Wrestle Kingdom Grand Opening VIENTO DORADO: Mistico & Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs. Averno & Jado & Gedo
Jushin Liger 20th Anniversary Match: Jushin Liger & Takuma Sano vs. Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title ~Tread on!!~: Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito vs. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title ~Ballistic interception~: Low Ki vs. Tiger Mask
Fighting Holdings Competition: Riki Choshu & Masahiro Chono & Kurt Angle & Kevin Nash vs. Giant Bernard & Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii & Karl Anderson
World Heavyweight Title ~Crusade for Justice~: Yuji Nagata vs. Masato Tanaka
New Japan vs. NOAH Battle Tendencies ~the invasion~: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Jun Akiyama
IWGP Tag Title - Hardcore Rules: Togi Makabe & Toru Yano vs. "Team 3D" Brother Ray & Brother Devon
New Japan vs. NOAH Battle Tendencies ~the encounter~: Mitsuharu Misawa & Takashi Sugiura vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto 15:17
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Keiji Muto vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 30:22. Tanahashi wrestling his idol sounded like a good idea for about 5 seconds until you remembered that both guys would just be doing the same knee moves. To make things worse, whereas in the past Tokyo Dome main events even with two peak performers were condensed to keep the marks from getting bored, they had the crippled master of time shaving Muto going 30 minutes, which meant he had to figure out how to stall for 29... This was really the match where Tanahashi needed to do as little knee work as possible to show he's much more than the Muto wannabe he's been critized of being, but instead that was virtually all he did, although in his defense that's mostly because it required the least effort and movement from Muto to take. Muto, I suppose, gave a good effort by his "standards", as they were at least wrestling with a purpose for the majority of the contest even if both had the same purpose and used the same moves to attain it, and that made it doubly tedious. Outside of pounding the mat during a figure 4, Muto made a valiant effort to never move a centimeter more than he absolutely needed to, but actually wasn't outwardly stalling once the match got going. Muto even changed things up more than he has in a decade by doing his same few moves on the outside. The Dragon screw on the security rail may sound really deadly, but it wound up looking more like he was crotching Tanahashi than the intended ripping of the tendons in his knee. Most of it was fairly logical within the illogical confines of Muto's outdated anti-MMA pro wrestling style mat wrestling. However, there were some portions down the stretch where they put shock and effect over the story they were telling. I was fine with Tanahashi being unable to cover after his high fly flow because it took too much out of his knee, and Muto following with a shining wizard, but why they decided Tanahashi writhing in pain trying to put over having potentially blown out his own knee and then taking Muto's finisher should set up a no sell then double sell spot where Tanahashi pops up and hits his sling blade is beyond me. To make things goofier, Tanahashi couldn't wait to go right back up to the top and further injure his knee with the high fly flow, though Muto stopping it with a dragon screw off the ropes was a nice ripple. More and more knee damage causing Tanahashi's knee to give out on a German suplex led to the truly retarded finish where Tanahashi Hulked up by repeatedly double slapping his knee, the healing sweat suddenly giving him the power to withstand hitting not just 1 more, but, in fact, 3 out of 4 high fly flows in a 45 second span to take the title back for New Japan. While I was glad the current generation ace beat the relic, the enduring feeling the match had to leave you with is that Tanahashi wouldn't have had a chance if Muto wasn't 18 years past his prime. Tanahashi, I thought, had carved out his own niche since leaving the Muto worship of his early years, but this was simply him outlasting the veteran because he's 14 years his junior. **1/4
Wrestle Kingdom Grand Opening VIENTO DORADO: Mistico & Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs. Averno & Jado & Gedo
Jushin Liger 20th Anniversary Match: Jushin Liger & Takuma Sano vs. Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title ~Tread on!!~: Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito vs. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title ~Ballistic interception~: Low Ki vs. Tiger Mask
