Date: February 7th, 2014
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 912
Back to Big Japan! This event has a decision match for the Big Japan Strong World Heavyweight Championship which had been vacated the previous month when Daisuke Sekimoto was injured. We also have an Iron Cage match (something a little different) and a one match W-1 invasion just to spice things up. Here is the full card:
– Frank Atsushi and Takayuki vs. Yuichi Taniguchi and Hideyoshi Kamitani
– Brahman Shu and Brahman Kei vs. HUB and Onryo
– Scramble Death Match: Jaki Numazawa, Takeda, and Tsukamoto vs. Hoshino, Inematsu, and Inaba
– Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo vs. MEN’s Teioh and Shinobu
– Iron Cage and Fluorescent Lighttubes Death Match: Kodaka and Miyamoto vs. Ryuji Ito and Takahashi
– Daichi Hashimoto and Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato and Shuji Ishikawa
– BJW Strong World Heavyweight Championship: Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Shinya Ishikawa
Since this aired on Samurai! TV some matches will be clipped, just a heads up. Let’s get started.
Frank Atsushi and Ueki vs. Yuichi Taniguchi and Kamitani
Ueki and Kamitani start things off. Waistlock by Ueki, reversed by Kamitani into a wristlock but Ueki hits a fireman’s carry takedown. Kamitani gets back up and rolls out of it, applying a wristlock. Hammerlock by Kamitani into a side headlock, Ueki reverses it into a headscissors and both men return to their feet. Waistlock by Ueki and he tags in Atsushi. Atsushi stomps on Kamitani and goes for a body slam, but Kamitani blocks it. Scoop slam by Kamitani, he picks up Atsushi and tags in Taniguchi. Taniguchi chokes Atsushi in the corner, double Irish whip to Atsushi and he eats a double shoulderblock. Elbow drop by Taniguchi, snapmare, and he applies a reverse chinlock. Taniguchi picks up Atsushi but Atsushi elbows him off. Poke to the eyes by Taniguchi and he hits a jawbreaker. Taniguchi drives Atsushi into his knee and tags in Kamitani. Atsushi drives back Kamitani and he makes the tag to Ueki. Ueki kicks Kamitani in the chest and the two trade strikes. Dropkick by Kamitani, he picks up Ueki and elbows him into the corner. Irish whip by Kamitani to the corner and he hits a running dropkick.
Cover by Kamitani but it gets a two count. Kamitani goes up to the top turnbuckle but Ueki avoids the missile dropkick. Ueki tags in Atsushi but Kamitani hits a lariat. Kamitani picks up Atsushi and clubs him into the corner, Irish whip by Kamitani but Atsushi moves when he charges in and hits a missile dropkick. Headbutt by Atsushi, cover, but Kamitani kicks out. Atsushi goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a falling headbutt. Cover, but it only gets a two count when Taniguchi breaks it up. Atsushi knocks Taniguchi off the apron and tags in Ueki. They pick up Kamitani, double Irish whip by Kamitani to the corner and Ueki hits a body avalanche. Atsushi hits a tornado DDT on Kamitani then Ueki hits a diving crossbody for a two count. Ueki picks up Kamitani and clubs him in the chest. Ueki goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, but Kamitani doesn’t go down. Ueki goes for a slam but Kamitani blocks it and hits a slam of his own. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kamitani picks up Ueki and goes for a backdrop suplex but Ueki lands on top of him. Ueki goes off the ropes but Kamitani elbows Ueki in the chest. Backdrop suplex by Kamitani, cover, and it gets a three count. Your winners: Yuichi Taniguchi and Hideyoshi Kamitani
Match Thoughts: Just a basic young lion style match. Not a lot of substance or anything like that and it was pretty by-the-numbers. The tag outs didn’t really have transitions, it was more of a “your turn!” type situation. I don’t mind matches like this as wrestlers have to get practice in front of the crowd, but still it was a pretty mundane match. Score: 3.5
Brahman Shu and Brahman Kei vs. HUB and Onryo
