Tag: never openweight 6-man tournament

Recommended matches —

• Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & SHO vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & DOUKI 
• YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto vs. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi
• Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Master Wato (w/Hiroyoshi Tenzan) vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru 

Report —

Korakuen Hall was again the venue for today’s show. 

Yuji Nagata defeated Yuya Uemura (8:08)

This was a mixed bag. They began with some nice mat work but their striking exchanges were not nearly as crisp as usual. Nagata missed a kick by a mile but Uemura sold it anyway. Uemura took a cartoonish bump off a forearm strike. 

Uemura hit his double underhook suplex for a near fall then transitioned to an armbar. Nagata reached the ropes. Nagata hit two kicks, an exploder, then used the Nagata Lock II for the submission. 

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima defeated Gabriel Kidd & Yota Tsuji (8:52)

Kidd is kind of being portrayed as a powerhouse but he’s much more than that. He’s super athletic and I hope he doesn’t get stuck in that role. 

Tenzan and Kojima did a spot where Tsuji ducked out of the way and Tenzan hit Kojima with a lariat. Kojima got up and shoved Tenzan. They hit Tsuji with a double big boot and shook hands after, so it didn’t lead to anything. 

Tenzan worked over Tsuji with chops and a brainbuster. Tsuji hit a dropkick and tagged Kidd. Kidd did some power spots with Tenzan. Kojima tried to hit machine gun chops on Tsuji but Kidd jumped in and Tsuji and Kidd hit machine gun chops on Kojima instead. 

Tsuji used a crab on Kojima but Kojima powered out. Kidd interfered and Kojima and Tenzan hit a TenCozy Cutter. Tsuji hit a spear and a vertical suplex for a near fall. 

For the finish, Tsuji tried a lariat off the ropes but Kojima hit him with a lariat first and pinned him.

Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & SHO defeated Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & DOUKI (9:17) 

This was the best match on the show to this point. Another positive is that it got Okada away from Yujiro Takahashi for a night. 

Yano started off with Desperado and did some comedy. Suzuki-gun turned it into a brawl around ringside. Okada and Suzuki paired off in the brawl. Suzuki and Yano did some comedy. Yano then tagged Okada and Okada and Suzuki had a real exchange. 

Okada hit a running back elbow and another back elbow in the corner for a near fall. Suzuki hit a PK for a near fall. They traded strikes. Suzuki tried a misdirection spot but Okada caught him and hit an air raid crash. 

DOUKI and SHO tagged in for an extended closing sequence. SHO ducked a lariat and hit a spear. DOUKI used a triangle but Yano broke it up. Suzuki took Yano out. Okada jumped in and hit Suzuki with a dropkick. 

SHO used a backstabber to set up a cross armbreaker. He got it applied and DOUKI tapped immediately. 

Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, SANADA & BUSHI defeated EVIL, Dick Togo, Taiji Ishimori & Gedo (w/ Jado) (13:26)

There were some clunky spots in this one, especially between Naito and EVIL which doesn’t bode well for their next singles match. 

Bullet Club attacked LIJ before the bell. Shingo was left in the ring with Togo and Ishimori. He made his own comeback and hit corner clotheslines on both. BUSHI tagged in and was cut off by Togo. Bullet Club exposed a turnbuckle. 

BUSHI got worked over for several minutes. Gedo sent BUSHI’s left arm into the exposed buckle. BUSHI came back with a hurricanrana and it was Naito and EVIL time. 

Naito hit his trademark leg sweep and combinacion in the corner. They traded forearm shots. Naito teased ringing up the arm for Destino but EVIL blocked with a hair pull. EVIL sent Naito near the exposed buckle. Naito tripped on his way in and didn’t quite make it to the buckle. 

Ishimori tagged in. Shingo jumped in to aid Naito with an illegal double team. Naito tagged SANADA who tried a paradise lock but Ishimori blocked. Ishimori hit a handspring Pele kick and tagged out. 

Gedo got hit with SANADA’s leapfrog dropkick and a plancha. Everyone jumped in for a big move. Togo tripped in taking out SANADA. I wonder if the ring was slick after the cleaning intermission. 

