NJPW PPV Review: Invasion Attack 2013

Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi main event another all time show.

 

 

Kazuchika Okada has been the fastest rising star New Japan Pro Wrestling has seen in ages.  At just 25 years of age he ranks high among the absolute best main event performers in any promotion.  After a long road to Wrestle Kingdom, he would fail in recapturing the IWGP Heavyweight title from champion Hiroshi Tanahashi in a very strong MOTYC.  After this crippling defeat, he would be defeated by veteran Minoru Suzuki in both singles & tag team competition.  Many were questioning if he would ever make it back to the title.  Okada would silence all critics when he won the 2013 New Japan Cup after a superb performance at the event.  This win would set up Okada/Tanahashi IV and it's safe to say that this main event is one of the biggest matches of the year.  Would Okada be able to finally get redemption against the current Ace of the promotion?  Find out in my review of NJPW Invasion Attack with special guest Billy Carpenter of Four Corners Radio (@4CR_ Billy) after the jump!

Match 1:: IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship match: Time Splitters(c) (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) vs. Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi)

Billy: A really fun match that opened, what would become, the show of the weekend. Action from start to finish and a match that got the crowd hot to start the show. Shelley & KUSHIDA retain and then the post-match heel turn by Prince Devitt was well done too.

G9Z: This was an absolutely fantastic opener.  Amazing juniors action with all four men bringing their signature style of high speed offense from seemingly every direction possible.  Not as many teams on the scene today click the way these two did here and as a result, they turn in one of the best tag team matches of the year thus far.  The finish came when KUSHIDA used a rolling reverse cradle pin on Taguchi.  The best part of this whole thing however, was the post match turn of Prince Devitt.  He's been hinting slowly at a heel turn recently, but it was cemented here after he insulted his partner and then laid him out with the help of his new muscle, King Fale (now named Bad Luck Fale).  The duo would also put the boots to a defeated Time Splitters before going as far as unmasking Captain New Japan.  Devitt would degrade the mask by putting it in the rear end of his trunks.  Afterwards, Devitt rode off on Fale’s shoulders, flipping off the crowd.  It was an amazing sight to see as it was one of the most effective heel turns I've seen in a while.  I have big hopes as to how far the "new" Prince Devitt is going to go.

Time Splitters def. Apollo 55 after 10:42 via. pinfall following a Cradle Pin from KUSHIDA to Taguchi

 

Match Rating: G9Z [***3/4] Billy [***1/4]

Is Prince Devitt NJPW's next big heel?

 

 

 

Match 2:: Akebono, Super Strong Machine, Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Bob Sapp, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii, Takashi Iizuka

G9Z: This was another typical multi-man matchup that you usually find on all big New Japan events.  Bob Sapp & Akebono were responsible for some pretty awkward spots that completely killed any of the momentum the match was gaining for me.  It wasn't the worst four man tag I've ever seen, but if your in a hurry to get to the main event, definitely skip this one.

Billy: Well, I wasn’t expecting a lot from this match, and that’s OK—not every match on the card HAS to be 3+ stars. For those keeping score, yes, Iizuka beat up the poor announcer yet again. He then went on to spray paint him gold and then the match kicked off. Not a lot to the match, although I like Tenzan and Ishii’s chop battle at the start. Akebono came in eventually and started running through people, which was kind of fun too. The faces went to town on YOSHI-HASHI for the finish, including a pretty thunderous tomahawk chop from Nakanishi. Harmless fun.

Team Nakanishi def. Team Ishii after 10: 00 via. pinfall following a Flying Chop from Nakanishi to YOSHI-HASHI

 

Match Rating: G9Z & Billy [**]

Another forgettable 4man tag is the low point in an otherwise fantastic show.

Match 3:: CMLL World Tag Team Championship: Tama Tonga & El Terrible(c) vs. La Mascara & Valiente

G9Z: Tama Tonga has quietly been becoming one of the more reliable performers in the company as of late.  He wont be turning in any five star classics anytime soon, but I can't say I can complain about any of his performances over the past few months.  This match brought a wonderful bit of variety to the show with the CMLL talent bringing a fresh and at times, jaw dropping (Valiente's double springboard moonsault was amazing) bit of action to a very physical and mat based show.  I don't know how many of you feel about lucha, but I thought this match was easily the most fun match of the entire event for me. 

