Date: January 19th, 2014
Location: Hakata Star Lane
Announced Attendance: 1,400 (No Vacancy)
Back again with Pro Wrestling NOAH. This was a smaller event for the promotion but still had a Jr. Heavyweight Championship match and some invading New Japan wrestlers as well. This was a set-up show for their two bigger events in early February and set the stage for some of the matches that would take place then. Here is the full card:
– Hitoshi Kumano vs. Yoshinari Ogawa
– Daisuke Harada and Genba Hirayanagi vs. Ricky Marvin and Bobby Fish
– Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Xtra Large
– Mohammed Yone, Marufuji, and AKotoge vs. Shane Haste, Nicholls, and Jonah Rock
– KENTA vs. Maybach Taniguchi
– GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara
– Takeshi Morishima and Kenou vs. Yuji Nagata and Jushin Thunder Liger
Looks like a little bit of everything, let’s get to it.
Hitoshi Kumano vs. Yoshinari Ogawa
Kumano starts the match by dropkicking Ogawa, sending him into the corner. Elbow by Kumano, Irish whip to the other corner and he hits another elbow followed by a vertical suplex. Kumano goes for a Fisherman suplex, Ogawa gets out of it but Kumano hits another dropkick. Elbow smash by Kumano, he goes off the ropes and hits a second one. He then hits a third which knocks Ogawa off his feet, cover, but it gets two. Backslide and a roll-up by Kumano but they get two counts as well. Ogawa drops Kumano with a DDT and applies a single leg crab hold, but Kumano makes it to the ropes to force a break. Ogawa throws Kumano shoulder-first into the ring post twice and then hits a backdrop suplex. Ogawa picks up Kumano and hits a second backdrop suplex, he drags him up again and hits a third. Ogawa gets Kumano to his feet again and hits another backdrop suplex, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Yoshinari Ogawa
Match Thoughts: This match was clipped up throughout but I don’t think that it really mattered. At least they let Kumano get out of the crab hold which is the standard move to put away rookies, so he has that going for him anyway. Otherwise not much to it, I suppose Ogawa was teaching Kumano some lesson by hitting four backdrop suplexes but I don’t really know what the lesson was. Score: 3.0
Daisuke Harada and Genba Hirayanagi vs. Ricky Marvin and Bobby Fish
Genba and Fish start things off. Tie-up, waistlock by Fish, reversed by Genba but Fish reverses it back. They keep trading holds until Fish gets Genba to the mat and he applies a reverse headlock. Genba struggles back up, kick by Fish and he tags in Marvin. Marvin applies an STF to Genba and bites him in the ear before tagging Marvin back in. Genba rakes Fish in the eyes and tags in Harada. Kick by Harada in the corner to Fish, he picks up Fish, snapmare, and he applies a reverse chinlock. Back up, side headlock by Harada, Fish tries to Irish whip out of it but Harada keeps the hold on. Fish finally hits a backdrop suplex to get out of the hold and tags in Marvin. Marvin picks up Harada, snapmare, he goes off the ropes and dropkicks Harada. Cover, but it gets a two count. Harada pushes off Marvin , knees by Harada, Irish whip, and Harada hits a jumping elbow in the corner. Harada goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving doublestomp, cover, but Marvin kicks out. Harada grabs Marvin but Marvin gives him a hard elbow and they trade strikes. Harada goes for a kick but Marvin catches it, Genba runs in and beats down Marvin but Fish throws Genba out of the ring.
Fish then throws Harada in the corner but Harada kicks him back. Harada puts Marvin into the Tree of Woe, he then kicks Fish and puts him in the Tree of Woe in the same corner. Harada gets a running start and hits a dropkick to Fish. Harada tags in Genba, Genba charges Marvin in the corner and goes up to the top turnbuckle, hitting a missile dropkick. Cover, but it gets a two count. Genba applies a waistlock, Harada comes in the ring, double Irish whip but Marvin fights them both off. Superkick by Marvin to Harada and he tags in Fish. Double Irish whip to Genba but Genba ducks the lariat attempt and grabs both low. Wrist-clutch exploder by Genba, cover, but it gets a two count. Genba picks up Fish and goes for the Shoryu Genba, but Fish blocks it. Lariat by Genba, he picks up Fish and Harada hits a top turnbuckle elbow drop. Cover by Genba but Marvin breaks it up. Harada throws Marvin out of the ring, Genba waits for Fish to get up but Fish ducks the Shoryu Genba. Marvin comes in and kicks Genba, then Fish hits a gutbuster. Cover, but Genba kicks out. Kicks to the leg by Fish and he nails the Left Kick, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Ricky Marvin and Bobby Fish
Match Thoughts: When I saw that Marvin was wrestling in a t-shirt I knew that wasn’t a good sign. The way NOAH does their clippings is they just do a bunch of little clips throughout the entire match, like between someone getting up or tagging out, which makes the matches really odd to watch. It is really hard to get into the ebb and flow of a match when every 30 seconds there is a five second clip of some sort. The action seemed fine but pretty pedestrian, it was your standard low-card tag team match with nothing attempted to make it any more than that. Score: 3.5
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Xtra Large
Kick by Nakajima to start, Irish whip, Xtra Large flips himself out to the apron and flips back in, he goes off the ropes and hits an armdrag. Dropkick by Xtra Large and Nakajima falls out of the ring, Xtra Large gets a running start and sails out onto Nakajima with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, kicks by Xtra Large but Nakajima elbows him back and they trade blows. Back kick by Xtra Large, he charges Nakajima but Nakajima flips him out to the apron and hits a leg sweep. Xtra Large falls out to the floor and Nakajima kicks him from the apron before slamming him into the ring post. Irish whip by Nakajima which sends Xtra Large into the railing, and Nakajima hits a running boot. Back in the ring, another boot by Nakajima and he hits a suplex. Nakajima goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover, but it gets two. Nakajima picks up Xtra Large and applies a waistlock, Xtra Large elbows out of it but Nakajima applies a sleeper. Xtra Large hits a jawbreaker to get out of it and kicks Xtra Large, kick combination by Xtra Large and he throws Nakajima into the corner, hitting an elbow and a jumping kick.
Running double knee strike by Xtra Large, cover, but Nakajima kicks out. Xtra Large positions Nakajima in front of the corner and goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Nakajima is up and kicks Xtra Large before he can jump off. Nakajima then joins Xtra Large and hits a superplex. Cover by Nakajima, but it gets a two count. Nakajima picks up Xtra Large and goes for a backdrop suplex, but Xtra Large elbows out of it. Kick to the chest by Nakajima and he finally hits the backdrop suplex, but Xtra Large comes back with a German suplex and a lariat. Xtra Large puts Nakajima in front of the corner, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a corkscrew senton. Cover, but Nakajima gets a shoulder up. Xtra Large waits for Nakajima to get up, he puts Nakajima on his shoulder but Nakajima hits a victory roll for a two count. Nakajima delivers a trio of kicks to the head followed by a PK, cover, but it only gets two. Nakajima picks up Xtra Large and nails the brainbuster, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Katsuhiko Nakajima
Match Thoughts: The oddest thing to me in this match was the structure. The bulk of the match was Nakajima going for the backdrop suplex, he gets it on his third try… and Xtra Large just no sells it and hits two of his own moves? If a move is built to in a match, they really should make the move mean something. Like the previous match this one had a bunch of little clips in the action but not quite as many which is good. Really, the wrestling itself was fine, it just had that one major issue and lacked some passion in general which is understandable for a smaller show with an unknown Gaijin talent. Score: 5.0
Yone, Marufuji, and Atsushi Kotoge vs. Haste, Nicholls, and Jonah Rock
Nicholls and Marufuji start things off. They trade waistlocks, wristlock by Nicholls but Marufuji flips out of it and reverses the hold. Side headlock by Marufuji, Nicholls Irish whips out of it and the two collide. Marufuji goes off the ropes and they collide again, they trade elbow strikes and Nicholls hits a shoulderblock. Rock and Yone tag in, tie-up, Rock pushes Yone into the ropes and he gives a clean break. Tie-up, side headlock by Yone, Rock Irish whips out of it and they collide with both men staying up. Yone goes off the ropes but he can’t knock Rock over, Rock goes off the ropes, Yone kicks him but Rock hits a shoulderblock. Back up they trade elbows, Rock goes off the ropes but Yone connects with a jumping boot to the face. Rock tags in Haste and Yone tags in Kotoge. Tie-up but Kotoge quickly gets in the ring, and Haste gives a clean break. Knee to the stomach by Haste, Irish whip to the corner but Kotoge avoids him when he charges in. Irish whip by Kotoge and he hits a jumping heel kick. Kotoge tags in Marufuji, mm goes out to the floor and hits a dropkick while Haste’s head is draped over the second rope.
Slingshot strike by Marufuji, cover, but it gets two. Marufuji applies a reverse chinlock and tags in Yone, Kotoge holds Haste and Yone hits a lariat out on the floor. Yone picks up Haste and slides him back into the ring, cover by Yone but it gets two. Yone picks up Haste and hits a scoop slam, he goes off the ropes and hits a leg drop. Yone tags in Kotoge, stomps by Kotoge and he hits an elbow, but Haste elbows him back. Headbutt by Kotoge, wristlock, but Haste flips out of it and dropkicks Kotoge in the back of the head. Kotoge falls out of the ring, Haste goes for a pescado but Kotoge moves out of the way. Kotoge slides out of the ring but Haste drops him back-first onto the apron. Haste grabs Kotoge and Irish whips him into the railing, Rock then slides Kotoge back into the ring. Cover by Nicholls but it gets a two count. Nicholls tags in Rock, and Rock hits a shoulder tackle in the corner. Nicholls pulls Kotoge out of the ring and throws him into the guard rail, Yone and Marufuji come over to help but they get the same treatment. Rock picks up Kotoge in the ring and tags in Nicholls, elbows by Kotoge to Nicholls but Nicholls elbows him back as they trade blows. Irish whip by Nicholls and he hits a hard elbow smash, cover, but it gets a two count. Nicholls picks up Kotoge, double Irish whip with Haste but Kotoge hits a double dropkick. Kotoge kicks Haste in the corner, Nicholls goes off the ropes but Kotoge avoids his attack and hits an enzigieri. Kotoge tags in Marufuji and Marufuji hits a jumping elbow on Nicholls in the corner. Snapmare by Marufuji and he hits a running double stomp to Nicholls’s face. Side kick by Marufuji, cover, but it gets two. Marufuji picks up Nicholls, Nicholls goes for a suplex but Marufuji lands on his feet.
Lariat by Nicholls, he hits a second one and covers Marufuji, but Marufuji kicks out. Nicholls picks up Marufuji, he goes for a slam but Marufuji slides down his back and hits a kick combination. Cover by Marufuji, but it gets two. Marufuji picks up Nicholls and goes for the Shiranui, but he is pushed off. Nicholls goes off the ropes, they trade waistlocks, and Nicholls hits a spinebuster. Nicholls tags in Haste, Haste gets in the ring and hits a dropkick to Marufuji. Haste charges Marufuji in the corner, Marufuji kicks him back and hops up the top turnbuckle but Haste hits a hurricanrana. Running kick by Haste, cover, but Marufuji kicks out. Haste picks up Marufuji and goes for a suplex, Marufuji lands feet but Haste hits an overhead backdrop suplex for another two count cover. Haste picks up Marufuji and goes for the Death Valley Bomb but Marufuji gets out of it. Irish whip by Haste but Marufuji hits a dropkick and tags in Yone. Yone charges Haste in the corner and hits a lariat, Irish whip, but Haste kicks Yone as he charges in. Yone hits a lariat anyway, he goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a leg drop. Cover, but Haste kicks out. Back up they trade elbows, Haste goes off the ropes but Yone kicks him in the head. Roundhouse Kick by Yone, cover, but Haste kicks out at two. Yone waits for Haste to get up and goes off the ropes but Haste catches him with a lariat. A second lariat by Haste and he makes the tag to Rock. Rock charges Yone in the corner and hits a splash followed by a second one, senton by Rock but it gets a two count.