I don’t know which Brahman is which so I am making it up as I go. Just a fair warning. Shu and Onryo start things off. Shu and Onryo circle each other to start and tie-up, and the dust flying off of Onryo makes Shu jump back. Kick by Shu and he applies a wristlock. Onryo reverses it and he hits a side headlock takedown, but Shu gets out of it. Drop down by Shu but Onryo drops down as well, and scares Shu out of the ring. Kei comes in the ring and Onryo tags in HUB. HUB trips Kei and goes off the ropes, HUB crawls after Kei but Shu comes in the ring and grabs HUB’s leg. Onryo comes in the ring and scares Shu back out of it, so Kei gets into the ring and HUB chops Kei to the mat. HUB whips Kei, he picks him up and HUB applies an abdominal stretch. Sleeper hold by HUB but Kei gets out of it and kicks HUB in the head. Kei knocks Onryo off the apron as Shu comes into the ring, and Shu knocks HUB out of the ring to the floor. Everyone battles at ringside as Kei spits water into the crowd, while in the ring Shu gets a pink box and sets it against HUB in the corner. Bowling ball time as Shu throws the ball into the box, sending it into HUB’s groin.
Shu and Kei pick up HUB, double Irish whip but HUB hits a lariat onto both of them. HUB tags in Onryo, but Shu hits him with a kendo stick. Shu tries to hit him again but Onryo blocks it, then Shu hits Kei by accident. Shu hits himself by bouncing it off the ropes, and Onryo drops him with a tornado DDT. Cover, but it gets a two count. Onryo tags in HUB, HUB and Onryo throw Shu into the corner and HUB hits a superkick. Reverse hurricanrana by Onryo, then HUB hits a sliding kick. Cover, but Kei breaks it up. HUB picks up Shu and puts him onto his shoulders, but Shu slides off and Kei hits HUB with a metal plate. Kei grabs a blue bucket with water but HUB pushes him back and throws the water onto Kei. Shu gets into the ring and tries to spit the black stuff at HUB, but HUB blocks it with the bucket. Kei gets up but HUB gets Kei onto his shoulders and hits the Viper Strike. Cover, and HUB picks up a three count. Your winners: HUB and Onryo
Match Thoughts: The Brahman’s certainly don’t have boring match, even if they are a bit silly. There wasn’t any downtime here as what began as normal tag rules quickly changed to more of a tornado tag since the Brahmans basically do whatever they want. I love HUB and wish I could have seen him in a more ‘normal’ match but it was still good to see him anyway. It was short and random, but I can’t really say it was bad. Just different. Score: 5.5
Jaki Numazawa, Masashi Takeda, and Tsukamoto vs. Kankuro Hoshino, Inematsu, and Masato Inaba
Both teams “scramble” to get to the barbed wire bat first, but Inaba leaves early and gets there first. Tsukamoto gets into the ring with a chair, and Inaba knocks the chair out of Tsukamoto’s hands. Inaba tries to push the bat into Tsukamoto but Tsukamoto blocks it and headbutts the bat into Takeda. Takeda falls out of the ring as all the other wrestlers brawl at ringside. Takeda and Inematsu get into the ring, Takeda knees Inematsu into the corner and then hits a running knee in the corner. Cover by Takeda but it gets a two count. Takeda gets the barbed wire bat, he puts it onto Inematsu’s chest and goes up to the top turnbuckle and hit a rolling senton. Cover by Takeda, but again it gets two. Takeda picks up the barbed wire bat, he puts it onto the mat and tries to suplex Inematsu onto it, but Inematsu elbows out of it and kicks Takeda before slamming him onto the bat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Takeda slides down Inematsu’s back and he hits a side slam onto the barbed wire bat. Takeda and Inematsu both slide out of the ring while we see Takeda and Tsukamoto battling up into the stands. Numazawa and Inematsu are in the ring and Numazawa slams Inematsu into a chair. Inaba slides Tsukamoto into the ring, he goes up on the second turnbuckle and hits a diving hip attack. Inaba picks up Tsukamoto and goes for a suplex but Tsukamoto blocks it. Superkick by Tsukamoto but Inaba hits a lariat. Inaba and Tsukamoto slowly get to their feet and Tsukamoto throws Inaba out of the ring. Cannonball by Tsukamoto onto Inaba off the apron, as now Hoshino and Numazawa get into the ring.
