After some lethargic tour stops, the Super Junior Tag League returned to Korakuen Hall – and it was back to form for the tournament!
We’ve got a pair of new voices on commentary as Mavs Gillis and Lanny Poffo (yes, the Genius), sadly sans frisbee, although his initial bursts of commentary did sound like verse.
Ayato Yoshida, Ren Narita & Yuya Uemura vs. Toa Henare, Shota Umino & Yota Tsuji
This was quite the special match earlier in the tour, so let’s see if they can replicate that fire.
Narita and Tsuji start us off, with a side headlock before Narita took it to the mat with a simple leg grapevine. Tsuji scrambles into the rope as the firey strikes from the earlier match were replaced with intensity in terms of leg work. Our first pinning attempt came from Yuya Uemura, who tagged in to get a two-count on Tsuji, who’s kept cornered while Yoshida tagged in to throw in some right hands.
Yoshida charges into the opposite corner to knock Umino and Henare off the apron. Tsuji tries to fight back, but Yoshida’s fresher, and he scores with a hiptoss before pelting Tsuji with a kick to the back for a near-fall. There’s a dropkick from Tsuji to stem the tide, as he brings in Henare to try and turn it around… with the Kiwi quickly going for Yoshida with forearms to the head.
A leaping shoulder tackle knocks down Yoshida, but Narita sneaks in to try and keep things on track. He didn’t. Henare suplexes Yoshida ahead of a falling chop, and then a regular one as Yoshida was sent into the ropes. The Kaientai Dojo trainee hit back with a lariat, before tags bring in Umino and Uemura… the latter of who was rocked straight out of the gates.
Uemura connects with a dropkick as Umino’s subjected to some three-on-one, Taguchi Japan-like offence, causing Umino to bleed as he was rolled into a Boston crab. Yota Tsuji gets a hand in to shove the hold apart, but Narita’s back as he looked for a German suplex, before a Henare headbutt and Samoan drop left him down. Umino heads up top for a missile dropkick, before he rolled up Uemura for a near-fall, then turns the kick-out into a Boston crab for the submission. Exactly what you’d expect from the Young Lions – perhaps not as intense as earlier in the tour, but still really good wrestling in spite of their inexperience. ***¼
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku) vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano
Added to Power Struggle next weekend is another Rev Pro British heavyweight title rematch as Minoru Suzuki has another crack at Tomohiro Ishii. That’ll be good, to say the least.
Yep, they start by going straight to the elbows, while TAKA and Toru scrapped on the outside. Ah, Minoru, Tomohiro… never, ever change! Suzuki switches up with some big boots, but Ishii pounces on him as a shoulder tackle put Suzuki down, as Ishii proceeds to take the former Rev Pro champion into the corner for some more elbows to the head.
Suzuki switches it around, with the Korakuen crowd chanting along with each shot. Another big boot drops Ishii, before TAKA Michinoku’s tagged in. Good luck. His strikes barely register as Ishii clunks him with another elbow, and we’re back to the elbows as Ishii rushed the ring, before the fight spilled back outside. Oh dear. Poor Marty Asami’s not having a good go of this, is he?
Ishii gets turfed into the chairs at ringside, which then get used as a weapon. That in turn softened down Ishii as TAKA was able to get some shots off back in the ring, before Suzuki tagged in so he could legally blast Ishii with more forearms. We’re back to the elbows, but Big Tom grits his teeth and almost laughs it off as he began to fire back, catching Suzuki with a scoop slam off the ropes.
Toru Yano gets the tag in, and yeah, he’s instantly going for the turnbuckle pads. He turns around into a big boot from Suzuki, as two exposed corners was trouble for Yano, who needed Ishii to make a save… and yeah, we’ve another taste of Ishii/Suzuki. TAKA tries to throw Yano into the exposed corner, but the brakes get put on, before TAKA charges into the exposed corner like a fool, and gets pratfalled and rolled-up for the win. Not that Ishii and Suzuki noticed, they were too busy battering each other on the outside. ***½
Post-match, the Young Lions struggle to separate Ishii and Suzuki. Poor Shota Umino. They eventually brawl to the back after another flurry of palm strikes left the crowd wowed.
