Welcome to WrestleZone’s live coverage of New Japan Pro-Wrestling‘s Music City Mayhem pay-per-view.
The show opens with a video package looking at tonight’s main event: Jon Moxley vs. El Desperado in a No DQ match. We go ringside for our opening six-man contest.
DKC, Kevin Knight & Ren Narita vs. Shota Umino, Fred Yehi & Yuyu Uemera
Ren and Yuyu have an intense forehead-touching confrontation before the bell. They start the bout with some mat grappling. Ren takes Yuyu to the corner as Yehi takes out the opposing team. Knight explodes with a body slam and frog splash on Yuyu, two-count. DKC tags in for brief double team work. Knight back in with a chinlock. DKC eats a dropkick from Yuyu before they both crawl to tag in. Yehi works Knight’s left arm and then puts DKC in a sleeper. Knight comes in to dropkick Yehi. Umino comes face to face with Ren. They trade forearm strikes and kicks. Ren tosses Shota with a belly to belly suplex. DKC comes in and slaps Shota, but Shota comes back with uppercuts. Yuyu and Shota double team DKC. Knight breaks up the cover. The action breaks down in and out of the ring. Yuyu and Ren trade headbutts, Yuyu hits a double underhook. Shota pins DKC for the victory.
Winners: Shota Umino, Fred Yehi & Yuyu Uemera
MLW National Openweight Championship: Davey Richards (c) vs. Rocky Romero
Richards pulled away from a handshake. Collar and elbow tie up to start. Davey works Rocky’s left knee with a twisting snap. Back body drop, Davey goes back to the half crab and wrenches the legs. Rocky comes back with a hurricanrana and corner clotheslines until Richards comes back with a forearm and kicks. Rocky cuts him off with a clothesline. Rocky gets in a big knee and a cutter, nearfall. He floats over into an arm lock but Davey rolls it into an ankle lock. Davey stacks up on Rocky in a cradle for the three-count.
Winner: and still MLW National Openweight Champion Davey Richards
Post-match, they tease more brawling but quickly hug it out.
NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship: Fred Rosser (c) vs. Big Damo
Damo dominates at the start. They spill to the apron where Rosser fails to hit a back drop. Damo clotheslines Fred back into the ring. Damo scrapes Rosser’s face and lands a crossbody. Rosser is Irish-whipped after Damo moons the crowd for more heat. Rosser uses a camera cable to choke Damo in the ropes. Rosser attempts to clothesline Damo then takes him to the corner for chops. Rosser takes Damo down with a rolling forearm. Damo goes up top but Rosser hoists him for a fisherman’s slam. Rosser covers for the win.
Winner: and still NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Fred Rosser
Blake Christian vs. Hiromu Takahashi
They start off quickly. Hiromu goes to the outside a couple times and Blake flips out onto him. Hiromu wraps Blake up in the ropes with a head scissors. On the outside, Blake is tossed into the ring post. Hiromu suplexes Blake onto the floor mat. Back in the ring, Takahashi applies for the head scissors again until Christian reaches the bottom rope. They spill out again where Blake does a neckbreaker on the mat. Back in, cover for two. They trade blows in the center of the ring as Blake’s forehead cut bleeds down his face. Hiromu is turned inside out as both men fall. The crowd gives them a standing O. After more back and forth, Hiromu plants Blake with the Time Bomb II for the win.
Winner: Hiromu Takahashi
Aussie Open & TJP vs. FTR & Alex Zayne
Zayne and TJP start the match with a lockup and a few takedowns. Dax comes in to meet Kyle. They lock up and Kyle chops Dax in the corner. Dax gives it back to him twice as hard. Mark kicks Dax in the back, allowing Kyle to take Dax down. Davis comes in and Cash serves his own kick to the back. FTR both in, double fists to take Mark down. Kyle comes back in and Dax launches a chair into the ring to allow Cash a moment. Aussie Open stays on top of it for a cover. TJP comes in and eats a big clothesline from Cash. Dax and Fletcher in, Dax lays all the heels out. The faces all hit stereo German suplexes on the heels. Dax lands a brainsbuster on Kyle for a nearfall. TJP and Aussie Open pick apart Zayne, but he kicks out. Zayne continues to get beat down until Fletcher pins him for the victory.
Winners: Aussie Open & TJP
Post-match, Fletcher gets on the mic and reminds them that they just got beat and now owe Aussie Open a title match. Dax tries to cut a promo, but the mic goes out so he yells out to the live audience. Looks like a title match is set up for the near future.
Alex Shelley vs. Kushida
They get right to work running the ropes. Kushida attempts a Hover Board Lock but Shelley escapes out of the ring. Back inside, they lock up in the corner. Shelley lightly pecks Kushida on the forehead. Side headlock from Shelley. They get in a shoving match ad trade intense chest chops for several seconds. Kushida wraps up Shelley’s arms on the mat, chinlock follows. Shelley takes control by working Kushida’s vulnerable knee. Kushida comes back with a pelee kick and twisting hammerlock to stretch Shelley. Shelley heads up top but gets hit by a rolling heel. Kushida gets the Hover Board Lock in but Shelley lands the inverted atomic drop to break it up. Shelley plants Kushida with the air raid crash, nearfall. Motor City Stretch locked in. They get back to their feet with one minute remaining in the bout. Shelley applies for the Motor City Stretch again but Kushida gets out. Kushida cinches in the Hover Board Lock as the clock runs out.
Winner: Time-limit draw
After, they embrace and celebrate together and pose on the top rope. They sit next to each other on the apron before heading to the back.
No Disqualification Match: El Desperado vs. Jon Moxley
Barbed wire is introduced right off the bat. Desperado sticks skewers into Moxley’s forehead and a few stick to draw blood. Desperado forces Moxley’s head into some barbed wire. Moxley goes to the outside and cuts Desperado off with a guitar shot to the head. Moxley draws blood but Desperado comes back by spearing Mox into the plywood with wire. Moxley fires back by dropkicking Desperado into the same plywood. Moxley gets a two-count in. They spill to the outside where Moxley is laid on a table. Desperado goes to the top rope but Moxley beats him and sends him crashing through the table instead.
Mox slides a board of half cut soda cans into the ring. Desperado is slammed onto the cans but kicks out at two. Desperado applies a stretch muffler but Mox switches it into a cross arm breaker. Desperado stomps his way out. They trade blows until Desperado lands the double underhook slam. Mox gets up for the lariat followed by Death Rider. Mox applies a sleeper and Desperado passes out.
Winner: Jon Moxley
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