Fighting Holdings Competition: Riki Choshu & Masahiro Chono & Kurt Angle & Kevin Nash vs. Giant Bernard & Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii & Karl Anderson
World Heavyweight Title ~Crusade for Justice~: Yuji Nagata vs. Masato Tanaka
New Japan vs. NOAH Battle Tendencies ~the invasion~: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Jun Akiyama
IWGP Tag Title - Hardcore Rules: Togi Makabe & Toru Yano vs. "Team 3D" Brother Ray & Brother Devon
New Japan vs. NOAH Battle Tendencies ~the encounter~: Mitsuharu Misawa & Takashi Sugiura vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto 15:17
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Keiji Muto vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 30:22
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Contendership & 4 Way Match: Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs. Jado & Gedo vs. Milano Collection A.T. & Taichi Ishikari
Riki Choshu & Manabu Nakanishi & Wataru Inoue & Mitsuhide Hirasawa vs. Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii & Karl Anderson & Tomoaki Honma
Special Tag Match NJPW vs. TNA Augmented Reality: James Storm & Robert Roode vs. Masahiro Chono & AKIRA
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
Special Singles Match ~ Burn the Debt: Yuji Nagata vs. Hirooki Goto
CMLL World Welterweight Title ~ Lucha Libre Globalizacion: Mistico vs. Mephisto
Special Singles Match ~ Wrestle-incident DIE OR BREED: Kurt Angle vs. Giant Bernard
IWGP Tag Title & Hardcore Match: Brother Ray & Brother Devon vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 24:26. A well built match that shockingly just wasn't competitive enough and was simply too based in Tanahashi dominating in the phony pro wrestling style matwork, especially given Nakamura is supposed to be the badass shooter. They started really slow, with a lengthy feeling out period that could have been out of Tanahashi's Muto worshipping period, but had one interesting spot where Nakamura countered Tanahashi's silly twist the ankle style of sitting leglock with a rear naked choke attempt. That was at the start of Tanahashi easing into his traditional knee attack after the kneecap dropkick. The match began to pick up as Nakamura limped through a comeback with a series of brutal kicks only to have Tanahashi catch one and further injure the knee with an elbow. Surprisingly, this was Nakamura's only "run" of consistent, serious striking, and he couldn't even gain any traction there. Tanahashi took too much time posing on the middle rope to hit his high fly flow though, and wound up injuring his shoulder when Nakamura high kicked him to the floor. I liked that Tanahashi managed to outsmart Nakamura to stay on the knee rather than the spot predictably leading into Nakamura's shoulder attack, but when Nakamura did get after the shoulder they did a sequence so ridiculous one could only expect to come across it in the Kurt Angle school of cornball transitions where Tanahashi turned an armbar into a texas cloverleaf but to ad insult to idiocy Nakamura tripped him up and went right back into the armbar. There were some good counters in the match though, from the more innovative of Tanahashi turning a backdrop into a sling blade to the age old but effective of Nakamura hurting himself and Tanahashi by getting his knees up for the high fly flow. Nakamura did a good job of mixing it up, especially given when he would become in later years, but I felt Tanahashi was really doing his by numbers game here, not getting beyond the knee attack and his couple signature spots, and a lot of the knee attack just shouldn't have been credible enough to work against a guy of Nakamura's supposed legitimate background. Maybe I'm just ruined to this stuff by watching too much MMA & kickboxing, but everything they did from those disciplines either had no credibility or was 101 skill level, so I preferred the out and out fakeness of the running, flying, and throwing stuff. They saved most of their good stuff for the hot, accelerated finish, that was a lot of fun, except nowhere in this match did you ever get the sense that Nakamura had any chance of winning, and that's sad given this is supposed to be a battle of generation aces. I mean, when Nakamura can't get anywhere striking or on the mat, and Tanahashi has him injured the whole match, what really does that leave beyond how long it will take for Tanahashi to finish with the high fly flow? ***1/4
Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Kazuchika Okada
Toru Yano & Black Tiger & Jado & Honma vs. Super Strong Machine & Tiger Mask & Koji Kanemoto & Taichi Ishikari
New Japan Cup Round 2: Giant Bernard vs. Milano Collection A.T.
