This year’s Super Jr. Tag Team tournament winners have been crowned.
TMDK members Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita won this year’s tournament, defeating TJP and Francesco Akira to win for the first time. After a hot series of back-and-forth action, Eagles cradled TJP to score the win for his team.
After the match, TMDK cut a promo with Fujita saying they had proven themselves with this tournament win. They then called out the current IWGP Junior Tag Team champions, Kevin Knight and KUSHIDA, saying they had the right to challenge for Wrestle Kingdom 19. Knight and KUSHIDA accepted TMDK’s challenge but also wanted TJP and Akira in the title match.
A three-way was seemingly set for January 4 at the Tokyo Dome when Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney came out and took everyone out with steel chairs. They said they have dominated the division and expressed their own interest in the title match for Wrestle Kingdom.
Eagles and Fujita advanced to the finals after winning the A Block. Akira and TJP advanced to the finals over KUSHIDA and Knight in the B Block after securing the tiebreaker win by defeating the champions during the tournament.
Hiromu Takahashi & SANADA (Los Ingobernables de Japon) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata
This was generally uneventful, with nothing special about it.
Takahashi and Taguchi opened the match with typical lockups. As Taguchi gained control over Takahashi, he traded tags with Nagata, who helped maintain their lead. Takahashi eventually earned a breather after sidestepping an aerial move. This allowed him to take the match to the outside, where he gained control for the first time.
SANADA, now legal, placed Taguchi in the paradise lock before tagging Takahashi back into the match. Taguchi immediately stuffed Takahashi’s attempt at offense, leading to a hip attack and double tag.
SANADA and Nagata traded blows before aid from Takahashi allowed SANADA to hit a TKO. Taguchi broke up the pin. Following the breakup, Nagata locked in a cross face and maintained control even after SANADA escaped.
This lasted until Nagata worked SANADA into the ropes, leading to an unexpected SANADA favored bridging pin, from which Nagata did not escape.
This wasn’t great. It was structurally uninteresting and character-wise, only the interactions between SHO and his former faction mates held water.
This match opened with a brawl between the teams. In the ring, CHAOS members worked through SHO before turning their attention to their other opponents; the focused attack on SHO continued after order was restored.
The match broke down into an outside brawl again. This time, Bullet Club emerged with control. EVIL lost his team’s lead after Ishii landed a backdrop and secured the tag to Goto, but Bullet Club soon recaptured momentum with underhanded tactics.
CHOAS, with a rally lead by Wato, recaptured control late into the match. Wato lost the lead after SHO, not the legal man, pushed him from the top rope. Togo then provided the distraction for Takahashi to land a cane strike followed by pimp juice. Takahashi then pinned Wato to close this one.
Another brawl broke out post-match. Bullet club stood tall in the end.
Following some typical antics, Yano opened the match with control. This lasted through one coup attempt, but the second left Khan in a favorable position. From this point on, Honma and Yano struggled to land anything substantial.
Henare stuffed out the last babyface rally before hitting Streets of Rage, winning for his team.
This match had moments of excitement and did a fine job building interest in the title match at Power Struggle, even if the finish fell flat.
Makabe ran through Gedo and KENTA in their first attempt at offense, but KENTA interfered from the outside, cementing a lead for his team. Only after a hot tag did the babyfaces regain any advantage.
Tanahashi landed dragon screws on both his opponents but dealing with two men proved to be too much. The referee caught Gedo with brass knuckles, providing KENTA with an opening for a chair shot, which he missed. With Makabe’s help, Tanahashi was in control again.
As Tanahashi went to lock in the Texas Cloverleaf, KENTA hit the ring with the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. He hit Tanahashi over the head, leading to the disqualification.
KENTA left with the belt in hand.
Jado, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (Bullet Club) defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Kazuchika Okada & Satoshi Kojima
This was a Bullet Club match.
The match opened with a brawl. The action returned to the ring for a moment, but another brawl broke out almost as soon as the first ended. Okada and Tonga had an intense offensive sequence after order returned, with Tonga getting the better of Okada before the double tag.
