For the first time, NJPW brought the Super J Cup out of
Japan, travelling California over three nights to find the best
Junior Heavyweight at their disposal. This is the main event from the
first night, I believe. Amazing Red is making his Super J Cup debut,
I remember liking his TNA runs, with his early TNA work being one of
the things that drew me to the promotion. Will Ospreay is a great
talent, easily one of the greatest wrestlers of the last decade. Red
enters first and commentary talk about the influence he's had over
junior heavyweights in his career. Will Ospreay follows and gets a
decent reaction, the fans chant holy shit at the sight of the two men
in the ring together. The fans sing for Ospreay as the bell rings and
they shake hands before circling.
WILL
OSPREAY VS. AMAZING RED
NJPW
Super J Cup 2019 (22nd August 2019)
They lock up and Ospreay backs
Red into the ropes, he feins a cheap shot but breaks cleanly. That's
enough for a “this is awesome” chant because of course, it is.
Ospreay shows off his 15lbs(ish) size advantage and Amazing Red gets
a chant from the fans, confusing Will. Another collar-elbow tie-up
leads to Red slowly backing Ospreay up but Ospreay is able to charge
them both across the ring forcing Amazing Red into the ropes. Will Ospreay slowly backs up, Red ducks a chop and both men block a kick.
Ospreay ducks a clothesline and springs off the middle rope into an
Oscutter attempt. Amazing Red blocks it and sends Ospreay over with
an arm drag. Ospreay chops at Red's knee and covers but Red bridges
out. Ospreay ducks a spinning heel kick and prepares for a kick from
Amazing Red that never comes. Amazing Red pays for his hesitation as
Ospreay gets to his feet and knocks him down with a forearm. It might
have been premature, but from that sequence alone I agree with the
live crowd. Amazing Red finally gets to his feet and answers with
forearms of his own. Amazing Red is sent into the ropes, Ospreay
leapfrogs and sends Amazing Red across the ring with a monkey flip,
Red slides out to the floor.
Will Ospreay handsprings
against the ropes and pulls off a backflip to the middle, to the
delight of the fans as Amazing Red takes a breather, then rushes the
ring. Ospreay ducks a right hand, but is caught with a headscissors
takeover so he takes a breather on the outside. Amazing Red dives
through the ropes and sends Ospreay back into the ring then hits him
with a missile dropkick. Ospreay scrambles out of the ring but is hit
with another tope suicida to knock him down on the outside.
Amazing Red gets back in the ring and the fans chant his name. Will
Ospreay is back in at 8 after the fans tell Red he's still got it and
after all that time commentary tell us the breaks in Red's career
should be a cautionary tale to highflyers like Ospreay. A forearm
sends Ospreay back into the corner, a loud chop by Red echoes off
Ospreay's chest and the second drops him to his knees. Red snapmares
Ospreay out of the corner and comes off the ropes with a running
dropkick. Amazing Red covers but Will Ospreay kicks out at 1. The
fans rightly applaud and it shits all over their early chant. Amazing
Red chops Ospreay, but can't bring him out of the corner, Ospreay
reverses the second irish whip attempt but runs into a back elbow.
Amazing Red jumps up to the top rope but a chop from Ospreay sends
him to the floor!
Will Ospreay exits the ring and sends Amazing Red over
the timekeeper's table into the crowd. Amazing Red is seated and a
few forearms soften him up. A running dropkick from the other side of
the floor sends Ospreay over the timekeeper's table into Red in the
crowd. Now that rightly gets the holy shit chant. Amazing Red is
bounced off the timekeeper's table, Ospreay posts him and sends his
head into the edge of the ring apron. Amazing Red falls back into the
crowd from a chop since they're using an elasticated barrier from a
supermarket tonight. Will Ospreay brings it back in the ring and
covers but the referee, Red Shoes, refuses to count. That's an
interesting rule, you can't win a match directly from damage done
outside of the ring, Ospreay stomps Amazing Red and the fans chant
for Mr. Shoes. Will Ospreay hits a backbreaker and covers but only
gets a nearfall. Ospreay ties Amazing Red's arm in a hammerlock, then
slowly leans himself back in a sick armbar on the other arm before
bringing himself back up and covering for 2. Ospreay shoves at Red
with his foot and brings him to his feet but Red fights back with a
couple of rights.
