The show opens with spliced together backstage promos from Prince Nana and Donovan Dijack, as well as Jay Lethal and Taeler Hendrix. Nana says, “The time has come. We put out the man that led you to the ROH World Title.” Lethal says, “To be a great champion, you must remove all your personal affairs. Well, I’m having a damn hard time doing that.” Hendrix says, “What you did, was sick.” Lethal says, “You hurt our friend, Truth Martini.” Hendrix says, “The one man to ever believe in you.” Lethal says, “You broke his neck.” Nana says, “Right now, you have no one to turn to.” Hendrix says, “I’ve got news for you, pal. You are in the sights of the champion.” Nana, “The time for a new Ring of Honor World Champion has finally come.” Lethal, “We believe in revenge.” Hendrix, “It just got personal.” Dijack, “Jay Lethal, your time is up.”
Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness welcome us from Ted Reeve Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. KK says, “And tonight the man who broke Truth Martini’s neck will speak, plus we will see the newest member of the Bullet Club, The Hangman Adam Page, against a man who is really looking for revenge, Colt Cabana, making his return to ROH TV after a 5 year absence. All of this, plus The Rainmaker is here.”
Matt Sydal vs. Kazuchika Okada
Co-holder of the IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship Reborn Matt Sydal walks to the ring, slides under the bottom rope, and poses in the ring. Okada’s music hits and KK says, “Next, the man who Jushin Thunder Liger called ‘a perfect wrestler’ is on his way to the ring,” he is followed by Gedo. The fans pop loudly for Okada. KK says, “Tens of millions of dollars of talent. The Rainmaker has arrived.” The camera gets a close up of one of the Okada dollars.
Tale of the tape says Sydal 5’10”/195 vs. Okada 6’2”/229 (Bobby Cruise says 236). KK says “Certainly there is a size advantage for Okada, but Sydal has faced The Big Show and Mark Henry. He’s given up size and weight many times before, and never even taken a back step. Nigel, it’s interesting, when your fellow countrymen Will Osprey was tabbed the newest member of Chaos in New Japan, Sydal felt more than a little slighted. That was an interesting conversation we had with Mr. Sydal.”
Collar-and-elbow tie-up, go behind by Okada, go behind by Sydal, wrist lock by Okada, Sydal rolls through, jumps to his feet, armbar, pump handle, snapmare takeover, headlock, armbar, Okada reverses into an armbar headlock of his own. NM says, “He’s called Reborn, because he came back from an injury that many thought was going to sideline him forever.” Sydal throws Okada off the ropes, Okada hits a shoulder block tackle, runs the ropes again, ducks under, jumps over, goes for The Rainmaker, but Sydal hits a hurricanrana, arm wringer by Sydal, back elbows by Okada, Sydal flips him down on the mat, does a backflip, Okada gets out of the way, jumps and stops and they stare each other down.
Okada wrist a wrist lock, arm wringer, shoulder block, whip reversal into the corner, Sydal meets an elbow, and then a spinning back heel kick takes Okada to the mat. Sydal goes to the second rope and tries for a tornado DDT, but Okada reverses and puts him back on the turnbuckle, and then nails a dropkick knocking Sydal to the floor, and we go to commercial.
When we return, Sydal fights out with an elbow and a kick, throws Okada off the ropes, he catches himself on the ropes, and Sydal meets a boot, Okada with a slingshot senton over the top rope, cover, kick out. Sydal is wincing in pain, Okada picks him up, Sydal with an elbow to the gut, chop kick chop kick, Okada returns with clubbing blows to the back. Okada slams Sydal’s head into the turnbuckle, slams his head into the opposite turnbuckle, now back to the first one, 2 elbows to the back of the neck, goes to throw Sydal’s head to another turnbuckle, but he blocks and kicks him in the face.
Sydal delivers 2 kicks to the back of the quad, then a kick to the back of the head, standing moonsault, folds him up like an accordion, cover, kick out. Sydal splashes Okada in the corner, flies off the top rope with a double sitting knee, cover, kick out. Sydal grabs hold of an injured knee, ducks a kick by Okada, and then connects with a back kick of his own, goes for a top rope hurricanrana but Okada slides through, catches Sydal’s head on the turnbuckle and then rolls through backwards and plants him with a jackknife neckbreaker to the knee, pin attempt, kick out.
Okada slams Sydal to the mat, climbs to the top turnbuckle and nails the big elbow. Okada calls for The Rainmaker as the camera zooms out, he picks up Sydal, spins around, Sydal ducks it with a Matrix-like escape, reverse headscissors by Sydal that drops Okada on his head. Sydal climbs to the top rope, goes for the Shooting Star Press, but Okada blocks with double knees to the gut, Okada goes for a tombstone piledriver, Sydal gets out, Sydal misses a kick and then Okada lands a standing dropkick. Now on his third try, Okada nails The Rainmaker, third time’s a charm, and it’s over, 1-2-3.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada
After the match, Okada and Sydal shake hands.
