It’s the second of three Korakuen shows this week, as we’ve a whole lot of Suzuki-gun, Bullet Club and LIJ to build to the Tokyo Dome!
Quick Results
Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale pinned Tomoaki Honma & Toru Yano in 7:27 (**¼)
Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato & Hiroyoshi Tenzan pinned Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & Minoru Suzuki in 9:01 (***)
Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi pinned DOUKI, Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi in 11:05 (***¼)
Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & Hiromu Takahashi pinned Dick Togo, EVIL & Taiji Ishimori in 13:44 (***)
Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan pinned BUSHI & Shingo Takagi in 11:44 (***½)
Jay White, Gedo & KENTA pinned SHO, Kota Ibushi & Juice Robinson in 18:11 (***½)
Once more, we’ve only got Japanese commentary on the live feed – don’t be greedy, we’re getting Kevin & co live for WrestleKingdom and New Year Dash!
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens) vs. Tomoaki Honma & Toru Yano
I thought we were done with World Tag League?! All kidding aside, this is to set up tomorrow’s KOPW match, which’ll be a bodyslam OR last corner pad match after that won the fan vote.
Fale and Yano start us off, with Yano of course going for a slam. It doesn’t work. Nor does it work after he threw a couple of elbows. An attempt to run into Fale just sees Yano bounce to the mat as Fale then slammed him with ease – and if that happens tomorrow, Yano loses his trophy, which seems to have more lives than a cat.
Honma and Owens tag in, with Chase going for the neck before Honma replied with some elbows of his own. They knock Owens down for a Kokeshi that misses, and there’s the cue for Fale to return as Honma got punched in the gut, then choked on the mat. Owens returns to kick away on Honma, following up with the Tongan Massage Parlour as this was proving to be awkwardly one-sided.
A charge into the corner’s missed, so Honma manages to tag out, with Yano undoing a corner pad so he could bop Fale with it. It’s funny how getting hit with some padding has more effect on others. Yano bops Fale on the head again ashe went for another pad, but Fale stops him before the big man ran into an exposed corner.
Yeah, Yano’s still not slamming Fale today. Another slam dumps Yano, with Owens tagging back in to try and get the win. He sends Yano into the exposed corner, then got pulled down by the hair as Honma returned with an elbow and a bulldog. Kokeshi followed, but Owens stops the momentum with a bell clapper and a Jewel Heist short-clothesline for a two-count.
A roll-up nearly gets Honma the win as Fale and Yano fought on the outside, before a leaping Kokeshi headbutt set up for a swandive Kokeshi. Of course Owens rolls away, following up with a running knee and a package piledriver for the win. This was fine, but slow paced… and hardly had you salivating for tomorrow’s match. **¼
Post-match, Yano dove in to save his KOPW statue as Fale tried to stomp on it. Yano got stomped on instead, as I guess that’s the last one of those they have?
Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
It’s more build for the expected junior tag title match now, and we’ve a jump start, just like the good ol’ days of Suzuki-gun.
Everyone spills to the floor as we see Wato getting propelled into the guard rails by Desperado, while Suzuki looked to batter Tenzan with headbutts in the ring. Desperado and Kanemaru help out, but Tenzan shrugs it off before he got triple-teamed in the corner. Eye rakes prove more effective than headbutts, before the Suzuki-gun lads began to work over Tenzan’s left arm. I guess so he can only do half a Mongolian chop?
Suzuki leans in with an armbar on the mat, before boots and elbows trapped Tenzan in the corner. Eventually Tenzan tried to fight back with the Mongolian chops, before he dropped Suzuki with a Mountain bomb, with Wato tagging in to try and clear house. Desperado’s in and elbowed before a rear spin kick knocked him down. Wato’s lifted onto the apron, but he’s back with a springboard uppercut that knocked Desperado outside for a tornillo, getting him a two-count back inside before Wato seemed to look for Recientemente… but instead an eye rake and a spinebuster gets Desperado ahead.