Hoshino punches Numazawa against the ropes, he goes off the far ropes but Numazawa hits a lariat. Numazawa gets the barbed wire bat, puts Hoshino on his shoulders and hits a fireman’s carry roll while holding the bat against Hoshino’s back. Cover, but it gets a two count. Numazawa grabs Hoshino and holds him so that Tsukamoto can superkick him. Leg drop by Takeda, cover by Numazawa but it gets broken up. Numazawa sets up a chair pyramid in the corner, he grabs Hoshino and tries to throw Hoshino into it, but Hoshino gets out of it and kicks Numazawa into the chairs. Inaba gets into the ring, they pick up Numazawa and Inematsu hits Numazawa. Senton by Hoshino, cover by Inaba but it gets a two count. Inaba picks up Numazawa, Inaba slams Numazawa in front of the corner and he goes up to the top turnbuckle. Inaba jumps off the top but Numazawa moves out of the way and Tsukamoto superkicks him from behind. Inematsu and Inaba get into the ring but Takeda hit a suplex onto both of them. Numazawa gets a barbed wire bat as they pick up Inaba, Numazawa hits Inaba with the bat in the corner and then Takeda hits a running strike. Triple Powerbomb to Inaba, cover, but it is broken up. Numazawa chokes Inematsu with a chair while Tsukamoto ties up Hoshino with another chair. Takeda knees Inaba in the chest, cover, but it gets a two count. Takeda picks up Inaba and hits the U Crash onto the barbed wire bat. Cover, and Takeda picks up the three count. Your winners: Jaki Numazawa, Masashi Takeda, and Tsukamoto
Match Thoughts: The good thing about this style of match is that there really isn’t any down time. I liked the definiteness of the ending, Inaba was destroyed and his partners were equally tied up so everyone in the building knew who the better tag team was. Sometimes it is ok to have a dominating victory, not all matches need ten 2.9 counts. Besides the chair pyramid, the weapon usage was integrated well into the match and the barbed wire bat was used quite a bit throughout the entire thing. A fun hardcore brawl. Score: 6.5
Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo vs. MEN’s Teioh and Shinobu
Hayashi and Shinobu start things off. Hayashi invites Teioh into the ring so Shinobu tags him in so he can start off instead. Hayashi and Teioh circle each other, they trade quick submission holds but neither man can get an advantage. Knuckle lock by Hayashi, Teioh applies a headscissors but Hayashi flips out of it. Tie-up, waistlock by Teioh, Hayashi reverses it into a wristlock and applies a submission hold on the mat. Teioh gets into the ropes and goes through the ropes to reverse the hold, twisting Hayashi’s arm in the second rope. They lock knuckles, Teioh tries to force Hayashi to the mat but Hayashi bridges up and hits a suplex. Hayashi tags in Kondo while Shinobu is also tagged in, elbows by Kondo and Shinobu elbows him back as they trade shots. Kondo elbows Shinobu back, he goes off the ropes but Shinobu hits an armdrag. Atomic drop by Kondo and he hits a snap DDT. Cover, but Teioh breaks it up. Teioh hits Kondo into the corner, double Irish whip, Shinobu hits an elbow strike on Kondo three times, then Teioh kicks Shinobu and monkey flips him into Kondo. Kondo tags in Hayashi, and Hayashi chops Shinobu in the chest. Knee by Hayashi but Shinobu hits him back. Elbows by Shinobu, Irish whip by Hayashi, reversed, and Hayashi hits a handspring kick. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hayashi picks up Shinobu and throws him into the corner, Irish whip by Hayashi but Shinobu kicks him back. Shinobu goes off the ropes, elbow by Hayashi but Shinobu nails him with a dropkick. Shinobu tags in Teioh, shoulderblock by Teioh to Hayashi and he hits a powerslam.