SANADA ran into a kendo stick shot from Jado. Jado took the ref and Gedo grabbed brass knuckles. SANADA crotched Gedo on the top rope and took Jado off the apron with a dropkick. SANADA then used Skull End to submit Gedo. 

LIJ posed and did their fist bump after the match. 

NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team title tournament match: YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto defeated Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi (11:53)

This was a very good match. They kept it relatively short and everyone looked good. 

Honma and Ishii started off. They traded chops. Ishii sold big for Honma. Honma backed Ishii into his corner. Ishii tried to fight out but ended up in a fist fight with Honma and Makabe. That was awesome. 

Both teams did 3-on-1 spots. They ended up with Makabe being cut off in the opposing corner. Makabe tagged Goto. Taguchi and Goto did a series of misdirection spots ending with Goto hitting a clothesline. YH tagged in and got hit with a hip attack. 

Honma got a tag and hit YH with a bulldog. Ishii jumped in to save. Ishii, Makabe, Taguchi and Goto brawled to the floor. Things got chaotic from here. 

YH hit Honma with a lariat for a near fall. Makabe hit YH with a lariat. Makabe hit Ishii with a powerslam. Makabe hit Goto and YH with a double lariat. Taguchi hit a hip attack to YH. Honma hit a kokeshi and made a cover but Ishii jumped in and broke it up. 

Honma hit a hard headbutt. Honma hit two diving kokeshis for near falls. He teased a top rope kokeshi but Goto cut him off. Goto and Ishii hit simultaneous headbutts to Honma. Goto and YH hit an elevated GTR on Honma. YH then used the butterfly lock for the submission. 

NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team title tournament match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Master Wato (w/ Hiroyoshi Tenzan) defeated Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (16:54)

This was fairly slow but it paid off the Ibushi/Tanahashi angle so it’s worth a watch. 

Tanahashi insisted on starting for his team. He was immediately cut off and had his left knee worked over. Tana sold, sold, sold and sold some more. 

Sabre and Taichi held Tanahashi up in front of Ibushi and again tried tempting him to attack. Ibushi grabbed Tana’s wrists like he was about to give him a Kamigoye but he attacked Sabre and Taichi instead. 

Sabre used an octopus on Ibushi. Ibushi powered out. They traded kicks. Ibushi went for a last ride but Sabre caught him in a guillotine. Sabre switched to a triangle. Ibushi broke the hold with a powerbomb. 

Master Wato and Kanemaru tagged in. Wato hit a springboard uppercut forearm for a near fall. Kanemaru blocked some kicks and hit a dropkick. Kanemaru teased an inverted DDT but Wato blocked and hit a combination of kicks. 

Tanahashi tagged in. He hit Kanemaru with a dragon screw and a slingblade. Tanahashi and Ibushi started working well together and hit Kanemaru with the Golden Blade. Wato hit a tornillo on Sabre to take him out. 

Tanahashi went for High Fly Flow but Kanemaru got his knees up. Taichi tagged in and hit an axe bomber for a near fall. He hit a last ride and stacked Tana up on the cover but Wato and Ibushi saved. 

Taichi held Tanahashi up while Sabre hit him with a series of dragon screws. Taichi took his pants off and hit a thrust kick. 

Taichi went for Black Mephisto with an assist from Sabre. I think the announcers called this Zack Mephisto. Ibushi jumped in for the save and hit a high kick. Tanahashi trapped Taichi in a double leg nelson position and stacked him up for the flash pin. 

**********

Sabre used a heel hook on Tanahashi right after the closing bell. Taichi sent Ibushi outside after a high kick, so Suzuki-gun got their heat back. 

Sabre and Taichi taunted Ibushi after the match. They again tried to tempt him to turn on Tanahashi but he refused. 

Ibushi helped Tanahashi to his feet and walked him to the back, so Golden Ace are back on the same page.  

Recommended matches —

• Shingo Takagi, SANADA & BUSHI vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & DOUKI 

Report —

The announced attendance at Korakuen Hall was 698. There were social distancing measures in place but the building looked more full than that. 

Yuji Nagata defeated Gabriel Kidd (8:12)

This was your basic NJPW technical opener. Kidd was already good when he got here and he’s even better now. 