New Japan Cup Round 2: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Tomohiro Ishii
New Japan Cup Round 2: Yuji Nagata vs. Takashi Iizuka
New Japan Cup Special Six Man Tag Match ~ Soul of KORAKUEN: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi & Wataru Inoue vs. Togi Makabe & Val Venis & Karl Anderson
New Japan Cup Round 2: Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Karl Anderson & Black Tiger & Jado
New Japan Cup Semifinal: Giant Bernard vs. Yutaka Yoshie
New Japan Cup Semifinal: Hirooki Goto vs. Yuji Nagata
New Japan Cup Special Tag Match ~ Soul of AMAGASAKI: Shinsuke Nakamura & Wataru Inoue vs. Togi Makabe & Tomohiro Ishii
New Japan Cup Special Singles Match ~ Soul of AMAGASAKI: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Val Venis
New Japan Cup Final: Hirooki Goto vs. Giant Bernard
Koji Kanemoto vs. Kazuchika Okada 8:27
Jado & Tomoaki Honma & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Milano Collection AT & Taichi Ishikari & Wataru Inoue 8:52
AKIRA & Jushin Thunder Liger & Masahiro Chono vs. El Samurai & Riki Choshu & Super Strong Machine 8:19
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title: Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin vs. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi 12:54
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Mask: Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger 6:47 + 4:49
Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Takao Omori 15:50
Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano 16:10
Chain: Takashi Iizuka vs. Yuji Nagata 21:58
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Togi Makabe 12:42
IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kurt Angle 15:11
Milano Collection A.T. & Taichi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt
Wataru Inoue & AKIRA & Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Black Tiger & Jado
Manabu Nakanishi & Takao Omori vs. Riki Choshu & Masahiro Chono
Wrestling Dontaku 09 Special Tag Match ~ TENJIN Deadline: Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma
Wrestling Dontaku 09 Special Tag Match ~ HAKATA Cross Fire: Jushin Thunder Liger & CIMA vs. Tiger Mask & Koji Kanemoto
Justice revenge in FUKUOKA ~ Dog Collar Chain Death Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Takashi Iizuka
IWGP Tag Title Contendership - Hiroyoshi Tenzan Return Match: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto 29:39
Jado vs. Nobuo Yoshihashi 6:47
Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Milano Collection AT & Taichi 11:04
AKIRA & Jushin Thunder Liger & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Yuji Nagata & Super Strong Machine 10:13
Manabu Nakanishi & Takao Omori & Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger & Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson 11:15
Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Wataru Inoue 11:29
Atsushi Aoki & Takashi Sugiura vs. Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada 16:20
Kota Ibushi & Takeshi Morishima vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Koji Kanemoto 20:25
AKIRA & Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto vs. Kazuchika Okada & Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Nobuo Yoshihashi 4:53
Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Milano Collection AT & Taichi 11:27
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Jado & Karl Anderson 5:14
Giant Bernard & Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Super Strong Machine & Yuji Nagata 9:32
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger 10:12
Hirooki Goto vs. Takao Omori 11:33
Falls Count Anywhere Match: Wataru Inoue vs. Tomohiro Ishii 24:31
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Manabu Nakanishi 21:42
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Nobuo Yoshihashi
Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue & Tomoaki Honma
Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata & Mitsuhide Hirasawa vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. A Block: Milano Collection A.T. vs. Prince Devitt
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. B Block: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. YAMATO
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. A Block: Tiger Mask vs. Atsushi Aoki
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. B Block: Koji Kanemoto vs. Kota Ibushi
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Nobuo Yoshihashi
Karl Anderson & Black Tiger vs. AKIRA & Mitsuhide Hirasawa
Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii & Jado vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto & Tomoaki Honma
Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata & Taichi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. A Block: Prince Devitt vs. Atsushi Aoki
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. B Block: YAMATO vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. B Block: Kota Ibushi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. A Block: Tiger Mask vs. Milano Collection A.T.
