NJPW Music City Mayhem
July 30th, 2022
Nashville Fairgrounds in Nashville, TN
Commentary: Ian Riccaboni & Matthew Rehwoldt
RECOMMENDED MATCHES
· No DQ Match: Jon Moxley vs. El Desperado
· Alex Shelley vs. KUSHIDA
· Blake Christian vs. Hiromu Takahashi
The DKC, Kevin Knight & Ren Narita vs. Yuya Uemura, Fred Yehi & Shota Umino
Ren Narita and Yuya Uemura go face to face and start the match with takedown attempts. Narita takes Uemura down, as they trade arm drags. Narita stomps Uemura in their corner and tags in Kevin Knight. Knight uses the ropes for an arm drag, followed by a standing frog splash for a one-count. The DKC and Knight double team Uemura, as DKC is tagged in and works on Uemura before tagging Knight back in who goes for pin attempts. DKC tags back in as they continue to double team Uemura and keep him in their corner. Uemura comes back with a dropkick and is able to make the tag to Fred Yehi. Yehi takes out all of his opponents including driving knees to Knight in the corner and a sleeper attempt on DKC. Shota Umino tags in and goes into a forearm exchange with Narita. Narita knocks him down with a kick and a couple big boots, but Umino gets right up. Narita hits him with a belly-to-belly suplex and tags in DKC. Everybody comes in as they start brawling inside and outside the ring. Uemura and Umino double team on DKC a bit until Knight breaks it up. Narita and Uemura go back and forth again, as Umino takes down DKC with the Death Rider for the pin and the win.
Winners: Yuya Uemura, Fred Yehi & Shota Umino by pinfall at 13:12
MLW National Openweight Championship: Davey Richards (c) vs. Rocky Romero
They start the match teasing a handshake until they go into a lock-up, with Rocky Romero punching Davey Richards out of the ring, as this is their first one-on-one match since 2007. They start trading kicks and submission attempts, but as Richards puts on the Stretch Muffler, Romero grabs the rope. Richards heads to the outside where Romero hits him with a flying knee off the apron. Back inside, Richards works on Romero’s legs and hits a back suplex, into a Half Crab but Romero grabs the ropes. Richards continues the kicks as the referee checks on Romero. Romero fires up and hits a hurricanrana and goes into the Forever Clotheslines that Richards stops with kicks. Romero comes back with a Tornado DDT for a two count. Richards tries a Dragonscrew on the ropes, but Romero blocks it and hits a dropkick off the ropes to the shoulder of Richards for a two-count. Richards is able to hit the Dragonscrew, goes to the top rope but misses. They go back and forth a bit until Romero hits the Sliced Bread for a two count into the armbar. Richards gets out and puts on the ankle lock, into a Brainbuster, then right back into the ankle lock. Romero reverses into a roll-up, but Richards turns it right back around for the pin.
Winner: Davey Richards by pinfall at 11:29, to retain
After the match, they tease to go at it some more but end up hugging instead.
NJPW Strong Openweight Championship: Fred Rosser (c) vs. Big Damo
Tiger Hattori is out there to present the championship and then join commentary. Big Damo takes Fred Rosser down right away, but Rosser comes back with chops and punches in the corner. Damo throws Rosser to the outside a couple times, but Rosser keeps running back in until they end up on the apron, but Rosser fails to take Damo down who clotheslines Rosser back inside and hits him with a senton. Back outside, Damo body slams Rosser and stands on him. Damo continues tossing Rosser into the barricade before sending him back inside. Damo continues the offense, hitting a splash for a two-count. Damo tries a bow and arrow submission, but Rosser grabs the rope. The crowd starts to get to Damo, so he moons them before whipping Rosser hard into the corner. Damo continues to stretch out Rosser before he knocks him back outside. Rosser grabs the cable on the outside and uses it on Damo but that only gets Damo more angry. Rosser punches his way back and takes Damo down with a forearm. Rosser gets a couple pin attempts until he tries to put on the STF, but Damo bites his way out of it. They start trading punches with one from Rosser knocking Damo down, but Damo comes back with a spinebuster and an elbow drop. Damo hits a running Senton and goes for a Vader Bomb, but Rosser gets up and grabs Damo off the ropes and hits the Sidewinder for the pin.
