Welcome to Fightful.com's live coverage & discussion for NJPW Kizuna Road 2018 Day 2. We'll be bringing you full, match by match coverage of every bout on the card. You can also send in your feedback on our Disqus boards below!
NEVER Openweight Title Match
Hirooki Goto def. Michael Elgin to win the title
Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Jay White & Tomohiro Ishii) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson & David Finlay
Los Ingobernables (Tetsuya Naito, Bushi, Evil, Sanada & Hiromu Takahashi) def. Suzuki-Gun (Takashi Iizuka, Taichi, Taka Michinoku, El Desparado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Ryusuke Taguchi, Kushida, Togi Makabe, Toa Henare & Jeff Cobb def. Chaos (Toru Yano, Yoshi-Hashi, Rocky Romero, Sho & Yoh)
Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori) def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Ren Narita
Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata def. Tomoyuki Oka & Shota Umino
Yota Tsuji fought Yuya Uemura to a time limit draw
Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura
The match begins with some chain wrestling between the competitors, Uemura starts wrenching away on the arm of Tsuji. Uemura goes for an arm bar and he switches to a short arm lock instead, Tsuji gets free and he works on the legs of Uemura. Uemura gets to the ropes and Tsuji stomps away on him, Tsuji also kicks away at the injured leg of Uemura before wrenching away on it. Tsuji transitions to a single leg crab against Uemura, Tsuji then applies a modified leg lock to Uemura until Uemura gets to the ropes. Tsuji picks Uemura up and he kicks away at him in the corner, Uemura recovers and nails a charging Tsuji with a back elbow strike. Uemura then slams Tsuji for a near fall on a pin attempt, Uemura applies the arm bar to a downed Tsuji. Uemura transitions to a kimura attempt and Tsuji makes it to the ropes, Tsuji recovers and nails Uemura with a drop kick.
Tsuji then slams Uemura before getting a near fall on a pin attempts, Tsuji continuously slams Uemura before getting another near fall. Tsuji applies the single leg crab to Uemura and Uemura gets to the ropes, Tsuji gets angry and he attacks the injured leg of Uemura. Uemura recovers and catches a charging Tsuji with a drop kick, Uemura applies the arm bar to Tsuji. Tsuji gets free and Uemura drops him before applying a second arm bar, Tsuji gets to the ropes just as the bell sounds to signal a draw.
Match Result: Draw
Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Tomoyuki Oka & Shota Umino
The match begins with Oka attacking Nakanishi with some forearm strikes, Nakanishi and Oka exchange shoulder tackles until Oka goes down. Nagata and Umino get tagged in by their respective partners, Umino and Nagata exchange forearm strikes until Umino drops Nagata with a drop kick. Umino slows things down a little by holding Nagata in a chin lock, Nagata gets free and he starts working over the arm of Umino. Nagata would then apply the single leg crab to a downed Umino, Nakanishi tags in and he works with Nagata to hit Umino with a double shoulder tackle. Nagata tags back in and he nails a cornered Umino with some strikes, Nakanishi tags back in and he also attacks Umino with some strikes. Nakanishi applies the Argentine Back Breaker to Umino and Oka interferes to break it up.
Nakanishi goes for a knee drop and Umino gets out of the way, Umino follows that up by nailing Nakanishi with a drop kick. Oka tags in and he cleans house against the opposing team, Oka catches Nakanishi with multiple avalanches followed by a head and arm suplex. Nakanishi fights back and he catches Oka with a series of strikes, Oka recovers to drop Nakanishi with a suplex. Oka maintains control by stomping away on a downed Nakanishi, Nakanishi recovers and he nails Oka with a spear. Nagata tags in and he attacks Oka with a series of kicks, Oka recovers and takes Nagata down with a belly to belly suplex. Umino tags in and he attacks Nagata with forearm strikes, Umino catches Nagata with a missile drop kick for a near fall. Umino goes for an arm bar and Nakanishi breaks that up, Nagata then nails a charging Umino with a knee lift followed by a head kick for a near fall, Nagata applies the cross face to Umino and a tap out follows.
Winners: Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Ren Narita vs. Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori)
The match begins with Tenzan catching Takahashi in a headlock until a hair pull gets Takahashi free, Tenzan then hits Takahashi with a headbutt followed by a clothesline. Tenzan waits for Takahashi to stand up before landing some Mongolian chops, Takahashi fights back and Tenzan drops him with a shoulder tackle. Narita and Ishimori get tagged in by their respective partners, Ishimori catches Narita with a shoulder thrust before landing a springboard butt drop. Takahashi tags in and he double teams Narita alongside Ishimori, Takahashi would then attacks Narita with a series of slaps. Takahashi follows that up by slamming Narita before applying the Boston crab, Takahashi releases the hold before kicking Narita in the face. Narita recovers and drops a charging Takahashi with a drop kick, Tenzan tags in and he cleans house against the opposing team.
