SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
At the risk of stating the obvious, I really love professional wrestling sometimes. Even when that love is at a nadir I can still find something to enjoy. New Japan is the most enjoyable part of wrestling for me at the moment, which hasn’t been true for a while. That said, the pace of the early stages of their tournament seasons can really get ahead of you if you’re not careful.
I was not careful. So I am now playing catchup on the first four nights of Super Junior Tag League. Here are all the results, along with my thoughts on what you should make sure you see and what you can skip.
October 24, Night One – Saitama
B Block – HOUSE OF TORTURE (Dick Togo & Sho) vs. UNITED EMPIRE (Jakob Austin Young & Francesco Akira)
Somewhat surprising to start your whole tournament with a match between two heel teams, especially in Japan where not many people can stay definitively heel for long. The choice was even more confounding if, like me, you expected both of these teams to lose an awful lot. Togo and Young are both designated fall-takers for their units, and coming into this match I would have put Young slightly ahead of Togo. At one point in this match Akira hit a nasty double stomp that seemed to have landed in Sho’s groinal region. The important part of the match though was Akira calling for a tag and Young waving him off. That lead to an extended beatdown on Young. The obligatory ref bump and HoT Shenanigans backfired, but Akira reacted in a very Ospreay-like way when Young tried to use Togo’s garotte. Akira got the hot tag, hit his Fireball knees on Togo, and went for the cover only to find out that Young had tagged himself in. United Empire still picked up the win but Akira walked off alone, clearly displeased. Pretty standard stuff, but the story developments are worth a look.
A Block – KUSHIDA & NICK WAYNE vs. DOUKI & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU
Another HoT match, this time against a truly bizarre pairing of Kushida and Nick Wayne who are calling themselves Time Splitters version 2. Wayne has done well in his two Best of the Super Junior appearances but has yet to make the playoffs. Kushida only seems to show up for the two junior heavyweight tournaments each year, but is probably still above Kanemaru in the pecking order. A minor annoyance here was that we got plucky underdog face Nick Wayne (complete with strawberry Campino tights) and not cocky heel Nick Wayne. If the AEW integration in New Japan is going to be stepped up I hope there are fewer of these dissonant moments. As a team Kushida and Wayne hit some of the old Time Splitter tandem spots before some whiskey in the eyes allowed Douki to roll up Wayne for the win. There will almost certainly be better chances to see the teamwork of Wayne and Kushida, so this is an easy skip.
B Block – TITAN & DAIKI NAGAI vs. TMDK (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita)
Nagai has found himself a more distinct look it seems, and it matched up very well with that of his partner Titan here. The TMDK unit of Fujita and Eagles would have to be considered one of the favourites to at least move forward from the block, if not to win the whole thing. The match was as good as you would expect given that three of the four men are near the top of the card. The finishing sequence alone is worth watching, even with Nagai (seemingly unintentionally) sandbagging a tandem move. TMDK picked up the win, pinning Nagai after Eagles hit Hyperion. You won’t regret watching this, but it’s not unmissable either.
A Block – TAIJI ISHIMORI & ROBBIE X vs. RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & KAZUMA SUMI
Ishimori and X are former tag champs. Taguchi is too, but Sumi is new to New Japan and to me. He moves like silk in the ring and he’s quick to boot. Taguchi tends to find another gear for a few matches in tournaments, and this definitely qualifies. Sumi had one terrifying spot on a somersault dive to the floor that could easily have cracked his leg in half, but he popped right up and seemed none the worse for wear. All four men brought it in this match. The pace changed multiple times, we had mat wrestling and comedy spots and striking and big impact moves. X hit the X Express to pin Sumi a little too early for my liking, but this is my first must-see match of the tournament. If this is not the best Taguchi we will get in the tournament I will be very happy, and I look forward to seeing more of Sumi. The sheer pace that he and X were able to show was beyond impressive.
