By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Super Junior Team League – Night 3”
October 27, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton provided commentary. There is always a different energy in Korakuen Hall, and it appears to be a sellout.
* 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 3 of the tournament, and BOTH the A Block and the B Block are in action with six tournament matches.
1. “House of Torture” Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (0) vs. Tiger Mask and Capitan Suicida (0) in an A Block match. The HoT attacked on the floor to open. They hit a team back suplex in the ring on CS and worked him over. Suicida is in white pants with red logos; it is starkly different than the gear he wore the first two days of this tour. Sho tugged on CS’s mask, and they kept Suicida grounded. CS finally hit some neat armdrags on Sho at 5:30. Tiger Mask tagged in and he hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee on Sho. Tiger Mask hit a top-rope butterfly suplex, then the Tiger Driver for a believable nearfall, but Kanemaru made the save. The ref got bumped. Kanemaru hit an inverted DDT on Tiger Mask at 8:00. Suicida got some rollups on Kanemaru, then a DDT, but he missed a top-rope moonsault. Kanemaru sprayed whisky in Suicida’s eyes, hit a brainbuster, and scored the pin.
Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (2) defeated Tiger Mask and Capitan Suicida (0) at 10:08.
2. The DKC and Ninja Mack (0) vs. “Velocities” Jude London and Paris De Silva (0) in a B Block match. Again, the story they’ve told over the first two shows is that DKC and Mack can barely get along. Mack and London opened; London hit a top-rope huracanrana but Mack rotated and landed on his feet and that earned a pop. DKC and De Silva entered at 2:30, and they traded mat holds. Mack and DKC hit some team moves. Paris hit a huracanrana on Mack, and he got a hot tag to London at 5:30. London hit an Exploder Suplex on Mack, then a stunner. He dove through the ropes, caught both Mack and DKC, and hit a double DDT onto the thin mat at ringside.
In the ring, Mack ducked superkick attempts. DKC got back in, but De Silva hit a spin kick to DKC’s head at 8:00. DKC hit a head-scissors takedown, then a German Suplex for a nearfall. DKC and Mack hit stereo roundhouse kicks to De Silva’s chest and back. De Silva hit a top-rope corkscrew dive onto the opponents at 9:30. In the ring, Mack and London traded rollups. Mack hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Mack nailed a top-rope twisting 630 senton to pin London! That is such a cool move. This was sneaky good; don’t sleep on this one.
DKC and Ninja Mack (2) defeated Jude London and Paris De Silva (0) at 11:06.
3. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Hiromu Takahash and Bushi (2) vs. Dragon Dia and Ryusuke Taguchi (0) in an A Block tournament match. Taguchi and Takahashi jawed at each other before the bell; they opened and ran the ropes to the point it began comedy, as Taguchi finally tripped Hiromu. Dia and Taguchi hit some butt bumps on Hiromu. LIJ crotched Taguchi on the top rope for some more of his juvenile comedy and over-selling. Hiromu hit some chops and kept Taguchi in their corner. Dia hit his twisting slingshot senton at 5:00, then a standing moonsault on Hiromu for a nearfall. Hiromu hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee on Dragon Dia. Bushi hit a basement dropkick on Taguchi. Taguchi applied an anklelock on Bushi, then Taguchi hit a faceplant for the pin! A mild upset.
Dragon Dia and Ryusuke Taguchi (2) defeated Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi at 8:34.
4. “Jet Setters” Kushida and Kevin Knight (0) vs. “Bullet Club” Taiji Ishimori and Robbie X (2) in a B Block tournament match. The Jet Setters lost to TJP and Francesco Akira in an excellent match a day ago; they carried their tag titles to the ring. Knight and Robbie opened, and Robbie hit a huracanrana. Robbie hit an Asai Moonsault at 2:00. Ishimori tied up Kushida in an abdominal stretch. Robbie hit a slingshot senton on Kushida, and he choked Kushida while the ref was out of position. Ishimori twisted Kushida’s left arm. Knight got the hot tag at 5:30 and he hit a dropkick to Ishimori’s forehead, then his incredible jump-up Frankensteiner, then a plancha to the floor. Robbe X hit a Pele Kick.
Ishimori hit a Lungblower move to Kushida’s chest for a nearfall at 7:30. Robbie hit a somersault splash. He missed a top-rope corkscrew splash, but he hit a Lethal Injection on Kushida. Knight hit a double Pele Kick. Kushida got a backslide out of nowhere to pin Robbie X. Good match, and a needed victory for the champions.
Kevin Knight and Kushida (2) defeated Robbie X and Taiji Ishimori (2) at 8:57.
5. “Just 5 Guys” Sanada, Douki, and Taka Michinoku vs. Shota Umino, Jado, and Master Wato. This is the second straight day with this match, built around the returning Wato wanting a title shot from Douki, and those two opened and immediately traded forearm strikes. Wato hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Jado and Taka entered and traded shoulder blocks. Douki tied up Jado’s leg. Shota and Sanada tagged in for the first time at 5:30, and Shota hit a dropkick. Sanada hit a fisherman’s suplex. Sanada hit a basement dropkick on the leg, then a plancha to the floor. In the ring, Sanada hit the Magic Screw/swinging neckbreaker out of the ropes at 8:00.
Taka entered and hit a running knee and a superkick on Shota for a nearfall. Shota hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker on Taka, then a tornado DDT on Sanada. Wato nailed a flip dive to the floor on Douki. Shota hit a running neckbreaker on Taka, then the Death Rider double-arm DDT to pin Taka. Fun match. Shota glared at Sanada, who was standing on the floor, and Sanada just turned and walked away.