Kondo comes in the ring but Teioh catches him with a side slam onto his knee before slamming Hayashi to the mat as well. Teioh picks up Hayashi, Irish whip, sunset flip by Hayashi but Teioh rolls through it and applies the Texas Cloverleaf. Kondo breaks it up, Irish whip by Kondo to Shinobu but Shinobu hits a hurricanrana. Shinobu then goes out to the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault down onto Kondo. Back in the ring, Irish whip by Teioh to the corner but Hayashi rolls up Teioh for a two count. They trade quick pin attempts but neither can get the three count. Teioh goes off the ropes and hits an elbow smash before tagging in Shinobu. Shinobu goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Cover, but it gets a two count. Shinobu goes off the ropes but Hayashi blocks the lariat. He tries again but Kondo grabs Shinobu from the apron and Hayashi kicks Shinobu in the chest. Kondo comes in the ring, he picks up Shinobu and they hit a Samoan Drop/neckbreaker combination. Kondo waits for Shinobu to get up and hits a lariat while Hayashi hits a superkick, cover, but it gets two. Kondo waits for Shinobu to get up and goes off the ropes, and he hits a lariat while Shinobu hits one as well. They do this again, but the third time Shinobu knocks down Kondo with a lariat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Teioh comes in the ring but Kondo knocks them both back, he goes off the ropes but is caught with an elbow. Quebrada by Shinobu, but Kondo kicks out at two. Teioh waits for Kondo to get up and hits a chokeslam, while Shinobu goes up top but Hayashi grabs him from the apron. Hayashi snaps Teioh’s neck over the top rope while Kondo hits a spear onto Shinobu. Kondo goes off the ropes and hits the King Kong Lariat, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo
Match Thoughts: A pretty pedestrian affair. Even though on paper it was a match between two different promotions, nothing here felt special at all, most of the time it just felt like they were going through the motions. Things picked up by the end but that is normal in wrestling matches, up until the last few minutes nothing of note really happened. The teams worked well against each other, which is a plus of course, it was just void of emotion or purpose. Score: 4.0
Isami Kodaka and Yuko Miyamoto vs. Ryuji Ito and Masaya Takahashi
This is a Iron Cage and Fluorescent Lighttubes Death Match. Yay lighttubes. Ito and Kodaka circle each other to start, Ito pushes Kodaka into the ropes and he gives a clean break. Ito and Kodaka jockey for position, takedown by Ito but Kodaka returns to his feet. Wristlock by Kodaka but Ito punches out of it. Irish whip by Ito to the lighttubes but Kodaka slams on the breaks. Miyamoto tags himself in while Ito also tags in Takahashi. Takahashi and Miyamoto trade elbows, Irish whip by Takahashi, reversed, and Takahashi goes into the tubes. They all leave the ring, and Miyamoto hits Takahashi with a lighttube. Miyamoto and Takahashi get back into the ring, punches by Miyamoto and he throws Takahashi into the corner. Miyamoto tags in Kodaka, double Irish whip to Miyamoto and he goes into the lighttubes. Kodaka gets a bunch of tubes, snapmare, and he kicks them into Takahashi’s back. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kodaka gets a tube and hits Takahashi in the head with it and he tags in Miyamoto. Miyamoto kicks Takahashi in the corner and knees him in the stomach. Miyamoto lays some lighttubes on the ground and hits a scoop slam onto them. Cover, but it gets two. Miyamoto goes up to the top turnbuckle but Takahashi blocks him when he jumps off and hits a backdrop suplex. Takahashi tags in Ito, Ito picks up Miyamoto, Irish whip and Ito delivers a dropkick. Ito gets a bundle of lighttubes and kicks them into Miyamoto’s back. Ito picks up Miyamoto and hits a scoop slam, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the moonsault. Cover, but Miyamoto kicks out. Ito opens the door to the iron cage (it is full of lighttubes) and tries to throw Miyamoto into it, but Miyamoto slams on the breaks. Lariat by Miyamoto and he tags in Kodaka. Kodaka and Ito trade elbows, Kodaka puts a tube on the ground and hits a side Russian leg sweep.
