Tag: road to power struggle results

NJPW Road to Power Struggle results: IWGP Junior tag title match

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Chick Fritts

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.

Dick Togo, EVIL, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi (Bullet Club) defeated Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) & Master Wato (CHAOS)

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.

Tomoaki Honma & Toru Yano defeated Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan (United Empire)

Again, this just happened.

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.

Following the match, O-Khan beat up a ring boy.

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe defeated Gedo & KENTA (Bullet Club) by DQ

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.

NJPW Road to Power Struggle results: Elimination match

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Ethan Renner

NJPW’s Road to Power Struggle tour continued today with the second of three consecutive nights at Korakuen Hall.

Hiroshi Tanahashi teamed with CHAOS to face Bullet Club in an elimination match main event.

Here are today’s results:

SHO defeated Ryohei Oiwa (7:08)

SHO got the win by referee stoppage by using Snake Bite.

Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Kosei Fujita (10:27)

BUSHI used a Boston crab to submit Fujita.

Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare defeated Toru Yano & Togi Makabe (10:23)

Henare pinned Makabe after hitting Streets of Rage.

Shingo Takagi & SANADA defeated Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma (11:33)

SANADA used Skull End to submit Honma.

El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI defeated Robbie Eagles, Tiger Mask, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato (14:11)

Sabre used an octopus hold to submit Tenzan.

Elimination match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated KENTA, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi (19:31)

Tanahashi last eliminated KENTA over the top rope to secure the victory.

**********

Here is the lineup for tomorrow’s show:

NJPW Road to Power Struggle, Tuesday, October 26, 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask
Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI
Kazuchika Okada, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe vs. KENTA & Gedo
Toru Yano & Tomoaki Honma vs. Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Master Wato vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Dick Togo
SANADA & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi

NJPW Road to Power Struggle results: LIJ vs. Suzuki-gun

Posted on October 24, 2021 by Ethan Renner

The NJPW Road to Power Struggle tour kicked off today with a Korakuen Hall show headlined by an elimination match.

Members of Los Ingobernables de Japon faced a Suzuki-gun squad in the main event. Eliminations could occur by pinfall, submission, DQ or being thrown over the top rope with both feet hitting the floor.

The show was also notable for G1 Climax 31 winner Kazuchika Okada bringing back the IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt.

In a press conference last week, Okada stated that he does not recognize the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, a title that was created earlier this year when the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental titles were unified. Okada said that he still recognizes Kota Ibushi, the final IWGP Heavyweight Champion, as holding that title and would be face Ibushi for the belt when he returns from injury.

Here are results from today’s show:

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato defeated Robbie Eagles, Tiger Mask & Ryohei Oiwa (8:15)

Wato used a Boston crab to submit Oiwa.

EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Dick Togo defeated Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Kosei Fujita (8:22)

SHO had Fujita in the Snake Bite when the referee called for the stoppage.

Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare defeated Toru Yano & Satoshi Kojima (11:07)

O-Khan pinned Kojima after an Eliminator.

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata defeated KENTA & Gedo (10:14)

Tana used his Texas Clover Hold to submit Gedo.

Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado defeated Kazuchika Okada, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma (11:32)

Tama pinned Honma after a Gun Stun.

Elimination match: Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI defeated Shingo Takagi, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI (24:09)

Sabre and BUSHI were the final two in the match. Sabre won by submission with Yes! I am a long way from home!

**********

Here is the lineup for the next event:

NJPW Road to Power Struggle, Monday, October 25, 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

Elimination match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. KENTA, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi
Robbie Eagles, Tiger Mask, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato vs. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI
Shingo Takagi & SANADA vs. Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma
Toru Yano & Togi Makabe vs. Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare
Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Kosei Fujita
SHO vs. Ryohei Oiwa

NJPW Road to Power Struggle results: NEVER Six-Man title match

Posted on October 23, 2020 by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI
Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Report —

Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall was the venue for today’s tour opener.

**********

Yuya Uemura defeated Yota Tsuji (9:09)

The story of this match was Uemura working on Tsuji’s arms to soften them up for his double overhook suplex. It was psychologically and technically sound.

They did a lot of mat work as Uemura used a variety of holds on Tsuji’s arms. Tsuji came back with an abdominal stretch and a full crab, but Uemura forced a break.

A striking battle led to a battle for a brainbuster. Uemura escaped and hit a dropkick, then used a short arm scissors. After another strike exchange, Tsuji hit a slam for a near fall.

Uemura hit a deep arm drag and maintained hold of the arms on Tsuji’s landing. Uemura then hit the double overhook suplex for the pin.

Will Ospreay & Great-O-Khan (w/Bea Priestley) defeated Kazuchika Okada & Gabriel Kidd (10:17)

Ospreay, O-Khan and Priestley’s group is called The Empire. This was a solid next step in establishing the group and showing a totally different Ospreay in the ring.

Empire attacked Okada and Kidd before the bell and before Okada had his entrance gear off. O-Khan tossed Okada to the floor and Ospreay went to work on Kidd in the ring.

Ospreay wrestled as a total chickensh*t heel. Priestley interfered from the floor, tripping Kidd and pulling him outside. Priestley hit a PK on Kidd on the floor. Ospreay and O-Khan worked Kidd over in their corner. Priestley continued to interfere as Okada took the referee.

Kidd managed to hit Ospreay with a dropkick and tagged Okada. Okada hit Ospreay with a running back elbow, a corner back elbow and a DDT. Ospreay escaped an air raid crash and tagged out.

O-Khan tied Okada to the tree of woe and hit a sliding dropkick in the corner. Okada ducked a lariat and hit an air raid crash. O-Khan hit Mongolian chops. Okada hit a trademark dropkick.

Kidd tagged in for the closing stretch. Kidd hit a dropkick for a near fall. Kidd tried a butterfly suplex but O-Khan escaped and hit an inverted suplex. Okada jumped in but O-Khan put him in the iron claw. Ospreay hit Okada with a springboard forearm.

O-Khan hit Kidd with the claw slam, they’re calling it The Eliminator, and pinned Kidd.

Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (12:51)

This was an excellent match, all action.

Shingo and Suzuki are facing off at Power Struggle and BUSHI and Hiromu will be going for Desperado and Kanemaru’s IWGP Jr. Tag titles at some point soon, so that was the backstory here.

Suzuki-gun turned this into a brawl right away. Suzuki went after Shingo’s right arm, just as he did when they last faced off.

Suzuki-gun cut BUSHI off. Kanemaru and Desperado worked him over in the ring while Suzuki went after Shingo and Hiromu on the floor. BUSHI sold his lower back and that was the focus of Kanemaru and Desperado’s attacks.

Hiromu got a tag and ran crazy. He hit a shotgun dropkick on both Kanemaru and Desperado in the ring, then hit another off the apron to the floor. Desperado hit Hiromu with a spinebuster and a misdirection spear. Hiromu launched Desperado into the buckle with a German.

Suzuki and Shingo tagged in and traded shots. Shingo missed a Pumping Bomber. Suzuki missed a PK. Suzuki went for a Gotch piledriver but Shingo hit him with a DVD. Suzuki no-sold it but missed a PK. They continued throwing bombs.

Suzuki backed Shingo into the corner with a choke and tagged out. Suzuki-gun tripled up on Shingo. Shingo blocked Deep Impact from Kanemaru and hit a throw.

Kanemaru cradled Shingo for two. Shingo hit a lariat and his teammates jumped in to triple team Kanemaru. Everyone jumped in as Shingo hit Kanemaru with a sliding lariat. BUSHI hit a wild rana over the top to the floor on Desperado.

Shingo hit Kanemaru with a pop-up DVD and a Pumping Bomber for the decisive win.

**********

Shingo and Suzuki had a pull-apart, then brawled to the back after the match.

Hiromu then cut a promo and challenged Desperado and Kanemaru to put up the Jr. Tag titles against him and BUSHI. Hiromu and Desperado went back and forth on the mic, then had their own pull-apart.

**********

Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma defeated Jay White, KENTA & Gedo (10:36)

This was nothing special.

Ibushi had his contract with him but doesn’t have a briefcase yet.

