By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Super Jr. Tag League 2023”
October 31, 2023 in Toyama, Japan at Toyama Techno Hall West Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is a small convention center room with a high ceiling and attendance is maybe 800. We have Japanese-only commentary again. A reminder that many of the top NJPW stars are not here because they just competed in Las Vegas on Saturday.
This is a 10-team, round-robin tournament, so every squad has nine matches. As this show begins, each team has had six matches, with the unlikely pairing of El Desperado and Master Wato leading at 5-1 (10 points), with three others at 4-2 (8 points.) I fully expect the top two teams will be 6-3 or better, so any squads with four or more losses are pretty much done.
1. Tomoaki Honma, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, and Togi Makabe defeated Oskar Leube, Boltin Oleg, and Yuto Nakashima at 8:02. This is the third straight show with this match. The Young Lions worked over Tenzan early on. Yuto hit a shoulder tackle that dropped Honma. Leube bodyslammed Honma at 5:30. Honma hit a diving headbutt on Yuto for a nearfall, then a second-rope Kokeshi falling headbutt for the pin. Meh.
2. Ren Narita and Shota Umino defeated “United Empire” Great-O-Khan and Callum Newman at 8:22. They all brawled at the bell. Callum grounded Ren in the ring. O-Khan applied a crossarm breaker, but Ren reached the ropes at 3:30. Shota entered and hit a fisherman’s suplex on O-Khan. O-Khan hit a Mafia Kick on Shota. Newman entered and hit a running penalty kick for a nearfall at 6:30. Shota applied an STF. Shota hit a Castagnoli-style pop-up European Uppercut, then an Ospreay-style Hidden Blade to the back of Newman’s head for the pin. I feel like I watched a repeat; I practically could have done a copy-and-paste of yesterday’s synopsis.
3. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and Yoshi-Hashi defeated “House of Torture” EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, and Dick Togo at 10:03. The HoT attacked at the bell and they all brawled on the floor. Yujiro shoved Ishii into the ring post. In the ring, Yano playfully slapped Togo in the back of the head. Togo stomped on a corner pad and Yano dove to protect it; I just don’t get this humor. The HoT worked over Yano. On the floor, EVIL jabbed Yoshi-Hashi in the stomach with a chair. Ishii finally made the hot tag at 4:30 and he cleared the ring. He hit a shoulder tackle that dropped Yujjiro, then a back suplex for a nearfall. Yoshi-Hashi made the hot tag at 7:00 and beat up Togo. EVIL hit a fisherman’s suplex. Y-H applied a Stretch Plum submission hold, and Togo tapped out.
4. Yoh and Musashi (6) defeated The DKC and Ryusuke Taguchi (4) in a tournament match at 11:11. At 2-4, both teams are pretty much eliminated. Yoh and DKC opened. Musashi and Taguchi entered at 1:30, and Musashi tied him up on the mat. They did too much comedy around Taguchi’s butt. DKC made the hot tag and hit a shotgun dropkick at 6:00 on Musashi, then a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall, then some Yes Kicks to the chest. Yoh re-entered and hit a Falcon Arrow on DKC for a nearfall. DKC bent Sho over his knee and hit his knife-edge chops at 8:30.
Taguchi’s pants were pulled down again to show off his green underwear, and Yoh tied Taguchi in a Paradise Lock. DKC hit his mid-ring rolling cannonball on both men and got a nearfall on Yoh at 10:30. Yoh and Musashi hit stereo superkicks on DKC. Musashi hit a frogsplash, and Yoh nailed the Direct Drive double-arm DDT for the pin. Meanwhile, Taguchi was still tied in the Paradise Lock, unable to save his teammate. I thought only Sanada knew the secret of that hold? Acceptable action and the right team won.
5. “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Titan and Bushi (8) defeated “Just 5 Guys” Taka Michinoku and Douki (2) in a tournament match at 12:01. Titan and Douki opened. Taka entered at 2:00 and tied up Bushi. He hit a step-up kneestrike in the corner for a nearfall on Bushi, then he tied up the left wrist and fingers. Titan entered and hit a series of kicks on Douki, then a springboard crossbody block at 4:30, then a springboard huracanrana, then a flip dive to the floor on both J5G. In the ring, he hit a superkick on Douki for a nearfall. Douki hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall at 6:30, and he applied the Douki Chokey triangle choke.
Taka and Bushi tagged in at 8:00, and Bushi hit a top-rope missile dropkick and a DDT. Taka tied him up on the mat and cranked back on his head. Douki dove through the ropes onto Titan. Titan hit a springboard frogsplash on Taka for a nearfall at 10:30. Douki set up for Daybreak, but Titan yanked him off the apron. Titan then hit an Asai moonsault to the floor on Douki. Titan hit his springboard doublestomp onto Taka’s back, and Bushi covered Taka for the pin. At 4-3, LIJ pretty much needs to sweep their final two to reach the playoffs.
