The NJPW STRONG Openweight title and the Ring Of Honor World Title were both on the line at AEW WrestleDream.
Right out of the gate, Shibata and Kingston would exchange strong style strikes and grappling exchanges. The pace would be quick from the opening bell, with one major moment early on being a kneebar from Shibata that Kingston had to crawl to the ropes to break.
Shibata would continue to work the knee of Kingston with a range of submissions and limb targeting moves. Eddie would fight back with a throw, dropping Shibata on the back of his head.
The two men would continue to trade strong style spots in the centre of the ring, with the two canceling each other out on several occasions. Shibata would gain wrist control over Kingston and established dominance with a range of stiff strikes, punctuating it with the cobra twist, made famous by the late Antonio Inoki, before transitioning to an Octopus Stretch and Eddie once again needed a rope break.
Off this, the pair would exchange spinning back fists and a running kick, leaving both men needing to dig deep to return to their feet.
Eddie would land the Northern Lights Bomb, followed by a backfist and a powerbomb, finally putting Shibata away for the 3 count.
Follow Corey at @CoreyBrennanBS on Twitter
If you enjoy Bodyslam’s content, you can help donate to the site here. You can also visit our PWTees store and buy Bodyslam official merchandise here.
You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel, or any of your favorite podcast platforms.ⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘ
