Date: January 2nd, 2015
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 1,221
The real first BJW event of the year! This was the bigger event but it showed up out of order, due to them airing on different television stations. This event has your usual hardcore matches, but also Miyamoto defending the Big Japan Death Match Championship against Hoshino. Here is the full card:
– Hideyoshi Kamitani, Isamu Oshita, and Toshiyuki Sakuta vs. Tsutomu Oosugi, Hercules Senga, and Kota Sekifuda
– Atsushi Maruyama, Masato Inaba, and Dyna Mido vs. Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei, and Shinobu
– Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Ryuichi Kawakami
– Barbed Wire Board Death Match: Masaya Takahashi and Takayuki Ueki vs. Saburo Inematsu and Ryuichi Sekine
– Fluorescent Lighttubes Death Match: “Black Angel” Jaki Numazawa, Masashi Takeda, and Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Ryuji Ito, Abdullah Kobayashi, and Isami Kodaka
– Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi vs. Kohei Sato and Shuji Ishikawa
– Big Japan Death Match Heavyweight Championship: Yuko Miyamoto vs. Kankuro Hoshino
Some of these may be clipped but none looked badly clipped anyway.
Hideyoshi Kamitani, Isamu Oshita, and Toshiyuki Sakuta vs. Tsutomu Oosugi, Hercules Senga, and Kota Sekifuda
Sekifuda and Oshita start off. They trade wristlocks and submission holds, but Sekifuda tags in Senga. Senga works over Oshita and tags in Sekifuda. Takedown by Oosugi and they end up in the ropes. Oshita tags in Kamitani, Oosugi applies a side headlock and he hits a low blow. Atomic drop by Oosugi but Kamitani elbows him in the face. Oosugi tags in Sekifuda, elbows by Sekifuda but Kamitani hits a scoop slam. Kamitani tags in Sakuta and this match is pretty not exciting. Snapmare by Sakuta and he hits a knee drop. Sakuta tags in Oshita but Sekifuda tags in Senga. Oosugi comes in too and they hit a double dropkick. Senga picks up Oshita and they trade elbows. Dropkick by Oshita and he tags in Kamitani. Kamitani shoulderblocks Senga and Sekifuda as well before hitting a vertical suplex on Senga. Senga and Oosugi double team Kamitani. Kamitani gets away and tags in Sakuta. Sekifuda is also tagged in and Sakuta dropkicks Sekifuda. Monkey flip by Sekifuda but Sakuta throws him off the top turnbuckle. Sakuta and Kamitani come in the ring and everyone attacks Sekifuda in the corner. Backdrop suplex by Sakuta to Sekifuda, cover, and he gets a two count. Sakuta and Sekifuda trade elbows, reverse cradle by Sekifuda and he gets the three count. A really basic opener, not a whole hell of a lot happened. Some of these guys may have potential but they didn’t really get a chance to show it here. Score: 4.0
Atsushi Maruyama, Masato Inaba, and Dyna Mido vs. Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei, and Shinobu
Naturally the Brahmans attack their opponents before the match starts, isolating Mido in the ring. Mido takes them both out but Shu throws a suitcase at his legs. They go outside the ring and battle into the stands, and eventually Shinobu and Shu attack Mido in the ring. Kei hits Mido with a stop sign and then a suitcase is thrown at his head. Kei pours water on Mido but Mido spits water at Shu and hits a lariat. Mido tags in Inaba and Inaba hits a hip attack. Belly to belly suplex by Inaba and he dropkicks Shu in the knee. Maruyama comes in and hits a tope con hilo out of the ring. Inaba elbows Shu into the corner and Maruyama kicks him in the head. Lariat by Inaba but Kei breaks up the pin attempt. Scoop slam by Inaba and he tags in Mido. Headbutt by Mido and he hits a second one. Kei comes in the ring with Shu, he gets the black liquid but Mido ducks and he spits it at Shu on accident. Suplex by Mido to Shu, scoop slam, he goes up top but Kei grabs him. Maruyama runs in to help but so does Shinobu. Shinobu hits an Asai Moonsault onto Maruyama and Inaba. Shu and Kei slam Mido on a piece of luggage, Shu picks up Mido and delivers the Zombie King for the three count. This was actually more straight forward than most Brahman matches but still wasn’t very good. Shinobu can be really fun in tag matches but didn’t get to do much here. I liked the comedy was kept to a minimum, and the action was solid, just nothing special about it. Score: 5.0
Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Ryuichi Kawakami
Hashimoto and Kawakami trade strikes and Hashimoto kicks Kawakami in the back. Kicks to the chest by Hashimoto but Kawakami bites his foot. Snapmare by Kawakami and he applies a reverse chinlock. Kawakami stomps down Hashimoto and elbows him into the corner. Hashimoto gets the advantage back and hits bootscrapes in the corner followed by a running kick. PK by Hashimoto and he gets a two count. Kawakami hits a scoop slam and he hits a vertical suplex. Crab hold by Kawakami but Hashimoto hits a fisherman suplex. Back up they trade elbows, roaring elbow by Kawakami but it gets a two count. Kawakami goes off the ropes but Hashimoto hits a headbutt. Kawakami gets Hashimoto up and hits a sitout slam for a two count. Running elbow by Kawakami and he delivers the Scarlett Frosion for the three count. Something about this match just felt flat, maybe it was because it felt like at times they were just taking turns. They were snug and showed a lot of emotion, which was good, I just wish it felt more like a competitive match. Score: 6.0
Masaya Takahashi and Takayuki Ueki vs. Saburo Inematsu and Ryuichi Sekine
This match is a Barbed Wire Board Death Match. Ueki and Takahashi attack before the match starts, and Sekine trades elbows with Ueki. Ueki picks up Sekine and drives him back-first into a barbed wire board. Inematsu comes in and sends Ueki into the other barbed wire board. Inematsu and Ueki trade elbows and Inematsu tags in Sekine. Sekine kicks Ueki and tags Inematsu back in, he sets the barbed wire board against Ueki’s back and Inematsu dropkicks it into him. Scoop slam by Inematsu and he tags in Sekine. Ueki fights back but Sekine tags in Inematsu. Inematsu hits Ueki with a chair and then hits him a second time. Sekine is tagged in but Ueki elbows him back. Crossbody by Ueki and he tags in Takahashi. Jumping elbow by Takahashi to Sekine, he puts the barbed wire board against him and he hits a cannonball. Scoop slam by Takahashi and hits a senton for a two count. Fireman’s carry takedown by Sekine onto the barbed wire board and he tags in Inematsu. Inematsu elbows Takahashi and hits a body avalanche. Judo throw by Takahashi and he tags in Ueki. Ueki gets a chair but Inematsu blocks it. Ueki finally hits Inematsu with it and he gets a two count. Inematsu is double teamed in the corner, and Takahashi hits a dropkick. Sekine and Ueki trade elbows, and Ueki hits a spear for a two count. Ueki lays a barbed wire board on the mat and goes up top, but Inematsu throws him off and onto the board. High kick by Inematsu and he hits a double chop. Thunder Fire Powerbomb onto the barbed wire board by Inematsu and he picks up the three count. I guess with four mediocre matches this is about as good as it was going to get. They used the barbed wire boards enough to matter but not so much that it overwhelmed the match. Decent for a midcard tag match. Score: 5.0
“Black Angel” Jaki Numazawa, Masashi Takeda, and Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Ryuji Ito, Abdullah Kobayashi, and Isami Kodaka
This is a Lighttubes Death Match. Because that is just what we needed, a lighttube death match. Don’t I sound excited? They brawl to start the match with Numazawa staying in the ring with Kodaka. Kodaka and Numazawa go to the floor while everyone else is battling around the stands. Kobayashi goes up top but is hit with lighttubes. Tsukamoto hits Kobayashi with some tubes and tags in Takeda. Tsukamoto hits Kobayashi with more tubes before tagging in Numazawa. Numazawa headbutts Kobayashi with lighttubes and tags in Tsukamoto. Tsukamoto beats down Kobayashi and tags in Takeda, Numazawa comes in too and Tsukamoto slams both Numazawa and Takeda onto him. Cover, but Kobayashi gets a shoulder up. Kobayashi finally fights back and hits a double lariat, giving him time to tag in Ito. Ito elbows everyone, and he hits a scissors kick onto Numazawa. Scoop slam by Ito and he goes for a moonsault, but Numazawa moves. Numazawa dropkicks Ito into the corner, and Numazawa tags in Takeda. Takeda knees Ito in the corner and hits a suplex. Cover, but it gets two. Scissors kick by Ito and he tags in Kodaka. Kodaka hits Takeda with a bunch of lighttubes but Takeda hits a suplex before tagging in Tsukamoto. Kodaka is triple teamed in the corner and Tsukamoto hits a fisherman suplex. Tsukamoto scoop slams Kodaka in front of the corner, he puts tubes on his chest and hits a reverse splash senton. Ito comes in and kicks Tsukamoto, and Kobayashi lariats Takeda. Shining Wizard by Kobayashi on Numazawa, and they both roll out of the ring. Scoop slam by Kodaka to Tsukamoto, he puts tubes on him and hits a diving double kneedrop. Cover, but it gets two. Thrust kick by Tsukamoto but Kodaka returns the favor. Fire Thunder Driver by Kodaka and he gets the three count. I mean we have all seen this match before but at least they kept the pace up and the tubes were used appropriately. So even though it had about 0% of a ‘wow’ factor, it wasn’t really bad either. Score: 6.5
Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi vs. Kohei Sato and Shuji Ishikawa
