Date: May 4th, 2014
Location: Tokyo Dome City Hall
Announced Attendance: 1,750
THE GREAT MUTA RETURNS YAY! And there are other matches too. Unlike the last few W1 events I reviewed, this one is not as heavy with the TNA participation. In fact, it has a participation from a lot of different promotions as wrestlers from ZERO1, Big Japan, K-DOJO, DRADITION, and WNC had matches on the card to give it some variety and hopefully some entertaining pairings. Here is the full card:
– Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo, and MAZADA vs. Koji Kanemoto, Andy Wu, and Daiki Inaba
– Kazushi Miyamoto vs. Kikutaro
– HUB vs. Minoru Tanaka
– Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Ryota Hama
– STRONGEST-K Tag Team Championship: Yuji Hino and HIROKI vs. Yasufumi Nakanoue and Seiki Yoshioka
– Masayuki Kono, Ryouji Sai, and KAZMA SAKAMOTO vs. Tatsumi Fujinami, Masakatsu Funaki, and LEONA
– EWP Intercontinental Championship: Leon van Gasteren vs. Hiroshi Yamato
– Abyss and Kazarian vs. Great Muta and TAJIRI
– KAI vs. Manabu Soya
Let’s get to it!
Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo, and MAZADA vs. Koji Kanemoto, Andy Wu, and Daiki Inaba
Wu and MAZADA start things off. Tie-up, Wu drives MAZADA into the ropes and he gives a clean break. Wu trips MAZADA and Wu hits an armdrag followed by a dropkick. Wu picks up MAZADA, elbows by MAZADA and he goes for a lariat but Wu ducks it and hits a bulldog. Hayashi and Inaba are tagged in, tie-up, elbows by Inaba but Hayashi absorbs the blows and hits Inaba back. Kick by Hayashi, snapmare, and he kicks Inaba in the back. Inaba gets back up and hits a few elbows, snapmare by Hayashi and he kicks Inaba in the back again. Inaba goes off the ropes and he hits a jumping shoulderblock. Inaba tags in Kanemoto, double Irish whip to Hayashi and they hit a double shoulderblock. Inaba chops Hayashi in the chest, then Kanemoto kicks Hayashi as things break down. Hayashi kicks Inaba out of the ring, kick by Kanemoto to Hayashi but Hayashi hits a handspring heel kick. Hayashi tags in Kondo, Irish whip by Kondo to Kanemoto but Kanemoto ducks the lariat. Kick by Kanemoto and he hits a strike combination. Kanemoto charges Kondo and hits the bootscrape. Hurricanrana by Kanemoto and Kondo falls out of the ring, everyone else runs in the ring and the two sides brawl. Inaba dives out onto Hayashi while Wu dives out of the ring onto MAZADA. Scoop slam by Kanemoto on Kondo in the ring, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the moonsault. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kanemoto tags in Inaba, elbows by Inaba to Kondo and he hits a running elbow. Vertical suplex by Inaba to Kondo, cover, but it gets a two count. Waistlock by Inaba but Kanemoto hits the Original II to get out of it. Hayashi comes in the ring and kicks Inaba in the face, then MAZADA hits a lariat. Kondo waits for Inaba to get up and he hits a Lanzarse. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kondo goes off the ropes, elbow by Inaba but Kondo elbows him back. Inaba goes for a German suplex but it is broken up, MAZADA and Hayashi come into the ring and take out Wu and Kanemoto. Inaba hits a dropkick to Kondo, he picks up Kondo and goes off the ropes but Kondo hits the Original. Cover, but Inaba gets a shoulder up. Kondo goes off the ropes, Inaba ducks the lariat but Kondo nails the lariat anyway. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kondo goes off the ropes and levels Inaba with a King Kong Lariat, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo, and MAZADA
Match Thoughts: A quick and entertaining match. When you have a six man tag that only goes six minutes, it has to be faced paced and this match certainly was. Kondo was the star here but everyone was able to get their spots in to shine. A good way to open up the event, it lacked substance but was still fun to watch. Score: 6.5
Kazushi Miyamoto vs. Kikutaro
They shake hands to start the match but Kikutaro hits the Oil Check from behind. Kikutaro goes off the ropes and kicks Miyamoto, snapmare by Kikutaro and he hits the Flashing Elbow. Miyamoto gets up and kicks Kikutaro, he then clubs him in the back. Miyamoto picks up Kikutaro, Irish whip from the corner and Miyamoto hits a lariat. Vertical suplex by Miyamoto, cover, but it gets a two count. Miyamoto picks up Kikutaro, Irish whip by Miyamoto but Kikutaro avoids the lariat and dropkicks Miyamoto in the knee. Shining Wizard by Kikutaro, cover, Miyamoto kicks out. Kikutaro picks up Miyamoto and goes for a vertical suplex, but Miyamoto reverses it with a vertical suplex. Lariat by Miyamoto, cocky cover but Kikutaro gets a shoulder up. Miyamoto picks up Kikutaro and hits the Million Dollar Driver, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Kazushi Miyamoto
Match Thoughts: Even by the normal standards of Kikutaro’s match, this one was short and pointless. I have no idea what they are doing with Miyamoto, he isn’t a useless wrestler by any means but is stuck with silly comedy matches. Kikutaro matches can be fun and entertaining, this one just wasn’t long enough to reach that level. Score: 3.0
HUB vs. Minoru Tanaka
Tanaka and HUB circle each other to start, tie-up, waistlock by Tanaka, reversed by HUB and he applies a wristlock. Hammerlock by Tanaka but HUB applies a side headlock. Irish whip by HUB but Tanaka hits a shoulderblock. Tanaka goes off the ropes, kicks by HUB and he goes for a German suplex but Tanaka lands on his feet. Superkick by HUB, Tanaka falls out of the ring and HUB hits a tope suicida. HUB picks up Tanaka and he hits a DDT. Shining Wizard by HUB and he returns to the ring, and Tanaka barely makes the count. HUB picks up Tanaka but Tanaka falls back to the mat, holding his neck. HUB picks up Tanaka again and drops him onto his knee, cover, but it gets a two count. HUB stomps on Tanaka, elbows by HUB and he goes off the ropes, but he avoids the dropkick and Tanaka hits a dropkick of his own. Tanaka picks up HUB, Tanaka goes off the ropes but HUB drop toeholds him into the second rope. HUB knees Tanaka from behind and then hits the Black Magic. Cover, but it gets a two count. HUB picks up Tanaka and goes for a suplex but Tanaka lands on his feet. Kick by HUB and he knees Tanaka in the corner. Jackhammer by HUB, cover, but it gets a two count. HUB goes for a lariat but Tanaka ducks it and rolls up HUB for a two count. Tanaka goes off the ropes but HUB chops him, HUB goes off the ropes and he hits a lariat. Cover, but it gets a two count. HUB picks up Tanaka and gets him onto his shoulders, and he hits the Viper Strike. Cover, but Tanaka barely gets a shoulder up. HUB picks up Tanaka and hits the Pedigree, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Tanaka rolls out of the way of the diving body press. Dropkick by Tanaka, he picks up HUB and puts him onto the top turnbuckle. Tanaka joins him and hits a modified superplex, cover, but it gets a two count. Tanaka picks up HUB but HUB ducks the kick and rolls up Tanaka for a two count. German suplex by Tanaka, HUB charges him but Tanaka hits a second one. High kick by Tanaka, cover, but it gets a two count. Tanaka positions HUB in front of the corner, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the FIREBALL Splash. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Minoru Tanaka
Match Thoughts: I really like HUB and it was fun to see him have such a competitive match with Tanaka. In fact he dominated the match and hit all his big moves, sadly Tanaka still picked up the win. It was a good display by HUB though and an entertaining match from start to finish. I wish it was a bit longer, but they used the time they had the best they could to put on a really solid match. Score: 7.0
Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Ryota Hama
Sekimoto clubs Hama in the chest to start the match but he absorbs the blows, Sekimoto goes off the ropes but he can’t shoulderblock Hama down. He tries a few more times with no success, Hama goes off the ropes and successfully hits a shoulderblock. Hama picks up Sekimoto and clubs him in the back. Hama stands on Sekimoto against the ropes, he picks up Sekimoto and throws him into the corner. Butt thumps by Hama and he gives Sekimoto the stinkface. He gives him a second one before picking up Sekimoto and punching him in the head. Sekimoto clubs him back but Hama punches Sekimoto to the mat. Snapmare by Hama, he goes off the ropes and hits a rolling senton. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hama picks up Sekimoto and he hits a scoop slam. Hama goes for a body press but Sekimoto rolls out of the way in time. Lariat by Sekimoto in the corner and he hits a second one. Sekimoto goes for a body slam but Hama falls on top of Sekimoto for a two count. Hama Irish whips Sekimoto into the corner and hits a body avalanche. Running butt smash by Hama, cover, but Sekimoto gets a shoulder up. Hama picks up Sekimoto, clubs to the chest by Sekimoto and he goes off the ropes, but Hama hits a crossbody for a two count. Irish whip by Hama to the corner but Sekimoto kicks him as he charges in. Lariat by Sekimoto and he hits a vertical suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Lariat by Sekimoto, but Hama doesn’t go down. A second one doesn’t do the trick either, nor the third. Body block by Hama but Sekimoto hits a final lariat, getting the three count cover. Your winner: Daisuke Sekimoto
Match Thoughts: I’m not a big fan of these Hama matches, he has so few spots he can do so he just repeats the same ones ad nauseam. Hard to believe he is a former Triple Crown Champion. Sekimoto was game but obviously was limited by this opponent. W1 events would be a lot better overall if they just stopped having these identical matches on every event, I can’t be the only one that gets tired of them. Score: 3.0
(c) Yuji Hino and HIROKI vs. Nakanoue and Seiki Yoshioka
This match is for the Strongest-K Tag Team Championship. Nakanoue and Hino start things off. Tie-up, Hino pushes Nakanoue into the ropes and he goes for a chop, but Nakanoue moves. Chops by Nakanoue and he applies a side headlock, Hino elbows out of it but Nakanoue can’t shoulderblock him down. Shoulderblock by Hino, snapmare, and he chops Nakanoue in the chest. Hino tags in HIROKI, clubbing blows by Nakanoue as he gets HIROKI into the corner, and he tags in Yoshioka. Yoshioka clubs HIROKI in the back but HIROKI punches him back. Irish whip by Yoshioka but HIROKI shoulderblocks him down. HIROKI goes off the ropes but Yoshioka kicks him in the stomach, Irish whip by HIROKI but Yoshioka delivers a dropkick. Nakanoue comes in the ring and they hit a combination, ending with a Nakanoue sliding lariat. Cover by Yoshioka but it gets a two. Yoshioka elbows HIROKI, Irish whip, reversed, Hino trips Yoshioka and HIROKI hits an elbow drop. HIROKI tags in Hino, and Hino chops Yoshioka in the corner. Clubs to the back by Hino and he throws Yoshioka to the mat. Hino tags in HIROKI and he elbows Yoshioka in the corner. HIROKI rakes Yoshioka in the eyes and he applies a side headlock, but Nakanoue breaks it up. HIROKI picks up Yoshioka and chops him against the ropes before tagging in Hino. Hino clubs Yoshioka in the back, elbows by Yoshioka but Hino throws him into the ropes before throwing Yoshioka to the mat. Hino picks up Yoshioka, snapmare, and he hits a senton. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hino picks up Yoshioka, Yoshioka elbows Hino off but Hino absorbs the blows. Irish whip by Hino but Yoshioka hits La Mistica. Yoshioka tags in Nakanoue, Nakanoue knocks HIROKI off the apron and then elbows Hino into the corner. Irish whip by Nakanoue and he connects with a back elbow. Double underhook by Nakanoue but Hino gets out of it, Irish whip by Hino but Nakanoue hits a jumping lariat. Double underhook suplex by Nakanoue, cover, but it gets a two count. Nakanoue picks up Hino, Irish whip, but Hino hits an overhead suplex and tags in HIROKI. HIROKI goes off the ropes but Nakanoue drops him with a DDT. Nakanoue tags in Yoshioka, and Yoshioka hits a knee in the corner on HIROKI. High kick by Yoshioka and he hits a backdrop suplex. Yoshioka goes up to the top turnbuckle but HIROKI rolls out of the way of the senton attempt. Scoop slam by HIROKI, cover, but it gets a two count. HIROKI goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving body press. Cover, and it gets a two count. HIROKI goes off the ropes but Yoshioka hits him with a jumping kick and tags in Nakanoue. Hino is tagged in as well, and he trades chops with Nakanoue. Elbows by Nakanoue but Hino returns fire, Irish whip by Hino and he delivers a chop. Nakanoue hits a hard elbow to send Hino into the mat, waistlock by Nakanoue but HIROKI runs in and breaks it up. Quebrada by HIROKI, cover by Hino but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Hino to Nakanoue but Nakanoue avoids his charge and he hits a lariat. Vertical suplex by Nakanoue and Yoshioka hits a scissors kick. Nakanoue goes up top and delivers the diving elbow drop to Hino, cover, but HIROKI breaks it up. Yoshioka hits an Asai Moonsault down onto HIROKI outside the ring, while in the ring Nakanoue elbows Hino. Nakanoue goes off the ropes but Hino catches him with a lariat. Hino picks up Nakanoue but Nakanoue rolls up Hino for a two count. Lariat by Nakanoue, cover, but HIROKI quickly kicks out. Nakanoue goes off the ropes and hits another lariat, cover, but Hino barely kicks out in time. Nakanoue goes off the ropes but Hino catches him with a powerslam. Lariat by Hino, Irish whip, and Hino delivers another lariat. Cover, but Nakanoue kicks out. Hino picks up Nakanoue and nails the Fucking BOMB, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners and still champions: Yuji Hino and HIROKI
Match Thoughts: A really fun match. Nakanoue showed some fire here, which he doesn’t always do, and Hino is a beast. Yoshioka was mostly used to fly around and get beaten up, and he did fine at both of these things. Too short to be an epic and HIROKI didn’t do a lot, but as it was presented I found it very entertaining. Score: 7.5
Masayuki Kono, Ryoji Sai, and KAZMA SAKAMOTO vs. Fujinami, Funaki, and LEONA
Kono and Funaki start things off and immediately start chopping each other. Kicks by Funaki, Irish whip, and he kicks Kono in the chest. Another kick by Funaki, he picks up Kono and kicks him again but Kono finally catches one and hits a scoop slam. Kono goes for an elbow drop but Funaki moves, kick by Funaki and he goes for a choke but Kono drives Funaki back. Funaki tags in Fujinami and Fujinami chops Kono. Punches by Fujinami, Irish whip, but Kono hits a shoulderblock. Elbow by Fujinami and he hits a scoop slam. Fujinami picks up Kono and tags in LEONA. LEONA hits a dragon screw on Kono and applies a single leg crab hold, but Kono quickly gets to the ropes. LEONA goes off the ropes but he is tripped from the floor and pulled outside of the ring, where he is taken up into the crowd by Sai. Sai kicks LEONA in the chest while the wrestlers all brawl at ringside. LEONA is slid back into the ring, cover by Kono but it gets a two count. SAKAMOTO is tagged in, kicks by SAKAMOTO to LEONA but LEONA elbows him back. SAKAMOTO tags in Sai, snapmare by Sai and he kicks LEONA in the back. Cover, but it gets a two count. Sai picks up LEONA, elbows by LEONA and Sai kicks him in the chest. Sai picks up LEONA and hits a scoop slam. Sai tags in SAKAMOTO, SAKAMOTO picks up LEONA and he hits a scoop