Ospreay kicks Red
in the gut and sends him off the ropes, Red baseball slides and jumps
into a hurricanrana as Ospreay comes back off the ropes. Will Ospreay
gets to his feet in the corner and Red hits a weird dropkick, he
ducks a clothesline, Ospreay dropkicks midair as Red holds the top
rope. Another headscissors gets Amazing Red another nearfall. Let's
go Red (Shoes) chant starts up as Amazing Red hits European uppercuts
on Ospreay, backing him into the corner and a chop. An irish whip
sends Ospreay across the ring, Red catches the kick but an enziguri
connects. Will Ospreay rolls out of the corner and hits a top rope
619. Amazing Red ducks the Pip Pip Cheerio attempt and boots Ospreay
in the face and hits a flatliner for a nearfall. Amazing Red kicks
Ospreay in the gut but Ospreay counters a Code Red, Ospreay's forearm
shot is blocked but Red's isn't. Ospreay is sent into the ropes but
hits an insane handspring kick to Red's face to swing the momentum
and send him out of the ring, ready for a Sasuke Special. Will
Ospreay sends Amazing Red back into the ring and gets on the apron,
hitting the Pip Pip, Cheerio (a springboard forearm) for a nearfall.
Amazing Red avoids the Robertson Special, sweeping
Ospreay's leg whilst getting to his feet but eats shit on the
standing shooting star press. Ospreay immediately hits his own but
stalls before covering, Red kicks out before one so Ospreay
disrespects him to the backing sound of commentary talking about Red
inspiring Ospreay, a strange time to bring that one out. Will Ospreay
fires forearms at Amazing Red as Red gets to his feet, Amazing Red
just stands and takes them so Will fires up a big shot, but is cut
off with a slap to the face. Will Ospreay goes back out to the floor,
Amazing Red climbs the turnbuckles and hits a somersault senton to
the floor. Another holy shit chant brings Red Shoes out to instruct
them back to the ring. Will Ospreay is back in first as Amazing Red
gets back on the top rope, the somersault senton is caught! Will
Ospreay spins with Amazing Red in a suplex position but Amazing Red
fights out, Ospreay hits a modified Michinoku driver for 2. Will
Ospreay tries a shooting star press but notices Red roll out of the
way so lands on his feet, both men miss a kick, Red crawls through
the legs and into a waistlock, Ospreay with a standing switch but Red
breaks it and ducks a hook kick, catching Ospreay with a superkick.
Amazing Red hits the ropes into a knee strike and a
kick. Will Ospreay has him up for the Stormbreaker but it's countered
by an arm drag. Amazing Red hits the ropes again and satellites
around Ospreay before dropping him with a DDT and covers for a
nearfall. A “he's amazing” chant starts up for Red as he gets to
his feet in the corner. He gets to the middle rope before Ospreay
grabs his ankle. Amazing Red kicks Ospreay but the Cheeky Nando's
Kick connects, sending Amazing Red to the apron. He brings Amazing
Red into a double underhook but Red blocks the Stormbreaker attempt
and they trade forearms on the apron. Will Ospreay chops Red and gets
chopped back. He kicks Red in the jaw but the hook kick is caught,
Red kicks Ospreay against the ropes, Ospreay avoids another Code Red
and hits the hook kick, Oscutter on the side of the ring! Ospreay is
down on the floor, Red hasn't made it that far.
Red Shoes goes outside to make sure they're both alive
before getting back in the ring to count them out. Osprey is in at
13, Amazing Red just beats the 20 count. Osprey hits a coast to coast
dropkick for a nearfall, a beautiful shooting star press has the same
result, he winds up and an Oscutter springing from the middle rope
still isn't enough to put Red away! The fans show their appreciation
before Osprey gets to his feet, stalking Amazing Red. Will Osprey
hits a superkick but Amazing Red fights out of two Stormbreaker
attempts, hitting a hurricanrana, they struggle into a close nearfall
for Amazing Red! Will Osprey ducks the first kick but Red follows
through with the second, stunning him. He springs from the middle
rope into a moonsault DDT and Osprey under-rotates on a
Frankensteiner attempt, Amazing Red gets another nearfall. InfaRed (a
corkscrew splash from the top rope) hits, 1,2, Osprey gets his foot
on the bottom rope.
Amazing Red calls for the end and tries to bring
Osprey to his feet by the hair. Will Osprey grabs the bottom rope,
he's going to stand when he's ready! His defiance gets him a series
of kicks to the shoulder. A roundhouse kick drops Osprey. Amazing Red
goes to the corner for a run-up but Will Osprey counters the
clothesline with a Spanish Fly! That was awesome but only gets a
nearfall. Will Osprey hits the Hidden Blade (a running chop to the
back of the head) and a springboard Oscutter from the second to
middle rope, he holds on and hits the Stormbreaker to win the match.
WINNER: WILL OSPREY
Holy shit, this was amazing. Will Osprey and Amazing
Red did amazing things in this match, they played the story well and
Amazing Red returning to wrestling is a big enough story without him
needing the win. Will Osprey showed him how the junior heavyweight
style has changed since Red's day. When Amazing Red kicked out of the
Spanish Fly I thought that's where I would have ended it” but
Osprey finally hitting the Stormbreaker after another Oscutter was
the peak the match needed to hit before it ended. – [**** ½] match
but personally 9/10
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