![\"\"](\"http:\/\/puroresucentral.com\/img4\/diamondring2.11.jpg\")
\u00a0![\"\"](\"http:\/\/puroresucentral.com\/img4\/sasakiretirement2.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nDate: February 11th, 2014 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:<\/p>\n – Stalker Ichikawa, CHANGO, and Namazu Man vs. Kikutaro, NOSAWA Rongai, and Honda <\/strong>Nosawa and Ichikawa start things off.\u00a0 Ichikawa and Nosawa roll around for a bit avoiding each other and they shake hands.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Kikutaro grabs CHANGO by the goatee and gives it a pull.\u00a0 Kick by Kikutaro and he tags in Nosawa.\u00a0 Nosawa kicks CHANGO in the corner and applies a submission hold, Ichikawa goes up to the second turnbuckle but he doesn\u2019t help.\u00a0 Nosawa throws CHANGO into the corner and tags in Honda.\u00a0 Snapmare by Honda and he stomps CHANGO in the face.\u00a0 Ichikawa comes in the ring, chops by Ichikawa but Honda punches Ichikawa in the face.\u00a0 Oil Check by Ichikawa and he applies a wristlock.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Missile dropkick by Namazu Man to Kikutaro, he goes off the ropes but Kikutaro catches him with the TKO.\u00a0 Cover by Kikutaro, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Nosawa and Honda come in the ring and they hit a double vertical suplex onto Namazu Man.\u00a0 Shining Wizard by Kikutaro, cover, but it is broken up.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Your winners:\u00a0 “Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa, CHANGO, and Namazu Man<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 A comedy match that we only saw a bit of.\u00a0 I think that Namazu Man is Sugi, which is only notable because I like Sugi but it wasn\u2019t a large enough sample size for me to be sure.\u00a0 Anyway this was pretty clipped up so hard to judge, but it didn\u2019t look like there was much to it as it looked like a pretty average tag team match.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 3.5<\/span><\/p>\n Natsuki*Taiyo and Sareee dropkick their opponents as the match starts, leaving just La Comandante in the ring.\u00a0 Double Irish whip to La Comandante and they hit a double drop toehold followed by a double dropkick.\u00a0 Shimoda comes in the ring and attacks Sareee, Sareee is thrown into the corner and Shimoda, Hotta, and La Comandante all hit running strikes.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Sareee tags in Natsuki*Taiyo, and Natsuki*Taiyo hits a dropkick.\u00a0 Natsuki*Taiyo dropkicks La Comandante as well, which brings her into the ring.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Natsuki*Taiyo goes off the ropes but La Comandante hits a shoulderblock.\u00a0We skip ahead as now Natsuki*Taiyo is outside of the ring with La Comandante and Hotta, and they throw her into the guard rail.<\/p>\n Sareee is thrown into the railing as well as Hotta chops Natsuki*Taiyo.\u00a0 La Comandante goes for a chop but Natsuki*Taiyo ducks and La Comandante chops Hotta by accident.\u00a0 Sareee then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a plancha down onto Hotta and La Comandante.\u00a0 Natsuki*Taiyo gets a running start in the ring and hits a plancha off the ropes onto Hotta and La Comandante as well.\u00a0 We jump ahead as Sareee gets on the top turnbuckle and hits a body press onto Hotta in the ring.\u00a0 Natsuki*Taiyo then hits a diving doublestomp, crucifix pin by Sareee but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Sareee goes off the ropes but Shimoda trips her from the floor.\u00a0 Shimoda gets in the ring and chops Sareee with La Comandante.\u00a0 They throw Sareee into the corner, Sareee avoids Shimoda\u2019s charge, La Comandante then charges and she splashes Shimoda by accident.\u00a0 Hotta runs in the ring but Natsuki*Taiyo rolls her up with Sareee\u2019s help for a two count.\u00a0 Sareee goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hotta kicks her when she dives off.\u00a0 Hotta grabs Sareee and hits a Tiger Driver, cover, but Natsuki*Taiyo breaks it up.\u00a0 Shimoda and La Comandante get into the ring, and Shimoda helps La Comandante hit a diving body press.\u00a0 Hotta grabs Sareee and nails the Pyramid Driver.\u00a0 Cover by Hotta and she gets the three count.\u00a0 Your winners:\u00a0 Yumiko Hotta and La Comandante<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 I wish I could have seen more of this match, Sareee and Natsuki*Taiyo are very spunky.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t like the blatant interference throughout the match by Shimoda\u2026 I know that interference is a little more lax in Japan but it shouldn\u2019t become a 3 vs. 2 match.