Below are complete results of the New Japan Pro Wrestling and Global Force Wrestling “Wrestle Kingdom 9” pay-per-view event, which featured U.S. commentary from Jim Ross and Matt Striker. Results are from Dave Meltzer and F4WOnline.com.
NEW JAPAN RUMBLE MATCH
We’re opening the Rumble with Tiger Mask vs. Yuji Nagata. Guys are coming in every minute. The building is really empty at this point, but then again the advertised start time is 40 minutes away.
Yuji Nagata pinned Yoshi-Hashi with the bridging back suplex in a long Rumble match. It wasn’t very good. They are shooting right into the tarped off sections which makes no sense at all. Crowd wasn’t that hot for it. There were a few surprises, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Great Kabuki and Hiro Saito. Saito gave everyone sentons and Fujiwara gave everyone head-butts. Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu did some good stuff and Tama Tonga went for a Stinger splash on Yoshi-Hashi when he was one of the last three, Yoshi-Hashi ducked and Tonga flew over the top to the floor. This was a Battle Royal where you could be eliminated by over the top rope, pins (mostly gang up pins) and submissions. Japan has never done Battle Royals well and this was the epitome of a get everyone on the show match.
Great video package to open the show.
BOBBY FISH & KYLE O’REILLY VS. YOUNG BUCKS VS. ALEX SHELLEY & KUSHIDA VS. ROCKY ROMERO & ALEX KOSLOV FOR IWGP JR. TITLE
Fish & O’Reilly won when O’Reilly pinned Koslov after Chasing the Dragon. Great match with all kinds of super moves. Really cool spot where Romero gave a Doomsday Device onto the Young Bucks who did a flip bump and landed on their feet and hit. All the dives, superkick party, Meltzer driver, Forever clothesline and all the stuff you’d expect. Really fun, hurt a little because the juniors have a hard time getting heat in a building this large.
SATOSHI KOJIMA & HIROYOSHI TENZAN & TOMOAKI HONMA VS. JEFF JARRETT & BAD LUCK FALE & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI
Karen Jarrett and Scott D’Amore were at ringside. Surprise ending as Honma pinned Yujiro with a diving head-butt off the top rope after Jarrett went to hit Honma with the guitar, but he moved and it hit Yujiro. Solid match built around Honma. Match was really rushed.
TORU YANO & MIKEY NICHOLLS & SHANE HASTE & NAOMICHI MARUFUJI VS. TAKASHI IIZUKA & SHELTON BENJAMIN & DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. & LANCE ARCHER
Another rushed match when Marufuji pinned Iizuka with a Tiger uppercut kneelift. Good athletic action by Nicholls & Haste, who worked a lot with Smith & Archer. Benjamin did a leap to the top and threw overhead belly to belly on Marufji all the way across the ring. Good for what it was.
KAZUSHI SAKURABA VS. MINORU SUZUKI IN UWF RULES
Jim Ross put this match over so big like people have waited a lifetime for this, the best protege of Karl Gotch against the best protege of Billy Robinson.
Suzuki won with a choke after a choke suplex. The story of the match is that Sakuraba may have broken Suzuki’s arm with a Kimura on the floor. So Suzuki worked the rest of the match with one arm. There were super hard kicks and slaps back and forth, teased knockdowns, and great early matwork. They played UWFI music for Sakuraba after the match even though he lost. The match would have been better with five more minutes but they are rushing through things. For what they were doing, this was really good.
TOMOHIRO ISHII VS. TOGI MAKABE FOR THE NEVER TITLE
Super match mostly stiff elbows and elbows. Makabe worked on the injured left shoulder, including a German suplex on the shoulder. Makabe won the title after tons of near falls and one count kick outs after a kneedrop off the top right on the bad shoudler that Makabe worked on the entire match. This was the best thing so far.
Next is the announcement of the big shows for the year
2/11 New Beginning in Osaka
2/14 New Beginning in Sendai
3/5 New Japan Cup show final in Tokyo
3/15 New Japan Cup in Hiroshima
4/15 Invasion Attack in Tokyo
4/29 Big show in Kumamoto
5/3 Fukuoka Internatioal Center Wrestling Dontaku
May Ring of Honor tour
6/7 Best of the Super Junior tournament in Tokyo
7/5 Dominion in Osaka Jo Hall
G-1 Climax 25
7/20 opener in Sapporo
8/14 at Sumo Hall
8/15 at Sumo Hall agian
8/16 finals at Sumo Hall