Kodaka grabs a few lighttubes again and hits another leg sweep into them. Kodaka picks up Ito and tries to send him into the cage, but Ito elbows out of it. Knee by Ito, he gets a steel chair and hits Kodaka in the back with it. Ito hits Kodaka with the chair again and a third time, he puts the chair on the mat and tries to slam Kodaka into it, but Kodaka reverses it and hits a vertical suplex onto the chair. Cover by Kodaka but it gets a two count. Miyamoto comes in the ring with a chair and hits Takahashi in the head with it and they throw Takahashi into the lighttube-filled cage. Miyamoto then hits Ito, they throw him into the corner and Kodaka hits a lariat followed by a Miyamoto double knee. Double dropkick to Ito, Miyamoto picks him up and slams him in front of the cage. Miyamoto climbs up the cage but Takahashi pushes the door open, sending Miyamoto crashing out of the ring. Ito gets Kodaka on the top turnbuckle, joins him and he hits a superplex. Ito tags in Takahashi, Takahashi picks up Kodaka and throws him into the corner. Lariat by Takahashi and he hits a vertical suplex. Takahashi puts a bundle of tubes onto Kodaka and hits a rolling senton. Cover, but it gets a two count. Takahashi picks up Kodaka but Kodaka slides down his back. Kodaka knocks Ito off the apron, elbows by Takahashi but Kodaka kicks a lighttube into Takahashi’s face. Kodaka then elbows a bundle of lighttubes into Takahashi’s head before diving out of the ring onto Ito. Back in the ring, Takahashi slams Miyamoto to the mat and then dropkicks Ito. Takahashi picks up Kodaka, Irish whip to the corner, reversed, and Miyamoto slams Takahashi in front of the cage. Kodaka then gets on top of the cage and hits a diving double kneedrop. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Isami Kodaka and Yuko Miyamoto
Match Thoughts: As far as random carnage tag team hardcore matches go, this one wasn’t bad. I feel like I’ve watched this match before, one of the issues Big Japan has is that they only have about half a dozen active hardcore wrestlers so they just kinda keep wrestling each other over and over in matches like this one. I was glad to see the cage there though as at least it adds a different element to the match. A perfectly watchable match but not really special in any way. Score: 6.0
Daichi Hashimoto and Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato and Shuji Ishikawa
The Hashimoto pair attack their opponents as they come down to the ring and they brawl into the stands. Ishikawa eventually slides Daichi back into the ring, kicks to the chest by Daichi but Ishikawa elbows him back. They trade kicks and elbows until Ishikawa catches one and pushes Daichi to the mat. Ishikawa steps on Daichi on his way to tag in Sato, and Daichi tags in Kazuki. Kazuki elbows Sato but Sato returns fire and they trade shots. Sato knees Kazuki into the corner, Irish whip, reversed, and Kazuki slaps Sato in the face. Sato slaps him back and they trade leg kicks, which Sato gets the better of. Knee by Sato, he picks up Kazuki and tags in Ishikawa. Ishikawa picks up Kazuki and hits a scoop slam. Double stomp by Ishikawa and he kicks Kazuki in the back, cover, but it gets a two count. Ishikawa applies a sleeper but Kazuki gets into the ropes to force a break. Sato is tagged back in, Kazuki elbows Sato but Sato elbows him back. Kazuki keeps elbowing away with little success, and Sato headbutts Kazuki before tagging in Ishikawa. Ishikawa knocks Daichi off the apron before kicking Kazuki in the head. Ishikawa stands on Kazuki as Sato gets into the ring, double Irish whip to the corner and Sato hits a running knee. Knee to the stomach by Ishikawa and Sato comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving knee. Cover, but Daichi breaks it up. Sato goes off the ropes and goes for a kick but Kazuki catches his leg and hits a dragon screw leg whip. Kazuki tags in Daichi, and Daichi kicks Sato repeatedly in the corner. Running high knee by Daichi and he goes for a backdrop suplex, but Sato blocks it. Release German suplex by Daichi, cover, but it gets two. Daichi kicks Sato in the chest some more, he goes off the ropes but Sato knees him in the stomach and tags in Ishikawa. Irish whip by Ishikawa and he hits a pair of lariats. Ishikawa picks up Daichi and hits a scoop slam, he goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a double stomp. Cover, but it only gets a two count.