\u00a0 Besides that I thought it was solid action, it was just too clipped up to really get into.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 5.0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong>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.\u00a0 Another kick by Miyahara, he goes off the ropes and a third boot sends Shiozaki to the mat.\u00a0 Shiozaki gets back up however and elbows Miyahara hard in the face, sending him out of the ring.\u00a0 Shiozaki goes out after Miyahara and throws him into the guard rail.\u00a0 Shiozaki throws Miyahara into the railing again but Miyahara retorts with a boot to the face.\u00a0 Running chop by Shiozaki, elbows by Miyahara but Shiozaki chops him back.\u00a0 Shiozaki grabs Miyahara and hits a scoop slam out on the floor beyond the matted area.\u00a0 Shiozaki brings Miyahara back to ringside and they trade shots until Shiozaki throws Miyahara into the ring post.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Miyahara then gets on the apron and jumps off, slamming Shiozaki\u2019s head into the floor.\u00a0 Stomps by Miyahara, he picks up Shiozaki and twists his arm against the ring post.\u00a0 Miyahara rolls Shiozaki back in the ring but Shiozaki rolls back out.\u00a0 He rolls back in after a moment, Miyahara picks him up and hits an armbreaker.\u00a0 Shiozaki goes for a chop but Miyahara catches his arm and hits another armbreaker.\u00a0 Miyahara throws Shiozaki into the corner, he twists his arm into the ropes and elbows it.\u00a0 Irish whip by Miyahara and he hits a jumping elbow in the corner.\u00a0 Another Irish whip but this time Shiozaki hits a chop, which hurts his own arm.\u00a0 Armbreaker by Miyahara, Irish whip, but Shiozaki hits a jumping shoulderblock.\u00a0 Chop by Shiozaki and he kicks Miyahara in the head.\u00a0 Another kick by Shiozaki and Shiozaki hits a chop.\u00a0 Fisherman buster by Shiozaki, cover, but it gets a two count.<\/p>\n Shiozaki goes off the ropes and hits a lariat as Miyahara as he is getting up, cover, but it gets another two count.\u00a0 Shiozaki picks up Miyahara but Miyahara elbows him back and they trade elbows and chops.\u00a0 Shiozaki gets the better of it, he picks up Miyahara, Irish whip, and Miyahara dropkicks Shiozaki in the knee.\u00a0 Dropkick to the head by Miyahara, he picks up Shiozaki and throws him into the corner.\u00a0 Irish whip by Miyahara and he hits a jumping elbow in the corner.\u00a0 Northern Lights Suplex by Miyahara, but it only gets a two count.\u00a0 Miyahara picks up Shiozaki and goes for a German suplex, but Shiozaki blocks it.\u00a0 Elbow by Shiozaki but Miyahara hits an superkick.\u00a0 They trade kicks but Shiozaki hits a chop combination.\u00a0 Superkick by Miyahara and both men fall hurt to the mat.\u00a0 Shining Wizard by Miyahara in the corner and he hits a sit-down powerbomb.\u00a0 Cover by Miyahara but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Miyahara picks up Shiozaki and hits the German suplex hold, but Shiozaki barely gets a shoulder up.\u00a0 Miyahara picks up Shiozaki and applies a double underhook, but Shiozaki gets out of it and hits a lariat.\u00a0 Both wrestlers slowly get up, chop by Shiozaki but Miyahara returns with an elbow.\u00a0 They trade shots, uppercuts by Miyahara but Shiozaki hits a lariat.\u00a0 Miyahara doesn\u2019t 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.\u00a0 Shiozaki picks up Miyahara and nails the Go Flasher, cover, and he gets the three count.\u00a0 Your winner:\u00a0 Go Shiozaki<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 Ah now this match was good.\u00a0 I only recently discovered Miyahara, and Shiozaki was already one of my favorites.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t get a ton of time but did the best they could within those restraints.\u00a0 Shiozaki never stopped doing lariats even though his arm was hurt but it did impact his moves, and they kept up a fast pace.\u00a0 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\u2019t hold back anything.\u00a0 Good stuff all the way around.\u00a0\u00a0Score: 7.5<\/span><\/p>\n Nagai and Kitamiya start things off.\u00a0 Tie-up, Kitamiya pushes Nagai into the ropes and gives a mostly clean break.\u00a0 Side headlock by Nagai, Kitamiya Irish whips out of it and they collide with no result.\u00a0 Nagai goes off again and still can\u2019t knock Kitamiya down, they go back and forth until Kitamiya finally is able to shoulderblock down Nagai.\u00a0 Kick to the stomach by Kitamiya and he hits an elbow.\u00a0 Nagai returns fire and they trade shots, front facelock by Kitamiya but Nagai drives him back and tags in Kumano.