By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Super Jr. Tag League 2023”
November 1, 2023 in Ishikawa, Japan at Komatsu City Suehiro Gymnasium
Streamed live on New Japan World
The venue is a small arena but nearly everyone was seated on the floor. The rows of bleachers in the upper deck are almost empty. Attendance is maybe 1,000. Once again, there was Japanese-only commentary.
This is show number eight of nine, as we are quickly reaching the finale. This is a 10-team, round-robin tournament. The top two finishers will meet in a rematch on Saturday for the crown. As the show begins, we have two teams leading at 5-2 (10 points) and another four at 4-3 (8 points). Realistically, any teams at 3-4 or worse are eliminated.
1. “United Empire” Henare and Great-O-Khan and Callum Newman defeated Shota Umino and Ren Narita and Tomoaki Honma at 9:06. Henare has just returned from the Las Vegas show that took place Saturday. Newman and Narita opened with Ren immediately hitting a Northern Lights suplex for a nearfall. Henare attacked Shota on the floor. Newman applied a Dragon Sleeper. O-Khan tagged in at 2:30 and hit his Mongolian Chops, as the UE worked over Narita. Henare hit a senton for a nearfall. Shota entered at 4:30 and hit a flying forearm on Henare, then a nice dropkick on Newman.
Honma entered for the first time at 6:30 and he knocked O-Khan down with a shoulder tackle, then he hit a Kokeshi falling headbutt.Honma hit another leaping headbutt on O-Khan for a nearfall. O-Khan hit a butterfly suplex and he applied his modified Anaconda Vice on the mat, and Honma tapped out. Solid and what you’d expect here.
2. “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Yota Tsuji and Hiromu Takahashi defeated “Bullet Club” Taiji Ishimori and Gedo at 9:31. Again, Ishimori is No. 1 contender for Takahashi’s junior title, and those two charged at each other at the bell. Tsuji picked up Hiromu and tossed him onto Ishimori, but Taiji got his knees up to block it at 2:00. Gedo got the ring bell and clubbed Hiromu over the head with it as they brawled on the floor. Back in the ring, the BC kept Hiromu in their corner. Yota finally made the hot tag at 6:30 and he nailed a Mafia Kick on Gedo. He set up for a spear but Gedo rolled to the floor and attempted to head to the back. Hiromu grabbed Gedo by his beard and tossed him back into the ring. Ishimori hit a flying double knees on Yota in the corner. HIromu hit a shotgun dropkick on Ishimori. Yota hit a superkick on Gedo, then a Rollins-style Stomp to the head for the pin. Solid.
3. Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi and Toru Yano defeated “House of Torture” EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi and Dick Togo at 10:07. The HoT attacked and all six brawled. Ishii and Yujiro fought in the ring. This is the third or fourth straight show with this match. The HoT worked over Ishii and this was all quite basic. Yujiro hit a headbutt to the groin at 4:30. Ishii finally hit a suplex on EVIL and made the hot tag to Yoshi-Hashi. Y-H hit a dropkick on EVIL, who was draped over the top rope, for a nearfall at 6:30. EVIL applied a Sharpshooter, but Yoshi-Hashi reached the ropes. Yano entered. Togo stomped on a ring pad, which Yano dove to protect. Dumb. The HoT took turns working over Yano. Yano grabbed Togo’s metal wire. The ref confiscated the wire, but Yano got a low blow and rollup to pin Togo.
4. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney (10) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi and The DKC (4) in a tournament match at 10:48. I said before the tournament began that it doesn’t make sense for the champion BCWD to win the tournament, so I’m not surprised they have slipped to 4-3. They brawled on the floor before getting in the ring. Taguchi and Connors opened. DKC hit a stiff kick on Moloney’s back for a nearfall. Connors hit a clothesline on Taguchi and the BCWD took control of the offense. Moloney hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 4:30. Taguchi hit a buttbump on Connors and tagged in DKC. DKC hit a Northern Lights Suplex on Drilla for a nearfall, then his knife-edge chops to the chest.
DKC and Taguchi hit their front-and-back punches to Drilla’s torso. DKC hit a crucifix driver takedown on Connors and applied a head submission hold on the mat at 9:30. Taguchi hit a spear on Connors. Connors and Drilla hit their front-and-back spear, then the Full Clip (DKC held upside down as Connors hits a second-rope spear) to pin DKC. Solid. BCWD remain in the hunt with the win.
5. “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Titan and Bushi (w/Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito) (10) defeated “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita (6) in a tournament match at 12:29. Even in Japanese, I can tell the commentators reacted positively to Naito and Shingo following behind Titan and Bushi as they walked to the ring. Titan and Kosei opened with fast reversals and Kosei hit a flying head-scissors. (Charlton made a point of saying this earlier in the tournament — we hadn’t really seen Fujita as a high-flyer while in his basic Young Lion matches.) LIJ began working over Fuita’s left elbow. Bushi hit a stiff kick to Fujita’s spine at 5:00.
Eagles entered and hit a head-scissors takedown on Bushi. Eagles hit a flip dive through the ropes onto both LIJ at 6:30. In the ring, Eagels hit a running double knees to Bushi’s face for a nearfall. Titan hit a springboard crossbody block at 8:00, then a tornado DDT on Eagles for a nearfall. Eagles applied the Ron Miller Special leglock on Titan. Fujita hit a shotgun dropkick on Titan at 10:00. Titan hit a missile dropkick on Fujita for a nearfall. Fujita dropkicked Bushi. Titan nailed a dive through the ropes onto Eagles. In the ring, Bushi hit an enzuigiri and his lungblower. Titan hit a springboard doublestomp on Fujita’s back for the pin. Good match.