Please let this match save this show. Okabayashi and Ishikawa start off and they bounce off each other before trading chops. Both wrestlers tag out, headlock by Sekimoto to Sato but Sato gets out of it. Sato elbows Sekimoto hard to the mat and tags in Ishikawa while Sekimoto also tags in Okabayashi. Ishikawa knocks Okabayashi into the corner and tags in Sato. Sato chops Okabayashi and kicks him in the back. Kicks by Sato but Okabayashi slams him to the mat and tags in Sekimoto. Sekimoto lariats Sato in the corner and hits a vertical suplex. Scorpion Deathlock by Sekimoto but Ishikawa breaks it up. Knee by Sato and he elbows Sekimoto before tagging in Ishikawa. Ishikawa hits a lariat in the corner, slam to Sekimoto and he hits a doublestomp off the second turnbuckle for two. Sekimoto chops Ishikawa but Ishikawa hits a tombstone piledriver for a two count. Sekimoto kicks Ishikawa back and hits a missile dropkick before tagging in Okabayashi. Okabayashi lariats Ishikawa in the corner and he hits a powerslam for two. Okabayashi goes for a lariat but Ishikawa knees him. Okabayashi tosses Ishikawa to the mat and goes for a suplex, but Ishikawa blocks it. Okabayashi and Sekimoto both hit suplexes on their respective opponents, Sekimoto picks up Ishikawa and they hit a double backdrop suplex. Okabayashi scoop slams Ishikawa, he goes up top but Ishikawa recovers. Ishikawa joins him and hits a superplex. Sato comes in and they double team Okabayashi. Double elbow smash to Okabayashi, cover by Ishikawa but it gets a two. Ishikawa picks up Okabayashi and hits the Fire Thunder Driver, but Okabayashi gets a shoulder up. Running knee by Ishikawa but Sekimoto grabs him from behind and hits a German suplex. Sato runs in and suplexes Sekimoto but Sekimoto gets up and hits a lariat. Everyone is out and this match is man-sized as anticipated. Okabayashi and Ishikawa trade shots but Okabayashi hits a powerbomb for a two count. Lariat by Okabayashi, he goes up top and hits the GOLEM SPLASH for the three count. Sekimoto and Okabayashi pick up the win. This was fun, these four all know how to hit and be hit, and they make every big move count. Nothing epic but good stuff here. Score: 7.0
(c) Yuko Miyamoto vs. Kankuro Hoshino
This match is for the Big Japan Death Match Heavyweight Championship. Wristlocks to start and they trade shoulderblocks. Hoshino knocks Miyamoto out of the ring and elbows him around the floor. Miyamoto throws Hoshino into the ring post and slides him into the ring. Miyamoto gets a weight and throws it at Hoshino, but Hoshino moves. Miyamoto throws Hoshino into the ladder, he gets a few chairs and hits Hoshino with them. Miyamoto scoop slams Hoshino onto the ladder and slams his arm into it. Hoshino drives Miyamoto’s head into a cinder block, he then puts a cinder block on Miyamoto’s back and hits him with another block. Hoshino suplexes Miyamoto onto a ladder and hits an elbow. Belly to belly suplex by Miyamoto and he hits a double knee followed by a dropkick. Cobra twist by Miyamoto but Hoshino hiptosses out of it. Miyamoto hits Hoshino with a weight and throws it onto his stomach. Miyamoto gets a mini-ladder but Hoshino back bodydrops him onto it. Brainbuster by Hoshino and he scoop slams Miyamoto onto a bunch of cinder blocks. Hoshino goes for a senton on the blocks but Miyamoto moves. Handspring back elbow by Miyamoto, he puts a few weights in the ring and powerbombs Hoshino onto them. Miyamoto puts a ladder on Hoshino and hits a somersault senton. Miyamoto goes for a lariat but Hoshino hits a STO, he then chokeslams Miyamoto onto a ladder. Ladder-based offense just makes me cringe. Hoshino puts a ladder onto Miyamoto and he hits a diving senton. Hoshino and Miyamoto trade elbows and Hoshino hits a lariat. Gedo Clutch by Hoshino but it gets a two count. Lariat by Miyamoto and he hits a Yankee Driver. Miyamoto picks up Hoshino and hits a Yankee Driver onto a ladder for the three count. Miyamoto retains his championship. Watching people do stuff on ladders and concrete blocks is harder to me than watching stuff liked barbed wire and lighttubes. Not sure why. But they did a good job of not going into ‘overkill’ territory, wish Hoshino had gotten a few more nearfalls as I never felt he really had a chance of winning, but for the type of match it was I have no real complaints. It was missing that one big ‘omg’ spot some death matches have but that’s not a requirement, just the type of thing that can make a match more memorable. Score: 7.0
Final Thoughts:
The event started a bit rough but did improve as it went along. The matches with plunder were all at least watchable, the Big Japan ‘strong style’ match was as advertised, and the main event was a perfectly acceptable title match. While it lacked that match or moment to put it over the edge as an event I would recommend people to watch, it did have some redeemable traits. Die-hard BJW fans will probably enjoy it, but if you don’t like hardcore action there isn’t much here for you.
Grade: C-
