Will Chaos tear down the House of Torture?

Before the NEVER Openweight Six Man and IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships are on the line, Chaos and the House of Torture go 4v4!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Great-O-Khan VS Kosei Fujita; Khan wins.
• Six Man Tag: Suzuki-Gun VS Tiger Mask, Robbie Eagles & Ryohei Oiwa; Suzuki-Gun wins.
• Six Man Tag: Bullet Club VS Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato & Hiroyoshi Tenzan; changed to…
• Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo VS Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato; Bullet Club wins.
• Toru Yano & Yuji Nagata VS Minoru Suzuki & DOUKI; Yano & Nagata win.
• Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma; LIJ wins.
• Kazuchika Okada & Satoshi Kojima VS Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi; Naito & Takagi win.
• 8 Man Elimination Tag: Chaos VS House of Torture; House of Torture wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

8 Man Elimination Tag: Chaos VS House of Torture!

These two teams met almost a month ago as the New Years Golden Series was taking off. Chaos got the win then, but have battled back and forth with the House of Torture since. Will YOH, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI get one last win before tag belts are on the line? Or will EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Dick Togo make Darkness Fall?

The introductions barely finish and House of Torture attacks! Red Shoes rings the bell and the brawl is on! Sho stomps Yoh, Yujiro CLUBS Hashi, but then Goto and Ishii turn things around on them and Evil. Evil kicks Ishii out, Sho throws Yoh, Goto pursues Dick Togo, and Hashi bumps Yujiro off buckles. Hashi throws forearms in the corner, but Yujiro turns it around to give forearms and knees in return. Tokyo Pimp CLUBS Head Hunter on the back, then brings him up. Hashi hits back but Yuijro throws more forearms and CHOPS! Yujiro runs, but into double shoulders from Goto-Hashi! Hashi runs, Goto hip tosses him onto Yujiro!

Sho gets in, but Goto, Hashi and Yoh give him the hammering! Evil slips in but slips away. Dick slips in, slips out, but Ishii throws him in! Dick sees Yoh, Hashi and Goto, but they all tell him to turn around. Dick turns around to see Ishii there, and he curses his bad luck while also saying a quick prayer. Chaos hammers Dick! Ishii dares Evil to try something but he stays away. Fans rally up as things finally sort out. Hashi gets Yujiro back up to CHOP him! Yujiro is stinging as he goes to ropes, but Hashi brings him around to CHOP again! Yujiro falls, writhes, and Hashi stomps him down. Hashi drags Yujiro up and reels him in, but Yujiro BITES the hand!

Yujiro whips, and surprise! Evil removes the blue buckle pad! Hashi hits bare steel as the Bullet Club Special comes into play! Then Dick and Sho knock Ishii, Yoh and Goto off the apron! Evil drags Hashi out, Yujiro baseball slides Ishii, and Evil whips Hashi into railing! The HOT boys all stomp Chaos, and Yujiro RAMS Ishii into railing. Evil drags Hashi up and puts him in for Yujiro. Cover, but Red Shoes refuses after seeing all the shenanigans. Yujiro rains down fists then covers, but Red Shoes still refuses because of closed fists. Yujiro stomps, then covers, and now Red Shoes counts, TWO!

Fans rally while Yujiro tags in Dick. Dick throws hands on Hashi and has him against ropes. Sho pulls Hashi’s hair while Dick chokes him on the ropes! Red Shoes reprimands but they let off at 4. Dick stomps Hashi then digs his boots in. Chaos protests but Dick lets off to then drag Hashi up. Dick wrenches the arm, YANKS it, then tags Sho. Sho CLUBS Hashi’s arm, then wrenches it to CLUB it again. Now Dick pulls Hashi’s hair, and Sho keeps Red Shoes busy while Yujiro chokes Hashi. The House of Torture gets away with that but fans still rally. Sho tags Evil, then Sho DECKS Ishii and swipes at the others.

Evil scoops and SLAMS Hashi, covers, TWO! Evil argues with Red Shoes but Red Shoes defends that was a fair count. Fans rally for Hashi more but Evil kicks him around. Hashi gets up, they both talk trash, and Evil CHOPS! Hashi CHOPS back! Hashi throws forearms, but Evil rakes eyes! Red Shoes reprimands but Evil whips Hashi to ropes. Hashi dropkicks the leg out! Evil hobbles, Hashi crawls and fans fire up! Evil stops Hashi from tagging out, but Hashi SPIN BACK KICKS! Hot tag to Goto! The Fierce Warrior runs Sho over but Evil kicks low. Evil whips Goto to the corner, but Goto stops himself!

