NJPW x IMPACT Multiverse United - Only The Strong Survive 2023 Review
Much like the Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow, this card was much stronger before a spate of injuries robbed it of its biggest matches. Without Alexander or Ospreay, the reshuffle makes this show look (in theory) like a mid-tier IMPACT PPV. Much like the other shows from the Globe this weekend, there were audio issues galore (including muted pre-tapes, and commentary way louder than it needs to be in the mix). Let’s see how it fares overall.
Match #1 – Trey Miguel vs. Rocky Romero vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Rich Swann vs. Clark Connors vs. Kevin Knight - X Division Championship
Trey Miguel being portrayed as the person everyone hates regardless of company affiliation is a fun throughline in this frantic spotfest (in a good way) matchup. Swann and Knight have great chemistry, plus Kaz and Rocky work well as the glue to keep this match rolling along.
All 6 guys got amazing moments to shine, and Trey steal the pinfall win after Connors hit a sick diving spear on Knight.
3.25 stars – A fun scramble showing the benefits of the X Division.
Match #2 – Alex Coughlin, Callihan, Fred Rosser & PCO vs. Team Filthy (JR Kratos & Tom Lawlor), Eddie Edwards & Joe Hendry
Watching this match helped me realise just how similar Hendry and Coughlin are in the way they move and look, and they had great chemistry here. In fact, Coughlin was one of the very few bright spots in this snoozer of a match.
Just a group of guys who either have a bunch of more important bookings on the weekend (Coughlin, Lawlor) or some never-weres who don’t have a great match in them (Kratos, Edwards, Callihan).
The finish is PCO hitting the moonsault on Kratos. Yawn.
2 stars – This was like a dull match on an average episode of Impact. Skip.
Match #3 – Jeff Cobb vs. Moose
Cobb is wrestling his third match of the day here, and he is making a case to be considered in the discussion of ‘wrestlers of the weekend’ based on work ethic alone.
In contrast, Moose is moving like he’s gassed out after wrestling five hours straight, despite being fresh as a daisy.
This looked like a more interesting hoss vs hoss match on paper, but it felt like it was being worked at 0.75 speed, with the same spots you see in every Moose ‘battle of the big men’ match. Cobb added in some interesting feats of power (a deadlift stalling superplex on a man as big as Moose is impressive), but you couldn’t help but feel like you’d seen it all before.
Cobb gets the win with Tour of the Islands in a match that was about 5 minutes too long.
2.5 stars – Generic big man match that felt a bit sloppy and slow. Skip.
Match #4 – Miyu Yamashita vs. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Gisele Shaw vs. Masha Slamovich
This was a solid if unspectacular match. Purrazzo, Slamovich, and Yamashita are legit great workers who put in a merely good showing, with Shaw working a few levels below them.
Similar to the last match, it felt like a better match being played at 0.75 speed.
Purrazzo gets the pin after a piledriver on Shaw.
2.75 stars – A bit above average, but below the potential that these wrestlers had.
Match #5 - BULLET CLUB (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. TMDK (Bad Dude Tito & Shane Haste) - IMPACT Tag Championships
It can’t be overstated how great Aussie Open are. Every time they were in the ring with one of the teams here, the pace and intensity immediately skyrocketed. TMDK were the odd team out, always bringing the pace to a dull grinding halt. Ace Austin and the Guns provided some much-appreciated flair, but overall it was an above-decent multi-man match that you’ll enjoy while it’s on, but not remember the second after it’s over.
3 stars – A fun enough way to kill time, but too long and forgettable.
Match #6 – KUSHIDA vs. Lio Rush
I find this matchup interesting, as these two tell a very different tale of a similar journey. Both guys left NXT feeling stuck in their careers and ended up in NJPW during the pandemic either for the first time (Lio) or as a return (KUSHIDA).
For Lio, it has been a career resurgence, and he’s doing some of the best work of his career in the Junior division with a fire behind his eyes. But KUSHIDA has looked… fine. The Junior Ace of yore no longer exists in this guy, and he’s struggled to find his niche.
This is a match that arose from injury reshuffles, and is a slower match than maybe expected from these two. But it tells a good story of KUSHIDA consistently applying pressure on Lio via limb work, who has to work from underneath and use speed to create openings (including a nasty-looking poison rana).
KUSHIDA gets the submission victory by countering the frog splash into a mid-air Hoverboard Lock.
3.25 stars – A solid midcard match that doesn’t reinvent the wheel.
Match #7 - KENTA vs. Minoru Suzuki - NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship
I was curious about what type of match we would have out of these two. Each of these guys has a formula when they don’t want to be ‘on’, which they both particularly tend to use when wrestling in America. Suzuki can tend to rely on the entrance, a few big strikes, and pulling some funny faces whereas KENTA likes crowd stalling tactics, ringside brawling, and rest holds.
Unfortunately, this was exactly that. A few good strikes here and there but mainly a stalling effort relying on reputation more than in-ring action. A shame, as these two have a good match in them.
KENTA gets the win after a referee distraction and a low blow.
2.75 stars – A phoned-in version of a much better match.
Match #8 - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Mike Bailey
Much like Cobb, this is the third time Mike Bailey has wrestled this day, and all three of his matches were among the highest-profile singles matches on their respective shows (vs Ibushi, vs Irie, and this match).
While I think there was no wrestler on earth who could’ve replaced the injured Ospreay in this match (given Bailey and Ospreay were arguably the top two wrestlers working last year), Tanahashi is a smart feel-good pick. His appearances in America are sporadic enough that they still feel like a special attraction, especially in a first-time matchup against Bailey.
Bailey played this perfectly, refusing to be intimidated by Tanahashi’s reputation and constantly bringing the aggression and fight to the veteran. He hit some spectacular strikes, a MASSIVE springboard moonsault to the outside, and counters that helped to break up the usual Tanahashi formula. This is not to minimise the contributions of Tanahashi, who is still one of the top workers in any room he is standing in - his legwork on Bailey was fantastic, and he sold his butt off to Bailey’s signature spots.
The finish came with Bailey, whose legs had already been worked over, missing an Ultima Weapon and getting caught with three Twist and Shouts and a High Fly Flow.
4 stars – A great showing between a veteran and the best indie worker currently going. Match of the Night. Recommended.
AVERAGE RATING: 2.94 of 5 stars (or 5.88 of 10)
SUMMARY: This was a bit of a disappointing show, that didn’t live up to the potential it had. While some of that is down to injuries, it also came from matches that just didn’t always click the way that they should. The main event is excellent, and probably the only thing worth catching up on if you missed it live.
WATCH THE SHOW HERE: FITE
