Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Wrestle-1/TNA Outbreak

March 2, 2014
Tokyo, Japan

Kikutaro vs. Ryota Hama
Kikutaro foolishly challenged him to a sumo match, which obviously did not work. Kikutaro actually managed to get him on the ground. He then called for a brainbuster, but Hama reversed it into a vertical suplex. Hama then did a running corner butt splash and screamed “Wooooo!” Kikutaro came back with a dragon screw on Hama’s dick. Hama then sat on him: 1…2…3

This was inoffensive and short. I really love Kikutaro, and I wish I could see him live one day. I had never seen Hama before. He seemed like a fun undercard wrestler.
Match Rating: *

Two guys in hoods attacked Kikutaro and Hama after the match. It was Ryouji Sai and KAZMA SAKAMOTO of the Desperado stable. It looks they’re here for a tag match…

Manabu Soya & Seiki Yoshioka vs. Desperado (KAZMA SAKAMOTO & Ryouji Sai)
Seiki is a small fella. He was cut off and worked over by Desperado. Seiki eventually escaped and tagged out to Soya. Soya and his furry kickpads made a comeback. Seiki took out Sai with an Asai Moonsault. Soya got a nearfall on SAKAMOTO with a DVD. He then hit a big lariat: 1…2…3

This was perfectly fine, but it’s nothing that you need to see. I’m interested in watching more Seiki Yoshioka going forward. He seems to be a fun athlete.
Match Rating: **1/4

Satoshi Kojima vs. Yasufumi Nakanoue
Kojima was the NWA Heavyweight Champion at the time, but the title was not on the line. They ended up on the floor quickly. Kojima hit a DDT on the apron and then worked Nakamoue over. Nakanoue fought back. He hit a vertical suplex and a diving elbow. He then hit a back suplex and called for a lariat. Kojima reversed it into an Ace Crusher though. Nakanoue blocked a lariat and then hit a lariat and a sliding lariat. He called for another lariat, but Kojima hit a big lariat: 1…2…3

Much like the last match, this was fine and inoffensive. I’m not a big Kojima fan these days, but he’s over enough to justify a spot on the card.
Match Rating: **1/4

Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels & Kazarian) vs. Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka)
To say Koji Kanemoto looks incredible for forty seven years old is an understatement. He makes Christopher Daniels look old in comparison! Kanemoto had some early success, but Bad Influence managed to cut him off and then work him over all the same. Kaneoto eventually just made his own comeback. He was legit going back and forth with Kazarian briefly. They did a double big boot spot, and Tanaka finally tagged in. Daniels took out Kanemoto with the Arabian Press Moonsault. Tanaka then took out Bad Influence with a moonsault to the floor. Kanemoto went for a Pescado on Kaz, but he came up empty. Tanaka hit Daniels with a super Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. Tanaka then hit a 450, but Kaz pulled the referee out to save the match. Daniels went for the BME, but Tanaka got a foot up. Kanemoto got Kaz in the ankle lock, as Tanaka got Daniels in a cross armbreaker. Kaz managed to crawl to save Daniels. Kanemoto got taken out with a STO from Daniels. Tanaka then got hit with a high and low: 1…2…3

This was as fine as the non-TNA matches that came before, but I had some expectations for it that were clearly not met. The structure was a little weird with Kanemoto making his own comeback for too long after getting worked over for a relatively significant amount of time. The match was not all that heated either.
Match Rating: **1/4

Gail Kim vs. Madison Rayne
Rayne briefly had control to stop the match, but Kim cut her off after giving one of her knees a stunner. Kim then worked her over, but she did not focus on the knee (boo). Kim actually did the ringpost figure four spot though. Rayne then avoided a splash in a corner and hit a spear. Rayne then made a comeback. They botched a headscissors takedown spot. Rayne hit a big DDT for a nearfall. Kim came back with an Air Raid Crash, a hot shot, and Eat Defeat: 1…2…3

Much like the last three matches, this was very fine. The structure was theoretically very good, but they did not do much that entertained or engaged me.
Match Rating: **1/4

Abyss vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
Abyss was in control at the start, and they quickly made their way to the floor. Abyss sent him into a barricade. Takayama came back and went for a German. Abyss fought out of it though. They ended up on the stage after Abyss took out a bag of thumbtacks. Abyss is the dumbest mainstream worker in the last decade. He might as well be doing deathmatches on the indies for all the stupidity he puts in his matches. Takayama went to German Abyss in them, but Abyss managed to give Takayama a scoop slam into them. Abyss then went for a splash, but he went into the thumbtacks too after Takayama moved. LOL. The referee ended the match in a double disqualification.