Goto DECKS Dick and elbows Yujiro, then dodges Evil to send him into buckles! SAIDO! Fans fire up with Goto as he whips Evil to a safe corner. MURAMASA! And then BULLDOG! Cover, TWO! Fans rally as Goto drags Evil back up. Evil blocks the fireman’s carry and pulls hair, but Goto breaks free. Goto kicks, Evil blocks and hands the foot to Red Shoes to mule kick Goto down! Evil tags Dick and he drags Goto up to throw haymakers! Goto staggers, Dick throws more hands, but Goto fires up! Dick kicks and runs, but into a RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP! Fans fire up as both men are down, and Goto heads for his corner! Hot tag to Ishii!

The Stone Pitbull ROCKS Dick with big forearms, then whips him to a corner. Dick BOOTS back, runs in, but into a waistlock. Ishii ducks Dick’s elbow, Dick ducks Ishii’s elbow, and Ishii spins Dick for a suplex! Fans fire up as Ishii looms over Dick. Ishii drags Dick up, but Dick blocks the back suplex with a headlock. Dick punches Ishii, whips him, but Ishii gets around to back suplex! Dick slips free, throws at the ropes, and all of House of Torture work to drag Ishii over! But all of Chaos rushes in to stop that! Ishii stays safe on the apron as everyone else spills out! Ishii gets up, Dick runs in, but Ishii ROCKS Dick!

Ishii reels Dick in, goes to suplex, but the House of Torture anchor his feet! Chaos attacks House of Torture again, Ishii gives Evil and Yujiro each a kick! Dick ROCKS Ishii, but Chaos keeps Ishii from falling! Dick kicks Ishii, runs, but Ishii catches him! Yoh gets in, picks Dick up, and they get him up and over! Dick’s on the apron, Ishii’s in the ring, and Ishii DECKS Dick! Sho is there to keep Dick safe! But then he runs into double kicks, double whip, but holds ropes. Sho dodges Ishii but Yoh kicks him back. Ishii runs in and RAMS Sho into Dick! Dick falls, Chaos ELIMINATES Dick!

Fans fire up while Sho realizes what happened. And since he’s in the ring, he’s legal! Ishii and Yoh double whip Sho to a corner, Yoh whips Ishii in for a big corner clothesline! Ishii feeds Sho to Yoh’s BIG elbow smash! Ishii scoops and SLAMS Sho, Yoh runs, but Dick trips Yoh up! Dick’s out of the match but he’s not gone from ringside! Ishii runs in, but Dick catches him! Ishii BOOTS Sho away, and almost sends Sho into Dick again. Sho dodges Ishii and Dick holds the ropes down! Ishii tumbles to the floor, House of Torture ELIMINATES Ishii! That Dick! Sho has Yoh now, and he claws Yoh’s eyes!

Sho puts Yoh in a corner, stomps away on him, then digs his boots in. Red Shoes reprimands, but Yoh powers up to lift Sho! Sho ends up on the top rope but he claws Yoh’s face again! Sho scoops and spins to lawn dart, but Yoh holds the top rope! Yoh lands on the apron, Sho BOOTS him! Yoh holds on so Sho BOOTS again! Sho keeps kicking but Yoh still holds on! Sho goes after Yoh’s fingers and BENDS them! Yoh ROCKS Sho but Sho HOTSHOTS the arm! Sho runs, but Yoh dumps him out! Sho stays safe on the apron, and now they brawl with forearms on the edge! Their teams watch closely, Sho POSTS Yoh and he falls! Sho ELIMINATES Yoh!

But Hashi is in and he BLASTS Sho off! Hashi ELIMINATES Sho! Yujiro runs at Hashi but they RAM shoulders. Hashi throws a forearm, Yujiro gives it back, repeat. Yujiro gets the edge, Hashi fires off a strike fest! CHOP! Hashi fire sup, runs, but into Evil’s cheap shot! Yujiro runs, into Goto’s cheap shot! Goto and Evil get in to fire forearms! Yujiro and Hashi are also brawling! Red Shoes reprimands but Goto-Hashi gets the edge. Goto throws Evil out, then he and Hashi double whip Yujiro. Goto runs in to clothesline, and Hashi runs in to CHOP! Hashi then feeds Yujiro to Goto’s kick. Goto hooks Yujiro up, Hashi runs, but Evil trips him!

Yujiro shoves Goto at Red Shoes, then RAMS them both into the bare buckles! Down goes Red Shoes! Yujiro rains down fists but Dick and Sho return to add stomps! Evil throws Yujiro his pimp cane but Ishii returns to go after Sho. Sho kicks Ishii down, and then the HOT boys focus on Hashi. But Goto sends Evil into railing to then get in and CLOBBER Yujiro! Dick and Sho go after Goto, Dick DECKS Goto! Sho and Dick stomp Goto but Ishii and Yoh get in to go after them! Yoh and Ishii throw Dick and Sho out, and fans rally up. Hashi runs at Yujiro in the corner to clothesline! Hashi reels Yujiro in, but Yujiro BITES his hand again!