Loa lost control to Kojima, but a shot from a cane allowed Bullet Club to maintain momentum. Tonga ran through all the opposition before Loa hit a driver on Kojima, leading to a Bullet Club victory.
DOUKI & Zack Sabre Jr. (Suzuki-gun) defeated BUSHI & Shingo Takagi (Los Ingobernables de Japon)
This was a good seller for the upcoming world title match. It played off the expected dynamics of the pairing, but that’s far from a bad thing.
ZSJ and Takagi opened the match with a sequence showcasing the pair’s equality. After the DOUKI and BUSHI tagged in, the match broke down. ZSJ and Takagi continued their fight outside of the ring. ZSJ won the battle on the outside. As the pair regained legality, Takagi got the better of ZSJ between the ropes.
ZSJ eventually took the match to the mat, working over Takagi’s arm. Even with ZSJ’s focus, Takagi was able to land big offensive blows from an unfavorable position. With a BUSHI assist, LIJ scored a near fall.
ZSJ caught BUSHI with a submission that Takagi was forced to break up. DOUKI was able to fend off Takagi long enough following a beautiful dive for ZSJ to hit the Zack driver, leading to a pinfall.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: Flying Tiger (Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask) defeated El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-gun) to win the titles
In the end, this was a feel-good match. While not perfect, it was structurally sound and entertaining bell to bell.
Together, Tiger Mask and Eagles resisted early underhandedness from the champions but could not keep up as the match spilled outside the ring. Desperado and Manemaru took turns working over the leg of Tiger Mask once action returned to the ring.
Tiger Mask finally escaped opposition control and tagged in Eagles, leading to Eagles favored offense. A rake to the eyes from Desperado initiated a two-way struggle, leading to a double tag.
Tiger Mask sold his leg, even as he climbed to the top rope and delivered a piledriver. Tiger Mask gained control of Kanemaru’s arms on the mat, forcing a breakup from Desperado. Kanemaru was able to take advantage of the separation this provided to return his attention to the leg of Tiger Mask. Tiger Mask managed to endure a significant amount of time in submission and kick out of a moonsault.
Tiger Mask landed a tiger driver from left field, allowing him to tag in Eagles.
Eagles put Kanemaru through his whole menu of moves before locking in the Ron Miller Special. Kanemaru submitted to the hold, resulting in new champions.
An IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag title defense headlines the NJPW Road to The New Beginning tour.
On the January 23 event in Tokyo, El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru will defend the Jr. Tag titles against Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo.
The Road to The New Beginning tour kicks off on Sunday, January 17. That show starts off a stretch of 15 shows in 26 days for NJPW. Lineups for The New Beginning in Nagoya and both nights of The New Beginning in Hiroshima were also announced today.
Road to The New Beginning events on January 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, and 25 will be aired live with English commentary on NJPW World. No broadcast schedule has been announced for February’s events.
Here are the full lineups for The New Beginning tour:
Sunday, January 17, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World
Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. SHO & Master Wato
Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma vs. SANADA, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito
Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo
Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI vs. Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo, Gedo & Jado
Will Ospreay & Great-O-Khan vs. Satoshi Kojima & Yota Tsuji
Monday, January 18, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
Kota Ibushi, Tomoaki Honma & SHO vs. SANADA, Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi
Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo
Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI vs. Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo, Gedo & Jado
Will Ospreay & Great-O-Khan vs. Satoshi Kojima & Yuya Uemura
Tuesday, January 19, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World
El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru are the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.
The Suzuki-gun team defeated Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI in the main event of today’s New Japan Road event in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall to claim the vacant titles.
After a low blow and a whiskey bottle shot from Kanemaru, Desperado hit Pinche Loco on Takahashi for a near fall. Desperado followed up with a straight right hand and a second Pinche Loco before pinning Takahashi to win the titles.
The is the second IWGP Junior Tag Team Title reign for Desperado and Kanemaru.
