5 Ups & 2 Downs From NJPW New Year Dash 2019
4. Juice Robinson & David Finlay Vs. Beretta & Chuckie T
Juice Robinson began his second United States Championship stint with a win in a bout that built to his first defence against Beretta. The beloved babyface was critical of former Champion Cody's virtual non-presence with the strap before their Tokyo Dome switch, and let his actions speak as loud as his words here with a powerful follow-up clash against his emotionally-fraught next Challenger.
But this was as much to do with Chuckie T's rage as it was Robinson's new reign.
It was during a battle featuring these four during last year's World Tag League when Chuckie's temper was first triggered, and a repeat tantrum here bizarrely showed itself when Beretta innocently elected to hug his mother in the crowd rather than his tag partner.
Though Chuckie T's cooler head prevailing in the Wrestle Kingdom pre-show gauntlet 24 hours earlier, it was back with a vengeance here when he swung a chair at Finlay and Robinson to trigger a disqualification loss. Launching the weapon at Juice's face in a post-match beating, he again shocked his friend with his violent rage, before storming off in another huff.