Hashi CLUBS Yujiro but Yujiro ROCKS Hashi! Yujiro runs, but into the fireman’s carry! Yujiro slips off, but into a SUPERKICK! The Hidden Gap leads to the fireman’s carry, FIERCE FLASH! And then BASEMENT SUPERKICK! Goto plays defense while Hashi wraps Yujiro up in the BUTTERFLY LOCK!! Yujiro endures and fans rally up, and Hashi cranks on the hold  harder! Evil gets in with the NEVER Openweight belt! Red Shoes sees that, and Hashi even lets Yujiro go. Yujiro crawls to get a chair from the corner! Yujiro SMACKS the mat, and he throws the chair to Hashi! Yujiro pretends he got hit! He’s pulling a Latino Heat!

Red Shoes sees Hashi with the chair and Hashi explains it’s not what it looks like. Red Shoes takes the chair, but Yujiro throws Hashi over the top! Yujiro ELIMINATES Hashi after all! Goto gets in as the last Chaos member standing, and he fires off on Yujiro! Evil gets in to kick Goto down! Yujiro and Evil mug Goto, but fans rally up. Evil & Yujiro double whip, but Goto breaks the clothesline to ROCK Yujiro! He dodges Evils boot to DISCUS LARIAT! But then he runs into a FLAPJACK HOTSHOT! Yujiro fires up, runs, but Goto dumps him out! Goto ELIMINATES Yujiro! Evil is the last one for his team, too!

Fans are thunderous as the final two slowly rise. Goto runs in at Evil, corner clothesline! Goto fires up as he climbs up the corner! But Evil grabs Red Shoes’ feet! Evil gets up and uses Red Shoes as a shield. Goto moves Red Shoes aside, and blocks the low blow! Goto KICKS Evil down! Goto drags Evil up, URA GTR! Cover, TWO! Evil survives but fans rally behind Goto. Goto drags Evil up, dragon sleepers, but Evil clubs back. Goto blocks, spins Evil around, but Evil fireman’s carries Goto! DARKNESS FALLS! Cover, TWO!! Goto survives and the fans are thunderous! Evil and Goto slowly rise, and Evil slashes the throat!

Evil drags Goto up, spins him around, EVERYTHING- NO! Goto elbows free, DOUBLE LARIATS collide! Evil runs in but Goto BOOTS him! Evil comes back to clothesline Goto up and out! The House of Torture wins!!

Winners: House of Torture, by ring out, Evil as the sole survivor

What a sudden turn of events! And Evil gets right on the mic to say, “Oi, you think you just fell outta the ring on accident, jackass? You lost because you’re no good, bastard!” Evil tells Goto & Hashi that they’re awful champions, and those IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships are crying in their hands! Evil & Yujiro will crush them in Sapporo! Then Evil will be a TRIPLE CHAMPION! Will the King of Darkness upgrade from being the King of NEVER to something much more?

My Thoughts:

Again, I skipped much of this event, there just isn’t enough time for everything in wrestling. Especially when this event was VOD Only on NJPW World, which literally means waiting a long, long time, and this was probably uploaded during the late night hours here in the US. Though I suppose it’s just as bad for fans in Japan, they probably had to wait almost 24 hours. And in terms of results, much was still predictable given the way the other events have gone. Khan beats a Young Lion, a Young Lion takes the loss in that first Six Man, though I will say that one helped even out the math going into the Junior Heavyweight Tag title Fatal 4.

I do wish I had time to cover the other tag matches. Tenzan is still out, so one Six Man was reduced to a 2v2, but The Cutest Tag Team VS Six or Nine still looked to be a very fun match. Yano & Nagata VS Suzuki & Douki also looked like a lot of fun, but almost all Yano matches are fun. Somehow Yano gets the better of Suzuki again, I have a feeling Suzuki actually retains the KOPW 2022 trophy, and then we have the New Japan Cup returning for the Spring, so maybe over the summer, Suzuki faces someone new for just a spell before Yano returns to try again. Then LIJ sweeps the night again, keeping with what Naito promised on the 13th.

The main event was pretty great stuff for another 8 Man Elimination Tag. Such a sudden finish was a very good surprise, but House of Torture standing tall here surely means Goto-Hashi keep the IWGP tag titles while House of Torture finds a way to keep the NEVER Openweight Six Man titles. Evil was technically Triple Champion once before when he had the IWGP Heavyweight, IWGP Intercontinental and NEVER Openweight Six Man belts back when he first betrayed LIJ. But he’s probably not becoming that now, Evil being Mr. NEVER is probably enough for NJPW.

My Score: 8.4/10