B Block – YOH & HYO vs. THE SWIRL (Blake Christian & Lee Johnson)
It’s probably not a great sign that two-thirds of the Ring of Honor trios champions get a semi-main event match in New Japan solely because they are a visiting team. I mean sure, the other team has the IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion, but that doesn’t support my narrative so I choose to dismiss it. That’s how discourse works these days, I hear. Yoh and Hyo and one heck of an entertaining pair who also happen to be very very good wrestlers. I know the popular thing right now is to hate on Yoh, but that’s horribly unfair. Hyo is the closest thing to an exotico I have seen outside of Mexico. How was the match, though? Honestly, it felt a lot like a feeling-out process for most of the twelve minutes. The closing 90 seconds or so were smooth, but for the most part they did some comedy and moved pretty slowly. I would expect more from both teams as we progress. Watch this for the antics, at least.
A Block – MISTICO & MASATORA YASUDA vs. MASTER WATO & KUUKAI
When was the last time a Young Lion was in the main event of any full card? Mistico is half of the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team champions with El Desperado, who is injured and has been replaced with Yasuda. In fact Desperado chose Yasuda to replace him when given a choice of anyone who was available. That’s the story explanation, at least. Kuukai is a somewhat regular visitor to New Japan at this point. This was nowhere near what most people would expect from a New Japan main event, either in terms of star power or quality. Yasuda tried his best, and to be fair to the kid he was in good form here. I can only assume the card was set and this was in the main event slot before the change of personnel was needed. A good match, but nothing you need to go looking for. Of course Wato and Kuukai got the win with an assisted tsutenkaku German suplex.
October 25, Night 2 – Korauken Hall, Tokyo
A Block – KUUKAI & MASTER WATO (2) vs. RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & KAZUMA SUMI (0)
Wato and Taguchi are former tag champs as a unit, so there was some story here if they wanted to tell it. It was briefly mentioned on commentary but not played up at all in the ring. The meat of the match was between Sumi and Wato, and while many NJPW fans will tell you that nobody could shine in those conditions I am not quite so down on Wato. It’s hard to say that Sumi knocked any socks off though. He did have a nice DDT counter to allow him to make a hot tag, but that was the extent of his highlight reel. Kuukai and Taguchi went through a nice submission exchange sequence to end the match, Taguchi securing the win with the Omai Garankle. I did not need 12 minutes of this.
B Block – TITAN & DAIKI NAGAI (0) vs. UNITED EMPIRE (2)
It’s probably best if we generally treat the Nagai and Yasuda teams as mini-excursions for the Young Lions and not as competitive tournament matches. We should be looking for improvement both over last year and night-on-night while trying to enjoy what the other three men in the match can bring. At the start of the tournament I had Nagai ahead of Yasuda by a decent margin, but I would not have said Nagai was lapping him. After this match I think the gap widened. He more than held his own in the ring with Akira and seemed to be learning from Titan as the match went on. He needs to work on his bumps, and one spot in particular off an Akira superkick looked especially jarring. As expected, United Empire picked up the win to go to four points, Akira hitting a Fireball after Nagai missed a top rope splash. The intra-Empire tension was less evident in this match, but there were some stern looks and the obligatory miscommunication spot leading to Akira hitting Young with a boot. Give this one a look if only to see Nagai’s improvement.
A Block – DOUKI & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU (2) vs. TAIJI ISHIMORI & ROBBIE X (2)
With only 6 matches per night there is entirely too much House of Torture to sit through. I will confess that I enjoyed it more than I expected, probably because the HoT Shenanigans (TM) were kept to a minimum. Ishimori had his leg worked over for much of the match. There was a believable false finish when both X and Ishimori were locked into submissions, but they came away with a win thanks to a Gedo Clutch on Kanemaru. It was perfectly solid stuff and well-paced, but nothing unmissable here.