Mitsuharu Misawa tribute
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Nobuo Yoshihashi
Taichi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
Best of the SUPER Jr. Semifinal: Koji Kanemoto vs. Atsushi Aoki
Best of the SUPER Jr. Semifinal: Kota Ibushi vs. Prince Devitt
Tiger Mask & Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA vs. Black Tiger & Jado & YAMATO
Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii & Karl Anderson vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue & Milano Collection A.T. & Tomoaki Honma
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata & Mitsuhide Hirasawa
Best of the SUPER Jr. Final: Koji Kanemoto vs. Prince Devitt
AKIRA & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto & Nobuo Yoshihashi 6:47
Takao Omori & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Super Strong Machine 5:26
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title #1 Contenders Match: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Milano Collection AT & Taichi 13:13
Mask vs. Mask Match: Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger 4:32
Jado & Shinsuke Nakamura & Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tomoaki Honma & Wataru Inoue & Yuji Nagata 12:12
Go Shiozaki vs. Kazuchika Okada 8:28
IWGP Tag Title Hardcore Match: Brother Devon & Brother Ray vs. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson 18:04
Takashi Sugiura vs. Hirooki Goto 14:42
Toru Yano vs. Togi Makabe 14:16
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 31:18
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Milano Collection AT & Taichi 17:09
Giant Bernard & Jado & Karl Anderson & Tomohiro Ishii & Val Venis vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Takao Omori & AKIRA & Kazuchika Okada & Wataru Inoue 9:44
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomoaki Honma 7:24
Hirooki Goto & Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Yuji Nagata vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Masahiro Chono & Riki Choshu 11:58
Chain Death: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Takashi Iizuka 15:34
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Tiger Mask vs. Koji Kanemoto 11:32
Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano 13:59
IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Takashi Sugiura 24:14
Togi Makabe vs. Karl Anderson 5:18
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: TAJIRI [2] vs. Giant Bernard [0] 10:33
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Manabu Nakanishi [2] vs. Takashi Iizuka [0] 11:58
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Masato Tanaka [2] vs. Toru Yano [0] 10:44
Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Kazuchika Okada & Yuji Nagata 10:20
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [2] vs. Takashi Sugiura [0] 12:42
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [2] vs. Hirooki Goto [0] 16:42
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Takao Omori [2] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [0] 18:20
Disc 1 8/7/09 Hiroshima Sun Plaza
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: TAJIRI [2] vs. Giant Bernard [0] 10:33
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Manabu Nakanishi [2] vs. Takashi Iizuka [0] 11:58
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Masato Tanaka [2] vs. Toru Yano [0] 10:44
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [2] vs. Takashi Sugiura [0] 12:42
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [2] vs. Hirooki Goto [0] 16:42
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Takao Omori [2] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [0] 18:20
8/8/09 Osaka Prefectural Gym
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Toru Yano [2] vs. TAJIRI [2] 11:34
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Takao Omori [4] vs. Togi Makabe [0] 14:40
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Yuji Nagata [2] vs. Hirooki Goto [0] 17:48
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] vs. Takashi Iizuka [0] 10:59
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [4] vs. Takashi Sugiura [0] 13:51
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi [2] vs. Giant Bernard [0] 19:57
Disc 2 8/9/09 Osaka Prefectural Gym
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Masato Tanaka [4] vs. Takao Omori [4] 13:08
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [6] vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] 8:41
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Giant Bernard [2] vs. Togi Makabe [0] 12:15
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Hirooki Goto [2] vs. Manabu Nakanishi [2] 14:55
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Takashi Sugiura [1] vs. Yuji Nagata [3] 30:00
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi [4] vs. Toru Yano [2] 18:39
8/10/09 Yokohama Bunka Gym
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Giant Bernard [4] vs. Takao Omori [4] 10:11
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Masato Tanaka [6] vs. TAJIRI [2] 11:24
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Yuji Nagata [5] vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] 11:01
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [8] vs. Takashi Iizuka [0] 5:11
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Takashi Sugiura [3] vs. Manabu Nakanishi [2] 14:22
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi [5] vs. Togi Makabe [1] 30:00
Disc 3 8/11/09 Korakuen Hall
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Toru Yano [4] vs. Takao Omori [4] 9:11
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Hirooki Goto [4] vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] 6:57
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Takashi Sugiura [5] vs. Takashi Iizuka [0] 9:05
