NJPW Capital Collision 2023 Results – April 15, 2023 – Tanahashi & Okada vs. MCMG vs. Aussie Open

Apr 15, 2023

April 15, 2023
Washington, D.C. – Entertainment & Sports Arena
Commentary: Ian Riccaboni, Alex Koslov, and Veda Scott
Results via Chick Fritts of F4WOnline.com

Quick Match Results

Pre-show: TMDK defeated West Coast Wrecking Crew via Ride The Lightning (pinfall 8:31)
Kevin Knight, Gabriel Kidd, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Voldar Jr., & KUSHIDA defeated The DKC, Clark Connors, Lio Rush, Rocky Romero, & Chuck Taylor via Back Cracker (pinfall 10:18)
David Finlay defeated AR Fox via Trash Panda (pinfall 10:28)
NJPW World Television Championship – Zack Sabre Jr. (c) defeated “Filthy” Tom Lawlor via Skyade Special (pinfall 13:12)
Tomohiro Ishii defeated El Desperado via Vertical Drop Brainbuster (16:40)
Fred Rosser vs. Juice Robinson went to a No Contest
Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SANADA defeated Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito via Modified Samson Clutch (pinfall 16:40)
NJPW Strong Openweight Championship – KENTA (c) defeated Eddie Edwards via GTS (pinfall 18:42)
NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship Three-way match – Aussie Open defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada and Motor City Machine Guns (c) via Coriolis (pinfall 25:13)

Pre-show
TMDK (Bad Dude Tito & Shane Haste) vs. West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs)

This was a fun little opening match.

TMDK started the match hot, controlling the ring for the majority of the opening. An apron suplex to Tito allowed WCWC to fight back into the match.

Haste was on the receiving end of WCWC offense for some time, before a hot tag to Tito allowed TMDK back in the match. Tito landed the F5 and secured the pin for his team.

Winner: TMDK via Pinfall.

The DKC, Clark Connors, Lio Rush, Rocky Romero, & Chuck Taylor vs. Kevin Knight, Gabriel Kidd, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Voldar Jr., & KUSHIDA

This was the kind of match you would expect from this lineup. Lots of action bell-to-bell.

After an extended period of traded tags, the match fell into an extended period of dives to the floor. After everyone was whipped out, KUSHIDA, Knight, and VoladorJr. isolated Romero, beating him down before a Volador backbreaker laid him out for the pin.

Winner: Kevin Knight, Gabriel Kidd, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Voldar Jr., & KUSHIDA via Pinfall.

AR Fox vs. David Finlay

Finlay and Fox went back and forth in the opening portion of the match, but after Finlay took the match to the floor he established a strong lead. Fox fought back with a cutter, opening Finlay up for a period of offense.

Fox landed a number of dives, scoring more and more convincing near falls before a Finlay lariat flipped momentum on its head. Finlay hit Trash Panda.

Winner: David Finlay via Pinfall.

After the match, Finlay called Clark Conners to the ring and added him to the Bullet Club roster.

NJPW World Television Championship
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (c)

Another fantastic defense from ZSJ. Say what you will, but this title is the best thing in New Japan.

The match opened with a scramble on the mat. ZSJ led the exchange, but Lawlor held his own. Once standing, the pair traded strikes with Lawlor winning out before ZSJ took the mat back to the floor.

ZSJ continued to struggle for holds while Lawlor landed bombs while standing if being slightly outclassed while grappling. Lawlor’s heavy offense while standing nearly won him the match multiple times, but in the end, ZSJ was able to win out in a rolling pin exchange to retain his title.

Winner: Zack Sabre Jr. via Pinfall to retain the NJPW World Television Championship.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. El Desperado

Ishii opened the match by chopping Desperado into the ground. Desperado fought back into the match by targeting Ishii’s leg.

After more chops from Ishii, the pair fought to a standstill after trading bombs in the middle of the ring. Desperado was able to chop Ishii to the mat, where he was able to focus on further damaging his leg, but a defiant Ishii continued to rise.

A quick headbutt from Ishii and a powerbomb scored him a nearfall, but Desperado was quick behind with Pinche Loco. Desperado was unable to land a second of his finishers, leading to a strike exchange. Ishii won out, landing a brainbuster and pinning Desperado to win this match.

Winner: Tomohiro Ishii via Pinfall.

Fred Rosser vs. Juice Robinson

As Rosser made his way to the ring, it was revealed he left a reserved seat for Robinson’s wife, Toni Storm.