Rock picks up Yone and goes for a side slam but Yone elbows out of it. Rock goes off the ropes but Yone catches him with a lariat and tags in Kotoge. Kotoge grabs Rock in the corner, Irish whip, reversed, Kotoge kicks Rock back and hits a doublestomp to his back. Face crusher by Kotoge, cover, but it gets two. Kotoge picks up Rock but Rock elbows him off. Rock charges Kotoge but Kotoge kicks him back and applies a choke over the top turnbuckle. The referee gets him off, Kotoge gets on the apron, Rock goes off the ropes but Kotoge rolls in the ring and hits a cutter. Marufuji and Yone come in the ring, they kick Rock and then Kotoge hits a swandive body press. Cover, but Haste breaks it up. The ring is cleared except for Kotoge and Rock, Kotoge goes for the Killswitch but Rock blocks it. Headbutt by Kotoge and he goes for it again, but Rock hits a release German suplex. Haste and Nicholls come in the ring and hit strikes onto Kotoge, body press by Rock but Marufuji breaks up the pin attempt. Rock picks up Kotoge and puts him on his shoulders but Kotoge rolls him up for a two count. Kotoge goes off the ropes and hit a swinging kick to the head, cover, but it also gets two. Kotoge goes off the ropes again and goes for a hurricanrana, but Rock catches him and hits a folding powerbomb for a two count. Rock picks up Kotoge and nails the Rock Driver, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Shane Haste, Nicholls, and Jonah Rock
Match Thoughts: This was a perfectly acceptable six man tag match, nothing overly excited but nothing offensive either. There really weren’t any ‘weak links’ as while Yone can bore me at times in this setting he was fine, and the wrestlers tagged in and out enough the action stayed moving. During this tour they were really trying to get TMDK over so it made sense they picked up the win, and the match never went too deep in the overkill that some six man tag matches suffer from. A solid effort all the way around. Score: 6.5
KENTA vs. Maybach Taniguchi
Taniguchi attacks KENTA before the bell rings and he stomps KENTA in the back. Taniguchi gets his metal stick and tries to hit KENTA with it, but KENTA ducks. Irish whip by KENTA, reversed, and KENTA delivers a big boot to the face. KENTA picks up Taniguchi’s stick and throws it out of the ring, elbow by KENTA but Taniguchi rakes him in the eyes. Taniguchi goes off the ropes but KENTA hits a powerslam. KENTA goes out to the apron and hits the swandive dropkick followed by a pair of dropkicks in the corner. KENTA goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving doublestomp, cover, but it gets a two count. KENTA picks up Taniguchi and puts him on his shoulders, but Taniguchi grabs the referee to get down. KENTA goes off the ropes but Taniguchi throws the referee at him and hits a lariat. Taniguchi goes out of the ring to get his metal stick, he brings it back in and hits KENTA in the midsection with it. The referee tries to take it from him but Taniguchi pushes down the referee and hits KENTA in the head with the stick again. The referee has seen enough and calls for the bell. Your winner by DQ: KENTA
Taniguchi walks to the back but KENTA goes out after him and they fight backstage. They battle back to ringside, and KENTA knees Taniguchi in the stomach. KENTA asks the referee to re-start the match and he obliges, so we are going to go again. KENTA picks up Taniguchi but Taniguchi elbows him and they trade blows. KENTA goes off the ropes but again Taniguchi throws the referee into KENTA. Taniguchi throws KENTA out of the ring and goes out after him, throwing KENTA into the railing. Taniguchi brings KENTA towards ringside but KENTA punches him back. Taniguchi hits KENTA in the stomach with a chair and slams him into a different one. Taniguchi picks up KENTA and takes him up into the crowd, knocking into the table with the poor cameraman on it. Taniguchi takes Morishima back towards the ring and clubs him in the back. Taniguchi goes for a vertical suplex but KENTA blocks it and goes for one of his own. Taniguchi blocks it as well, elbows by KENTA and finally he is able to hit the vertical suplex on the floor. KENTA picks up Taniguchi and clubs him in the back before ramming him back-first into the ring post. KENTA slides Taniguchi back into the ring, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Taniguchi catches him when he jumps off. Taniguchi goes for a chokeslam but KENTA blocks it and applies a STF. KENTA tries to help up the referee, knee to the back by KENTA to Taniguchi and he hits the Busaiku Knee Kick. Cover, but Taniguchi barely gets a shoulder up. KENTA puts Taniguchi up on his shoulders but Taniguchi gets down, Taniguchi tries to throw the referee into KENTA but KENTA stops his attack. The referee retreats to the corner but Taniguchi throws KENTA at the referee. Spinebuster by Taniguchi, he goes outside the ring and hits a table. Taniguchi gets in the ring with the table and sets it up near the corner. Taniguchi picks up KENTA and goes for a powerbomb, but KENTA punches out of it. Lariat attempt by Taniguchi but KENTA absorbs the blow, he grabs KENTA and chokeslams him through the table. Mounted punches by Taniguchi and at some point the referee has had enough and calls for the bell again. Your winner by DQ: KENTA
