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Csonka’s NJPW World Tag League (Day One) Review 11.21.15
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NJPW World Tag League (Day One) Review 11.21.15
OFFICIAL RESULTS
– WTL Block A Match: Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba defeated Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma @ 7:22 via pin [**½]
– WTL Block B Match: Tetsuya Naito & EVIL defeated Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows @ 12:05 via pin [**¾]
– WTL Block B Match: Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata defeated Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii @ 12:48 via pin [****]
– WTL Block A Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin defeated Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI @ 17:40 via pin [****]
– Similar to the G1 and the Super Juniors tournament, this is streamlined coverage of just the tournament matches.
Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba defeated Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma: This was a solid, but unspectacular open to the tournament matches. I could actually dig some singles matches with Honma and Sakuraba as they worked well together and Honma will simply take the punishment because he wants shit to look good. I dug their chemistry. Yano toned his stuff down a bit, which was appreciated because sometimes he is too much and takes away from matches (for me at least). The not so shocking result of this match was Yano hitting a low blow and pinning Honma, which caused the children of Japan to cry because HonMania did not get to run wild.
Tetsuya Naito & EVIL defeated Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows: Pre-match BUSHI was revealed as being aligned with Tetsuya Naito & EVIL. He was pulled from action on the card a few days ago “due to injury,” so this was a nice surprise. As you would expect, these two teams didn’t exactly follow the rules of wrestling all that closely, and for them it worked. They all actually worked well together, I am usually really tough on Gallows, but even he didn’t really annoy me this time around. The basic story is that each team tried to out heel the other, BUSHI then got on the apron late and used BLACK MIST on Gallows, allowing Naito to hit destino for the win. This was a solid, above average match with a lot of shenanigans, but it worked for the participants involved. The big thing here was the interference by BUSHI. I am not a fan of a bunch of bullshit in tournaments, but keeping it in this match worked for me. BUSHI is revealed as being with Naito and EVIL, and his teammates score a victory over the tag team champions due to his help. So even if they don’t win the tournament, they can make a claim to a tag title shot down the line.
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata defeated Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii: We were off to a solid start as far as the tournament goes, but things really picked up here. Shibata and Goto had some great interaction with Ishii, and the crowd really picked up for this match and were hot for just about everything. We had good teamwork from both teams instead of focusing on just their signature stuff, which added to the quality and flow of things for me. The action escalated well through out, and the finish came at just the right time. Everything clicked here, and if you’re cherry picking matches, this is one to check out. Shibata put Ishii away with the penalty kick to score the win, and I’d be all for a singles match between them down the line.
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin defeated Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI: Two things I liked about this match going in was that Elgin is getting run with Tanahashi and that this also serves as build for the Tanahashi vs. Okada match at WrestleKingdom. This was another great match, on the level with the previous match, with everyone working hard and delivering some great stuff. It also helped that they got the most time to work with, and it never felt long. The way Elgin is presented here as opposed to ROH is night and day and he comes off as a star here and the crowds treat him as such following his G1 run. They know his repertoire, and react very well to it. I loved the tension between Tanahashi and Okada, but Elgin came off as the star here. He hit a falcon arrow (HE DID THE DEAL), they did the High Fly Mike, and then Elgin hit the buckle bomb and sitout powerbomb to pick up the win over HASHI. This was a great way to end the show.
Again, if you’re cherry picking matches, this is another one to check out.
BLOCK A
* Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin (1-0)
* Kazushi Sakuraba and Toru Yano (1-0)
* Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma (0-1)
* Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi (0-1)
* Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale
* Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian
* Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi
BLOCK B
* Tetsuya Naito and Evil (1-0)
* Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata (1-0)
* Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii (0-1)
* Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson (0-1)
* A.J. Styles and Yujiro Takahashi
* Michael Bennett and Matt Taven
* Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan
– End scene.
– Thanks for reading.
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”
