Event: New Japan Pro Wrestling TV Taping
Location: Ueda, Nagano, Japan
Announced Attendance:  Unknown

They circle each other to start, tie-up, Mutoh applies a waistlock but Rheingans reverses it with a hammerlock and takes Mutoh to the mat. Rheingans goes for Mutoh's arm but Mutoh gets out of it and both men return to their feet. Tie-up, side headlock by Rheingans and he hits a drop toehold. Facelock by Rheingans on the mat and he applies a headscissors. Mutoh puts Rheingans's legs in a grapevine, Rheingans gets close to the ropes but Mutoh pulls him back and applies a leg submission hold. Rheingans grabs Mutoh's leg as well and they roll into the ropes. The referee untangles them and they return to their feet. Tie-up, side headlock by Rheingans, Mutoh Irish whips out of it but Rheingans shoulderblocks him down. Rheingans goes off the ropes but Mutoh catches him with a dropkick. A second dropkick by Mutoh sends Rheingans falls out of the ring, and Mutoh sails out onto him with a pescado. Mutoh rolls back into the ring and Rheingans slowly follows, snapmare by Mutoh and he applies a headscissors. Snapmare by Mutoh and he hits the Flashing Elbow. Snapmare again, he goes off the ropes but Rheingans rolls out of the way of the elbow drop. Mutoh grabs Rheingans's leg and applies a single leg crab hold. Rheingans gets to the ropes to force a break and they get back to their feet, Mutoh goes for a single leg but Rheingans blocks it and applies a waistlock. Rheingans applies an armbar and then knees Mutoh in the arm. Backdrop suplex by Rheingans, cover, but it gets a two count. Rheingans picks up Mutoh and chokes him against the second rope. Snapmare by Rheingans and he drops a leg onto Mutoh. Cover, but it gets a two count. Rheingans picks up Mutoh and hits a gutwrench suplex. Cover, but again it gets two. Rheingans drags Mutoh to his feet, Irish whip, reversed, and Mutoh delivers a jumping back kick. Irish whip by Mutoh to the corner and he hits the Space Rolling Elbow. Irish whip by Mutoh, but Rheingans rolls him up for a quick two count. Irish whip by Rheingans and he delivers a powerslam for a two count. Rheingans picks up Mutoh and punches him into the corner, Irish whip, but Mutoh moves when he charges in. Backdrop suplex by Mutoh, he goes off the ropes and hits the face crusher. Rib breaker by Mutoh, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault! Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Keiji Mutoh

Match Thoughts: If Rheingans's name rings a bell, he trained a lot of pro wrestlers and worked with Brock Lesnar. He has an amateur wrestling background which is why much of the match was on the mat, but it was a perfectly fine match. It started slow, but it picked up and stayed fast paced until the end. There wasn't a lot of long term selling, which isn't surprising for a match that is under ten minutes. Decent, but not overly exciting or a must-see. Score: 5.5

Back to Match Reviews