A major angle closed today’s NJPW Summer Struggle event in Korakuen Hall.
Roppongi 3K split in the midst of losing their Super Junior Tag League match to El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru when SHO turned on YOH.
The Roppongi 3K duo have been on a losing streak, now losing all four of their Super Jr. Tag League matches. The two worked as a unit for the bulk of the match, but Desperado and Kanemaru worked over YOH’s left knee. YOH missed a year of action due to a torn ACL in the knee.
SHO entered the match to perform a tandem move on Desperado. As YOH ran the ropes, his knee buckled.
From that point on, SHO gave up on the match.
Desperado put YOH in his Numero Dos stretch muffler submission hold. SHO jumped in as if to save, but then backed away and allowed Desperado to continue using the hold. YOH fought for a rope break, but then fell to Desperado’s Pinche Loco finisher.
After the bout, SHO hit YOH with his Shock Arrow cross-armed piledriver to cement the turn on his tag partner.
SHO and YOH both joined the NJPW Dojo in 2012. They were opponents and tag partners as Young Lions, eventually forming something of a permanent unit in 2014.
The duo were sent to CMLL and ROH for their international excursion in 2016 at the conclusion of the NJPW/CMLL Fantastica Mania tour. They worked as The Tempura Boyz in ROH.
They returned to the main NJPW roster in October 2017 with the Roppongi 3K name, managed by Rocky Romero. They defeated Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi to claim the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship at King of Pro Wrestling in their first match back in Japan.
Roppongi 3K are one of the most decorated junior heavyweight teams in NJPW history, with five IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship reigns and three Super Jr. Tag tournament wins. Only three teams have more combined days as IWGP Jr. Tag champs. Only The Young Bucks have more IWGP Jr. Tag title reigns as a unit.
NJPW has revealed the cards for their next major events, Wrestling Dontaku 2021 and Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni.
Wrestling Dontaku is a two-night event that’s being held at the Fukuoka Convention Center. Night two is taking place on Tuesday, May 4 and will be headlined by IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay defending his title against Shingo Takagi, The winner of that match will go on to defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Grand Slam at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday, May 29.
Also at Wrestling Dontaku night two, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado will put his title on the line against YOH.
Night one of Wrestling Dontaku is taking place on Monday, May 3. In the main event, Hiroshi Tanahashi will defend his NEVER Openweight Championship against Jay White. There will also be a ladder match on the Wrestling Dontaku night one card, with Tama Tonga and Taichi battling for the Iron Finger from Hell, which is a weapon that both Taichi and Tonga have feuded over in the last few months. It originally belonged to Takashi Iizuka.
Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni is being held at the Kagoshima Arena over two nights on Wednesday, April 28 and Thursday, April 29. The first night will feature Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) defending their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles in a rematch against former champions El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru. A pair of special tag team matches will headline the night two card, with Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi facing Aaron Henare & Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay & The Great-O-Khan taking on Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito.
Here are the full lineups for all four events:
Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni night one (Wednesday, April 28) —
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions SHO & YOH defend against El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Toru Yano defends the KOPW 2021 Provisional title against EVIL
Will Ospreay, The Great-O-Khan, Aaron Henare & Jeff Cobb vs. Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI
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:
Roppongi 3K have emerged victorious yet again, winning the Super Junior Tag League for the fourth year in a row.
SHO & YOH faced the Suzuki-gun team of El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru in the main event of this morning’s Power Struggle event. Desperado and Kanemaru jumped Roppongi 3K as they made their entrance and took control of the match early, but SHO & YOH were able to make a comeback, with SHO pinning El Desperado following the 3K.
After the match, Roppongi 3K were jumped by current IWGP Jr. Tag Team champions El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori. They laid both out SHO & YOH with the Jr. Tag title belts and stole SHO & YOH’s trophies that they had just won, walking to the back with them.
Desperado & Kanemaru, Roppongi 3K and ELP & Ishimori all ended the tournament tied at 10 points each. Since ELP & Ishimori’s only two losses were against the two aforementioned teams, they were eliminated from the tournament.
