Ryohei Oiwa scoops first NJPW singles win

Noge Dojo Young Lions Ryohei Oiwa and Kosei Fujita entered a new phase of their rivalry on April 18, as they faced off in singles action with a 15 minute time limit, after a string of ten minute time limit draws. 

Fujita was wrestling on the back of his first singles victory, in a joint NJPW and AJPW event at Korakuen Hall over AJPW young star Inoue. In front of his hometown crowd in Nagoya, the jealous Oiwa was eager to take over on Fujita as a result, and came up with a snug headlock, before athletically escaping a Fujita wrist lock and taking the younger man’s arm himself. 

A double wrist lock would almost secure the win well before the ten minute mark, but Fujita made the ropes and bought some time with a short dropkick. Fujita would go to Oiwa’s legs for his own offense, and had Oiwa in pain with a well applied knee bar, before continuing his work on the right knee with a half Boston Crab that forced Oiwa screaming to the ropes. 

As the match opened to strikes, Oiwa found some elbows and a dropkick of his own, but couldn’t follow up with a Boston Crab. With Oiwa’s knee hurting, his opponent tried to take advantage with some quick rollups, but there was enough in Oiwa’s base to kick out and then land a gutwrench suplex before the Boston Crab sent Fujita to the ropes. Oiwa would reapply the hold however, and forced a tapout to pick up his first ever singles win.