Adam Cole and the Young Bucks cut a backstage promo, “Hey Bucks, did you guys hear what the Best in the World main event is? Jay Lethal defending his title against Jay Briscoe? Everybody knows that whoever wins that match is just keeping the title warm for ol’ Adam Cole baybay. And Jay Lethal, tonight you’re wrestling Donovan Dijak. Well, I just wanted to make this very apparent to you, the BC, we might, I don’t know, come say hello to the champ,” and we go to commercial.
After the break, Silas Young cuts a backstage promo, “The other day, I came home and my son was sitting on the floor coloring this.” He shows ROH’s ‘The Best Coloring Book on the Planet Today.’ Silas continues, “And I look down, and he was coloring a picture of ACH. I told him ‘Son, that’s fine if you want to color that book, but just know that guy you’re coloring a picture of, the way he acts, that’s not the way men act.’ He looked at me, he closed it up, and he gave it to me and said, ‘Dad, if that’s the case, then I don’t want it anymore’. And it just made me think, my seven-year-old son is more of a man than ACH is. See the problem is ACH, you think I hate you, you think I got some big problem with you, but the fact of the matter is, I’m just trying to teach you some lessons, some lessons obviously you didn’t learn that you needed to learn, some lessons that your father failed to teach you on being a man.”
Adam Page vs. Colt Cabana
Out next, is the newest member of the BC, The Hangman Adam Page. NM notes, “Conspicuous by their absence, the rest of the BC. Normally they’re like packs of wolves, they come out here together.” KK comments, “You never know when they could be on the scene.” Colt Cabana’s video plays, the camera zooms in and out for the Boom Boom. Tale of the tape says 6’1”/240 Cabana vs 6’0”/207 Page (Bobby Cruise and the video department matched up correctly). The fans chant, “Colt Cabana!” The referee asks for the Code of Honor, both men refuse.
Collar-and-elbow tie-up, they push each other to the ropes, the referee calls for the break. The fans chant, “Art of wrestling!” Collar-and-elbow tie-up again, they push each other to the ropes again, the referee calls for the break again. Cabana shoves Page and then Page connects with a big right hand, Page with a chop, punch to the head, Cabana throws him off the ropes, but Page lands a shoulder tackle. Page runs the ropes, Cabana ducks under, leaps over, then runs the ropes himself, and hits a spinning headscissors
NM says, “Cabana has learned so much from going over and wrestling in England, from guys like Johnny Saint, Steve Grey.” Fans chant, “Boom! Boom!” Page goes for a kick, but Cabana catches him with a leg takedown. NM says, “You could make an argument that perhaps he doesn’t feel he feels his spot in BC is really secure yet, so he’s got to earn it. I don’t know.” Cabana goes for the Boston crab, Page fights out, Cabana with a wrist lock, go behind, snapmare takeover, cover, kick out, now Cabana transitions into a crucifix style pin attempt, kick out again.
Cabana and Page push each other, collar-and-elbow tie-up, headlock by Cabana, arm wringer by Cabana, Page with a forearm, Cabana arm wringer again, Page forearm, Cabana throws his hand to the mat. Cabana stands tall with a wrist lock, twisting the fingers, whip reversal, Cabana jumps up the turnbuckle, ducks underneath, Page throws him to the outside, and then Page hits a Shooting Star Press from the apron, and we go to commercial.
When we return, the fans have dueling chants going. Chop by Cabana, chop by Page, slap by Cabana, chop by Page, slap by Cabana, push by Page, forearm by Cabana, Cabana ducks a clothesline and then gets hit with a clothesline on the reversal. Page with the push kick into the corner, cover, kick out. Page with a pectoral stretch, Cabana runs his backside hip into Page’s gut twice, a kick and a punch by Page, whips Cabana in the corner, and then meets a back elbow.
Cabana with another elbow, climbs to the second rope and jumps off, Page goes under, then Cabana with a double-handed chop, two punches to the face, whip reversal off the ropes, Cabana ducks a clothesline, and then 4 punches and then a rolling punch. Cabana runs into the corner with the flying hip attack, Page with a kick to the leg, Cabana with a elbow to the head.
Page goes to the apron, comes back in with a slingshot lariat, cover, kick out. Page picks up Cabana for the Rite of Passage, Cabana holds himself on the ropes, ducks a clothesline and then a moonsault by Cabana, cover, kick out. Elbow by Cabana, elbow by Page, Page comes charging in, push kick by Cabana, leg-on-leg bridge pin attempt, 1-2-3, and Cabana wins.