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Giant Bernard [5] vs. Masato Tanaka [7] - Double Count Out 13:07
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Togi Makabe [3] vs. TAJIRI [2] 12:17
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Manabu Nakanishi [4] vs. Yuji Nagata [5] 21:58
8/13/09 Aichi Prefectural Gym
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Hirooki Goto [6] vs. Takashi Iizuka [0] 12:24
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Manabu Nakanishi [6] vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] 10:30
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Toru Yano [6] vs. Giant Bernard [5] 9:50
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Togi Makabe [5] vs. Masato Tanaka [7] 12:29
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [10] vs. Yuji Nagata [5] 17:41
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: TAJIRI [4] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [5] 18:03
Disc 4 8/15/09 Ryogoku Kokugikan
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Takashi Iizuka [2] vs. Yuji Nagata [5] 7:53
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [12] vs. Manabu Nakanishi [6] 7:10
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Takashi Sugiura [7] vs. Hirooki Goto [6] 13:32
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Takao Omori [6] vs. TAJIRI [4] 1:05
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Togi Makabe [7] vs. Toru Yano [6] 13:18
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi [7] vs. Masato Tanaka [7] 22:28
8/16/09 Ryogoku Kokugikan
G1 Climax 2009 Semifinal: Togi Makabe vs. Takashi Sugiura 11:57
G1 Climax 2009 Semi Final: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 13:31
G1 Climax 2009 Final: Togi Makabe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 18:29
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Toru Yano [2] vs. TAJIRI [2] 11:34
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Takao Omori [4] vs. Togi Makabe [0] 14:40
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Yuji Nagata [2] vs. Hirooki Goto [0] 17:48
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] vs. Takashi Iizuka [0] 10:59
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [4] vs. Takashi Sugiura [0] 13:51
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi [2] vs. Giant Bernard [0] 19:57
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Masato Tanaka [4] vs. Takao Omori [4] 13:08
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [6] vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] 8:41
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Giant Bernard [2] vs. Togi Makabe [0] 12:15
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Hirooki Goto [2] vs. Manabu Nakanishi [2] 14:55
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Takashi Sugiura [1] vs. Yuji Nagata [3] 30:00
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi [4] vs. Toru Yano [2] 18:39
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Giant Bernard [4] vs. Takao Omori [4] 10:11
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Masato Tanaka [6] vs. TAJIRI [2] 11:24
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Yuji Nagata [5] vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] 11:01
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [8] vs. Takashi Iizuka [0] 5:11
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Takashi Sugiura [3] vs. Manabu Nakanishi [2] 14:22
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi [5] vs. Togi Makabe [1] 30:00
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Toru Yano [4] vs. Takao Omori [4] 9:11
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Hirooki Goto [4] vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] 6:57
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Takashi Sugiura [5] vs. Takashi Iizuka [0] 9:05
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Giant Bernard [5] vs. Masato Tanaka [7] - Double Count Out 13:07
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Togi Makabe [3] vs. TAJIRI [2] 12:17
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Manabu Nakanishi [4] vs. Yuji Nagata [5] 21:58
Mistico & Tiger Mask vs. OKUMURA & Tomohiro Ishii 10:09
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Hirooki Goto [6] vs. Takashi Iizuka [0] 12:24
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Manabu Nakanishi [6] vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] 10:30
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Toru Yano [6] vs. Giant Bernard [5] 9:50
Atsushi Aoki & Takashi Sugiura vs. Kazuchika Okada & Super Strong Machine 11:24
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: Togi Makabe [5] vs. Masato Tanaka [7] 12:29
G1 Climax 2009 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [10] vs. Yuji Nagata [5] 17:41
G1 Climax 2009 Block A: TAJIRI [4] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [5] 18:03
Wataru Inoue & Prince Devitt & Kazuchika Okada vs. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson & OKUMURA 8:49
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Takashi Iizuka vs. Yuji Nagata 7:53
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Manabu Nakanishi 7:10
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Takashi Sugiura vs. Hirooki Goto 13:32
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Mistico 12:36. I don't get who thinks this matchup is a good idea, as Tiger is hardly the guy to spot Mistico, but at least Tiger Mask's 2009 domination came to an end in this odd junior title match that was often hard to decide on the quality of. They executed well, did good moves, and kicked hard, though Mistico's flying wasn't compromised by Tiger's impressive low kicks. My problem wasn't what they did, which didn't contain any filler and was pulled off well enough, but what they did is in between this stuff, just sort of standing around so the match never gained any momentum or garnered any heat. The real problem is that Tiger is forced to play the rudo role of setting Mistico up, and he's just not that adept at it, so the match didn't flow early, the setup was somewhat awkward, and the match still seemed to just stop and start. So while I can't really criticize the spots they did, the thing is it not only didn't come off as a big title match, it instead had the feeling of a training session where they just waited around for the coach to call the next spot until he finally got bored and said hit the showers. **1/4