Former champions SHO and YOH were forced to relinquish the titles after YOH suffered a knee injury, resulting in a four team, league-style tournament to determine the new champions.
Kanemaru and Desperado’s team and Takahashi and BUSHI both finished the tournament 2-1 to set up today’s final. The teams of Taiji Ishimori/Gedo and Master Wato/Ryusuke Taguchi both finished 1-2.
New Japan’s final show before the G1 Climax tournament was held in Korakuen Hall and headlined by the two title matches, as Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI faced El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru to crown the vacant IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag team championships.
Uemura and Nagata started off hot right out of the blocks, battling with stiff strikes before Nagata took advantage with a knee lift. Kojima and Honma each tagged in and continued the beatdown.
After a few failed comeback attempts, Uemura hit a dropkick on Honma to buy enough time for a tag to Tsuji, who ran wild and hit a running splash for a near fall. He couldn’t apply the Boston crab though, and Honma hit a diving Kokeshi.
With Kojima and Kidd in now, Kojima hit machine gun chops on all three Young Lions in the corner. The three fought back with stereo dropkicks and Kidd locked on the crab before Kojima reached the ropes.
Kidd attempted a butterfly suplex, but Kojima turned it into the Koji Cutter, followed by the lariat for the pin.
Suzuki-gun attacked before the bell and brawled. After the smoke cleared, Wato and DOUKI remained the legal competitors and they performed a nice sequence of lucha libre before Wato was sent into the barricade.
Outside, Suzuki-gun all beat down Wato, capped off with DOUKI choking Wato with his pipe. Ibushi and Suzuki tagged in, but when Ibushi attempted his striking combination, Suzuki stood right up out of the moonsault attempt.
The two absolutely killed each other with strikes. Suzuki locked on the rear naked choke, but Ibushi powered out of the Gotch piledriver before both men hit big strikes for a double down.
Sabre and Tanahashi tagged in and both went for cobra twists followed by a cradle battle. Tanahashi attempted the slingblade, but Sabre turned it into an octopus hold. The two then performed each other’s moves, as Tanahashi attempted an octopus of his own and Sabre hit a dragon screw which allowed him to tag Taichi.
Tanahashi escaped to tag Taguchi, who hit bum-aye and applied the ankle lock. Taichi escaped from the Dodon attempt and hit a buzzsaw kick, but Taguchi fought out of the Last Ride.
Taguchi went for a hip attack, but Taichi ended it with a backdrop driver and the stretch muffler.
Post-match, Suzuki and Taichi faced off, as they’re in the same block for the G1. This was a better-than-usual Suzuki-gun tag match, as they previewed the various G1 matchups well.
Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, & SANADA defeated EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, & Dick Togo (10:03)
This match was meant to be a showcase for Yujiro ahead of his appearance in the G1. Bullet Club attacked before the bell. Naito took the fight to EVIL, but Togo interfered and they all brawled outside.
Back in, there was a long heat segment on Naito as all three Bullet Club members beat him down. Eventually, a jumping forearm bought Naito enough time to tag in Shingo.
Shingo performed a striking sequence on Yujiro, who fought out of a suplex attempt with a bite. The tables were turned when Shingo did the same thing, but Yujiro hit a fisherman’s suplex for a near fall.
Yujiro set up for Pimp Juice, but Shingo escaped and hit a Pumping Bomber followed by the tag to SANADA. Yujiro distracted the referee as EVIL and Togo attempted a Magic Killer, EVIL and SANADA’s old finisher, onto a chair, but Shingo broke it up.
LIJ took turns beating down Togo, concluding with SANADA’s TKO and Skull End for the submission victory.
