Matt Vandagriff defeated Allan Breeze
Capital Collision’s pre-show kicked off with both men on equal footing. Vandagriff soon got the upper hand, working the back and chest of Breeze, followed by a knee strike into the post. Vandagriff looked to almost have the match won following a spot at the turnbuckle, picking at Breeze like a vulture, failing a pin attempt after a thunderous cannonball. Breeze powered out of the offense, gaining spectacular momentum. Vandagriff countered this with his strikes, punctuated by a Bloody Sunday.
An excellent pre-show opener. Breeze has babyface spirit, but Vandagriff comes off as a future star. In-ring and character in him shows promise. I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing him as a future member of Bullet Club’s War Dogs.
Empress Nexus V (Mina Shirakawa & Hanako) defeated Viva Van & Trish Adora
Adora and Hanako began this match with utter speed and tenacity, but soon tagged Van and Shirakawa who proceeded with comedic antics. Adora soon tagged herself in; she and Van separated Shirakawa. Hanako put an end to it with Shirakawa isolating Van from Adora.
Hanako and Shirakawa continued picking Van apart, with Hanako halting Adora from making the assist as Shirakawa tapped Van out with a figure four leglock.
The dynamics of this match were cleverly planned, with Adora and Hanako serving excellently as the heavies while Shirakawa and Van’s personalities shone. The crowd was into Empress Nexus Venus. I love how Shirakawa knows how to work with American crowds.
Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated TMDK (Bad Dude Tito & Robbie Eagles) and Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) in a #1 Contenders Match for the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship
TMDK took Ishii and Tanahashi out in the early goings, leaving them to clash with GYV, until Tanahashi tagged himself in. The Ace stood his ground defiantly, but Eagles tagged himself in, but soon found himself in dire straits with Gibson and then Drake. Ishii then tagged himself in, bulldozing everyone until he and Tito stood toe-to-toe with The Stone Pitbull standing tall. Ishii then proceeded to singlehandedly overcome GYV’s attempts.
Tito tagged himself back in and toppled GYV for another standoff with an understandably frustrated and energetic Ishii. Tanahashi tagged himself in to whittle down Tito, but GYV swiftly ended his aspirations. Eagles soared into the ring, evening the odds with his brisk pace. Each team took turns with spot after spot until Tanahashi and Ishii isolated Tito, with Tanahashi securing a pin after a High-Fly Flow.
Rocky Romero, Kevin Knight, & Yoshi-Hashi defeated Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay, Clark Connors, and Drilla Maloney) in a Six-Man Tag Match
The War Dogs opened the match by barking at the audience, as is their tradition. Knight and Connors collided first, leading to Yoshi-Hashi and Romero cutting Connors off from his War Dogs. Connors fought out, tagging in Maloney, who followed up with a stiff exchange with Romero. Romero responded in kind, winding up for a simple eye poke. Winding up the crowd, Romero and Maloney sped around the ring, only for Maloney to knock Knight and Yoshi-Hashi out of the ring while Connors handled Romero.
Romero’s bad luck continued with The War Dogs biting at him with shots and kicks in their corner of the ring. After a hot tag, Yoshi-Hashi blasted The War Dogs with a barrage of offense. He then clashed against Finlay before Maloney and Knight tagged themselves in. With superb athleticism, Knight held Maloney and Connors at bay. Despite his agility, The War Dogs wore him down, leading to a frenzied Romero to get his revenge. Dispatching Romero with a Drilla-Killa, Maloney nearly did the same to Knight with an attempted pin, who reversed it with a backslide.
Post-match, The War Dogs assaulted Knight, undoubtedly bitter after their loss.
A bit slower than the previous match, this match followed a methodical route. Kevin Knight was the spotlight with his incredible abilities; I’m astounded by him every time. That said, I’m still not impressed by Finlay, but his cohorts in Connors and Maloney are impressive.
Dirty Work (Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor) defeated West Coast Wrecking Crew (Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson) in a No DQ Tag Team Match
Dirty Work didn’t even let the match start before they assaulted West Coast Wrecking Crew from backstage to the ring. Once the dust settled, Rosser and Lawlor caused Nelson great suffering. Isaacs soon found the adrenaline to give WCWC a fighting chance by striking Lawlor. WCWC then followed this by clanging baking sheets on Rosser’s body.