Tenzan would catch Takahashi with a suplex for a near fall, Takahashi would eventually trip up Tenzan before landing a basement drop kick. Takahashi would follows that up with a fisherman buster suplex against Tenzan, Takahashi would get Tenzan in the corner before landing a running boot to the face. Tenzan recovers and he nails Takahashi with a spin kick, Narita and Ishimori get tagged in by their respective partners. Narita would drop Ishimori before applying the Boston crab, Takahashi would eventually get free and catch Narita with a spin kick of his own. Ishimori would then hit Narita with a double knee power bomb for a near fall, Ishimori then applies the cross face and Narita taps out.
Winners: Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori)
Ryusuke Taguchi, Kushida, Togi Makabe, Toa Henare & Jeff Cobb vs. Chaos (Toru Yano, Yoshi-Hashi, Rocky Romero, Sho & Yoh)
The match begins with some chain wrestling between Kushida and Sho, Sho would eventually drop Kushida with a shoulder tackle. Kushida recovers to go for a flying arm bat and both wrestlers tumble into the ropes, Taguchi and Yoh get tagged into the match. Taguchi would quickly knock Yoh out of the ring with a hip attack, Yoh works with Romero and Sho to send Taguchi running all over the ring until he drops from weariness. Yoshi-Hashi tags in and Taguchi quickly catches him with a hip attack, Taguchi’s teammates clear the ring and they work over Yoshi-Hashi together. Henare tags in and he slams Yoshi-Hashi before landing a falling chop, Yoshi-Hashi trips up Henare and he drags him out of the ring. A brawl breaks out between both teams that spills all over the place, Yoshi-Hashi gets Henare back in the ring before throwing him into the exposed corner.
Romero tags in and he stomps away on a downed Henare, Yano tags in and he throws Henare into the exposed corner. Henare recovers and he drops Yano with a suplex, Makabe tags in and he cleans house against the opposing team. Makabe then hits Yano and Yoshi-Hashi with a series of running clotheslines in the corner, Makabe and Taguchi with then attack Yano and Yoshi-Hashi with a plethora of strikes in the corner. Taguchi and Makabe would then hit Yano with some hip attacks, Makabe hits Yano with a northern lights suplex for a near fall. Yano recovers by dropping Makabe with an inverted atomic drop followed by a hair pull, Cobb and Romero get tagged in by their respective partners before having a striking exchange. Romero goes for a springboard hurricarana and Cobb blocks it, Romero then works with Sho and Yoh to hit Cobb with a triple knee strike.
Romero follows that up by nailing Cobb with some Forever clotheslines, Cobb recovers and hits Romero with a few slams. Romero returns the favor by catching Cobb with a mule kick, Cobb catches a leaping Romero with a Tour Of The Islands for a three count.
Winners: Ryusuke Taguchi, Kushida, Togi Makabe, Toa Henare & Jeff Cobb
Los Ingobernables (Tetsuya Naito, Bushi, Evil, Sanada & Hiromu Takahashi) vs. Suzuki-Gun (Takashi Iizuka, Taichi, Taka Michinoku, El Desparado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
The match begins with Suzuki-Gun jumping their opponents before the bell and brawl breaks out that spills all over the arena, Evil fights off Kanemaru and Michinoku in the ring. Naito hits the ring and he double teams Kanemaru alongside Bushi, Iizuka distracts the referee so Taichi can nail Naito with his microphone stand. A second brawl breaks out and this one goes all over the place as well, Desparado grabs a chair and he nails Takahashi in the knee with it. Taichi tags in and he chokes Naito when he gets back in the ring, Iizuka tags in and he bites Naito in the head multiple times. Taichi tags back in and he watches Michinoku illegally attack Naito, Taichi would then hit an attacking Naito with a spin kick to the midsection.
Naito recovers to hit Taichi with a flying forearm strike followed by a neck breaker, Sanada tags in and he cleans house against the opposing team. Sanada applies the Paradise Lock to Kanemaru before nailing Taichi with a drop kick, Sanada would then hit Kanemaru with a basement drop kick. Taichi would recover and drop Sanada for a near fall, Sanada recovers to drop Taichi before Takahashi and Desparado tag into the match. Takahashi and Desparado get into a striking exchange in the middle of the ring, Desparado would then catch Takahashi with a spear before the duo exchanged clotheslines. Takahashi recovers and propels a charging Desparado into the corner, Bushi and Michinoku get tagged into the match. Suzuki-Gun members hit the ring and they all work over Bushi, another brawl takes place between both teams and it spills to the arena floor.
Naito hits the ring and he nails Michinoku with a series of drop kicks, LIJ would then hit the ring and work over Michinoku. Bushi would then hit Michinoku with MX for the three count.
Winners: Los Ingobernables (Tetsuya Naito, Bushi, Evil, Sanada & Hiromu Takahashi)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Jay White & Tomohiro Ishii)
The match begins with some headlock exchanges between White and Robinson, White uses a referee distraction to rake the eyes of Robinson. Robinson recovers and nails a charging White with a back body drop, Finlay tags in and he works with Robinson to hit White with a double bulldog. White recovers to hit Finlay with a side kick before tagging Okada into the match, Okada misses a charge in the corner and Tanahashi tags into the match. Tanahashi and Okada would immediately get into a striking exchange until Okada goes down, Okada recovers and he drops tanahashi with a flapjack. A brawl breaks out between both teams and some of it spills to the arena floor, Okada gets Tanahashi to his corner before tagging Ishii into the match. Ishii keeps Tanahashi near the ropes while landing a bunch of chops, Tanahashi tries fighting back and Ishii drops him with some headbutts.
