4 Ups & 3 Downs From NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 (Night 2)

2. Opener Fails To Function

Chase Owens
New Japan World

These clowns got the date wrong on the Fingerpoke of Doom banter tribute spot. The 4th of January does not in fact last 48 hours.

Sake.

Toru Yano's gimmick is that he rolls everybody up when they do not expect it as a comedy spot. This makes him, New Japan's enduring second match comedy folk hero, literally every WWE wrestler in 2021. This wasn't the second match, though; this was the opener, and set a weird mood that Shingo Takagi and Jeff Cobb had to literally smash through just before the intermission. Bad Luck Fale was half-decent value pulling BUSHI out of the ring so hard he landed on the entrance ramp, but mostly, this was just strange and unfunny and a poor use of resources because it wasn't a Tomohiro Ishii singles match. What a bizarre combination of wrestlers toiling for a bizarre title - a stark illustration of NJPW's bizarre 2020 decline.

Lacking in charm when it badly, badly needed it, Fale was mildly amusing as the big bastard who didn't care about his allegiances. Yano was Yano. Chase Owens was just irritating. BUSHI was just there.

Advertisement
In this post: 
Jeff Cobb
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!