Billy: I’m a guy who watches his fair share of CMLL so I knew what to expect here. First off, as I’ve said on numerous occasions on the 4 Corners Radio shows, Tama Tonga has got that ‘it’ factor and a ton of athleticism and he will be in either WWE or TNA by year’s end. Not a whole lot to this match—La Mascara did his stuff (some of it looked a bit shaky) and how about that double springboard from Valiente? Anyhow, Terrible counters a rana attempt into a powerbomb on Valiente to pick up the win for the retaining champs.

Tama Tonga & El Terrible def. La Mascara & Valiente after 8:56 via. pinfall follwing a Powerbomb from Terrible to Valiente

 

Match Rating: G9Z [***1/4] Billy [**3/4]

Terrible & Tonga roll on as CMLL tag champs. 

Match 4: Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe vs Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi

Billy: Togi and Tomoaki brought the fight to Tanaka & Takahashi right from the start and the crowd was eating this up. Tanaka got an advantage using a Singapore cane, but Togi started being Togi and got the advantage back. Some more back and forth ensued, then Honma got caught with a brainbuster by Yujiro, which he kicked out of. Shortly after, he got nailed by Tanaka’s ‘Sliding D’ which picked up the ‘3’ for the heels. Good match that was enhanced by a pretty hot crowd.

G9Z: This was for my money, the best tag match of the night.  The crowd was on fire throughout and this match shows what truly separates NJPW as the most elite promotion on the planet right now.  While the top draws (Tanahashi, Okada & Nakamura) always deliver the big fight feel and turn in excellent main event level matchups, it's guys like Makabe & Tanaka who anchor the promotion in many ways.  The mid card talent in New Japan has a way of taking these lesser hyped matches and turning in exciting, drama filled contests that leave you wondering just how the main event is going to follow them.  This match stole the show up until this point.

Tanaka & Takahashi def. Makabe & Honma after 10:43 via. pinfall following a Sliding D (sliding lariat) from Tanaka to Honma

 

Match Rating: G9Z [****] Billy [***1/4]

Amazing to say that a match this good was only the third best of the night.

Match 5: Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano

Billy: The first clash of the night between warring factions CHAOS & Suzuki-gun. Starts off with Yano baiting Suzuki outside by attacking Taichi and after gaining the advantage on Suzuki, he taped his arm to the guardrail. Of all the wrestlers in NJPW, I don’t think I’d want to piss off Suzuki, which of course Yano did with that stunt. It then became a story of Yano’s cheating ways against Suzuki’s wrestling. Toru almost picked up the victory in the final stretch after running Suzuki into Taichi. However, a Gotch-style piledriver earned Minoru the win and post-match he clamped a sleeper on Toru for good measure. Some loved this more than I did—that’s not to say I didn’t like this. It served its purpose in furthering things between CHAOS vs Suzuki-gun and made even more sense at the end of the night.

G9Z: Minoru Suzuki is one of my favorite puro workers of all time.  While he may not be as consistent as my other favorites (Misawa, Kobashi, Kawada, Tanahashi, KENTA & Okada), he is one of the more brilliant performers New Japan has ever seen.  His matches almost come off as more of a character piece than actual matches because your focus is almost always on him.  He's the most captivating character on the roster by far save for Shinsuke Nakamura.  This match is a testament to that.  Yano brought in some impressive offense and character work of his own, but he was easily outmatched by Suzuki and was on the receiving end of one of the best squash matches I have ever seen.  The performances come across so well here that you barely realize Yano didn't get half as much offense in.  After his five star classic last year & his performances thus far in 2013, Suzuki now looks to be the most dangerous threat to any champion in the company he chooses as his next target.  There is no other performer that will go to the lengths he will go to earn a victory.  Anywhere.  He's like a 5'10", 220lb Brock Lesnar.  And I'd put him right up there with Lesnar as the best & most destructive brawler in pro wrestling right now. 

 

Minoru Suzuki def. Toru Yanu after 10:10 via. pinfall following the Gotch Piledriver

 

Match Rating: G9Z [****] Billy [***1/4]

Shown: Suzuki, sending a message to the winner of our main event tonight.