B Block – HOUSE OF TORTURE (0) vs. YOH & HYO (2)
As if to offset the back-to-back HoT matches, I was gifted an extended Hyo entrance and some Yoh mind games. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I could watch this team all day. While far from a technical or even strong style masterclass, the match was a great example of the value of shifting pace. While the heel team was in control the pace slowed right down and became a grind. As soon as the faces got a sniff, the speed picked up again and the tone shifted to a more fun one. We even got a silly exchange involving Myon-Myon the Leopard and his evil sibling Kuro=Myon. Hyo got a real chance to shine and got the win with a Samson Driver on Togo. Hyo and Yoh shared a kiss in the middle of the ring after the match, but it was cut short by a low blow from Sho. The House of Torture absconded with Myon-Myon. Was this a good match? No, not really. But it was fun as hell to me and I think you should watch it. You need some joy in your lives.
A Block – NICK WAYNE & KUSHIDA (0) vs. MISTICO & MASATORA YASUDA (0)
I suppose it is not fair to judge Yasuda against Nagai. He can show improvement and still not be as good as his dojo peer, and that’s OK. About eight minutes into the match it seemed like Yasuda hurt his quad, and that led to him spending a lot of time slumped in corners. He still managed to not only finish the match, but to kick out of a series of big moves before falling to a moonsault from Kushida that busted up Yasuda’s nose. The portions of the match with Mistico were fast and exciting, but there were too many disjointed moments to earn a recommendation from me.
B Block – THE SWIRL (2) vs. TMDK (2)
For a team wrestling for the second straight night while coming to terms with jet lag and a new new country, The Swirl stepped up to the occasion here. They almost seem perfectly suited to New Japan – a team with excellent in-ring ability but lacking that connection with the fans in North America. In Japan the latter comes with the former, and they seem to be making new fans. Against a well-oiled machine like Eagles and Fujita the only obstacle would have been that fatigue, and if it did show then I cannot wait for their matches later in the tournament. I would have to say this was the match of the tournament so far and it gets a strong recommendation from me. AEW has been reluctant to capitalize on the New Japan tournament runs of their wrestlers, but I hope they change that with The Swirl. After all that praise for the visitors it was TMDK that got the win after an Interceptor.
October 26, Night 3 – Korauken Hall, Tokyo
B Block – THE SWIRL (2) vs. TITAN & DAIKI NAGAI (0)
Imagine flying across the world to a country with vastly different culture and having to compete three nights in a row. Johnson and Christian were probably dragging at the start of this one. You would never know it by watching them though. I confess to not having seen much of their ROH work so I was pleasantly surprised by their fluidity as a team. They play good cocky heels without being over the top and they have enough impressive spots to make the Japanese fans appreciate them. To be fair, Nagai has looked really good as a partner for Titan and I would not be surprised at all if he heads to CMLL very soon for an excursion. He seems to enjoy Titan’s style and sending him to Mexico would let him keep learning. I don’t think you will see a better match from him in this tournament, and Titan upped his intensity to match. The Swirl hit Brain Rot for the win, eliminating Titan and Nagai. You should make sure you go watch this one. Really solid action.
A Block – MASTER WATO & KUUKAI (2) vs. KUSIHDA & NICK WAYNE (2)
Wayne was probably just as exhausted as The Swirl. He’s teaming with a Japanese guy so he does get a break, but he’s also more featured on TV than Johnson and Christian. Then again Wayne is still very young and this tournament is his third time in Japan. This match moved fast and was enjoyable throughout. It’s hard to pick a highlight because of the density of the action, but all four men had moments to shine. Kushida pinned Kuukai after Back to the Future, leaving Wato and Kuukai on the brink of elimination. Another one I would recommend, though not as strongly as the previous match.
B Block – UNITED EMPIRE (4) vs. YOH & HYO (2)
How on earth was this match not at least the semi-main event? With Myon-Myon being in the custody of the House of Torture, Yoh came out collared and on a leash held by Hyo. Is this New Japan or OnlyFans? I was a little skeptical at the outset that the match would be able to serve the disparate masters of the United Empire tension, Yoh and Hyo’s comedy, possible development of the Myon-Myon catnapping, and the need to put on a good match. As it happened they minimised the comedy, and there was no sign of the poor stuffed leopard. In fact they basically only delivered on one of the four possible fronts. Akira seemed to be trying to make amends for his temper, but a pair of miscommunications ended up costing them the match. Nothing really noteworthy in the ring, and the story moved quite predictably, so skipping this will not hurt you,.
