NJPW Destruction in Kobe 2018 Results – Sep. 23, 2018 – Okada vs. Tanahashi

Sep 23, 2018

September 23, 2018
Kobe, Japan – Kobe World Hall
English commentary: Kevin Kelly and Marc Warzecha.

Results via Ethan Renner of F4WOnline.com

Quick Match Results

1) Yota Tsuji drew Yuya Uemura via 10 minute time limit (10:00).
2) Roppongi 3K defeated Ren Narita & Shota Umino via pinfall (8:47).
3) Tiger Mask & Jushin Thunder Liger defeated El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru via pinfall (6:47).
4) Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Ayato Yoshida, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma, & Togi Makabe via pinfall (9:56).
5) Chuckie T. & Beretta defeated Killer Elite Squad via pinfall (12:42).
6) Will Ospreay, YOSHI-HASHI, & Jay White defeated Toa Henare, David Finlay, & Juice Robinson via pinfall (9:05).
7) Los Ingobernables de Japon defeated Suzuki-gun via pinfall (11:20).
8) IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinal match – KUSHIDA defeated Bushi via pinfall (16:42).
9) IWGP Heavyweight Championship Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Certificate match – Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada via pinfall (35:44).

Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura

This picked up in the last few minutes, and was slightly better than a typical Young Lion opener.

Tsuji found himself outwrestled on the mat. He responded with a shoulder tackle, but Uemura went back to the mat. Back on their feet, they exchanged strikes. Tsuji got a single-leg, and went to work on Uemura’s left leg. He employed a leg lock, then a single leg crab, but Uemura reached the ropes.

Uemura dropped Tsuji with a chop, and fired up. He hit a back elbow in the corner, then an elbow strike, and picked up a two count. Uemura went for a full crab, but Tsuji reached the ropes before the hold was applied.

Uemura bounced off the ropes into a back bodydrop for a two count. Tsuji went for a crab, but Uemura reached the ropes. They exchanged chops and palm strikes to the chest. Tsuji went for another, but Uemura hit a dropkick for a nearfall.

Uemura went for a crab, gave it up, and flipped into a cover for two. Tsuji hit a dropkick for a nearfall. Tsuji applied a full crab, but Uemura survived the time limit, still in the hold as the clock ran out.

Winner: None.

Ren Narita & Shota Umino vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)

They had a really nice match. All action, and Narita and Umino got a lot of offense.

Narita and SHO started off. Narita dropped SHO with the fourth in a series of shoulder blocks. Umino jumped in to hit a dropkick and some tandem offense, but SHO and YOH employed some tag team offense of their own, and took control of the match.

YOH worked over Narita’s right leg, which was wrapped up. SHO got a tag and went for a deadlift suplex, but Narita countered with one of his own. Umino got a tag and nailed SHO and YOH with running elbow strikes. He followed up with a dropkick off the top onto both, and got a nearfall on SHO.

Umino hit some strikes, but SHO countered with a knee lift, and Umino went down. YOH got a tag, but got caught with a dropkick, allowing Umino to tag Narita. Narita hit some double sledges on YOH, and got a nearfall with a belly-to-belly.

Narita and Umino applied stereo crabs, but SHO and YOH reached the ropes. Umino took SHO to the floor, leaving YOH and Narita the legal men. YOH used a neckbreaker, then applied a crab, but Umino jumped in to break it up.

SHO and YOH hit flying knees on Umino, and SHO took him to the floor. Narita used a rollup, a small package, and a backslide for three nearfalls on YOH, but YOH popped up and used a falcon arrow, then covered for the pin.

Winner: SHO & YOH via Pinfall.

Tiger Mask & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru

They packed a lot into about seven minutes. The crowd loved the upset, and both Tiger and Liger are best suited for matches like this at this stage of their careers. Both looked good.

Suzuki-gun jumped Tiger and Liger as they made their entrance. They beat them around ringside. Desperado used a chair on Liger, and choked him with a camera cable. In the ring, Kanemaru went for Tiger’s mask, but Tiger fired up and hit some thrust kicks. Tiger teased a tiger suplex off the second, but Desperado made the save.

Desperado got a tag and went for the mask, but Tiger was able to escape, and tagged Liger. Liger hit a top rope rana on Desperado, but Kanemaru jumped in to cut him off. Liger ducked a clothesline, and hit a backbreaker.

Tiger got a tag, and Desperado hit him with a spinebuster. Tiger made his own comeback and nearly got a tapout on Kanemaru with a wristlock, but Desperado saved. Kanemaru hit a dropkick and a moonsault, but Liger made the save.

Kanemaru hit an inverted DDT for a nearfall. He went for deep impact, but Tiger caught him coming off the top with a dropkick. Tiger followed up with a crucifix into a pinfall, and got the upset.

