This show was fucking aces, y’all. I just want to hit on some of my favorite moments/matches from the show. But, from start to finish, this was a lot of fun that also had plenty of fallout moving forward.
The Firing Squad: I love this shit right here. For the past year, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa have been warning the more flamboyant members of the Bullet Club to tone it down and be one with the club. Well, Saturday night everything came to a head with the Tongan faction including King Haku laying out every other member of BC in the building. This was a great move for NJPW as they are trying to expand more into American audiences and what better way to do that than have a civil war within the most popular faction in your organization? Seriously, I’ll watch GOD/Haku beat the shit out of people all day, every day.
Juice Robinson vs. Jay White: Good googly moogly this was sensational. White was a heat-seeking missile which included a spot with Josh Barnett that people are still confused as to whether it was a work or not. The match had top notch storytelling with everyone in the building wanting to see Juice win AND White lose which is all you can hope for when booking a match like this. When White kicked out of Pulp Friction, it seemed that White may get out of San Fran with his US Title only for Juice to roll that motherfucker up just like he said he would.
Seriously though – this was a great moment for Juice Robinson. The guy has been busting ass in Japan the last few years and has really taken a step forward this last year. Some are saying this title is dropping lower down the card. But, I really think this title on Juice may be a perfect relationship for both.
Hiromu Takahashi: Nothing but positive energy out to The Timebomb. It’s been reported he may have suffered a serious neck injury during his match with Dragon Lee. There were a couple of spots in this match that left me feeling nervous. Then, we get the Phoenix Plex that led to the awful moment where Takahashi came down on his neck. Hiromu was putting together a stellar 2018 that included winning Best of the Super Juniors and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in June.
Jeff Cobb: Cobb is a stud and looked every bit of it in his match with Hirooki Goto. Cobb used his strength, size and athletic ability throughout the match. That included a sequence where he hit a nasty lariat, then followed that up with a standing moonsault. Like I said, he’s a fucking stud. Goto used his experience to get the dub. But, it’s super intriguing to see how 2018 ends for Jeff Cobb in NJPW.
John Mosley is the independent wrestling and TV aficionado of the SoBros Network. He graduated from ETSU with a degree in Radio, TV and Film along with a minor in Film Studies. Since graduating he’s done pretty much nothing but watch, film, edit or commentate for local wrestling promotions and is the current color commentator for Resolute Wrestling. #Preds #Titans #DefendOrVacateConor – Follow on Twitter: @SoBroMose
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