Nelson delivered Lawlor into a Spinebuster onto some chairs before he and Isaacs catapulted him into the railing. Using steel chairs that Rosser introduced into the ring a short time prior, their opponents were left incapacitated. Plucking a white door from under the ring, WCWC sought to flip Rosser onto it, but he successfully fought back with renewed vigor. Another door was brought into the ring, where it leaned on a ring post. Placing a trash can on Lawlor, WCWC played tennis with him using the chairs, echoing loudly.
After a headshot by a chair, Rosser seemed doomed, but Lawlor came to his rescue, hoping to send Nelson through the door bridged on the outside. Thanks to a tug of war, Lawlor and Nelson fell through the outside door as Rosser sent Isaacs through the inside door for the win.
This was, as some would put it, some dirty work. Plunder matches are fun and the comradery between Lawlor and Rosser created a thick sense of drama. Isaacs and Nelson put up a great fight and continue to be an underrated part of NJPW STRONG’s shows.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Titán
Fresh off his appearance in the Casino Gauntlet Match at AEW’s All In, Sabre was warmly welcomed by the Washington DC crowd. Displaying his technical proficiency, Sabre found himself countered by the nimble Titán, as they rolled through the ring with Titán gaining advantage with his speed. The normally strategic Sabre’s difficulty in nailing his opponent was brief, however, as he grounded the acrobatic Titán, stretching and bending his legs – if he can’t outpace him, he could weaken his limbs. Tauntingly kicking Titán, Sabre met his karma after Titán sent him out of the ring and brought him back in to bend and stretch Sabre, who parried with a similar maneuver. Grappling for control, neither man gained from this exchange, instead softening each other into exhaustion.
Refueling each other through the adrenaline of chest shots, Titán found the most energy, breaking down Sabre, each wrestler trading hold for hold. Try as he might with his agility, Titán found one last reversal by Sabre stretched him in a submission hold until he tapped.
My match of the night so far. Sabre’s technical prowess is unmatched in the current landscape of wrestling, perhaps aside from Hechicero. Titán’s speed and strength and Sabre’s intelligence told an excellent story, thrilling from start to finish. For their first time together, Sabre and Titán have great chemistry together.
Tetsuya Naito defeated TJP
Unwilling to wait for Naito to fully undress, TJP immediately attacked him on the top rope. Targeting Naito’s well-documented weak knees, TJP mockingly nearly ran up the 20-count as Naito struggled to get on his feet, much to the referee’s justified annoyance. Not letting Naito get even a chance of recovery, TJP rubs further salt into Naito’s wounds by stealing his Los Ingobernables de Japon T-shirt. Naito finally stands up, delivering DDTs and gaining back his shirt. He kept up this momentum until TJP regained his strength.
After attempting a Tornado DDT on Naito, TJP failed but spat red mist into the eyes of Naito for a series of unsuccessful pins and submissions. After a failed Destino, Naito managed to secure a victory with a Corriendo for the 3-count.
Whenever Naito wears a shirt to the ring, I can usually tell he won’t put in much effort, but this match betrayed that expectation. Naito fighting as an underdog against the reprehensible actions of TJP provided a captivating narrative, bolstered by Naito’s notoriously weak knees.
TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) defeated Hechicero & Virus for the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship
Nicholls hoped for a lockup between himself and Hechicero, but the Venus flytrap that is the lucha grappler snared him. Haste also struggled to keep up with Virus, infected with one hold after another. Sensing they couldn’t get a hold of their opponents by themselves, TMDK teamed up to trip Virus as they worked on his body, thus turning the tide of this match.
Post-match, both teams shook hands. Tomohiro Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi entered the ring to greet their future opponents.
Hiromu Takahashi defeated Mustafa Ali
Off to a frenetic start, Ali and Takahashi wrestled around the mat, rolling around until Ali attempted a pin. Arguing with Takahashi over the pin, the arrogant Ali mocked Takahashi with every bit of offense he could gain. After sending Ali into the rails, Takahashi teased introducing his plush cat Darryl into the match. Insulted by this, Ali threatened to harm the plush cat Darryl but decided not to.