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express have been added to the Fighting Spirit Unleashed tour.
NJPW announced this evening that the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson, will be part of the Fighting Spirit Unleashed tour later this month. A short video was released with Ricky and Robert talking about the upcoming tour.
This will mark their first appearances under the NJPW banner. They previously toured with All Japan Pro Wrestling in the late eighties.
Roppongi 3K and Lance Archer were also announced for the tour. It starts September 17 in Lowell followed by the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York on September 28 and the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on September 29. The full cards for the tour have yet to be released.
NJPW is continuing to ramp up their presence in the United States, as they will return to California on November 9 in San Jose and November 11 in Los Angeles.
The NJPW Kizuna Road tour rolled into Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall today.
The show saw a title change in the main event, but that was secondary to the real draw of the event — the announcement of the G1 Climax 29 field.
Here are full results and match recaps:
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YOTA TSUJI DEFEATED YUYA UEMURA
These two continue to trade wins and go to time limit draws. Their series now stands at four wins for Tsuji, three for Uemura, and 21 draws.
After an early mat wrestling sequence, Tsuji used a shoulder tackle to take over. He demonstrated his power edge until Uemura came back with a dropkick. Uemura hit a second dropkick in the corner.
They traded strikes in the center of the ring until Tsuji landed his own dropkick. Tsuji hit a powerslam, but Uemura kicked out of the ensuing cover. Tsuji went for a full crab, but Uemura turned it into a cradle for a two count.
Tsuji got the crab applied on his second attempt. Uemura battled to reach the ropes, but ultimately could not, and Tsuji got the submission. A solid opener.
Suzuki-gun used an attack before the bell to establish the early advantage. Narita made a quick comeback, landing a pescado. Kanemaru jumped Narita on the floor and hit him with a guillotine leg slice over the barricade.
While Kanemaru and DOUKI worked over Narita inside the ring, Taichi choked Ishii with a camera cable on the floor. DOUKI landed a double stomp. Narita made another comeback, hitting a knee lift and a dropkick.
Honma tagged in. He was cut off on his first kokeshi attempt, but hit one on Taichi. Honma hit a diving kokeshi on Kanemaru, and Ishii and Taichi received tags.
Taichi hit Ishii with a series of short kicks. Ishii fired up and hit a series of chops. Taichi raked the eyes, but Ishii countered with a shoulder tackle. Ishii ducked a buzzsaw, and Taichi kicked away an attempted lariat. Ishii hit a back suplex, into a double down.
Narita tagged in. Taichi blocked a belly-to-belly. DOUKI jumped in, and Narita hit him with a belly-to-belly. Narita tried for a leg lace on Taichi, but Kanemaru made the save. Taichi removed his pants. Narita used a cradle and a backslide for a pair of near falls.
Taichi hit an axe bomber for a two count, then pinned Narita with a superkick. They worked at a brisk pace, and the match was good.
RYUSUKE TAGUCHI, JUICE ROBINSON & MIKEY NICHOLLS DEFEATED TAMA TONGA, TANGA LOA & JADO
They are establishing Juice and Nicholls as future opponents for Tonga and Loa, so the booking here made sense.
Bullet Club attacked before the bell. Tonga and Loa hit Juice with some tandem offense. Tonga missed a splash into the corner, and Nicholls jumped in to aid Juice in hitting their own tandem offense.
Taguchi got a tag, but quickly found his ass being worked over. Tonga and Loa took the referee, enabling Jado to jump in and nail Taguchi with a kendo stick. Taguchi continued to sell his ass as G.O.D. worked it over with kicks and headbutts.
Jado pulled Taguchi’s tights down and threatened to use the kendo stick again, but Juice jumped in to make the save. Juice ran wild with jabs, and Nicholls hit a pescado. Taguchi continued to work the rest of the match with his tights down in the back.
Taguchi and Jado traded cradles. Taguchi used an ankle lock, and Jado tapped out. A total comedy match. The live crowd loved it.