Kanemaru’s in to boot Wato in the corner, then block a kick before a second one from Wato took him off his feet. Taguchi tags in next, but his eyes are raked before he came back with a hip attack. Wato comes in and ties up Kanemaru in the ropes as Tenzan hits some Mongolian chops, before Tenzan gets pulled outside by Suzuki. The turnaround sees Taguchi take a dropkick-assisted side suplex for a two-count, before Taguchi dropped down to avoid Deep Impact. Another hip attack has Kanemaru down, with a roll-up getting Taguchi a near-fall, before an ankle lock from Taguchi looked to force a submission. Kanemaru gets to the ropes, but gets pulled in for Dodon… only for Taguchi to change it up as he drops Kanemaru into a low blow behind the ref’s back, before getting the roll-up. Solid enough, as they continue to tick along to that title match in the Dome. ***
Bullet Club (Guerrilas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & DOUKI)
From the junior tag title feud to the heavyweight tag title feud, as the Guerrillas of Destiny look to keep up their dominance going into the Dome.
DOUKI and Yujiro start us off, and we’re barely ten seconds in when we’re down to hair-pulling on both sides. ZSJ wants DOUKI to do some “lucha shit,” which presumably didn’t involve him getting cracked in the ropes by Jado’s Kendo stick as the Bullet Club trio took control. DOUKI rolls back in to beat the ref’s count, but the direction of traffic doesn’t change as DOUKI got taken into the corner as Tanga Loa shoulder charged him some.
Tama Tonga throws some punches in the corner as the referee was getting distracted by Taichi. DOUKI tries to fight back with overhand chops, but he’s knocked down by a single elbow strike as Tama comes in… and eats a tornado DDT as DOUKI finally found an opening. ZSJ tags in to take some long-awaited shots on Tama, rolling him down for a neck twist. Yujiro gets the same, while Tanga Loa held back to avoid the same fate. Sabre tries to pull Tama into an armbar, but it’s countered with a Complete Shot as Taichi tagged in to throttle away on Tanga Loa.
Yujiro gets choked on too, as does Jado, before Tanga Loa broke that up. An Axe bomber drops Tanga seconds later, with Taichi following up with some kicks to the chest. Tanga’s boots start some back-and-forth with front kicks as they tried to knock the other guy down, but Taichi then slipped in with a Stretch Plum as he looked for a submission.
Sabre grounds Tama with a guillotine choke as Jado tried to sneak in with his Kendo stick – but DOUKI’s pipe stopped that, before he trapped Yujiro in the ol’ DOUKI chokie. All of those holds get broken, as we then see Taichi looking for Zack Mephisto… but Tama breaks it up as the Guerrillas looked for a Magic Killer.
The Parade of Attempted Moves ends with a gamengiri from Taichi to Tama, which then started a regular Parade of Moves with Tanga Loa suplexing his way out of a guillotine choke. We’re back to Yujiro and DOUKI, with the latter landing a dropkick that took Yujiro outside for a tope suicida (hey, some lucha shit!), before DOUKI went in for the Daybreak DDT on Tama… but it’s caught. DOUKI slips out of an attempt at Apeshit and ends up going for some roll-ups that nearly nick the win, before he just ran into Apeshit as Tanga Loa got the win. Much more even than yesterday’s outing, but just as enjoyable – I have a feeling that tag match is going to be a little under-rated going into the Dome… ***¼
Post-match, Tama and Tanga trap Sabre and Taichi in submissions as they continued to lord it over the current tag champions.
Bullet Club (EVIL, Dick Togo & Taiji Ishimori) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA, Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi)
We get a jump start as the Bullet Club attack LIJ at the bell – with Togo and Ishimori taking Hiromu and Naito to the outside.
That means we get EVIL choking SANADA in the ropes with a boot, only for SANADA to return with a low dropkick before Naito tagged in to stomp away on EVIL. An eye rake from EVIL neutralises Naito, before Hiromu came in and got sent into the conveniently-exposed corner. Everyone spills outside again as EVIL jabs SANADA in the gut with a chair, before returning to the ring to get a cover on Naito. It’s only a two-count as Togo comes in to hit a fist drop for a two-count of his own, following up with a chinlock that quickly ended in the ropes. EVIL’s back as we delve into the book of tricks for a chained abdominal stretch – with the referee quickly noticing all of the extra helping hands that EVIL got.
