NEVER 6 Man Champions retain despite guts of Kosei Fujita
The semi main event on January 24 in Korakuen Hall was an emotional affair, Kazuchika Okada wrestling his last match for NJPW in Korakuen Hall and defending the NEVER Openweight 6 man Tag Team Championships alongside Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii opposite TMDK’s Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls and Kosei Fujita.
Korakuen erupted for Okada, the chants deafening before the Rainmaker started with Fujita. Confident, Okada dared the southpaw Fujita to take a shot, and the young man complied, but the match quickly went outside where Okada planted his foe with a bodyslam on the floor. Fujita was brought into the champions’ corner and kept there, Ishii throwing chops into the throat of the prodigy before locking in a brutal Boston Crab. The punishment continued from all three champions until a spinning wheel kick and then a Dragon Screw on Tanahashi saw a much needed tag to Haste.
The Hysterical one exploded into the ring, with a cannonball striking Tanahashi and Okada, but the Ace put the brakes on with Twist and Shout. With Ishii back in, Okada played crowd control to set up the Stone Pitbull for something big, but as he was caught on the top rope, Nicholls came in for Olivia Newton Bomb, scoring a nearfall. As the challengers built steam it was Okada making the save, cleaning house of TMDK, before a triple spike DDT on Nicholls set Ishii for a lariat, getting a near two.
The match breaking down, a frenetic Fujita took out the competition, culminating with a massive tope con giro on Tanahashi. That set Ishii for Highway To Hell on Ishii, who kicked out to a massive reaction from the Hall faithful; the Pitbull countered the Tankbuster as Okada and Tanahashi re-entered the ring; TMDK took care of the interference and landed Tankbuster, but only for two on Ishii once more.
With only the Super Tankbuster left for Haste and Nicholls, the Australians set for the move, but Tanahashi broke things up. A pair of Dragon screws scored on Haste and Nicholls, and now it was Fujita and Okada waiting for tags; now legal Fujita roared in, and though Okada thought he had the young man beat as he flagged, a second win set up a massive springboard dropkick. Fujita, full of precocious arrogance booted at Okada, paying a brutal elbow price, but baiting the Rainmaker into a submission predicament, and then a deadlift German suplex for 2.9.
Fujita set for Abandon Hope, but Okada put the brakes on, and delivered a German suplex of his own. A dropkick on the money, and Okada walked the dog on Fujita with wrist control btu a Rainmaker attempt was countered with an O’Connor bridge for yet another near fall. As Haste and Nicholls were taken down on the outside, Fujita was now on his own against all three champions, and had no choice but to take a sliding lariat, Slingblade and a full hit parade of Okada signature moves. The top rope elbow scored flush, and so did the Rainmaker for three.
Post match, a teary Okada said that he would be vacating the NEVER 6 man gold, thanking Ishii and Tanahashi for his first team championships before asking for support in his last three matches and promising the fans in Korakuen that he would see them all again some day.