slam. Elbow drop, cover, but it gets a two count. SAKAMOTO tags in Kono, elbows by Kono and he hits a scoop slam to LEONA. Kono applies a crab hold to LEONA, but LEONA makes it to the ropes. Kono picks up LEONA and goes for a suplex, but LEONA blocks it and hits a vertical suplex of his own. LEONA makes the tag to Fujinami as Kono tags in Sai, but Sai boots Fujinami in the head. He goes for another kick but Fujinami hits a dragon screw leg whip. Two more dragon screws by Fujinami, Irish whip, and he applies a sleeper to Sai. Dragon Sleeper by Fujinami but SAKAMOTO breaks it up. Fujinami tags in Funaki, kicks to the chest by Funaki, snapmare, and he kicks Sai in the chest. Cover by Funaki, but Sai kicks out. Funaki goes for the Hybrid Blaster but Sai gets out of it. Sai tags in SAKAMOTO, SAKAMOTO picks up Funaki, Irish whip to the corner and everyone hits running strikes in the corner. Cover by SAKAMOTO, but it gets a two count. Kono picks up Funaki and holds him for SAKAMOTO as SAKAMOTO gets a chair, but Funaki boots SAKAMOTO away. High kick by Funaki to SAKAMOTO, he then kicks Sai and Kono. Fujinami and LEONA come in to help, Funaki hits the Hybrid Blaster on SAKAMOTO and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Fujinami, Funaki, and LEONA
Match Thoughts: This wasn’t really given enough time to be anything of note. Some of these wrestlers individually are very entertaining, but squeezed in a short six man tag they didn’t really get a chance to do anything special. The hot tag to Fujinami was good but the ending was just so sudden, it just felt like there should have been more to do. The action wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t memorable, not much to this match. Score: 5.0
(c) Leon Van Gasteren vs. Hiroshi Yamato
This match is for the EWP Intercontinental Championship and is fought under Admiral-Lord Mountevans Rules. That means there are rounds, amongst other slight rule changes. Congrats, you learned something new today!
Round One: Yamato goes for Gasteren’s leg to start the match but Gasteren sidesteps it. Tie-up, waistlock by Gasteren and he takes Yamato to the mat. Yamato applies an armbar but Gasteren gets out of it and goes for Yamato’s leg. Yamato reverses it into an attempted cross armbreaker but Gasteren quickly gets a foot on the ropes. Back up, tie-up, waistlock by Yamato but Gasteren applies a wristlock. Yamato reverses it but Gasteren monkey flips out of it. Trip by Yamato, cover, but it gets a one count. Gasteren returns the favor and both men return to their feet. Wristlock by Yamato, reversed by Gasteren into a hammerlock and he applies a side headlock. Yamato Irish whips out of it but Gasteren hits a shoulderblock. Hiptoss by Yamato but Gasteren kicks Yamato back. Gasteren gets Yamato to the mat but the bell rings, signaling the end of round one.
Round Two: Yamato rushes Gasteren to start and gets him into the corner, and Yamato chops Gasteren in the chest. Gasteren elbows Yamato back, Irish whip by Yamato but Gasteren boots Yamato and hits a spinning headscissors. Yamato falls out of the ring, Gasteren charges him but Yamato slides back into the ring and dropkicks Gasteren to the floor. Yamato charges the ropes and he hits a tope suicida to the floor. Yamato slides Gasteren back into the ring, stomp by Yamato and he picks up Gasteren, throwing him into the corner. Yamato picks up Gasteren and hits a shoulder tackle. Yamato goes off the ropes and he hits a crossbody followed by an elbow drop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Yamato picks up Gasteren and throws him into the corner, Yamato puts Gasteren up on the top turnbuckle, he then joins him but Gasteren elbows Yamato into the Tree of Woe and hits a slingshot elbow drop. Gasteren then hits a running dropkick to Yamato while he is still hanging in the corner. The bell then rings, end of Round Two.