They locked up twice and broke cleanly both times. After a knuckle lock, Kidd hit a chop on the break. Kidd hit a shoulder block. Nagata fired up and dropped Kidd with one strike. 

Nagata used a series of kicks and attacked Kidd’s left arm to soften him up for a Nagata Lock. Kidd hit a series of strikes but Nagata again dropped him with one strike. Kidd hit a dropkick but sold his left arm on landing. 

Kidd tried a crab but Nagata reached the ropes. They traded strikes. Kidd hit the ropes but ran right into a knee lift. Nagata hit a high kick for a near fall. 

For the finish, Nagata hit an exploder and used a Nagata Lock II for the submission. 

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Yota Tsuji (9:55)

Taguchi and Wato kicked things off. They did some mat wrestling before taking to the air. They did a really spectacular sequence of flips and leapfrogs. Wato sent Taguchi outside and teased a dive but held up as Taguchi moved out of the way. 

Tenzan and Tsuji tagged in for something completely different. They traded power spots. Tenzan cut Tsuji off and he and Wato worked Tsuji over. 

Tsuji came back with a spear and tagged Taguchi who ran wild with hip attacks. Taguchi tried three amigos but Tenzan blocked the third amigo and hit a vertical suplex. Wato tagged in and Taguchi hit a hip attack before tagging out. 

Tsuji got a near fall on Wato off a slam/senton/splash combination. Tsuji tried for a crab but Wato got to the ropes. Tenzan and Wato doubled up on Tsuji but Taguchi saved. Tsuji hit Wato with a dropkick for another near fall. 

Wato hit two roundhouse kicks and his RPP spiral tap for the pin. 

Master Wato is making this awful gimmick work for him with his spectacular moves. I actually want to see Wato and Taguchi in a singles match now as they could tear the house down. 

Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma (9:13)

This was good and didn’t overstay its welcome. 

Makabe and Goto started off and traded some hard strikes. Goto hit a hip toss before both tagged out. Honma and YH tagged in. Honma missed a kokeshi. Honma’s partners jumped in but were quickly taken care of by Goto and Ishii. 

Honma was cut off in the blue corner. Ishii hit him with some chops. Honma fired back with some forearms but Ishii dropped him with one strike. Honma hit a double sledge to the chest and then hit a kokeshi on Ishii. 

Kojima tagged in and hit machine gun chops on Ishii. Kojima teased a top rope elbow but Ishii popped up before he could attempt it. They traded rolling elbows. Ishii hit a vertical suplex and some hard kicks. They traded hard chops. Kojima hit a cutter and both tagged out. 

Makabe and Goto tagged in. Makabe cleared the opposing apron, then hit ten punches in the corner and a northern lights suplex. Goto tried a misdirection lariat but Makabe blocked and hit a lariat. Everyone jumped in as the match broke down. 

The finish was unique and pretty intricate for this undercard tag match. Makabe blocked a GTR from Goto. Goto then used a sleeper hold to set up a rolling cradle on Makabe for the pin. 

***** Intermission *****

Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Yuya Uemura (9:28)

Tanahashi appeared ready to start off for his team but Uemura insisted on starting. While they argued, Suzuki-gun attacked. Uemura ended up the legal man and hit a flying forearm on Kanemaru. 

Then Tanahashi tagged in and was immediately cut off. Sabre and Taichi worked over his left leg. Tana finally managed a tag to Ibushi. Taichi and Ibushi had a nice exchange. Ibushi hit a standing moonsault. They traded high kicks. 

Uemura and Kanemaru got tags. Uemura used a crab but Kanemaru got to the ropes. Sabre jumped in for a double team. Kanemaru hit a dropkick for a near fall as Tana and Ibushi saved. There was a botch as Sabre tried to dropkick Tanahashi’s leg but he missed entirely. 

Taichi took Tanahashi out with a buzzsaw. Kanemaru hit an inverted DDT for a near fall and then pinned Uemura with Deep Impact. 

**********

They continued to build intrigue with Ibushi and Tanahashi after the match. 

