Date: February 11th, 2014
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Announced Attendance: 2,100 (Super No Vacancy Full House)
This event has more significance than we thought when the card originally took place. What seemed like a special but not incredible Diamond Ring card turned into much more when days after the event Sasaki announced he was retiring. He did not plan on having a retirement match, so this match against Nakajima was his retirement match. He just didn’t tell us first. Also on the card, we get some NOAH wrestlers and some All Japan wrestlers as well. Here is the full card:
– Stalker Ichikawa, CHANGO, and Namazu Man vs. Kikutaro, NOSAWA Rongai, and Honda
– Natsuki*Taiyo and Sareee vs. Yumiko Hotta and La Comandante
– Go Shiozaki vs. Kento Miyahara
– Daichi Hashimoto and Tank Nagai vs. Kitamiya and Hitoshi Kumano
– Fujita “Jr.” Hayato and Satoshi Kajiwara vs. Marufuji and Taiji Ishimori
– Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kensuke Sasaki
“Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa, CHANGO, and Namazu Man vs. Kikutaro, NOSAWA Rongai, and Antonio Honda
Nosawa and Ichikawa start things off. Ichikawa and Nosawa roll around for a bit avoiding each other and they shake hands. Namazu Man and Honda become the legal men, Namazu Man dances around, and we clip ahead to when CHANGO and Kikutaro are in the ring. Kikutaro grabs CHANGO by the goatee and gives it a pull. Kick by Kikutaro and he tags in Nosawa. Nosawa kicks CHANGO in the corner and applies a submission hold, Ichikawa goes up to the second turnbuckle but he doesn’t help. Nosawa throws CHANGO into the corner and tags in Honda. Snapmare by Honda and he stomps CHANGO in the face. Ichikawa comes in the ring, chops by Ichikawa but Honda punches Ichikawa in the face. Oil Check by Ichikawa and he applies a wristlock. Ichikawa goes up to the top turnbuckle while keeping the hold applied, he walks on the top rope like the Undertaker but Honda pulls him off and Ichikawa crotches himself. We clip ahead to Kikutaro and Namazu Man in the ring, Kikutaro throws Namazu Man into the corner and goes for a bulldog, but Namazu Man shoves him off. Missile dropkick by Namazu Man to Kikutaro, he goes off the ropes but Kikutaro catches him with the TKO. Cover by Kikutaro, but it gets a two count. Kikutaro elbows CHANGO and Ichikawa off the apron, he grabs Namazu Man and goes for his delayed suplex but Namazu Man reverses it into a vertical suplex of his own. Nosawa and Honda come in the ring and they hit a double vertical suplex onto Namazu Man. Shining Wizard by Kikutaro, cover, but it is broken up. Kikutaro goes up to the top turnbuckle and goes for a diving crossbody, but Namazu Man rolls through it and picks up the three count. Your winners: “Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa, CHANGO, and Namazu Man
Match Thoughts: A comedy match that we only saw a bit of. I think that Namazu Man is Sugi, which is only notable because I like Sugi but it wasn’t a large enough sample size for me to be sure. Anyway this was pretty clipped up so hard to judge, but it didn’t look like there was much to it as it looked like a pretty average tag team match. Score: 3.5
Natsuki*Taiyo and Sareee vs. Hotta and La Comandante (with Shimoda)
Natsuki*Taiyo and Sareee dropkick their opponents as the match starts, leaving just La Comandante in the ring. Double Irish whip to La Comandante and they hit a double drop toehold followed by a double dropkick. Shimoda comes in the ring and attacks Sareee, Sareee is thrown into the corner and Shimoda, Hotta, and La Comandante all hit running strikes. Hotta kicks Sareee while she is on the mat, she picks her up, Irish whip, Sareee goes for a crossbody and rolls up Hotta for a two count. Sareee tags in Natsuki*Taiyo, and Natsuki*Taiyo hits a dropkick. Natsuki*Taiyo dropkicks La Comandante as well, which brings her into the ring. La Comandante chops Natsuki*Taiyo in the chest, throws her into the corner but Natsuki*Taiyo hits a rebounding crossbody for a two count. Natsuki*Taiyo goes up to the top turnbuckle, jumps out to the apron before sliding back into the ring and hitting La Comandante in the face. Natsuki*Taiyo goes off the ropes but La Comandante hits a shoulderblock. We skip ahead as now Natsuki*Taiyo is outside of the ring with La Comandante and Hotta, and they throw her into the guard rail.
Sareee is thrown into the railing as well as Hotta chops Natsuki*Taiyo. La Comandante goes for a chop but Natsuki*Taiyo ducks and La Comandante chops Hotta by accident. Sareee then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a plancha down onto Hotta and La Comandante. Natsuki*Taiyo gets a running start in the ring and hits a plancha off the ropes onto Hotta and La Comandante as well. We jump ahead as Sareee gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a body press onto Hotta in the ring. Natsuki*Taiyo then hits a diving doublestomp, crucifix pin by Sareee but it gets a two count. Sareee goes off the ropes but Shimoda trips her from the floor. Shimoda gets in the ring and chops Sareee with La Comandante. They throw Sareee into the corner, Sareee avoids Shimoda’s charge, La Comandante then charges and she splashes Shimoda by accident. Hotta runs in the ring but Natsuki*Taiyo rolls her up with Sareee’s help for a two count. Sareee goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hotta kicks her when she dives off. Hotta grabs Sareee and hits a Tiger Driver, cover, but Natsuki*Taiyo breaks it up. Shimoda and La Comandante get into the ring, and Shimoda helps La Comandante hit a diving body press. Hotta grabs Sareee and nails the Pyramid Driver. Cover by Hotta and she gets the three count. Your winners: Yumiko Hotta and La Comandante
Match Thoughts: I wish I could have seen more of this match, Sareee and Natsuki*Taiyo are very spunky. I didn’t like the blatant interference throughout the match by Shimoda… I know that interference is a little more lax in Japan but it shouldn’t become a 3 vs. 2 match. Besides that I thought it was solid action, it was just too clipped up to really get into. Score: 5.0
Go Shiozaki vs. Kento Miyahara
Miyahara kicks Shiozaki in the face to start the match, side headlock by Miyahara, Shiozaki Irish whips out of it and the two collide with no result. Another kick by Miyahara, he goes off the ropes and a third boot sends Shiozaki to the mat. Shiozaki gets back up however and elbows Miyahara hard in the face, sending him out of the ring. Shiozaki goes out after Miyahara and throws him into the guard rail. Shiozaki throws Miyahara into the railing again but Miyahara retorts with a boot to the face. Running chop by Shiozaki, elbows by Miyahara but Shiozaki chops him back. Shiozaki grabs Miyahara and hits a scoop slam out on the floor beyond the matted area. Shiozaki brings Miyahara back to ringside and they trade shots until Shiozaki throws Miyahara into the ring post. Shiozaki throws Miyahara into the guard rail and goes for a chop against the ring post, but Miyahara moves out of the way and Shiozaki chops the post. Miyahara then gets on the apron and jumps off, slamming Shiozaki’s head into the floor. Stomps by Miyahara, he picks up Shiozaki and twists his arm against the ring post. Miyahara rolls Shiozaki back in the ring but Shiozaki rolls back out. He rolls back in after a moment, Miyahara picks him up and hits an armbreaker. Shiozaki goes for a chop but Miyahara catches his arm and hits another armbreaker. Miyahara throws Shiozaki into the corner, he twists his arm into the ropes and elbows it. Irish whip by Miyahara and he hits a jumping elbow in the corner. Another Irish whip but this time Shiozaki hits a chop, which hurts his own arm. Armbreaker by Miyahara, Irish whip, but Shiozaki hits a jumping shoulderblock. Chop by Shiozaki and he kicks Miyahara in the head. Another kick by Shiozaki and Shiozaki hits a chop. Fisherman buster by Shiozaki, cover, but it gets a two count.