Two matches in, and I’m kinda digging Mavs Gillis as a commentator, even if he’s sounding like he’s afraid of dead air. Lanny, on the other hand, sounds very much like a video game, throwing in canned lines. He’ll improve, but he did already fall foul of a JR-ism, calling out his preference of matches.
Bullet Club Elite (Kota Ibushi, Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma
There’s still no Omega on this part of the tour, so we start with Ibushi and Tanahashi, and the seemingly-mandated tie-up that ends in the ropes. Yujiro Takahashi grabs Tanahashi in the ropes as he offered him up for some cheating from Ibushi… who wanted no part of what his partners were doing.
Tanahashi escapes that and unloads with some low dropkicks and Dragon screws, before feeding Chase into a Honma back elbow. Honma and Makabe charge through Ibushi, who recovered as Chase Owens again went to the underhanded tactics, choking out Makabe with his own chain at ringside. Chase is back with more regular stuff – a headlock and a punch to Honma – as the master of the Kokeshi was feeling kinda isolated.
Ibushi’s back in with some kicks and chops that felled Honma for a near-fall… but Honma’s sandbagging before Yujiro came in and put him against the ropes for a big boot to the head. A Fisherman’s suplex is avoided as Honma counters into a vertical suplex before bringing Makabe into play. Makabe’s all full of piss and vinegar, focusing on Yujiro with the mounted punches and a lariat as he almost took the win right there.
Yujiro trips Makabe, then scores with a reverse DDT, only for another lariat to put the Tokyo Pimp down. Ibushi and Tanahashi tag in, but it’s the Golden Star who fires ahead with a barrage of kicks that nearly put down the Ace, who eventually replies with a Twist and Shout neckbreaker before a Slingblade’s countered with kicks. Tanahashi gets spiked with a ‘rana by Ibushi, before Chase Owens tags in and looked to nick a win with a running knee strike. Tanahashi’s able to kick out, but he’s forced to escape a neckbreaker, before a backslide leads to a thrust kick from Chase.
Owens looks for the package piledriver, but Honma makes the save as a Parade of Moves broke out, leading to a double lariat from Makabe and an enziguiri from Owens. Tanahashi’s back to score with a Slingblade, before a Kokeshi left Owens down ahead of a High Fly Flow as Tanahashi took home the win. Decent stuff, with Tanahashi racking up more momentum ahead of WrestleKingdom… in over two months time. ***¼
Bullet Club OG (Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Gedo & Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs. Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Rocky Romero & Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T)
We’ve a beefed up version of the undercard tag we had earlier in the tour, as CHAOS continued to seek revenge on Jay White and Gedo.
There’s been more threats of other wrestlers jumping from CHAOS to the Bullet Club, but we start with Goto charging through Tama Tonga with a shoulder tackle. The Guerrillas of Destiny tried to double-team Goto, but he outsmarts them ahead of a kick to the chest as Tanga Loa was knocked down. Chuckie T’s in with Soul Food to Tanga, before an Octopus stretch was broken up as the ring quickly filled with CHAOS.
Chuckie flies with a tope con giro as the Bullet Club were on the outside, before the Best Friends combined to suplex Tanga Loa back in the ring. Beretta and Chuckie stop Rocky from some Forever clotheslines, but they eventually make up as the former Roppongi Vice hit a high five and a hug. Ah, all’s well that ends well!
The referee’s distracted by Gedo as Jado whacks Beretta with a Kendo stick, and we’re back to anarchy with Okada getting thrown into the crowd by Jay White. He then has Shota Umino slammed onto him, which looked like it sucked, as Beretta was double-teamed back in the ring by the Guerrillas. White’s back in with a headlock that wears down Beretta, who’s quickly trapped in the Bullet Club corner as we almost got a taste of Okada vs. Gedo. It’s all a cover as the Bullet Club used weapons on the outside as Lanny Poffo made a short joke at Rocky Romero’s expense…
A HUGE BACK BODY DROP from Beretta wakes me up from my slumber, but he can’t capitalise on it as Bad Luck Fale comes in to keep on clubbing away. Beretta tried to fight back with elbows, but he’s sent outside as Gedo picks apart the pieces, throwing Beretta into the ring post. Eventually things turn around as a Beretta neckbreaker drops Gedo… and now here’s the tag to Okada!