Naito’s sent into the exposed corner again, with Ishimori then tagging in to try and keep the momentum going. He misses a charge into the corner, but stops Naito from tagging out… only for Naito to return with a neckbreaker seconds later. Hiromu’s waiting for a tag in, and gets it… going straight for Ishimori with a clothesline in the corner before dishing some out to Dick Togo as well. A shotgun dropkick knocks Ishimori into Togo in the corner, and gets Hiromu a two-count. Ishimori tries to hit back with the baseball slide German, but Hiromu frees himself… then had to ‘rana his way out of a Cipher UTAKI as Ishimori eventually lands a leaping knee strike.
Tags bring in SANADA and EVIL for another go around, with SANADA landing the double leapfrog and dropkick… before a missed plancha allowed EVIL to use SANADA to charge into the timekeeper’s table. Back in the ring, EVIL keeps SANADA under his boot as they were reassembling the timekeeper’s area, before a Fisherman suplex drew a two-count. We quickly move to the pair attempting their finishers, but it comes to nought as a kick in the ropes from Togo knocked SANADA down ahead of a Darkness Scorpion from EVIL.
SANADA gets to the ropes, but can’t build much momentum as EVIL trips him… then came in with a chair to distract the referee as Togo used the garotte wire. Hiromu quickly breaks it up with a superkick as Naito tagged back in to try and put away Togo, eventually landing a Manhattan drop as LIJ then had Togo surrounded. They gang up on him, leading to triple low dropkicks for a near-fall as EVIL breaks up the cover.
EVIL looks to low blow SANADA as the pair then go to their finisher teases, with SANADA landing Everything is EVIL, before a Skull End trapped EVIL in the corner. That leaves Naito free to hit an enziguiri and a Destino… and that’s enough for the win. This was pretty fun, even with the shenanigans as LIJ continued to build momentum for the Tokyo Dome. ***
Post-match, SANADA held onto the Skull End as EVIL went to sleep…
The Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi & BUSHI)
We don’t get O-Khan dancing to the new Empire theme today, as today’s all about hyping up Cobb/Shingo…
Once more, we’ve a jump start as Cobb and O-Khan went after Shingo and BUSHI before the bell, and we’re quickly on the outside with Shingo getting taken into the railings. Meanwhile, O-Khan’s ragdolling BUSHI with a gutwrench facebuster for a two-count, before he took him into the corner as Cobb tagged in.
An Irish whip takes BUSHI back into the corner, ahead of some standing backbreakers as he used BUSHI as a human barbell. Throwing BUSHI aside like he was nothing drew in Shingo, but he’s quickly knocked to the outside. O-Khan’s back with Mongolian chops to BUSHI, before he charged him into the corner so he could have a seat. A head and arm choke on the mat followed, before Cobb returned to keep wearing down BUSHI.
A pumphandle backbreaker sees Cobb continue to have his way with BUSHI, but eventually BUSHI gets free of a charge, throwing O-Khan into Cobb before a double ‘rana took them both down. Finally, a tag brings in Shingo, who ripped into the Empire pair… but he couldn’t pick up Cobb for a slam, nor could he clothesline the pair of them. Instead, he hits a double DDT after the pair telegraphed a back body drop.
O-Khan pushes back with a face crusher before some Mongolian chops to Shingo were stopped and returned in kind… only for him to run into a Judo throw. Cobb tags in to hit a Spin Cycle for a two-count, but a Tour of the Islands is stopped when Shingo got to the ropes… so Cobb just hits Shingo with his own combination of jabs and clotheslines. Shingo tries to hit it himself, then went for a Tour of the Islands, but Cobb slips out before he was met with a sliding lariat.
