By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Super Junior Team League – Night 1”
October 24, 2024 in Gunma, Japan at G Messe Gunma
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is a gym all seating on the floor. The crowd is only about 600-700. Walker Stewart provided commentary.
* This year’s SJTL is a 12-team tournament. There are two Blocks with six teams in each Block. It is a round-robin tournament, so each team has five matches. The winners of each Block will advance to the finals. This is Night 1 of the tournament, and the A Block is in action with three tournament matches. NOTE: I glanced at the Best of Super Juniors final standings from May, and 15 of the 20 competitors from BoSJ are in Super Junior Tag League. Not in the tournament are Douki, Hayata, El Desperado, Blake Christian and Titan.
1. Daiki Nagai vs. Masatora Yasuda. The sides of Nagai’s head are shaved; he looks like a young Sanada. Both are fairly new Young Lion students. Basic mat reversals to open. They got to their feet at 8:00 and traded forearm strikes. Yasuda applied a Boston Crab at 9:30, but Nagai held on for a time-limit draw.
Daiki Nagai vs. Masatora Yasuda ended in a time-limit draw at 10:00.
2. Yoh and Katsuya Murashima vs. “The Velocities” Jude London and Paris De Silva. The Velocities are an Australian team; I’ve seen them on shows from there, but they’ve also done a tour in the U.S. before as well. Jude wears a bandana on his head. Really good to see Yoh back in action after a shoulder and elbow injury; Yoh will team with Rocky Romero in the tournament. Yoh and Jude opened. Murashima entered at 3:00 to face De Silva, who has short, black hair and a cross tattoo on the left side of his chest. The Velocities worked over Katsuya’s left arm. Yoh got the hot tag at 6:30 and hit a flying forearm on London. Yoh hit a standing neckbreaker. Katsuya applied a Boston Crab on De Silva at 8:30, but Paris reached the ropes. London hit a Blockbuster on Yoh. De Silva hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press to pin Murashima. Good debut here for the Velocities.
Jude London and Paris De Silva defeated Yoh and Katsuya Murashima at 10:19.
3. Shoma Kato and The DKC and Ninja Mack vs. “Bullet Club” Gedo and Taiji Ishimori and Robbie X. Robbie joined the Bullet Club last weekend at the NJPW show in the UK, and I compare him to Alan Angels or indy vet “M-Dogg 20” Matt Cross. All six brawled at the bell. Kato put Ishimori in a Boston Crab at 1:00, but Taiji reached the ropes. Robbie hit a standing moonsault on Kato and the heels worked over Shoma. Ninja Mack got in and he traded fast-paced reversals with Robbie X. Kato got back in and hit some dropkicks. Robbie hit a Pele Kick at 6:30. Ishimori and Robbie hit a Magic Killer. Robbie hit a top-rope Phoenix Splash to pin Kato. This Bullet Club team should do very well in the tournament. It appears DKC and Ninja Mack are not getting along as they shoved each other after the loss!
Gedo and Taiji Ishimori and Robbie X defeated Shoma Kato and The DKC and Ninja Mack at 6:51.
4. Tomoaki Honma and “Jet Setters” Kushida and Kevin Knight vs. Jakob Austin Young and “Catch 2/2” TJP and Francesco Akira. Always good to see TJP back in NJPW. The Jet Setters competed on the Maple Leaf Pro shows last weekend in Canada. Knight and Akira opened and traded deep armdrags; these two certainly know each other well. Honma entered at 3:30 and hit some chops on Akira, but he missed his Kokeshi falling headbutt. Akira hit an enzuigii and they were both down. TJP and Knight tagged in, and TJP snapped Kevin’s left arm behind his back at 5:00.
Knight hit his impressive jump-up Frankensteiner on TJP. The United Empire trio hit team dropkicks on Knight at 7:00. Knight hit his dropkick to Akira’s chin. Jakob entered and hit a missile dropkick on Knight, then a back suplex. He went for his Sliced Bread, but Knight broke free. Knight hit a springboard clothesline on Young for a nearfall, but TJP made the save. Kushida and Knight hit stereo baseball slide dropkicks. Honma finally hit the Kokeshi on Young. Knight hit the top-rope frogsplash on Young for the pin. Good match.
Tomoaki Honma and Kushida and Kevin Knight defeated Jakob Austin Young and TJP and Francesco Akira at 9:54.
5. Shota Umino and Jado and Master Wato vs. “Just 5 Guys” Sanada and Douki and Taka Michinoku. Shota and Sanada opened with quick reversals and neither could land a signature blow. Jado and Taka entered at 1:30. J5G began working over Jado. Wato tagged in at 5:00 for his first action in about nine months (post-ACL injury!), and he traded offense with Douki. Taka tied up Wato on the mat and cranked back on his head. Shota hit a tornado DDT on Sanada. Taka hit a superkick on Wato. Wato tied Taka in the Vendeval (head and neck submission hold), and Taka tapped out. Wato looked good here in his return; he jawed at Douki some more after the bell.