 

Match 6: Hirooki Goto & Yuji Nagata vs Laughter7 (Katsuyori Shibata & Kazushi Sakuraba)

G9Z: Sakuraba & Shibata are the most unique competitors in the entire promotion.  Their "shoot" style of offense brings a very intense feel to each one of their matches.  They usually go from wrestling contests to full out MMA style fights by the end.  This matchup was their strongest outing since their separate work at Wrestle Kingdom VII.  Loved this match.  Unfortunately, it came to an abrupt end before it really could get going into four star territory for me.  Yuji Nagata would hit Sakuraba with a brutal back suplex that went awry and caused Sakuraba to land awkwardly on his arm.  It was one of the most gruesome things I've seen in wrestling.  This caused the match to end via. referee stoppage.  Shibata then challenged both Nagata & Goto to fight him two on one.  I thought it was both the most badass & insane thing I've seen all evening.  The post match stuff really sent this one home as the most intense battle of the night.  Sakuraba would recover, challenge Nagata to a rematch, they pinky sweared on it (probably because it would hurt like hell for Sakuraba to shake hands) and both teams made their way to the back.

Billy: This was building really well for me until the unfortunate injury to Sakuraba called for the ref stoppage. Certainly, it would seem that we’re building to Goto vs Shibata & Sakuraba vs Nagata down the line, maybe the next big show. Anyhow, great stuff while it lasted—Nagata & Sakuraba did some MMA-style exchanges and Shibata is an assassin. Again, it’s unfortunate that the injury occurred because this had the makings of something great.

Nagata & Goto def. Laughter7 after 11:34 via. Referee Stoppage

 

Match Rating: G9Z & Billy [***1/2]

Sakuraba no selling a shattered arm.  Like a BOSS.

Match 7:: NWA World Heavyweight Championship match: Rob Conway(c) vs. Satoshi Kojima

G9Z: This match had a good bit of hype coming in with the excellent promo cut by both Conway & Bruce Tharpe during the New Japan Cup and the face to face work was also well done.  NWA representative Tharpe was by the commentary booth and there was also a bodyguard who I'm very unfamiliar with, named Jax Dayne.  The match itself was solid.  Nothing special here, but they did just enough to get the story and more importantly, Conway over as the crowd relentlessly booed anything he did.  Conway was able to pick up the win and he then celebrated with Dayne & Tharpe to a parade of jeers from the audience.  Some may hate this match, but I enjoyed it and it got over.

Billy: The first match of the ‘Triple Main Event’ was by far my least favorite of the three. This wasn’t a bad match by any stretch. It was just a proverbial ‘paint-by-numbers’ match. There’s was nothing in this that was must-see, but I guess it did its job in getting the NWA champ a win over an established star in the best wrestling company on the planet. It went exactly how I thought it’d go—interference by Conway’s enforcer, some back and forth in the ring and a Conway ‘W’. The finish saw Kojima nail Jax Dane with a lariat before getting caught with Rob Conway’s ‘Ego Trip’ finisher. We’ll see if this ‘Invasion’goes much further than this.

Rob Conway def. Satoshi Kojima after 14:23 via. pinfall following the Ego Trip (rope assisted Swinging Neckbreaker)

 

Match Rating: G9Z [***] Billy [**3/4]

Conway & Tharpe celebrate their impactful win over New Japan with the NWA gold in hand.

Match 8:: IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura(c) vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Billy: The most charismatic wrestler in the world (in my view) in Shinsuke Nakamura in a rematch against the man that eliminated him from the New Japan Cup last month in a somewhat shocking result, this time for the IC title. Not many are real high on DBS Jr. yet as a singles worker, but this was a really good match and probably the best singles outing of Smith’s career thus far. He really took the fight to Nakamura, and the crowd was definitely buying a win from him here. However, Shinsuke fought back and nailed the ever-vicious Boma Ye for the win.

G9Z: This was easily, the second best match of the night.  Which is often the case with anything involving Nakamura.  Though I have to admit, I also wasn't initially sold on Davey Jr. as a major singles competitor even with his impressive performance in the New Japan Cup.  There was just something about him that wasn't clicking for me.  All the doubts and questions I had coming in were answered with this match.  It was another high mark for the entire Suzukigun/CHAOS turf war as both men fought as if their team pride was just as much on the line as the IC title was.  Something has to be said for Nakamura's elevation of the Intercontinental Championship as well.  He has single-handedly made the belt almost as much of a desired prize as the world title through his consistent ring work and championship presence.  It's something similar to what Randy Savage had done with the WWE's IC strap in the 80s.  And it's something that in the years to come, will add significantly to Nakamura's legacy as one of the most valuable performers New Japan has ever had.  A fantastic back and forth match that culminated with one of Nakamura's trademark exciting finishing sequences. 

Shinsuke Nakamura def. Davey Boy Smith Jr. after 18:05 via. pinfall following the Boma Ye

 

Match Rating: G9Z [****1/4] Billy [****] 

Nakamura turns in another MOTYC with his win over Davey Boy.

