The 2019 Super Junior Tag League got underway as New Japan had a quick turnaround – and returned to Korakuen Hall…
This year’s Super Junior Tag League is an eight-team, round-robin affair, which means a LOT of matches on this tour… a tour that’s been crunched up a little already as a result of Friday’s date in Nagano being cancelled as a result of typhoon Hagibis. All of the Korakuen Hall dates on this tour (October 16, 17, 27 and 28) will be streaming live, along with the final three nights ahead of the tournament final at Power Struggle – with the rest of the tournament matches being VOD only.
Anyway, for this portion of the tour we’ve English commentary, with Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton and Gino Gambino on the call.
Tomoaki Honma & Toa Henare vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Yota Tsuji
Liger and Henare start us off, but it’s Henare having to scramble to the ropes early before the pair went back and forth on pinning attempts.
Commentary brings up the big tag match that Liger’s gotten on January 4 for the start of his retirement weekend, as Liger’s seated surfboard forced Henare to the ropes again before we got tags out. In comes Tsuji and Honma, trading shoulder tackles as Tsuji knocked down Honma ahead of some stomps.
Honma’s back with a slam before he brought Henare in to throw forearms through Tsuji… who tries to fight back, only for Honma to knock him down ahead of a dropkick. Liger’s back in with Shotei for all, but Honma hits a shoulder tackle… the misses a Kokeshi. Ah Honma. An elbow to the back of the neck from Liger keeps Honma down, before the pair struggle over a suplex, with Honma landing it at the last moment.
Liger busts out a Thesz Press and nearly wins with it, only for Honma to return with a leaping Kokeshi. Tsuji’s back to try and push on, slamming Henare ahead of a Boston crab attempt, but the Kiwi pushes away only to get lit up with chops. Henare’s back with clotheslines and a Samoan drop, forcing Liger to break up the cover before Honma sent him out….
Cue a Kokeshi and a leaping chop from Henare for a near-fall, before a small package nearly got the upset… which inspired Henare to push on, landing a Toa Bottom not long after for the win. A nice, brisk opener, as Henare continues to rack up undercard wins. **¾
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA & Shingo Takagi)
We’re building to Taichi vs. Naito at Power Struggle. I can hardly wait.
There’s a jump start as Naito went after Taichi, while everyone else spilled outside. Forearms and kicks between Naito and Taichi take centre stage, before an enziguiri from Naito led to him rolling up Taichi for a quick two-count. Hoodie-Naito’s in full effect here, taking Taichi into the corner before he took it off… and now it’s T-shirt Naito who’s pacing around as Suzuki tagged in, demanding to square off with Shingo.
We get that, with Suzuki quickly going in with elbows before he was charged down by a running Shingo. Suzuki stops Shingo with an armbar in the ropes, then pulled Shingo to the outside as commentary brought up the lack of barricades for this tour. Their little scrap in the crowd also exposed a few empty seats inside Korakuen… Back in the ring, Shingo gets booted into the corner as Suzuki again focused on Shingo’s taped-up arm. DOUKI’s in next, as the focus remains on the arm, before things turned around when Sabre came in… and not in a good way. Shingo got free and brought in SANADA, whose love of the Paradise Lock earned him a Cobra Twist, before we got to EVIL and DOUKI, as Suzuki-gun proceeded to swarm EVIL.
Things calm down as DOUKI looked for Suplex de la Luna, but the full nelson was broken as LIJ had their turn swarming DOUKI, leading to an EVIL lariat for a near-fall. Taichi broke it up, before he was taken outside by Naito as DOUKI proceeded to pull down EVIL into a roll-up for a near-fall. From there though, another lariat drops DOUKI before a Scorpion Deathlock forced the submission. Decent enough, but this story of Naito trying to push his way into title contention (for a tournament that’s still not been announced, mind you) isn’t doing it for me. **¾
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & Karl Fredericks vs. Bullet Club (Jay White, KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi)
Goto’s still pushing for a shot at Jay White’s Intercontinental title, because of course he is. Especially while Ishii is back to facing KENTA in a rematch for that NEVER title.
