NJPW Road to Power Struggle results: Night two of Jr. Tag League
NJPW returned to Korakuen Hall this morning for the second day of the Super Junior Tag League tournament. Here are the full results, complete with prelim matches.
KARL FREDERICKS & TOMOAKI HONMA DEFEATED YOTA TSUJI & JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER
Fredericks submitted Tsuji with a half crab.
TETSUYA NAITO, SANADA, EVIL & SHINGO TAKAGI DEFEATED MINORU SUZUKI, ZACK SABRE JR., TAICHI & DOUKI
Naito pinned DOUKI after a Pumping Bomber. Sabre teased defending the RPW British Heavyweight Championship on both nights at the Tokyo Dome.
JAY WHITE, KENTA & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI DEFEATED HIROOKI GOTO, TOMOHIRO ISHII & TOA HENARE
Yujiro pinned Henare after hitting Pimp Juice.
SUPER JR. TAG LEAGUE MATCH: RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & ROCKY ROMERO DEFEATED TIGER MASK & YUYA UEMURA
Romero and Uemura began with some chain wrestling. Romero tried to hit forever clotheslines in the corner, but Uemura blocked them, then hit a tackle. Both tagged out.
Tiger and Taguchi did some rope-running comedy spots. Tiger hit a deep arm drag, and Tiger and Uemura worked on Taguchi in their corner. Uemura missed a dropkick, allowing Romero and Taguchi to take over.
Taguchi and Romero used a series of quick tags in working over Uemura. Romero hit a low dropkick. Taguchi hit some hip attacks. Uemura missed another dropkick. Tiger finally got a tag. Taguchi missed a hip attack.
Romero and Taguchi had some dissension, as both kicked the other. This was played for comedy more than teasing a break up. Tiger got a kneebar on Romero, but Taguchi broke it up. Tiger hit a Tiger superplex, allowing Uemura to use a full crab on Taguchi, but Taguchi reached the ropes.
Uemura got the hold re-applied. Tiger grabbed Rocky in a Fujiwara armbar to prevent the save, but Taguchi again reached the ropes.
Uemura hit a German into a bridge for a near fall on Taguchi, but Romero made the save. Romero and Taguchi hit stereo hip attacks on Uemura. Romero hit a hip attack to Tiger, then nailed him with a suicide dive.
Taguchi got an ankle lock on Uemura, but Uemura rolled through to a cradle for a two count. Taguchi hit a Bomaye, but Uemura kicked out at two. Taguchi then hit Dodon and pinned Uemura.
This turned into a heck of a little match by the end.
SUPER JR. TAG LEAGUE MATCH: VOLADOR JR. & TITAN DEFEATED TJP & CLARK CONNORS
This was another good match.
Connors caused a ruckus by refusing Titan and Volador’s handshakes before the match. Volador and TJP began with some mat work. TJP used a bow and arrow. They had a nice sequence trading headscissors and dropkick attempts.
Titan and Connors tagged in. Connors used a headscissors on the mat. Titan escaped with a handstand. Connors fired back with a dropkick. Titan fought off a double team effort, and Connors accidentally clotheslined TJP.
Volador and Titan hit some tandem offense. Titan hit a fantastic springboard splash on TJP, and Volador covered for a two count. Titan and Volador focused on TJP’s left arm. Titan used a variation of a magistral cradle for a two count.
TJP managed a tag, then Connors took over on Titan with a shoulder tackle and stomps. TJP tagged back in and hit a slingshot senton for a two count. TJP used a sharpshooter, then a deathlock, but Titan forced a break.
Titan made a comeback with a springboard crossbody, then tagged Volador, who hit a backstabber for a near fall on TJP. Titan got an immediate tag back in, then hit a springboard leg drop off the middle rope. Connors broke up the pinfall.
TJP hit a superplex on Titan, then hit a kick for a near fall, as Volador made the save. TJP and Connors hit a tandem move, and Connors hit a spear on Titan for a two count. Connors used a full crab on Titan, but Volador saved.
Volador hit TJP with a tope con giro. Connors used an inside cradle for a two count on Titan. Titan hit a dropkick in the corner and flew through the ropes to the outside. He then hit a swinging dropkick in the corner, then used a springboard double stomp for the pin.
SUPER JR. TAG LEAGUE MATCH: EL DESPERADO & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU DEFEATED EL PHANTASMO & TAIJI ISHIMORI
This was two heel teams having a cartoon heel brawl. Lots of eye rakes, back rakes, and plenty of other underhanded tactics. If you’re into that, this was fine. After a long day of watching wrestling, this didn’t do much for me.
Suzuki-gun used an attack before the bell. ELP and Ishimori managed to withstand the attack, then worked over Kanemaru with some comedy spots. ELP used a back rake. Desperado tagged in and returned the back rake favor to ELP.
