IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
Nakamura extends his hand, then kicks the hell out of his opponent and lands a kick to the back of the head. Ibushi responds with forearm shots and then mocks the signature kick in the corner to play some mind games. Shinsuke gestures for him to “come here” and throws him in the corner, doing the corner kick routine himself.
They slow things down as Shinsuke goes to a rest hold, and William Regal gets a shout-out. Apparently that’s too boring, as they speed it back up with a contest of elbow shots. Kota with knife-edge chops and a slap to the face; Nakamura counters with the backstabber. Ibushi counters a suplex and lands on his feet, then hits a hurricanrana and dropkicks the champ to the floor. Kota follows up with the triangle springboard moonsault to take them both into the barricade. He rolls Nakamura back into the ring but only gets two.
Shinsuke comes back with a standing one-leg dropkick; both men down. The champ with a feint kick into an enzuigiri, then follows up with knees into the back of the neck (Ibushi has a history of concussions). He puts the challenger on the top turnbuckle, but Ibushi comes back with the Super Frankensteiner and a Dragon Suplex, followed by a standing corkscrew moonsault for two. Wow.
We’re headed towards the end now, as they’re taking their time and focusing on the bit spots. Nakamura is caught with a superkick to the side of the head, and looks like he’s knocked clean out. Kota picks him up and puts him down with the Last Ride powerbomb for two-and-a-half. He goes to the top and tries for the 450 but Nakamura rolls out of the way and hits a running knee strike to stay alive.
They throw the playbook out the window and start trading closed fists; as JR points out, they are NOT usual in New Japan. The referee goes down but is back as the champ puts Ibushi in the armbar! To counter, Kota literally stands up and starts kicking Nakamura in the face. He wastes time mocking him, kicking him in the side of the head and then throws him across the ring with an exploder suplex. More mockery and he hits the Boma Ye (knee strike) with the theatrics! 1…2..kick-out!
They go back to trading elbows and beating the hell out of each other. Ibushi gets up on the top rope and dead-lift suplexes him into the ring for two. JR is going crazy for the first time tonight. He tries for a headlock, but Nakamura headbutts him off. He comes off the second rope with the knee, but Ibushi no-sells it. They both do knees and collide, and the champ follows up with the Red Arrow for two. Another Boma Ye connects! 1…2…3.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