White teased starting off with Ibushi but begged off. KENTA teased getting in with Tanahashi. He also stalled, then begged off. Honma and Gedo started the match and Goto immediately raked Honma’s eyes.

Honma missed a kokeshi. White pulled Honma to the floor to give Bullet Club the advantage. Bullet Club used quick tags in working Honma over. Honma came back with a suplex on KENTA.

Tana got in with KENTA and hit a somersault senton for a two count. KENTA hit a swing DDT over the top rope and a tope rope clothesline for a near fall. Tanahashi hit a slingblade into a double down.

White and Ibushi finally got in together. Ibushi hit White with a series of strikes. White hit a dragon screw and a DDT before tagging out.

It was Gedo and Ibushi in for the closing sequence. Gedo went for brass knuckles. KENTA jumped in with his briefcase but Tana disposed of him. White tried a Blade Runner on Ibushi but Honma saved and hit him with a kokeshi.

Honma hit Gedo with a kokeshi, then Ibushi hit Gedo with Kamigoye for the pin.

**********

KENTA hammered Tanahashi after the match and left him laying on the floor. White and Ibushi jawed at each other.

The babyface team posed together in the ring to end the segment.

**********

Tetsuya Naito & SANADA defeated EVIL & Dick Togo (11:58)

EVIL and Naito began with a good brawling sequence. Naito hit a rana to give his team the edge. SANADA tagged in and continued to pound away at EVIL’s neck. Naito and SANADA did some double team spots on EVIL.

Togo interfered from the apron and pulled Naito to the floor which shifted the momentum. All four brawled around the arena with Bullet Club in control. Back inside, Togo exposed a buckle. EVIL and Togo sent Naito into the buckle and worked him over extensively.

EVIL hit a senton on Naito for a two count. Naito hit a Manhattan drop and a one-legged dropkick to EVIL’s leg before tagging out.

SANADA put Togo in the paradise lock and hit a plancha to EVIL. EVIL avoided a TKO. EVIL hit a sidewalk slam and tagged out.

Togo used a cradle and a crossface on SANADA for near finishes. SANADA avoided a whip into the exposed buckle. EVIL threw a chair in the ring and took the ref. Togo hit SANADA with the chair. Togo teased a Pedigree on the chair. Instead, SANADA hit a backdrop.

Naito pulled EVIL to the floor and threw him up and over the barricade. Naito jumped in to double up on Togo. SANADA hit a TKO for a near fall.

SANADA grabbed Skull End and Togo immediately tapped out.

This was a strong win for LIJ.

**********

Naito used a crucifix on EVIL on the floor after the match. Uemura and Tsuji had to pull Naito off EVIL.

**********

NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Championship match: Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI to retain the titles (32:25)

This was awesome. It was way better than it looked like it would be on paper. YH and DOUKI were the workhorses of the match. They tore the house down.

DOUKI pinned YH in a tag at the G1 Finals, so they started off together here. They began with an intense forearm exchange. Suzuki-gun tried to jump in to illegally team up against YH but Goto and Ishii saved. Goto, Ishii and YH did some six-man spots.

Suzuki-gun eventually got the upper hand using underhanded tactics. They brawled around ringside. Ishii and Taichi, Sabre and Goto, DOUKI and YH paired off. DOUKI choked YH with a pipe. Taichi choked Ishii with a camera cable.

Back inside, Suzuki-gun worked YH over in the blue corner. They focused their attack on YH’s left arm. YH came back with a vertical suplex on Sabre and tagged out.

Goto hit some signature spots on Sabre, connecting with a wheel kick and a bulldog. Sabre ducked a misdirection lariat and applied an octopus hold. Goto slid out, caught a penalty kick, then hit an ushigoroshi into a double down.

Ishii and Taichi tagged in. Ishii got cut off when Taichi kicked at his taped right knee. YH saved for Ishii initially. Ishii was quickly cut off again as Sabre and Taichi teased a tandem dragon screw to the bad knee. Goto saved with a double lariat.

There was pure carnage in the ring as everyone was down.