Ishikawa picks up Daichi but Daichi elbows him off and they trade elbows. Daichi goes off the ropes but Ishikawa knees him in the stomach, Ishikawa goes off the ropes but Daichi hits a dropkick followed by an enzigieri. Daichi tags in Kazuki, Kazuki kicks Ishikawa in the corner and hits the face wash. Kazuki picks up Ishikawa, snapmare, and he kicks Ishikawa in the back and chest. Knee drop by Kazuki, cover, but Ishikawa kicks out. Kazuki picks up Ishikawa but Ishikawa hits a trapped headbutt followed by a suplex. Ishikawa tags in Sato, and he trades elbows with Kazuki. Kazuki goes off the ropes and hits an elbow, and he finally is able to knock Sato off his feet. Daichi comes in the ring, they throw Sato into the corner and Kazuki hits a jumping knee followed by a Triangle Kick from Daichi. Both wrestlers take turns kicking Sato in the chest, PK by Kazuki, cover, but it gets a two count. Ankle hold by Kazuki, Ishikawa comes in the ring but Daichi puts him in a STF. Sato gets to the ropes to force the break, Kazuki picks up Sato and goes for a vertical suplex, but Sato blocks it. Ishikawa comes in the ring and they hit a double vertical suplex onto Kazuki. Ishikawa picks up Kazuki and hits a backdrop suplex. Sato then picks up Kazuki and hits a falcon arrow, cover, but Daichi breaks it up. Ishikawa gets rid of Daichi, Sato picks up Kazuki and goes off the ropes, back kick by Kazuki and he goes off the ropes, but Sato knees him in the stomach. Piledriver by Sato, cover, but Kazuki barely gets a shoulder up. Sato picks up Kazuki and hits the German suplex hold, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Kohei Sato and Shuji Ishikawa
Match Thoughts: Not my favorite style of match as it was a bit too strike-happy for my personal tastes, but it wasn’t actively bad or anything. Kazuki finally knocking Sato down after trying all match was a nice moment, even if he was pinned by Sato not long after that. Kazuki acting a bit goofy didn’t fit with the overall vibe of the match but it did give it a different personality, so it wasn’t really a bad thing. Overall it was decent, I would just like to see a wrestler that doesn’t fit the “strike early and often” crowd to mix things up a bit. Score: 5.0
Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Shinya Ishikawa
This match is for the vacant Big Japan Strong World Heavyweight Championship. Tie-up to start, Ishikawa pushes Kawakami into the ropes and he gives a clean break. They lock knuckles, Kawakami pushes Ishikawa to the mat but Ishikawa bridges back up and pushes Kawakami down. Side headlock by Ishikawa but Kawakami reverses it and cranks on Ishikawa’s head. Ishikawa reverses it with a headscissors but Kawakami gets out of it before Ishikawa puts him back into the hold. Kawakami gets out of it again just to be put back into it a third time. Headbutt by Kawakami and he snaps back on Ishikawa’s legs. Muta Lock by Kawakami but Ishikawa inches to the ropes and forces the break. Kawakami picks up Ishikawa and throws him into the corner, elbows by Kawakami and Ishikawa falls to the mat. Scoop slam by Kawakami, cover, but it gets a two count. Kawakami picks up Ishikawa and applies an abdominal stretch. Ishikawa gets out of it and reverses the hold, elbow by Ishikawa and he re-applies the hold in the middle of the ring. Kawakami gets to the ropes, club to the back by Ishikawa and he knocks Kawakami to the mat. Ishikawa picks up Kawakami, snapmare, and Ishikawa applies a headscissors. Kawakami gets to the ropes, snapmare by Ishikawa and he re-applies the headscissors. Kawakami gets to the ropes again, stomp by Ishikawa and he goes for a snapmare but Kawakami blocks it. Kawakami throws Ishikawa into the corner but Ishikawa kicks him back. Ishikawa goes for the Triskelion but Kawakami ducks it, elbow by Ishikawa and he hits a second one.