Winner: Colt Cabana
After the match, the Guerrillas of Destiny come down and attack Cabana, with clubbing blows, stomps to the back, punches, elbows, as Page walks around the ring with the hangman’s noose. GoD hold Cabana, Page goes to put the noose around his neck, and KK says, “We need some help. We need security. Look at what they’re doing. Fans, we can’t show any more of this, we’ve got to go to break, go to commercial break, we need help.” The camera points at the apron and we cut away.
Rhett Titus asks, “Are you tired of little boys with itty bitty biceps?” KK asks, “Are you tired of really old dudes in masks? Hi I’m Kenny King.” RT chimes in, “And I’m Rhett Titus,” and together, “We’re the All Night Express.” KK asks, “See, when you think about Jushin Thunder Liger, what are the things you think of?” RT says, “Honor, respect, legendary.” KK continues, “Legendary, the man has fought names like Malenko, Juventud Guerrero, Chris Jericho,” RT says, “All of the greats.” KK continues, “But now Cheeseburger? See, this is what we’re talking about, now when I think of JTL, I think of Brett Favre, I think of Allen Iverson, aka. I think of old farts that stayed in the game way past their prime, but that changes in Toronto.” RT says, “And Toronto is the first stop on our campaign trail.” KK continues, “We’re listening to you. Even if it kills us,” and they say together, “We will make wrestling great again.”
BJ Whitmer comes down to the ring and grabs a mic, “Finally Nigel, finally you have come to your senses and you have booked the match. Lately Steve, you’ve gone online and you’ve thrown out all these empty threats. You tell me I’ve crossed the line, you tell me I’ve gone too far, but the truth of the matter is, you have no one else to blame for my actions, but yourself. So this all comes to a head on June 24th, Best in the World, live on pay-per-view. We stand across the ring from one another, in the ultimate Fight Without Honor. Now listen real close Steve, because this is not an empty threat. When you leave the house that weekend, you kiss that pretty little wife and that baby son of yours goodbye. Because not only am I going to break your body, I’m going to steal your soul.”
Steve Corino runs through the audience, security holds him back, Whitmer says, “Tough man, tough man. Oh, you want some now? You want some now? You know what? I ain’t gotta wait for Charlotte, let’s do this right now.” Corino gets into the ring, but Whitmer climbs out of the ring, and officials and security keep the two separated. KK says, “You went too far BJ Whitmer, that footage when you stalked his wife, stalked his son, how dare you.”
ACH cuts a backstage promo, “When I was 13 years old, my father actually told me, if you’re handling your business, and you’re taking care of your responsibilities, you do you. As long as you’re not taking food off another man’s plate, you do you. And Silas, I’m obviously not taking food off your plate, and I obviously don’t have a problem with you, you obviously have a problem with me. More importantly, you have a problem with yourself, because these things are called insecurities. You’re jealous of all the things that ACH does. See, its confidence to walk out and express yourself, and tell people that you can be you, no matter what you do. If you want to watch cartoons, watch cartoons, it doesn’t matter how old you are. And how dare you say my father never taught me how to be a man? Don’t worry about me, worry about your son. And the only reason why your son may be more man than I am? It’s because Silas, it’s simple, you’re not man enough to hold down your household.” He takes a PlayStation Vita out of his back pocket and walks away.
Donovan Dijack vs. Jay Lethal (c) (non-title match)
Dijack’s over-autotuned entrance music hits, he walks out slowly, smiling, screams on the ramp, and then continues suave to the ring. KK asks NM, “And why is this a non-title match?” NM says, “He hasn’t earned it yet, but if he were to win here, he would certainly be in line for one.” Next out is your ROH World Champion Jay Lethal, the greatest wrestler in the world, the greatest first generation wrestler. Lethal is all business as he walks to the ring, gives Dijack a long stare, takes off the belt, climbs in the ring, and immediately the two men go at it.
They exchange shots, Lethal with a knee to the gut, takedown, mount position raining blows, roll over, Dijack raining blows, Lethal raining blows. NM says, “Very uncharacteristic for the world champion, likes to usually take things slow. But as you said, the anger, the aggression,” Uppercut by Lethal, right hand by Dijack, throws him to the corner, Dijack fights out with 3 forearms, Dijack with 4 kicks, and then points at his nose and screams. Lethal fights out with 2 forearms, chop, Dijack picks him up and throws him up-and-over to the floor.
Dijack crawls outside after Lethal, pushes him in the back of the neck, clubbing blow to the back. Lethal walks around, then returns with the right hand, chop, forearm, but Dijack with a knee and then a suplexes Lethal on the floor. Dijack rolls back in to break the count, goes for a whip but Lethal reverses and sends Dijack upside down into the steel railing landing on a chair. Lethal picks up Dijack, and whips him upside down into the steel railing again. Lethal stares down Prince Nana, and then chases him around the ring. Nana climbs into the ring and pleads for mercy, Lethal grabs him by the jacket and points a finger in his face, suddenly Nana smiles, and then Dijack attacks from behind.