6. Kevin Knight and Kushida (10) defeated Yoh and Musashi (6) in a tournament match at 10:08. Knight and Musashi opened with Musashi hitting a deep armdrag. Kushida tied Musashi in an abdominal stretch, and to my surprise, he grabbed Knight’s arm for leverage! (A very heelish move!) Of course, the ref saw it and stopped it. They brawled to the floor, where Kushida accidentally chopped the ring post. Yoh made the hot tag to enter for the first time at 5:30. He hit a plancha on Knight, then one on Kushida. Yoh hit his Vader Bomb-style elbowdrop on Kushida. Kushida fired back with a handspring-back-double elbow. Knight hit a springboard double clothesline, then a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee on Musashi.
Musashi hit a basement dropkick on Knight’s knee. Yoh and Musashi hit stereo Falcon Arrows for a nearfall at 8:00. Knight leapt to avoid basement dropkicks, and he hit a double Pele Kick. Nice. Musashi hit a German Suplex for a believable nearfall on Knight. Musashi missed a frogsplash. Knight nailed his jump-up Frankensteiner out of the corner on Musashi, then a springboard crossbody block on Yoh as Yoh tried to interfere. Knight nailed his leaping DDT to pin Musashi. That was sneaky good.
7. El Desperado and Master Wato (12) defeated “Just 5 Guys” Douki and Taka Michinoku (2) in a tournament match at 13:22. I have a suspicion that J5G win here, just to make the final day of the tournament more interesting. Desperado and Douki opened with an intense lockup. Douki applied the Douki Chokey triangle choke on Wato, who quickly reached the ropes at 2:00. Taka entered and tied a leglock around Wato’s head. Desperado got the hot tag and he beat up Douki. Douki applied the Douki Chokey at 5:30 but Desperado quickly escaped and applied a Stretch Muffler submission hold. Douki hit a Widow’s Peak neckbreaker on Desperado and got a nearfall.
Desperado hit a spinebuster on Douki and they were both down. Wato and Taka tagged in, with Wato hitting a head-scissors takedown, then a springboard back elbow for a nearfall at 8:00. Taka tied up Wato and cranked back on his head. Taka nailed a running knee to the collarbone, then the Michinoku Driver for a believable nearfall, but Desperado made the save. Douki set up for Daybreak, but Desperado yanked him off the ring apron, and suddenly everyone was down at 11:00. Desperado hit a back suplex on Douki.
Douki hit a decapitating clothesline, then he nailed the Daybreak slingshot DDT, but Desperado wisely rolled to the floor. Douki leapt through the ropes onto him. In the ring, Taka tied up Wato on the mat and cranked on the head again. However, Wato escaped and applied the Vendeval submission hold around the neck (Trinity’s “Starstruck), and Taka tapped out. The right team won, but that was perhaps the best outing of Taka and Douki. I don’t mind being wrong; at 6-2 they are all but guaranteed a slot in the finals.
8. “Catch 2/2” TJP and Francesco Akira (10) defeated “House of Torture” Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (10) in a tournament match at 19:07. The HoT attacked before the bell. They brawled away from ringside, with Sho whipping Akira into the wall and jabbing a folded chair into Akira’s throat. Back in the ring, Kanemaru hit a DDT on TJP for a nearfall at 5:00, then he applied a leglock around TJP’s head. Kanemaru hit a back suplex. Sho ripped the medical tape off of TJP’s neck; he’s been selling a neck injury the whole tournament. TJP finally made the hot tag at 7:30. Akira hit a flying headscissors takedown on Kanemaru, then a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall.
Kanemaru hit a basement dropkick on Akira’s knee and he immediately applied a Figure Four Leglock at 9:30. Akira hit a doublestomp to the chest. TJP hit a top-rope double crossbody block. Kanemaru hit an inverted DDT on Akira. Sho nailed a Lungblower move on TJP for a nearfall at 13:00. Sho naled the Shock Arrow cross-arm piledriver for a nearfall, but Akira made the save! C22 hit their team X-Factor Faceplant on Sho, then they nailed the front-and-back kneestrikes for a nearfall, but Kanemaru made the save. C22 hit stereo superkicks. Sho nailed a low blow uppercut on TJP with the ref out of position at 15:30.
Sho again set up for the Shock Arrow piledriver, but TJP escaped and tied him in an Octopus. The ref got bumped which of course immediately brought out EVIL, Yujiro and Togo, who all stomped on C22. Yujiro accidentally kicked EVIL. Akira hit a dropkick. The rest of the United Empire ran to ringside and they dragged the HoT to the back! TJP missed a Mamba Splash frogsplash. Sho got his wrench but TJP took it. Kanemaru accidentally sprayed alcohol in Sho’s eyes. TJP rolled up Sho for the pin. Good match.
* The House of Torture kept beating up on Catch 2/2 after the match. Sho spoke on the mic and was loudly booed. Backstage, Akira spoke to the camera, saying he wants revenge on the House of Torture. TJP said the HoT’s tricks don’t work on them. TJP said they are one step closer to their goal.
Final Thoughts: I’m not going to over-analyze the tiebreakers today. The key here is Desperado and Master Wato stand alone at the top of the field at 6-2 (12 points) while four other teams are at 5-3 (10 points.) So, with tiebreakers, I guess it is possible that no one has locked in a playoff spot as we head to the final day of tournament play on Thursday. A reminder that the top two teams will meet on Saturday to crowd the winners of the whole tournament.
The main event was really strong and earns best match. Taka’s match was good for second, ahead of Knight/Kushida for third.
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