TETSUYA NAITO, SHINGO TAKAGI, EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI DEFEATED KOTA IBUSHI, YUJI NAGATA, JUSHIN LIGER, TIGER MASK & SHOTA UMINO
BUSHI and Tiger started off. Tiger landed a series of kicks, then tagged Liger. A brawl broke out around ringside, while BUSHI used a kick to the face to gain the advantage on Liger. On the outside, Naito went after Ibushi’s eye, which was injured in their match last weekend.
EVIL and SANADA continued to work over Liger. SANADA applied the Paradise Lock over the ropes. Liger hit a backbreaker and a lariat to BUSHI, then tagged Nagata. Nagata looked great here. Naito got a tag, and Nagata absolutely went crazy on him. He hit an exploder, then used a Nagata Lock.
Ibushi got a tag and continued the work on Naito that Nagata started. Ibushi hit a missile dropkick, and a plancha. Naito came up from the floor with a bloody mouth. This interaction was mild and safe by their standards.
Umino and Shingo tagged in. Umino hit a missile dropkick and used a cross armbreaker, but Shingo rolled to the ropes for a break. Shingo sold a lot for Umino. LIJ went five-on-one against Umino. Umino’s team jumped in for the save.
The match broke down, leaving Shingo and Umino in the ring. Shingo hit a noshigami for a nearfall, then hit a Pumping Bomber to pick up the pin.
LIJ posed together in the ring after the match. Naito’s mouth was a complete mess. EVIL refused to join in the group celebration. This wasn’t so much a breakup angle as it was a reminder that G1 is coming, and it’s every man for himself.
Yujiro returned here after a long absence due to an eye injury.
Makabe worked over Yujiro and Owens. Yano got a tag and immediately untied a corner pad. He was, of course, whipped into the exposed buckle.
After a lengthy beatdown on Yano, White and Tana got tags. White hit a flatliner and a deadlift German, but Tanahashi came back with a Twist and Shout, into a double down. Makabe and Yujiro got tags. Yujiro hit a fisherman buster, then tagged Owens.
Owens hit a Final Cut for a near fall. He teased a package piledriver, but Makabe escaped and hit a lariat. Makabe went up top for a knee drop, but Yujiro cut him off.
The match broke down. Yano sent Yujiro into the exposed buckle. White sent Yano and Tana into the exposed buckle. White hit a Saito suplex on Tana.
The finish saw Owens use a schoolboy on Makabe. He held the tights and got the upset.
MINORU SUZUKI, LANCE ARCHER & ZACK SABRE JR. DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA, YOSHI-HASHI & TOA HENARE
They had to establish a lot in a short period of time with the booking of this match.
YOSHI-HASHI is challenging for Sabre’s RPW British Heavyweight title on June 29, so the focus was put on them at the outset. They also started a storyline that Suzuki has become unhinged after being left out of the G1. For good measure, they also tried to get over the iron claw as a submission hold for Archer.
YH held his own early on. He landed a big chop. Sabre had enough at that point, got a takedown, and went to work on YH’s legs. He dropped him leg-first over the barricade. Suzuki, meanwhile, went after Okada with a chair. They put over on commentary that Suzuki was upset at being left out of the G1 and was taking it out on the champ.
Okada got the hot tag, and Suzuki tagged in as well. Okada hit a back elbow and used a DDT for a nearfall. Okada hit a slam and started to climb to the top for an elbow. Suzuki no-sold the slam, then attacked Okada from behind.
Suzuki shoved the referee down, then hit Okada with a PK. They exchanged forearm strikes. Suzuki stayed up, while Okada collapsed to the mat. Suzuki applied a kimura, but Okada rolled to the ropes. Suzuki threw Red Shoes out of the ring and maintained the kimura.
Suzuki held Okada in the kimura in the ropes forever, but the ref didn’t call for a DQ. Archer didn’t want to get disqualified, so he tagged himself in. Okada hit him with a dropkick, then dropkicked Suzuki off the apron, before tagging Henare.
