Hamilton’s New Japan Strong (Tag Team Turbulence) 07.30.2021 Review

Quick Results
Bateman pinned Kevin Knight in 7:47 (**¾)
Karl Fredericks, Fred Rosser & Adrian Quest pinned Misterioso, Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson in 9:20 (**½)
Tag Team Turbulence – Final: Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows pinned Chris Dickinson & Brody King in 10:59 (***)

— If you’re on Twitter, give me a follow over on @IanWrestling – and check out the GoFundMe that’s still open for Larry’s family.

We open with the usual titles before Kevin Kelly and Alex Koslov voice over some B-roll…

Kevin Knight vs. Bateman
Knight’s getting thrown to the wolves again here…

Knight’s got to defend a wristlock early on, eventually countering back with one of his own before he had to go back to the hold after his side headlock was lost. Reapplying the side headlock, Knight grounds Bateman, then got shoved off, returning with a shoulder tackle before booting away on Bateman.

An uppercut knocks Bateman into the ropes, but he quickly returned with a knee to the back, having escaped a slam, before knocking down Knight. Using the ropes, Bateman throws Knight back to the mat, with a basement dropkick following for a two-count, as a chinlock continued to ground the Young Lion.

Bateman’s cross chop takes Knight into the corner, and followed up with a running knee there for another two-count. Knight throws some uppercuts to try and get back in it, then a big leaping dropkick, but that just prompted Bateman to come back looking for his tombstone piledriver. Knight escaped to hit a slam for a near-fall, then went for a Boston crab, but Bateman escaped… he eats a Stinger splash in the corner from Knight, whose diving shoulder tackle connected for another two-count.

Knight followed up with a standing frog splash, but Bateman lifts up the knees and cradled him for a near-fall… then ran in with a rolling elbow before the This is the Kill tombstone ended things. A good showing from Knight, but Bateman’s big moves were too much on the night. **¾

West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs) & Misterioso vs. Fred Rosser, Karl Fredericks & Adrian Quest
This feels a little, erm, random?

Misterioso and Quest start us off, staying even to begin with before a tornillo out of the corner put Quest slightly ahead. Fred Rosser’s in, kicking Misterioso in the leg before getting caught with a handspring back elbow. Royce Isaacs tags in, but gets caught with a sitdown splash and some bodyscissors from Rosser, before Quest came back in… and ate a clothesline from Isaacs.

The Wrecking Crew and Misterioso triple-teamed Quest, leading to a pop-up flapjack and a diving kick for a near-fall. Quick tags keep Quest at bay, but eventually drew in Rosser to break up a pin, as the Wrecking Crew continued to wear down Quest. Nelson scoops up Quest for a sit-out side slam, which drew a two-count, before Nelson took things up top, but a ‘rana off the top rope from Quest managed to buy him time.

Fredericks tags in against Isaacs, throwing some chops before returning fire with a spinebuster. The backbreaker’s next from Fredericks, as he single-handedly took out the Wrecking Crew en route to a back suplex on Isaacs and a leaping elbow drop for a two-count. Isaacs hits back with almost a stunner, as Nelson flies in off the top for added impact… Rosser breaks up the pin, then took Nelson outside before Isaacs threw Rosser into the ring post.

Misteriso tagged in as Adrian Quest ran in to DDT Isaacs… then hit an Asai moonsault to the Wrestling Crew on the floor. That left Fredericks and Misterioso to duke it out, with a Finlay roll landing… the moonsault did not, and Fredericks is able to come right back with a rear naked choke, spinning it into the Manifest Destiny for the win. This felt a little ragged by the end, but this was a good showing for Fredericks after being unsuccessful last time out. **½

Tag Team Turbulence – Final: Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) vs. VLNCE UNLTD (Brody King & Chris Dickinson)
You could argue these were two of the pre-tournament favourites in the final…

Dickinson and Anderson start us off, heading into the corner early before Dickinson looked to work over Anderson’s arm. A shoulder tackle off the ropes knocks down Anderson, as did a Dragon screw, before a half crab was used to drag Anderson across the ring as Brody King tagged in.

Anderson scurries away and tagged out to Doc Gallows, as the two big lads exchange shoulder blocks before a crossbody from King drew a two-count. Dickinson’s back, but some distraction from Anderson allowed Gallows to connect with a head kick. Eye rakes from Anderson keep Dickinson on the back foot, while Gallows ran in to boot King off the apron. There’s a suplex on Dickinson that Gallows added to with an elbow drop, following up with a chinlock that Dickinson fought free of.

A dropkick from Dickinson buys time, as tags get us back to Anderson and King, with Brody running wild ahead of a lucha springboard armdrag to the Good Brothers. He adds a cannonball off the apron to that, before a Bossman slam on Anderson back inside nearly got King the win. Dickinson tags in, but Gallows trips him to prevent a Hart Attack as the Good Brothers took over.

The Good Brothers combine for a back suplex/neckbreaker on Dickinson for a two-count, before Anderson’s Gun Stun drew another two-count. King makes the save, but got met with another one from Anderson, before a Magic Killer was kicked away by Dickinson. He heads up top for a tornado DDT, then tried for a roll-up on Anderson, getting a near-fall before a death valley driver attempt was stopped with a superkick. From there, the Brothers swiftly set up for a Magic Killer, and that’s the win – and those quickly-identified Etsy trophies – for the Good Brothers. A decent final, but sadly barely anything from the tournament got enough time to breathe. Perhaps if the first round wasn’t crammed into one show… ***

Post-match, the Good Brothers declared they were back as Anderson rattled off some Japanese cities and declared that they wanted to go back to Japan for the IWGP heavyweight tag titles.

6.9

The final score: review Average

The 411

While Strong’s still been consistent, Tag Team Turbulence has perhaps undelivered compared to some expectations. Luckily, the arrival of fans to these shows is just a fortnight away, starting with Resurgence, and just in time too as every other major show in the States having audiences is really starting to wear Strong down.