The champions recovered first. Ishii and Taichi remained the legal men while the others brawled to the outside. Taichi used the aid of a DOUKI pipe shot from the floor to land a high kick on Ishii. Sabre entered for the tandem dragon screw. Taichi hit a buzzsaw kick for a near fall.

Taichi hit a last ride. Ishii kicked at two, but Taichi used the kick out to transition to a deep single-leg crab. Goto made the save. Taichi removed his trousers. Ishii blocked a high kick and hit a headbutt into another double down.

YH got a tag and blistered Taichi with chops. Taichi hit a jumping high kick in the corner. DOUKI demanded a tag, and against his better judgment, Taichi obliged.

IT was back to DOUKI and YH. Everyone jumped in, then rolled to the floor to set up DOUKI’s senton off the post. Tsuji, Kidd and Uemura joined the pack of guys to make sure DOUKI landed on people rather than on his butt on the floor as he always seems to when he tries this. DOUKI hit it.

Back in, DOUKI hit his inverted vertebreaker for a near fall. Suzuki-gun tripled up on YH. DOUKI hit his Daybreak slingshot DDT but YH kicked out.

DOUKI used a triangle choke. Taichi hit him with a buzzsaw while still in the hold for good measure. Goto and Ishii jumped in and got put in octopus holds as they really tried to sell this as a near finish. YH finally got a foot on the bottom strand to force a break.

DOUKI teased Suplex de la Luna. Goto entered and hit an ushigoroshi. Ishii hit a sliding lariat. YH hit a meteora for two as Sabre and Taichi saved for DOUKI.

YH hit a lariat for another two count. YH went for Kharma but Sabre saved. Taichi hit YH with a backdrop suplex. DOUKI covered for a two count. DOUKI removed his shirt.

DOUKI hit a lariat and a springboard double stomp for another near fall at the 27 minute mark.

DOUKI hit Suplex de la Luna. Goto saved for YH and hit DOUKI with a GTW. Taichi took out Goto. Ishii took out Taichi with a lariat. Sabre hit Ishii with a PK. All six guys were down in the ring.

DOUKI ducked a lariat and hit a dropkick. YH rolled through on a DDT attempt and locked on the butterfly lock. YH transitioned to a kimura, then a sleeper. DOUKI escaped and used two rolling cradles for near falls.

YH and Goto hit a GYW and a GYR on DOUKI. Ishii caught an interfering Sabre with a lariat.

YH then hoisted DOUKI for Kharma and got the pin.

**********

They did an angle after the match where YH grabbed Sabre and Taichi’s IWGP Heavyweight Tag belts and issued a challenge, though it wasn’t clear whether Goto or Ishii would be his partner.

Sabre loudly refused and taunted YH as Suzuki-gun exited.

YH closed with a short promo as Ishii hopped to the back on one leg.

NJPW Road to Power Struggle results: Night two of Jr. Tag League

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Ethan Renner

NJPW returned to Korakuen Hall this morning for the second day of the Super Junior Tag League tournament. Here are the full results, complete with prelim matches.

KARL FREDERICKS & TOMOAKI HONMA DEFEATED YOTA TSUJI & JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER

Fredericks submitted Tsuji with a half crab.

TETSUYA NAITO, SANADA, EVIL & SHINGO TAKAGI DEFEATED MINORU SUZUKI, ZACK SABRE JR., TAICHI & DOUKI

Naito pinned DOUKI after a Pumping Bomber. Sabre teased defending the RPW British Heavyweight Championship on both nights at the Tokyo Dome.

JAY WHITE, KENTA & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI DEFEATED HIROOKI GOTO, TOMOHIRO ISHII & TOA HENARE

Yujiro pinned Henare after hitting Pimp Juice.

SUPER JR. TAG LEAGUE MATCH: RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & ROCKY ROMERO DEFEATED TIGER MASK & YUYA UEMURA

Romero and Uemura began with some chain wrestling. Romero tried to hit forever clotheslines in the corner, but Uemura blocked them, then hit a tackle. Both tagged out.

Tiger and Taguchi did some rope-running comedy spots. Tiger hit a deep arm drag, and Tiger and Uemura worked on Taguchi in their corner. Uemura missed a dropkick, allowing Romero and Taguchi to take over.