We actually start with Goto and White, but things go awry quickly as White tried to hold Goto for some interference form KENTA… which was quickly swept aside as the Intercontinental champion and wannabe-challenger scrambled in the corner. Things calm down as Yujiro and Karl Fredericks came in, trading headlock takedowns, before a leapfrog dropkick and a stomp got Fredericks a two-count.
Things break down as KENTA and Ishii brawled around the Japanese commentary table, catching Milano Collection AT in the crossfire, before he used… his shoe? Okay, at least they zoomed in on Milano’s feet for those with that fetish. Back in the ring, Yujiro stays on top of Fredericks, before White returned to pick apart the pieces, as did KENTA, as the Bullet Club were having their way. A drop toehold from KENTA has Fredericks in more trouble, before a chinlock from White offered more resistance… but it was resistance that Fredericks broke free from as Goto finally gets in.
Double-teaming backfires as Goto suplexed Yujiro onto White for a near-fall. Ishii’s taken into the ringpost again as White dropped Goto with a Blade Buster for a near-fall, before tags got us to KENTA and Ishii… with the latter running through KENTA with ease. Chops follow, but KENTA elbows Ishii into the corner before the Stone Pitbull monstered up and slammed KENTA with ease. Fredericks is back to try and capitalise, with the help of Goto, dropping KENTA with a spinebuster for a near-fall, before my feed dropped out. KENTA’s back with a Boston crab that Ishii broke up, before Ishii just got booted away… as KENTA picked up the academic win with a Go 2 Sleep. Decent stuff for the undercard tag, and yes it’s my personal tastes showing, but man I’m more excited for KENTA/Ishii 2 than anything else they’ve build up so far here. ***¼
They announce names for the Fantasticamania 2020 tour with CMLL – it’ll run from January 10 to January 20, featuring: Caristico, Niebla Roja, Angel de Oro, Titan, Soberano, Stuka Jr., Flyer, Audaz, Guerrero Maya Jr., Fuego, Ultimo Guerrero, Euforia, Cuatrero, Sanson, Forastero, Negro Casas, Barbaro Cavernario, OKUMURA, Luciferno, Tiger and Dulce Gardenia. That’s quite the list.
Super Junior Tag League 2019 – Volador Jr. & Titan vs. Tiger Mask & Yuya Uemura
Volador and Tiger Mask start us off, as Volador busted out some nice flips early on, rebounding off the ropes before Tiger Mask lifted him outside… which came to nought!
After that exchange, tags bring in Titan and Uemura, who headed into the ropes before they exchanged chops. A dropkick from Titan seemed to aim for the throat, taking down Uemura, before a roll-up almost snatched the win for Titan. Volador’s back to elbow Uemura, as the Young Lion was looking outclassed, with a springboard legdrop almost putting him away. Uemura continued to take a beating from the luchadors, before he landed a dropkick of his own as Tiger Mask returned, almost taking the win with a crucifix. A kneebar followed, but Volador got free before bringing Titan back in for another go around, with Titan kicking away at Tiger Mask before he ran into a tiltawhirl backbreaker.
Uemura begs for a tag, and gets it as he charges through Titan, following up with a slam and a Boston crab… but Volador walks in to try and chop it apart. To his credit, Uemura clings on, then let go so he could dropkick Volador outside before Tiger Mask dove onto him. Back inside, Uemura nearly wins with an overhead belly-to-belly, only for Titan to turn it back around, winning with a springboard stomp on Uemura. A good opener for the junior tag league, but you do get the sense that Uemura’ll be doing a LOT of pin eating for the next few weeks. ***
Super Junior Tag League 2019 – TJP & Clark Connors vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero
We’re looking at a lot of LA Dojo history here, with TJP and Rocky Romero being original dojo members, while Clark Connors is currently there. TJP doesn’t get booed, so you know we’re not in America…
It’s the LA originals who start, as TJP took down Romero with headscissors… which Rocky escaped by climbing the turnbuckles to roll free as they reached a square-off. Tags bring in Taguchi and Connors, and it’s the Young Lion who’s on the defensive… until he avoided a hip attack. TJP comes in, but takes a double DDT with Connors, as Romero returns to run Taguchi’s playbook with a tonne of Forever lariats. Taguchi’s hip attacks follow, before the pair argued over what to, allowing TJP to capitalise as he low bridged Taguchi outside before dropkicking Rocky.