Shingo muscles up Cobb for a wheelbarrow German suplex, before I began to buffer. It’s back with BUSHI trying to take control… I lose a chunk of the match here, but I doubt BUSHI was able to do too much as he ends up being ragdolled again by Cobb and O-Khan as it returns. Shingo again looks to make a save, but he’s caught out as O-Khan throws him in for a Tour of the Islands, before O-Khan smothered BUSHI as a second Tour of the Islands gets the win. As dominant as you’d expect as they’re continuing to build up a head of steam for Cobb. ***½
Kota Ibushi, Juice Robinson & SHO vs. Bullet Club (Jay White, KENTA & Gedo)
We get staggered entrances for this one, which gives KENTA a chance to show off his brand new US title shot briefcase. To say the old one was a bit battered was an understatement…
White and Ibushi get us underway as the cameraman seemed to be more focused on showing us their abs. White tags out immediately, but Ibushi doesn’t want any part of Gedo, as he instead stalked White on the outside… then walked through Gedo’s attempts to kick him as Zombie Ibushi was in full effect. A single elbow knocks down Gedo, as Ibushi continued to stare at White, as my feed again buffered.
We’re back with Gedo being sent into the ropes by SHO… White catches Gedo in the ropes as KENTA runs in to land a kick as the match spills outside again. White tags back in so he could bounce SHO into the guard rails, then into the ring post as White continued to explain away his actions. Of course, the referee wouldn’t count a pin after that, so White hits a slam instead to get a couple of two-counts.
SHO continues to be isolated as White took him into the guard rails, before KENTA leapt off the apron for a double stomp. Gedo gets a two-count from it, before SHO fought back with a back cracker. After more buffering, we’re back to Kota and Jay, with Ibushi’s kick and standing moonsault getting a two-count, before White hit back with a gnarly DDT.
White pulls himself back up to charge at Ibushi in the corner, following with a Blade Buster for another two-count, before Dragon screws on the mat kept White ahead. KENTA tags in as Ibushi stayed down, following in with some kicks before a dropkick from Ibushi got him time to tag in Juice Robinson.
Dusty punches from Juice, along with some chops, keep KENTA in the corner, but KENTA gets his feet up to block a charge as he ends up hitting a tornado hotshot in the corner. A Kane flying clothesline off the top is next for a two-count, then a STF, but that ends in the ropes as Juice quickly hits back with a cannonball for a near-fall. We’re back to the Dusty punches, but KENTA escapes a Juice Box before he retaliated with a backfist. He looks for a hesitation dropkick, but a leg lariat from Juice stops that, as tags get us back to Gedo and SHO, with the latter trading elbows before he kicked away at Gedo. A PK gets SHO a two-count, before Gedo elbowed out of a deadlift German suplex… only to get speared for another two-count.
A back body drop gets Gedo free of a cross-armed piledriver, before his superkick was caught. Elbows from SHO wear down Gedo again, but he nicks back in with a Complete Shot for a near-fall. We get interference as White runs in to try and clobber Ibushi with his briefcase, but that misses… KENTA tries to break up SHO’s cross armbreaker on Gedo, but Juice takes care of him, before a lariat spun Gedo to the mat. From there, We get a Shock Arrow attempt, but a sleeper suplex from White breaks that up before he tagged in.
With SHO already down, White picks him up for a Blade Runner, but Ibushi’s back to get bounced into his head with a sleeper suplex. White lands that Blade Runner anyway, and that’s your lot! A perfectly fine main event, with just a smidge of interference as the bad guys win out once more. ***½
Post-match, we had some more attacks as KENTA accepted Juice’s challenge for the US title shot…
We’re back tomorrow for the final Road to Tokyo Dome show, with Toru Yano vs. Bad Luck Fale in the final KOPW match of the year, while we close out with one last tease for Kota Ibushi and Tetsuya Naito on January 4…
Today was a marked improvement on yesterday’s event, but this one still retained the “house show” feel with only incremental steps being made towards announcing matches for the Tokyo Dome. Tomorrow will likely see the confirmation of the junior tag title match that they’ve teased all tour long, and any other last minute bits involving whoever they have who isn’t in quarantine… and hopefully we get to see a Masked Horse to close out the year too!