Shota Umino, Jado, and Master Wato defeated Sanada, Douki, and Taka Michinoku at 9:36.
6. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita (2) vs. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors (2) in an A Block tournament match. Zack Sabre and Ryohei Oiwa joined TMDK to ringside. The BCWD attacked before the bell. Fujita hit a dropkick on Clark, then a moonsault off the apron to the floor. All four brawled at ringside. Connors whipped Eagles into rows of chairs and the shorter bleachers at 3:30. Moloney hit a chairshot to Fujita’s head against the wall! In the ring, Clark hit a snap suplex on Eagles at 6:30, then a leaping elbow drop, as BCWD worked over Eagles. Drilla hit some kicks to the spine. Eagles hit a back suplex on Drilla and they were both down at 9:00.
Kosei got the hot tag and he traded forearms with Connors. Fujita hit a head-scissors takedown, then a flip dive to the floor but he barely caught Connors, so he crashed hard to the floor. OUCH. Kosei no-sold the landing and got in the ring and hit a buzzsaw kick on Connors. Connors hit a powerslam on Kosei and they were both down at 11:00. Eagles and Moloney tagged back in, with Robbie hitting a running elbow to the back of the head. Eagles hit a Meteora running double knees on Drilla in the corner for a nearfall. Drilla nailed a spinebuster at 13:00 and they were both down. Fujita tied up Clark Connors in Jack Perry’s “Snare Trap” submission hold. Eagles applied a Ron Miller Special leglock on Drila, but the heels eventually escaped. Eagles hit a Pele Kick on Drilla. Suddenly all four were down.
Connors hit a spear on Kosei at 16:30. Drilla hit a spear, too! They hit front-and-back spears for a nearfall, but Eagles made the save. Connors went for a double spear, but TMDK blocked it. Connors hit a Pounce on Fujita, and they were both down at 19:00. Eagles hit a springboard dropkick to Drilla’s knee, then he hit a flip dive to the floor on Connors. Fujita hit a German Suplex with a high bridge on Drilla for a believable nearfall. Drilla hit an enzuigiri. Moloney nailed the Drilla Killa swinging piledriver on Fujita, but Robbie made the save. Connors nailed his No Chaser DDT! They then hit the Full Clip (second-rope spear on an upside down Fujita) to cleanly pin Fujita. That was a helluva match.
Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors (4) defeated Kosei Fujita and Robbie Eagles (2) at 21:49.
7. “Catch 2/2” TJP and Francesco Akira (2) vs. Yoh and Rocky Romero (0) in a B Block tournament match. Rocky and Akira opened. Yoh hit a swinging neckbreaker on TJP for a nearfall at 4:00. All four began brawling, and it spilled to the floor. They brawled up onto the landing half-way up the Korakuen Hall seating. Akira leapt off the entrance door and onto his opponents at 6:30. They made their way back to the ring, and C2/2 worked over Yoh.
Rocky got in and hit some open-hand slaps on Akira. He hit his Forever Clotheslines on C2/2 at 11:00 and he was fired up. He hit a tornado DDT on TJP for a nearfall. Rocky hit a huracanrana on TJP. Romero hit a top-rope missile dropkick on TJP, who was draped over the top rope. TJP slammed both opponents to the mat at 13:30 and everyone was down. Akira tagged in and traded forearm strikes with Yoh. Yoh hit a dropkick and a plancha to the floor on Akira. Rocky hit a Doomsday Sliced Bread for a nearfall on Akira at 16:00. Rocky and Yoh set up for a team superplex but TJP broke it up. Akira then hit a Doomsday bulldog to the mat for a nearfall. Yoh accidentally hit a superkick on Rocky! TJP hit a tornado DDT on Yoh.
Yoh and Akira traded forearm strikes. Yoh’s chest was RED from all the chops in this match, and Akira kept laying them in. Yoh fired up and hit his own series of chops. Akira nailed a top-rope Spanish Fly; TJP immediately hit a Mamba Splash on Yoh, and Akira made the cover for a believable nearfall at 20:30. Rocky and Yoh hit a team Flatliner move on Akira for a nearfall, but TJP made the save. Rocky hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread on TJP. Akira hit a doublestomp on Yoh’s chest at 22:30, and he tied up Yoh’s arms, and he hit a German Suplex with a bridge for a believable nearfall. Akira missed his Fireball. C2/2 hit their team X-Factor face plant on Yoh! However, Akira accidentally hit TJP! Yoh hit a Poison Rana on Akira, then a short-arm clothesline. Yoh and Rocky hit a team doublestomp-and-piledriver move on Akira for the pin. Tremendous.
Yoh and Rocky Romero (2) defeated Francesco Akira and TJP (2) at 24:35.
Final Thoughts: You’ve certainly read this before, but there is just something different about being in Korakuen Hall, especially when it’s at full capacity and the crowd is hot and into the action. This was a top-notch show. I’ll go with BCWD vs. TMDK for best match, but I wouldn’t argue with anyone who liked the main event more. Two truly top-notch matches. Akira and Yoh both have raw chests from the chops. DKC/Mack vs. Velocities was really good and deserves attention as third-best here.
This tournament is relentless and a grind, with everyone back in action here in Korakuen Hall on Monday with six more tournament matches, headlined by Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita vs. Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi.
Be the first to comment