Shiozaki goes off the ropes and hits a lariat as Miyahara as he is getting up, cover, but it gets another two count. Shiozaki picks up Miyahara but Miyahara elbows him back and they trade elbows and chops. Shiozaki gets the better of it, he picks up Miyahara, Irish whip, and Miyahara dropkicks Shiozaki in the knee. Dropkick to the head by Miyahara, he picks up Shiozaki and throws him into the corner. Irish whip by Miyahara and he hits a jumping elbow in the corner. Northern Lights Suplex by Miyahara, but it only gets a two count. Miyahara picks up Shiozaki and goes for a German suplex, but Shiozaki blocks it. Elbow by Shiozaki but Miyahara hits an superkick. They trade kicks but Shiozaki hits a chop combination. Superkick by Miyahara and both men fall hurt to the mat. Shining Wizard by Miyahara in the corner and he hits a sit-down powerbomb. Cover by Miyahara but it gets a two count. Miyahara picks up Shiozaki and hits the German suplex hold, but Shiozaki barely gets a shoulder up. Miyahara picks up Shiozaki and applies a double underhook, but Shiozaki gets out of it and hits a lariat. Both wrestlers slowly get up, chop by Shiozaki but Miyahara returns with an elbow. They trade shots, uppercuts by Miyahara but Shiozaki hits a lariat. Miyahara doesn’t go down, Shiozaki goes off the ropes but Miyahara kicks him back. Miyahara goes off the ropes but Shiozaki catches him with a hard lariat, cover, but it gets a two count. Shiozaki picks up Miyahara and nails the Go Flasher, cover, and he gets the three count. Your winner: Go Shiozaki
Match Thoughts: Ah now this match was good. I only recently discovered Miyahara, and Shiozaki was already one of my favorites. They didn’t get a ton of time but did the best they could within those restraints. Shiozaki never stopped doing lariats even though his arm was hurt but it did impact his moves, and they kept up a fast pace. Also very hard hitting, between the moves outside the ring to the chops, so even though they were on a mid-card match on a small Indy show, they didn’t hold back anything. Good stuff all the way around. Score: 7.5
Daichi Hashimoto and Tank Nagai vs. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya and Hitoshi Kumano
Nagai and Kitamiya start things off. Tie-up, Kitamiya pushes Nagai into the ropes and gives a mostly clean break. Side headlock by Nagai, Kitamiya Irish whips out of it and they collide with no result. Nagai goes off again and still can’t knock Kitamiya down, they go back and forth until Kitamiya finally is able to shoulderblock down Nagai. Kick to the stomach by Kitamiya and he hits an elbow. Nagai returns fire and they trade shots, front facelock by Kitamiya but Nagai drives him back and tags in Kumano. Club to the back by Kumano and he kicks Nagai in the back. Kumano throws Nagai in the corner and stomps him down, choking Nagai with his boot. Scoop slam by Nagai to Kumano and Nagai tags in Hashimoto. Wristlock by Hashimoto to Kumano but Hashimoto reverses it. Hammerlock by Kumano, side headlock by Hashimoto and he takes Kumano to the mat while maintaining the hold. Kumano struggles back up and he trades elbows with Hashimoto. Hashimoto kicks Kumano in the leg and tags in Nagai. Nagai elbows Kumano in the corner, Irish whip by Nagai and he elbows Kumano in the chest. Cover by Nagai but it gets a two count. Nagai picks up Kumano, snapmare, and Nagai applies a reverse chinlock. Kumano inches to the ropes but Nagai stops him and drives his knee into Kumano’s back. Nagai tags in Hashimoto, Kumano knocks Hashimoto back but Hashimoto elbows him hard in the face and stomps Kumano in the stomach. Hashimoto picks up Kumano and hits a scoop slam. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hashimoto picks up Kumano again and goes for a suplex but Kumano reverses it into a suplex of his own. Kumano tags in Kitamiya, Irish whip by Kitamiya to Hashimoto and he hits an elbow followed by a snap suplex. Gutwrench suplex by Kitamiya, cover, but Hashimoto kicks out. Back up they trade elbows, Hashimoto goes off the ropes but Kitamiya hits a spear. Kitamiya picks up Hashimoto, Hashimoto elbows Kitamiya back and kicks Kitamiya in the leg. Kick to the back by Hashimoto and he kicks Kitamiya in the chest.