The two men exchange forearms, Lethal with a knife-edge chop, forearm, Dijack throws him off the ropes, Lethal catches himself, Lethal throws Dijack up-and-over, Dijack catches himself on the apron, and then Lethal with a dropkick sends Dijack to the floor. Lethal runs the ropes and suicide dives toffee onto Dijack once, twice, and looks really mad as he goes for it a third time, but Dijack sidesteps and shoves him into the barricade. Dijack does a standing backflip over the top rope onto the floor onto Lethal, screams at him, and we go to commercial.
When we pick it up, Lethal is on the mat. We see footage from during the commercial, Dijack picks up the belt and shoves it in Lethal’s face, “You see this? I’m taking it. Feast your eyes. I’m taking it, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Back to the action, Dijack picks Lethal up, he fights out, go-behind, Lethal with an arm drag, cartwheel, and then a low dropkick, but Lethal may have injured his knee. Lethal sends Dijack’s head into the turnbuckle, 2 knife-edge chops, Lethal with an armbar, whip reversal, Dijack runs in, but meets a boot, Lethal jumps off the second rope, but Dijack catches him with a belly-to-belly suplex, Dijack springboards to his feet and points at his nose, cover, kickout.
Dijack start pushing Lethal in the face and yelling at him, Lethal gets angry and stands up and slaps Diack, they exchange forearms, Dijack goes for a clothesline but misses, Lethal goes for the Lethal Combination but his knee gives out. Lethal with the right hand, Dijack with a kick, belly-to-back German suplex by Lethal. Dijack is to his feet first, goes for a chokeslam, but Lethal flips and lands on his feet, hits a spinning enziguri, but then a boot by Dijack turns Lethal inside out. Both men are down, Hendrix pounds on the mat. Dijack is up first, Nana says, “You’re making too much noise.” Taeler says, “You want some? Come and get it.”
Dijack is up first, Lethal hits the Lethal Combination, cover, kick out. Lethal gets to his feet, highly favoring the knee, positions Dijack, goes to the top rope looking for the Hail to the King elbow, NM says, “Taking way too long in my book, 5-6-7 seconds, at least. Dijack laying prone, but has he got one eye on Lethal?” Lethal jumps off, but Dijack catches him with a hand around the throat, Lethal tries to fight out, Dijack picks him up, and Lethal reverses into a pin attempt, Dijack picks him up wheelbarrow style transitions into Feast Your Eyes, but Lethal lands on his feet, Dijack with a kick to the face. Dijack punches Lethal in the face, picks him up, starts jawing at him, runs the ropes, but Lethal hits a superkick, goes for the Lethal Injection, but Dijack picks him up on his shoulders and nails a powerbomb, weak cover, Lethal kicks out. KK says, “Prince Nana very upset with Todd Sinclair about that count.” NM says, “He should be upset with Dijack for not hooking the legs.”
Dijack goes for the springboard moonsault off the top rope and misses, Lethal goes for the Lethal Injection, but Nana climbs up on the apron, Hendrix pulls him off, throws his scarf at him, she goes to slap him, but he catches her hand. Dijack tries again for Feast Your Eyes, but he turns around and gets super kicked by Kenny Omega and Matt Jackson. KK says, “The superkick was intended for Lethal, but he got out of the way.” Lethal pushes The Elite out of the ring, nails the Lethal Injection, and this one is over, 1-2-3.
Winner: Jay Lethal
After the match, GoD come down to the ring again and take out Lethal, punches to the face, stomps, punches to the gut, clubbing blows to the back, until the Briscoes run in to make the save. They throw the GoD out of the ring, the fans chant, “Man up!” as Mark runs the ropes and front flips onto the GoD. Jay Briscoe stands alone in the ring with Lethal, Hendrix hands Lethal the title, but Briscoe takes it from him. Lethal has a streamer on his head, stands up, the fans chant, “One more time!” Briscoe extends the belt, Lethal grabs his belt away and they stare at each other. KK calls the Briscoe v. Lethal rematch, one year in the making, “The biggest rematch in ROH history.” and then continues, “Fans next week, one-on-one, Kushida vs Kyle O’Reilly, and more, as we countdown to Best in the World. We’ll see you then.”
Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Gedo (Block A) – Taguchi wins Block A and advances to the finals
Bushi defeated Kushida (Block A)
Will Ospreay and Ryusuke Taguchi will face off in the finals of the NJPW BOSJ 2016 tournament, tomorrow June 7 at 5:30 a.m. EST, from Sendai Sunplaza Hall in Miyagi, Japan, which can be seen live on njpwworld.com including English commentary from Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino.