Sabre and Taichi kicked at the fallen Tanahashi after the bell. Ibushi was on the outside lost in thought. He finally climbed in for the late save but he got kicked down. 

Taichi and Sabre held Tanahashi up and dared Ibushi to kick him. Ibushi acted like he was giving this some thought but he waited too long so Sabre and Taichi threw him out of the ring. 

Ibushi walked to the back on his own while Tanahashi was helped to the back. 

**********

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Championship Tournament match: Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & SHO defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Gedo & Jado (12:04)

Okada broke cleanly after locking up with Yujiro. Gedo and Jado jumped in for a triple team and cut Okada off. Jado used a kendo stick on the floor. Gedo whipped Okada with a belt. Bullet Club exposed a turnbuckle and sent Okada into it. 

Okada came back with a Woo dropkick on Yujiro. Gedo and Yano tagged in for some comedy spots. Yano sent Gedo into an exposed buckle. SHO tagged in and hit a series of kicks. Gedo used a thumb to the eye. Jado hit SHO with a kendo stick from the floor. 

Yujiro and Jado hit SHO with a back suplex. Jado covered for a two count. Jado hit a draping DDT for a near fall as Okada made the save. Okada and Yujiro brawled to the outside. 

Gedo took the ref. Jado hit SHO with the kendo stick but SHO no-sold it. Yano pulled Gedo to the floor. Okada and Yujiro jumped in. Okada hit a dropkick on Yujiro. 

SHO hit Jado with a spear for a near fall and locked on a kimura for the submission. 

This match was no good and the Yujiro/Okada program continues to be the worst thing Okada has been involved in for many years. 

**********

Okada cut a promo after the match. He challenged Yujiro to a first round match in the KOPW tournament and said it could be a 3-on-1 handicap match with Gedo and Jado if he wants. 

**********

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Championship Tournament match: Shingo Takagi, SANADA & BUSHI defeated Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & DOUKI (13:43)

This was the best match on the show, although the bar was set fairly low.

Suzuki-gun attacked while LIJ still had their entrance gear on. Suzuki locked a nasty heel hook on BUSHI in the ropes. Shingo and Suzuki paired off and brawled on the floor. That’s probably your next NEVER title program. 

DOUKI took the ref while Desperado choked BUSHI with a shirt. Suzuki-gun isolated BUSHI in their corner and worked him over. Suzuki used an ankle lock, a modified cloverleaf and a straight armbar before Shingo made the save for BUSHI. Suzuki took Shingo outside and rammed him into the barricade. 

BUSHI hit a combination bulldog/dropkick on Desperado and DOUKI and tagged out. Shingo knocked Suzuki off the apron and beat up Desperado and DOUKI by himself. Suzuki’s facial expressions after being knocked off the apron were amazing. 

Desperado hit Shingo with a spinebuster and tagged Suzuki. Suzuki and Shingo proceeded to slap each other to death and trade forearm strikes. Suzuki hit a running high kick in the corner. Shingo blocked one PK but Suzuki hit a second. 

Suzuki and Shingo traded strikes. Suzuki went for a choke but Shingo blocked and hit a vertical suplex into a double down. SANADA tagged in and Suzuki caught him with a knee lift before tagging out. 

DOUKI hit SANADA with a lariat for a two count. SANADA blocked a suplex de la luna. Desperado jumped in for a spinebuster. DOUKI hit a springboard double stomp for a near fall. SANADA blocked another suplex attempt and his teammates jumped in for a 3-on-1. 

SANADA used a dragon sleeper but Suzuki broke it up and grabbed a choke. Shingo jumped in and broke up the choke. Suzuki and Shingo traded strikes. Shingo avoided the Gotch-style piledriver. Suzuki avoided a sliding lariat. Shingo hit a pumping bomber. 

DOUKI cradled SANADA for a near fall. DOUKI avoided a TKO and used a hip toss into a cradle for another near fall. 

SANADA used a moonsault to set up Skull End and DOUKI tapped out. 

**********

Shingo and Suzuki continued fighting after the bell. Shingo jumped in the ring. Suzuki grabbed Shingo’s NEVER Openweight title and dared him to come get it. Suzuki backed down but it was clear that this is not over between the two of them.