Winner: Fred Rosser by pinfall at 13:01, to retain
Blake Christian vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Blake Christian is coming off of a match with Jon Moxley the night before at GCW. Hiromu Takahashi places Darryl at the commentary table where Ian Riccaboni puts a headset on him. Matthew Rehwoldt says that Darryl is excited about the game Stray (a fantastic game in which you play as a cat, trust me, it’s great). Christian and Hiromu start running the ropes a bit and trade leap frogs until Hiromu gets sent to the outside with a head scissors before Hiromu runs back in, just to get tossed outside again where Christian meets him with a dive. Rehwoldt & Riccaboni continue to have fun with Darryl on commentary and his ‘responses’. Hiromu and Christian continue fighting on the outside where Hiromu hits Christian with a suplex. They start trading chops until Hiromu puts on a head scissors. Christian comes back with a hand spring into a kick into a half and half suplex, sending Hiromu back outside where he dives onto him and holds on and hits a reverse DDT. Christian’s forehead reopens from his match yesterday and starts bleeding down his face. Christian goes to the top rope, but Hiromu grabs him for a pin attempt for a two. They start trading forearms until Christian hits a moonsault and an airplane spin. They both trade clotheslines knocking each other down as the crowd starts chanting for both men. Christian hits another airplane spin followed by a 450 splash for a two count. Christian goes back to the top, but Hiromu dodges and suplexes Christian into the corner. They go back and forth a bit until Hiromu hits a pop-up powerbomb and a front-faced DDT for a two-count. Hiromu hits a clothesline and the Time Bomb II for the pin and the win.
Winner: Hiromu Takahashi by pinfall at 13:59
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) & TJP vs. FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) & Alex Zayne
Tanga Loa joins commentary for this match and the rest of the show, as FTR gets a great reaction making their debut for NJPW. Alex Zayne & TJP start the match. Right away Zayne takes TJP down a couple times with waist locks before they trade head scissors and dropkicks. Zayne puts his hand out, but TJP pokes him in the eye before tagging out to Kyle Fletcher. Dax Harwood tags in and gets a big reaction as he stands off with Fletcher. Harwood starts chopping Fletcher all around, before showing a bit of a shoulder injury as he is all taped up. Fletcher comes back with some offensive and tags in Mark Davis. Harwood comes back and tags in Cash Wheeler as they double team and take out Davis. Wheeler and Davis start trading punches, but Davis knocks Wheeler off the apron as all six men start brawling on the outside. Back inside, they keep Wheeler in their corner as Harwood tosses a chair into the ring that quickly gets kicked out. Fletcher starts stretching Wheeler a bit before tagging in TJP. They punch back and forth, before TJP kicks him down and keeps him in his corner with his boot. Wheeler fights off Fletcher and makes the hot tag to Harwood who punches all of United Empire down. Zayne and Wheeler join in as they hit triple suplexes. Harwood takes Fletcher down with a brainbuster but gets a two count, before tagging in Wheeler who tags in Zayne who hits a twisting dive on Fletcher for a two count. Aussie Open start double teaming on Zayne but only get a two count. Zayne fights them off by jumping off the back of TJP and hitting a double hurricanrana on Aussie Open. All six men continue to brawl until Zayne hits a power bomb on Fletcher for a two. In all this confusion, Aussie Open ends up hitting Coriolis on Zayne, as Fletcher pins him for the win.
Winners: Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) & TJP by pinfall at 14:30
Kyle Fletcher gets on the mic after and says when a team beats the current champions, it means that they are next in line. Dax Harwood tries to talk into the mic, but it doesn’t work so instead he yells out into the crowd that if Aussie Open wants to fight them, they will fight them before getting the crowd to chant ‘Top Guys, out’.
