre Jr with a leg lariat. Sabre Jr recovers and he applies the cross arm bar to Robinson, Sabre Jr transitions to a triangle choke against Robinson. Robinson breaks free by crushing Sabre Jr with a power bomb, Sabre Jr again kicks away at the injured arm of Robinson. Sabre Jr counters Pulp Friction by locking Robinson in the octopus stretch and the tap out follows.
Winner: Zack Sabre Jr.
David Finlay, Jay White, Kushida & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Sho Tanaka, Yohei Kamatsu, Yoshi Tatsu & Billy Gunn
The match begins with Kushida and Kamatsu doing a little work on their arms, Kushida taunts Gunn before putting Kamatsu in the Hoverboard Lock. Finlay tags in and he attacks Kamatsu with some European uppercuts and a flying forearm strike, Tanaka interferes and Finlay nails him with a drop kick. Kushida tags back in and he works over Kamatsu some more, Kamatsu rolls out of the ring and he traps Kushida on the ring apron. Tanaka nails a dropped Kushida with a drop kick to the back, Kamatsu and Tanaka nail Kushida with some double team moves for a near fall. Tanaka tags in and he gets into a striking exchange with Kushida, Tanaka drops Kushida and he applies the body scissors on him.
Tanaka transitions into an arm bar on Kushida until Kushida gets to the ropes, Gunn tags in and he attacks Kushida with a ton of kicks in the corner. Gunn taunts the opposition before dropping Kushida with a single punch for the near fall, Tanaka tags back in and he double teams Kushida alongside Kamatsu. Kushida fights back to drop Tanaka with a hurricarana, Kushida then hits Kamatsu with a drop kick after a hip toss. Gunn interferes and Kushida nails him with a springboard elbow strike, Tanahashi tags in and he drops Gunn with a flying forearm. Tanahashi goes for a springboard cross body and Gunn instead nails him with a fall away slam, Tanahashi and Gunn drop each other with clotheslines.
White and Tatsu get the tags from their respective partners, White drops a charging Tatsu with a back elbow strike. White then hits Tatsu with a running European uppercut followed by a back drop suplex for a near fall, Tatsu recovers and he drops White with a spinning heel kick. Tatsu goes to the top rope and White gets him down, White then propels Tatsu right into the turnbuckle. Members from both teams hit the ring and take turns taking each other out, Tanahashi eventually drops Gunn with a Sling Blade. Tatsu catches White with an elevated knee to the face, Finlay hits Tatsu with a back breaker. White then hits Tatsu with a uranage for a near fall, Tanahashi’s team takes out the opposition with suicide dives. White hits Tatsu with a flat liner for the three count.
Winners: David Finlay, Jay White, Kushida & Hiroshi Tanahashi
Raymond Rowe grabs the microphone before the match and challenges the G.O.D. to a No DQ Match and then Tama grabs the microphone and he hits Rowe with it to start the match.
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match: Guerillas Of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tonga Roa) (Champions) vs. War Machine (Raymond Rowe & Hanson)
The match begins with Rowe brawling with Tama on the arena floor and Hanson brawling with Roa on the other side, Roa and Rowe start fighting inside the ring. Roa eventually drops a charging Rowe with a clothesline, Tama and Roa then double team Hanson in the ring. Rowe drops Tama with a trio of strikes, Roa grabs a trashcan lid and he nails Rowe in the head with it. Hanson knocks Roa out of the ring and he looks for a suicide dive until Tama nails him with a garbage can, Roa fights with Rowe inside of the ring. Roa grabs the trashcan lid and he nails Rowe with it. Tama then catches a cornered Rowe with the avalanche for a near fall, Tama and Roa start double teaming Rowe in the ring for another near fall.
Hanson hits the ring and he attacks both members of the opposing team, Hanson hits both Tama and Roa with running clotheslines in the corner. Hanson then hits them both with a double avalanche in the corner, Hanson then misses the next dive into the corner. Tama nails a dazed Hanson with an ace crusher, Roa then hits a returning Rowe with a spear from out of nowhere. The two teams meet in the middle of the ring and they exchange a ton of strikes, Roa catches an aerial Hanson with a power slam. Tama then takes the chance to hit a distracted Rowe with a modified DDT, Roa hits Rowe with a diving headbutt and Tama follows up with a top rope splash for the near fall. Rowe then throws a charging Tama right into a prone Roa, Hanson catches Tama with an elevated power slam for a near fall.
Chase Owens hits the ring and he nails Hanson with a chair to knock him off the top rope, Roa then hits a distracted Rowe with a garbage can. Roa then power bombs Rowe through a few chairs for a near fall, Owens then throws a table into the ring and the G.O.D. set it up. Rowe tries fighting back and he is quickly stopped by his opponents, G.O.D. set up for their finisher and Hanson lays them out. Rowe then nails an interfering Owens with a running knee strike, Hanson then hits Tama and Owens with a suicide dive on the arena floor. Rowe then hits a downed Roa with a running knee strike and a German suplex, Rowe then drops Roa again with another running knee strike. Rowe and Hanson set up the table once again in the ring, War Machine hit Roa with a Fallout through a table to get the three count.
