By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Super Jr. Tag League 2023”
October 21, 2023 in Saitama, Japan at Kumagaya Citizen Gymnasium
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is a round-robin tournament with 10 teams, so each squad will have nine matches. The top two will face each other again on Nov. 4 to crown the winner.
This show was held in a small arena, a bit bigger than a gym, and attendance was maybe 2,000. Chris Charlton provided commentary.
1. “United Empire” Henare, Great-O-Khan, and Callum Newman defeated Shota Umino, Ren Narita, and Yuto Nakashima at 9:28. Just like Desperado and Master Wato being an ‘odd couple’ teaming up, Shota and Ren have battled nonstop for a month but now are teaming. Callum and Ren opened. The UE began working over Narita in their corner, as Charlton talked about Henare getting his title match against Eddie Kingston next Saturday. Shota entered at 5:30 and cleared the ring. He hit a fisherman’s suplex on Henare for a nearfall. Yuto tagged in at 8:00 and hit some kicks on O-Khan. O-Khan hit a butterfly suplex, then he applied a modified Anaconda Vice, and Yuto tapped out.
2. “Just 5 Guys” Sanada and Yuya Uemura defeated Boltin Oleg and Oskar Leube at 8:02. Charlton noted this is the first time Sanada and Uemura have tagged. Sanada and the taller Leube started. Uemura entered at 1:30 and traded standing reversals with the massive Oleg. Oleg hit a running splash for a nearfall. Sanada hit some dropkicks at 7:00. Yuya hit a top-rope crossbody block on Oskar then a belly-to-belly overhead suplex with a bridge for the pin. Fairly basic but fine.
* Henare joined Charlton on commentary.
3. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Hiromu Takashi and Tetsuya Naito defeated Taiji Ishimori and Gedo at 8:14. So good to see a healthy Ishimori back in action. Gedo beat up Naito on the floor with the ring bell mallet. In the ring, Ishimori choked Naito with a shirt at 2:30. Naito hit a standing neckbreaker on Ishimori and they were both down. Hiromu made the hot tag at 5:00 and hit a huracanrana on Ishimori. Ishimori hit a handspring-back-spin kick and they were both down. Gedo tagged in, but HIromu hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip. Naito tagged back in and hit a basement dropkick on Gedo’s knee, then he applied a Figure Four, but Ishimori made the save. Naito hit a tornado DDT to pin Gedo.
4. “Catch 2/2” TJP and Francesco Akira (2) defeated “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Kosei Fujita and Robbie Eagles (0) in a tournament match at 11:50. Francesco and Fujita opened and traded quick reversals. Kosei has shaved the sides of his head and looks substantially different in the months since he left for Australia on excursion. Eagles entered and hit a stiff kick to the spine at 3:30. TJP entered and hit a running penalty kick to Fujita’s chest, then his Facewash in the corner. Fujita hit a spin heel kick on Akira at 6:30. Eagles hit a huracanrana on Akira. Fujita hit a huracanrana on TJP, then a flip dive to the floor on both opponents at 8:30. Henare is being a cheerleader on commentary.
In the ring, Fujita hit a springboard dropkick on TJP for a nearfall. TJP applied a mid-ring Octopus, then he rolled Fujita for a nearfall. Fujita hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 10:30. Eagles hit an assisted Sliced Bread on Akira, but Francesco rolled to the floor. Catch 2/2 hit their team X-Factor faceplant, and TJP nailed the Mamba Splash frogspalsh for a believable nearfall. TJP and Akira hit front-and-back running kneestrikes to pin Fujita. Good match.
5. Kushida and Kevin Knight (2) defeated “Just 5 Guys” Douki and Taka Michinoku in a tournament match at 10:15. Kushida and Taka started. Knight entered at 1:30 and hit his leaping splash on Douki for a nearfall. Taka tied up Kushida on the floor and the ref began counting; Taka let go and raced to the ring; Kushida briefly got back in at 4:30 before being counted out. (He slipped and the ref really could have counted him out.) Kushida hit a handspring-back-elbow on Douki. Knight made the hot tag and hit a springboard double dropkick, then a double Pele Kick. Knight hit a top-rope crossbody block on Douki for a nearfall at 7:00.
Knight went for his leaping DDT but Douki blocked it, and Douki hit an enzuigiri. Knight hit his picture-perfect dropkick. Douki applied the ‘Douki Chokey’ triangle choke on Kushida. Taka nailed a running penalty kick for a nearfall and he went back to the crossface on the mat, but Kushida reached the ropes at 9:30. Knight nailed the Sky High powerbomb on Taka, then a springboard crossbody block, then a plancha to the floor on Douki. Meanwhile, Kushida slapped on the Hoverboard Lock, and Taka tapped out.
