New Japan Pro Wrestling hit Dallas with a dreamlike card that saw Killer Kross battle Minoru Suzuki, Jay White take on “Speedball” Mike Bailey, and two monsters rip each other apart in the main event as Chris Dickinson and Tomohiro Ishii beat the hell out of each other. There was a four-on-four tag match as Karl Fredericks, Clark Connors, Mascara Dorada, and Yuya Uemura faced FinJuice, Danny Garcia, and Kevin Knight, and there was a surprise appearance from a certain wild thing. First off, Ren Narita squared off against Rocky Romero.

Ren Narita vs Rocky Romero

Romero spent the early stages attempting to school the Young Lion, but it didn’t take long for Narita to give as good as he got. He connected with some kicks to Romero’s spine, but the veteran took control with some huge chops and a snap suplex. Narita got pumped up from the pain of the chops and drove some knee strikes into Romero’s chest, but ended up getting caught with a spinning DDT. Romero mocked the “Narita” chants while striking Ren, then dropped a double stomp onto Narita’s back as he was caught in-between the ropes. Narita landed a leg lariat, a running elbow, and a picture-perfect bridge German suplex for a two-count. It looked over as Romero hit Narita with a running Shiranui, but he kicked out. Romero continued to beat down Narita, but out of nowhere, he landed a savage bridge suplex for the win. A good opener with a deserved win for Ren Narita.

Karl Fredericks, Clark Connors, Mascara Dorada, & Yuya Uemura vs FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson), Kevin Knight, & Danny Garcia

Knight and Dorada started things off and were both evenly matched. Knight hit an impressive top rope Mexican arm drag, but for the most part, their moves were mirrored with each other. Garcia got taken out by Connors and Uemura with a double elbow. Uemura continued to battle with Garcia until FinJuice got involved. Finlay tagged in Knight as he took some stiff elbows from Uemura. Knight landed a shoulder tackle to grab a two-count. Garcia returned to action (who was wearing his Jericho Appreciation Society trunks) and connected with some elbows. Robinson stomped down Uemura and then hit a cannonball in the corner. Finlay continued the beat down of Uemura with a back suplex and some stiff uppercuts. Uemura fought back and landed a back suplex, then tagged in Connors who beat the crap out of FinJuice. Connor ran out of gas and tagged in Knight who traded blows with Fredericks. Fredericks landed a spinebuster but ate a dropkick shortly after. Connors speared Knight but got taken out by Garcia. Uemura hit suplexes on Knight and Garcia, until eating a spinebuster from Robinson. Dorada flew over the ropes and took out all four opponents with a Tope Con Hilo. Back in the ring, Knight and Fredericks exchanged open palm strikes. Knight tried to get a quick pin, but Fredericks was having none of it as he hit Manifest Destiny for the win. There was some fantastic wrestling on display in this one featuring talent from a lot of great younger professional wrestlers, especially Uemura and Knight.

Killer Kross vs Minoru Suzuki

Suzuki was quick to trap Kross’ head in a lock, using his leverage to keep him from escaping. They traded some slaps before Kross knocked Suzuki off his feet, but he played possum and locked in the over the rope armbar. Outside the ring, Suzuki rammed Kross’ arm into the post, then applied another armbar on the apron. Suzuki smashed Kross’ head into the guard rail while ignoring the referee’s count. Back in the ring, Suzuki manipulated Kross’ fingers and bent his arm right back. He continued to wear down Kross with a boot in the corner until Kross fought back and hit a clothesline in the corner and a Saito suplex for a two-count. Suzuki locked in a Fujiwara armbar, then taunted Kross with some boots to the face. Suzuki taunted Kross which fired him up to land some chops. They traded some horrendous chops whilst goading each other until Kross hit a boot. Suzuki locked in a rear-naked choke, but powered out and locked in his own choke. Suzuki dropped Kross with a hanging Gotch style piledriver for the victory. This was a really fun match, and it was great to see Kross in NJPW. After the match, Kross choked out an official while Suzuki celebrated with a kid from the audience in a nice moment.

Jon Moxley Makes An Appearance

Before the next match, Jon Moxley made a surprise appearance and said he wasn’t going to leave Dallas without stepping foot in a New Japan ring. He said it brought out the fighting spirit in him, and also the best in him. Mox said everyone had been brought together at WrestleCon because of their love for professional wrestling, but he was here for another reason. He turned his attention to Will Ospreay and said he was going to teach him a lesson.

“Speedball” Mike Bailey vs Jay White

It didn’t take long for Bailey to bust out the quick kicks. He went crazy on White, then landed a Tope Con Hilo to the outside. White dropped Bailey with a TKO over the top ropes where he caught his throat on the way down. He continued the assault with some chops outside before getting back in the ring. White remained focused and in control as he launched Bailey head-first into the turnbuckle. They traded open palm strikes until Bailey caught White with a multitude of kicks and a standing corkscrew shooting star press. White hit a Blade Buster, but Bailey kicked out. He went for Blade Runner, but Bailey reversed into a roll-up. After White slid to the outside, Bailey connected with a moonsault off the top rope to the outside. Back in the ring, Bailey went for his finisher, but White moved. They battled on the apron and Bailey missed an overhead double knee. White planted Bailey with an Urunage and locked in TTO, but Bailey grabbed the bottom rope. Bailey was able to kick White right to the outside through the ropes. He climbed back in and took more kicks that floored Switchblade. Bailey escaped White’s finisher and connected with an overhead double knee. It was clear Bailey was struggling with his injured leg, but he continued to use them anyway. He missed a top rope double knee which allowed White to nail a sleeper suplex and Blade Runner for the win. Bailey was exceptional and it looked as though he might actually do it. However, White’s ring awareness was too good.

Chris Dickinson vs Tomohiro Ishii

Dickinson was more than impressive against Minoru Suzuki at Bloodsport a few days ago, and he was back to attempt to defeat another NJPW legend. He’s in superb shape and didn’t miss a beat against Ishii. It started off slow as both men tried to knock each other over, with Dirty Daddy being the first to do so. They traded chops for a solid minute until Dickinson took Ishii off his feet again. They found their way outside where Dickinson launched Ishii into the guard rail, but Ishii found his feet and did the same to Dickinson. Ishii took some brutal kicks to the chest and an almighty boot to the back. The grit of the Stone Pitbull started to show. He took more chops and absorbed them, then slapped the hell out of Dickinson in the corner. Dickinson landed a deadlift German suplex, but Ishii landed one of his own. Dickinson pulled out every trick in his arsenal, landing a Death Valley Driver which rocked Ishii. He then hit a brainbuster, but only got a two-count. Both guys beat the hell out of each other, but neither could pick up the victory. Ishii finally hit his brainbuster to pin Dickinson. This was a real battle with both guys giving everything. After the match, Minoru Suzuki walked out and appeared to challenge Ishii to a match.

Thanks to Fite TV for the captures