Ishii follows that up by nailing Tanahashi with a suplex for a near fall, White tags in and he locks Tanahashi in the STO. Okada tags back in and he nails Tanahashi with a neck breaker, Tanahashi fights back and he catches Okada with a dragon screw leg whip. Ishii interferes and Tanahashi nails him with a dragon screw leg whip, Robinson and White get tagged in by their respective partners. Robinson quickly cleans house against the opposing team, Robinson would then nail White with his patented jabs and a clothesline. Robinson follows that up by dropping White on the top rope, Robinson misses a top rope high cross body and White tags Ishii into the match. Robinson immediately drops Ishii and White with a running cross body block, Finlay tags in and he attacks Ishii with European uppercuts. Finlay would then hit Ishii with a drop kick followed by a back suplex, Tanahashi and Okada hit the ring to help their teammates out.
Tanahashi would then catch Okada with a spinning neck breaker, Finlay and Tanahashi would then double team Ishii for a near fall. White hits the ring and Robinson takes him out with a cannonball, Finlay goes for a stunner and Ishii blocks it. Finlay would catch Ishii with a few roll ups for a few near falls, Ishii blocks another stunner to hit Finlay with a German suplex and a lariat for a near fall. Ishii then cracks Finlay with a brain buster for the three count.
Winners: Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Jay White & Tomohiro Ishii)
NEVER Openweight Title Match: Michael Elgin (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
The match begins with some chain wrestling between Elgin and Goto, Elgin and Goto would then exchange some forearm strikes. The two would then exchange shoulder tackles before Elgin drops Goto with a belly to back suplex, Goto rolls out of the ring and Elgin nails him with a double stomp from the ring apron. Elgin gets Goto back in the ring before landing a slingshot double stomp for a near fall, Elgin would follow that up by nailing Goto with a buckle bomb. Goto would quickly recover and hit Elgin with a modified neck breaker, Goto would then attack Elgin with a series of kicks. Goto would look for a sleeper hold and Elgin would escape to land a German suplex, Elgin would then catch Goto with an exploder suplex for a near fall.
Goto and Elgin would then have a striking exchange in the middle of the ring, Elgin would drop a charging Goto by landing a drop kick. Elgin keeps the pressure on Goto by dropping him with a delayed vertical suplex, Elgin would then drop Goto before landing a middle rope senton for a near fall. Elgin would then kick away at Goto until Goto drops him with a roaring clothesline, Goto would then trap Elgin in the corner while landing a clothesline followed by a spin kick. Goto would follow that up with a belly to back suplex against Elgin, Elgin recovers and he attacks Goto with chops. Elgin would then catch Goto with a pop up power slam for a near fall, Goto recovers and he catches a charging Elgin with a modified neck breaker.
Elgin would accidentally knock Goto into the referee before landing a falcon arrow, Taichi hits the ring and he attacks Elgin with his microphone stand. Goto would eventually get attacks by Taichi as well, Jeff Cobb hits the ring and he goes after Taichi until they both battle backstage. Elgin and Goto would recover before having another striking exchange, Goto would then hit Elgin with a release German suplex. Elgin would recover and drop Goto with a series of strikes, Elgin then slams Goto before going to the top rope. Goto would knock Elgin to the ring apron after landing a few strikes of his own, Goto and Elgin would then do battle on the ring apron. Elgin would get knocked off the apron by Goto, Elgin would then knock Goto off the ring apron before landing a fisherman buster suplex on the arena floor.
Elgin gets Goto back in the ring before landing a top rope splash for a near fall, Goto would recover and exchange clotheslines with Elgin. Elgin then hits Goto with a roaring elbow followed by a power bomb for a near fall, Elgin gets Goto on the top rope and Goto starts fighting him off. Elgin would eventually knock a swinging Goto off the top rope before placing him back up there, Elgin looks for a super Elgin Bomb and Goto knocks him off the ropes. Elgin would still find a way to nail Goto with a step up enzaguri, Elgin looks for a superplex and Goto fights back again. Goto crushes Elgin with a super code red for a near fall, Elgin would surprise Goto with a roll up for a near fall. Goto would then hit Elgin with a headbutt followed by a super side effect for a near fall, Goto exchanges a few blows with Elgin before catching him in a sleeper hold.
Elgin would get free and eventually drop Goto with a lariat, Elgin would nail Goto with another lariat and an Elgin Bomb for a near fall. Elgin would then hit Goto with a buckle bomb before eating a headbutt, Goto would then crush Elgin with a lariat for a near fall. Goto avoids a burning hammer to crack Elgin with a knee strike, Goto would then catch Elgin with an inverted GTR followed by a GTR for the three count.
Winner: Hirooki Goto, your new NEVER Openweight Champion
After the match, Jeff Cobb comes out and challenges Hirooko Goto for the NEVER Openweight Title and Goto accepts.