Robinson jumped Rosser before the match could begin. Robinson dropped Rosser with a piledriver on the ramp and a suplex on the floor. The referee tried scolding Robinson only to also be laid out with a forearm.

Once Robinson brought the action to the ring, he grabbed the “Toni Storm” labeled chair, which he used to beat down Rosser. One last loaded punch to Rosser marked the end of the beatdown.

After destroying Rosser, Robinson grabbed a microphone. Robinson told Rosser to, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f*cking mouth”, and left.

Winner: None.

Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SANADA

Kanemaru and Hiromu opened the match, and it didn’t take long for Hiromu to establish a lead. After gaining control of the match, Hiromu knocked SANADA off the apron, being sure to taunt his upcoming opponent.

SANADA pulled Hiromu to the floor where he returned the favor, while also buying Kanemaru some much-needed time. After tagging into SANADA, the match began to turn around for J5G.

A hot tag to Naito allowed LIJ to fight back into control. Kanemaru provided SANADA a distraction, allowing him to reset momentum once more. Hiromu and SANADA came to blows again, but with Kanemaru’s help, SANADA was basically uncontested.

The match eventually broke down, leaving Kanemaru and Hiromu alone in the ring. The pair traded moves and pin attempts before a pair of rollups from Kanemaru scored him the victory.

Winner: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SANADA via Pinfall.

Kanemaru pinning the junior champion before the junior champion challenges the heavyweight champion is certainly a bold call.

NJPW Strong Openweight Championship
Eddie Edwards vs. KENTA (c)

Even if you’re nostalgic for this pairing, I’d recommend skipping this. This match was an attempt at a NOAH tribute in slow motion.

It didn’t take long for this match to spill out to the floor. Once it did, Edwards was able to take a small lead, but KENTA turned things back around once returning to the mat.

Edwards and Kenta traded momentum for some time. Edwards landed a backpack stunner for a nearfall. The pair then traded boots before a lariat dropped KENTA.

KENTA was the first to recover, allowing him to drop Edwards with a rope-assisted DDT. A dropkick in the corner led to a double-stomp for a nearfall favoring KENTA. KENTA dropped Edwards with a running knee, and Edwards kicked out again.

Edwards landed a nasty buckle bomb and a tigerdriver for a nearfall of his own. A follow-up shining wizard and die-hard flowsion left Edwards with another.

After surviving everything Edwards could throw at him, KENTA ran into the referee. With the official down, KENTA grabbed the STRONG belt. Edwards blocked the attack with a superkick and grabbed the belt himself. Edwards tried to use the belt, but KENTA reversed with a low blow. KENTA then dropped Edwards with the belt and hit the GTS for the win.

Winner: KENTA via Pinfall to retain the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship.

After the match, the lights went out. Instead of a run-in, a video played with Hikuleo challenging KENTA to a title match at Dontaku. KENTA accepted the challenge.

NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship Three-Way Match
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) (c)

The match opened with an extended feeling-out process. Eventually, the match broke down into a brawl. After the ring was cleared, Okada was left in control over Davis. With help from Tanahashi, Okada kept control for some time.

Eventually, each team took small leads by utilizing two-on-one offense. A good portion of the match saw Aussie Open and MCMG trade control as Okada and Tanahashi watched on.

Fletcher was ultimately forced to tag in Okada, the freshest man in the match. After a double tag, Tanahashi was able to further his team’s lead.

MCMG interrupted a double submission by Okada and Tanahashi, leading to a match breakdown. Once the fog cleared, Aussie Open had a strong lead over Tanahashi, forcing Okada to make the save. Okada and Tanahashi then climbed to the top rope for an elbow drop/high fly flow combination, but Davis got his knees up to save himself.

MCMG and Aussie Open then landed dives to the floor, with Fletcher landing a nasty flip that draped him over the metal barricade. Back in the ring, Sabin was able to fight through Aussie Open control, leading into Made in Detroit for a convincing nearfall.

Okada hit the ring, making a short save, but MCMG fought him off. This distraction from Okada bought Aussie Open enough time to recover. Aussie Open landed Coriolis on Sabin and pinned him to win the match and the belts.

Winner: Aussie Open via Pinfall to become the new NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions.

Aussie Open posed with their four belts, but Okada and Tanahashi made their presence felt with a staredown. Once Okada and Tanahashi left the ring, the new champions cut a promo celebrating, declaring themselves the best in the world. Fletcher acknowledged an FTR chant, announcing that they were going to assemble the best tag team belt collection of all time.