Connors returns to trap Rocky in the corner with shoulder charges, then a chop for a two-count, before TJP came back with a Muta lock on Rocky. An arm whip drops Rocky next, with TJP getting a two-count out of it, following up with a tornado DDT and an attempted senton bomb… but Rocky rolls away. A rewind enziguiri gets Rocky back in, but Taguchi gets in and traps TJP and Connors with hip attacks by the ropes before a springboard hip attack almost put away TJP. Taguchi goes for the Three Amigos, and eventually lands the hattrick, before Connors got the tag in and stomped away on Taguchi in the corner.
TJP runs in to clear the apron as Connors held Taguchi for a slingshot dropkick on the apron, before a Connors spear nearly snatched the win. Taguchi stems the tide with a hip attack, before Rocky tagged back in and took down TJP with headscissors. Some more for Connors are caught and turned into a high-angle Boston crab, while TJP restrained Taguchi… but Taguchi grabs Rocky’s arm to prevent a tap, as both men end up in the ropes.
From the break, Connors chops Rocky, but ends up eating a leaping knee… only for Clark to fight back with another Boston crab attempt. Rocky kicks away, as Taguchi came in to help with some double-teaming… only for Connors to snatch a series of two-counts with some flash pins. In the end, a right hand gets Rocky another two-count, before a Falcon arrow/cross armbreaker forced the submission. A hot finish here, but you have to wonder just where did TJP disappear to as his team slid to defeat? ***¼
Super Junior Tag League 2019 – Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)
It’s a quick turnaround for these two teams, with El Desperado winning on his return on Monday against Roppongi 3K.
We have a jump start here as Suzuki-gun were beaten at their own game, before things settled down with SHO kicking away at El Desperado in the ring. Roppongi 3K’s back to their half-and-half ring gear, by the way, as Desperado was kept isolated… at least until Kanemaru dragged them outside as we had some brawling around ringside. YOH got Brookes’d by Kanemaru, in lieu of the guard rail spots, before they were taken up as YOH met the west side sign head-first. Nearby, SHO’s waffled with chairs, which almost led to him getting counted out… but SHO narrowly beat the ref’s count back into the ring. He’s instantly met with a series of slams and suplexes as Suzuki-gun kept him down, with SHO continuing to be isolated… along with his lower back.
SHO eventually puts on the brakes as Kanemaru went for another suplex, but he couldn’t deadlift him up before he got the tag out to YOH, who looked to clean house with leaping forearms. A Northern Lights suplex almost got the win for YOH, only for Kanemaru to come back with a low dropkick to the knee as Desperado returned to try and wear down the other half of Roppongi 3K. An Irish whip took YOH into the corner, but he’s able to outsmart his opponents ahead of a Dragon screw to Despy, before SHO returned to clothesline Desperado from corner-to-corner. A spear followed, but Despy’s back with a spinebuster before he looked for the Numero Dos (Stretch Muffler)… trapping SHO’s arm before an eventual rope break.
From there, Roppongi 3K turned it around with an assisted Dominator, but Kanemaru breaks up the cover. A DDT drops Despy as SHO looked to push ahead, landing the Power Breaker… but he can’t capitalise as his back’s in agony, leading to a delayed two-count when he could crawl across for a pin. SHO looks for Shock Arrow, but he’s just shoved into the referee in the corner…SHO’s able to block the Whiskey Mist though, as YOH returned to help try a 3K.
