NJPW Capital Collision: notes and full results

April 15, 2023 Neal Flanagan NEWS, Show Reports
Image Courtesy: NJPW

News and results from NJPW Capital Collision at the Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington, D.C.

** On English commentary were Ian Riccaboni, Veda Scott and Alex Koslov.

** In the opening match of the main card, Volador Jr pinned Rocky Romero, continuing a feud that recently resulted in Romero having his head shaved. Clark Connors turned on The DKC after the match, attacking him from behind while on their way to backstage, before rolling him back into the ring for a beatdown.

** Next up, David Finlay beat AR Fox after a competitive match. Fox got the advantage after a series of aerial attacks, but Finlay won clean after hitting a lariat and the Trash Panda. He then cut a promo, calling out Clark Connors and initiating him into Bullet Club.

** The third match was for the NJPW World TV Championship. It was a fast-paced and very entertaining grappling contest against the 15-minute clock, with Zack Sabre Jr retaining the title with a quick pin after a series of roll-up reversals.

** El Desperado faced Tomohiro Ishii next. The contest was first presented as a clash of styles, with Desperado initially unable to shift the “immovable object” of Ishii, who dished out chops throughout. Desperado was able to attack the left knee of Ishii to even things up. After a series of counters and near-falls in the final stretch, Ishii eventually won with a Brainbuster.

** Before the next match, Fred Rosser had arranged for a reserved seat for Toni Storm, Juice Robinson’s wife, at ringside. Storm was not in attendance but this was presented as a mind game.

Robinson attacked Rosser from behind during Rosser’s entrance, including delivering a DDT on the stage. Robinson then removed his belt and used it as a strap on Rosser. Robinson ended up taking out the referee and nailing Rosser with the chair that had the “Reserved for Toni Storm” sign on it. He then hit Rosser with a fistful of coins.

Robinson eventually took the mic and yelled “You keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth” at a prone Rosser. — No contest.

** LIJ’s Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi took on new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru of Just Five Guys next in a tag match. The dynamics of the match were interesting, with SANADA in his first match since winning the title. He was also taking on his former stablemates and his future challenger in Hiromu. This was also the first time that Naito had wrestled in the US since 2019.

It was a fast-paced and technically sound match, but reasonably brief, with Kanemaru pinning Hiromu for the win. The two will meet again for Takahashi’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Road to Wrestling Dontaku on April 27th.

** In the co-main event, KENTA defended his NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship against Eddie Edwards. This was a physical match, featuring a lot of tit-for-tat strikes and kicks between the two former GHC Heavyweight Champions. KENTA got the upper hand with a draping DDT, running kick and double stomp from the top rope. Edwards kicked out and escaped a Go To Sleep attempt. There were then a series of near-falls for Edwards after a huge lariat and Tiger Driver. A ref bump allowed the pair to trade belt shots. KENTA then hit a low blow before reviving the referee in time to make the three-count on Edwards after a Go To Sleep.

Hikuleo then appeared on screen to challenge KENTA for his title on May 3rd at Wrestling Dontaku. KENTA accepted.

** The main event saw Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin of the Motor City Machine Guns defend their NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Titles in a three-way match against Aussie Open’s Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis, and the “Dream Team” of Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi.

There was good participation by Tanahashi and Okada but the match was dominated by action between Aussie Open and The MCMG.

In a tremendous match, there was a frightening moment when Kyle Fletcher performed a moonsault from the top turnbuckle, landing front first on the guardrail. He was soon back in the action, however, for a huge near-fall.

In the final stretch, with Okada and Tanahashi taken out, Aussie Open were able to hit Coriolis on Sabin to become double champions.

There was a final face-off between the winners and Okada & Tanahashi, before Kyle Fletcher took to the mic to declare Aussie Open the best tag team in the world.

Full results

  • Pre-show Match: TMDK (Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito) def. The West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs)
  • KUSHIDA, Volador Jr, Mike Bailey, Gabriel Kidd & Kevin Knight def. Chuck Taylor, Rocky Romero, Lio Rush, Clark Connors & The DKC
  • David Finlay def. AR Fox
  • NJPW World TV Championship: Zack Sabre Jr (c) def. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
  • Tomohiro Ishii def. El Desperado
  • Juice Robinson vs. Fred Rosser — No Contest
  • SANADA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru def. Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi
  • NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship: KENTA (c) def. Eddie Edwards
  • NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships: Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) def. Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) (c) & Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi
About Neal Flanagan 1052 Articles
Based in Northern Ireland, Neal Flanagan is a former newspaper journalist and copy editor. In addition to reporting for POST Wrestling, he co-hosts The Wellness Policy podcast with Wai Ting and Jordan Goodman.
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