Taguchi and Romero used a series of quick tags in working over Uemura. Romero hit a low dropkick. Taguchi hit some hip attacks. Uemura missed another dropkick. Tiger finally got a tag. Taguchi missed a hip attack.

Romero and Taguchi had some dissension, as both kicked the other. This was played for comedy more than teasing a break up. Tiger got a kneebar on Romero, but Taguchi broke it up. Tiger hit a Tiger superplex, allowing Uemura to use a full crab on Taguchi, but Taguchi reached the ropes.

Uemura got the hold re-applied. Tiger grabbed Rocky in a Fujiwara armbar to prevent the save, but Taguchi again reached the ropes.

Uemura hit a German into a bridge for a near fall on Taguchi, but Romero made the save. Romero and Taguchi hit stereo hip attacks on Uemura. Romero hit a hip attack to Tiger, then nailed him with a suicide dive.

Taguchi got an ankle lock on Uemura, but Uemura rolled through to a cradle for a two count. Taguchi hit a Bomaye, but Uemura kicked out at two. Taguchi then hit Dodon and pinned Uemura.

This turned into a heck of a little match by the end.

SUPER JR. TAG LEAGUE MATCH: VOLADOR JR. & TITAN DEFEATED TJP & CLARK CONNORS

This was another good match.

Connors caused a ruckus by refusing Titan and Volador’s handshakes before the match. Volador and TJP began with some mat work. TJP used a bow and arrow. They had a nice sequence trading headscissors and dropkick attempts.

Titan and Connors tagged in. Connors used a headscissors on the mat. Titan escaped with a handstand. Connors fired back with a dropkick. Titan fought off a double team effort, and Connors accidentally clotheslined TJP.

Volador and Titan hit some tandem offense. Titan hit a fantastic springboard splash on TJP, and Volador covered for a two count. Titan and Volador focused on TJP’s left arm. Titan used a variation of a magistral cradle for a two count.

TJP managed a tag, then Connors took over on Titan with a shoulder tackle and stomps. TJP tagged back in and hit a slingshot senton for a two count. TJP used a sharpshooter, then a deathlock, but Titan forced a break.

Titan made a comeback with a springboard crossbody, then tagged Volador, who hit a backstabber for a near fall on TJP. Titan got an immediate tag back in, then hit a springboard leg drop off the middle rope. Connors broke up the pinfall.

TJP hit a superplex on Titan, then hit a kick for a near fall, as Volador made the save. TJP and Connors hit a tandem move, and Connors hit a spear on Titan for a two count. Connors used a full crab on Titan, but Volador saved.

Volador hit TJP with a tope con giro. Connors used an inside cradle for a two count on Titan. Titan hit a dropkick in the corner and flew through the ropes to the outside. He then hit a swinging dropkick in the corner, then used a springboard double stomp for the pin.

SUPER JR. TAG LEAGUE MATCH: EL DESPERADO & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU DEFEATED EL PHANTASMO & TAIJI ISHIMORI

This was two heel teams having a cartoon heel brawl. Lots of eye rakes, back rakes, and plenty of other underhanded tactics. If you’re into that, this was fine. After a long day of watching wrestling, this didn’t do much for me.

Suzuki-gun used an attack before the bell. ELP and Ishimori managed to withstand the attack, then worked over Kanemaru with some comedy spots. ELP used a back rake. Desperado tagged in and returned the back rake favor to ELP.

ELP and Ishimori worked over Desperado’s crotch with stomps in the corner. Kanemaru tripped Ishimori from the floor, and Suzuki-gun turned this into a crowd brawl. Desperado used a chair and an umbrella to attack ELP.

Back inside, Desperado and Kanemaru worked over Ishimori with a series of suplexes and quick tags. Ishimori hit a backflip kick, then managed to tag ELP. ELP hit a springboard crossbody to Desperado, a quebrada, then hit a suicide dive to Kanemaru for good measure.

ELP teased his airplane spin neckbreaker, but Desperado slipped out, then hit a spinebuster for a two count. Desperado got Numero Dos applied, but Ishimori made the save.

