Date: January 31st, 2014
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Announced Attendance: 1,350
Going into 2014 and the “newest” promotion in Japan is still plugging along. This event has a lot of matches which means they will be short, so hopefully they can pack a lot of action into not a lot of time. Here is the full card:
– Daiki Inaba vs. Hiroshi Yamato
– Rob Terry, Andy Wu, and Pannyan vs. Takayama, NOSAWA Rongai, and MAZADA
– Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kellie Skater
– Ryota Hama vs. Tsubo Genjin
– Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Yasufumi Nakanoue
– Kaz Hayashi vs. Seiki Yoshioka
– Seiya Sanada vs. Shuji Kondo
– Masakatsu Funaki vs. Brahman Shu and Brahman Kei
– KAI vs. Yuji Hino
– Yosiaki Fujiwara, Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto, and Minoru Tanaka vs. Masayuki Kono, Ryouji Sai, René Duprée, and KAZMA SAKAMOTO
Lots of matches to get through, so let’s go ahead and get started.
Daiki Inaba vs. Hiroshi Yamato
Inaba tackles Yamato to start the match and they jockey for position on the mat. Inaba pushes Yamato into the ropes and he slaps Yamato before backing up. Inaba hits Yamato against the ropes, Irish whip, and Inaba dropkicks Yamato out of the ring. He gets back in the ring, stomps by Inaba and he goes off the ropes, but Yamato catches him with a dropkick. Yamato picks up Inaba, chops by Inaba but Yamato hits a headbutt. Yamato picks up Inaba and applies a side headlock, Irish whip by Inaba but Yamato shoulderblocks him down. Yamato goes off the ropes and shoulderblocks Inaba again. He does it a third time, then a fourth and a fifth time. Two more shoulderblocks by Yamato, he goes off the ropes and hits another one. Stomp by Yamato, he picks up Inaba but Inaba elbows him back. Yamato chops Inaba to the mat and he applies a crab hold. Inaba crawls to the ropes and is able to force a break. Yamato picks up Inaba and goes for a Northern Lights Bomb but Inaba lands on his feet. Yamato goes off the ropes, headbutt by Inaba and he hits a vertical suplex. Inaba picks up Yamato, he goes off the ropes and hits a jumping shoulderblock. Fisherman suplex by Inaba, cover, but it gets a two count. Elbow by Inaba, Yamato goes off the ropes and hits a crossbody for a two count. Yamato picks up Inaba but Inaba rolls him up for a two count. Inaba goes off the ropes but Yamato hits a back bodydrop. Yamato waits for Inaba to get up and hits a spear. Yamato picks up Inaba and hits the Northern Lights Bomb, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Hiroshi Yamato
Match Thoughts: A solid opener to start the show, as Inaba continues to show a lot of fire in there. Yamato clearly is not as well ranked in Wrestle-1 as I thought when the promotion opened, as the events I have reviewed he has not had a very high spot on the card. But he gave Inaba some solid offense before decisively putting him away, which is all you can ask for in a short veteran vs. rookie style opening match. Score: 5.0
Rob Terry, Andy Wu, and Pannyan vs. Takayama, NOSAWA Rongai, and MAZADA
Pannyan and NOSAWA start things off. NOSAWA teases Pannyan to start the match, Pannyan goes off the ropes and he dropkicks NOSAWA in the knee. Slap by Pannyan and he hits a second one as NOSAWA keeps aiming too high. NOSAWA tags in MAZADA, MAZADA holds back Pannyan and he puts Pannyan up on to the top turnbuckle. Pannyan falls off the top turnbuckle and uses the ropes to go crawl to the middle of the ring. MAZADA goes to kick Pannyan but Pannyan moves and MAZADA falls out of the ring. Wu then from the apron hits a diving hurricanrana down onto MAZADA. Wu slides MAZADA back into the ring as Pannyan tags him in, kick by Wu, Irish whip, reversed, and Wu hits an armdrag. Another armdrag by Wu and he delivers a dropkick. Eye rake by MAZADA, he goes off the ropes but Wu hits a bodyscissors into a bulldog for a two count. Wu tags in Terry, so MAZADA quickly tags in Takayama. Terry asks for a Test of Strength so Takayama obliges, Terry pushes Takayama against the ropes and throws him to the mat. Takayama goes off the ropes and they collide, Takayama does it a second time and this time hits a big boot, jumping crossbody by Takayama but it only gets a two count.
Takayama tags in MAZADA as Terry tags in Wu, Wu goes off the ropes but MAZADA catches him with a lariat. NOSAWA and Takayama come in the ring as NOSAWA and MAZADA hit a double team combination onto Wu. Double Irish whip to Wu and they hit a double flapjack. Cover, but Terry breaks it up. Double Irish whip now to Terry but Terry hits a double jumping clothesline. Takayama comes in the ring but Terry hits a powerslam onto Takayama. He then throws NOSAWA into the corner, puts Pannyan on his shoulders and hits a running splash onto NOSAWA. Pannyan goes off the ropes towards MAZADA but MAZADA catches him, Irish whip by MAZADA to Pannyan and Pannyan dives out of the ring with a tope con giro onto NOSAWA. Wu goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving body press in the ring onto MAZADA. Flying Cradle by Wu and he picks up the three count! Your winners: Rob Terry, Andy Wu, and Pannyan
Match Thoughts: A pretty light match, as one would assume when Pannyan is involved (the little panda). The spots with Terry and Takayama were interesting since it was power vs. power, but the rest was just the usual stuff as NOSAWA and MAZADA worked the majority of the (very short) match. Nothing offensive, just ‘there’ as they continue using Terry oddly considering they have him flying in from the US. Score: 4.0
Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Kellie Skater
Skater asks for a handshake to start the match, Matsumoto slowly obliges but Skater grabs her for a hug as Matsumoto pushes her off. They circle each other, tie-up, Matsumoto pushes Skater into the ropes but Skater switches positions with her and hits a snapmare. Armdrag by Skater and he hits a dropkick. Skater picks up Matsumoto and goes for a slam, but Matsumoto reverses it into a bodyslam of her own. Matsumoto grabs Skater by the hair and flings her to the mat. Matsumoto uses her boot to drive Skater’s upper body out of the ring; she then grabs her and twists her hair in the ropes. Irish whip by Matsumoto from the corner but Skater moves when Matsumoto charges in. Elbow by Skater in the corner but Matsumoto flings her down by her hair. Skater returns the favor, both wrestlers grab each other by the hair and give a good pull. Matsumoto goes off the ropes but Skater catches her with a superkick. Tilt-a-whirl DDT by Skater, she waits for Matsumoto to get up and hits a pair of kicks. Leg drop by Skater, cover, but it gets a two count. Skater goes for a kick but Matsumoto catches it, waistlock by Matsumoto, reversed, reversed back and Matsumoto hits a release German suplex. Skater gets back to her feet but collapses after a moment, but she was just playing possum as she pushes Matsumoto away. Elbows by Matsumoto but Skater doesn’t go down, small package by Skater but it gets a two count. Kick by Skater, she goes off the ropes but Matsumoto catches her with a lariat. Matsumoto goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick followed by a lariat in the corner. Backdrop suplex by Matsumoto, cover, and she picks up the three count. Your winner: Hiroyo Matsumoto
Match Thoughts: As much as I enjoyed watching Kellie Skater, something about this match just seemed off. Skater had some spots that reminded me of Kenny Omega, but she wasn’t on the same page as Matsumoto. I don’t know if these two have ever wrestled before which would explain a lot but there was just no chemistry here. Plus as always in short matches the awkward moments tend to stick out a bit more. Not a lack of effort, just a lack of execution. Score: 3.5