Winners: War Machine, your new IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions
Final bouts are on Page Three…
IWGP United States Heavyweight Title Tournament Opening Round Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito
The match begins with Naito jumping Ishii before the bell before mocking him, Naito then jumps Ishii from behind as he was talking to the referee. Ishii recovers and he drops a charging Naito with a shoulder block, Ishii follows Naito around the ring while throwing a few chops. Naito eats a headbutt as he attacks Ishii with some chops, Ishii gets angry and he drops Naito with some more chops. Ishii traps Naito in the ropes while he is trying to crush his face, Ishii and Naito exchange a few forearm strikes. Ishii traps Naito in the corner while nailing him with a few more chops, Naito catches a charging Ishii with some boots to the face followed by a neck breaker.
Naito then cracks Ishii with a few back elbow strikes followed by a series of drop kicks, Naito goes back to attacking Ishii with forearm strikes. Ishii and Naito have a forearm strike exchange in the middle of the ring, Ishii gets angry and he nails Naito with a back drop suplex. Ishii traps Naito in the corner before assaulting him with a series of strikes, Ishii then cracks Naito with a running clothesline in the corner. Ishii then catches a charging Naito with a power slam for the near fall, Naito recovers to hit Ishii with an atomic drop followed by a rope assisted neck breaker. Naito follows that up by catching Ishii with a missile drop kick, Naito goes to the ring apron and Ishii levels him with a clothesline.
Ishii goes for the suplex and Naito counters with a tornado DDT, Naito follows that up by catching Ishii with a modified back breaker and then a German suplex for a near fall. Naito grabs Ishii and he places him on the top rope, Naito catches Ishii with a top rope hurricarana for a near fall. Naito sets up for a pump handle move and he winds up just knocking Ishii to the mat below, Naito attacks Ishii with forearm strikes until Ishii drops him with a headbutt. Ishii nails Naito with a power bomb for another near fall, Naito recovers and he nails a charging Ishii with a spinning heel kick. Ishii gets back up to hit Naito with an uppercut followed by a lariat for a near fall, Naito catches Ishii with a victory roll for a near fall.
Naito eventually catches a blocking Ishii with a tornado DDT, Naito follows that up by catching Ishii with a springboard drop kick to the back of the head. Naito then hits Ishii with Glorya for the near fall, Naito looks for Destino and Ishii winds up catching him with a headbutt. Naito follows that up by nailing Ishii with an enzaguri, Ishii recovers to hit Naito with a sliding lariat for a near fall. Ishii then catches Naito with an enzaguri, Naito quickly recovers to hit Ishii with a dragon suplex for a near fall. Ishii then counters Destino by catching Naito with a series of lariats for a near fall, Ishii crushes Naito with a brain buster for the three count.
Winner: Tomohiro Ishii
IWGP United States Heavyweight Title Tournament Opening Round Match: Michael Elgin vs. Kenny Omega
The match begins with Elgin powering Omega and shoving him into the corner, Omega kicks Elgin a few times in the midsection and Elgin pops right up. Elgin grabs Omega and he throws him into the corner, Omega traps Elgin in the corner afterwards and he nails him with a few chops. Elgin recovers to nail a charging Omega with a shoulder tackle, Elgin traps Omega in the ropes before attacking him with chops. Elgin shows him power by crushing Omega with a press slam, Elgin then slams Omega before catching him with a slingshot splash. Elgin follows that up by catching Omega in a delayed verticle suplex, Omega recovers and he knocks Elgin out of the ring with a hurricarana.
Omega sets up for a dive and Elgin drops him with a bicycle kick, Elgin goes to the top rope and he kncoks Omega out of the ring with a flying shoulder tackle. Elgin goes out of the ring as well and he looks for the power bomb, Omega escapes and he goes for a moonsault. Elgin catches Omega and he brings him towards the entrance ramp, Omega escapes and he catches Elgin with a Fame Asser on the entrance ramp. Omega grabs an incoming Elgin and he slams him on the ringside edge, Elgin gets back in the ring and Omega pins him for a near fall. Omega slows things down by locking Elgin in the chin lock, Omega changes things up by locking Elgin in a sleeper hold.
Elgin escapes the sleeper hold and he attacks Omega with some chops, Omega recover s to catch Elgin with a Finlay Roll. Omega goes for the middle rope moonsault and Elgin gets his knees up to block it, Elgin then crushes Omega with a series of German suplexes. Omega goes for the ropes and Elgin simply kicks him in the face, Omega escapes another suplex and Elgin propels him to the ring apron. Omega launches himself into the ring and Elgin catches him with a power slam, Elgin then cracks Omega with a few clothesline strikes. Omega sets up for a hurricarana and he winds up catching Elgin with a snap German suplexthat knocks Elgin out of the ring, Omega then catches Elgin with a suicide dive.