Teruaki Kanemitsu and Hirai Kawato competed to a time-limit draw (10:00)
Jay White defeated David Finlay via submission (8:20)
Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger, KUSHIDA defeated Gedo, Beretta, and Rocky Romero via submission (8:41)
YOSHI-HASHI and Toru Yano defeated Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata (7:53)
Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Ryusuke Taguchi and Katsuyori Shibata (11:25)
Juice Robinson, Michael Elgin, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe defeated Tanga Roa, Tama Tonga, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale, Kenny Omega (10 Man Elimination Tag Team Match) – Hiroshi Tanahashi was the final survivor (23:47)
Kushida welcomes us to the finals of the Best of the Super Junior Tournament XXII held June 7th at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Yoyogi Park, Japan. Tonight we will see Kushida vs Kyle O’Reilly in the tournament finals.
Kushida speaks in backstage interview. “Before the tournament started, it reached my ears that I was the favorite to win. If I’m the most probable winner, I had to bring up the energy and be the number one from the start. You know, in terms of content and outcome, I felt responsible for that. As far as O’Reilly, I know he’s popular in Ring of Honor. He first came to New Japan just last year. It was for the G1 IWGP Junior Tag Team matches held at the Tokyo Dome. I faced him a couple of times, so I knew how close he was from those fights. But in Japan, he’s mostly known as a tag specialist. He’s unpredictable as a singles player. As his opponent, a part of me was a bit scared. But I really felt that the crowd got to know them as Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly of reDRagon. They got to grasp what they’re about. Through my match it became more evident. In that sense, the fight was a very worthwhile match. There was an Ring of Honor tour right before in May. I fought in a three-way match against Kyle O’Reilly and Chris Sabin. And from that match, I gained confidence and I was also amazed. If I face them in a singles match, I felt that I could show a new side of me. A new and improved version of Kushida. I felt very excited.”
Kushida vs Kyle O’Reilly – Finals of the Best of the Super Junior Tournament XXII
Jim Ross and Josh Barnett introduce us to commentary. Kyle O’Reilly is out first. JR tells us that O’Reilly is a student of the game, a former rugby player, trained in MMA. Kishida is out next trained at the Takata Dojo in Tokyo, Japan when he was a junior in high school and has wanted to be a wrestler all of his life. While training in Canada, Kushida had to borrow money from his mother to get wrestling training. So far, O’Reilly and Kushina have only lost one match each in the tournament. The announcements are made, the silver winged trophy is shown. And we go to commercial.
After the commercial, O’Reilly extends a handshake to Kushida. The two men size each other up, jockeying for position, they push each other to the ropes. O’Reilly grabs the leg, Kushida on the mat fighting from his back, they exchange mat wrestling maneuvers, now O’Reilly fighting from his back and locks in an armbar. The two men break the hold and are back up. Kushida goes right back to mat, fighting from his backside again, still jockeying for position, Kushida grabs the leg of O’Reilly, forearms, elbows, back-and-forth. O’Reilly pushes Kushida’s shoulders to the mat, count, break, count, break, Kushida counters with a bridge. O’Reilly tries to break the bridge by slamming his legs into Kushida hips. Kushida hooks in a body scissors, O’Reilly reverses, tries for the STF, headlock, Kushida spins out. Kushida does some cartwheels, then spins around O’Reilly back, goes for a kick that misses, the men separate, and the fans applaud.
They lock up again, O’Reilly gets a headlock, really wrenches it in. Kushida fights out, throws O’Reilly off the ropes, shoulder block by O’Reilly. Off the ropes again, O’Reilly grabs ahold of the ropes, then runs up and over Kushida’s back, hooks a backslide, but Kushida kicks out. Inverted atomic drop slows O’Reilly down, Kushida hits a cartwheel off the ropes, and a stomp to the back of the head. Kushida catches O’Reilly in an armbar, O’Reilly trying to reverse by rolling and flipping out, O’Reilly gets a foot on the bottom rope, and the ref breaks the hold. Rolling short-armed scissor, Kushida lands knife-edge chops to O’Reilly, Irish whip into the corner, but Kushida meets a boot. O’Reilly somersaults out, kick kick, drop leg sweep, and Kushida is down. O’Reilly lateral press pin attempt, Kushida kicks out at 1. O’Reilly picks up Kushida, delivers a backbreaker, pin attempt, Kushida kicks out at 2. O’Reilly picks him up, they exchanged forearms, O’Reilly syncs in an arm ringer, then hammer lock takedown on Kushida and Kushida screams in pain at his left arm. O’Reilly continues the attack on the left arm. Arm ringer, hammerlock, Kushida to the mat. O’Reilly delivering elbows, kicks, then a sliding knee to Kushida’s left arm, O’Reilly grabs him by the nose and stretches his face and then syncs in a wrist lock on the other arm. How far can Kushida’s wrist rotate?! O’Reilly hits a cartwheel facebuster DDT and we go to commercial.