Ryota Hama vs. Tsubo Genjin
Genjin clubs Hama in the chest to start the match but Hama shrugs him off and punches him back. Genjin flexes for a bit then challenges Hama to do the same so Hama flexes for the crowd as well. Genjin hits Hama from behind and tries a shoulderblock, but it doesn’t work. Shoulderblock by Hama and he picks up Genjin, but Genjin pushes him off. Genjin grabs Hama by the arm and walks the ropes, chopping Hama in the head. Irish whip by Genjin to the corner, reversed, and Hama hits a running body splash followed by a butt smash. Genjin rolls out of the ring and rings the bell, throwing a white towel towards the ring. The referee throws the towel back out so Genjin comes in the ring with a steel chair, he sits the chair down in the ring, Hama sits on it and then Genjin pulls out the chair from under him. Cover by Genjin but Hama throws him off. Genjin picks up Hama and goes for a powerbomb, but Hama back bodydrops out of it and hits the Thunder Drop. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Ryota Hama
Match Thoughts: I guess every W-1 event I watch will now have a Hama squash in it. Maybe I just don’t get it, but I don’t think there is anything to ‘get’. Far removed from his days of being at the top of the All Japan card (deserved or not), now he has quick matches against comedy wrestlers. Not a bad gig if you can get it and the crowd seems amused by it, but personally I can do without it as it is getting repetitious. Hopefully Hama can move on to something else soon. Score: 3.0
Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Yasufumi Nakanoue
Tie-up to start, Kawakami pushes Nakanoue into the ropes and slaps him before backing off. Nakanoue slaps him back, side headlock by Nakanoue, Kawakami Irish whips out of it but Nakanoue shoulderblocks him down. Nakanoue goes off the ropes but Kawakami avoids the elbow drop, side headlock takedown by Kawakami and he keeps the hold on the mat. Nakanoue struggles to his feet and hits a kneebreaker to get out of it before dropkicking Kawakami in the knee. Nakanoue picks up Kawakami, scoop slam, and he elbows Kawakami in the leg. Stomp by Nakanoue, he picks up Kawakami and chops him in the chest. Nakanoue elbows Kawakami into the corner, Irish whip by Nakanoue but Kawakami kicks him when he charges in and hits a hard elbow. Kawakami picks up Nakanoue and throws him into the corner before elbowing him repeatedly. More elbows by Kawakami but Nakanoue elbows him back. Kawakami elbows Nakanoue down to the mat, he picks him up, snapmare, and he applies a reverse chinlock. Nakanoue gets a foot on the ropes to break the hold, Kawakami picks up Nakanoue and elbows him in the back of the head. Another elbow by Kawakami as Nakanoue tries to fight back with chops to the chest, but Kawakami elbows him in the face again. Cover by Kawakami but Nakanoue kicks out. Scoop slam by Kawakami, he picks up Nakanoue and hits another one. Single leg crab hold by Kawakami but Nakanoue gets a hand on the bottom rope to break it up. Stomp to the chest by Kawakami, he picks up Nakanoue and elbows him in the head. Nakanoue fires back with elbows of his own, Irish whip by Kawakami but Nakanoue hits a jumping lariat. Nakanoue picks up Kawakami and hits a butterfly suplex, he then goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving elbow drop. Cover, but Kawakami kicks out.
Nakanoue grabs Kawakami and applies a single leg crab hold, but Kawakami is too close to the ropes and forces a break. Nakanoue picks up Kawakami and hits a scoop slam, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kawakami is up in time and joins him up top. Superplex by Kawakami and he applies a single leg crab hold but Nakanoue gets to the ropes. Kawakami picks up Nakanoue and elbows him against the ropes, Nakanoue returns fire and goes off the ropes but Kawakami catches him with an exploder. Kawakami goes off the ropes and hits a hard elbow, cover, but it gets a two count. Kawakami picks up Nakanoue and goes for a slam but Nakanoue slides down his back. Elbows by Kawakami but Nakanoue slaps him and hits a backdrop suplex. Slaps by Nakanoue and he hits a running elbow. Cover, but Kawakami kicks out at one. Lariat by Nakanoue, cover, but Kawakami barely gets a shoulder up. Nakanoue goes off the ropes and nails the Knock Away, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Yasufumi Nakanoue
Match Thoughts: This felt like what would have been a really solid opening match, not a mid-card match. Younger wrestlers, a fair amount of submissions and simple strikes, nothing overly exciting. Nakanoue didn’t show a lot of the fire I have seen him show recently but maybe it is hard to get hyped up in a throw-away match. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t anything special and was pretty by-the-numbers. Score: 5.5
Kaz Hayashi vs. Seiki Yoshioka
Handshake to start, tie-up, waistlock by Yoshioka, reversed by Hayashi but Yoshioka applies a wristlock. Hayashi rolls out of it and reverses the hold, but Yoshioka kicks him in the leg. Hayashi kicks him back and they trade kicks until Yoshioka kicks Hayashi to the mat. Dropkick to the knee by Yoshioka, he goes off the ropes but Hayashi moves out of the way. Irish whip by Hayashi, reversed, Hayashi back bodydrops Yoshioka out to the apron and knocks him to the floor, but Yoshioka moves when Hayashi charges at him. Hayashi falls out of the ring, Yoshioka gets on the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault. Stomp by Yoshioka outside the ring and he gets on the apron, but Hayashi pulls him back out to the floor. Irish whip attempt by Hayashi, reversed, but when Yoshioka charges Hayashi he is tossed onto the guard rail. Hayashi gets back into the ring with Yoshioka slowly following, and Hayashi hits a neck whip. Cover, but it gets a two count. Cross-armed choke by Hayashi, Yoshioka gets back to his feet and applies a waistlock, Hayashi goes off the ropes but Yoshioka catches him with a kick to the head. Snapmare by Yoshioka and he dropkicks Hayashi for a two count.
Yoshioka picks up Hayashi and slams him in front of the corner, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hayashi recovers and knocks him down onto a crotched position. Hayashi then grabs Yoshioka but Yoshioka slides off, kick by Yoshioka and he hits a knee in the corner. Yoshioka elbows Hayashi off but Hayashi kicks him back and goes up to the top turnbuckle. Yoshioka quickly joins Hayashi up top and hits a Frankensteiner, cover, but it gets a two count. Yoshioka goes for a slam but Hayashi blocks it, Irish whip by Yoshioka and Hayashi hits a handstand rebound kick. Kono and friends are shown at ringside while Hayashi picks up Yoshioka, but Yoshioka drives Hayashi’s head into his knee. Roll-up by Yoshioka, but it gets a two count. Kick by Yoshioka and he goes off the ropes, two more kicks by Yoshioka and he delivers a scissors kick. Scoop slam by Yoshioka, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the Swanton Bomb. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Seiki Yoshioka
Match Thoughts: If they were trying to sell this like Kono and his buddies distracted Hayashi and caused him to lose, they failed, because Hayashi didn’t have Yoshioka down for long and the distraction lasted about five seconds. Anyway I think given time that these two could have a great match. Yoshioka has really impressed me this year and Hayashi is still a very solid veteran that can have a good match with just about anyone. There were a few minor issues here and there, like Yoshioka totally whiffing on one of his dropkicks, but the main issue was the time which caused some questionable selling (like Hayashi not acting hurt from the Asai Moonsault). More of a tease than anything else as it was too short to get going. Score: 5.0
Seiya Sanada vs. Shuji Kondo
They start with a tie-up, side headlock by Kondo, Sanada Irish whips out of it but Kondo shoulderblocks him down. Kondo goes off the ropes and Sanada delivers a dropkick. Kondo rolls out of the ring to re-group, Sanada goes off the ropes but does a fake dive when Kondo moves out of the way. Kondo gets in the ring and attacks Sanada from behind, Kondo chops Sanada into the corner, Irish whip, reversed, but Kondo moves when Sanada charges in. Sanada goes for a kick but Kondo catches his leg and hits a lariat. Kondo picks up Sanada and punches him in the head, kick by Kondo in the corner, Irish whip, reversed, but Kondo avoids Sanada’s dropkick. Kondo goes for a lariat, Sanada ducks it but Kondo hits an atomic drop followed by a DDT. Cover by Kondo, but Sanada kicks out. Kondo waits for Sanada to get up and goes for the spear, but Sanada hits a hurricanrana followed by a dragon screw leg whip. Sanada mounts Kondo in the corner and hits a series of punches, Irish whip by Sanada, reversed, but Sanada flips himself out on the apron and hits a swandive dropkick. Sanada waits for Kondo to get up and goes for a cutter but Kondo pushes him off. Rolling German suplexes by Sanada with the last one being a hold, but it gets a two count. Sanada goes up to the top turnbuckle and goes for a moonsault, Kondo moves, Sanada lands on his feet and goes for a hurricanrana but Kondo powerbombs him into the turnbuckles. Kondo charges Sanada in the corner, Sanada goes for a kick but Kondo blocks it and knocks Sanada to the mat. Lanzarse by Kondo, cover, but it gets a two count. Kondo picks up Sanada and hits a cutter, cover, but again it gets two. Kondo picks up Sanada and goes for a suplex, but Sanada blocks it and hits an enzigieri. Sanada goes off the ropes but Kondo catches him and hits the Original.
Kondo goes off the ropes but Sanada ducks the lariat and hits a suplex. Sanada charges Kondo but Kondo hits a lariat, Kondo goes off the ropes but Sanada hits a lariat on him and both wrestlers are down. Sanada slowly gets up first and hits a cutter, cover, but it gets a two count. Sanada goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kondo is up and knocks him down to a seated position. Kondo goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the reverse superplex. Cover by Kondo, but Sanada kicks out at two. Kondo picks up Sanada and puts him in a backbreaker rack before hitting a piledriver. Cover by Kondo, but it only gets a two count. Kondo picks up Sanada and hits the King Kong Lariat, cover, but Sanada barely gets a shoulder up. Kondo goes off the ropes but Sanada rolls him up with a jackknife for a two count. Elbows by Sanada but Kondo lariats him in the back of the head. Kondo waits for Sanada to get up, he goes off the ropes but Sanada ducks the lariat and hits a fireman’s carry into a cutter. Sanada picks up Kondo and drops him in front of the corner, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the moonsault. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Seiya Sanada
Match Thoughts: I don’t want to always complain about the matches being short, and in theory this one had enough time (nine minutes, but beggars can’t be choosers). But they didn’t really use the time well. Sanada was thoroughly dominated for the latter half of the match, but it took very little to put Kondo away. If they had a few more minutes or if Sanada had done more earlier in the match it wouldn’t have looked off, but as it was it looked like Sanada took all of Kondo’s moves with no issue, but Kondo was pinned fairly easily. Also some of Kondo’s offense didn’t look as impressive against the taller Sanada as it does against the smaller wrestlers he usually faces. The action itself was solid and both of these wrestlers are talented, it just lacked the time and/or structure to be a memorable match. Score: 6.0
Masakatsu Funaki vs. Brahman Shu and Brahman Kei
I know which is which! So proud of myself. The Brahmans attack Funaki as the match starts, they throw him into the corner and Kei stomps him before getting a pink metal box. Shu gets the bowling ball but Funaki blocks the pink box and kicks both of them. Irish whip to Shu and Funaki kicks him in the chest. Hammerlock by Funaki, he picks up Shu and goes for the Hybrid Buster but Kei breaks it up. Kei goes off the ropes but Funaki catches him with a sleeperhold. Kei gets out of it but Funaki kicks him in the chest. Funaki picks up Kei and kicks him in the leg until he falls to the mat. Cross kneelock by Funaki to Kei, he then applies a single leg crab hold but Shu comes in the ring with a rubber cone.
He hits Funaki in the stomach with it and then puts his leg into it before kicking Funaki in the chest. Funaki eventually catches one and pushes Shu to the mat. Funaki grabs the cone and throws it out of the ring, slaps by Funaki to Shu but Kei spits water in his face. Shu kicks Funaki in the head, Funaki sets him up in the corner and they get the bowling ball and box. Kei rams the box into Funaki’s groin area, and then Shu throws the bowling ball into it. Shu grabs Funaki and rolls him in the middle of the ring, they both cover him but he kicks out at two. Stomp by Shu as Kei picks up Funaki, Shu gets a Yield Sign but Funaki ducks and he hits Kei by accident. Rolling kick by Funaki to Shu, and he hits a running kick onto Kei. Funaki picks up Kei and hits the Hybrid Buster, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Masakatsu Funaki
Match Thoughts: Mostly a storyline match, as the Brahmans were paid by Kazushi Miyamoto to ‘take out’ Funaki. He must not have been offering much if all he got were the Brahmans. A short match and not a very good one, we got a little bit of Brahman shtick here but not much and Funaki put them away without any major issues. I guess it progressed a storyline (assuming it goes somewhere) but still not really worth watching. Score: 3.5
KAI vs. Yuji Hino
Hino attacks KAI backstage while he is giving an interview and throws him around backstage. They fight into the crowd with Hino chopping KAI before throwing him into a column. They make their way to ringside and Hino throws KAI into the ring, and the match officially starts. Elbows by KAI and he charge Hino but Hino throws him out of the ring. Hino goes out after him and throws KAI into the railing. Hino chops KAI over the rail and chops him in the chest. Hino slides KAI back into the ring, he picks him up but KAI fights back with elbows. Hard chop by Hino, Irish whip, and he hits a back elbow followed by a senton. Cover by Hino, but it gets a two count. Hino picks up KAI, elbows by KAI, Irish whip, reversed, and Hino throws KAI over his shoulders. Hino stomps KAI in the corner, Hino charges KAI but KAI kicks him in the head. KAI goes out to the apron and hits a swandive dropkick. Hino falls out of the ring, KAI gets a running start and sails out with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, cover by KAI but it gets two. KAI picks up Hino and goes for the LAT, but Hino blocks it and slams KAI to the mat. Hino picks up KAI but KAI elbows him back. Chop by Hino and they trade blows, Hino goes off the ropes but KAI catches him with a springboard kick. LAT by KAI, cover, but it gets a two count. KAI picks up Hino and goes for a powerbomb, but he can’t get Hino up and Hino back bodydrops out of it. Kick by KAI but Hino catches the second one and hits a release belly to belly suplex. Hino waits for KAI to get up and goes off the ropes, but KAI ducks the lariat and hits a heel kick. KAI charges Hino but Hino catches him and slams KAI in the turnbuckles. Lariat by Hino, he picks up KAI and hits a short-armed lariat. Cocky cover but it gets a two count. Hino grabs KAI and drops him with a high-angle powerbomb, one handed cover by Hino and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Yuji Hino
Match Thoughts: Well that was surprising. Hino dominated KAI which in this case worked since Hino is bigger than KAI and he has some great looking offense. KAI’s offense looked weak compared to Hino’s as he doesn’t have high impact moves while KAI’s chest was red and bruised before the match was over. I am not sure what purpose it served long term since Hino is not a regular in W-1, but it was the first match on this card I enjoyed so it had that going for it anyway. Fun match. Score: 7.0
Fujiwara, Liger, Kanemoto, and Minoru Tanaka vs. Masayuki Kono, Ryouji Sai, René Duprée, and KAZMA SAKAMOTO
This match is to celebrate Minoru Tanaka’s 20th Anniversary. The bad guys attack the good guys to start the match, and the ring is mostly cleared with just Tanaka and Kono in the ring. Kono stomps Tanaka and goes off the ropes, but Tanaka hits a dropkick. Kicks to the chest by Tanaka and he goes off the ropes, but Sai pulls him out of the ring. The wrestlers continue brawling at ringside until Kono and Tanaka get back in the ring, and Kono elbows Tanaka in the corner. Splash by SAKAMOTO as Duprée is tagged in, Duprée picks up Tanaka and stomps him to the mat. Elbow drops by Duprée, cover, but it gets a two count. Duprée picks up Tanaka and hits a scoop slam before tagging in Sai. Sai picks up Tanaka and hits a scoop slam and tags in Duprée. Duprée gets on the second turnbuckle but Tanaka rolls out of the way of the first drop. Before Tanaka can make a tag, SAKAMOTO and Sai run in the ring to stop him, and they drag Tanaka back to the middle of the ring. Sai stays in the ring and stomps Tanaka, cover, but it gets a two count. Chop by Sai, Irish whip, but Tanaka hits a dropkick and makes the hot tag to Liger. Liger gives SAKAMOTO a Shotei and one for Duprée and Kono as well, Sai hits Liger from behind, Irish whip by Sai but Liger kicks Sai back. Fujiwara comes in the ring and headbutts Sai, chops by Fujiwara and Liger hits him with a Shotei. Facewash by Kanemoto as he comes in the ring, he scrapes his boot against Sai’s face and hits another one. Kanemoto picks up Sai, strike combination by Kanemoto but Sai hits a vertical suplex and tags in SAKAMOTO. SAKAMOTO kicks Kanemoto in the back and goes off the ropes, but Kanemoto kicks SAKAMOTO in the stomach and tags in Tanaka.
All the wrestlers get into the ring and attack SAKAMOTO in the corner, and Tanaka kicks SAKAMOTO in the face. Cover, but SAKAMOTO gets a shoulder up. Tanaka goes up to the top turnbuckle but Duprée throws a chair at him. Kono picks up Tanaka, Irish whip to the corner and he hits a running strike. Double knee gutbuster by Sai, SAKAMOTO covers Tanaka but it gets a two count. Falcon Arrow by SAKAMOTO, cover, but Tanaka kicks out. Kicks by SAKAMOTO to Tanaka, another cover, but Liger breaks it up. SAKAMOTO charges Tanaka but Tanaka ducks the knee strike, and Fujiwara comes in to headbutt SAKAMOTO. High kick by Tanaka to SAKAMOTO and Liger plants him with a Shotei. Snapmare by Tanaka, Kanemoto goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a moonsault. Tanaka then goes up top while his teammates hold everyone else off, and Tanaka nails the FIREBALL Splash. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Yosiaki Fujiwara, Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto, and Minoru Tanaka
Match Thoughts: This was more of a ‘Minoru Celebration’ than anything else, but it did have some fun moments. As is a common theme on this card (and the promotion in general) I wish the match had gotten more than nine minutes as with the caliber of wrestlers in the match they could have handled having a little bit more time. Aside from a few feel-good moments there wasn’t much to this match, although it is impressive that at his age that Minoru can still hit a clean 450 Splash. Score: 5.5
Final Thoughts:
Best Match: KAI vs. Yuji Hino. This was the best match by default, but they earned it. Hino gave a beating and KAI took his beating like a man, and he had the marks to prove it. This is a case that the short match works – Hino’s offense looked so much more damaging than KAI’s that it seemed plausible that he could beat KAI in under ten minutes. Not a classic or anything, but a fun match from start to finish.
MVP: Yuji Hino. Hino was one of the few bright spots on this card, which is odd since he isn’t a regular wrestler in the promotion. But he looked man-sized against KAI, decimating one of the young aces of the promotion and looking badass while he was doing it. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of him in Wrestle-1, if they are going to do short matches at least have someone like Hino that looks convincing while doing it.
Overall: There is really no way around the fact that this card from top to bottom just wasn’t particularly entertaining. They seem to be intentionally only having short matches, and I really don’t like short matches. One here or there is fine of course, especially in the beginning of the card, but most matches need more than six minutes to have an opening, middle, and a conclusion. So it ends up just being the wrestlers doing a few spots and the match is over. There was really nothing here that you need to go out of your way to see, the main event was fun in a ‘look at these old wrestlers teaming together and doing their spots’ kind of way, but nothing that needs to be sought out. Not real happy with the direction that Wrestle-1 is going, they have the wrestler quality but the match structure is severely lacking.
