wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s NJPW World Tag League & Super Jr. Tag League 2022 Night 3 Review
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW World Tag League & Super Jr. Tag League 2022 Night 3
November 23rd, 2022 | Arena Tachikawa Tachihi in Tachikawa, Tokyo | Attendance: 849
I don’t know if I mentioned this already but a lot of these reviews will be a bit late. This tournament comes at a busy time for me with Thanksgiving, my anniversary, and a vacation out of the country. That all takes place during these events. Anyway, here we go with night three and it’s back to the juniors.
Dick Togo and SHO [0] vs. Kevin Knight and KUSHIDA [0]
Before Gedo ruined him, the prospect of SHO against KUSHIDA would’ve been a dream match to me in any format. Now, it’s just a match. I like the small venue they’re running here by the way. The gym vibe is cool though all the empty seats looks odd. Though it’s nowhere near as good as it should be, SHO and KUSHIDA were still highlights of this when going against each other. I liked the story of both guys having their elbows damaged and having to sell them while throwing kicks at one another. Like, that’s good shit and SHO could do it all the time. KUSHIDA survived a crossface before EVIL and Yujiro showed up because it’s House of Torture and that has to happen. Thankfully, they didn’t get too involved and KUSHIDA beat Togo with a Hammerlock Suplex in 9:34. A solid opener boosted by SHO vs. KUSHIDA. [***]
BUSHI and Titán [0] vs. Clark Connors and Ryusuke Taguchi [2]
I feel like you just know what you’re going to get with Connors and Taguchi at this point, especially once you saw them pound beers before the bell here. They’re going to have a good time and win a few matches, so like most Taguchi duos. The LIJ team is already working well together, busting out smooth offense. They isolated Connors for the most part and the hot tag went to Taguchi at just about the right time for this. It didn’t come too soon or too late. They didn’t do too much beyond tag formula but added enough personality in there for this to be fun. Taguchi fell to a springboard stomp from Titán and BUSHI secured the pin in 10:02. Another quality tag match. [***]
Lio Rush and YOH [0] vs. Robbie Eagles and Tiger Mask IV [2]
I am HERE for Eagles vs. Lio. YOH and Lio looked great in a loss on night one by the way. This had the action I was hoping for and even having an older guy like Tiger Mask in there didn’t negatively impact it. I liked that Lio showed a more aggressive side, lying about tagging out and attacking TM from behind. As expected, the exchanges between Lio and Robbie were really good but I didn’t get too much of it, which is a shame. I do like Eagles had to slow his own pace a bit for tandem stuff with the veteran to work. With a more athletic partner, this could’ve been great. YOH took quite a beating at times here and even when he seemed to get going, he’d get taken down. Lio wowed the crowd with some of his offense. I’ve always liked his style. He and YOH won with a modified Big Rig in 10:13. Give me a Lio/Eagles singles match, please. [***¼]
Ace Austin and Chris Bey [2] vs. DOUKI and Yoshinobu Kanemaru [0]
I appreciate that Austin and Bey are Bullet Club proper and not House of Torture so their matches aren’t totally ruined by shenanigans. Alas, going up against a team with Kanemaru isn’t going to typically give you your best outing. I do like that this worked as a showcase for Austin and Bey who are still not totally known to Japanese audiences. Watching Austin do shit like his one-armed handstand on the apron impressed the live crowd and myself. There wasn’t really much else to this as DOUKI was solid out there but Kanemaru continues to not really pull me in. Amazing to think he had that banger with Ishii earlier this year. Bey saved Ace from the DOUKI CHOUKI and Ace bested him with The Fold in 11:10. Good stuff again. [***]
Alex Zayne and El Lindaman [2] vs. Francesco Akira and TJP [2]
Apparently, the United Empire team is known as Catch 22. I don’t hate it. They were introduced as an undefeated team, which I think will be a major story in this tournament. I thought they’d lose to YOH and Lio but since they didn’t, I think their either run the table or lose right at the end. I had a lot of fun with this match. The exchanges were as good as expected but stuff like TJP making Zayne unknowingly bite Lindaman’s arm was enjoyable. That set up Lindaman as the face in peril. Catch 22 continued to do the fast paced, crisp tandem offense that I love from junior heavyweights. There’s a reason the Motor City Machine Guns are my favorite tag team ever. Zayne came in hot and reminded everyone of why he was a hit during the BOSJ. Similar to the main event on night one, Catch 22 found themselves in more trouble than they’re used to. Zayne and Lindaman came close to winning but Zayne missed the Phoenix Splash. That led to a series of mat holds between himself and TJP, with TJP winning via rollup in 18:56. They won their first match on a pinning combination as well. Not as good as the first main event but a banger nonetheless. [***¾]