There is a noticeable hush falling over the audience.  The anticipation is so thick, you could hit it with a Rainmaker.  This signals the arrival of the future Ace of the promotion, Kazuchika Okada.  Which means that it is now time for our...

MAIN EVENT

Match 9:: IWGP Heavyweight Championship match: Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) vs. Kazuchika Okada

Billy: The 4^th chapter in this tremendous story provided us with an absolute all-time classic match. First, the crowd was super-hot for this, with a very large and vocal chant for Okada. The match built beautifully, with tremendous storytelling, call backs to earlier encounters and great psychology. The in ring work was, again, top notch and if I’m not mistaken this is the FIRST TIME that anyone has kicked out of the Rainmaker? Granted, it was Tanahashi so I don’t think it hurt Okada but a cool moment nonetheless. Now, we have a new face for NJPW and I do have to wonder what’s next for one of the best main event wrestlers of all-time in Hiroshi Tanahashi. This is the definition of must-see and my current Match of the Year.

G9Z: These two have had three matches together that all have landed a 4+ star rating from me.  They were also awarded the 2012 Feud Of The Year Award and with the way things are going, they're likely to get it again for this year.  It's now becoming the definitive rivalry of this generation.  Nothing even comes close.  That being said, this was a once in a lifetime wrestling masterpiece that may serve as Tanahashi's magnum opus when his career comes to a close.  He's had brilliant title run after brilliant title run with definitive match after definitive match, but here is where his true championship value has cemented beyond belief.  The ability to be an all time champion is both held in your title reign's significance, but also in just how much it means for the next champion you pass the baton to. 

Tanahashi went out of his way to make Okada look like the sort of sympathetic fighting champion you need the Ace of your promotion to be.  He worked Okada's arm the entirety of the match as if to say "You're nothing without your Rainmaker & I will show this to the world".  It made you pull for Okada and made the drama of the match on a level higher than anything I've seen in pro wrestling this decade.  Okada's entire moveset is based around setting up the Rainmaker and Okada sold this brilliantly by often checking on the arm and continuously selling the injury.  Once he was finally able to hit Tanahashi with his finish, it looked like it hurt him more than his opponent.  The following two count was one of the more dramatic and edge of your seat moments I've ever witnessed.  Amazing.

The final stretch of the match saw Okada battle back through adversity with the crowd turning more and more in his favor and even before the finish, you could feel it in the air that the torch had already been passed.  It was something I will never forget watching.  Five star ratings are something that every reviewer holds near and dear to their heart.  I personally use my ratings as a representation of just how much I enjoyed a match, what it meant to me and what it meant to pro wrestling as a whole.  Workrate, psychology and story are important factors for sure, but there are often matches with an undeniable magic in the air.  Matches with a meaning that reaches deeper than anything words could express.  A five star rating from me signifies a match as such.  It signifies a match as being not only great, but one of the most essential matches to pro wrestling's survival as in my opinion, the best artform in the world.  This is why we watch wrestling when we're not even sure why anymore.  This is by every sense of the word, a pro wrestling classic.  Enjoy this with every fiber of your being on your first go around.  Because if it isn't the Match Of The Year, then 2013 is going to be a hell of a thrill ride.

Kazuchika Okada def. Hiroshi Tanahashi to become the NEW IWGP Heavyweight Champion after 31:42 via. pinfall following the Rainmaker

 

Match Rating: G9Z & Billy [*****] 

Puro fans, this is your new King.  Praise him at once!

 

Final Thoughts

Billy: This certainly my pick for card of WrestleMania Weekend. The main event is an absolute, must see classic. I’d recommend watching all 4 in sequential order to understand the full story, but like I said, Okada & Tanahashi put on the Match of the Year for me to this point. We saw some more progression in the CHAOS/Suzuki-gun story. All the matches you thought should deliver did (for the most part) and storylines progressed as well (Okada/Suzuki, Devitt heel turn, Shibata/Goto for example). Head over to Ustream and watch this show ASAP.

G9Z: Another all time classic show from New Japan Pro Wrestling.  This is every bit as good as Wrestle Kingdom VII was.  Just an unbelievable effort.  The run that this promotion is on is something I don't think I've ever seen before.  Classic matches on every show and a classic event with every other iPPV outing.  I can't put it any more simply than this, if you're not on board the New Japan train by now, then you're missing the best ride of your life.

 

G9Z's Overall PPV Score: 10/10 (WOW!)