**********
G1 Climax card announcement
Each show will have the five block matches and just one undercard match. Here are the main events for each show:
Day 1 – Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi
Day 2 – Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Day 3 – Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White
Day 4 – Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Day 5 – Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White
Day 6 – Tetsuya Naito vs. Hirooki Goto
Day 7 – Shingo Takagi vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Day 8 – Tetsuya Naito vs. SANADA
Day 9 – Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay
Day 10 – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
Day 11 – Kota Ibushi vs. Shingo Takagi
Day 12 – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL
Day 13 – Kazuchika Okada vs. Shingo Takagi
Day 14 – Tetsuya Naito vs. EVIL
Day 15 – Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Day 16 – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA
As usual, the match order for the final nights of block action wasn’t announced.
Day 17 (Block A Final):
Kota Ibushi vs. Taichi
Jeff Cobb vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
Jay White vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Minoru Suzuki vs. Shingo Takagi
Day 18 (Block B Final):
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Hirooki Goto vs. Juice Robinson
Toru Yano vs. YOSHI-HASHI
Tetsuya Naito vs. KENTA
EVIL vs. SANADA
*****Intermission*****
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships: Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, & YOSHI-HASHI (c) defeated Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, & SHO (19:30)
Ishii attacked SHO before the bell, but SHO fought back into the ground mount. Goto and Yano tagged in, and the latter immediately attempted to tear off a turnbuckle pad. Yano tried to stand up to Goto, but eventually decided that was the wrong decision and went back for the turnbuckle.
Okada and YOSHI-HASHI tagged in. They locked up before Okada performed his “clean break” spot. YOSHI-HASHI fought out of a headlock and hit some chops followed by the Headhunter.
SHO came in to assist Okada, but was distracted by Ishii as they brawled outside. Okada sent YOSHI-HASHI into the barricade. Back in, Okada tagged SHO, and the challengers isolated YOSHI-HASHI in the corner. SHO and Ishii would brawl when SHO wasn’t actively involved in the match.
An enzuigiri allowed YOSHI-HASHI to reach Goto for the hot tag. He hit a corner clothesline and a bulldog before sending Yano into the exposed turnbuckle. Yano tagged in Okada.
Goto attempted a lariat, but Okada turned into his modified cobra clutch. Goto fought out and hit a lariat before tagging in Ishii, who beat down Okada with chops and forearms. An Okada flapjack provided enough time to tag in SHO.
SHO attacked with strikes, before Ishii fired up and they had a forearm battle. SHO turned a brainbuster attempt into a kimura and hit a brainbuster of his own. Ishii snapped and forced SHO into the corner with throat chops. SHO fought out, but Ishii hit a pounce and a powerbomb for a near fall.
Yano attempted to assist SHO, but Ishii moved out of the way and SHO hit his partner. There was a parade of moves, and Goto and YOSHI-HASHI hit a ushigoroshi meteora combination before Okada came in to hit his drop kick. SHO hit a deadlift German suplex for two and locked on the cross armbreaker.
Ishii made it to the ropes, but SHO hit the Shock Arrow for a great near fall. A second Shock Arrow attempt was broken up by YOSHI-HASHI, and he and Goto hit the GYR (an assisted GTR). Ishii went for a lariat, but SHO hit another German suplex.
Ishii went for the brainbuster, but SHO turned it into the armbar before transitioning into a triangle. Ishii fought out of the Shock Arrow once again with a clunking headbutt followed by the sliding lariat. From there, the vertical drop brainbuster finished off SHO and the champions retained.
This was a very good championship match. It wasn’t quite on the level of their excellent first match to crown the vacant titles, but the final 6-7 minutes were fast-paced and hard-hitting. As expected, SHO stood out as a star.
Post-match, Ishii helped up SHO, and the challengers held up the champions’ hands in victory. CHAOS remains united.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI (16:59)
Hiromu and BUSHI hit a double team move right away. BUSHI choked Kanemaru with his shirt and tagged in Hiromu. Suzuki-gun took advantage when Hiromu was sent to the floor, where Kanemaru hit a running dropkick.
Back inside, Suzuki-gun performed frequent tags and double team moves on Hiromu during a heat segment that lasted well over five minutes. After a lengthy beatdown, Hiromu eventually hit a dragon screw and escaped to tag in BUSHI.