Match Thoughts: This match helped set up their “No DQ” singles match on February 3rd, which I already reviewed. It served its purpose well I thought, Taniguchi did a good job heeling it up and KENTA played the part well of the crowd favorite that just wanted to shut the bad guy up. Taniguchi isn’t a great wrestler so this gimmick fits him well, he has really bulked up over the years and is convincing in the role (for however long it lasts). More of a storyline-driven match than anything but I think they accomplished their mission. Score: 6.0
(c) Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara
This match is for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship. They circle each other to start, tie-up, Ohara trips Ishimori and applies a stretch hold but Ishimori gets back to his feet. Snapmare by Ohara and he rolls up Ishimori for a two count. Tie-up, armbar by Ohara but Ishimori flips out of it, Irish whip by Ishimori and he eventually hits a hurricanrana. Dropkick by Ishimori, Ohara falls out of the ring and Ishimori goes to do a dive, but he flips himself back into the ring when Ohara moves. Ohara returns after a moment, knee by Ishimori and he snaps Ohara’s arm. Ishimori picks up Ohara and rams him into the corner. Cover by Ishimori as he applies an armbar, but Ohara kicks out. Hammerlock by Ishimori, Ohara gets back up and Ishimori yanks on his arm. Wristlock by Ishimori but Ohara pushes him into the ropes and rakes him in the eyes. Ohara clubs Ishimori in the back, he picks him up and hits a hard elbow. More strikes to the back by Ohara, he picks up Ishimori and hits a scoop slam. Cover, but it gets a two count. Ohara picks up Ishimori and puts him into the ropes before applying a facelock. Ohara then goes off the ropes and dropkicks Ishimori in the back. Ohara picks up Ishimori and puts him into the corner, clubbing him in the back some more. Ishimori goes off the ropes again and delivers another dropkick to Ishimori’s lower back. Cover by Ohara, but it gets two. Ohara picks up Ishimori and throws him out of the ring before throwing Ishimori into the guard rail. Knees by Ohara and he rams Ishimori back-first into the apron. Ohara picks up Ishimori and slides him back into the ring, cover by Ohara but it gets a two count. Ohara picks up Ishimori but Ishimori kicks Ohara in the arm. Ohara comes back with shots to Ishimori’s back, he picks up Ishimori and goes for a vertical suplex, but Ishimori blocks it. Ishimori hits a vertical suplex of his own, Irish whip by Ishimori, reversed, and Ohara hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Single leg crab hold by Ohara but Ishimori makes it to the ropes to force a break. Stomp to the back by Ohara, he puts Ishimori in the corner and gets a running start but Ishimori kicks him back. Ohara charges Ishimori but Ishimori hits a reverse STO into the turnbuckles. Jumping double knee by Ishimori and he hits a reverse splash/doublestomp for a two count.
Ishimori goes up to the top turnbuckle but Ohara recovers and punches him from the mat. Ohara joins Ishimori, clubs to the back by Ohara but Ishimori punches him off. Ohara falls to the mat and Ishimori hits a diving double knee strike for a two count cover. Ishimori picks up Ohara and goes for a tombstone but Ohara blocks it. Irish whip by Ohara but Ishimori hits a handspring cutter. Ohara rolls out of the ring, Ishimori gets a running start in the ring and sails out onto him with a tope con giro. Ishimori rolls back into the ring and waits for Ohara, cover by Ishimori but it gets two. Ishimori picks up Ohara and hits a tombstone into a gutbuster. Cover again by Ishimori but Ohara kicks out at two. Ishimori picks up Ohara, scoop slam in front of the corner, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Ohara rolls out of the way of the 450 Splash. Ohara goes for a tombstone piledriver, Ishimori reverses it and goes off the ropes, but Ohara gets him up in a backbreaker and drops to the mat. Cover by Ohara, but Ishimori gets a shoulder up. Ohara picks up Ishimori but Ishimori wiggles away from him, they jockey for position and Ohara hits another backbreaker. Cover, but it gets a two count. Ohara picks up Ishimori and hits a swinging side slam onto his knee. Muy Bien attempt by Ohara but Ishimori rolls him up for a two count. Kick by Ishimori but Ohara comes back with a dropkick and both wrestlers are down. They trade elbows while on their knees as they slowly get up but Ishimori drops Ohara with a Backstabber. Ishimori picks up Ohara and goes for the Revolución, Ohara gets out of it and goes for the Muy Bien, but Ishimori gets out of that as well. Ishimori dropkicks Ohara in the knee and kicks him in the arm, another kick by Ishimori but the cover only gets two. Scoop slam by Ishimori, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the 450 Splash. Cover, but Ohara kicks out. Ishimori picks up Ohara and goes for the Revolución but Ohara gets out of it and hits the Schwein. Cover, but it gets two. Ohara picks up Ishimori and finally gets the Muy Bien applied, but Ishimori manages to get to the bottom rope to force a break. Ohara goes off the ropes but Ishimori catches him with a lariat, they both go off the ropes but Ishimori hits a hard lariat for a two count cover. Ishimori picks up Ohara and finally hits the Revolución, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner and still champion: Taiji Ishimori
Match Thoughts: This was an very smartly done match, and better than I was expecting. I hadn’t seen an Ishimori singles match in quite some time and I was expecting more flash than substance, but Ohara kept things based with his attack on Ishimori’s back, and since his finisher also targets the back it was a logical direction for him to go in. Ishimori attacking the arm didn’t make as much sense but Ohara sold it for the entire match which gave it some legitimacy. There wasn’t a ton of high flying which was surprising (none from Ohara), and it was simple in that once Ishimori was finally able to connect on the Revolución the match was over. Simple generally is perfectly fine and it did help the match have a straight-forward story that anyone could follow. A few parts here and there dragged but overall it was a really good match. Score: 7.5
Takeshi Morishima and Kenou vs. Yuji Nagata and Jushin Thunder Liger
Morishima and Kenou attack their opponents before the match starts, throwing them out of the ring. They battle around ringside, and Taniguchi gets in on the action too as he helps Morishima with Nagata. Morishima chokes Nagata with a chair but Nagata begins to fight back while Kenou hits Liger with a chair on the other side of the floor. Nagata throws Morishima into a row of chairs, Taniguchi comes over to help again but Nagata throws him down as well. Kenou still is winning as he drops Liger on the guard rail while Nagata rakes Morishima in the eyes. Morishima punches Nagata and takes him back to ringside, throwing him into the ring post. Morishima gets Taniguchi’s big stick and hits Nagata with it, while Kenou and Liger get back into the ring. Kenou chokes Liger with his boot, he picks him up, Irish whip, and Kenou kicks Liger in the stomach. Cover by Kenou, but it gets a two count. Kenou throws Liger into Morishima’s boot and tags in the big man, Morishima picks up Liger and chokes him over the second rope. Morishima tags in Kenou, he picks up Liger, snapmare, and Kenou applies a reverse chinlock. Liger slowly gets to his feet and hits a backdrop suplex to break the hold, but Morishima runs in and knocks Nagata off the apron. Kenou tags in Morishima but Liger hits Morishima with a drop toehold and tags in Nagata.
Kicks to the chest by Nagata, Irish whip to the corner and he hits a running big boot. Kicks to the leg by Nagata, Irish whip, reversed, and Nagata dropkicks Morishima in the knee. Nagata waits for Morishima to get up and connects with another big boot before applying the seated armbar. Taniguchi gets on the apron but Nagata boots him off, allowing Morishima time to recover. Morishima and Nagata trade elbows, Irish whip by Nagata, reversed, and Taniguchi hits Nagata from the floor. Taniguchi pulls Nagata out of the ring and throws him into the railing, then Kenou comes out and hits Nagata with a kendo stick. Stomps by Taniguchi to Nagata at ringside while Kenou keeps Liger at bay. Taniguchi slides Nagata back into the ring with Kenou, Kenou picks up Nagata, snapmare, and he kicks Nagata in the back. Kenou kicks Nagata in the back again and then does it a third time. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kenou picks up Nagata and kicks him in the chest before tagging in Morishima. Morishima picks up Nagata and puts him over the second rope, and both he and Kenou choke him. Morishima puts Nagata on the mat and hits a body press, cover, but it gets a two count. Morishima tags in Kenou, Kenou picks up Nagata, snapmare, Kenou goes out to the apron and hits a slingshot doublestomp. Cover by Kenou but it gets a two count.
Kenou uses his wrist tape to choke Nagata but Nagata shrugs him off and hits an elbow. Kenou returns fire and they trade shots, Nagata goes off the ropes but Taniguchi grabs him from the apron. Kenou goes to kick Nagata but Nagata moves and Kenou kicks Taniguchi on accident. Kenou goes off the ropes but Nagata knees him in the stomach and tags in Liger. Liger hits Kenou with a Shotei, Kenou goes in the corner and kicks Liger when he charges in. Two more kicks by Kenou but Liger catches the third and elbows Kenou in the knee. Liger goes off the ropes, Kenou kicks Liger but Liger fires back with a Shotei. Powerbomb by Liger, cover, but it gets a two count. Liger picks up Kenou and goes for the brainbuster but Kenou blocks it. Spinning heel kick by Kenou, Irish whip to the corner and he hits a jumping double knee followed by a dropkick. Cover by Kenou but Liger kicks out. Ankle hold by Kenou but Nagata breaks it up. Kenou throws Nagata out of the ring, he picks up Liger but Liger hits a brainbuster. Liger makes the hot tag to Nagata as Kenou tags in Morishima, and Morishima knocks down Nagata with a lariat. Morishima goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers the missile dropkick.
Running butt smash by Morishima in the corner and he goes for the backdrop suplex, but Nagata gets out of it and hits an enzigieri. Nagata goes off the ropes but Morishima catches him with a lariat. Kenou comes in the ring and kicks Nagata in the head and Morishima follows with a body press. Cover, but Nagata kicks out. Morishima hits another lariat onto Nagata, cover, but again it gets a two count. Morishima drops Nagata with the backdrop suplex, cover, but Liger breaks it up. Morishima throws Liger out of the ring and goes back to Nagata but Nagata hits the backdrop suplex. Morishima manages to tag in Kenou, and Kenou kicks Liger off the apron before Nagata can tag him. Snapmare by Kenou and he hits the PK, cover, but Nagata kicks out. Kicks to the chest by Kenou but Nagata absorbs the blows and hits an elbow. More elbows by Nagata and he goes for a kick but Kenou catches it and kicks Nagata low. Morishima comes in the ring, double Irish whip to Nagata to the corner but Nagata avoids Morishima and kicks Kenou. Exploder by Nagata to Morishima, Kenou gets in the ring with the kendo stick but Nagata avoids it and hits a knee in the corner. Brainbuster by Nagata to Kenou, cover, but Kenou kicks out. Nagata picks up Kenou and hits the backdrop suplex, cover, but Morishima runs in the ring. Nagata knees Morishima and with Liger they hit a vertical suplex on Morishima. Nagata picks up Kenou and hits the Backdrop Hold, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Jushin Thunder Liger and Yuji Nagata
Match Thoughts: A good heated match, although I wish that Liger had done more as Nagata can be a bit over the top sometimes. This was done partly to set up Nagata’s future title shot against Morishima and when they were in the ring they seemed to have pretty good chemistry, I am sure that will be a good match when I finally get to it. Some parts seemed to take a bit too long, battling around the ring’s uniqueness has worn off on me at this stage as I’d rather just see straight wrestling but Taniguchi getting involved made sense. Overall solid but not spectacular. Score: 6.0
Final Thoughts:
Best Match: Taiji Ishimori vs. Hajime Ohara. I went in cautious, but this match delivered. It was not really flashy or over the top like you may expect a NOAH Jr. Heavyweight Championship match but the quality of the match was still really sound. I actually liked that it wasn’t the usual overkill, they worked a smart match from start to finish and didn’t waste a lot of time. A good effort by both wrestlers.
MVP: Maybach Taniguchi. Love him or hate him, Taniguchi is definitely living his gimmick. The KENTA match was great from a story-line perspective and Taniguchi constantly made his presence felt in the main event as well. I don’t know how long the gimmick will last but he was the most memorable wrestler coming out of this event.
Overall: For an event that was not a major show and was more difficult than you would think to track down, this was a solid show. It started slow and clipped matches will never be my friend (I understand it, but I’d prefer they just cut an entire bad match then clip up three different matches), but once we got to the meat and potatoes of the card it delivered. The Jr. Heavyweight Championship match was different than most in NOAH, and the Morishima Army definitely made their mark on the show. Certainly an above average effort.