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Takao Omori vs. TAJIRI 1:05
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano 13:18
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masato Tanaka 22:28. A meeting of the IWGP Heavyweight and ZERO1 Heavyweight champions found both worthy champions in top form. A very lively contest that flowed well and felt very organic. Striking was the basis, but they moved in and out of these sequences fluidly and believably, countering to start a new segment that probably lasted until they reset with strikes. Tanahashi attacked the knee periodically, picking on it when it was available. A back and forth match throughout, you always believed that it could go either way. ****
TAJIRI vs. Kazuchika Okada 6:15
Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Milano Collection AT & Taichi 14:46
G1 Climax 2009 Semifinal: Togi Makabe vs. Takashi Sugiura 11:57
G1 Climax 2009 Semifinal: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 13:31
Jado & Masato Tanaka vs. Hirooki Goto & Wataru Inoue 12:40
Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson & Toru Yano vs. Koji Kanemoto & Manabu Nakanishi & Takao Omori 12:04
Masahiro Chono & Yuji Nagata vs. Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii 12:52
G1 Climax 2009 Final: Togi Makabe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 18:29
Milano Collection A.T. & Taichi vs. Kazuchika Okada & Nobuo Yoshihashi
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma
Shinsuke Nakamura & Takashi Iizuka vs. Yuji Nagata & Mitsuhide Hirasawa
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Wataru Inoue
Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask & Kota Ibushi & The Great Sasuke vs. Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi & Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku
Across 4 soul ~ Hardcore Match: Toru Yano & Masato Tanaka vs. Togi Makabe & Hirooki Goto
This is our way ~JG 20th STYLE~: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Jado & Gedo
13 Man Battle Royal: Kazuchika Okada vs. Don Arakawa vs. Gran Hamada vs. Great Kojika vs. Koji Kanemoto vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa vs. Nobuo Yoshihashi vs. Super Strong Machine vs. Taichi vs. Tiger Toguchi vs. Tomoaki Honma vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara 19:58
Takao Omori vs. Karl Anderson 6:31
Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi & Hirooki Goto & Wataru Inoue vs. Gedo & Jado & Masato Tanaka & Tomohiro Ishii 13:35
Three Way Bodyslam Match: Akebono vs. Giant Bernard vs. Yutaka Yoshie 6:00
Shodai Tiger Mask & Kota Ibushi & Tiger Mask vs. AKIRA & Jushin Thunder Liger & Riki Choshu 8:52
Kohei Sato & Yuji Nagata vs. Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano 14:46
IWGP Heavyweight Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Shinjiro Otani 19:19
Keiji Muto & Kenta Kobashi & Masahiro Chono vs. Jun Akiyama & Manabu Nakanishi & Satoshi Kojima 23:59
Jado & Gedo vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt 9:32
TAJIRI vs. Kazuchika Okada 9:03
Manabu Nakanishi & Takao Omori & Koji Kanemoto vs. Masahiro Chono & Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA 9:44. A nostalgia match they tried to keep passable by featuring the small guys that can still go some - Kanemoto, AKIRA, & Liger - funneling the heavyweights through for the briefest of periods. Kanemoto looked pretty good, but his teammates had nothing to offer, with Nakanishi being particularly dreadful, moving like Kobashi but lacking any of his desire and willpower to make up for it. Chono's team was overall better because Chono was able to do his couple signature spots well enough, and even Nakanishi can't drag Liger & AKIRA down to the point where they embarrass themselves. The big problems were the match never seemed to have any fire or significance, and thus nobody cared about seeing these 40-somethings go through the motion for 10 minutes. *1/2
Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii 11:00
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Mistico vs. Tiger Mask 12:01
IWGP Tag Title Match: Brother Ray & Brother Devon vs. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson 15:42
Special Singles Match ~ DESTRUCTION AWAKING!!: Masato Tanaka vs. Hirooki Goto 14:28
Chain Death Match ~ DESTRUCTION BURST!!: Togi Makabe vs. Takashi Iizuka 16:55. I'm sure NJ scoffed at those W*ING matches where Matsunaga walks around the crowd exchanging rams into chairs and walls back in the day, but that's basically what you have here, and with little to no improvement in skill or quality. Iizuka bled almost as quickly as Johnny Grunge would have, and Makabe soon followed. I have nothing against death matches in and of themselves, but I'm sure I moved based the desire to see one man repeatedly bite another by the time I was 3, and nothing the formerly skilled athletic technician Iizuka did showed anything beyond an inflexible old man that should have known when to hang it up. Makabe ultimately turned it into something of a wrestling match with a handful of good suplexes including a spider with the chain wrapped around Iizuka to set up the finish. *1/2
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 22:47
Tiger Mask vs. Kazuchika Okada 9:21
Jushin Thunder Liger & Masahiro Chono vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Takao Omori 11:47