BUSHI hit a diving dropkick on both of his opponents, but his suicide dive attempt was stopped by Desperado, who tagged in. BUSHI fought out of a beatdown with a hurricanrana and reached Hiromu for the tag.
Hiromu ran wild on Desperado with lariats and a shotgun dropkick. Another lariat attempt was stopped by Kanemaru, and Desperado took advantage with a spear. He went for Pinche Loco but BUSHI stopped it with a reverse enzuigiri. Hiromu and BUSHI then hit a combination sunset flip and German suplex.
Kanemaru attempted to get involved, but he was sent outside and met with a suicide dive from BUSHI. Desperado rolled Hiromu up with his El Es Culero cradle, but Hiromu kicked out in a good near fall. The dynamite plunger and a combination suplex and powerbomb each got two.
Hiromu and BUSHI hit their tag finisher, but Kanemaru pulled the official out of the ring and hit Hiromu with the whiskey bottle. Desperado hit Hiromu with the Pinche Loco, but BUSHI broke up the pin. Desperado hit his closed-fist punch and a second Pinche Loco to win the championships.
This was a good main event. In fact, it was probably the best match of the short tournament, but I feel like they could have done even better. When half the match is a long heat segment and there’s a ref bump at the finish, it limits the match’s ceiling.
Final Thoughts
New Japan’s final show before the G1 Climax was a success. The main goals of the show were sorting out the undercard title pictures and hyping the G1, and both of those goals were accomplished. If you’re strapped for time, the two championship matches are worth checking out.
Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI
Report —
Makuhari Messe International Conference Hall 3 in Chiba was the venue for today’s show.
Yuji Nagata defeated Yuya Uemura (8:46)
This was a very good, technically sound opener.
Nagata used a headlock takeover. Uemura used a headscissors escape. Nagata went to work on Uemura’s left arm, setting him up for a Nagata Lock later. Nagata hit some big kicks.
Uemura made a comeback with strikes and a double underhook belly-to-belly. Uemura hit a hard slap to the neck and a series of slaps to the face. Nagata fired up after the slaps.
Nagata hit a big mid kick, an exploder, then used the Nagata Lock II for the submission.
Ishii and SHO began with an awesome exchange. They were the highlight of the match. I would liken the rest of this to a fun house show match.
SHO called in his teammates and they went after Ishii. Yano exposed a buckle and did some comedy spots. Ishii tagged Kidd who got cut off. Kidd did some spots with Okada. Okada hit a slingshot senton.
Kidd managed to tag Goto. Goto and Okada had a sequence that ended with a lariat from Goto. YH tagged in and hit Okada with a running chop, a thrust kick and a headhunter. Okada hit an air raid crash and tagged Tsuji.
Tsuji and YH were in for the finish. Tsuji got a near fall off a spear. YH used a bunker buster for a two count, then locked on the butterfly lock for the submission.
**********
Ishii and SHO went after each other after the match. The traded forearms. Okada broke it up and went after Ishii.
Kidd tried to jump in and Ishii knocked him down with forearms. Clearly SHO and Ishii is a future direction.
**********
Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma (14:05)
Suzuki-gun attacked before the opening bell. Tanahashi was quickly cut off and Suzuki-gun took turns working him over for the first several minutes.
Tanahashi hit a twist and shout on Taichi and tagged Ibushi. Ibushi cleared the Suzuki-gun apron and hit a high kick and standing moonsault for a two count. Ibushi and Taichi traded kicks. They hit simultaneous high kicks into a double down.
Kojima and Sabre got tags. Kojima hit machine gun chops. Sabre cut him off before he could hit a top rope elbow and used a kimura. Sabre continued to attack Kojima’s left arm. Sabre hit a northern lights suplex and transitioned to an armbar on landing. Kojima forced a break. Kojima hit a cutter into a double down.
