Night 14
Date: August 4, 2019
From: Osaka Prefectural Gym (Osaka, Japan)
Undercard Results:
Shota Umino & Ren Narita def. Toa Henare & Yuya Uemura
ZSJ, Archer, & Suzuki def. SANADA, EVIL, & BUSHI
Fale, Yujiro, & Chase def. Tanahashi, Ibushi, & Honma
Okada, Ospreay, & YOSHI-HASHI def. KENTA, Fredericks, & Connors
B Block Matches:
Tomohiro Ishii def. Toru Yano
You came in for a comedy match and went out with a strong style clinic. I mean who the hell expected we’re getting the serious Yano here? As if it isn’t more evident already, Tomohiro Ishii brings out the best out of anyone. Hell, he could probably get a 4 star match out of Gabai Ji-chan at this point for crying out loud! Anyway, Yano tried to play his games on Ishii such as removing the turnbuckles early during the opposition’s entrance and staying on the outside, sitting in a chair waiting for his stable mate to come out, but he almost got counted out for his efforts. It is clearly Ishii will not be having any of his non sense so YTR’s solution? Wrestle. For those who only know Yano as a comedic wrestler, the man actually has amateur wrestling background and even did MMA at one point, he could hit you up with counters and slams if he damn well wants, he just doesn’t most of the time. But Ishii is a different kind of animal altogether, a Stone Pitbull if you will, so Yano turned back the clock to his amateur days and even from just a year ago when he started wrestling “clean.” Multiple spots of great exchanges from both men, with Yano even getting the better of Ishii in a forearm battle. Ishii still got the better of him though, at the 9 minute mark a vertical drop brainbuster was all it took for the NEVER Champ to win. One of the best matches in the entire tournament just for the absurdity of YTR actually doing wrestling moves.
Taichi def. Juice Robinson
From a surprisingly fast pace match we go to a slower one between Taichi and Juice. The slow pace actually wasn’t a detriment and worked well for the styles of these two. This was mainly a typical Taichi match though, kind of reminiscent of his junior heavyweight days where it is just shenanigans after shenanigans. Miho Abe and Yoshinobu Kanemaru with endless interferences and all that stuff. Still though, I thought this was a solid enough, serviceable match. In the concluding parts, both men brought out the goods and started with the counters and heavy strikes. The Holy Emperor got the surprise win though with the Black Mephisto on Juice at the 12 minute and 28 second mark. Will probably be forgotten though, one of those matches that are in the “middle of the pack” not great but far from bad.
Hirooki Goto def. Jeff Cobb
Speaking of hard hitting bouts, this was exactly that. Goto and Cobb just beating the hell out of one another for 11 minutes. What more could you ask for right? These two have faced each other in the past already twice for the NEVER Openweight Championship, this time it’s the rubber match. Goto wins with the GTR. One of Cobb’s best efforts, I think he has found his mojo by the end of this tour so good for him.
Jay White def. Jon Moxley
I don’t know about you but this was another anticipated match I’ve been looking forward to since the start of the tour, Moxley and Switchblade. The contrast of styles already makes you curious on how they’d face each other and in my opinion, it worked out great. I’m seeing some fans online who weren’t too appreciative of this match and that’s fine you’re entitled to the wrestling you like but as for me, I thoroughly enjoyed this bout. White of course played the cowardly bastard heel with Gedo in tow, while Moxley is just out for blood like always. A pretty cool dynamic and a change of scenery as for all of his past matches, excluding Yano, Mox was always pitted against fellow tough men. This time he was up against a trickster and I think that’s what got him to take the L. There was a point where I thought he’d lose from a double cheat move as Gedo hits him with the brass knuckles then Jay proceeds with the low blow but he surprisingly kicked out of that. Just a few moments later on though, he wasn’t able to kick out of the Bladerunner at the 15 minute mark. Some fans thought we’d see a DQ finish but I’m glad Jay actually pinned Mox, solidifying his status more as the top gaijin heel. Besides Juice, I see Switchblade being the one to take back the US Title off of Mox at some point in the future.
Tetsuya Naito def. Shingo Takagi
Last match of the night and let me tell you, no exaggeration or hyperbole whatsoever, Tetsuya Naito vs. Shingo Takagi for the first time is one of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen. Borderline 5 stars for sure! First off, the history between these two pretty much helped in why I enjoyed this match so much. I like things with heavy background with them, learning about the history of wrestlers, and what a wonderful story being told here, basically two decades in the making. Shoutout to Chris Charlton by the way for the information, basically Naito and Shingo go way back since high school. They went to train together at Animal Hamaguchi’s gym to become pro wrestlers. Shingo became the biggest star in Dragon Gate while Naito carved his own path, twice in New Japan. Finally as The Dragon left his nest, he re-joined with his old pal in LIJ. With Naito dreaming of becoming the first double champion and Shingo dominating the junior heavyweights, it all leads up to this. Every strike, submission, and even taunt felt like it mattered. They really got you invested in what were they doing in the ring. It’s only 3 minutes less than the Okada vs. SANADA from the previous night, but Naito vs. Shingo worked the long style of matches better in my opinion. Rest spots, which aren’t really a frequent occurrence in this match, didn’t overstay. The pace was always up on the tempo which makes it all the more enjoyable even for those who may not be big fans of long winded bouts. Some fans online stated that Shingo eliminating Naito from the tournament would’ve been a story book ending and that scenario looks cool and all but I’m glad it didn’t happen. The Destino still got him the win to keep his dream alive. Easily Shingo’s best heavyweight match and another one for Naito’s already established match resume. When professional wrestling is good, it is damn good indeed.
B Block Leaderboard:
10 Points = Jon Moxley
8 Points = Tetsuya Naito, Jay White, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii
6 Points = Jeff Cobb, Juice Robinson, Taichi, Toru Yano
4 Points = Shingo Takagi
