wrestling / TV Reports
Kevin’s NJPW World Tag League & Best Of The Super Juniors 27 (Night Three) Review
Loading...NJPW World Tag League X Best of the Super Juniors Night Three
November 18th, 2020 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Okay, so I was busy and while I got to watch night two, I didn’t get around to a review. It was the World Tag League side anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.
GOD def. Fale & Owens (**¼)
Goto & HASHI def. Willy’s Boys (***)
EVIL & Yujiro def. FinJuice (**¾)
LIJ def. Ishii & Yano (***)
Tekkers def. Tanahashi & Henare (***¼)
Onto night three for the BOSJ!
BUSHI [0] vs. Yuya Uemura [0]
Shoutout to Uemura being booked against BUSHI this early, preventing the LIJ boy from another 0-3 start. I really dug the idea of Uemura coming out of the gates hot with a spear and then going for flash pins. He knows the history of Young Lions in this tournament (and in general) and had to do something to try and change that. Those little things matter to me. Alas, after a quick start, this slowed down and became something pretty generic. Uemura put in a spirited effort but he fell in short, undramatic fashion to a Codebreaker at the 9:57 mark. A fine way to start the night and nothing more. [**¾]
Master Wato [2] vs. Robbie Eagles [2]
It’s important for Wato to start standing out in this tournament. They opened this with some quality back and forth action on the mat. Wato managed to do a decent job of holding his own against a guy like Eagles, who is very good there. As they progressed to the next stage of this contest, Wato started bringing bigger offense and even took to the skies. Wato survived the Ron Miller Special by reaching the ropes and Eagles got a bit cocky. He slapped at Wato’s head and talked smack to Hiroyoshi Tenzan at ringside. Wato fought back with the Tenzan Tombstone and hit the Spiral Tap to win in 12:37. I really liked that. Just the kind of action I want in this tournament. [***¼]
DOUKI [0] vs. SHO [2]
DOUKI jumped SHO before the bell. Why? Because he’s part of Suzuki-Gun and that’s all Gedo really knows how to book for his heels. However, it did prove to work in the sense that it allowed SHO to play the babyface having to rally. He’s so good and when he got going, there was an added snap to some of his offense. Meanwhile, I do think DOUKI has improved a fair amount since last year’s debut. He’s largely forgettable but isn’t bad. I’d much rather have him in here than Kanemaru. The closing stretch was way better than expected as SHO continues to feel like a star. He nailed Shock Arrow to win in 16:26. That was the best DOUKI performance I’ve seen so far. [***¼]
Ryusuke Taguchi [2] vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori [0]
Ishimori retained the title over him last February (***½) in their only prior meeting I know of. Taguchi started this by dancing a bit, frustrating his opponent who wanted to take things seriously, especially after losing the opener. That was theme for a lot of this match. Taguchi irritating Ishimori into trying to make mistakes but the champion did just enough to maintain his cool. Taguchi targeted Ishimori’s leg, hoping to setup for the Ankle Lock. Ishimori put the focus on Taguchi’s head. That being said, none of it really played into the finish where Ishimori used a handful of tights to steal it after 11:33. It had some fun moments in there and was enjoyable. [***]
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion El Desperado [0] vs. Hiromu Takahashi [2]
I love this pairing. In 2018, Desperado beat Hiromu in a BOSJ classic (****½) but lost the rematch over the title (****¼). As usual, these two threw a lot at each other and had one of their famously wild matches. It wasn’t just a case of two guys one-upping each other, either. There was a sense of disdain. The opening few minutes of this are glorious violence and I dug it. Desperado targeted the leg, looking to set up the Stretch Muffler I believe. Plus, it prevented Hiromu from being as wild as he might want to be. That caused Hiromu to resort to strikes, which he does quite well. However, he could still be stopped by a simple kick to the legs. It was great work from both men at that point. Hiromu survived the submission and countered Pinche Loco into the Dynamite Plunger. Alas, we got a referee bump that opened the door for Desperado to use a chair on Hiromu’s leg. He put Numero Dos back on and Hiromu had to submit after 23:10. Leave it to Hiromu to put on back to back bangers to start the tournament. Not quite as good as their previous outings but still fantastic. [****]
