Yuya Uemura looks for revenge on Christopher Daniels after the pair’s recent split.
Quick Results
Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs pinned Greg Sharpe & Jakob Austin Young in 6:01 (**½)
Yuya Uemura pinned Christopher Daniels in 9:48 (***½)
Shingo Takagi pinned Rocky Romero in 15:49 (***½)
With three matches, how on earth is this over an hour?! Ian Riccaboni and Alex Koslov are back in Las Vegas on commentary for this one…
Greg Sharpe & Jakob Austin Young vs. West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs)
We’ve a little mis-matched tag team match to start, with Young and Sharpe having impressed in training camps.
Sharpe and Isaacs start us off, with Isaacs throwing Greg to the mat ahead of a shoulder tackle to Sharpe off the ropes. A leapfrog from Sharpe’s caught and turned into a press slam… but Sharpe hits an armdrag on the way down, then tagged in Young for some double-team kicks. A pair of low dropkicks sandwich Isaacs for a one-count, before Nelson came in as the Team Filthy duo battered Young. There’s a POUNCE from Nelson to send Sharpe into the ropes, as duelling slams left Sharpe and Young laying. Nelson’s waistlock keeps Young down, but Young gets free as the pair traded chops while a tijeras took Nelson down. Royce Isaacs rushed in from a tag to clear the ring, gutwrenching Young into the corner before Nelson returned to the fray.
Young evades Nelson in the ropes, then ran back in with a running Flatliner that bought him enough time to tag out. Isaacs and Sharpe get the tags in as Sharpe tried to make inroads, but his shotgun dropkick misses on the second attempt, before he got elbowed away by Isaacs. A head kick and a German suplex nearly wins it for Sharpe, as Sharpe and Young tried to add some double-teams… only for Sharpe to run into a uranage takedown. Nelson’s back for a pop-up powerbomb, while a slingshot into a death valley driver onto the knees proved to be too much for Sharpe. Very squashy, as the West Coast Wrecking Crew picked up the W here. **½
Backstage, Alex Zayne’s with Mistico for a promo as we’ve got Mascara Dorada and Blake Christian teaming to face them next week. Alright then!
We’ve a video package summarising Christopher Daniels picking Yuya Uemura as a replacement for Karl Fredericks in the tag title tournament… through to their losing effort in the finals, Daniels turning on Uemura afterwards, and a fair amount of blood throughout it all.
Christopher Daniels vs. Yuya Uemura
Daniels addressed the “morons and meth addicts” in the crowd beforehand to make sure he got booed… calling himself the King of Southern California before threatening to burn the LA Dojo to the ground.
Uemura charged at Daniels, grounding him with mounted punches at the bell before shoving the referee into the corner. Daniels scarpers, but Uemura charges after him, then took things back inside for more of the same. A running dropkick keeps Daniels cornered, before Uemura took off the trunks that Daniels had given him… and choked the Fallen Angel with them. Sticking with his usual black trunks, Uemura took Daniels into the ropes and hit a flapjack as things almost went like a Sabu back body drop. I nearly grimaced… a clothesline takes Daniels to the outside, with a pescado following in short order. Catching Uemura with a chop, Daniels tries to fight back, only to get posted then slammed on the floor, before a neckbreaker in the ropes helped Daniels get back in it.
A clothesline to the back of Uemura’s next, as Daniels stays on Uemura’s neck… a missed Uemura dropkick allowed Daniels more time to pick at the proverbial bones as we crossed the five-minute mark, before a Saito suplex took Uemura into the corner. Mounted punches from Daniels and a neckbreaker kept Uemura in trouble before a headbutt from Uemura allowed him to fight out of a superplex. Daniels gets caught with a missile dropkick after that, before Uemura added a splash in the corner, then a bulldog off the middle rope for a near-fall. A leapfrog from Uemura’s turned into a death valley driver as Daniels then pulled Uemura into a Koji clutch, but that ends in the ropes as Daniels tried to get in the referee’s face. Uemura’s attempt to fight back earned him a swift powerbomb, before Uemura countered an Angel’s Wings with a roll-up for the flash pin. This one started bright but seemed to lose the crowd – and I’ve a feeling this isn’t the last we’ll see of Daniels/Uemura based on this. ***½
Yup, post-match, Daniels attacked Uemura and spiked him with a tombstone for the hell of it. A chair’s brought into the ring next as Daniels proceeded to plant Uemura onto it with the Angel’s Wings. This feud SHALL continue.
Rocky Romero vs. Shingo Takagi
We close with a first-time singles match, although these two have been opposite each other in many multi-man tags…
Rocky wants a fist-bump, but Shingo’s not going down that road as we start with a lock-up, while Shingo pushed Rocky away. Right hands from Rocky and a tijeras took Shingo outside for a tope, then another, as chops then helped take Shingo back inside. More chops await the former champion, who’s snapmared and kicked as Rocky looked to make a dent in proceedings. Shingo caught a kick, then sent Rocky into the ropes for the elbow, jab, lariat triumvirate. A Shingo clothesline takes Rocky outside, where he’s thrown into the side of the ring. A bell clapper followed, as Rocky’s rolled back inside for a slingshot knee drop, then an elbow drop as Shingo began to push the issue. Bodyscissors keep Rocky down, as Shingo began to pick at him with boots, prompting Rocky to slap back… and Shingo to swing.
Shingo’s met with an enziguiri as Rocky had him on the mat… he picks himself up in the corner just in time for some Forever clotheslines, then a forearm, before Rocky countered another triumvirate of strikes, clotheslining Shingo away. A Strong Zero springboard dropkick nearly upsets Shingo, who ate some more chops as Shingo then tried to slam his way back in. Rocky goes for a Shiranui, but Shingo put the brakes on and ended up eating a tornado DDT… then a modified Falcon arrow for a near-fall. The Diablo armbar takes us past the ten minute mark as Shingo rolled into the ropes to force a break. A rear naked choke from Shingo’s broken as Rocky tries one of his own, but Shingo falls back to break the hold.
Danielson elbows from Shingo saw him build back, as did a snap DDT, while a sliding lariat and a noshigami almost got the win. From there, Shingo has to kick out of a roll-up as Rocky then added a rewind enziguiri… then a Shiranui out of nowhere for a near-fall. A second Shiranui’s blocked as Shingo countered into a death valley driver, before lariats and a Pumping Bomber earned a near-fall. After the kick-out, Shingo goes for Last of the Dragon, but Rocky ‘rana’s out for a near-fall, then a Diablo armbar as Shingo ended up scrambling into a triangle choke, before he eventually powered out into a Last of the Dragon for the win. ***½
A solid, yet unspectacular show outside of the Daniels/Uemura match, as Technically this was the go-home event for this week’s pair of shows in New York… which once again meant next to no build because of how Strong and the US PPVs seem to be entirely separate products. At the very least, insert a pre-tape or flash up graphics for the matches, lest this product feel more aged than it need to…