Winner: Tiger Mask & Jushin Thunder Liger via Pinfall.

After the match, Liger and Tiger posed with the junior tag belts. Liger cut a promo, challenging them for the titles at a later date.

Ayato Yoshida, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma, & Togi Makabe vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan

Lots of veteran star power here, but the match felt very disjointed.

Kojima and Honma started off. Kojima hit his machine gun chops in the corner. Honma hit a slam, but missed a kokeshi. Taguchi and Nakanishi got tags. Taguchi was dropped with a knuckle lock, then waved in Yoshida, who cut Manabu off with a kick.

Taguchi called for the clothesline train spot, but Nakanishi stopped a hip attack, and tagged Nagata. Nagata and Tenzan worked over Taguchi. Taguchi finally hit a hip attack on Tenzan, and tagged Makabe. Makabe hit corner clotheslines on Tenzan and Kojima, then a double clothesline in the center of the ring.

Honma jumped in for a kokeshi, and Makabe hit Tenzan with ten punches in the corner. Tenzan hit a brainbuster for a two count, but Honma broke up the pinfall. Honma hit a headbutt on Tenzan, who tagged Nagata.

Makabe hit Nagata with a powerslam, then tagged Yoshida. Yoshida hit a pair of pk’s on Nagata, and got a two count. Nagata countered a suplex attempt into a Nagata lock, but Taguchi broke up the submission with a hip attack.

While the other six brawled on the floor, Nagata and Yoshida remained the legal men. Nagata hit a running knee in the corner, and used a high angle suplex for the pin.

Winner: Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan via Pinfall.

Chuckie T. & Beretta vs. Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.)

They had a very intense match, and went a million miles an hour.

Archer went right after Taylor and Beretta, and the action spilled to the floor. Beretta hit a running stomp from the apron to Smith as he was draped over the security fence. Taylor and Beretta hit some tandem offense. They went for a double suplex on Archer, but Smith jumped in for the save, and Archer and Smith took control of the match, both hitting suplexes.

Smith and Archer worked over Beretta with stomps. Smith hit a northern lights suplex for a two count. Smith hit a pair of rolling germans, but Beretta flipped out of the third, and sent Smith into the corner. He fought off Archer with an enziguri, then tagged Taylor.

Taylor ran wild with dropkicks, but Smith cut him off and nailed him with hard forearms and mid kicks. Taylor hit a complete shot for two. Smith lifted Taylor for a Hart Attack, but Taylor ducked, and Archer rolled to the floor. With the other three fighting on the floor, Taylor hit a tope con hilo.

Taylor and Archer both missed moonsaults, and Taylor hit a double stomp off the top for a two count. Beretta missed with a tornado DDT. He went for a sunset flip, Archer countered. Beretta slipped out of a chokeslam, and hit a low dropkick. Taylor and Beretta suplexed Archer, but Archer popped up and hit a pounce.

Beretta took a Ray Stevens flip into the corner, but Taylor hit Archer with a knee. Beretta hit a springboard DDT, but Smith broke up the pinfall. Archer and Smith hit the Hart Attack, but Taylor broke up the pin.

Smith took Taylor to the floor and laid him out. Beretta escaped a killer bomb attempt, and kicked out of a pinfall after a chokeslam. Smith and Archer then hit the killer bomb. Archer covered, but Beretta turned it into a crucifix, and stole the pin.

Winner: Chuckie T. & Beretta via Pinfall.

Toa Henare, David Finlay, & Juice Robinson vs. Will Ospreay, YOSHI-HASHI, & “Switchblade” Jay White

Juice and Finlay’s chemistry as a team really shone through here. The focus of the match was the CHAOS team and their inability to get on the same page, but everyone on that team went out of their way to make their opponents look good.

YOSHI-HASHI and Finlay traded hammerlocks and headlocks. YH hit a headhunter. Juice jumped in for a save, but Ospreay hung him in the ropes. YH draped Finlay over the ropes, and hit a dropkick on both. Juice jumped back in and he and FInlay hit dropkicks and a double bulldog, then cleared the CHAOS apron.

Henare got a tag, and went after YH’s left arm. Finlay and Juice exchanged quick tags, and continued working over the left arm. Henare jumped in and hit a diving chop, and picked up a two count. Henare hit a vertical suplex, and got another nearfall.

Finlay tagged in, but YH hit a neckbreaker, and tagged Ospreay. Ospreay hit a handspring kick on Finlay, then hit a senton to the floor to Juice and Henare. Ospreay hit a springboard clothesline for a two count. Ospreay hit an enziguri, but Finlay hit a lariat, forcing both to tag out.