Round Three: Elbow by Gasteren to start the round and he clubs Yamato to the mat. Backdrop suplex by Gasteren, cover, but it gets a two count. Gasteren applies a stretch hold, Gasteren picks up Yamato, Irish whip, and Gasteren hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Cover, but it gets a two count. Gasteren applies a crab hold but Yamato makes it to the ropes. Gasteren picks up Yamato and he hits a scoop slam. Gasteren goes up to the top turnbuckle but Yamato punches him, Yamato joins Gasteren up top but Gasteren pushes him off. Yamato springs back up top and hits a spider overhead suplex. Missile dropkick by Yamato, he charges Gasteren in the corner but Gasteren moves. Yamato goes off the ropes and he hits a spear, he picks up Gasteren and hits an uppercut. Northern Lights Suplex by Yamato but Gasteren gets a shoulder up. Yamato picks up Gasteren and applies a waistlock, hitting a release German suplex. Yamato charges Gasteren but Gasteren hits a lariat. Gasteren picks up Yamato and goes for a suplex, but Yamato blocks it and hits a vertical suplex. Cover, but it gets two. The bell rings as the round is over.
Round Four: Kick by Yamato to start things off, Yamato goes for a suplex but Gasteren blocks it. Clubs to the back by Yamato but Gasteren dumps Yamato on his head. Springboard kick by Gasteren off the ropes, and Yamato falls out of the ring. Gasteren goes off the far ropes and sails out onto Yamato with a tope suicida. Gasteren picks up Yamato and slides him back into the ring. Elbow drop by Gasteren and he throws Yamato into the corner. Gasteren powerbombs Yamato out of the corner, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Yamato gets his knees up when he goes for the diving body press. Elbows by Yamato but Gasteren fires back and they trade shots. Headbutt by Yamato, he goes off the ropes but Gasteren goes for a cutter. Yamato blocks it and goes for the Northern Lights Bomb, but Gasteren blocks it. Superkick by Gasteren, he picks up Yamato and hits rolling vertical suplexes. Waistlock by Gasteren and he hits a release German suplex. German Cutter by Gasteren, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner and still champion: Leon Van Gasteren
Match Thoughts: I hadn’t seen Gasteren before, he seems like a perfectly fine wrestler. Aside from one noticeable miscue I thought this was a really solid match. Having Rounds is a nice touch, I don’t know if I would like it in every match ever but it was a nice change of pace here. The action kept up the entire match which played into the theory that they have a chance to catch their breath between rounds. Some iffy transitions but overall a fun match, better than I was expecting. Score: 7.0
Abyss and Kazarian vs. Great Muta and TAJIRI
Abyss and Muta start things off. Tie-up, kick by Muta and he chops Abyss against the ropes. Clubs by Abyss, Muta goes off the ropes but Abyss hits a shoulderblock. Muta rolls out of the ring and gets a hammer, but Abyss tags in Kazarian. Muta hides the hammer somewhere, tie-up with Kazarian as Muta applies a waistlock, wristlock by Kazarian and Muta trips Kazarian up. Leglock by Muta, reversed by Kazarian but Muta gets a foot on the ropes before sliding out of the ring again. Muta slides back into the ring, and Muta tags in TAJIRI. TAJIRI and Kazarian circle each other and they lock knuckles, wristlock by TAJIRI and he pushes Kazarian to the mat, front facelock by Kazarian but TAJIRI applies an armbar. Wristlock by Kazarian, reversed by TAJIRI, snapmare by Kazarian and he applies a reverse chinlock. TAJIRI gets a foot on the ropes and he slides out of the ring to re-group. Kicks by TAJIRI but Kazarian hits an enzigieri. Kazarian throws TAJIRI into Abyss’s boot and he tags in Abyss. Abyss picks up Kazarian and drops him onto TAJIRI. Abyss picks up TAJIRI, and Abyss chokes TAJIRI on the second rope. Abyss tags in Kazarian, and Kazarian kicks TAJIRI in the back. Elbow by Kazarian, Irish whip, but TAJIRI hits a handspring elbow strike. Side kick by TAJIRI, he picks up Kazarian and tags in Muta. Muta kicks Kazarian in the corner, snapmare, and he hits the Flashing