NJPW Castle Attack Day 2 Results
4 titles on the line
Feb 28, 2021
Day two of Castle Attack took place today at Osaka-Jo Hall. Multiple championships were defended on the show and a new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion was crowned. Check out the results below:
TenCozy def. Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb
The United Empire and TenCozy have been feuding since New Year Dash and the six-time IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions finally picked up a win over Will Ospreay's faction in what looks to be the final match of the rivalry.
The United Empire exuded confidence throughout the match and they mocked Tenzan in the later stages with repeated Mongolian Chops until The Fierce Bull couldn't bear it anymore and fired back with Chops of his own, despite him being banned from using the move.
Tenzan's illegal actions ultimately gave TenCozy the advantage and Kojima finished off Jeff Cobb with a Koji Cutter and Strong Arm Lariat for the 1-2-3.
The English commentary team of Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton and Gino Gambino noted Tenzan will likely face repercussions from the NJPW office for using the Mongolian Chops while Kojima may well have earned himself a spot in New Japan Cup.
Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano def. Jay White, EVIL & Chase Owens
All six men faced off in singles matches yesterday and they rounded off the tour with a six-man tag team match on day two of Castle Attack.
After eight minutes, Kazuchika Okada picked up the win for his team after he locked in the Money Clip on Chase Owens and forced the Texas Heavyweight Champion to tap out.
Guerrillas Of Destiny def. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI – IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
The rivalry between Guerrillas Of Destiny and Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI had been bubbling away since the New Beginning tour and YOSHI-HASHI made the challenge after G.O.D & Jay White failed to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Title from Chaos at The New Beginning In Hiroshima.
Guerrillas Of Destiny ultimately returned the favour to Goto & YOSHI-HASHI as they managed to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship after a 15-minute match.
Chaos had chances to win as they managed to hit GYW and a GTR on Tama Tonga but the Bullet Club member kicked out on both occasions. Tanga Loa then made the save for his brother following the GTR and Jado nailed Goto with a kendo stick when the official wasn't looking. This allowed Tonga to connect with Gun Stun and secure the victory for G.O.D.
Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Great-O-Khan – NEVER Openweight Championship
Hiroshi Tanahashi was able to successfully defend a singles championship for the first time since Wrestle Kingdom 12 at Castle Attack.
Both men continued where they left off at Wrestle Kingdom 15 and Great-O-Khan was able to survive everything Tanahashi threw at him including multiple Slingblades, Dragonscrew Leg Whips and an Aces High.
The United Empire member just continued to power through during the 18-minute match, but he failed to connect with the Eliminator in the final moments and Tanahashi used his experience to reverse into a Crucifix Pin for the 1-2-3.
El Desperado def. El Phantasmo & BUSHI – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
A new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion was crowned in Osaka after Hiromu Takahashi relinquished the title on Thursday.
The match featured multiple spectacular spots and became personal early on after El Phantasmo ripped off El Desperado's mask and nailed him with a Cradle Piledriver on the ramp.
This effectively made the middle portion of the bout a singles contest between BUSHI and El Phantasmo, but an angry El Desperado eventually returned with a new mask.
All three men then had chances to win and the match featured numerous near falls down the stretch, including a memorable two-count where BUSHI stopped the pin by grabbing the referee's hand after ELP hit Despe with CR2.
ELP then thought he had the match won again a couple of minutes later as he caught BUSHI with a loaded Sudden Death in mid-air, but the LIJ member rolled to the floor much to his chagrin.
The contest then came down to El Desperado and El Phantasmo and Despe ultimately got the better of the exchange and connected with two Pinche Locos to win his first IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.
With the victory, El Desperado paid off the momentum he had built since Best Of The Super Juniors 27 and walked away with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title seven years after he first challenged for the belt.
Kota Ibushi def. Tetsuya Naito – IWGP Intercontinental Championship
The unification of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Intercontinental Championship is still a very real possibility as Kota Ibushi defeated Tetsuya Naito in a 27-minute match to retain the white belt.
Ibushi's victory was in doubt for long stretches of the contest, however, as Naito dominated the first 20 minutes by working over The Golden Star's neck and left knee. The Double Champion was eventually able to make it an even playing field, though, after he connected with a German Suplex from the middle rope and followed up with a Bomaye and Sit-Out Powerbomb.
After more back and forth action, Naito finally managed to hit Destino but Ibushi got his shoulder up just before the count of three. El Ingobernable then went for the move again but Ibushi caught him with a Jumping Knee Strike and capitalised with a Kamigoye to the back of Naito's head.
The Golden Star then put the challenger away with two more Kamigoyes from the front.
After the match, El Desperado headed to the ring and challenged Ibushi to a match for the IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Double Championship at Thursday's 49th Anniversary show. A match between the IWGP Heavyweight Champion and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion has been customary in recent years, but if NJPW will sanction it as a title match remains to be seen.