Kanemaru runs in to tie the ref, allowing Despy to whack SHO’s leg with a chair, as a Guitarra de Angel followed for another near-fall. Another Numero Dos follows, with SHO dragged to the middle of the ring for the eventual submission. Yep, we had shenanigans, but that’s back-to-back wins for Suzuki-gun – which surprised me… but hey, Roppongi 3K were one of the tournament favourites, and tournament favourites rarely start out hot. ***¼
Post-match, Desperado whacks SHO’s leg with a chair again…
Super Junior Tag League 2019 – Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles) vs. Bullet Club (El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori)
A rematch from Royal Quest and Destruction… will the Birds of Prey be able to win again in this non-title atmosphere?
ELP’s brought back his light-up jacket, but he’s not in one piece after his match with Ospreay on Monday, moving very gingerly on his way to the ring. It’s Ishimori and Eagles who start off, with the Aussie springboarding off the ropes ahead of a ‘rana to Ishimori, sending him outside before ELP and Ospreay tagged in.
Phantasmo offered a handshake, but he just jumps Ospreay anyway… Ospreay monkey flips him outside ahead of a faked-out dive. Ishimori gets involved before Ospreay’s clotheslined out, with Phantasmo following up with a tope into the front row. Back rakes follow ahead of some rope walking from ELP, leaping over an attempted save from Eagles before springboarding down to Ospreay.
ELP followed up with the Gas Pedal to Ospreay, as did Ishimori, before a baseball slide German suplex took Ospreay down for a near-fall, as the Bullet Club maintained a stranglehold on the match. Ospreay buys time with a back body drop, then again after he flung Ishimori outside, but ELP plays spoiler, tackling Ospreay to save a tag before Ishimori pulled Eagles off the apron at the last possible moment. Ospreay finally rebounds with a handspring enziguiri, before Eagles came in like a house afire… avoiding double-teaming before he scored a diving bulldog/low dropkick on ELP and Ishimori respectively. Eagles tries to stop Ishimori with a Shiranui, but he’s able to avoid a tombstone gutbuster and respond with kicks, only to get dumped with a clothesline from Ishimori.
Ospreay’s back against ELP, but his handspring lands into a whirlibird neckbreaker… he escaped, only to get caught with an enziguiri before countering a suplex into a Stundog. The Bullet Club tandem fire back though, with a CCK-like elevated lungblower and a moonsault almost getting the win, before ELP looked for a One Winged Angel… which Ospreay rolled through for a near-fall.
A standing Spanish Fly out of nowhere nearly got the win for Ospreay, before Eagles returned to help with a Shiranui/powerbomb combo for a near-fall. Bodies begin to fly after Eagles’ missed 450 seemingly invited everyone into the ring, which worked out badly for Phantasmo as he took a pair of leaping enziguiri… before Ishimori provided a distraction as ELP hit a sunset bomb… which Eagles and Ospreay landed on their feet from.
More duelling enziguiri followed as Phantasmo was taking a beating, including a shooting star press that almost won the match. Eagles hits a 450 splash to the leg as ELP almost was made to tap to the Ron Miller Special, but ELP got up and scored a small package for a near-fall. Ishimori’s back to help out with a whirlibird neckbreaker, before ELP broke his own cover in time for Ospreay’s springboard 450 to hit his own man… but it’s not easy pickings as ELP could only get a near-fall from the near-miss as we crossed the 20-minute mark. The CR2 looked to follow, but Eagles jack-knifes the Canadian for a near-fall, before Ishimori took down the referee to mask a dick punch from ELP. One Bloody Cross and a CR2 later, and that’s enough for the Bullet Club to get the win. Shenanigans win out, as Ospreay and Ishimori again fall to the junior tag champions. ****
So, a solid opening night to the Super Junior Tag League, as two of the early favourites lost their opening match – giving them an uphill struggle as these could be early deciders in the round robin format. We’re back at Korakuen tomorrow, with those two favourites in the main event as the Birds of Prey take on Roppongi 3K.
Your Super Junior Tag League standings after one match…
1. Bullet Club (El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori); Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi; Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru); Volador Jr. & Titan (1-0; 2pts)
2. Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles); Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH); Tiger Mask & Yuya Uemura; TJP & Clark Connors (0-1; 0pts)