As we return, Kushida is on the mat, O’Reilly picks him up by the trunks, goes for a vertical brainbuster, Kushida wiggles out, a series and kicks from Kushida and then an arm rake over the top rope. Kushida spring boards off the top rope with a chop to the head, kick kick kick, off the ropes, reversal and Kushida lands a springboard back elbow. Kushida goes to throw O’Reilly for an Irish whip, but his arm is still in pain. O’Reilly crawls between Kushida’s legs on his hands and knees, Kushida does the same to O’Reilly, then a double wrist lock attempt, transition into a cross armbreaker, another double wrist lock attempt, but O’Reilly counters into the cross armbreaker of his own. Kushida is back up, thunderous swing by O’Reilly, and then catches him with a naked choke and hooks the legs into a full octopus. Kushida has the double wrist lock synced in, they tumble through each other, til they hit the ropes. Kushida is rabid and will not let go of the arm wrench. O’Reilly tries to fight off, but Kushida with a kick to the ribs, Kushida goes to the top rope, looking for the double wrist lock again, but O’Reilly is up with shots to the rib, and then a flying wristlock counter by O’Reilly, knocking Kushida’s head violently to the mat. O’Reilly syncs in an armbar submission, Kushida looks dazed and completely out of it. They spin out, brainbuster attempt, Kushida wiggles out, and then a German suplex by Kushida, but O’Reilly lands on his feet. O’Reilly goes to the turnbuckle rope for a clothesline, but Kushida catches him into a German suplex of his own, and then a double wrist lock DDT from the top rope.
Kushida lands an over-the-shoulder arm ringer, O’Reilly tries to fight back, but gets knocked to the outside. Kushida climbs to the top rope and delivers a shooting star press onto O’Reilly on the floor. Kushida back in the ring and the ref starts the count on O’Reilly. O’Reilly back in and lands a triangle choke, Kushia gets his foot underneath the bottom rope, and the referee calls for the break. O’Reilly sets Kushida up on the top rope, Kushida attacks the arm and knocks O’Reilly off. Kushida tries to get himself off the turnbuckle, O’Reilly pops back up, and follows him up again. Kushida is looking dead on his feet. O’Reilly picks him up and then a belly-to-back suplex off the top rope. Kushida’s eyes are closed. O’Reilly pin attempt, 1-2, kickout, and commercial.
When we return both men are on the canvas. O’Reilly kick to the solar plexus, Kushida tries to fight back, O’Reilly catches him in a suplex, and Kushida kicked out. O’Reilly to his feet first, kick to the back, forearm, Kushida goes down to one knee, stands up and knocks O’Reilly the f*** out. Ref goes lift O’Reilly’s arm and check on him, but O’Reilly screams in pain as his arm is still hurt. Kushida gets caught in an arm wringer, but then delivers a Pele kick. O’Reilly with a running lariat, Kushida off the ropes, O’Reilly with another lariat, clothesline, lateral press Kushida kicks out. Fast offense O’Reilly suplex, armbar, cross armbreaker, chain wrestling maneuvers. Kushida’s arm still hurting, O’Reilly’s arm is still hurting. O’Reilly goes to transition into the omoplata, but Kushida grab the ropes. Fans chant Kushida. Bobby Fish yelling from the outside. O’Reilly nails a kick to the sternum, goes after the left arm again, but Kushida fights out. O’Reilly syncs in a front choke while they’re standing on the apron. Kushida gets out and lands a brainbuster on O’Reilly on the apron. Both men are laid out, the ref (wearing red shoes) counts to 19 before both roll into the ring, and we hit our last commercial break.
When we return, both men are on their knees exchanging forearms. Both men are exhausted, can barely move their arms, Kushida spitting, O’Reilly’s sweating. They make their way to their feet, O’Reilly forearm, Kushida is disoriented and having a hard time staying on his feet. Kushida shakes it off and then delivered a bunch of forearms to O’Reilly, now O’Reilly is staggering, stumbling. They both grab each other by the hair, exchange shots, both men throwing haymakers, punch punch punch, forearm forearm forearm, advantage O’Reilly. Barnett says this has broken down to a hockey fight! O’Reilly connects with a running knee, both men are fighting one-armed. Kushida hits a neck breaker, pin attempt, but O’Reilly kicks out. Kushida climbs to the top rope, corkscrew moonsault, but did not get 100% of it, hooks the legs, 1-2, O’Reilly kicks out. Kushida connects, then spins around, floats over, double wrist Hoverboard lock. O’Reilly reaching for the ropes, but Kushida pulls him back to the middle of the ring, O’Reilly has nowhere to go, and finally taps.