Juice and White tagged in. They exchanged chops and strikes. Juice hit his jabs, a corner clothesline, and a sitout clothesline. YH jumped in, and Juice hit a spinebuster. Ospreay dove in, and Juice hit a uranage. Juice hit White with a cannonball, and Juice and Finlay hit a double flapjack.

Henare tagged in, and hit a spear on White for a two count. He hit a Samoan drop, but Ospreay and YH broke up the pinfall. YH held Tenare, but Henare ducked and White hit him with a clothesline. White hit a blade runner on Henare and got the pin.

Winner: Will Ospreay, YOSHI-HASHI, & Jay White via Pinfall.

They continued to tease the dissension in CHAOS, as YOSHI-HASHI and White argued after the match.

SANADA, EVIL, & Tetsuya Naito vs. Taka Michinoku, Zack Sabre Jr., & Minoru Suzuki

This was the standard LIJ/Suzuki-gun match from this tour. It wasn’t bad, but there wasn’t much to it.

Suzuki-gun attempted to jump LIJ before the bell, but LIJ quickly countered the attack. SANADA applied the paradise lock to TAKA in the ring, then broke the hold with a dropkick. EVIL got a tag, and chopped away at TAKA. Naito got a tag, and hit an inverted atomic drop and slingshot dropkick in the corner.

Suzuki attacked Naito from the apron. He applied an armbar over the ropes, then pulled Naito to the floor, and sent him over the security fence. Suzuki hit Naito with chairs, then tossed him back in the ring. Sabre and TAKA worked over Naito’s left arm, then Suzuki got in. Suzuki hit a boot in the corner, a pk, and applied a heel hook. Naito reached the ropes.

Naito and Suzuki traded shots, and Naito spit at Suzuki. Suzuki hit some more short foearm strikes, but Naito hit the flying forearm, leading to a double down. Both tagged out. EVIL and Sabre came in, and EVIL ran wild on Sabre. EVIL hit a standing senton for a nearfall.

Sabre tied EVIL up with an abdominal stretch, then transitioned into an octopus. EVIL tried to counter with darkness falls, but Sabre turned it into a triangle attempt, then another submission attempt, but EVIL reached the ropes.

TAKA got a tag, and Suzuki and Sabre jumped in, and they worked over EVIL with kicks. They got a nearfall, but SANADA and Naito jumped in for the save. The match broke down into a six-way. Everyone hit a big move, but TAKA and EVIL were left as the legal men. TAKA went for a Michinoku driver, but EVIL hit a fisherman buster, then hit everything is EVIL for the pin.

Winner: SANADA, EVIL, & Tetsuya Naito via Pinfall.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semifinal
KUSHIDA vs. Bushi

A good match. I was expecting the pace to be much quicker than it was, but they spent the first several minutes working body parts. I thought this had blow-away match potential going in, but it never reached that level.

Both men came out firing strikes. BUSHI used a flying headscissors and a dropkick. He hit the ropes, but KUSHIDA hit him with a handspring, and sent him to the floor. KUSHIDA went after BUSHI’s left arm. He attacked it with kicks, and used a leg-assisted hammerlock. KUSHIDA wrenched back on the arm, then bridged. KUSHIDA used a rolling octopus, but BUSHI reached the ropes.

KUSHIDA worked the arm over the top rope, and they stepped onto the apron. BUSHI countered with a backstabber on the apron, and both men went to the floor. BUSHI sent KUSHIDA into the security fence, then tossed him back into the ring.

BUSHI used a headscissors on the mat, but KUSHIDA rolled into the ropes, forcing a break. BUSHI hit a missile dropkick as KUSHIDA was draped over the ropes, and picked up a nearfall. BUSHI used a chinlock, and raked at KUSHIDA’s face. BUSHI hit double knees in the corner, and a missile dropkick from the middle rope.

BUSHI took off his t-shirt and tried to choke KUSHIDA, but KUSHIDA escaped, and hit a cartwheel dropkick. They went up top, and KUSHIDA hit a superplex. He kept control of BUSHI’s neck and went for back to the future, but BUSHI countered with a swinging neckbreaker.

They traded slaps and strikes. KUSHIDA kicked at the bad left arm. He went for a forward roll, but BUSHI hit him with a codebreaker. BUSHI hit a suicide dive, and the action spilled to the floor. KUSHIDA used a hoverboard lock on the floor. They teased a double countout, but both men made it back in at 13.

KUSHIDA kicked the left arm again, but BUSHI hit a kick to the face. BUSHI hit a canadian destroyer for a two count. BUSHI went for the MX, but KUSHIDA caught him coming off the top and applied the hoverboard lock. BUSHI teased grabbing for the ropes, but pulled Red Shoes over for a ref bump.

BUSHI sprayed KUSHIDA with black mist, and rolled him up for a two count. KUSHIDA rolled through and hit two back to the futures, and got the pin.

Winner: KUSHIDA via Pinfall.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Tokyo Dome Challenge Rights Certificate
Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (holder)

This may shock you. These guys had another classic match.

They didn’t touch for nearly a minute, milking the crowd. They locked up, then quickly broke, before locking up again. Tanahashi worked on the left arm, but Okada got a single-leg and worked on Tanahashi’s leg. Tana tripped out of a hammerlock into a takedown, then used a side headlock. Tana used the side headlock for a takeover, but Okada used a headscissors to escape the hold.

They tied up. Okada pushed Tana into the ropes. Tana called for a clean break, but Okada hit him with a forearm on the break, enraging the Ace. They traded a series of furious strikes, then Tana hit a hip toss, and played his air guitar. Tana slid under a kick in the corner, and pulled Okada to the apron. He slammed Okada’s left leg on the apron. Okada tried to get back inside, but Tana hit him with a dropkick, then hit a plancha. On the landing, Tana sold his left leg.

Tana got back in the ring, still selling the leg. Okada hit a running dropkick to the leg, then continued to work it over with strikes and stomps. Tana went for a crossbody off the middle rope, but Okada easily side-stepped it, and continued his attack with a leglock. Tan reached the ropes, forcing a break.

Tana hit a series of left hands to the gut, and a series of forearm shots, but Okada yelled for more. Tana hit a chop block, and followed with a dragon screw. Tana hit an elbow, a senton, and a somersault senton. He hit a slam, then a second rope somersault senton for a nearfall.

Okada hit a back elbow, a running back elbow in the corner, and a DDT out of the corner, picking up a nearfall. Okada went for an alabama slam, but after a series of reversals, Tana hit a dropkick to Okada’s left leg. Okada hit a neckbreaker over the knee, but sold the damage from the earlier dragon screw to his own left leg.

Okada hit a shotgun dropkick, but continued selling his leg. Okada put Tana up top, and hit a dropkick. Tana stayed hooked in the ropes, and Okada attacked the bad wheel with strikes. It took three Young Lions to unhook Tana, and push him back into the ring.

Okada used a kneebreaker, then a figure four. After a long struggle, Tana reversed the hold, and rolled to the ropes, forcing a break. Tana rolled to the floor, and Okada went out after him. He continued attacking the leg. Tana managed to get to his feet, and hit Okada with a tombstone on the floor.

Tana rolled back inside. By the count of 15, Okada still hadn’t moved after the tombstone. But rather than take a countout, Tana went up top and hit a high fly flow to the floor, then threw Okada back inside. Tana went for sling blade, Okada reversed, Tana hit twist and shout, then hit a sling blade for a two count.

Tana went for a high fly flow, but Okada got his knees up. Okada battled for a tomstone, but his leg gave out, and Tana fought him off. They traded shots, and Okada got the best of the exchange. Tana tried to fire up, but Okada hit a dropkick to the leg. Okada attempted to send Tana into the ropes, but Tana collapsed while running, selling the leg.

Tana used a desperation sunset flip for a nearfall, then hit an inverted dragon screw. Tana hit the ropes, right into a dropkick from Okada. Okada went for a rainmaker, but Tana countered out. Okada went for the rainmaker again, Tana slipped out and dropkicked the leg. Okada went for it again, but Tana hit a slingblade.

Tana hit a high fly flow, but couldn’t cover immediately, as he sold the impact of the move on his leg. He finally covered, but only got a two count. Tana struggled to the top rope again, and went for a high fly flow, but Okada dropkicked him out of the air. Okada hit a tombstone, selling the damage to his leg on impact.

Okada went for a rainmaker, and finally hit one after a series of counters. He picked Tana up for another, but Tana hit a dragon suplex, bridging into a nearfall. Tana dragged himself to the apron, and climbed to the top, but Okada hit a dropkick. Okada teased a second rope tombstone, but Tana eventually fought him off. He pushed Okada off, and flew off simultaneously for a high fly flow.

Tana hit another high fly flow to a kneeling Okada, then one last high fly flow, and picked up the pinfall.

Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi via Pinfall.

After the bell, Switchblade Jay White ran in. He hit Tana with a blade runner, then went after Okada. White went to the announce table. He shoved Rocky Romero down, and took his chair. As he went to use it as a weapon, YOSHI-HASHI ran in.

YOSHI-HASHI tripped running down the ramp, and busted himself open. He stumbled to his feet for the save, but White hit him with the chair.

Gedo then ran down. He took the chair from White, then blasted Okada with it, turning on him. White hit Okada with a blade runner. Gedo gave White the briefcase, and said that Tana will next face White for the briefcase.