\u00a0 Club to the back by Kumano and he kicks Nagai in the back.\u00a0 Kumano throws Nagai in the corner and stomps him down, choking Nagai with his boot.\u00a0 Scoop slam by Nagai to Kumano and Nagai tags in Hashimoto.\u00a0 Wristlock by Hashimoto to Kumano but Hashimoto reverses it.\u00a0 Hammerlock by Kumano, side headlock by Hashimoto and he takes Kumano to the mat while maintaining the hold.\u00a0 Kumano struggles back up and he trades elbows with Hashimoto.\u00a0 Hashimoto kicks Kumano in the leg and tags in Nagai.\u00a0 Nagai elbows Kumano in the corner, Irish whip by Nagai and he elbows Kumano in the chest.\u00a0 Cover by Nagai but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Nagai picks up Kumano, snapmare, and Nagai applies a reverse chinlock.\u00a0 Kumano inches to the ropes but Nagai stops him and drives his knee into Kumano\u2019s back.\u00a0 Nagai tags in Hashimoto, Kumano knocks Hashimoto back but Hashimoto elbows him hard in the face and stomps Kumano in the stomach.\u00a0 Hashimoto picks up Kumano and hits a scoop slam.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Hashimoto picks up Kumano again and goes for a suplex but Kumano reverses it into a suplex of his own.\u00a0 Kumano tags in Kitamiya, Irish whip by Kitamiya to Hashimoto and he hits an elbow followed by a snap suplex.\u00a0 Gutwrench suplex by Kitamiya, cover, but Hashimoto kicks out.\u00a0 Back up they trade elbows, Hashimoto goes off the ropes but Kitamiya hits a spear.\u00a0 Kitamiya picks up Hashimoto, Hashimoto elbows Kitamiya back and kicks Kitamiya in the leg.\u00a0 Kick to the back by Hashimoto and he kicks Kitamiya in the chest.<\/p>\n Hashimoto tags in Nagai, Nagai grabs Kitamiya and hits him in the back.\u00a0 Nagai goes off the ropes and hits an elbow, over, but it gets two.\u00a0 More elbows by Nagai, Irish whip to the corner and Nagai rams Kitamiya in the corner.\u00a0 Fallaway slam by Nagai, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Nagai picks up Kitamiya and goes for a suplex but Kitamiya lands on his feet.\u00a0 Hiptoss by Kitamiya but Nagai elbows Kitamiya and they trade shots.\u00a0 Kitamiya goes off the ropes but Nagai catches him with an uranage.\u00a0 German suplex by Kitamiya and he tags in Kumano while Nagai tags in Hashimoto.\u00a0 Hashimoto kicks Kumano in the stomach but Kumano delivers a dropkick.\u00a0 Running elbow by Kumano in the corner and he hits a vertical suplex.\u00a0 Kumano goes for\u00a0 Fisherman Buster, Kumano gets out of it but Kumano still hits an STO.\u00a0 Fisherman suplex hold by Kumano to Hashimoto, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Kumano goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick.\u00a0 Cover by Kumano, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Kumano picks up Hashimoto but Hashimoto hits an enzigieri.\u00a0 Kick combination by Hashimoto and he delivers a heel kick.\u00a0 Hashimoto picks up Kumano and hits a backdrop suplex.\u00a0 Hashimoto goes off the ropes and hits the PK, cover, but it only gets a two count.\u00a0 Hashimoto picks up Kumano and goes off the ropes but Kumano ducks the kick and rolls up Hashimoto for a two count.\u00a0 Another roll-up by Kumano, but it gets two again.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 German suplex hold by Hashimoto, but Kumano kicks out at two.\u00a0 Hashimoto waits for Kumano to get up and hits the Triangle Kick.\u00a0 Kick to the head by Hashimoto, he picks up Kumano and hits the Shining Wizard.\u00a0 Cover by Hashimoto and he picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winners: Daichi Hashimoto and Tank Nagai<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 A little more strike-based than I prefer but I knew that going in once I saw the participants.\u00a0 The only real issue I have with strike-based matches is it doesn\u2019t 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.\u00a0 So the match could feasibly be only three minutes long and you\u2019d likely have the same result.\u00a0 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.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 5.0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong>Marufuji and Kajiwara start things off.\u00a0 Waistlock by Kajiwara and he takes Marufuji to the ground, they struggle back to their feet and Marufuji applies a wristlock.\u00a0 Kajiwara reverses it but Marufuji flips out of the hold and reverses it back.\u00a0 Hammerlock by Marufuji but Kajiwara hits a dropkick.\u00a0 Side headlock by Marufuji, Kajiwara Irish whips out of it and hits a hiptoss.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Marufuji returns to the ring after a moment and tags in Ishimori, so Kajiwara tags in Hayato.