Okada and Gedo square off, with Okada finally getting his licks in with a back elbow to his former manager… but Bullet Club quickly swarm the ring. Jado teases another Kendo stick shot, before he’s flattened as Tama Tonga’s launched onto him. Okada slam Fale with ease, before Jay White’s back to save Gedo and catch Okada with a Saito suplex.
White tags in and continues to lay into Okada, but the Rainmaker’s back with forearms of his own, before a neckbreaker slam was almost countered into a Blade Runner. White chops free, but runs into a flapjack before Rocky tagged in and blasted White with Forever lariats. Not really Taguchi Tactics when you did it first! A ‘rana takes White down as another Parade of Moves broke out, with Tanga Loa taking another ‘rana before Fale came in and charged everyone down.
Fale’s sent outside with a clothesline from Goto as CHAOS looked to stand tall, with dives wiping out the Bullet Club on the outside… but Rocky Romero looked to fall victim to some brass knuckles from Gedo, only for Okada to make a save. In the end, Rocky looks for Sliced Bread, and almost wins with a backslide, before he’s spiked with Blade Runner for the win. This was fine, but this did what it needed to to continue to simmer the Bullet Club/CHAOS feud. ***¼
Super Junior Tag League: KUSHIDA & Chris Sabin vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask
Both of these teams have had a middling tournament thus far, batting the proverbial 0.500 after four matches.
Liger and KUSHIDA get us going with some mat work, as KUSHIDA scrambled to avoid some head scissors, turning it into a bow and arrow hold on the veteran. Tags quickly bring in Tiger Mask and Sabin, who exchange shoulder tackles before a monkey flip launches Sabin into the ropes. A baseball slide from Sabin allowed him to set up for a sunset flip and a PK, as KUSHIDA returned to wear down the Tiger masked one.
Liger turns it around with a baseball slide that knocked KUSHIDA outside, before a cannonball off the apron wiped out KUSHIDA. A Romero special follows back in the ring, before Tiger Mask returned to kick away at KUSHIDA, before pulling him into a camel clutch as the IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion looked in trouble.
Chops from Liger have KUSHIDA in the ropes, but he’s able to hit back with a hiptoss and a cartwheel dropkick before bringing Sabin back in. Sabin quickly knocks Tiger Mask off the apron before connecting with a PK to him after a missile dropkick to Liger. Some back and forth looked to lead to a Liger bomb, but Sabin counters with a wheelbarrow roll-up for a near-fall, then following with a Fisherman’s suplex for a near-fall.
A tiltawhirl backbreaker from Liger puts Sabin down, but he’s quickly back with a pair of DDTs for the veterans, who countered back with a Shotei to KUSHIDA. Tiger looks for a Tiger superplex, but Sabin makes the save as Liger instead brings down KUSHIDA with a ‘rana, before a Tiger Driver nearly got the W. Tiger comes back with a tombstone, but Sabin breaks up things as the Time Machine team turned it around.
Liger’s sent outside as Tiger Mask is cornered for a pair of kicks that led to the moonsault/neckbreaker combo… and that’s enough for the win! A rare fall eaten by Tiger Mask, as the two teams remain in midtable positions. ***½
Super Junior Tag League: Volador Jr. & Soberano Jr. vs. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
The CMLL pairing of Volador and Soberano are propping up the table going into this, and guess what? Jump start!
The match spills to the outside, with Desperado throwing Volador by the English commentary desk. Volador lifts Soberano onto the stage as he was whipped his way, with Soberano moonsaulting back to the floor as the Suzuki-gun pair quickly regained control. They brawled up into the seating decks, with Volador getting thrown into an exit door, before the CMLL duo score with a pair of tiltawhirl backbreakers in among the Korakuen faithful.