Hashimoto tags in Nagai, Nagai grabs Kitamiya and hits him in the back. Nagai goes off the ropes and hits an elbow, over, but it gets two. More elbows by Nagai, Irish whip to the corner and Nagai rams Kitamiya in the corner. Fallaway slam by Nagai, cover, but it gets a two count. Nagai picks up Kitamiya and goes for a suplex but Kitamiya lands on his feet. Hiptoss by Kitamiya but Nagai elbows Kitamiya and they trade shots. Kitamiya goes off the ropes but Nagai catches him with an uranage. German suplex by Kitamiya and he tags in Kumano while Nagai tags in Hashimoto. Hashimoto kicks Kumano in the stomach but Kumano delivers a dropkick. Running elbow by Kumano in the corner and he hits a vertical suplex. Kumano goes for Fisherman Buster, Kumano gets out of it but Kumano still hits an STO. Fisherman suplex hold by Kumano to Hashimoto, but it gets a two count. Kumano goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Cover by Kumano, but it gets a two count. Kumano picks up Hashimoto but Hashimoto hits an enzigieri. Kick combination by Hashimoto and he delivers a heel kick. Hashimoto picks up Kumano and hits a backdrop suplex. Hashimoto goes off the ropes and hits the PK, cover, but it only gets a two count. Hashimoto picks up Kumano and goes off the ropes but Kumano ducks the kick and rolls up Hashimoto for a two count. Another roll-up by Kumano, but it gets two again. Kumano stomps Hashimoto in the back, Kumano throws Hashimoto into the corner but Hashimoto moves out of the way and kicks Kumano in the corner. German suplex hold by Hashimoto, but Kumano kicks out at two. Hashimoto waits for Kumano to get up and hits the Triangle Kick. Kick to the head by Hashimoto, he picks up Kumano and hits the Shining Wizard. Cover by Hashimoto and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Daichi Hashimoto and Tank Nagai
Match Thoughts: A little more strike-based than I prefer but I knew that going in once I saw the participants. The only real issue I have with strike-based matches is it doesn’t have the normal ups and downs of a match, as even 90% of the way through it they are still just trading strikes with no evidence of long term selling. So the match could feasibly be only three minutes long and you’d likely have the same result. The stretch run was good and the strikes for the most part were snug, it was just a bit dry and I never felt pulled into the match. Score: 5.0
Fujita “Jr.” Hayato and Satoshi Kajiwara vs. Naomichi Marufuji and Taiji Ishimori
Marufuji and Kajiwara start things off. Waistlock by Kajiwara and he takes Marufuji to the ground, they struggle back to their feet and Marufuji applies a wristlock. Kajiwara reverses it but Marufuji flips out of the hold and reverses it back. Hammerlock by Marufuji but Kajiwara hits a dropkick. Side headlock by Marufuji, Kajiwara Irish whips out of it and hits a hiptoss. Marufuji returns with a hiptoss of his own, Marufuji goes off the ropes but he is caught by another dropkick and rolls out of the ring. Marufuji returns to the ring after a moment and tags in Ishimori, so Kajiwara tags in Hayato. Hayato and Ishimori trade elbows, kicks by Hayato, Irish whip, and Ishimori hits a spinning headscissors. Hayato rolls out of the ring, Ishimori goes to do a dive but flips himself back into the ring instead. Ishimori returns to the ring, kicks to the leg by Hayato and they trade elbows. Headbutt by Hayato and he tags in Kajiwara. Kajiwara and Ishimori circle each other, armbar by Ishimori and he tags in Marufuji. Marufuji throws Kajiwara into the corner and seems to want Hayato, so Hayato tags in. Hayato goes for a single leg takedown but it is blocked, armbar takedown by Hayato but Marufuji applies a front facelock. Kicks to the leg by Hayato and then to the chest, and a kick to the knee sends Marufuji to the mat. Front facelock by Hayato and he tags in Kajiwara. Kajiwara and Marufuji trade blows, Ishimori and Hayato come into the ring and they start fighting as well. Marufuji and Kajiwara go outside of the ring and Marufuji chops Kajiwara around the ring. Marufuji slides Kajiwara back into the ring and covers him but it gets a two count. Reverse chinlock by Marufuji, he picks up Kajiwara and chops him in the chest again. Marufuji tags in Ishimori, and he chops Kajiwara in the corner as well. Cover by Ishimori but it gets two.
Ishimori picks up Kajiwara and throws him into the corner before hitting a chop, he drapes Kajiwara’s head over the second rope and Marufuji hits a running dropkick from the floor. Marufuji comes in the ring, covers Kajiwara but it gets a two count. Marufuji picks up Kajiwara and applies a neck crank, snapmare by Marufuji and he stomps Kajiwara in the face. Neck twist by Marufuji, cover, but it gets two. Marufuji picks up Kajiwara and elbows him in the back of the head, chops by Marufuji in the corner, Irish whip, but Kajiwara moves when Marufuji charges in and kicks him back. Kajiwara goes up to the top turnbuckle but Marufuji recovers and joins him up top. Kajiwara hits a top rope hurricanrana onto Marufuji and makes the tag to Hayato. Kicks to the chest by Hayato, he goes off the ropes and hits a running knee to the chest. STO by Hayato and he dropkicks Marufuji in the face. Marufuji rolls out of the ring, Hayato goes out to the apron and delivers a running kick to Marufuji while he is standing on the floor. Hayato throws Marufuji back into the ring, cover, but it gets a two count. Hayato goes off the ropes, drop toehold by Marufuji but Hayato avoids the running kick. Hayato goes off the ropes but Marufuji catches him with a lariat and tags in Ishimori. Ishimori charges Hayato in the corner and hits a double knee, Irish whip, reversed by Hayato but Ishimori hits a handstand springboard cutter for a two count cover. Ishimori goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving double knee strike, cover, but it also gets a two count. Ishimori picks up Hayato and goes for a suplex but Hayato gets out of it, he goes off the ropes but Ishimori catches him with piledriver onto his knees. Cover, but Hayato gets a shoulder up. Ishimori goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hayato rolls out of the way of the 450 Splash and kicks Ishimori in the chest. Hayato tags in Kajiwara, Kajiwara dropkicks Ishimori out of the ring and goes off the ropes, but Marufuji runs in the ring to intercept Kajiwara. Hurricanrana by Kajiwara to Marufuji which sends Marufuji out of the ring next to Ishimori, and Kajiwara sails out onto both men with a tope con giro.