Winner of the Best of the Super Junior Tournament XXII: Kushida (30:45)
Kushida’s teammates from New Japan (including Tiger Mask) join him in the ring to help him celebrate. The ref raises his arm, they give him an ice pack, and Kushida climbs the turnbuckle to pose for the crowd. Bobby Fish is in the ring helping O’Reilly, he’s got the ice pack as well. Both competitors look at each other, Kushida drops to his knees, O’Reilly drops to his knees. They bow to each other, placing their foreheads to the mat. O’Reilly raises his arm, Kushida hugs O’Reilly, and we go to commercial
O’Reilly cuts a promo in the back, “I don’t know what else to say right now, but they say a man admits defeat when a man is defeated. And tonight Kushida was the better man, he beat me at my own game, he tapped me out. But rest assured, I’ve been one of the top Junior Heavyweights in the world the last 3 weeks, and tonight, Kyle O’Reilly is not the best tonight, but give me 365 g*ddamn days, and next year at this exact moment, at this exact place, I will have my hand raised. I will be holding the trophy, and once again Kyle O’Reilly will prove to the entire world, that I am the best of the Super Juniors.”
Kushida stands in the ring holding the trophy, the referee hands him the mic. “Thank you for cheering me on in the Super Junior. For the Super Junior to continue on, for the next centuries to come, please support us again next year. It’s not important where you’re from, it’s important where you’re heading, it’s not about what you’ve done, it’s about what you’re going to do. I will bring a brighter future to New Japan’s Junior. With all of my heart, thank you.”
Streamers fall from the ceiling as Kushida climbs the turnbuckle, hugging the trophy, and holding a check for 5 million yen. Fellow New Japan competitors pose behind Kushida. JR mentions that while there was not a lot of high-risk maneuvers, this was a good wrestling match. Video is shown of Kushida as a child and young man. Kushida walks over with the trophy and shakes the hand of Jushin Thunder Liger. Cut to backstage promo.
Kushida says, “As for myself, I always admired New Japan Junior, now I’m part of it. I wanted to win against O’Reilly. I thought we were the same person. I wanted to move up in New Japan become a regular and become famous. The fight wouldn’t have been so fierce if it wasn’t against O’Reilly. But if it was against Rocky Romero, Bobby Fish, or the Young Bucks, I felt after the match that would be brothers in arms, a type of friendship was formed. I’ve been wanting to bring Super Junior to a much bigger stadium, it’s been my ultimate wish. After the match against Kyle O’Reilly, I feel that the tide is running in our favor. There are more opportunities now to move up. I want to get better, I want to be more specific, I want to fight in a main event match. I want the Junior category to get more attention. It means that the rivalry between O’Reilly and I will continue. There’s also a Ricochet and Matt Sydal and let’s not forget my brother Shelley will return. I can’t wait until next year’s Super Junior.” Jim Ross congratulates Kushida and says so long everybody.
– Jushin Thunder Liger won his NXT debut, defeating Tyler Breeze in the opening match of the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event on Saturday night at the Barclays Center. Liger picked up the win via pinfall after hitting Breeze with his “Liger Bomb” finisher.
– The Vaudevillains — Simon Gotch and Aiden English defeated Blake and Murphy, with the help of Blue Pants, to become the new NXT Tag-Team Champions at the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn special.
– Apollo Crews, the former Uhaa Nation, made his “Takeover” debut on Saturday night, defeating Tye Dillinger in a quick match at the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event.
– Below is the cool intro that Triple H did at the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn live special from the Barclays Center on Saturday night.
NXT Takeover: Brooklyn is just a number of weeks away and during last night’s episode of WWE NXT on the WWE Network, a number of new matches were confirmed.
Below are the results from last night’s edition of WWE NXT:
Bayley defeated Charlotte with a Bayley-to-Belly suplex from the top rope.
An interview is aired with Michael Cole and Kevin Owens. Cole questions Owens’ apology to William Regal. Owens goes on to speak about why the NXT Title is so important explaining that it reminds him of what he did to Sami Zayn, and of course it adds money to his bank account. Owens reveals that he’s concerned that Regal might try to screw him over at Takeover and challenges Balor to a ladder match.
Baron Corbin defeated Jesus De Leon with the End of Days
Bayley is shown meeting with General Manager William Regal and asked for a title match against Sasha Banks. Regal signed Bayley vs. Becky Lynch for next week to determine the number one contender and the opponent for Sasha Banks at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn.
Tyler Breeze defeated Aaron Solo with the Beauty Shot followed by a pin
William Regal appears on stage following the match and announces that at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, Tyler Breeze will take on Jushin Thunder Liger. A video package is aired.
Another video package is aired showing Uhaa Nation, he confirms that he will debut at NXT Takeover: Brooklynunder the name of Apollo Crews.
Hype Bros defeated Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder via pinfall
William Regal is backstage with the Vaudevillians and gives them a tag team title rematch at NXT Takeover: BrooklynwithBlake & Murphy.