This was a bag of flaming shit that Wrestle-1 and TNA made us step in. Abyss has been awful for years, and Takayama’s deterioration is sad to watch. This was just unpleasant to experience and made me feel bad for those involved.
Match Rating: DUD

Bobby Roode vs. Masakatsu Funaki
This is an interesting styles clash.

Roode motioned for the Crane Kick and told Funaki there would be no kicking. Roode baited Funaki to the floor after a lot of nothing and finally managed to cut him off. He started going after Funaki’s left arm. Roode was in control for a while and went after the left arm. Funaki came back and delivered a number of kicks. Roode came back with a sloppy divorce court and a crippler crossface. Funaki escaped, and Roode got another crossface. Funaki escaped again but ran into a cruddy-looking spinebuster. Funaki applied the ankle lock for a second time. Roode had to tap out!

Unfortunately, the styles clash was impossible for the wrestlers to overcome here. Roode wanted to work like a southern heel, and it really just did not click with the crowd.
Match Rating: **1/2

Keiji Mutoh, Taiyo Kea, & Rob Terry vs. Samoa Joe & Desperado (Rene Dupree & Masayuki Kono)
They did a backstage segment where Muto and Terry were saved by Kea from two attackers that I did not recognize. It got over with the crowd in a big way.

The babyfaces mostly had the advantage at the start. Mutoh got cut off and then worked over for a while. Mutoh eventually escaped, and Kea made a big comeback. Kea actually briefly got cut off by a Samoa Joe powerslam. Kea escaped Kono’s beatdown quickly thereafter and tagged out to Roby Terry. Terry made a comeback. Mutoh then tagged in to make his own comeback on everyone on the other team. Mutoh applied the figure four on Dupree, but Kono made the save. Dupree then ate the Shining Wizard from Mutoh but some Desperado heels pulled the referee out. Samoa Joe did not approve of the rudo tactics and prevented them using a chair on Mutoh. Joe then walked out on the match. Kono tried to get him to come back, but that just allowed Dupree to get killed in the ring. He eventually fell victim to another Shining Wizard from Mutoh: 1…2…3

I found it amusing that Joe walked out on the match after the rudos got too rudo for him. The match itself did not have too much going for it though. Mutoh looks very old at the moment.
Match Rating: **1/4

The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)© vs. Team 246 (Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo) vs. The BroMans (Jessie Godderz & Robbie E)
The Wolves had recently won the belts on a TNA house show because TNA.

A person from each team was allowed to be in the ring at the same time. The match broke down early though. The BroMans dropped Team 246 onto the guardrails. The Wolves hit Team 246 with stereo tope suicidas. Robbie E then went for a pescado, but he came up empty. The Wolves then hit both teams at once with stereo tope sucidas. The crowd liked Robbie E making a fool of himself more. The BroMans were in control for a bit, but that did not last too long. Kondo made a big comeback on everyone. All the teams then started to trade big movez until they all collapsed. When did this become a US indie show? The teams traded more big movez. The Wolves hit some of their signature tag team spots on Hayashi. The BroMans then hit Hayashi with their version of the Bro Down: 1…2…3

This match was slightly more fun than anything else so far, but it was not anything special at all. It seems weird to me that The BroMans would win the titles back here, but at least The Wolves did not eat the pinfall.
Match Rating: **3/4