A Block – DOUKI & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU (2) vs. RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & KAZUMA SUMI (2)
Where the previous match was a disappointment, this match was better than I expected. And yet it did not reach the level of the match before it, which is a testament to how low the bar was for these guys. The work was decent but clunky in many places, never really getting to a point where either team felt in control. All four men were in the ring for entirely too much of the match. Even the moments designed to let Sumi shine did not come off the way he would have wanted. He did pick things up a bit for the closing segment of the match when he was alone with Douki for an extended stretch, but never found that next level to show his best work. After a ref bump Kanemaru spit whisky in Sumi’s face and Douki hit Suplex de la Luna for the win. Unfortunately skippable.
B Block – HOUSE OF TORTURE (0) vs. TMDK (4)
House of Torture came out with both stuffed leopards in a cage, each wearing HoT shirts. You hate to see a white-meat babyface like Myon-Myon turn heel like that. As popular as this TMDK unit is and as good as their matches are, they don’t really work together as a team as much as you might think. We finally had a team turn the tables on the bell-ringing spot that HoT uses, with Fujita ringing the bell and causing Sho to release his armbar. Fujita also had the distinct pleasure of choking out Togo with his own garotte. Sho tried to use Kuro-Myon to protect himself from a Hyperion by Eagles, who was not fazed and hit the move anyway…only to come up clutching his shin. The clearly-loaded animal was then used to knock out Eagles, giving HoT their first two points. I can’t in good conscience tell you to watch this, but maybe if you like seeing some of the usual shenanigans turned against the House…actually no, still don’t.
A Block – MISTICO & MASATORA YASUDA (0) vs. ROBBIE X & TAIJI ISHIMORI (4)
This was a historic moment. A match where I got to see Masatora Yasuda hit a picture-perfect tope to the outside. Absolutely unreal scenes for a Young Lion. Honestly this was something of a coming-out party for Yasuda. He kicked out of Cipher Utaki, held his own with Ishimori despite the huge gulf in experience, and was on the winning side. I kind of buried the lede on that one, huh? Yes, a Young Lion was part of the winning team in a match with no other Young Lions. It was Mistico who got the win with La Mistica on Robbie X, but Yasuda got his arm raised in the main event. That alone would make the match worth watching, but his performance in the match cements that recommendation.
Final thoughts: The tournament as a whole feels very compressed this year, with three of the five rounds completed for both blocks in three straight nights. The favourites coming in (TMDK, Robbie X and Ishimori, Yoh and Hyo) are all in good positions, and surprisingly nobody is undefeated. With the champs being a very popular team with one part-time New Japan member, I would expect the winner of the tournament to also win the titles. That tends to point towards a team like United Empire, but if they win the tournament I would expect a loss in the title match which leads to the final implosion that evicts Akira. TMDK is the safe option, but I think I am going to back Ishimori and Robbie X to take it all the way. Match quality has been a little up and down, but fortunately we have not had a single bad match yet. That said, only a couple would approach a fourth star. With only two matches left for each team I would not expect that number to increase much.
Super Junior Tag League is rarely a hotbed for story development. We have a couple of threads woven through so far: House of Torture B Team abducting a stuffed toy, and the slow decay of United Empire. It seems pretty clear that Akira is on his way to Jacksonville. A couple of years ago I would have called that a major loss as he was surging in popularity, but he has been downplayed a fair bit recently and I think it would be a good move for both sides at this point. As for the fate of Myon-Myon…well, that is almost certainly for levity and if it leads to anything, it would be a title shot for Sho. There’s a world where Hyo challenges Yoh, as well.