Alex Shelley vs. KUSHIDA
The Time Splitters go one-on-one for the first time ever, as KUSHIDA requested it upon his return. KUSHIDA goes for a dropkick and the hoverboard lock right away, but Alex Shelley escapes to the outside. They run the ropes a bit until Shelley tries the hoverboard lock himself, but KUSHIDA goes back to the outside. They lock-up back inside, but eventually get into a shoving match followed by a slap exchange. KUSHIDA comes back with handspring back elbow and clotheslines Shelley off the apron to the outside. KUSHIDA quickly tosses him back inside and starts working on his arms into a side headlock. KUSHIDA tries to put on a couple arm bars, but Shelley reaches the ropes. KUSHIDA continues stretching Shelley out and starts strutting a bit, but this results in Shelley coming back. Shelley starts working on the knees of KUSHIDA, twisting them up in the corner. Shelley starts twisting KUSHIDA’s arms and fingers, rolling KUSHIDA up for a two count. KUSHIDA tries to kick his way out, but Shelley keeps him down with a stretch jacket wrench. KUSHIDA comes back with a cross body and starts stretching Shelley’s arms. KUSHIDA hits a palm strike and tries the hoverboard lock, but Shelley reverses it. KUSHIDA is able to trap Shelley up and hit the Cradle Shock for a two count, followed by a butterfly suplex for another two. KUSHIDA heads to the top rope and dives onto Shelley’s arm. Shelley stops KUSHIDA’s offense with a Dragonscrew and drops him face first into the corner. Shelley heads to the top rope, but KUSHIDA stops him and tries the Hoverboard lock from the top, but Shelley knocks him down and hits the Air Raid Crash for a two. Shelley goes right for the Border City Stretch as the two-minute warning is announced. KUSHIDA starts slapping his way out, but Shelley keeps him down with chops. They go back and forth in the last minute with submission and pin attempts, but time ticks down as KUSHIDA has on the hoverboard lock as time expires.
The match ends in a time-limit draw at 20:00
After the match, they embrace and do Time Splitters poses.
No Disqualification Match: Jon Moxley vs. El Desperado
The ring has barbed wire boards in two of the corners and weapons around the ring. As the match starts, they lock up and each trying to push the other into the barbed wire. They both stop short from going into it before Jon Moxley challenges El Desperado in a forearm exchange. Moxley knocks him down and goes right for his mask trying to take it off. Desperado fights back and hits a Dragonscrew and starts to work on Moxley’s knee. Desperado grabs a bouquet of roses but reveals it was filled with skewers, but Moxley stops him from using them on him. Eventually, Desperado holds Moxley down and sticks the skewers into his forehead, busting him wide open before picking them out one by one. Desperado digs into Moxley’s forehead and spreads the blood on his own chest before pressing Moxley into the barbed wire. Desperado puts on a death lock, but Moxley punches his way out and grabs the mask of Desperado in the process trying to pull it off. Moxley gets sent to the outside, where he smacks a running Desperado with a guitar. Moxley grabs a piece of that guitar and starts stabbing the face of Desperado eventually busting him wide open. Desperado escapes off of Moxley and spears Moxley into one of the barbed wire boards. Moxley comes back and dropkicks Desperado into the other barbed wire board. Moxley comes back with a piledriver for a two count. Moxley grabs a table from under the ring and sets it up, as Desperado sets up chairs that he uses on Moxley. Desperado places Moxley on the table and goes to the top, but Moxley gets right up and pushes Desperado onto the table, breaking it. Moxley grabs a board that’s full of cut soda cans, that he power bombs Desperado on top of for a two count. Desperado fights back working on Moxley’s leg, and puts on a Stretch Muffler, but Moxley turns it into an arm bar. Desperado gets out and starts stomping on Moxley, goes to the top rope, and hits a frog splash for a two count. They go back and forth with forearms and offense before Moxley hits the Death Rider and puts on the Bulldog Choke as Desperado passes out and the match ends.
Winner: Jon Moxley by referee stoppage at 17:20
Moxley gets on the mic after and says that professional wrestling is alive and well. It doesn’t matter if the card has the letters NJPW, AEW, ROH, or GCW, the only letters you need to worry about are M-O-X, because when you see those letters it’s about to go down.