Kajiwara picks up Ishimori and slides him into the ring, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Jumping elbow strike by Kajiwara in the corner, scoop slam, and he delivers a second turnbuckle moonsault. Cover, but Ishimori kicks out. Kajiwara picks up Ishimori, Irish whip to the corner but Ishimori kicks him as he charges in. German suplex by Ishimori and he tags in Marufuji. Marufuji charges Kajiwara in the corner and hits a jumping elbow strike, snapmare, and Marufuji hits a jumping double stomp to Kajiwara’s face. Thrust kick by Marufuji, cover, but Kajiwara gets a shoulder up. Shiranui attempt by Marufuji, Kajiwara gets out of it, Marufuji goes for a suplex but Kajiwara lands on his feet and hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Jumping kick by Kajiwara and he hits a front suplex followed by a superkick. Hayato comes in the ring, Kajiwara slams Marufuji to the mat and Hayato hits the PK. Kajiwara positions Marufuji in front of the corner, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the moonsault. Cover, but Ishimori breaks it up. Kajiwara picks up Marufuji and gets him on his shoulders, Marufuji elbows out of it and dropkicks Kajiwara in the face. Ishimori comes in the ring and he delivers a swinging kick, and then Marufuji hits the Shiranui. Cover, but Hayato breaks it up. Marufuji picks up Kajiwara but Kajiwara drives Marufuji back into the corner. Kajiwara charges Marufuji, they trade kicks but Marufuji hits a high kick to Marufuji followed by a kick to the chest. Cover, but Kajiwara gets a shoulder up. Marufuji picks up Kajiwara, Kajiwara elbows Marufuji but Marufuji elbows him back. Big knee by Marufuji, cover, but again it gets two. Marufuji picks up Kajiwara and nails the Tiger Flowsion, cover, and he gets the three count. Your winners: Naomichi Marufuji and Taiji Ishimori
Match Thoughts: This was an entertaining match from start to finish with very little downtime and lots of action. Kajiwara and Hayato both more than held their own, and the match had a ‘big match’ feel with Marufuji in it. Hayato always looks like a breakout star whenever I see him, but that has been true for many years, I don’t know as long as he stays in Michinoku Pro if he will ever be able to elevate beyond where he is right now. Anyway a really entertaining match, not a classic or anything but a solid match to lead into the main event. Score: 7.0
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kensuke Sasaki
They circle each other to start, tie-up, Sasaki pushes Nakajima into the ropes and he gives a clean break. Side headlock by Nakajima, Sasaki Irish whips out of it and knees Nakajima in the stomach. Side headlock by Sasaki and he takes Nakajima down to the mat while keeping the hold applied. Nakajima struggles to his feet and tries to Irish whip out of it, but Sasaki keeps the hold applied. Nakajima finally is able to Irish whip out of it, kicks by Nakajima but Sasaki returns with chops. They trade strikes, which Sasaki gets the better of after a moment, Nakajima slowly gets up and Sasaki lariats him out of the ring. Sasaki waits for Nakajima in the ring, Nakajima slides back in and Sasaki chops him into the corner. Nakajima switches positions with him and kicks Nakajima in the chest repeatedly, but Sasaki knocks him down with a lariat. Sasaki picks up Nakajima and hits a snap piledriver, cover, but it gets a two count. Sasaki picks up Nakajima again and goes for a suplex, but Nakajima blocks it. Sasaki hits the vertical suplex anyway, cover, but it gets another two. Sasaki waits for Nakajima to get up and hits another lariat, he then goes for the Strangle Hold Gamma but Nakajima gets out of it. Waistlock by Sasaki and he drops Nakajima with a release German suplex. Nakajima slowly gets up in the corner, Nakajima kicks Sasaki when he charges in and hits an STO into the turnbuckles. Running boot to the face in the corner by Nakajima and he hits a double armed suplex. Nakajima goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick onto Sasaki. Sasaki goes out to the apron but Nakajima delivers a big boot, knocking Sasaki down to the floor. Nakajima kicks Sasaki in the chest from the apron before going outside the ring himself. Nakajima picks up Sasaki and throws him into the ring post before tossing him into the rail. Nakajima grabs Sasaki and takes him up the aisle, throwing him into the metal barricade.