The match broke down — and all four jumped in. ELP missed a plancha to Kanemaru. Ishimori hit Desperado with a handspring kick for a two count. Ishimori hit a lung blower for a two count, as Kanemaru pulled the referee out of the ring.

With the ref down, ELP, Kanemaru, and Ishimori got hit with low blows. Ishimori went for a low blow on Desperado, but Desperado blocked the shot with a title belt. Kanemaru then spit whiskey in Ishimori’s eyes, and Desperado hit Pinche Loco on Ishimori. The ref was revived, and Desperado pinned Ishimori.

SUPER JR. TAG LEAGUE MATCH: SHO & YOH DEFEATED ROBBIE EAGLES & WILL OSPREAY

SHO and Eagles began by locking up. They traded left arm wringers. SHO used a hammerlock, then a side headlock takeover. Eagles escaped, then worked his own side headlock. They exchanged shoulder tackles, then tagged out.

Ospreay and YOH tied up. Ospreay and YOH both broke cleanly against the ropes. YOH hit a series of arm drags. Eagles jumped in and also got an arm drag. YOH then hit Ospreay with a dropkick.

YOH used a series of strikes on Ospreay. Eagles got a tag, and Ospreay and Eagles used tandem strikes to take over on YOH. Eagles and YOH stayed inside, while Ospreay and SHO fought into the audience.

Eagles hit a running kick for a near fall. Ospreay left SHO laying in the crowd, then returned to the ring to double up on YOH. Ospreay hit quick kicks, then a dropkick for a near fall. Eagles tagged in and used a knee drop for a two count.

YOH came back with a dragon screw on Eagles. Ospreay tagged himself in, and YOH hit both with a double hurricanrana.

SHO got a tag. He nailed Eagles with a delayed dropkick, sending him to the floor. SHO then hit a series of kicks on Ospreay for a two count. SHO tried for a wheelbarrow suplex on Ospreay. Ospreay blocked it, then hit a handspring kick, into a double down.

Ospreay and SHO exchanged strikes. Ospreay hit Kawada kicks. SHO fired up, no-sold a series of slaps, then dropped Ospreay with a forearm strike. SHO hit a series of forearms. Ospreay came back with uppercut strikes, but SHO cut him off with a lariat. Both tagged out.

YOH hit a back elbow and a dropkick to the left leg. SHO used a figure four, which Eagles sold as if he was covered in sulfuric acid. Eagles forced a rope break.

Eagles blocked a springboard attack from YOH, then fought off a counter attack by SHO. Both Roppongi 3K members rolled outside, and Eagles nailed them with a suicide flip dive.

Back inside, Eagles hit a couple of dropkicks to YOH, then locked on the Miller Special. SHO jumped in, and promptly ate stereo kicks from Eagles and Ospreay. Ospreay and Eagles hit a top rope ace crusher for a two count.

Ospreay and Eagles tried for their tandem finisher, the Red Wing. SHO broke it up. SHO and YOH hit Eagles with a tandem falcon arrow, but Ospreay saved. SHO and YOH hit Ospreay with stereo knees.

YOH hit a one-legged dropkick on Eagles. Roppongi called for a 3K, but Eagles hit YOH with a DDT, then a dropkick to SHO. Eagles hit Turbo Backpack on YOH for a two count. YOH didn’t get all the way over for the move and almost got spiked on his head.

Eagles went for a 450, but YOH got the knees up. Eagles avoided the knees and went for the Miller Special, but YOH used a cradle for a near fall. Eagles tried for Turbo Backpack again. YOH blocked.

YOH and Eagles traded a series of cradles for near falls. YOH then used a Japanese Clutch to pin Eagles.

This was a very good match, but Ospreay didn’t do many of his trademark spots. Apparently he was suffering from food poisoning and not feeling well. As a result, there was not nearly as much flying as you would expect.

SHO and YOH closed the show with a promo.

CURRENT SUPER JR. TAG LEAGUE STANDINGS —

Volador Jr. & Titan: 4
Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero: 4
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru: 4
El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori: 2
SHO & YOH: 2
Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles: 0
TJP & Clark Connors: 0
Tiger Mask & Yuya Uemura: 0