Elbow. STF by Muta but Kazarian gets to the ropes. Dragon screw leg whip by Muta and he applies a leg lock. Kazarian gets a hand in the ropes, and Muta tags in TAJIRI. TAJIRI kicks Kazarian, he puts Kazarian on the second rope and chokes him before kicking Kazarian in the back. Elbows to the back by TAJIRI and he clubs Kazarian in the back. Vertical suplex by TAJIRI, cover, but it gets a two count. TAJIRI picks up Kazarian and throws him into the corner before tagging in Muta. Kicks by Muta against the ropes to Kazarian, Irish whip, but Kazarian slides over Muta and kicks him to the mat. Kazarian tags in Abyss, and Abyss hits a lariat to Muta. Another lariat by Abyss and he hits a body avalanche in the corner. Backdrop suplex by Abyss, cover, but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Abyss but Muta avoids the lariat and hits a dropkick. TAJIRI comes in the ring and kicks Abyss in the legs, kicks by TAJIRI and he goes for the Tarantula, but Abyss blocks it and slams TAJIRI to the mat. Abyss tags in Kazarian, and Kazarian hits a missile dropkick. Kazarian Irish whips TAJIRI and he hits an elbow strike. Scoop slam by Kazarian and he hits a springboard leg drop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kazarian pushes TAJIRI into the corner, Irish whip, but Kazarian avoids TAJIRI’s charge and snaps his neck over the top rope. Slingshot DDT by Kazarian, cover, but Muta breaks it up. Abyss hits a lariat on TAJIRI and Muta, he waits for them to get up and goes for a double chokeslam, but Muta and TAJIRI both blow mist in his face. Shining Wizard by Muta to Kazarian, but Abyss punches both TAJIRI and Muta in the face. Abyss gets his bag and dumps thumbtacks on the mat, Kazarian grabs TAJIRI as Abyss grabs Muta, but both get mist blown in their faces. Muta kicks Kazarian, Abyss thinks Kazarian is TAJIRI and slams him into the thumb tacks. Muta and TAJIRI blow mist at Abyss again, then Muta hits a Shining Wizard to Kazarian. Buzzsaw Kick by TAJIRI, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Great Muta and TAJIRI
Match Thoughts: This was a bit too much for my taste, which says a lot since I love Muta. But three mists within a minute period is just overkill, it’s a cute spot but it doesn’t need to be spammed. Also, Muta is broken and can’t walk… I know this is common knowledge but I figured I’d point it out again as it is distracting. Anyway there were some fun individual moments in the match, just as TAJIRI’s failed Tarantula or Abyss slamming Kazarian into the tacks (even though it was a bit cheesy, what else would you expect from a match with Abyss and Muta in it?), overall it was just awkward. Abyss is horrible now as he can’t even hit decent lariats, and with an average age of 43 there just wasn’t a wrestler to control things and make the match not go at a snail’s pace (which isn’t Kazarian’s fault but the others were dragging here). As a ‘special attraction’, I get it, but as a match it just wasn’t very good. Score: 4.0
KAI vs. Manabu Soya
They trade elbows to start the match, KAI gets Soya into the ropes as they continue elbowing each other and end up in the corner. The referee separates them after a bit but they immediately go at it again and continue trading elbows, Irish whip by KAI and he delivers a dropkick. Soya falls out of the ring and KAI sails out after him with a tope suicida. KAI picks up Soya on the floor and elbows him, and Soya chops him back. They trade blows and KAI throws Soya back into the ring. KAI elbows Soya into the corner and down to the mat, and KAI stomps on Soya’s head. Soya falls out onto the apron, KAI gets on the apron as well and goes for a piledriver, but Soya blocks it. Soya reverses it with a back bodydrop, and KAI flops down to the floor. Soya picks up KAI and hits a scoop slam. Soya picks up KAI and knocks him down before sliding KAI into the ring. Stomps by Soya but KAI elbows him back. Soya applies a sleeper and he applies a headscissors, but KAI gets a foot on the ropes. Soya picks up KAI, slaps by KAI but Soya knees him. Soya throws KAI into the corner and he hits a lariat. Soya applies a backdrop