Minutes to Bell Time

Tetsuya Naito defeats Kenta

NJPW The New Beginning Osaka February 9: IWGP Intercontinental and Heavyweight Championship

Kenta came out with seven members of Bullet Club, but Naito didn’t bring anyone from LIJ. Tama Tonga shoved Red Shoes and Red Shoes ejected all seven Bullet Club members. Kenta rolled out of the ring at the bell and stalled for five minutes until Kenta dove in the ring and Naito rolled out. Naito came back in and the match got going. When Kenta rolled back out, Naito tossed him into the barricade twice before tossing him back in the ring.

When action did spill back to the outside, Kenta managed to run Naito hard into the barricade. Kenta gave Naito a DDT on the concrete. Back in the ring, Kenta hit several strikes before Naito hit a running single leg dropkick. Naito maintained control for several minutes, but that changed when things spilled to the outside again as Kenta hit a draping DDT off the barricade.

With both men back on the inside, Naito got the better of a striking exchange. Naito evaded the Go to Sleep and hit a swinging DDT. He followed that with an avalanche hurricanrana and then Gloria for a two count. When Naito went for Destino, Red Shoes got taken out and Kenta pushed Naito into Red Shoes to make sure he stayed down. This allowed Jay White to come out and hit Naito with a suplex. As Jay went for the switchblade, Bushi and Hiromu came out to get rid off Jay White.

When Naito went for Destino, Kenta countered into a lariat. A moment later, Naito countered the Go to Sleep and hit Naito with a scorpion death drop. Naito would go for another big move, but Kenta shoved him into the exposed turnbuckle busting Naito wide open. When Kenta went for Go to Sleep again, Naito countered into a Poison-rana and finished him off with the Destino.

Match Ratings

Six dimensions combine to make up the overall rating. Matches score ratings of 1-10 only if the match lasts for a minimum of 5 minutes.

  1. Match Quality– Was the match well wrestled or sloppy?
  2. Audience Engagement– Did the live audience care about the match?
  3. Competitiveness– Was the match competitive or one-sided?
  4. Stakes – Did the match matter?
  5. Finish– Did the match end in a satisfying manner?
  6. Performance: (1) Poor (2) Below Average (3) Average (4) Above Average (5) Excellent
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