Omega throws Elgin back into the ring before nailing him with a missile drop kick, Elgin fights back and Omega assaults him with chops. Omega then nails Elgin with a Knee Trigger followed by a cross legged neck breaker, Omega goes for another Knee Trigger and Elgin clobbers him with a lariat. Omega rolls to the ring apron as Elgin goes to the middle rope, Omega trips up Elgin and sends him crashing to the mat below. Elgin and Omega wind up battling each other on the ring apron, Elgin catches Omega with a German suplex on the ring apron. Elgin goes to the top rope and he drags Omega up there as well, Elgin nails Omega with a super power bomb for a near fall.
Elgin gets angry and he nails Omega with a buckle bomb, Omega catches Elgin with a small package from out of nowhere for a near fall. Elgin and Omega have a striking exchange in the middle of the ring, Elgin eventually drops Omega with a lariat for a near fall. Elgin goes for a clothesline and Omega crushes him with multiple Knee Triggers, Omega then crushes Elgin with a reverse hurricarana for a near fall. Omega crushes a downed Elgin with some more knee strikes followed by the Knee Triggers, Omega nails Elgin with a modified pile driver for a near fall. Omega destroys Elgin with another Knee Trigger followed by the One Winged Angel for the three count.
Winner: Kenny Omega
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Kazuchika Okada (Champion) vs. Cody
The match begins with Cody going to work on the arm of Okada, Okada trips up Cody and goes for a waist lock. Cody continues to take breaks during the match to kiss his wife, Okada then drops Cody with a shoulder tackle. Cody slows Okada down by nailing him with a lay down uppercut, Cody then cracks Okada with a knee strike. Okada recovers by dropping Cody before knocking him out of the ring with a drop kick, Okada follows Cody out of the ring and they take turns smashing each other face on the ring mat. Cody retreats to the crowd and Okada dives over the barricade onto Cody, Okada tosses Cody back over the barricade and back into the ring.
Okada returns to the ring and Cody kicks him in the face before nailing him with a flat liner, Cody drops Okada and he starts working over his leg. Okada tries fighting back and Cody catches him with a power slam for the near fall, Cody then crushes Okada with a few rope assisted stomps and chokes. Cody then hits Okada with a face first suplex for a near fall, Cody follows that up by nailing Okada with a springboard drop kick for a near fall. Cody slows things down further by holding Okada in the full nelson, Okada fights back and he eventually drops Cody with a neck breaker. Okada gets up and he drops Cody with multiple running forearm strikes, Okada then catches Cody with a DDT.
Okada then catches a downed Cody with a diving European uppercut for a near fall, Okada leaps off the top rope and then he places Cody on the top rope. Okada then drop kicks Cody off the top rope and onto the arena floor, Okada goes outside the ring and Cody back body drops him on the arena floor. Cody looks for a hanging DDT and it is Okada who winds up catching him with it on the arena floor, Okada tosses Cody back into the ring and he goes to the top rope. Cody scales the top rope and he drags Okada off of it, Cody catches Okada with a Beautiful Disaster for the near fall.
Cody gets angry and he assaults Okada with a series of punches, Cody leaps off the ropes and Okada catches him midair with a flapjack. Okada follows that up by catching Cody with a modified neck breaker and top rope elbow drop, Okada looks for The Rainmaker and Cody counters with a modified calf slicer. Okada eventually makes it to the ropes to break the submission attempt from Cody, Cody gets mad and he pops Okada with a few slaps. Okada gets angry as well and he mauls Cody with a ton of strikes in the corner, Okada then crushes Cody with a drop kick to the back of the head followed by a tombstone pile driver.
Okada goes for The Rainmaker and he eventually crushes Cody with it multiple times, Kenny Omega makes his way to the ring with a towel in his hand. The Young Bucks make their way to the ring and they argue with Omega, Brandi Rhodes makes her way to ringside as well. Okada and Cody go through a series of reversals until Okada drops him with a drop kick, Cody gets up and he nails Okada with The Rainmaker for a near fall. Cody grabs the towel from Omega and he throws it at him, Cody goes for Cross Rhodes and Okada winds up hitting him with it for a near fall. Okada and Cody have a striking exchange in the middle of the ring, Cody then drops Okada with an inverted front suplex for a near fall.
Cody goes for the One Winged Angel and Okada counters with a German Sulex, Okada then hits Cody with a jumping tombstone pile driver. Okada nails Cody with The Rainmaker for the three count.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada, still your IWGP World Heavyweight Champion