They trade elbows and uppercuts, Ishikawa kicks Kawakami into the corner and hits a series of knees. Ishikawa picks up Kawakami, Irish whip, but Kawakami catches Ishikawa when he charges in and hits an exploder suplex. Running elbow by Kawakami in the corner and he hits a double arm suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Single leg crab hold by Kawakami but Ishikawa gets to the ropes to get the break. Kawakami picks up Ishikawa but Ishikawa elbows him off. They trade elbows, Irish whip by Ishikawa and he hits a hard elbow to the face. Cover, but it only gets two. Ishikawa picks up Kawakami and hits a Northern Lights Suplex but it also gets a two count. Ishikawa elbows Kawakami into the corner, Irish whip, and Ishikawa elbows Kawakami. Kawakami elbows Ishikawa back and they trade shots, headbutt by Ishikawa and he hits a backdrop suplex. Kawakami gets back up, elbow by Ishikawa but Kawakami picks him up and hits the Emerald Frosion. Elbow by Ishikawa as Kawakami elbows him back, and Kawakami hits a release German suplex. Running elbow smash by Kawakami, cover, but it gets a two count. Kawakami picks up Ishikawa but Ishikawa gets away, another elbow smash by Kawakami but again it gets two. Kawakami picks up Ishikawa but Ishikawa hits an enzigieri. A second enzigieri by Ishikawa, he goes off the ropes and hits an elbow smash. Cover, but it gets a two count. Another enzigieri by Ishikawa and he applies the Triskelion. Too far away from the ropes, Kawakami has no choice but to submit. Your winner and new champion: Shinya Ishikawa
Match Thoughts: Not at all what I was expecting. Ishikawa is more submission-based than I remembered, and I’ve never seen someone work a headscissors like he did in this match. This was a very grounded fight with lots of submission holds and strikes, and while the match lacked ‘exciting’ moments it was still captivating and well structured. Ishikawa did a good job with strikes and submissions wearing down Kawakami, which lead directly to his submission win. I couldn’t say this is a MOTYC or anything since it never really felt like a title match, but it was certainly fundamentally sound. I would have liked some more hard hitting moves since it was for a “Strong” world championship but it was still a good match. Score: 6.5
Final Thoughts:
Best Match: Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Shinya Ishikawa. This match and the scramble had the same score, but the title match was more… structured and was built very well. They led up to Ishikawa’s submission well as he was working on that area the entire match, and while Kawakami was overmatched he still put on a good fight. It wasn’t as ‘man sized’ as I was expecting but start to finish it was very solid.
MVP: Masashi Takeda. Of all the wrestlers on the card, Takeda stuck out the most. Yes he wrestled early on the card, but with events like this the match order could be changed around and it wouldn’t really matter. Not only did he pick up the win but he also had the most highlights, as he was all over the place hitting people with any weapon that he could find. A good showing by the young wrestler.
Overall: An interesting event. Here Big Japan put on many good and solid matches but it lacked that big stand out match that I could recommend. None of the matches here individually were ones you’d say to someone “You gotta see this!”, but almost all of them had some type of purpose and delivered on some level. I can’t really recommend it strongly since it had a bit of the “same ‘ol” vibe but you could do worse than this event, it had some solid wrasslin’.