\u00a0 Hayato and Ishimori trade elbows, kicks by Hayato, Irish whip, and Ishimori hits a spinning headscissors.\u00a0 Hayato rolls out of the ring, Ishimori goes to do a dive but flips himself back into the ring instead.\u00a0 Ishimori returns to the ring, kicks to the leg by Hayato and they trade elbows.\u00a0 Headbutt by Hayato and he tags in Kajiwara.\u00a0 Kajiwara and Ishimori circle each other, armbar by Ishimori and he tags in Marufuji.\u00a0 Marufuji throws Kajiwara into the corner and seems to want Hayato, so Hayato tags in.\u00a0 Hayato goes for a single leg takedown but it is blocked, armbar takedown by Hayato but Marufuji applies a front facelock.\u00a0 Kicks to the leg by Hayato and then to the chest, and a kick to the knee sends\u00a0 Marufuji to the mat.\u00a0 Front facelock by Hayato and he tags in Kajiwara.\u00a0 Kajiwara and Marufuji trade blows, Ishimori and Hayato come into the ring and they start fighting as well.\u00a0 Marufuji and Kajiwara go outside of the ring and Marufuji chops Kajiwara around the ring.\u00a0 Marufuji slides Kajiwara back into the ring and covers him but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Reverse chinlock by Marufuji, he picks up Kajiwara and chops him in the chest again.\u00a0 Marufuji tags in Ishimori, and he chops Kajiwara in the corner as well.\u00a0 Cover by Ishimori but it gets two.<\/p>\n Ishimori picks up Kajiwara and throws him into the corner before hitting a chop, he drapes Kajiwara\u2019s head over the second rope and Marufuji hits a running dropkick from the floor.\u00a0 Marufuji comes in the ring, covers Kajiwara but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Marufuji picks up Kajiwara and applies a neck crank, snapmare by Marufuji and he stomps Kajiwara in the face.\u00a0 Neck twist by Marufuji, cover, but it gets two.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Kajiwara goes up to the top turnbuckle but Marufuji recovers and joins him up top.\u00a0 Kajiwara hits a top rope hurricanrana onto Marufuji and makes the tag to Hayato.\u00a0 Kicks to the chest by Hayato, he goes off the ropes and hits a running knee to the chest.\u00a0 STO by Hayato and he dropkicks Marufuji in the face.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Hayato throws Marufuji back into the ring, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Hayato goes off the ropes, drop toehold by Marufuji but Hayato avoids the running kick.\u00a0 Hayato goes off the ropes but Marufuji catches him with a lariat and tags in Ishimori.\u00a0 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.\u00a0\u00a0 Ishimori goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving double knee strike, cover, but it also gets a two count.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Cover, but Hayato gets a shoulder up.\u00a0 Ishimori goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hayato rolls out of the way of the 450 Splash and kicks Ishimori in the chest.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n Kajiwara picks up Ishimori and slides him into the ring, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick.\u00a0 Jumping elbow strike by Kajiwara in the corner, scoop slam, and he delivers a second turnbuckle moonsault.\u00a0 Cover, but Ishimori kicks out.\u00a0 Kajiwara picks up Ishimori, Irish whip to the corner but Ishimori kicks him as he charges in.\u00a0 German suplex by Ishimori and he tags in Marufuji.\u00a0 Marufuji charges Kajiwara in the corner and hits a jumping elbow strike, snapmare, and Marufuji hits a jumping double stomp to Kajiwara\u2019s face.\u00a0 Thrust kick by Marufuji, cover, but Kajiwara gets a shoulder up.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Jumping kick by Kajiwara and he hits a front suplex followed by a superkick.\u00a0 Hayato comes in the ring, Kajiwara slams Marufuji to the mat and Hayato hits the PK.\u00a0 Kajiwara positions Marufuji in front of the corner, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the moonsault.\u00a0 Cover, but Ishimori breaks it up.\u00a0 Kajiwara picks up Marufuji and gets him on his shoulders, Marufuji elbows out of it and dropkicks Kajiwara in the face.\u00a0 Ishimori comes in the ring and he delivers a swinging kick, and then Marufuji hits the Shiranui.\u00a0 Cover, but Hayato breaks it up.\u00a0 Marufuji picks up Kajiwara but Kajiwara drives Marufuji back into the corner.\u00a0 Kajiwara charges Marufuji, they trade kicks but Marufuji hits a high kick to Marufuji followed by a kick to the chest.\u00a0 Cover, but Kajiwara gets a shoulder up.\u00a0 Marufuji picks up Kajiwara, Kajiwara elbows Marufuji but Marufuji elbows him back.\u00a0 Big knee by Marufuji, cover, but again it gets two.