ELP and Ishimori worked over Desperado’s crotch with stomps in the corner. Kanemaru tripped Ishimori from the floor, and Suzuki-gun turned this into a crowd brawl. Desperado used a chair and an umbrella to attack ELP.
Back inside, Desperado and Kanemaru worked over Ishimori with a series of suplexes and quick tags. Ishimori hit a backflip kick, then managed to tag ELP. ELP hit a springboard crossbody to Desperado, a quebrada, then hit a suicide dive to Kanemaru for good measure.
ELP teased his airplane spin neckbreaker, but Desperado slipped out, then hit a spinebuster for a two count. Desperado got Numero Dos applied, but Ishimori made the save.
The match broke down — and all four jumped in. ELP missed a plancha to Kanemaru. Ishimori hit Desperado with a handspring kick for a two count. Ishimori hit a lung blower for a two count, as Kanemaru pulled the referee out of the ring.
With the ref down, ELP, Kanemaru, and Ishimori got hit with low blows. Ishimori went for a low blow on Desperado, but Desperado blocked the shot with a title belt. Kanemaru then spit whiskey in Ishimori’s eyes, and Desperado hit Pinche Loco on Ishimori. The ref was revived, and Desperado pinned Ishimori.
SUPER JR. TAG LEAGUE MATCH: SHO & YOH DEFEATED ROBBIE EAGLES & WILL OSPREAY
SHO and Eagles began by locking up. They traded left arm wringers. SHO used a hammerlock, then a side headlock takeover. Eagles escaped, then worked his own side headlock. They exchanged shoulder tackles, then tagged out.
Ospreay and YOH tied up. Ospreay and YOH both broke cleanly against the ropes. YOH hit a series of arm drags. Eagles jumped in and also got an arm drag. YOH then hit Ospreay with a dropkick.
YOH used a series of strikes on Ospreay. Eagles got a tag, and Ospreay and Eagles used tandem strikes to take over on YOH. Eagles and YOH stayed inside, while Ospreay and SHO fought into the audience.
Eagles hit a running kick for a near fall. Ospreay left SHO laying in the crowd, then returned to the ring to double up on YOH. Ospreay hit quick kicks, then a dropkick for a near fall. Eagles tagged in and used a knee drop for a two count.
YOH came back with a dragon screw on Eagles. Ospreay tagged himself in, and YOH hit both with a double hurricanrana.
SHO got a tag. He nailed Eagles with a delayed dropkick, sending him to the floor. SHO then hit a series of kicks on Ospreay for a two count. SHO tried for a wheelbarrow suplex on Ospreay. Ospreay blocked it, then hit a handspring kick, into a double down.
Ospreay and SHO exchanged strikes. Ospreay hit Kawada kicks. SHO fired up, no-sold a series of slaps, then dropped Ospreay with a forearm strike. SHO hit a series of forearms. Ospreay came back with uppercut strikes, but SHO cut him off with a lariat. Both tagged out.
YOH hit a back elbow and a dropkick to the left leg. SHO used a figure four, which Eagles sold as if he was covered in sulfuric acid. Eagles forced a rope break.
Eagles blocked a springboard attack from YOH, then fought off a counter attack by SHO. Both Roppongi 3K members rolled outside, and Eagles nailed them with a suicide flip dive.
Back inside, Eagles hit a couple of dropkicks to YOH, then locked on the Miller Special. SHO jumped in, and promptly ate stereo kicks from Eagles and Ospreay. Ospreay and Eagles hit a top rope ace crusher for a two count.
Ospreay and Eagles tried for their tandem finisher, the Red Wing. SHO broke it up. SHO and YOH hit Eagles with a tandem falcon arrow, but Ospreay saved. SHO and YOH hit Ospreay with stereo knees.
YOH hit a one-legged dropkick on Eagles. Roppongi called for a 3K, but Eagles hit YOH with a DDT, then a dropkick to SHO. Eagles hit Turbo Backpack on YOH for a two count. YOH didn’t get all the way over for the move and almost got spiked on his head.
Eagles went for a 450, but YOH got the knees up. Eagles avoided the knees and went for the Miller Special, but YOH used a cradle for a near fall. Eagles tried for Turbo Backpack again. YOH blocked.
YOH and Eagles traded a series of cradles for near falls. YOH then used a Japanese Clutch to pin Eagles.
This was a very good match, but Ospreay didn’t do many of his trademark spots. Apparently he was suffering from food poisoning and not feeling well. As a result, there was not nearly as much flying as you would expect.
SHO and YOH closed the show with a promo.
CURRENT SUPER JR. TAG LEAGUE STANDINGS —
- Volador Jr. & Titan: 4
- Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero: 4
- El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru: 4
- El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori: 2
- SHO & YOH: 2
- Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles: 0
- TJP & Clark Connors: 0
- Tiger Mask & Yuya Uemura: 0