The warring factions kicked off 2019 much as they'd ended 2018 - and in brutal fashion after Taichi delivered a horrifying chairshot to Tetsuya Naito before the match began proper.
The ten-man brawl proffered greatest hits selections of spots between the group members, with commentator Chris Charlton astutely noting that Minoru Suzuki's gang were acting as violently as they had during their comeback exactly two years earlier in response to a Wrestle Kingdom rebuff for most of the members.
Suzuki himself had called his placement on the pre-show an "embarrassment", whilst only Zack Sabre Jr had a successful night on the event itself. Taichi wasn't featured at all on January 4th, but took direct revenge on Naito with the aforementioned weapon attack - the new Intercontinental Champion was a virtual non-factor for much of the clash thanks to the hideous blow.
His shocking pinfall win over the 'Tranquilo' star was followed up by a further beatdown of LIJ, their Wrestle Kingdom clean sweep quickly forgotten by 'The King's ruthless henchmen.
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
