The Super Junior Tag League continues at Korakuen Hall, with a main event of Ryusuke Taguchi and Master Wato against the current junior tag champions in Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo.
Quick Results
Chase Owens, Jado & Yujiro Takahashi pinned Tomoaki Honma, Toru Yano & Togi Makabe in 9:38 (**¼)
Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito pinned Satoshi Kojima, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii in 16:53 (***¼)
Super Junior Tag League 2021: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado pinned Gedo & Dick Togo in 18:56 (***¼)
Super Junior Tag League 2021: Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask submitted YOH & SHO in 14:24 (***½)
Super Junior Tag League 2021: El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori pinned Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi in 15:43 (***½)
We’re back at Korakuen Hall for some slightly-varied undercard matches before the tag league resumes.
Toru Yano, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Bullet Club (Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi & Jado)
A slight tweak in Yano’s team compared to yesterday then…
We’ve a jump start, because of course we do, before Yano and Owens started to pull at each other’s hair. Off comes a turnbuckle pad, but Yano doesn’t get to use it as things spill outside, with the guard rails coming into play. Back inside, Owens rakes Yano’s nose, before Jado stood on Yano in the ropes. Yujiro’s in to boot Yano in the corner, before Owens came in to mock the Yano thumb pose. Going into the corner leads to a clothesline from Owens for some two-counts, but another hair pull from Yano gets him free as Makabe made the tag in. Mounted punches await for Yujiro in the corner, then a Northern Lights suplex for a near-fall, before Yujiro bit back.
A leg sweep and a low dropkick have Makabe down, but a suplex has Yujiro on the back foot before Jado kicked Makabe in the ropes. There’s a hot shot too as Owens tagged back in, only to get charged through with a double clothesline as Honma came into the fray. Honma kicks away Owens, then hit a DDT/Flatliner combo with Jado, before he landed a pair of Kokeshi. Honma tries a leaping Kokeshi off the middle rope, but misses as Owens came back in with a knee strike, before a package piledriver was broken up by Yano. Jado tries to swing for Yan with a Kendo stick, but Owens just boots Yano into the ref before hitting a Yano-esque low blow and roll-up on Honma for the win. Pretty much what you expect, just without the I Quit taunting this time around. **¼
Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Satoshi Kojima vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi)
Spot the difference.
We’ve another jump start as the NEVER trios champions and their next challengers scramble outside, while Shingo grabbed a side headlock on Kojima. A missed back senton lets Kojima back away as Hirooki Goto and SANADA tagged in early on, criss-crossing in the ropes ahead of a hiptoss from Goto… who’s then low bridged to the outside. Returning to the ring, Goto gets some help from YOSHI-HASHI, then Tomohiro Ishii as they clubbed on SANADA’s back. Then Naito’s, before things settled down a little. YOSHI-HASHI tagged in to boot SANADA into the corner, before hanging him up in the ropes for a dropkick to the back that garnered a two-count.
Ishii’s in to deck SANADA with an elbow, before SANADA found a way back in with a low dropkick and a back suplex. BUSHI tags in and runs wild with enziguiris and DDTs, before crashing into Ishii with a tope suicida. That’s followed with a see-saw DDT onto the apron as Ishii took a rude landing before he was met with a Fisherman screw for a near-fall. Ishii fought back with an elbow, but BUSHI caught him unawares ahead of a low dropkick, before my feed dropped. Yay for buffering. We’re back with Naito whipping YOSHI-HASHI into the corner, before an elbow and a low dropkick led to a neckbreaker and some headscissors from Naito. The pair head up top next, with Naito getting pushed to the mat, but he returned with an enziguiri and a swinging DDT attempt… before eventually getting caught with a running Head Hunter.
Kojima’s back to hit Machine Gun chops on Naito, then SANADA, then Naito again, but things turn around sharpish as Naito tagged out to Shingo, who charged through Kojima with a shoulder block. A suplex followed for a two-count, before some triple-teaming led to a sliding lariat on Kojima for a near-fall. Shingo looks for Last of the Dragon on Kojima, but that sparked a Parade of Moves as the ring fills and empties. A Pumping Bomber’s shrugged off by Kojima, who quickly hauled up Shingo for a brainbuster that nearly won it, before a Cozy lariat was elbowed away. Finally, Shingo’s swivelling lariat took down Kojima, ahead of a Pumping Bomber for a near-fall… and much like when these two met at Dominion two years ago after Shingo’s graduation to heavyweight, it’s the Last of the Dragon that finally got the win. ***¼
Post-match, Ishii and BUSHI got in each other’s face, leading to Ishii ripping off BUSHI’s mask. Luckily, BUSHI’s second mask was still at ringside, so Shingo could grab it off the ring post, but instead BUSHI’s walking to the back with a Young Lion’s shirt over his head.
Super Junior Tag League 2021: Bullet Club (Gedo & Dick Togo) vs. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
This one may have some shenanigans…
Well, Desperado charged the ring to go for Dick Togo, but we don’t quite have a jump start, just the threat of one. Togo and Desperado actually start us off, with Desperado’s side headlock taking things to the corner as Kanemaru started to work over Togo’s arm. A slam and stomps keep Dick down, while Desperado hammerlocks Togo on the mat and wrenches back on the arm. Kanemaru’s back to whip Togo into the corner, then throw him into Desperado’s boot, but the double-teaming gets stopped as Gedo trips Kanemaru in the ropes, then held him as Togo stomped on Gedo’s ankle on the apron. From there, Despy’s thrown into the guard rails, while Gedo continued to target Kanemaru’s knee and ankle by wrapping it around the railings.
Back inside, Togo works over the knee and ankle of Kanemaru some more, dropping an elbow en route to a leg lock. Togo throws Kanemaru outside so Gedo could interfere some more, smashing a chair over Kanemaru’s knee in the railings, as the count-out tease culminated… in Kanemaru rolling back in, because of course it did. Gedo tags in for more stomps, before he and Togo drove Kanemaru’s knee into the mat, before Desperado accidentally knocked Gedo into an Indian deathlock on Kanemaru. Whoops. The working-over-Kanemaru’s-leg is starting to get a little tiresome at this stage, and finally Kanemaru’s able to make it over to tag in Desperado who shoots in for a roll-up and Numero Dos on Togo, who was able to scoot to the ropes in time.
Togo can’t even run the ropes after that as he fell to the mat, but found a way back up to poke Desperado in the eyes (good aim). Despy replies by stomping on his foot, before a crucifix pin from Togo drew a two-count. From the kickout, Despy’s rolled into a crossface, which Kanemaru eventually came in to break up, only to get kicked in his leg. After all that, Togo pulls up Desperado to hit a Pedigree… then went up top for a big back senton, only to land in Desperado’s knees. OW. and. OW. Gedo comes in to hit a chinbreaker, then poke Despy in the eyes, before he ran into a spinebuster. Kanemaru tags in, but his obvious knee is instantly targeted before he hit a dropkick to take Gedo down.
Kanemaru heads to the corner, presumably looking for Deep Impact, but Gedo backs off and baited Kanemaru into charging into the corner. A roll-up’s good for a near-fall, then again out of a reverse DDT, before a Gedo Clutch was blocked, with that scooping reverse DDT finally landing for a near-fall. From there, Kanemaru heads up for Deep Impact, but needed Desperado to get rid of Togo’s interference… Gedo drops to the mat and “accidentally” knees Kanemaru in the balls to give his own Deep Impact. A dropkick to the knee weakens Kanemaru some more, as a Figure Four leglock trapped Kanemaru in the middle of the ring. We’ve another ref bump as Desperado punches out Togo, but Gedo’s the legal man and is able to KO Despy with the brass knuckles… before Kanemaru hit back with a low blow. The ref gets back to his feet as Kanemaru finally hits Deep Impact, and that’s the win. This was pretty good, but there were some elements of New Japan’s match style impacting this – feeling a little long in the tooth, with perhaps a little too much repetition on the shenanigans by the end. ***¼
Super Junior Tag League 2021: Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) vs. Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask
After being told to retire by El Phantasmo last night, can Roppongi 3K start to show their former selves here?
SHO and Tiger Mask test each other out to start with, before a hammerlock from SHO ended in the ropes. YOH comes in to help out as Tiger Mask’s taken down, before he tagged in to land some forearms to the back. Arm wringers take Tiger Mask into the corner as SHO & YOH exchange quick tags, but Tiger Mask breaks free and catches YOH with a spin kick. Some mid kicks take YOH down, while Robbie Eagles tagged in to hit a running kick for a two-count on YOH. Elbows from YOH looked to offer a response, but Eagles goes to the knee to stop those, then tagged in Tiger Mask as the pair kicked out YOH’s legs to take him to the mat for some sandwiching low dropkicks.
More kicks from Tiger Mask are eventually countered with a Dragon screw before tags get us back to SHO and Eagles, who ping each other with elbows before Eagles went back to the knee. SHO responds with a shoulder charge as things remained even. Eagles rolls through a 450 splash that aimed at SHO’s knee, as the junior champ ends up taking a suplex seconds later that left both men rolling towards their corners. YOH tags in first, knocking Tiger Mask off the apron before a leaping forearm took down Eagles. Rolling through a sunset flip, YOH works spinning toe holds on Eagles en route to a Figure Four, before Eagles escaped and rolled out of a German suplex. He lands a dropkick to take YOH into the ropes, but SHO’s in with double leaping knees as the former junior tag champs rebounded.
Eagles countered a 3K into a swinging DDT, then cracked SHO with a spinning heel kick, before a Falcon arrow almost got YOH the win. From the kick-out, YOH ties up Eagles in a calf slicer that Tiger Mask quickly broke up, pulling YOH in for a Tiger Driver, allowing Eagles to return with an Asai DDT for a near-fall. From there, Eagles lands a springboard dropkick to the knee, but YOH cradles him for a near-fall… an elbow decks the Aussie, but YOH can’t follow through as he’s pulled into a Turbo Backpack for a near-fall. All that’s left is for Eagles to hit a thrust kick, a 450 splash to the knee, as a Ron Miller Special finally forced YOH to tap out. This was almost done at a sprint pace, with some good stuff between the two teams, but the story coming out of it seems to be “is Roppongi 3K past their best as a team”? ***½
Super Junior Tag League 2021: Team 6 or 9 (Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato) vs. Bullet Club (El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori)
Taguchi and Wato get separate entrances for some reason…
Before the match, ELP willingly takes off his boot to prove to Taguchi that it wasn’t loaded or anything. Well, except for the piece of paper that said “fuck u Taguchi” on it…
We get going with Taguchi feinting hip attacks, eventually spinning into the path of a side headlock before he forced Ishimori to run the ropes. Ishimori puts on the brakes and stomps Taguchi, before the Bullet Club were taken outside for some faked-out dives. Taguchi goes back to the Attitude era with some crotch chops, leaving referee Red Shoes Unno to shake his head in disgust. I agree. Phantasmo and Ishimori tease a walk-out, but return to the ring as we get Wato and ELP on the mat. Wato tries for some headscissors, but ELP cartwheels free, before we got some lucha roll throughs and leap overs ahead of another evaded ‘rana from the Canadian. Ahaha, the crowd claps for ELP’s squat-walks but not Wato’s…
Ishimori tags back in to roll Wato down for a neck crank, which gets a two-count, before Phantasmo’s cover from a stalling suplex was quickly broken up by Taguchi. Quick tags keep Wato isolated as Phantasmo actually didn’t fake out a dropkick into the corner, as Wato was held in a Tree of Woe. Eventually Wato tried to fight back, ducking a clothesline before landing a leg lariat to an onrushing Ishimori, as ELP came in and failed to stop Wato from tagging out. Taguchi’s in with hip attacks in the ropes, before he leapt into an atomic drop from Ishimori… who then out-faked the fake-out, only to take the hip attack anyway. Pulling ahead, Taguchi sets up for a Bummer Ye, but fakes it out as the pair swap pinning attempts, with Taguchi sitting down on Ishimori for a near-fall.
A handspring enziguiri took Taguchi down as he couldn’t decide whether to avoid or counter it. Wato’s in with a tornillo to ELP on the outside, throwing him back inside for a springboard uppercut that drew a near-fall, before he countered a CR2 with a jack-knife cover for a near-fall. Wato’s kick to the back nearly puts Phantasmo away, but the Bullet Club combine to trap Wato in the corner with double knees, ahead of an elevated Codebreaker and a moonsault. That gets Ishimori a near-fall, while Phantasmo dropped Wato with a flying knee-assisted whirlibird neckbreaker as the tag champions continued to push ahead. There’s a miscommunication from them though, which leads to Taguchi throwing Ishimori outside, before a Wato roll-up and some kicks left ELP prone for Recientemente, which again gets a near-fall.
Wato heads up top, but whiffs on RPP, before ELP returned with a head kick and CR2 to get the win. Perhaps a little more challenging than the champions would have wanted, but they leave Korakuen with two wins from two, in spite of the Sudden Death not being a factor here. ***½
After the main event, ELP tells everyone to get vaccinated, then offered his t-shirt to Milano Collection AT. Except commentators aren’t allowed past the guard barriers, so instead Phantasmo invited new Young Lion Yuto Nakashima into the ring… and punched him in the balls to close the night out.
Your Super Junior Tag League 2021 standings after the second round – and we’re dealing with 100% or 0% records.
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru; El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori; Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask – 2-0; 4pts
Gedo & Dick Togo; Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato; SHO & YOH – 0-2; 0pts
We’re back tomorrow for another shot in Korakuen Hall, headlined by Taguchi & Wato vs. Roppongi 3K in the last Super Junior Tag League match for now…
A slight step up from yesterday’s line-up, but it’s safe to say that you can definitely avoid the undercard tags on this Korakuen run, as it’s just slight tweaks to the line-ups. Stick to the tag league, and even then, you’re likely picking and choosing these days.