They head up onto the access tunnels as a pair of stereo crossbodies kept Korakuen on their feet – and this is exactly the kind of stuff that has been missing in the tournament thus far. Not balcony dives – just general excitement! There’s a murmur as everyone makes their way back to the ring, where Soberano dumped Kanemaru with Wasteland ahead of a Vader Bomb-like splash off the middle rope for a near-fall.
Desperado stops Soberano in his tracks, pulling down a springboard before throwing him into the fourth row. Volador gets similar treatment from Kanemaru, as he became familiar with a table. Back in the ring, Desperado tries to unmask Soberano, loosening the laces on the mask before the referee makes a save just in the nick of time.
Soberano manages to catch Kanemaru with a dropkick before tagging out to Volador, who handsprings into a ‘rana, before a thrust kick and a back cracker left Kanemaru down for a two-count. Desperado’s back as he and Volador exchange chops to the chest, but Volador edges out as he headed up top… before moonsaulting into the raised feet of Desperado.
Soberano’s back with a missile dropkick for a near-fall on Desperado, before a double missile dropkick took out Suzuki-gun. A tope con giro and Sasuke special follow as Volador and Soberano took to the skies again, with a Tornillo off the top rope almost get Soberano the W. It’s impressive aerial stuff, but you sensed that it wasn’t making as much of a dent as they’d hope… especially as Desperado quickly spinebusters Soberano.
A superkick from Volador almost leads to the win, with Soberano folding up Desperado for a near-fall, before out of nowhere Kanemaru sprays the whisky at Soberano, who’s rolled up for the pin. That was totally out of nowhere, which made me think it’s time-cue related… but this was a pretty good outing until then. ***½
Super Junior Tag League: Bullet Club OG (Robbie Eagles & Taiji Ishimori) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI & Shingo Takagi)
Our semi-final is a battle of the recently-arrived, with Ishimori and Shingo perhaps being the latest junior-level jewels in their respective factions.
BUSHI’s “over the top” mask (which I couldn’t capture) was a really cool homage to the videos that announced Hiromu Takahashi’s arrival two years ago, complete with a stick of dynamite and the LCD readout…
Shingo and Ishimori start us off, with a tie-up into the ropes before the pair scrambled on the mat until Takagi grabbed a wristlock… which Ishimori rolled out of. A missed back senton continues the frantic start, that ended with a stand-off as the pair tagged out, just as Larry.exe stuttered on a line of commentary.
Eagles takes BUSHI into the ropes with a boot and a chop, before a springboard armdrag takes BUSHI to the outside… where Ishimori is waiting as Eagles had to get rid of Shingo with a ‘rana ahead of a HUGE tope con giro! Back in the ring, Ishimori ties up BUSHI in an inverted figure four, but he gets free and took out Bullet Club with a double ‘rana.
Shingo’s back to charge though the Bullet Club with his shoulder, before a death valley driver took out Eagles… and now I’m starting to see (and get) this explosiveness everyone’s been on about with Shingo. There’s a brainbuster for the Bone Soldier, but he comes back with a roll-through into a crossface that led to a rope break from Shingo in the end. A back elbow from Shingo cuts off Ishimori, as they go tit-for-tat in the ropes until a handspring overhead kick put down the Dragon.
Tags out bring Eagles and BUSHI back to the fray, but it’s BUSHI who hits back with a missile dropkick… but he can’t quite do the BUSH-a-roonie as he pulled himself back to his feet. A swinging Fisherman’s suplex is cut-off as Eagles lands Sliced Bread in the ropes for a two-count. Double-teaming from LIJ almost finished off Eagles as the spinebuster/backcracker combo needed Ishimori to make the save.
There’s a reverse DDT/regular DDT from Ishimori to LIJ, as the Bullet Club pair continued to focus on BUSHI. Shingo’s wiped out with a plancha from Ishimori, as Eagles hits his backpack Falcon Arrow deal to BUSHI for a near-fall, before he proceeded to hit a 450 splash to the leg and then an Indian deathlock as BUSHI almost tapped… only for Shingo to break it up!