Samoa Joe defeated Rhyno with the Muscle Buster in the main event of this week’s show
Following this week’s edition of NXT TV, below is an updated look at the scheduled lineup for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, which airs live on the WWE Network on Saturday, August 22nd.
NXT Championship (Ladder Match)
– Finn Balor (c) vs. Kevin Owens
NXT Tag-Team Championship
– Blake & Murphy (c) vs. The Vaudevillians
NXT Women’s Championship
– Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bayley
– Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tyler Breeze
– Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin
– Apollo Crews (formerly known as Uhaa Nation) will make his NXT debut
– Appearances by Hideo Itami and others are expected as well
In what is considered a major political move, New Japan Pro Wrestling is sending Japanese legend Jushin Thunder Liger to appear for WWE on the NXT Brooklyn event on August 22.
On the same night, New Japan has Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada and Kushida for the Ring Of Honor event, which is also taking place in Brooklyn, New York.
Liger will be going one-on-one with Tyler Breeze at the NXT event, which is scheduled to air live on the WWE Network.
Former WWE Superstar Evan Bourne, who is now working under the name Matt Sydal, recently spoke with the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show about his recovery from injury and the opportunity he has to team with one of his idols — Japanese pro wrestling legend Jushin Thunder Liger.
Below are some highlights from the interview.
On recovering from injuries in pro wrestling: “Injuries are two-fold, as professional wrestlers we walk to the ring feeling completely invincible. When I step into the ring, there’s no doubt in my mind, there’s no hesitation, there’s no second thoughts, it’s a 110 percent, full force all the time. If you walk into the ring worried about your ankle, if you walk into the ring worried about your neck, that’s only going to increase the likelihood of something bad or something traumatic happening or getting worse. So when you’re coming back from an injury the keys are that mental game, getting that locked up, and then the physical game’s gonna come because as wrestlers we know what we need our bodies to feel like. That first match back it does not feel good, that second match doesn’t feel good. I mean when I came back I felt like I was drowning in a sea of super athletic young wrestlers. These guys were taking me into the middle of the ring, taking me out into deep waters and seeing if I could sink or swim.”
On teaming with Jushin Thunder Liger: “If there was a Hall of Fame for junior heavyweights he would have his own wing. He’s one of the guys who brought wrestling from Canada, Mexico, and Japan, and combined them into a really magical style of wrestling and that’s what connected with me when I was a young man. The style of Jushin Thunder Liger is how I’ve been molding myself.”
On NXT: “It’s brilliant. This is a third brand that can tour, it’s a third stream of revenue for the WWE, it’s extremely cost effective, and you’re giving amazing talent that has a fanbase a platform that can reach more people. That’s the beauty of NXT, because it just goes to show that the men who walk through Ring of Honor are WWE caliber people. Because there is no difference between Kevin Owens, your NXT Champion, and Kevin Steen, your Ring of Honor Champion. Between Seth Rollins, your Ring of Honor World Champion, and Seth Rollins, your WWE World Champion.”
NEW JAPAN’S JUSHIN LIGER HEADS TO SILICON VALLEY FOR SUPERCARD OF HONOR IX
Ring of Honor is proud to announce the legendary New Japan Pro Wrestling superstar Jushin “Thunder” Liger will be returning for Supercard of Honor on Friday March 27, 2015 at the Sports House in Redwood City, CA.
Liger is an international superstar with a list of legendary accomplishments throughout the world. He is a former 11 time IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion, 6 time IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, WCW Light heavyweight Champion and has held numerous championships on nearly every continent in the world.
He made his Ring of Honor debut in November 2004 and has faced some of the greats in ROH, such as Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries and most recently battled former ROH World Champion Adam Cole at ROH’s War of The Wolds in May of 2014.
Jushin “Thunder” Liger is returning to ROH with a lot of fan fare. The names lining up to take on the legend is hungry and vast. As always, stay tuned to www.rohwrestling.com for updates and announcements.
Ring of Honor: Supercard of Honor IX will feature the likes of: The Briscoes, reDRagon, Jay Lethal, Matt Sydal, ACH and all the elite ROH wrestlers in what will be a stacked card full of must-see encounters.
“What better place to host Supercard of Honor IX than Silicon Valley,” COO of Ring of Honor Joe Koff said. “ROH was built by a loyal and passionate online fan base that has helped make it into the global phenomenon it is today. It’s rather apropos that an area known for innovation is the location for Supercard of Honor, given how innovative our product is.”
Tickets for this event are SOLD OUT! If you don’t have a ticket, you will be able to see this entire event through the Ring of Honor’s Video On Demand.
A complete list of ROH wrestlers and a full card will be available exclusively at http://www.ROHWrestling.com.
The Sports House is located at 3151 Edison Way, Redwood City, CA 94063.