Honma and Sabre did battle. Honma fought off a double team from DOUKI and used a brainbuster on Sabre for a two count. Honma missed a kokeshi. Sabre locked on a triangle. Ibushi made the save. Taichi took out Ibushi.
It was still Sabre and Honma in for the finish. Honma hit a headbutt. Tana jumped in for a slingblade. Honma used a diving kokeshi for a two count. Sabre blocked a brainbuster and used an octopus hold for the submission.
Poor DOUKI. As Sabre had Honma in the octopus, DOUKI went for a dive off the post onto the other four guys and the match and Kidd who was serving as a ringside attendant. DOUKI missed everyone and landed right on his butt on the floor. No one ever catches that guy.
Bullet Club attacked LIJ as they made their way into the ring. Jado stole Naito’s ring jacket.
Naito managed a tag to Shingo. Naito and Shingo doubled up on EVIL. Naito and SANADA then double-teamed EVIL. SANADA hit a dropkick for a two count.
EVIL grabbed the ref. Jado hit SANADA with a kendo stick from the floor. Yujiro and Jado double-teamed SANADA.
Jado hit a lariat and a draping DDT. The list of people I would take a draping DDT from would not include Jado at this point in his career.
EVIL exposed a buckle and sent Naito into it. Shingo hit EVIL with a lariat. Yujiro threw Shingo outside. Yujiro took the ref. Jado tried a kendo stick shot but SANADA blocked and used an O’Connor roll into a bridge for the pin.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag title tournament match: El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Taiji Ishimori & Gedo (16:49)
I find heel vs. heel brawls oddly satisfying as a change of pace, maybe because we see them so rarely and I enjoy the comedy. The match was too long but entertaining.
These two teams of horrible characters used every trick in the book to cheat and broke every rule in the book in an effort to get their two points.
Bullet Club exposed a buckle in their corner and sent Desperado into it. Ishimori and Gedo worked Desperado over with eye gouging, belt whips and every heel trick imaginable.
Desperado managed a tag and Kanemaru entered. Kanemaru went after Gedo’s left knee. Kanemaru tried Deep Impact but Gedo got his foot up so Kanemaru jumped off the second rope into a low blow.
The timekeeper was confused by the low blow and rang the bell soon after but the match continued.
Ishimori and Desperado tagged in. Desperado escaped a Yes Lock and blocked a Bloody Cross attempt. Gedo got a tag and hit Despy with a thrust kick for a two count.
Desperado twice grabbed the ref and tried to low blow Gedo but Gedo blocked both times. Everyone hit a lariat. Desperado was the last man standing. Gedo blocked a Pinche Loco attempt. Desperado hit a spinebuster for a two count.
Desperado used a stretch muffler. Ishimori broke it up and bumped the ref.
Gedo avoided a whiskey bottle shot from Kanemaru and hit a low blow on Desperado. Ishimori sent Kanemaru outside after a seated senton.
Desperado hit a right hand to Gedo. Kanemaru jumped back in and used the whiskey bottle on both Gedo and Ishimori. Desperado then hit Pinche Loco for the pin.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag title tournament match: Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato (w/Hiroyoshi Tenzan) (18:03)
A very good main event.
Wato and Hiromu began. These two could have great matches together. They started off hot with a leapfrog spot and a misdirection spot. Wato hit spinning kicks off both spots.
Wato avoided a BUSHI distraction and went after Hiromu’s left leg. BUSHI jumped in for the illegal double team to cut Wato off, then went outside to send Taguchi into the barricade.
Hiromu hammered Wato with chops. He threw in some Mongolian chops to taunt Tenzan. Hiromu used a camel clutch. Taguchi entered and broke it up with Mongolian chops.
BUSHI got a tag and continued working on Wato. He used a neckbreaker for a near fall and hit some kicks. Hiromu tagged back in and hit some vicious palm strikes to the chest. They continued to use quick tags. Taguchi tried to save with a hip attack but he missed.
One thing I like about Wato’s selling is that he makes sure to work in some hope spots. That’s a lost art when guys are selling today.