6. Kushida and Kevin Knight (8) defeated “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita (6) in a tournament match at 10:50. Both teams are 3-3 so the loser will be all-but-eliminated. Kushida and Kosei opened with standing switches. Eagles and Knight traded deep armdrags and Knight hit a bodyslam at 3:00. Fujita applied a half-crab on Knight. Kushida tagged in and hit a handspring-back-elbow on Eagles and a basement dropkick. Eagles hit a double Sliced Bread; he tagged back in Fujita at 7:00. Kosei hit a flying head-scissors takedown and a springboard dropkick on Knight for a nearfall. Knight hit a backbreaker over his knee on Kosei. Eagles hit a back suplex on Knight. Knight hit a D’Lo Sky High powerbomb on Eagles at 9:30, then a Stinger Splash on Fujita. Knight hit his jump-up Frankensteiner on Kosei, then his leaping DDT for the pin. Good match.
7. “House of Torture” Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (10) defeated “Bullet Club War Dogs” Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors (8) in a tournament match at 13:47. Both teams are 4-2 and the winner has a good chance of reaching the playoffs. These two heel factions have been loosely aligned for a couple of years and they showed a sign of respect before tying up. Clark battled Sho early on. Kanemaru applied a leglock around Connors’ head at 4:00, and they worked over Connors for several minutes. Drilla made the hot tag at 7:00 and he beat up the HoT. Sho tried a low blow, but Connors blocked it. Sho hit a spear on Connors. Kanemaru entered and hit a basement dropkick on Connor’s knee at 9:00.
Connors grabbed a title belt while Kanemaru grabbed his whiskey bottle. Kanemaru sprayed it in the eyes, and a blinded Connors speared the ref! Of course, this brought out EVIL, Yujiro and Togo, who began to stomp on the BCWD. Gedo appeared and he hit Togo. Moloney and Connors speared Yujiro and EVIL. The War Dogs hit their front-and-back spears on Kanemaru. However, as Connors went to the top rope to hit Full Clip, EVIL tripped him. This allowed Kanemaru to get an inside cradle to pin Clark! Considering I feel heel-heel matchups should be avoided whenever possible, this was pretty good.
8. “Catch 2/2” TJP and Francesco Akira (8) defeated Master Wato and El Desperado (10) in a tournament match at 21:42. Desperado and Akira opened with an intense lockup. TJP hit a running penalty kick on Wato. TJP tied up Desperado’s legs, and he applied a bow-and-arrow, then he hit a Facewash running kick in the corner. They brawled to the floor; on the other side of the ring on the floor, Wato and Akira also were fighting. Back in the ring, Desperado tied up TJP. TJP hit a tornado DDT on Desperado at 6:00. Akira made the hot tag and he hit a shotgun dropkick on Desperado and some running back elbows. They traded forearm strikes.
Akira hit a flying huracanrana on Wato, then a second-rope moonsault to the floor on both opponents at 8:00. In the ring, he hit a top-rope crossbody block on Desperado for a nearfall. They got up and traded chops and forearms. Desperado hit a back suplex and both men were down. TJP and Wato each tagged in and they traded forearm strikes. TJP hit a spin kick to the jaw. Wato hit a bulldog at 11:00, then some spin kicks to the chest. Wato tried to hit his double armbar slam but TJP blocked it. TJP hit an inverted DDT, then the Mamba Splash frogsplash for a nearfall at 12:30.
Akira hit a Doomsaday Stunner on Wato for a nearfall, but Wato got a foot on the ropes. TJP and Akira set up for their front-and-back kneestrikes on Wato, but Desperado pushed Wato out of the way, and Desperado took the blunt of the blow at 14:00! Wato hit some kicks on Akira. Akira applied an STF on the mat; Desperado tried to make the save, but TJP caught him and applied an Octopus. Wato applied the Vendeval on Akira. Wato made the hot tag to a clearly groggy Desperado, who was selling a right shoulder injury. Desperado hit a a Blue Thunder Bomb on Akira for a nearfall at 17:00.
Desperado hit a back suplex for a nearfall, but TJP made the save. TJP hit a double shotgun dropkick and everyone was down. Akira and Desperado traded forearm strikes while on their knees, then while standing. Wato hit a springboard flying forearm on Akira. Wato hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. Desperado speared TJP. Akira hit a tornado DDT on Desperado at 21:00. Akira dove through the ropes onto Desperado. Akira hit the Fireball running knees on Wato. TJP and Akira then hit their front-and-back kneeestrikes on Wato for the pin. Excellent.
* Akira got on the mic and told Desperado and Wato to “get the f–k out of my arena!” TJP said that Halloween is his favorite holiday of the year. Someone came into the ring wearing a towel over his head. TJP removed the towel and the person was wearing a Suicide/Manik mask. Funny; the crowd didnt’ respond to it, but of course, TJP was Suicide/Manik for a time in TNA. That mask was removed and it was Callum Newman underneath. Great-O-Khan also got in the ring as they threw out candy into the crowd. GOK spoke in Japanese to the crowd.
Final Thoughts: The main event is likely the best match of the whole tournament so far. These four are so talented and really clicked in the ring. I was hoping C22 would win just to keep them in the running. With both Desperado/Wato and the BCWD losing, we have quite a log jam near the top with two teams at 5-2 but four more at 4-3. The tournament continues Wednesday and Thursday. The top two point-getters will meet in a rematch on Saturday to determine the winner of the tournament.
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