suplex and he applies a crab hold. KAI eventually gets to the ropes to force the break, Soya picks up KAI, knees and chops by Soya in the corner, Irish whip and Soya hits a back elbow. Bulldog by Soya, he picks up KAI and hits a neckbreaker. Cover, but it gets a two count. Soya picks up KAI but KAI hits a vertical suplex. KAI charges Soya in the corner and hits a big boot, but Soya comes back with an elbow strike. Soya charges KAI but KAI hits a high kick before hitting a springboard kick. Cover, but it gets a two count. KAI picks up Soya and hits the LAT, cover, but it gets a two count. KAI goes up to the top turnbuckle but Soya is up and joins him. Elbows by KAI while they are up top and Soya falls back to the mat. Soya gets back up and hits a lariat, he then goes back up top and hits a delayed superplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Soya picks up KAI and hits a backbreaker. Cover, but again it gets two. Soya picks up KAI and puts him onto his shoulders, but KAI slides off and rolls up Soya for a two count. KAI goes for a suplex but Soya blocks it and hits a vertical suplex. Soya gets KAI on his shoulders and hits a death valley bomb, cover, but KAI gets a shoulder up. Soya waits for KAI to get up but KAI blocks the lariat, elbow by KAI but Soya blocks the second one and hits the lariat. Cover, but KAI kicks out. Soya goes off the ropes and hits another lariat but KAI doesn’t go down. They trade lariat attempts but KAI gets the better of it, cover by KAI but it gets a two count. KAI and Soya trade elbows on their knees, they slowly get up as they keep trading shots, and both men fall to the mat again. KAI picks up Soya and hits a powerbomb, cover, but Soya kicks out. Superkick by KAI, cover, but it gets another two count. KAI picks up Soya and he hits the LAT, cover, but Soya barely gets a shoulder up. KAI goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a Splash Plancha, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: KAI
Match Thoughts: They really tried to make this feel epic, so I tip my hat to them, but it just wasn’t going to happen. That is not to say it was a bad match, it wasn’t, but it wasn’t as good as they were trying to make it. They were trying to do the ‘we are exhausted but still beating each other’ thing but the match was too short with no big moves to justify it. It either has to be a long match, or there has to be blood for something for that to work, but doing it nine minutes into a pretty normal match it just feels forced. They work together really well which is a plus and it held my attention, it just didn’t feel like a main event. No lack of effort, it just didn’t feel like it was on the right spot on the card, something was missing. Score: 6.5
Final Thoughts:
Best Match: Yuji Hino and HIROKI vs. Nakanoue and Seiki Yoshioka. Hino matches are the secret gem of WRESTLE-1, I am sure he is always entertaining but this is the first time I’ve really gotten a chance to watch his matches and I’m impressed. Nakanoue was on fire as well and Yoshioka flew around enough to be entertaining but not enough to be spotty. HIROKI wasn’t special but didn’t do anything to hurt the match, and overall it was just a lot of fun to watch.
MVP: Manabu Soya. I know I didn’t say all nice things about their match, but I have to give them respect for giving it all they had. Soya fought this like a hate-filled brawl… sometimes it felt forced but he went at it full vigor from start to finish. He also has nice lariats and in general has been one of the more entertaining wrestlers in W-1. He wasn’t perfect as some things are still coming together, but things are looking up overall.
Overall: This certainly was not the worst WRESTLE-1 event I have seen this year. It had a couple really fun matches and a solid main event that wasn’t great but had tons of effort. I didn’t like everything, the Muta tag was too ‘special attraction’ even for my taste and the six man tag shoved too much into one match, but there was certainly more good than bad here. If you have to watch something in W-1 for 2014, so far this is the event I’d recommend for overall value.