The match broke down. Suzuki held Okada in a rear naked choke, while Sabre tied YH up. Archer hit the Blackout on Henare. He made a cover, but pulled Henare up after a two count. Archer then used the iron claw to submit Henare.
Suzuki cut a promo after the match. He demanded to be put in the G1 field. He said the people want to see him in the G1, and he demanded that New Japan give him a match to win his way into the field.
IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: EL PHANTASMO & TAIJI ISHIMORI DEFEATED SHO & YOH TO WIN THE TITLES
YOH and Ishimori started off with a nice sequence. ELP tried to jump in, but he got sent outside. YOH hit a dive and came up bleeding from the neck. SHO tried to out-wrestle Ishimori, but Ishimori got the upper hand. He hit a series of chops, and he and ELP went to work on SHO.
ELP used a series of back rakes. Ishimori hit double knees in the corner. ELP tied SHO to the tree of woe. SHO managed to escape. He landed a suplex to Ishimori, then tagged YOH. YOH hit a dragon screw. He teased a second, but Ishimori jumped in illegally, cutting him off.
ELP and Ishimori worked YOH over in their half of the ring. Ishimori hit a sliding German. YOH tried to tag SHO, but Ishimori pulled him from the apron, and the extended beatdown on YOH continued.
YOH hit a double dropkick, then suplexed Ishimori. SHO got a hot tag. He hit a series of lariats, then a double spear. Ishimori rolled through on a suplex attempt. He tried to hit a foot stomp, but the timing was off. Ishimori hit a handspring kick. Ishimori blocked a right-armed lariat, but SHO connected with his left arm.
SHO hit another lariat, and Ishimori took a flip bump. SHO went for Shock Arrow, but Ishimori blocked. Ishimori teased the Bloody Cross, but SHO blocked. Ishimori hit a double stomp — and both tagged out.
They traded quick cradles. YOH hit a Final Cut for a near fall. YOH teased hitting a dragon suplex off the top, but ELP slid out and hit a powerbomb. ELP hit a splash off the top for a two count. ELP missed a moonsault, and YOH rolled into a Calf Crusher. Simultaneously, SHO used a cross armbreaker on Ishimori. ELP reached the ropes.
YOH used SHO as a launch pad to hit a back elbow in the corner. They tried for the 3K, but ELP hit a DDT. Ishimori took the referee and slid ELP his title belt. ELP hit YOH with the belt, then used an airplane spin for a nearfall.
ELP tried for the CR2, but SHO made the save. SHO and YOH hit a tandem facebuster, then followed with the 3K. YOH covered, but Ishimori jumped in at the last second to make the save.
SHO hit a jumping knee on Ishimori, then hit a flip dive through the second rope to the floor. YOH hit a bridging German on ELP for a near fall.
SHO hit a backstabber. Ishimori jumped in and threw SHO into the referee. ELP hit a low blow on SHO. Ishimori hit a lungblower on YOH. ELP then used the CR2 on YOH. He got the pin — and the titles.
ELP and Ishimori continued to attack after the bell. Taguchi ran in for the save. ELP promised to win the NEVER Six-Man titles from Taguchi tomorrow, then to beat him again later in the tour to retain the British Cruiserweight belt.
Taguchi grabbed the mic and called SHO and YOH back to the ring to close the show with a promo.
Everyone gave a great effort, but the crowd was quiet for a Korakuen main event.
It was announced that due to an injury, Taiji Ishimori is off tonight’s show. The opening tag match is now a singles bout between Yota Tsuji and Robbie Eagles.
Robbie Eagles defeated Yota Tsuji
Eagles was in control for a lot of the match. The size difference was real — Tsuji definately has size. Tsuji cut off Eagles with a dropkick. He fired back with punches, but Eagles grabbed him and pinned him with what I would describe as a snapmare into a falcon arrow. Okay match.
Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask and Tomoaki Honma defeated Volador Jr., Soberano Jr. and Ren Narita
This turned into a pretty good match. Narita worked a lot of the match, either being in control or selling and looked good in doing both. He and Honma worked a lot of the match together. Narita rolled up him for a big near fall, but Honma took him down and applied an STF for the submission win.
Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado defeated ACH and Shota Umino
Much like the previous match, Umino worked a lot of this bout. Maybe it was because he was working Desperado and Kanemaru here, but he seems to be a bit bigger than usual. Umino managed to escape from a Kanemaru camel clutch. ACH finally made a hot tag, then tagged back in Umino, who scored several nearfalls but fell to a stretch muffler.
Shingo Takagi and BUSHI defeated Ryusuke Taguchi and Ayato Yoshida
Tetsuya Naito arrived with the LIJ pair and observed the bout in the crowd. Taguchi worked a lot of this match and looked great. Yoshida came in and worked with Takagi. Takagi hit a lariat and a gory bomb for a nearfall. Takagi then finished off Yoshida pumping bomber for the win. Pretty much the same formula as the other matches on the card so far.
Naito left the crowd and joined up with both BUSHI and Takagi after the match.
Tomohiro Ishii and Rocky Romero defeated Minoru Suzuki and Taka Michinoku
Ishii and Suzuki continued the brawling they’ve done all tour outside of the ring while Romero and Michinoku worked in the ring. Ishii and Suzuki continued to brawl around the arena and finally found themselves in the ring. This match is gonna be wild on Saturday. Suzuki went for the Gotch piledriver. Ishii escaped and countered with a side suplex.
Michinoku and Romero were tagged back in, where they traded near falls until Romero countered a crossface with a la magistral cradle for the surprise win. This was fun.
Once again, Ishii and Suzuki had to be seperated from one another after the match.
Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Toa Henare
One spot during the match had Owens going to the top rope, teasing he was going to do the high fly flow, but Henare caught him with a boot instead as he jumped off the top rope. Heels continued to get heat on Henare. Tanahashi did get a hot tag, but this crowd was dead for most of the show and the match never really got going except for the last few minutes of the match. Henare tagged back in and eventually fell to the package piledriver by Owens.
SHO & YOH defeated KUSHIDA and Chris Sabin
KUSHIDA and YOH started things off with some chain wrestling. SHO entered but was also taken down by KUSHIDA. Both he and Sabin worked on SHO’s arm. YOH is tagged in and starts to gain the upper hand, but gets cut off by the other team’s, well, teamwork, being taken out with a doomsday device dropkick.
SHO starts taking Sabin out with German suplexes but KUSHIDA catches him. Both he and Sabin kick SHO while his feet were resting on the referee with a cool spot. KUSHIDA misses a moonsault and somehow all four men are down. Sabin starts attacking both but out of nowhere they manage to connect with the 3K, YOH pinning Sabin for the win. This was fine but had no real heat at all. Never felt like it really went to the next level either.
So that makes it a three way tie between Roppongi 3K, Desperado & Kanemaru and BUSHI & Shingo Takagi. After some initial confusion, the announcer said that it would be a three way match at Power Struggle. The other two teams made their way to the ring. Desperado ran down both teams after the match. He promised to win clean.
BUSHI took the mic after, saying they’ll get payback for their loss. Romero then promised that 3K would beat up both teams at Power Struggle.
Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Gedo defeated Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, Beretta and Chuckie T
Bullet Club worked on Beretta for a good while, teasing a tag to Okada until he finally escapes and tags him in. Okada used the dragon screw on Fale, which is interesting given Okada and Tanahashi’s recent relationship change. Best Friends and Yano get their shine in. Okada comes in and bodyslams Fale and dropkicks Tama Tonga.
Chuckie T came in and missed a moonsault. He and White fought as he blocked a low blow. Gedo came in and blasted Chuckie with brass knuckles. White connected with the bladerunner, and that was it. A solid main event.
White and Okada went at it after the match, eventually being seperated. White mouthed off and walked to the back, but Okada ran after him and brawled in the aisle. White beat up some young lions then leaves. Okada grabbed the mic and promised that White would meet a rainmaker at Power Struggle.