\u00a0 Marufuji picks up Kajiwara and nails the Tiger Flowsion, cover, and he gets the three count.\u00a0 Your winners:\u00a0 Naomichi Marufuji and Taiji Ishimori<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 This was an entertaining match from start to finish with very little downtime and lots of action.\u00a0 Kajiwara and Hayato both more than held their own, and the match had a \u2018big match\u2019 feel with Marufuji in it.\u00a0 Hayato always looks like a breakout star whenever I see him, but that has been true for many years, I don\u2019t know as long as he stays in Michinoku Pro if he will ever be able to elevate beyond where he is right now.\u00a0 Anyway a really entertaining match, not a classic or anything but a solid match to lead into the main event.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 7.0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong>They circle each other to start, tie-up, Sasaki pushes Nakajima into the ropes and he gives a clean break.\u00a0 Side headlock by Nakajima, Sasaki Irish whips out of it and knees Nakajima in the stomach.\u00a0 Side headlock by Sasaki and he takes Nakajima down to the mat while keeping the hold applied.\u00a0 Nakajima struggles to his feet and tries to Irish whip out of it, but Sasaki keeps the hold applied.\u00a0 Nakajima finally is able to Irish whip out of it, kicks by Nakajima but Sasaki returns with chops.\u00a0 They trade strikes, which Sasaki gets the better of after a moment, Nakajima slowly gets up and Sasaki lariats him out of the ring.\u00a0 Sasaki waits for Nakajima in the ring, Nakajima slides back in and Sasaki chops him into the corner.\u00a0 Nakajima switches positions with him and kicks Nakajima in the chest repeatedly, but Sasaki knocks him down with a lariat.\u00a0 Sasaki picks up Nakajima and hits a snap piledriver, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Sasaki picks up Nakajima again and goes for a suplex, but Nakajima blocks it.\u00a0 Sasaki hits the vertical suplex anyway, cover, but it gets another two.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Waistlock by Sasaki and he drops Nakajima with a release German suplex.\u00a0 Nakajima slowly gets up in the corner, Nakajima kicks Sasaki when he charges in and hits an STO into the turnbuckles.\u00a0 Running boot to the face in the corner by Nakajima and he hits a double armed suplex.\u00a0 Nakajima goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick onto Sasaki.\u00a0 Sasaki goes out to the apron but Nakajima delivers a big boot, knocking Sasaki down to the floor.\u00a0 Nakajima kicks Sasaki in the chest from the apron before going outside the ring himself.\u00a0 Nakajima picks up Sasaki and throws him into the ring post before tossing him into the rail.\u00a0 Nakajima grabs Sasaki and takes him up the aisle, throwing him into the metal barricade.<\/p>\n Nakajima takes Sasaki into the stands, he gets a running start and kicks Sasaki in the chest.\u00a0 Sasaki chops him back and they trade blows, Nakajima charges Sasaki but Sasaki catches him with a powerslam on the floor.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Sasaki picks up Nakajima and throws him into the corner before hitting a pair of lariats.\u00a0 Chops by Sasaki, Irish whip, and Sasaki hits the face crusher.\u00a0 Sasaki picks up Nakajima and hits alternating lariats before delivering the Ipponzeoi.\u00a0 Tornado Bomb by Sasaki, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Sasaki applies the Strangle Hold Gamma, but Nakajima gets a foot on the bottom rope.\u00a0\u00a0 Sasaki charges Nakajima in the corner but Nakajima hits a drop toehold.\u00a0 Back up, Sasaki goes off the ropes but Nakajima hits a trio of kicks.\u00a0 Modified bow and arrow by Nakajima, but Sasaki gets to the ropes.\u00a0 Nakajima picks up Sasaki, waistlock by Nakajima but Sasaki elbows out of it.\u00a0 Backdrop suplex by Nakajima, he goes off the ropes but Sasaki catches him with a powerslam.\u00a0 Nakajima comes back with a high kick, and both wrestlers are on the mat.\u00a0 Nakajima is up first and he kicks Sasaki in the chest, but Sasaki chops him back.\u00a0 Lariat by Sasaki, he goes off the ropes and levels Nakajima with another one.\u00a0 Cover, but it only gets a two count.\u00a0 Sasaki goes off the ropes again but Nakajima kicks him in the arm and hits a German suplex hold for a two count.\u00a0 Back up, Sasaki hits a lariat onto Nakajima and picks him up, but Nakajima hits a brainbuster.\u00a0 Nakajima goes off the ropes and hits the PK, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Nakajima picks up Sasaki and hits another German suplex hold, but it gets another two count.