The Super Junior Tag League continues, as we’ve another pair of matches to complete the second round of fixtures!
We’re still on a fixed camera, this time from the Uwajima City General Gymnasium in Ehime…
Super Junior Tag League: Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr. vs. Chris Sabin & KUSHIDA
There’s quite a few empty seats in Ehime, but a handful of super enthusiastic fans who’d made signs for everyone.
Volador and Sabin start off fairly tentatively, but Sabin’s up for some lucha-style graps as we worked up to the double dropkick spot. Eh, it’s better than a tie-up into the ropes! Tags bring in Soberano and a rather less-flashy KUSHIDA, who indulge in some more flips and roll throughs before Soberano nailed a lucha armdrag and a Sasuke special as KUSHIDA thought he’d bought himself time on the outside.
Back in the ring, Soberano clips KUSHIDA with a tornillo for a near-fall, before Sabin’s brought back in to try and stem the tide. He succeeds by putting Soberano into a modified abdominal stretch, rolling it through for a pinning attempt, before KUSHIDA’s back as he rolled Soberano into an inverted stump puller, having the luchador stretched and on his head for a submission attempt.
The Time Guns – or whatever the hell you want to call them – exchanged quick tags as they isolated Soberano in the corner… but the luchador makes a comeback with some dropkicks as Volador came into play, scoring a springboard crossbody to KUSHIDA before pulling him up for a doomsday crossbody from Soberano. The lucha pair connect again as Soberano lands a missile dropkick to KUSHIDA – then turns it into a body splash on Sabin for a near-fall – before tags brought Sabin and Soberano back in legitimately. Soberano leaps in and catches Sabin in the ropes with a Quebrada for a near-fall, before a step-up dropkick in the corner connected flush. Sabin fights back, clipping Soberano with a dropkick into the opposite corner before Volador made the save as they prepped for a moonsault/neckbreaker combo.
Volador stays involve, bringing down KUSHIDA with a top rope ‘rana that sent the junior champion outside for a Volador tope con giro, while a regular ‘rana almost gets Soberano the win. Soberano’s all about the roll-ups, but he only gets two-counts on Sabin from them, but Sabin hits back with a enziguiri/swinging DDT as the Time Guns turned it back around, before they combined for a Muta lock/low dropkick on Soberano.
In the end, the moonsault/neckbreaker connects… and that’s enough for the win! Technically this was a solid match, but the crowd never really caught onto it, which didn’t help. ***
Super Junior Tag League: Bullet Club OG (Taiji Ishimori & Robbie Eagles) vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)
I still get shudders hearing that Roppongi 3K theme. I blame the week Rev Pro overexposed it to everyone…
SHO and Eagles start us off with the tie-up-into-the-ropes, something that Eagles tried to cheapshot from… before he scored with a lucha armdrag as SHO looked to hit back with a shoulder tackle. Roppongi 3K double-team Ishimori, then Eagles, who’s kept on the mat as YOH worked the leg. Things swing around though, with the Bullet Club team coming in as a camel clutch/low dropkick caught SHO for a near-fall, before Ishimori held him in a cravat.
Chops follow as SHO’s sent into the ropes, but he kicks away Ishimori’s attempt at a back body drop, before connecting with a spear. A tag’s made to YOH, but he’s forced to withstand a double-team as Ishimori accidentally knocks Eagles off the apron… but he recovers with a handspring enziguiri that took down YOH.
A Dragon screw from YOH puts Eagles down as SHO’s brought back in… and he instantly pelts Eagles with clotheslines in the corner. Eagles catches a kick, but he can’t get off a backpack stunner as SHO rolls together some German suplexes, including an impressive deadlifted one as Roppongi 3K looked in control. A back cracker and a Shining Wizard leaves Eagles down, but he’s able to block the 3K as Ishimori springboards in for what was meant to be the seated senton.
Ishimori has more luck with the running Meteora to SHO, who then ate the backback flip-over driver for a near-fall. Eagles heads up top for a 450 Splash, but SHO rolls away and returns with a lariat, before the pair went nose-to-nose with some elbows to the head. SHO seemed to win out on those, but Eagles doubles-up before he and Ishimori took a pair of leaping knees.
Ishimori takes the double-team slam, which just left Eagles prey for the Dominator/neckbreaker combo. He escapes from that and clocks SHO with a superkick, before he literally ran into the 3K as SHO and YOH picked up the win. The better of the two tournament matches today, but neither of these bouts were show-stoppers. ***¼
Four nights in, with everyone having had three matches, the standings are as such:
Bullet Club OG (Robbie Eagles & Taiji Ishimori); Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask; Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI & Shingo Takagi); Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) (2-1; 4pts)
ACH & Ryusuke Taguchi; KUSHIDA & Chris Sabin; Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr.; Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (1-2; 2pts)
Gedo booking, everyone! The tour took Sunday off, and returns to action on Monday in Shimane with another pair of matches that’ll drop late on Monday/early Tuesday on New Japan World.