Shota Umino and Jado and Master Wato defeated Sanada and Douki and Taka Michinoku at 7:56.
6. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tiger Mask and Capitan Suicida in an A Block tournament match. My first time seeing Suicida, who wore yellow-and-purple (Lakers) colors, and he opened with Hiromu, and he hit a huracanrana, so Hiromu hit one as well. Bushi and Tiger Mask entered. Suicida hit an enzuigiri on Bushi at 3:00. He hit a top-rope crossbody block on Bushi, then a stunner, then a second-rope trust-fall (Coffin Drop!) to the floor on LIJ at 6:30. In the ring, Suicida hit a Sabin-style Cradle Shock, but he missed a Swanton Bomb.
Bushi hit a head-scissors takedown and they were both down. Hiromu and TM tagged in at 8:30, with Hiromu hitting a basement dropkick for a nearfall. Tiger Mask applied a Fujiwara Armbar, but Hiromu immediately reached the ropes. Tiger Mask went for a Rings of Saturn-type double armbar. TM hit the Tiger Driver on Hiromu for a nearfall. LIJ hit stereo basement dropkicks on Tiger Mask. Hiromu hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Tiger Mask and he applied his standing Figure Four; he turned it into a Texas Cloverleaf, and Tiger Mask tapped out. Good way to start the tournament.
Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi (2) defeated Tiger Mask and Capitan Suicida (0) at 11:21.
7. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors vs. “House of Torture” Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru in an A Block tournament match. These two heel factions have always been loosely aligned. BCWD attacked, and all four brawled to the floor. In the ring, the BCWD beat up Kanemaru in their corner. Sho and Connors brawled along the wall, far from ringside. Back in the ring, HoT kept Connors grounded. Connors nailed his Pounce on Kanemaru at 7:00. Drilla got a hot tag and he beat up Sho, and he hit a dropkick on Sho for a nearfall. Connors hit a powerslam on Sho at 8:30. Kanemaru hit a tornado DT on Drilla, and Sho hit a piledriver on Moloney for a nearfall.
Sho applied a modified Triangle Choke on Drilla, but Drilla reached the ropes. Sho set up for the Shock Arrow piledriver, but Drilla fought free. Moments later, Sho nailed the Shock Arrow, but Connors made the save! Sho grabbed his wrench! Kanemaru accidentally sprayed whiskey in Sho’s eyes! BCWD hit stereo spears! They hit front-and-back blows on Sho, then the Full Clip (second-rope spear on an upside-down Sho) for the pin. Good action; is this Bullet Club team a babyface duo?
Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors (2) defeated Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (0) at 11:41.
8. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita vs. Dragon Dia and Ryusuke Taguchi in an A Block tournament match. A bit surprising this is the main event. Dia impressed in the Best of Super Juniors tournament earlier this year, but he’s undersized and didn’t win many matches along the way (he finished 1-8). Dia and Fujita opened. Eagles and Taguchi entered, with Taguchi taking a long time playing to the crowd before they locked up at 3:00. Some juvenile comedy offense from Taguchi early on. TMDK worked over the smaller Dragon Dia. Eagles applied a Ron Miller Special Leglock at 8:00, but Dia reached the ropes. Eagles and Taguchi traded enzuigiris, and Taguchi applied an ankle lock at 10:30.
Dia and Taguchi hit stereo planchas to the floor. Dia hit a corkscrew slingshot splash into the ring for a nearfall. Eagles hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread at 12:30 on Dia. Fujita hit a moonsault from the apron to the floor on Taguchi, then a springboard missile dropkick on Dia for a believable nearfall. Dia hit a 619 and a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Taguchi and Dia hit double buttbumps for a nearfall at 15:00, but Eagles made the save. Kosei hit a German Suplex with a high bridge for a nearfall on Dia. He hit his pop-up stunner to pin Dragon Dia. Good action.
Kosei Fujita and Robbie Eagles (2) defeated Dragon Dia and Ryusuke Taguchi (0) at 15:39.
Final Thoughts: An enjoyable show to open the tournament, and I’m upbeat about what is to come. Yoh and Master Wato are both back from lengthy injuries (and El Desperado is due back next month!). Ninja Mack is one of my favorites to watch. The Velocities, Robbie X, and Capitan Suicida bring some new blood to the field. I expect Kushida/Knight, TJP/Akira and Drilla/Connors to be the top-tier teams, but the sky is the limit for Ishimori/Robbie X, too.
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