\u00a0 Nakajima picks up Sasaki again and hits another German suplex hold, and this time he picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winner:\u00a0 Katsuhiko Nakajima<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Not the classic that one may be hoping for from Sasaki\u2019s last match, but still an entertaining match overall.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t like the brawling into the crowd \u2013 I am seeing this more and more in 2014 and it is just a time waster.\u00a0 Also since Nakajima has many different moves, the German suplex doesn\u2019t really work as the type of move you try over and over until it works like a strike move does.\u00a0\u00a0 On the plus side, the strikes were stiff, the crowd stayed into it, and besides killing time in the crowd there wasn\u2019t really any down time as the submissions moves used all seemed legit and not like rest holds.\u00a0 So definitely good overall, but not much more than that.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 6.0<\/span><\/p>\n Best Match:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Go Shiozaki vs. Kento Miyahara.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0If only these guys were given more time.\u00a0 They have great chemistry together and don\u2019t mind beating the crap out of each other, what more could you ask for?\u00a0 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.\u00a0 A nice little surprise by the All Japan wrestlers.<\/p>\n MVP:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Katsuhiko Nakajima.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>For the first time, Nakajima got the win over his mentor.\u00a0 This is the way it is supposed to work \u2013 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.\u00a0 But with Sasaki set to retire, it was time for him to pass the torch in his first singles loss since November of 2011.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n Overall:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Only a six match card, but it had two really good matches and one really historical match \u2013 the retirement match of Kensuke Sasaki.\u00a0 In America, a wrestler retiring doesn\u2019t really mean anything at all but in Japan they are a little better about it.\u00a0 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 \u2018one time only\u2019 match (especially for Inoki and Kawada).\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Between the historical significance and the two very entertaining matches that came before it, I think this event is definitely worth watching.<\/p>\n Featuring Kensuke Sasaki’s Retirement Match against Katsuhiko Nakajima, plus Shiozaki vs. Miyahara, Hayato & Kajiwara vs. Marufuji & Ishimori, and lots more action<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":6286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[399,40],"tags":[431,233],"class_list":["post-6269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fsreview","category-reviews","tag-kensuke-sasaki","tag-puroresu"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6269"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6284,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6269\/revisions\/6284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nLocation:\u00a0 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
\nAnnounced Attendance: 2,100 (Super No Vacancy Full House)<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n– Natsuki*Taiyo and Sareee vs. Yumiko Hotta and La Comandante
\n– Go Shiozaki vs. Kento Miyahara
\n– Daichi Hashimoto and Tank Nagai vs. Kitamiya and Hitoshi Kumano
\n– Fujita “Jr.” Hayato and Satoshi Kajiwara vs. Marufuji and Taiji Ishimori
\n– Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kensuke Sasaki<\/strong><\/p>\n“Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa, CHANGO, and Namazu Man vs. Kikutaro, NOSAWA Rongai, and Antonio Honda<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Natsuki*Taiyo and Sareee vs. Hotta and La Comandante (with Shimoda)\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Go Shiozaki vs. Kento Miyahara<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Daichi Hashimoto and Tank Nagai vs. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya and Hitoshi Kumano<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Fujita “Jr.” Hayato and Satoshi Kajiwara vs. Naomichi Marufuji and Taiji Ishimori<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kensuke Sasaki<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Final Thoughts:<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Grade:\u00a0 B+<\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"