Revolution Pro Wrestling was back at York Hall in London yesterday for their second of two straight nights of tapings for FreeSports.
– From the LED ring apron, it seems that the name of the show is “World of Pro Wrestling,” seemingly a dig/play on ITV’s “World of Sport.”
– Kip Sabian defeated Kurtis Chapman and A-Kid in a triple threat match to become the number one contender to David Starr’s Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship
Starr came out and was annoyed that there was a whole tournament to decide the Tag Team title number one contenders but a random triple threat to determine his challenger. He commentated the match.
All four worked face and it was a decent opener for the show. A-Kid continues to impress.
– The Great O-Kharn (w/ Lord Gideon Grey) defeated Darrell Allen
Lord Gideon Grey is excellent as O-Kharn’s manager and is now calling him the undefeated Great O-Kharn. Another simple squash.
– Jonny Storm & Jody Fleish defeated Chuck Mambo & Cassius in a tag team tournament quarterfinal match
This was the final quarterfinal in the tag team tournament to decide the number one contenders to Suzuki-gun (already in the semis are Aussie Open, Sho & Yoh, and the Hunter Bros). This was a strong match and both teams were fairly over. Mambo looked excellent, but the veterans won.
– Chris Brookes & Jonathan Gresham defeated Jushin Thunder Liger & El Phantasmo
This match was set up the night before. The heels bent the rules and injured Liger’s right leg early on, which he sold incredibly well and was unable to tag in Phantasmo. When he finally did, Phantasmo leapt around the ring and took CCK to their limits.
CCK cheated to win and were heavily booed.
– KUSHIDA defeated Josh Bodom
MK McKinnan was KUSHIDA’s original opponent but was legitimately injured. Bodom took a lot of the match, beating down KUSHIDA. After a few comebacks were thwarted, KUSHIDA tapped out Bodom.
KUSHIDA’s RevPro matches have been very repetitive as of late (see vs. Adam Brooks at Summer Sizzler).
– Dan Magee defeated Sha Samuels by DQ
Their heated rivalry continued as Samuels hit Magee with a chair during a suicide dive. Magee was taken away by medics.
– Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Rocky Romero
Great match that lasted around 20 minutes. Romero attempted to match Sabre’s technical ability but resorted to strikes and Sabre started bleeding from the nose before he inevitably tapped out Romero for the win.
– The Hunter Bros defeated Jonny Storm & Jody Fleish in a tag team tournament semifinal match
Another great match, with the Hunters really coming into their own as a team. Storm and Fleish have been excellent in making others look good as of late in RevPro. It was up in the air who would win and the crowd was into the near falls.
The Hunter Bros are now in the tournament final.
– The Great O-Kharn defeated Carlos Romo
Another simple squash.
– Colt Cabana defeated James Mason
This was really fun to watch and had the right balance of comedy and wrestling. Both tried roll-ups and cradles until Cabana won with a superman folding press.
Samuels came out and attacked Cabana but was stopped by Magee, who cut an impassioned promo.
– Kip Sabian defeated Undisputed British Cruiserweight Champion David Starr by countout
Sabian had earned his shot earlier in the night. Starr was annoyed that Sabian was getting the better of him so he left the match. Sabian got an ovation, but Starr kept the title with the countout finish.
– HxC (James Castle & Dan Head) defeated The Arrows of Hungary (Aaron Icarus & Dover)
This was a rematch from the Cockpit show from four days ago, but the crowd were worn out. Dover took a double suplex on the ramp and was out for much of the match. Castle and Head cheated to win.
– Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Chris Ridgeway via KO
Another rematch from the Cockpit show. They exchanged strikes early on with both of their chests being visibly scarred. Sabre grounded Ridgeway, who would fire back up with stiff kicks and would get the better of the striking battles.
Sabre eventually knocked out Ridgeway and cut a promo about how he’s not the best technical wrestler in the world — he’s the best wrestler.
– Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defeated Roppongi 3K (Sho & Yoh) in a tag team tournament semifinal match
This match determined who will face the Hunter Bros in the tournament final. Great stuff from both teams as you’d expect. When things were getting good, Aussie Open’s entrance video and music were accidentally played. That was a pretty bad mistake that can hopefully be edited out.
Aussie Open eventually got the expected win. They would be really good in NJPW’s World Tag League this year and have already had great matches in RevPro against EVIL & SANADA, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson, Jay White, Jeff Cobb, and now Roppongi 3K.
After the match, Brookes & Gresham attacked them and stood tall despite the Hunter Bros coming down to help Aussie Open.
From the Odeum in Chicago, Illinois, this was episode #351 of Ring of Honor television. Colt Cabana and Ian Riccaboni called the action.
Flip Gordon defeated Jonathan Gresham
The match started with some impressive chain wrestling, and unsurprisingly, flips by each man. Gordon landed on his feet after a leg sweep and gave Gresham a “You can’t see me” hand wave. Gresham then attempted to hook up his version of the Octopus. A dropkick sent Gresham outside and Gordon launched himself onto him on the floor.
After the commercial, a strike exchange ensued for a very long time until Gordon hit an amazing back heel kick over his own shoulder and landed a Falcon Arrow. Gresham kicked out and managed a quick roll-up, but Gordon kicked out and then landed a Star Spangled Stunner for the win.
Bully Ray came to the ring and said his perspective of Gordon has changed because he has learned that Gordon is from Montana. Ray told a story about wanting to buy a ranch for his father in Montana, but his father had a heart attack and died before he bought it. Ray said that he respected Gordon in life because of his Montana roots as well as his time served in the Army.
Ray said that there was no heat anymore and asked for a handshake. He shook Gordon’s hand, gave him a salute, and then hit a low blow. Ray laughed and told Gordon that he is nothing but a stupid young boy.
A video package aired setting up the grudge match between Kelly Klein and Deonna Purrazzo.
A recap aired of last week’s main event of Austin Aries vs. Silas Young and Aries’ subsequent loss and meltdown involving his groin attacks of both head referee Todd Sinclair and former friend Kenny King.
Kelly Klein defeated Deonna Purrazzo
Purrazzo came to the ring in street fight gear — jeans and a T-shirt. She got the early jump on Klein, beat her down, and went to work on the arm.
After the break, Purrazzo remained in control and hit three German suplexes, then locked on an arm submission. It was all Purrazzo until Klein was able to counter and launch her into the ring post. Klein landed a fall-away slam from the second rope. Purrazzo got back to her feet and pushed Klein, who bumped into the referee.
Purrazzo landed a cutter, but no referee was there to count the pin. She hooked up the Fujiwara armbar, but Klein reversed it into a choke and Purrazzo tapped out immediately.
In a promo, Jay Lethal announced that his rubber match against KUSHIDA for Best in the World was now official.
Also in a promo, Dalton Castle said that Cody Rhodes and Marty Scurll should fear him at Best in the World because his internal fire rages like a furnace.
Caprice Coleman joined Cabana and Riccaboni on commentary for the main event.
ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes defeated Roppongi 3K (Sho & Yoh) to retain their titles
The Briscoes got a lot of heat on Yoh until Sho got the hot tag and ran wild. Sho hit three German suplexes on Mark Briscoe with a superkick assist by Yoh. The Briscoes got back in control after a lariat on Sho. The Briscoes hit some impressive double-team maneuvers, including a double football shoulder tackle and a Razor’s Edge into a cutter. They also hit a power plex elbow combo, but Sho kicked out.
Roppongi 3K fired up and made a comeback with double knees and double flip dives. They threw Mark back in the ring and landed their 3K finisher, but he kicked out. It looked like 3K was on the verge of winning until Jay Briscoe threw a chair into the ring for a distraction. Then Mark kicked Yoh below the belt and the Jay Driller finished it.
The result makes it official that The Briscoes will be defending the ROH Tag Team belts against The Young Bucks at Best in the World on June 29th.