Transitioning to the outside, Ali had Takahashi on the ropes but immediately was offset by a stiff arm clotheslining him. Flying too close to the Sun, Takahashi found his arm nearly broken on the rail with no chance to recover due to a flying Ali. Spending too much time bantering with the crowd, Ali suffered a suplex into the turnbuckle. Smartly taking advantage of Takahashi’s injured neck, Ali used a headlock, dropkick, and a Gory Special leading to a failed pin. After a 450 Splash, Takahashi got the win with a resounding Time Bomb. If Takahashi had lost, he would have had to publicly announce that Mustafa Ali was the best junior heavyweight wrestler in the world.
In the post-match angle, Ali and Takahashi agreed to have one more match, with Ali demanding it to be during next year, entering Ali into the BOSJ ahead of time.
This was a fine match that told a hilarious story. Ali’s tenacity mixed with Takahashi’s explosive unpredictability curated an atmosphere that was filled with comedy and intensity. That said, I’m content with waiting until the BOSJ rematch.
Gabe Kidd defeated “Blackheart” Lio Rush for the Strong Openweight Championship
While Rush entered the ring during a special performance, Kidd emerged with his standard fanfare; black-and-white robe and proudly carrying his title. Once the bell rang, all theatrics left the arena. Instantly, the match fell in favor of the speedy and seasoned Rush, darting like gunfire across the ring and overwhelming the Bullet Club’s foul-mouthed War Dog. Unforgiving and brutal in his approach, Kidd’s strength countered the quick pace of his challenger as he grew accustomed to Rush’s style and strategy.
Seemingly gaining some steam over Kidd, Rush attempted a Falcon Arrow to Kidd to no avail. Withstanding each flurry of offense Rush could muster, Kidd choked him out on the top rope and failed to slam him on the mat, reversed by an impromptu hurricanrana, followed promptly by a spear. Despite the shifting tides, neither can sustain momentum for long. After missing Rush with a chairshot and sustaining head damage because of it, Rush took advantage with a frog splash, though it bore no fruit.
Bleeding from the skull, Rush has withstood all that he could; even amid his immediate reaction time, his fighting spirit refused to give in. Ultimately, Kidd won thanks to a piledriver and a powerbomb for the 3-count to retain the Strong Openweight Championship.
I am astounded at the choreography on display in this match. Lio Rush’s superheroics contrasted nicely with the bullish attitude of Gabe Kidd. In my opinion, matches like this one indicate the high star power Kidd can reach if he sticks with NJPW long enough.
Mercedes Moné vs Momo Watanabe for the Strong Women’s Championship
The main event saw the crowd largely in favor of Moné, but Watanabe took joy out of riling them up. Noticing this, Moné played mind games of her own. Watanabe tried her best-underhanded tactics combined with Stardom’s brand of joshi wrestling, but Moné combined joshi wrestling with lucha libre to keep her off balance.
The Oedo Tai member took advantage of a distracted referee to whack Moné in the ribs with her black metal bat, rejoicing in playing dirty. Overconfident and arrogant, Watanabe’s mockery, insults, and unfair direction only fueled Moné’s passion and anger. Kick after kick and elbow after elbow, the once-grinning Watanabe’s frustration and panic set in with every kick-out by Moné, who was equally exasperated at this point. A tug-of-war over Watanabe’s bat led to a hurt referee, which she poorly attempted to take advantage of, as Moné trapped her in a Statement Maker. Watanabe taps, and Moné retained her championship.
Post-match, Moné celebrated her defense reminiscing on the last time she stepped foot in a NJPW ring, and concluded with her signature CEO dance.
Moné preserved my confidence that her match with Britt Baker at AEW All In was an exception and that she’s still an incredible performer. Watanabe was no slouch either. I particularly enjoyed that Watanabe’s Oedo Tai style against the multi-faceted inspirations that Moné draws from creates an interesting mixture. Matches like these keep me hungry
for more Moné vs Stardom matches.
Overall, Capital Collision succeeded in its in-ring qualities. While the biggest overarching plot advancements are largely attributed to Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii’s upcoming challenge to TMDK and Mustafa Ali announcing his entry to 2025’s BOSJ, the appeal of the show focused on well-developed and thought out performances that told their own stories in the typical NJPW fashion.
Thumbs In The Middle Pointing Up
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