Austin Aries© vs. Seiya Sanada [TNA X Division Championship]
They were going back and forth for a long time at the start. Aries avoided a Sanada dive, and Sanada then blocked a Heat Seeking Missile attempt. Sanada finally got control after that. That did not last long though, as Aries sent him to the floor and hit an elbow drop off the stage. Aries was then in control for several minutes. Aries finally hit the Heat Seeking Missile, but as soon as they got back in the ring, Sanada started to come back. I hate when matches are structured that way. It completely kills the impact/meaning behind big dives. Aries came back with the shinbreaker/back suplex and the corner IED kick. He hit another IED kick after Sanada blocked a brainbuster. Sanada avoided another brainbuster, and Aries hit a third IED kick. A fourth IED kick. Aries called for the brainbuster, but Sanada snapped off a brainbuster instead! Aries came back with a brainbuster and then applied the Front Chancery! Sanada got to the ropes. Sanada hit a series Tiger Suplexes and then hit a moonsault: 1…2…NO! Another moonsault from Sanada: 1…2…3!

Compared to the rest of the show, this was some master-class wrestling. However, the crowd was still not greatly invested in the proceedings (though definitely more compared to every other match with TNA talent), and there were some structural issues. Sanada has got a lot of talent and charisma, but he still has some work to do. I enjoyed this match, but it was flawed.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Magnus© vs. KAI [TNA World Championship]
There was a big video package for this match. Wrestle-1 is not afraid to use copyrighted music on their shows.

KAI went for a tope suicida, but Magnus blocked it and then hit a suplex on the entrance ramp. Magnus worked him over after that. KAI sent Magnus to the floor at one point and hit the tope suicida. KAI started to come back. Magnus avoided the springboard kick though and hit a Rock Bottom. KAI avoided the elbow drop and hit a Yakuza Kick for a nearfall. KAI then hit the Perfect Driver for a nearfall. KAI went to top rope, but Magnus hit a super exploder. KAI came back with a superkick, a springboard kick, and another superkick. All of that got him another nearfall. KAI then hit a folding powerbomb for another nearfall. Magnus got his knees up on the frog splash attempt. KAI hit a German, but Magnus came back with a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. He then hit the diving elbow for a nearfall. Magnus caught him with a big lariat for another nearfall. Magnus hit another Michinoku Driver and then another diving elbow drop: 1…2…3

They worked really hard, but the crowd just did not care about Magnus or who won. Instead of trying to tell a story that could potentially get them invested, they traded a seemingly endless series of nearfalls. The fans just did not care. Despite the fans not caring, I found the match to be moderately enjoyable, but these guys did not stand much of a chance unfortunately.
Match Rating: **1/2

Check out some of your favorite TNA wrestlers in free matches!
The Hardys vs. The Briscoes
Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe
Hulk Hogan vs. Sting
Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson (Cage Match)
Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Homicide vs. Amazing Red vs. Suicide
Christian vs. Kaz (Ladder Match)
Low Ki vs. Chris Sabin
Jeff Hardy vs. Sabu vs. Abyss vs. Rhyno (Monster’s Ball)
Samoa Joe vs. Chris Sabin
AJ Styles vs. Abyss (Cage Match)
A.J. Styles vs. Low Ki vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Psicosis
AJ Styles vs. Low Ki vs. Jerry Lynn
AJ Styles & D’Lo Brown vs Triple X (Christopher Daniels & Elix Skipper)
Kazuchika Okada & Homicide vs. The Young Bucks
Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles vs. Sting vs. Matt Morgan vs. Hernandez
Chris Sabin vs. Jay Lethal
Kurt Angle vs. Christian Cage vs. Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles vs. Chris Harris (King of the Mountain)
Chris Sabin vs. Jay Lethal vs. Alex Shelley vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Shark Boy
Christian Cage vs. Sting vs. Ron Killings vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Abyss (King of the Mountain)

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to my Twitter or to my email address: [email protected]. Also, feel free to check out my own wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com. Check out a full/organized list of all the wrestling show reviews I’ve done at 411mania.

The 411: While this show sounded very cool in theory, it did not work out all that well. The Wrestle-1 fans clearly just did not care about the TNA wrestlers or the TNA titles. The only match remotely worth seeking out is the Aries/Sanada match, but even that was nothing special. It was merely good and stood out more on a poor card. If Bound for Glory still happens in Wrestle-1, I hope the two companies learned what didn't work here and try to make that show come across better.

Final Score:  4.5   [ Poor ]