BUSHI nearly nicks it with a Destroyer, but Eagles kicks out, only to eat the MX flying lungblower… as Ishimori makes the save! This is getting good! Ishimori wipes out Shingo with a high knee, before he nearly handsprung into the Last of the Dragon. There’s a Pumping Bomb lariat to Ishimori as Shingo stood tall, before he wheelbarrowed Eagles into a lungblower for the win. Fantastic stuff, and probably the best match of the tournament so far. After the previous Bullet Club/LIJ stuff fell flat last year, it seems we have a combination that’s landing! ****
Super Junior Tag League: Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & ACH
Roppongi 3K need a win to stay in the hunt at the top of the league, while Taguchi and ACH want to avoid staying on the wrong end of that table.
ACH starts out for the “rugger buggers”, catching SHO in a side headlock before he cracked him with a chop. SHO tries to hit back with a German suplex, before they trade shoulder tackles and tag out. YOH and Taguchi swing and miss early on, before some criss-cross rope running just tired out both men with neither doing the comedy “stop and watch” gimmick.
YOH tried a very cocky cover on Taguchi, pinning him with a hand on his chest for a two-count, then a bunch of one-counts before Taguchi regained his wind. With the E hanging off his tights, Taguchi’s snapmared and met with a bunch of hip attacks, before giving YOH a taste of his own medicine as ACH came in and ordered Taguchi into some more cardio-boosting attacks.
YOH gets free, shoving his fingers into ACH’s rear end… then Taguchi as the unexpected rectal exams caused problems. With Taguchi still doubled-over, Roppongi 3K went for some covers, but Taguchi keeps kicking out, as Roppongi 3K remained in complete control. SHO’s tagged in to help with a wishbone leg splitter, before he pulls Taguchi into an abdominal stretch. There’s a roll-up from SHO as Taguchi looked to head into the ropes… and finally he hits back with a hip attack!
ACH tags in as he tries to clear house, catching SHO with a kick to the gut before diving into YOH on the outside. There’s another dive, with a cannonball tope con giro catching SHO on the floor. Back in the ring, ACH goes for a hip attack, only for SHO to cut it off as he comes back with chops, only for ACH to return with a trip and a thunderous double stomp. Another trip gives way to a hook kick and a deadlift German on SHO for a near-fall.
ACH crashes and burns on a frog splash, allowing Roppongi 3K back into it as a step-up back elbow cracks ACH in the corner. The Dominator/neckbreaker’s avoided as ACH hits a double ‘rana instead, before Taguchi returns to clock SHO and YOH with hip attacks. Back in the ring, Taguchi lands a front suplex before a hip attack’s countered with a roll-up, as 3K go beserk with leaping knees to Taguchi and ACH.
A back cracker releases Taguchi into the path of a dropkick, but he hip attacks his way out of a 3K, before SHO unleashes some German suplexes. There’s a hip attack from ACH as all four men were left laying. Taguchi tries to land a Dodon for the win, but it’s countered as he and YOH exchange near-falls, before ACH helped out setting up for a wheelbarrow into a cutter for another near-fall.
Taguchi goes for an ankle lock, but ACH has to help out again with a wheelbarrow/facebuster combo, before the Bummer-Ye sliding hip attack eventually set up for a half-nelson suplex on YOH… and that’s enough to get the win! A huge upset for Taguchi Japan after a really good main event that really could have swung either way. ***¾
After everyone’s had five rounds, here’s how things stack up, with just two matches to go – one tomorrow in Korakuen for everyone, while everyone’s final match will be spread out in the final four days of the tour.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI & Shingo Takagi) (4-1; 8pts)
Chris Sabin & KUSHIDA; Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH); Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (3-2; 6pts)
ACH & Ryusuke Taguchi; Bullet Club OG (Robbie Eagles & Taiji Ishimori); Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask (2-3; 4pts)
Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr. (1-4; 2pts)
Well, the pace picked up at Korakuen, as we hoped it would! LIJ vs. Bullet Club stole the show, but to be truthful, there wasn’t a bad match on the whole show. As for the try-out commentary of Mavs Gillis and Lanny Poffo… let’s just say I wasn’t sold on the pairing, but we’ve had pairings before that started out slowly. With more confidence and product knowledge, this could become a decent tandem… or Mavs could just become a solid “backup” for Kevin Kelly.