6. El Desperado and Master Wato (2) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi and The DKC (0) in a tournament match at 10:47. Wato and Taguchi opened, and Charlton noted they have partnered in the past. Taguchi hit a mid-ring buttbump Taguchi and DKC hit a team shoulder tackle on Desperado at 2:30. Desperado shoved DKC’s face into Taguchi’s butt; this just isn’t my style of humor. Desperado hit a bodyslam, then he applied a half-crab on Taguchi at 5:00. Wato tagged in, but it’s clear this ‘oddball team’ isn’t seeing eye-to-eye yet. Taguchi hit a mid-ring buttbump on Wato.
DKC made the hot tag at 7:00 and hit several chops on Desperado and a flying head-scissors takedown and a flipping mid-ring cannonball splash. Desperado hit a back suplex and they were both down. Wato got the hot tag at 8:30 and hit a leg lariat and a springboard diving forearm for a nearfall. DKC bent Wato backward and hit repeated knife-edge chops at 10:00, then a flipping senton for a nearfall. Wato hit a spin kick and a German Suplex with a high bridge for the pin. Good action.
7. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney (2) defeated Yoh and Musashi (0) in a tournament match at 12:23. My first time seeing Michinoku Pro’s Musashi, as Charlton explained how these two know each other. The BCWD attacked at the bell and all four brawled. Yoh and Musashi hit stereo dives to the floor. In the ring, the BCWD worked over Yoh in their corner. Connors hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 5:00. Charlton talked about how Moloney dropped weight to become the biggest junior. Yoh finally hit a standing neckbreaker and made the hot tag to Musashi at 7:00.
Musashi and Moloney traded chops and forearms, and Musashi hit a huracanrana. Yoh and Musashi hit stereo dropkicks, then stereo Falcon Arrows at 9:30. Clark hit a powerslam while Drilla hit a doublestomp to the chest. The BCWD hit the hi-and-low spear. Connors came off the top rope but Yoh caught him with a dropkick. Yoh hit a Final Hour frogsplash (tribute to Lio Rush) for a believable nearfall at 11:00. Musashi did a plancha, but Connors caught him and rammed him back-first into the ring post. In the ring, Yoh hit a hard clothesline on Moloney. Connors hit a spear on Yoh, then they hit Full Clip (Moloney holding Yoh upside down and Connors hitting a second-rope spear to the exposed waist) for the clean pin. Good match. Connors got in Musashi’s face and shouted, “Welcome to New Japan, bitch!”
8. “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Bushi and Titan (2) defeated “House of Torture” Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Sho (0) in a tournament match at 14:03. All four fought at the bell. Bushi hit a standing neckbreaker on Kanemaru. They all brawled to the floor. In the ring, HoT worked oveer Bushi. Kanemaru ripped at Bushi’s mask. Bushi finally hit a huracanrana and tagged in Titan at 6:30. Titan hit a series of kicks and strikes and a springboard dropkick. He dove through the ropes onto both opponents. In the ring, Sho began working over Titan’s left arm. Titan hit a springboard frogsplash for a nearfall at 9:00. Titan and Bushi each applied the Trailer Hitch leglock. The bell rang! But it was Dick Togo ringing the bell, causing LIJ to relase their holds! EVIL and Yoshinobu Kanemaru attacked LIJ from behind as the ref got bumped and saw nothing.
Sho set up for the Shock Arrow piledriver, but Titan powered out at 12:00. The ref got bumped again! Sho yanked the mask off of Titan, who fell to the mat to hide his face. Bushi sprayed mist in the heels’ faces. EVIL and Kanemaru interfered some more. Titan got his mask back on and nailed a flip dive to the floor on HoT. In the ring, Titan hit a tornado DDT on Sho, then a top-rope doublestomp for the pin. Good match, and while I hate the outside interference, it did create the sense that HoT could have stolen the win here.
* Titan said a few words in Spanish. Bushi then vowed they were going to win the tournament.
Final Thoughts: In my preview article, I identified the four upper echelon teams (LIJ, BCWD, Catch 2/2 and Desperado/Wato), who collectively went 4-0, as none of them fought each other on this first night. The middle tier (Kushida/Knight, HoT, Yoh/Musashi) went 1-2. Unsurprisingly, the lower tier (Taguchi/DKC, J5G, TMDK) went 0-3. Point being, we didn’t see the elite teams face each other on night one, so this feels like a soft opening to the tournament, as nights with better, more meaningful action is still to come.
The tournament resumes on Tuesday for the first of three consecutive nights.
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