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs. Koji Kanemoto & Nobuo Yoshihashi 18:12. Devitt was stealing the show, partially because he's so good and partially because Taguchi & Yoshihashi were showing so little early. Devitt's speed and body control are so impressive. He worked really well with Kanemoto, who gave a strong performance, the pairing notable for their chemistry and timing. Yoshihashi, who never beats anyone in singles, was taking an enormous step forward getting a tag title shot. He showed tremendous desire early, but it wasn't until the later stages were he came to life, showing some impressive offense to go with his energy. In two years, this guy will be really good. Taguchi is never going to amount to anything though. He looked tremendously unworthy of his push and was a total drag on the quality of the match. He is totally non distinguished and has pathetic offense. About the best that can be said for him is he took Yoshihashi's moves fine. ***1/4
Special Elimination Match: TAJIRI & Masato Tanaka & Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe & Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma 23:20. I prefer elimination matches in theory, as they can be really epic, but the concept only works if you take the eliminations seriously. This match had 7 eliminations, and I'm not sure there was a decent or credible one in the lot. It was as bad as a royal rumble, where guys just go out because that's what happens in a battle royal. There was 3 elminations in the same minute, two from a DQ for using the chain, though as Makabe was barely even grazing with his chain punches, he may have been doing the opposition a favor by using the weapon. There was an over the top rope elimination, just lameness all over the place. I could maybe forgive the pitiful eliminations if there was some good wrestling, but outside of a good Tanaka vs. Goto segment, the actual wrestling was minimal. They brawled early due to the Iizuka and TAJIRI influence, and did a lot of stiff striking, but despite keeping a pretty good pace (particularly due to Tanaka) that was pretty much it. Apart from Goto & Tanaka, Tanahashi was the only one who did much, but that was mostly held off until it was down to him. *3/4
Aogi-gun vs. CHAOS Elimination Match II: Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue & Super Strong Machine & Mitsuhide Hirasawa vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano & Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson 20:16
Jado & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kazuchika Okada & Nobuo Yoshihashi 7:22
AKIRA & Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto vs. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask 8:48
Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Super Strong Machine 9:31
Manabu Nakanishi & Takao Omori vs. Masahiro Chono & Tomoaki Honma 8:31
Toru Yano vs. Wataru Inoue 10:44
Chain Death: Togi Makabe vs. Takashi Iizuka 15:07
Hirooki Goto vs. Masato Tanaka 16:32
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. TAJIRI 16:04
IWGP Heavyweight Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yuji Nagata 19:39
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: Tigers Mask vs. Taichi 6:41
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. GENTARO 10:39
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: YAMATO vs. AKIRA 8:13
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: Danshoku Dino vs. Jado 10:14
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: Gedo vs. Kota Ibushi 14:15
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: Prince Devitt vs. Atsushi Aoki 10:51
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: Koji Kanemoto vs. Fujita Hayato 13:45
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Jushin Thunder Liger 16:21
Super J Cup 2009 Second Round: YAMATO vs. Gedo 8:36
Super J Cup 2009 Second Round: Prince Devitt vs. Danshoku Dino 5:49
Super J Cup 2009 Second Round: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Koji Kanemoto 10:14
Super J Cup 2009 Second Round: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Tigers Mask 6:36
Super J Cup 2009 Semifinal: Prince Devitt vs. YAMATO 8:41
Super J Cup 2009 Semifinal: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 10:57
AKIRA & Jushin Thunder Liger & Kota Ibushi & Taichi vs. Atsushi Aoki & Fujita "Jr." Hayato & GENTARO & Jado 17:41
Super J Cup 2009 Final: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Prince Devitt 18:06
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: Tigers Mask vs. Taichi 6:41
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. GENTARO 10:39
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: YAMATO vs. AKIRA 8:13
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: Danshoku Dino vs. Jado 10:14
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: Gedo vs. Kota Ibushi 14:15
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: Prince Devitt vs. Atsushi Aoki 10:51
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: Koji Kanemoto vs. Fujita Hayato 13:45
Super J Cup 2009 First Round: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Jushin Thunder Liger 16:21
Super J Cup 2009 Second Round: YAMATO vs. Gedo 8:36
Super J Cup 2009 Second Round: Prince Devitt vs. Danshoku Dino 5:49
Super J Cup 2009 Second Round: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Koji Kanemoto 10:14
Super J Cup 2009 Second Round: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Tigers Mask 6:36
Super J Cup 2009 Semifinal: Prince Devitt vs. YAMATO 8:41
Super J Cup 2009 Semifinal: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 10:57
Super J Cup 2009 Final: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Prince Devitt 18:06
AKIRA & Jushin Thunder Liger & Kota Ibushi & Taichi vs. Atsushi Aoki & Fujita "Jr." Hayato & GENTARO & Jado 17:41