Nakajima takes Sasaki into the stands, he gets a running start and kicks Sasaki in the chest. Sasaki chops him back and they trade blows, Nakajima charges Sasaki but Sasaki catches him with a powerslam on the floor. Sasaki picks up Nakajima and takes him back down the stairs and into the ring again, cover by Sasaki but it gets a two count. Sasaki picks up Nakajima and throws him into the corner before hitting a pair of lariats. Chops by Sasaki, Irish whip, and Sasaki hits the face crusher. Sasaki picks up Nakajima and hits alternating lariats before delivering the Ipponzeoi. Tornado Bomb by Sasaki, cover, but it gets a two count. Sasaki applies the Strangle Hold Gamma, but Nakajima gets a foot on the bottom rope. Sasaki charges Nakajima in the corner but Nakajima hits a drop toehold. Back up, Sasaki goes off the ropes but Nakajima hits a trio of kicks. Modified bow and arrow by Nakajima, but Sasaki gets to the ropes. Nakajima picks up Sasaki, waistlock by Nakajima but Sasaki elbows out of it. Backdrop suplex by Nakajima, he goes off the ropes but Sasaki catches him with a powerslam. Nakajima comes back with a high kick, and both wrestlers are on the mat. Nakajima is up first and he kicks Sasaki in the chest, but Sasaki chops him back. Lariat by Sasaki, he goes off the ropes and levels Nakajima with another one. Cover, but it only gets a two count. Sasaki goes off the ropes again but Nakajima kicks him in the arm and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Back up, Sasaki hits a lariat onto Nakajima and picks him up, but Nakajima hits a brainbuster. Nakajima goes off the ropes and hits the PK, cover, but it gets a two count. Nakajima picks up Sasaki and hits another German suplex hold, but it gets another two count. Nakajima picks up Sasaki again and hits another German suplex hold, and this time he picks up the three count. Your winner: Katsuhiko Nakajima
Match Thoughts: Not the classic that one may be hoping for from Sasaki’s last match, but still an entertaining match overall. I didn’t like the brawling into the crowd – I am seeing this more and more in 2014 and it is just a time waster. Also since Nakajima has many different moves, the German suplex doesn’t really work as the type of move you try over and over until it works like a strike move does. On the plus side, the strikes were stiff, the crowd stayed into it, and besides killing time in the crowd there wasn’t really any down time as the submissions moves used all seemed legit and not like rest holds. So definitely good overall, but not much more than that. Score: 6.0
Final Thoughts:
Best Match: Go Shiozaki vs. Kento Miyahara. If only these guys were given more time. They have great chemistry together and don’t mind beating the crap out of each other, what more could you ask for? For a mid-card match they brought a lot of fire, and it just made me want to see them in a more main-event setting. A nice little surprise by the All Japan wrestlers.
MVP: Katsuhiko Nakajima. For the first time, Nakajima got the win over his mentor. This is the way it is supposed to work – Sasaki and Nakajima have had a close relationship since he first debuted, but Sasaki has always been ranked above Nakajima, so anytime their paths crossed it was always Sasaki that got the upper hand. But with Sasaki set to retire, it was time for him to pass the torch in his first singles loss since November of 2011. Now Nakajima is the de facto leader of Diamond Ring and he will have to lead it, but Sasaki did all he could to help him on his way out.
Overall: Only a six match card, but it had two really good matches and one really historical match – the retirement match of Kensuke Sasaki. In America, a wrestler retiring doesn’t really mean anything at all but in Japan they are a little better about it. Kawada, Inoki, Taue, and Kobashi never had another match after they retired, even though there was lots of money to be made if they returned for a special ‘one time only’ match (especially for Inoki and Kawada). While who is to say that Sasaki will never set foot in the ring again, it seems likely this will be his last match, and he went out the way that any teacher would want to as he put over his student of the last 10 years. Between the historical significance and the two very entertaining matches that came before it, I think this event is definitely worth watching.