BUSHI used an STF but Wato forced a rope break. Wato hit a rana on Hiromu and a dropkick on BUSHI before Taguchi got a tag.
Taguchi hit a double DDT and a series of hip attacks. Taguchi hit a springboard hip attack for a near fall on BUSHI. BUSHI blocked three amigos. Taguchi ducked a rewind kick and used an ankle lock. Hiromu interfered to break it up but Wato sent him outside and hit a tornillo.
Taguchi hit a Bomaye on BUSHI for a two count. He went back to the ankle lock. He gave up the hold and went for Dodon. BUSHI blocked. They traded enzuigiris into a double down.
BUSHI sold the damage from the ankle lock as Wato tagged in and peppered him with kicks. BUSHI hit a DDT and tagged out.
Hiromu hit a huge shotgun dropkick on Wato. Wato avoided a DVD into the buckle. Hiromu recovered and hit a dropkick and a falcon arrow for a near fall. Taguchi and BUSHI brawled to the floor.
Hiromu hit a DVD into the buckle. Wato blocked Time Bomb. Taguchi hit Hiromu with a hip attack. BUSHI hit an atomic drop on Taguchi. Everyone was in and everyone was down.
Taguchi hit a hip attack and a plancha to BUSHI. Taguchi and Wato hit a tandem facebuster off the top on Hiromu but Hiromu kicked out. Wato went up top but BUSHI stopped his momentum. Taguchi hit a hip attack on the apron and he and BUSHI crashed to the floor.
Wato missed an RPP. Hiromu hit a corner lariat. Wato hit a corner dropkick. BUSHI and Hiromu hit tandem dropkicks. Taguchi broke up a pin. BUSHI hit a tope suicida to Taguchi.
Hiromu and BUSHI hit tandem superkicks and a tandem powerbomb for a two count. They followed up with their LAT tandem finish and Hiromu pinned Wato.
Hiromu closed the show with a promo.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag title tournament standings —
Night one of a NJPW tournament to crown new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions is in the books.
The team of Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI is tied atop the four-team block with Ryusuke Taguchi and Master Wato after the first day of tournament action on Saturday’s New Japan Road show in Makuhari.
Takahashi and BUSHI defeated Taiji Ishimori and Gedo in the main event of Saturday’s show to earn 2 points. BUSHI pinned Gedo after an LAT for the victory.
In the other tournament match, Master Wato and Taguchi defeated El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru after Wato hit Kanemaru with an RPP. Kanemaru and Wato had last faced off at Jingu Stadium, where Kanemaru beat Wato in the opener with a sunset flip.
The next tournament action is Sunday at 2 a.m. Eastern time, live on NJPW World. Takahashi and BUSHI will face Taguchi and Wato, while Desperado and Kanemaru will square off with Ishimori and Gedo.
The final night of block action takes place on Wednesday, September 9 with Wato and Taguchi vs. Ishimori and Gedo, plus Takahashi and BUSHI vs. Desperado and Kanemaru.
The top two teams will meet in the tournament final on Friday, September 11 at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World to determine the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag champs.
Friday’s show will also feature a NEVER Openweight Six-Man title match as Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI defend against Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and SHO.
Roppongi 3K are vacating the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team titles.
SHO made the announcement in a post-show promo following Thursday’s Summer Struggle event in Korakuen Hall. NJPW later confirmed the news on Twitter but made no formal announcement regarding the future of the titles.
SHO made clear that he is not dissolving the Roppongi 3K team, but that YOH will be out of action and he is unsure of a return date.
The duo are four-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag champs. Their most recent reign began at Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 5 when they knocked off El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori to win the titles.
YOH has been out with an unspecified left knee injury. NJPW announced on July 4 that he would miss the next two events but provided no further update. His last appearance came on June 23 when he lost to BUSHI in the first round of the 2020 New Japan Cup tournament.
SHO’s promo can be seen below, complete with English subtitles:
