Date: February 15th, 2014
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Announced Attendance: 1,150
Plugging along with W-1 since I want to review their Sumo Hall event as soon as it is available but I don’t want to go out of order. This event had a lot of implications for their Sumo Hall event, as the promotion determined who would challenge for the TNA Championships that would be on the line for the big show. Here is the full card:
– TNA World Heavyweight Title Contender – Semi Final: Masakatsu Funaki vs. Yasufumi Nakanoue
– TNA World Heavyweight Title Contender – Semi Final: KAI vs. Minoru Tanaka
– Koharu Hinata vs. Shuri
– Black Death vs. Kick Ass
– TNA World Tag Team Title #1 Contender Match: Kaz Hayashi and Kondo vs. Kono and SAKAMOTO
– TNA X-Division Title Contender 20 Man Battle Royal
– TNA World Heavyweight Title Contender Tournament – Final: KAI vs. Masakatsu Funaki
Let’s get to it.
Masakatsu Funaki vs. Yasufumi Nakanoue
This is a Semi Final match for the TNA World Heavyweight Title Contendership. Nakanoue pushes Funaki into the ropes to start the match but gives a mostly clean break. Nakanoue avoids a Funaki kick and catches a second one, but Funaki gets out of it. Funaki puts Nakanoue into the ropes and slaps him in the face before backing off. Kick by Funaki, Nakanoue catches one but Funaki wiggles out of it again. Tie-up but they break cleanly, Nakanoue catches a kick by Funaki and applies a reverse chinlock as he gets Funaki to the mat. Funaki regains the advantage and applies a hammerlock but Nakanoue gets out of it. They jockey for position on the mat, return to their feet and Funaki pushes Nakanoue into the ropes, but Nakanoue elbows Funaki. Kick by Funaki to the midsection and a second one, as Nakanoue gets knocked into the corner. Hiptoss by Funaki and he kicks Nakanoue in the chest again. Cover, but it gets a two count. Funaki goes for the Hybrid Blaster but Nakanoue gets out of it and the two trade slaps. Suplex by Nakanoue, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving elbow drop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Nakanoue goes off the ropes but Funaki catches him with a kick to the face. Funaki grabs Nakanoue and goes for the Blaster again but Nakanoue gets out of it. Release German suplex by Funaki and he kicks Nakanoue in the chest, cover, but it gets a two count. Funaki picks up Nakanoue but Nakanoue rolls him up for a two count. Nakanoue goes for a lariat but Funaki blocks it, back elbow by Nakanoue and he hits a lariat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Nakanoue goes off the ropes again but this time Funaki catches him with an overhead kick. Funaki picks up Nakanoue and this time delivers the Hybrid Blaster for the three count. Your winner: Masakatsu Funaki
Match Thoughts: The interesting thing in this match to me is that in theory, the four best wrestlers should be in the mini tournament to find the best wrestler to challenge for the TNA Heavyweight Championship. Great, but in this match…. Nakanoue is no match for Funaki. It was never an issue during the match on if Funaki was going to win, but how long it would take as he totally out-classed him in every way. I have no issue with that, Funaki is a class above Nakanoue, but I find it odd that Nakanoue was put in this tournament in the first place. Like in the last event I reviewed Nakanoue had an uneven performance and seems to need a ‘storyline’ reason to get into matches as nothing here looked inspired. For a Funaki showcase it was a fine match but certainly not an even encounter. Score: 5.5
KAI vs. Minoru Tanaka
This is a Semi Final match for the TNA World Heavyweight Title Contendership. Kick by Tanaka to the arm to start the match, tie-up, and Tanaka hits the Minoru Special. KAI gets a foot on the ropes to break the hold and rolls out of the ring to re-group. Tanaka goes out after him and Irish whips KAI into the guard rail. KAI fires back with an elbow but Tanaka kicks KAI in the arm. Tanaka wraps KAI’s arm in the rail and kicks it again before throwing KAI into the ring post. Tanaka slides KAI into the ring and stomps KAI in the arm. KAI comes back with elbows but Tanaka kicks him in the arm some more and elbows KAI in the arm. Irish whip by Tanaka, reversed, but Tanaka kicks KAI when he charges in. Tanaka jumps up to the top turnbuckle but KAI joins him up top. Tanaka applies an armbar while still on the top rope before pushing KAI back down to the mat. Tanaka jumps down as well and hits a running kick to KAI’s face before applying an armbar.
Fujiwara Armbar by Tanaka but KAI gets a foot on the bottom rope. Kick to the arm by Tanaka and he charges KAI into the corner but KAI kicks Tanaka in the head. KAI gets out on the apron and hits a swandive missile dropkick. Running kick by KAI in the corner and he hits a backdrop suplex. KAI picks up Tanaka but Tanaka applies a triangle choke hold. KAI powerbombs out of it, he picks up Tanaka and powerbombs him again for a two count. KAI goes up to the top turnbuckle and goes for the Splash Plancha but Tanaka gets his knees up and applies the cross armbreaker. KAI gets a foot on the ropes to get out of the hold, Tanaka picks up KAI and kicks him in the arm, but KAI catches one and hits an elbow. KAI goes off the ropes, Tanaka kicks him in the arm, but when Tanaka goes off the ropes KAI kicks him in the face. Springboard kick by KAI, cover, but it gets a two count. KAI picks up Tanaka and goes for the LAT but Tanaka gets out of it and rolls up KAI for a two count. Tanaka goes off the ropes and hits a Sliding Kick, he picks up KAI but KAI hits a brainbuster. LAT by KAI, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: KAI
Match Thoughts: Unlike the previous match, even though KAI came into this match the favorite at least Tanaka had his moments that it looked like he would pull off the upset. Tanaka did a good job working over the arm and looking to sneak in submission holds, even starting the match out with one. KAI to his credit played the role of ‘guy trying to fend off the scrappy veteran/submission expert’ very well and every move seemed to have a purpose. I think that Tanaka went down a little too easily, he dominated the match but was pinned after just a brainbuster/LAT, but since KAI had to wrestle again later there was no need to extend the end stretch of the match longer than needed. Overall a good match and accomplished what they were going for. Score: 6.5
Koharu Hinata vs. Shuri
Hinata goes for a takedown to start the match but Shuri blocks it and they return to their feet. Double leg takedown by Hinata but Shuri reverses it and goes for the arm. Side headlock by Shuri, Hinata Irish whips out of it but Shuri re-applies the side headlock. Takedown by Shuri and a second one, and she holds Hinata down on the mat. Shuri goes for a cross armbreaker and gets it locked in, but Hinata is too close to the ropes and gets one boot on to force a break. Shuri kicks Hinata as she tries to get up and then kicks her again. Kicks in the corner by Shuri, snapmare, and he kicks Hinata in the back. Hinata pushes Shuri and hits a few elbows to the chest, but Shuri kicks her in the stomach. Snapmare by Shuri and he applies a reverse chinlock. Sleeperhold by Shuri with a bodyscissors but Hinata gets a foot on the bottom rope again. Running knee by Shuri, she drags Hinata to the middle of the ring and pins her, but Hinata gets a shoulder up. Hard kick to the face by Shuri, she pins Hinata with one knee and picks up the three count. Your winner: Shuri
Match Thoughts: An odd match to have on a WRESTLE-1 event. You’d think their goal would be to have an exciting ‘showcase’ type of match but this was more of a squash match. Rightfully so to any fans that know the wrestlers, as Shuri is a badass kickboxer with multiple titles (which she brought to the ring in case anyone watching wasn’t aware) while Hinata is a rookie. So of course she dominated her. But as a Special Attraction type match having a champion vs. rookie didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Shuri looked good as she generally does and carries herself like a champion, but I would have preferred something a little more evenly contested. Score: 4.0
Black Death vs. Kick Ass
They circle to start, side headlock by Black Death, Kick Ass Irish whips out of it but Black Death hits a shoulderblock. Black Death goes off the ropes but Kick Ass delivers a dropkick. Kick Ass goes up to the top turnbuckle but Black Death recovers and throws Black Death off the top turnbuckle to the mat. Black Death picks up Kick Ass and elbows him in the back of the head. Stomp by Black Death, he picks up Kick Ass and hits a headbutt. Stomps by Black Death and he chokes Kick Ass against the ropes. Black Death picks up Kick Ass and throws him out of the ring. Black Death goes out after him and throws Kick Ass into the railing. Black Death throws Kick Ass into the ring post before getting a chair, and he hits Kick Ass with the chair. Black Death slides Kick Ass back into the ring, Irish whip to the corner and Black Death hits a lariat. DDT by Black Death, cover, but he gets a two count. Black Death picks up Kick Ass, Irish whip, but Kick Ass avoids the lariat and delivers a dropkick. Dragon screw leg whip by Kick Ass, Hit Girl gets in the ring and hits Black Death in the stomach. Shining Wizard by Kick Ass, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Kick Ass
Match Thoughts: I don’t really know what was going on here. I mean the match was based off of the Kick Ass movies, I get that. But why was this a match on a WRESTLE-1 card? Some sponsorship deal that I don’t know about? I feel bad even rating it but it was a full wrestling match so I have to. The action was solid as it was Hiroshi Yamato and NOSAWA (allegedly) under the masks, but it definitely seemed pointless, especially since the post-match stuff was almost ten minutes long. Silly Mutoh. Score: 3.0
Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo vs. Masayuki Kono and KAZMA SAKAMOTO
The winners of this match will become the #1 Contenders for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Kono hits Hayashi in the back of the head with a chair before the match can even start and they they brawl around the ring with the heels getting the better of things. Kono and Hayashi get into the ring, and Kono hits a bodyslam. Elbow drop by Kono, cover, but it gets a two count. Kono picks up Hayashi and knees him in the head before tagging in SAKAMOTO. Kick to the chest by SAKAMOTO and he elbows Hayashi in the face a few times. Hayashi fights back with punches and they trade blows, Hayashi goes off the ropes but SAKAMOTO catches him with an elbow. SAKAMOTO picks up Hayashi, Hayashi slides down his back and catches SAKAMOTO with an STO into the turnbuckles. Hayashi tags in Kondo, kick by Kondo, Irish whip and he hits a lariat onto SAKAMOTO in the corner. Kono comes in the ring but Kondo hits a bulldog/lariat combination on both of them. Atomic drop by Kondo and he hits a DDT. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kondo waits for SAKAMOTO to get up but Kono grabs his foot so SAKAMOTO can hit a lariat in the corner. SAKAMOTO tags in Kono, Irish whip by Kono to Kondo and he knees him twice in the stomach. Backdrop suplex by Kono, cover, and he gets a two count. Kono pushes Kondo into the corner but Kondo avoids his charge and makes the tag to Hayashi. Hayashi knocks SAKAMOTO off the apron, he knocks Kono into the corner and Hayashi kicks Kono in the corner. Face Crusher by Hayashi to Kono, he goes off the ropes but Kono catches him with a jumping knee.
Knees by Kono against the ropes and he hits a Falcon Arrow. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kono waits for Hayashi to get up but Kondo runs in the ring and knocks him down with a lariat. Kondo goes off the ropes but SAKAMOTO cuts him off with a lariat and knocks Kono out of the ring. SAKAMOTO grabs Hayashi and goes off the ropes but Hayashi hits a drop toehold follows by a neck whip. SAKAMOTO falls out of the ring, Hayashi slams Kono to the mat but Kono kicks Hayashi back. Hayashi goes for the Final Cut but Kono pushes him off and hits the Chokebomb. Cover, but Kondo breaks it up. Kono picks up Hayashi, he slams Hayashi in front of the corner and goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Hayashi rolls out of the way of the diving kneedrop and Kondo floors him with the Lanzarse. Hayashi superkicks SAKAMOTO, then Kondo picks up Kono and with Hayashi they hit a Samoan Drop/Cutter combination. Hayashi picks up Kono, Irish whip, reversed, but Hayashi hits the handstand rebound kick. Final Cut by Hayashi, cover, but Kono gets a shoulder up. Hayashi gets on the top turnbuckle but SAKAMOTO grabs his leg, giving Kono time to recover. Kono goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits an avalanche Samoan Drop. Cover, but Kondo breaks it up. Kono picks up Hayashi, Irish whip, but SAKAMOTO hits Hayashi with a chair from ringside. Running knee by Kono, cover, but it only gets a two count. Kondo gets in the ring and punches Kono, but SAKAMOTO hits a backdrop suplex onto him. Kono picks up Hayashi and puts him into the corner, jumping knee but Kono and SAKAMOTO charges in, but Hayashi moves and SAKAMOTO hits Kono by accident. Kono is not amused, but Kondo hits Kono from behind into SAKAMOTO. Kondo goes off the ropes but Kono catches him with a boot and then a knee. SAKAMOTO grabs Hayashi and elbows him in the back of the head, and then Kono hits a chokeslam. Cover, but Hayashi barely gets a shoulder up. Kono goes up to the top turnbuckle and goes for a diving kneedrop, but Hayashi rolls him up for a two count. Kono goes for a running knee, but Hayashi ducks it and rolls up Kono for a three count! Your winners: Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo
Match Thoughts: This was a really good match. They have been fighting so much the last few months they have great chemistry, and there were a lot of fun cutoff spots and smart points in this match. There was never a dull moment as wrestlers were constantly flying around and they worked the time as well as they could have. I didn’t have an issue with Kono getting pinned by Hayashi since it was a flash pin and they did a good job selling it as a fluke (which it was). Overall an entertaining affair, while I wish they would mix up their pairings a bit more the benefit is the wrestlers do learn to work really well together. Score: 7.0
20 Entry Battle Royal
This is a Time Delay Battle Royal to find the #1 Contender for the TNA X-Division Contendership. “Time Delay” just means that wrestlers come out one at a time, like the WWE Royal Rumble. Kazushi Miyamoto and Seiki Yoshioka are the first two in the ring. Punches by Miyamoto to start the match, shoulderblock and he goes off the ropes but Yoshioka delivers a kick. Dropkick to the knee by Yoshioka but Miyamoto catches him and goes for a press slam. Yoshioka gets out of it and goes off the ropes, hitting a hurricanrana. Snapmare by Yoshioka and he kicks Miyamoto in the back followed by a running dropkick. Mounted punches by Yoshioka as the next man comes down: MAZADA. MAZADA and Miyamoto double team Yoshioka, double Irish whip and they hit a double elbow. Back bodydrop by Miyamoto and MAZADA hits a leg drop. Double Irish whip to the corner, Miyamoto hits a lariat but Yoshioka kicks down MAZADA. Miyamoto slams Yoshioka to the mat, as Seiya Sanada comes out next. Sanada knocks Miyamoto to the mat, then Sanada hits a dropkick onto MAZADA. Sanada gets Miyamoto in the corner and hits a series of mounted punches. Sanada throws MAZADA into the corner and does the same to him as well. Yoshioka has recovered as KAZMA SAKAMOTO comes into the ring. SAKAMOTO pushes Sanada into the corner, Irish whip, but Sanada flips himself to the apron.
Elbow by SAKAMOTO but Sanada grabs SAKAMOTO and goes for a suplex. Sanada drags SAKAMOTO out to the apron but both men quickly get back into the ring. SAKAMOTO kicks Sanada in the corner and tries to throw him out, as Daiki Inaba comes into the ring next. Inaba is excited and dropkicks Miyamoto. Irish whip by Inaba, reversed, and Inaba hits an elbow. Vertical suplex by Inaba onto Miyamoto and he hits an elbow drop. Yoshioka helps Inaba stomp onto Miyamoto as six men start brawling. Mustafa comes in next. Clubs to the back to Inaba by Mustafa as Miyamoto rolls out of the ring, but Mustafa is grabbed from behind and thrown out of the ring. Mustafa is eliminated. SAKAMOTO tries to throw out Yoshioka but he lands on the apron, as Andy Wu comes down as the next man in. Wu goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving crossbody onto MAZADA. Armdrag by Wu to MAZADA and he hits a second one. Body scissors into a bulldog by Wu but Sanada elbows Wu in the head. Lariat by SAKAMOTO onto Wu, and SAKAMOTO throws Wu out to the apron. Yoshioka saves Wu as Koji Kanemoto comes into the ring. Kanemoto kicks MAZADA and hits an armdrag onto SAKAMOTO. MAZADA goes off the ropes but Kanemoto catches him with a monkey flip. Back kick by Kanemoto to SAKAMOTO and he hits a facewash in the corner to MAZADA.
Next down the ring is Yuji Hino and I hope he clears the ring out. Hino chops Sanada to the mat and scoop slams Yoshioka. Irish whip by Inaba to Hino but Hino picks him up and throws him onto the mat. Hino lariats Inaba out of the ring, and Inaba is eliminated. Wu jumps at Hino but Hino catches him and throws him out to apron. Chop by Hino to Wu and Wu falls out of the ring. Wu is eliminated. Hino picks up Kanemoto and throws him into the corner, he tries to throw Kanemoto out of the ring but Kanemoto keeps himself in the ring as Kikutaro comes down as the next wrestler. Kikutaro gets into the ring and walks right up to Hino. Kikutaro asks Hino for an arm wrestling contest on the mat, Hino gets down there but all the wrestlers stomp on Hino. They all gang up to throw out Hino, he doesn’t go out but goes between the ropes to leave the ring. Hiroshi Yamato is next to come into the ring and he kicks MAZADA. Miyamoto is back and pushes Yamato out to the apron, but Yoshioka kicks Miyamoto in the head from behind which sends Miyamoto out of the ring. Miyamoto is eliminated. Kikutaro tries to throw out Yoshioka as NOSAWA Rongai is the next wrestler to enter. NOSAWA and MAZADA quickly hit a double team move onto Yamato, they try to do the same to Kanemoto but Kanemoto dropkicks both of them. Hino has re-emerged at some point, he and SAKAMOTO grab Kanemoto and throw him out of the ring. Kanemoto is eliminated.
Sanada grabs SAKAMATO from behind and tries to dump him out of the ring, but SAKAMATO gets a hold on the bottom rope and stays in. Pan’nyan is the next wrestler to enter the match. Pan’nyan and Kikutaro face off, and Pan’nyan hits Kikutaro in the face. Irish whip by SAKAMATO to Pan’nyan but Pan’nyan hits an armdrag. Pan’nyan goes off the ropes but Hino grabs him, NOSAWA and MAZADA kick Hino asDanshoku Dino comes down to the ring as the next wrestler. While Dino was walking down, we missed MAZADA and NOSAWA get eliminated, but return in time to see Hino throw Pan’nyan onto both of them so all three wrestlers are eliminated. Dino messes with the crowd and with Mutoh before even getting into the ring, which takes so long it is time for Masayuki Kono to come down. Kono kicks Kikutaro and throws him out of the ring. Kikutaro is eliminated. Yoshioka kicks Kono in the face but Kono avoids the boot and hits a Chokebomb. SAKAMATO kicks Yoshioka out to the apron as Kono comes over to help, while Sanada and Yamato battle in the corner. Next wrestler down is Yasufumi Nakanoue. Elbows by Nakanoue to Kono, he goes off the ropes but Kono hits a knee. Nakanoue returns with an elbow and nails the Knock Away, but Kono comes back with a big knee. Dino still hasn’t gotten in the ring, for what it matters. Sanada tries to throw Yamato out of the ring as Dino waits to catch Yamato in his pants, but Yamato lands on the apron.
Next wrestler out – Minoru Tanaka. Tanaka dropkicks Kono as Dino finally gets in the ring and squares off with Tanaka. Tanaka and Dino tie-up, and Dino delivers the Ball Grab Exploder. Dino charges Tanaka but Tanaka kicks him back. Dino punches Tanaka out to the apron, but when he charges Tanaka for a kiss, Tanaka pulls the rope down and Dino tumbles out of the ring. Dino is eliminated. The next wrestler to come down is Manabu Soya. Soya grabs Kono and dumps him out to the apron, but SAKAMATO saves him. Irish whip by SAKAMATO to Soya but Soya reversed it and SAKAMATO runs into Kono who was still on the apron, knocking him to the floor. Kono is eliminated. Soya then lariats SAKAMATO out of the ring. SAKAMATO is eliminated. Soya talks to Sanada in the corner as Hino comes over and the final entry comes down to the ring – Yoshihiro Takayama. Takayama boots Soya before he can even get into the ring and knees Yoshioka and Tanaka. Hino gets a knee as well as does Nakanoue, and Takayama throws Nakanoue out of the ring. Nakanoue is eliminated. Knee by Takayama to Yamato and he throws Yamato out of the ring as well. Yamato is eliminated. Soya chokes Takayama with his tie as Sanada battles with Hino, and Hino lariats Sanada to the mat. Hino tries to powerbomb Sanada out of the ring but Sanada lands on the apron. Meanwhile Yoshioka and Tanaka trade kicks but Tanaka hits a dragon screw leg whip.
Tanaka picks up Yoshioka, he goes off the ropes and Tanaka delivers a dropkick. Hino grabs Tanaka and throws him out of the ring, so Tanaka is eliminated. Sanada and Yoshioka now square off with Hino and Takayama, Soya shakes hands with Takayama but Takayama kicks him and Hino throws him over the top turnbuckle. Soya is eliminated. Hino slams Yoshioka and Sanada to the mat and then he faces off with Takayama. Body slam by Hino to Takayama but he eats a double dropkick from Yoshioka and Sanada. Takayama is up, and all three men dropkick Hino, sending him flying out of the ring. Hino is eliminated. Sanada and Yoshioka kick Takayama in the stomach and then hit a double dropkick to the knee. Elbow by Sanada into the corner to Takayama but Takayama picks up Sanada and puts him on the apron. Yoshioka goes over to comfort Sanada but instead kicks him in the head. Yoshioka goes off the ropes but Sanada pulls the rope down and Yoshioka falls out of the ring. Yoshioka is eliminated. Sanada gets back in the ring but Takayama knees him in the stomach. More knees by Takayama and he hits a belly to belly suplex. Another one by Takayama and he hits a big boot while Sanada is against the ropes. He hits a second one, and Sanada falls out to the apron. Takayama goes for a third but Sanada ducks and Takayama’s leg gets caught on the top rope. Sanada gets back in the ring and dropkicks Takayama, which sends Takayama out to the apron. Sanada gets a running start and dropkicks Takayama one more time, sending Takayama crashing out of the ring. Takayama is eliminated. Your winner of the Battle Royal: Seiya Sanada
Match Thoughts: I don’t think I missed anything with the play by play, although it wasn’t easy. While the match did have a bit of downtime as all Battle Royals do, for the most part it was quite entertaining. I liked that the wrestlers would so easily abandon the ‘we are friends’ thing since it was every man for himself. Wrestlers would pretend to be friends and work together in spots, but wouldn’t hesitate if they got the chance to eliminate each other. As it should be. The time between entries was shorter than that of the WWE Royal Rumble, which kept the action going. I didn’t even mind Dino here, he was a fun surprise and he entertained the crowd without really impacting the match itself. Soya was a surprise as well and Takayama was really motivated here which made the match seem even more important. About as good as one could hope for, I am not a big fan of Battle Royals but this one was well constructed. Oh, and Hino was a beast, I am starting to develop a new man crush. Score: 7.0
KAI vs. Masakatsu Funaki
The winner of this match will become the #1 Contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Funaki kicks KAI in the leg to start the match, and another kick by Funaki to the leg. Funaki keeps kicking KAI and eventually gets him into the corner, snapmare by Funaki and he kicks KAI in the chest. Kick to the chest by Funaki and he applies a keylock. Kick to the arm by Funaki and he kicks him in the arm again. Armbar by Funaki and he takes KAI to the ground, but KAI gets a foot on the bottom rope. Kick to the chest by Funaki, snapmare, he goes off the ropes but KAI catches his leg and hits a backdrop suplex. Dropkick by KAI, and Funaki rolls out of the ring. KAI gets a running start and sails out onto Funaki with a tope suicida. Running boot to the face by KAI, cover, but it gets a two count. KAI picks up Funaki and goes for the LAT, but Funaki punches out of it. Kicks to the arm by Funaki, he picks up KAI but KAI delivers a series of elbows. Jumping kick by KAI and he goes for the LAT again but Funaki gets out of it and applies an armbar. Cross armbreaker by Funaki but KAI gets his foot on the bottom rope. Funaki picks up KAI and kicks him in the chest repeatedly, but KAI fires back. Overhead kick by Funaki and he hits a backdrop suplex. Kick to the chest by Funaki, cover, but KAI kicks out. Funaki picks up KAI and hits a backdrop suplex. He picks up KAI again and kicks KAI in the head. Cover by Funaki, but it only gets a two count. Crossface chickenwing by Funaki, he picks up KAI but KAI rolls him up for a two count. Thrust kick by KAI and he hits a springboard kick to the back of Funaki’s head. Superkick by KAI, and both wrestlers are slow to recover. Back up Funaki goes for a kick, but KAI catches it and he hits the LAT. Cover, but Funaki kicks out at two. KAI picks up Funaki, slams him in front of the corner, and he goes up to the top turnbuckle. Splash Plancha by KAI, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: KAI
Match Thoughts: A good match, but felt like it was lacking something to make it seem as important as the match was. On paper this was a chance for a wrestler to win a major title for W-1 so they should have been going all out, but it just felt like a standard affair. The arm work by Funaki was fine and piggy-backed on KAI’s earlier match but it didn’t really come into play at the end so ultimately didn’t mean much. KAI doesn’t really vary his offense, he wins matches pretty much the same way each time and he doesn’t really sell like he is overcoming adversary which he was by pinning Funaki. KAI getting the pin in the main event over a wrestler above him in the pecking order should have felt ‘big’ but it didn’t. On the plus side, both wrestlers are very crisp and there was little dead time, and the action itself was very solid. It just didn’t feel like the match that it should have been. Score: 5.5
Final Thoughts:
Best Match: Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo vs. Masayuki Kono and KAZMA SAKAMOTO. A constant complaint of mine about W-1 will be match time, but these four used the time to the best use they could and it was a really entertaining match. They have great chemistry and the cut off spots, tags, team work (or lack thereof) all seemed to flow perfectly. Good stuff.
MVP: KAI. I can’t give Sanada too much credit since he wasn’t even the best wrestler in his match, while KAI had two above-average matches on this card and won the chance to challenge for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Quite a change from a few weeks ago when he was getting squashed by Hino. Both of his wins were against well respected veterans, and if he continues this momentum and learns from his matches he can have a bright future in the promotion.
Overall: From top to bottom, the best event that W-1 has put on up to this point. While there was not a stand-out match and the matches in the TNA World Heavyweight Championship Tournament did not set the world on fire, the other matches helped make up for it. Another plus is that there really weren’t any ‘bad’ matches. The Joshi squash seemed off and the Kick Ass match was odd, but neither were really bad action-wise. The event is lacking a stand-out match but hopefully this is an event that the promotion can build up from going forward. Solid all the way around.
