10 Live Observations From NJPW’s FIRST EVER UK Tour

2. WALTERworks

WALTER had already laid a marker down earlier in the night with a typically hard-hitting victory over Yujiro Takahashi, but it was the almighty boot he drove into Tomohiro Ishii's chest after the former British Heavyweight Champion's aforementioned loss to Minoru Suzuki that left the biggest impression on the Altrincham crowd.

Ishii was crawling to the back wearing the scars of his war when a relatively refreshed 'Der Ringgeneral' furiously returned to the scene. Stood proudly over the fallen ex-Champion, WALTER stared into the cold eyes of the new title holder, drawing minimal response from the typically unshakable Suzuki.

The mere prospect of their potential scrap drew roars from throats already hoarse after such an explosive conclusion, but Ishii jumped the queue. Rev Pro revealed that he had challenged the mammoth Austrian for the company's Summer Sizzler York Hall show in August in a bout that's likely to headline the card. A WALTER/Suzuki showdown will wait for another day, then, but may occur on NJPW home turf if the company can convince the European sensation to stick around a little longer.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett