It’s back to Kagoshima as Kota Ibushi returned to action for the first time since he lost the IWGP title earlier this month.
Quick Results
BUSHI & SANADA pinned Yuya Uemura & Yota Tsuji in 8:28 (**¾)
El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Minoru Suzuki submitted Tiger Mask, SHO & YOH in 9:15 (**¾)
Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado was a no-contest (NR)
Toru Yano, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato pinned Dick Togo, EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori in 10:07 (**¼)
Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito pinned Great-O-Khan & Will Ospreay in 21:51 (***¼)
Kota Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned Aaron Henare & Jeff Cobb in 17:03 (***¼)
We’re back the Nishihara Shokai Arena in Kagoshima…
Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA & BUSHI)
We’ve a change in pace here to start as we go back to the “stars vs. Young Lions” opener…
SANADA and Uemura start, as SANADA countered a hammerlock by taking Uemura to the mat. A counter from Uemura’s stopped as the pair eventually reset, before Uemura pulled ahead with a series of armdrags and dropkicks. Tsuji’s in to hit the Mount Tsuji splash for a two-count, then a suplex… but SANADA slips free and returned with a dropkick to the knee.
BUSHI tags in and takes Tsuji to the corner, dropkicking the leg for a two-count, before SANADA continued the focus on that left knee. A half crab from BUSHI keeps it going, but Tsuji manages to break free and get the hot tag out to Uemura, who elbowed BUSHI down before taking him into the corner.
A hiptoss is good for a two-count as Uemura transitioned into a cross armbar, while Tsuji speared away SANADA’s save. Uemura ties up a leg too, but BUSHI still gets to the rope, before he replied with a dropkick and a DDT. It’s enough for a two-count, with Tsuji making the save and getting dumped to the outside as Uemura keeps trying for flash pins, only to get caught with a Fisherman screw for a near-fall before BUSHI busted out Terrible for the win. This was solid enough for the opener, with BUSHI getting a win – and his finish – but there doesn’t appear to be any Best of the Super Junior tour on the horizon anytime soon… perhaps they’re delaying it and mixing it with World Tag League again? **¾
Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) & Tiger Mask vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
They’re coming out to YOH’s, erm, nondescript theme, shall we say? It’s because we’ve got YOH vs. Desperado for the singles junior title next week, so that tag team’s on the back burner I guess…
We’ve a jump start as Desperado attacked YOH before the bell… while Kanemaru and SHO stayed in the ring to trade barbs. A mid kick barely gets SHO a two-count, but his momentum’s quickly stopped as Suzuki pulls him into a hanging armbar in the ropes. Trips to the guard rails follow as the match spills outside, keeping SHO firmly on the defensive as his arm was targeted.
Suzuki tagged in to throw some derisive kicks, following up with an armbar before SHO fought free of a PK and tried a spear. Which got caught and turned into a front chancery that SHO needed to suplex free of. YOH comes in to clear house with dropkicks, before a neckbreaker took down Desperado ahead of a missile dropkick for a near-fall.
YOH keeps going with a Titanic for a near-fall, only for Desperado to come right back with a spinebuster. A tag brings in Tiger Mask to hit a crossbody off the top, then a tiltawhirl backbreaker for a two-count, before SHO helped set up for a Tiger Driver that gets a near-fall. The ring fills, then empties, as Desperado looked for Pinche Loco, but instead a thrust kick from YOH allows Tiger Mask to hit a crucifix that rolls into an armbar… but Desperado breaks in the ropes.
From there, Kanemaru helps with a dropkick to the knee before Desperado trapped Tiger Mask in a Dragon screw, then the Numero Dos, pulling him away from the ropes for the eventual submission. Desperado leaves on top as we have just one more (streaming) warm-up match before the junior title defence on Tuesday. **¾
Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI) vs. Bullet Club (Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) & Jado)
This match. This goddamn match. They’ve run this on EVERY NIGHT of this tour, save for that Korakuen show with the three singles matches.
We’ve a failed jump start as the Suzuki-gun team came out of the “losers exit” instead of the main walkway as we have a scrap before the bell. Tama’s choked by Taichi in and out of the ring while the referee seemed to injure his knee after being chucked aside by Taichi.
Not to worry, Sabre stretches Tanga Loa in the ring, before Jado’s Kendo stick broke up the Octopus stretch. Here’s DOUKI’s pipe, breaking that up before he was stopped with a ladder from Tama Tonga. The referee, Kenta Sato, comes in to try and break up a ladder war, but just gets sandwiched with them as Taichi then drops a ladder on Tama Tonga from atop another ladder.
Of course, Tama rolled away. He charges Taichi into the corner, then chucked a ladder at Taichi… and that’s enough for the referee to wave this off as a no-contest. I don’t think the opening bell even rang, so this was more of an angle than a match, as they finish the build for Monday’s singles matches with Zack Sabre Jr. walking the dog, taking Tanga Loa to the back in an ankle lock.
It’s off to the interval as Kenta Sato’s helped to the back, having taken a beating in that one…
Bullet Club (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori & Dick Togo) vs. Toru Yano, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato
Yep, it’s our favourite “after the match” re-run!
Tenzan and Yujiro start this one, because why the hell not? Side headlocks and biting are all the rage here, before Tenzan charges down Yujiro. Mongolian chops follow, before Master Wato came in to land a mid kick for a two-count. Yujiro sweeps the leg and lands a low dropkick to Wato, as Ishimori gets a tag in.
Wato finds a way through with kicks as we buffer… returning with Wato being chucked into an exposed corner as all hell breaks loose on the floor. Wato’s charged into the guard rails by commentary, while EVIL chokes out Yano with a chair. Back inside, Dick Togo punches away Wato’s sunset flip attempt, then hits a fist drop for a two-count, while a slam from Yujiro nearly ends the match.
EVIL’s in to try the same trick, before he accidentally knocked Togo off the apron, then turned around into a roundhouse kick from Wato. Taguchi tags in to go wild with hip attacks, but EVIL just sidesteps one to end that charge… only for Taguchi to respond with the Three Amigos.
From there, Taguchi dives in with a Bummer-Ye for a near-fall, before Yano returned to pull out the blindfold again. EVIL gets hold of it and puts it on Yano ahead of some back sentons that nearly got Togo the win… from there, we’ve a ref bump and our usual bullshit leading into the Parade of Moves, with a low blow from Yano leading to a roll-up on Togo for the win. Afterwards, the Bullet Club crew complained about the cheating, which is a special kind of irony… **¼
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) vs. United Empire (Will Ospreay & Great-O-Khan)
We’ve got Ospreay/Shingo on Tuesday (and for some reason, that feels really cold, at least on my timeline…), so here’s the obligatory tag!
Ospreay and Shingo start, but they soak in the crowd at the bell as the opening flurries saw Ospeay get a little too ahead of himself. An exchange of elbows leads to Shingo knocking down Ospreay, only for him to pop back up and eventually kick Shingo into the ropes. Tags take us to O-Khan and Naito, which led to O-Khan being on the defensive for a spell… until Ospreay ran in with a corner enziguiri from the apron as the match proceeded to spill to the floor.
Ospreay bites at Shingo’s ear on the floor for… reasons. Back inside, Ospreay tags in to kick away on Shingo, before O-Khan returned to take a seat on Shingo in the corner. A leaping knee drop gets Ospreay a two-count, before Shingo fired up and faked his way into a DDT on Ospreay.
O-Khan tags in and gets lariat’d for his troubles, with Naito coming in to try and force a way through. A back elbow and dropkick has O-Khan in the corner for Combinacion Cabron, before a neckbreaker frew a two-count. Naito tries to choke out O-Khan with the braid, before O-Khan struck back with a Stroke. Someone watched his Jeff Jarrett tapes…
Taking Naito to the corner, O-Khan lands more Mongolian chops as a Tree of Woe and a baseball slide looked to follow… but Naito avoids the kick, only to get pulled down for a facebuster. Mongolian chops wear down Naito, who counters an elevated Flatliner into a DDT, following up with a top rope ‘rana for a near-fall as Ospreay broke up the count.
Shingo takes care of Ospreay on the outside as O-Khan elbows away from Destino, then came back in with a standing neck crank. Naito got free and returned with a single-leg dropkick as tags get us back to Ospreay and Shingo, who turn up the pace with shoulder charges and suplexes, before a series of jabs caught Ospreay in the corner. A turnaround sees Ospreay kick Shingo into a Tree of Woe for a stalling dropkick, before Shingo’s sliding lariat was ducked.
Ospreay has to flip out of a German suplex counter to his handspring as I buffer. We’re back with Shingo in a head-and-arm choke on the mat at the hands of O-Khan, which needed Naito to break it up. Ospreay takes care of him and kicks Shingo as we get another two-count, before the standing neck crank submission gets broken up as Naito tries to run in. That sparks a Parade of Moves, with Ospreay’s handspring enziguiri catching Shingo, only for Ospreay to get caught with a sliding lariat as all four men were left laying.
O-Khan’s up to his feet first, but he’s caught by Naito as Shingo’s Pumping Bomber takes Ospreay to the floor… before clotheslines wore out O-Khan ahead of a Pumping Bomber and a Last of the Dragon for the win. This was fine, but with some of the buffering I just couldn’t get into this one for large spells, with that final stretch helping get me out of that funk. ***¼
Post-match, Ospreay elbows Shingo but gets nailed with a Last of the Dragon as Shingo’d slipped out of a Storm Breaker…
United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare) vs. Kota Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi
This was Ibushi’s return after losing the IWGP title at Sakura Genesis – a hometown return, just without the hardware…
Tanahashi doesn’t even get to do his slow-reveal of the six-pack as Ibushi wanted to charge at Cobb… and so he does as those two fire off elbows to start before a diving kick took down Cobb. Early buffering slows down a double-team elbow drop from Ibushi and Tanahashi, before Ibushi began to work over Cobb’s arm.
On the outside, Henare targeted his former World Tag League partner Tanahashi, while Cobb clubbered away on Ibushi for an early two-count. Henare tags in to headbutt Ibushi, but Kota dropkicks back as Tanahashi got a tag in to clear house with forearms. A Dragon screw trapped Cobb in the ropes, allowing Tanahashi to hit a flip senton out of the corner to Henare for a two-count.
Henare’s back as he suplexes Tanahashi out of the corner for a two-count, as the Empire pairing began to pull ahead. Cobb pulls Tanahashi into a backbreaker, then used him for a spot of air guitar, before Henare looked to work over Tanahashi’s forever-injured knee. A heel hook focuses that attack a little more, before going back to last year with a Dragon screw on Tanahashi.
Cobb’s back with headbutts, before Henare ran in to knock Ibushi off the apron as the Empire looked to keep Tanahashi on his lonesome. Tanahashi counters a Cobb suplex into a Twist and Shout neckbreaker, then finally made the tag out as Ibushi looked to run wild on Cobb again. Henare kicks Ibushi in the ropes to quickly stop that, but the double overhead kick has Ibushi back ahead… at least until he’s ragdolled with an overhead belly-to-belly by Cobb.
A running backdrop suplex gives Cobb a two-count, before Ibushi escaped a Tour of the Islands and began to trade kicks. A head kick downs Cobb, before Tanahashi tagged in and ran into a Spin Cycle. Henare’s back with a PK for a two-count on Tanahashi, before the rugby tackle adds another near-fall, as Tanahashi then countered a Streets of Rage into a Slingblade.
Cobb tries to hit back with a stacked-up Samoan drop, but he’s taken to the outside as Tanahashi and Ibushi keep their focus on Henare, who fought them off with elbows before running into a Busaiku knee. Tanahashi’s Slingblade followed, before an Ace’s High crossbody from Tanahashi and a Kamigoye from Ibushi got the win. A solid main event, but not spectacular, which may as well have been a big flashing arrow to tell us we’re getting Cobb vs. Ibushi – likely at one of the stadium shows. That’s got the potential to be a huge show-stealer, if they keep it light on the bullshit… ***¼
There’s two more stops on the Road to Wrestling Dontaku – but neither of these are streaming… so we’ll be back on Monday for the first night of Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka, featuring Jay White’s return as he challenges Hiroshi Tanahashi for the NEVER title… plus the Tama Tonga vs. Taichi ladder match and Tanga Loa vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Much like yesterday, this was a consistent card with little in the way of high spells as this card was all about building up to Dontaku in Fukuoka next week. If you’ve only got time to watch one of the two shows, yesterday’s just about edged it for me…