This past Saturday, New Japan Pro Wrestling held their Battle In The Valley event headlined by their co-main events of Mercedes Mone vs Kairi for the IWGP Women’s championship and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
The Match Recaps For Battle In The Valley
* Alex Coughlin defeated J. R. Kratos by pinfall. (Pre-Show Match)
* David Finlay defeated Bobby Fish by pinfall. (Pre-Show Match)
* Kushida, Volador Jr., Kevin Knight and The DKC defeated Máscara Dorada, Josh Alexander, Adrian Quest and Rocky Romero by pinfall. Fantastic opener for all men involved. Hoping for more Alexander in NJPW
*KENTA defeated Fred Rosser (c) by pinfall to become the new Strong OpenWeight Champion. Great call, as KENTA is a legitimate champion and will have fantastic defenses.
*The Motor City Machine Guns ( Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin ) (c) defeated West Coast Wrecking Crew ( Royce Issacs & Jorel Nelson ) by pinfall to retain the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships. Both teams have been on a tear, especially West Coast being the workhorses of the NJPW Strong tag division.
*Eddie Kingston defeated Jay White by pinfall in a Loser leaves NJPW match. Another solid showing for Jay White in his final appearance for NJPW. One of the matches of the night. Post Match: David Finlay attacks Jay White runs down his accomplishments, and ends his promo by saying, “F**k your era”.
*Tom Lawlor defeated Homicide by submission in a Filthy Rules fight. This was a nice preview of what the matches for Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport will be like. No ropes, only the ring mat. This match also featured a scary spot of a Death Valley Driver off the ring onto the outside.
*Zack Sabre Jr. (c) defeated Clark Connors by submission to retain the IWGP World Television Championship. ZSJ shows exactly why he is among, if not the best technical wrestler active at the moment.
The Double Main Events
*Mercedes Mone defeated Kairi (c) by pinfall to win the IWGP Women’s Championship. In another instant classic from both women, this match delivered as everyone hoped for. Mercedes will be a great champion and already has a laundry list of challengers for her newly won title. The two women shook hands and hugged as a sign of respect after the match.
*Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi by pinfall to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Whenever these two compete, it truly is something special. I can not remember any bad matches between these two. Post-match, Okada offered to reform his dream tag team with Tanahashi to challenge for the IWGP Tag Team championships but was interrupted by the newly crowned IWGP Women’s champion Mercedes Mone. She states that the best dream team would be the Rainmaker and the CEO. which, if happens, opens up some fantastic possibilities for the road ahead.
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