May 30, 2019
Osaka, Japan
Oh man, the long steady cam has a really weird balcony angle, I won't be able to unsee it all show.
Jonathan Gresham, Titan, & Toa Henare vs SHO, Tiger Mask, & Yota Tsuji - 6/10
Gresham has stopped coming out with this American Dragon robe, I wonder if he lost it in Tokyo. Great opener, Gresham vs SHO was great, they got into a strike off that popped the crowd, but also had both guys tease and reverse each other's finishers. Tiger Mask vs Titan was good too, shorter and slower, mostly doing kicks and lucha. Finally, Tsuji vs Henare was mostly strikes except for the Uranage that gave Henare the win.
Tomohiro Ishii & Shota Umino vs Suzuki-Gun (Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) - 5.5/10
Kanemaru's tournament is over since his last match was against TAKA, so it just makes sense to get back to building Ishii vs Taichi. Speaking of Taichi, he is still carrying IIzuka's iron palm which he still hasn't used.
Match saw Suzuki-Gun work over Shota for a while until Ishii and Taichi got to do their thing. It was mostly kicks and strikes. At the end, it was Kanemaru and Shota with the former pinning the latter after Deep Impact.
Post-match - Ishii and Taichi talked shit to each other. Taichi teased joining commentary again, but I think he just wanted to mess with Milano.
Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll & Brody King) vs Dragon Lee & Juice Robinson - 6.5/10
This was a really fun match, Lee and Scurll actually have great chemistry and Brody Lee looked like a monster beating up Juice, even if it was King taking the pin at the end with the Pulp Friction.
Commentary has started talking about Jon Moxley vs Juice Robinson.
Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & Gedo) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi) - 6.5/10
I still can't get accustomed to seeing Naito get worked on by guys like Gedo. Match saw Naito get cut off after a brawl outside the ring. Shingo and Ishimori did their thing with Ishimori having the speed advantage and working over Shingo's neck. Finishing sequence was complete overpowered by LIJ, Naito pinning Gedo after a Pumping Bomber. Good match, Shingo vs Ishimori should be awesome.
Best of the Super Jr 26 Block B
YOH (8) vs Ren Narita (0) - 7/10
The match started really one sided and I didn't get my attention, but as they went on, Narita got a lot of great offense, a good Texas Clovereaf submission struggle, and started getting great near falls with rolls ups and a German towards the end of the match. Narita would end up tapping out to the Stargazer. Narita has been great all tournament, too bad he didn't have a Tanahashi in the tournament to give him
Best of the Super Jr 26 Block B
Robbie Eagles (10) vs Bandido (6) - 8.5/10
Counters galore! This was 60mph from the get go with fast paced spots and TONS of counters. The moves and reversals made it seem like they were really similar wrestlers at the same level. Bandido won the match by blocking Eagles' top rope Shiranui and turn it into the Revolution Fly for the pin. These guys need more time.
Best of the Super Jr 26 Block B
Rocky Romero (6) vs BUSHI (8) - 7.5/10
Romero came out with a Black Tiger/BUSHI half and half mask. BUSHI seemed amused, but he still had to ask him to take it off, which Romero did and shot water to begin the match.
Match started with fast paced action, but would slow down towards the middle. BUSHI went after Rocky's leg, who in exchange, went after BUSHI's arm. Rocky sold the leg really strongly from early on, he couldn't even do the Forever Forearms.
Best of the Super Jr 26 Block B
Will Ospreay (10) vs Douki (2) - 8/10
Douki tried jumping Ospreay and completely failed. Then Taichi tried distracting him and giving Douki an opening, and once again he failed and Ospreay actually took out Taichi by diving on him on the commentary table.
There was a spot that seemed like bad communication with Taichi, because Douki sent Ospreay outside, but Douki went to distract the ref in which it seemed that Taichi should be attacking Ospreay, but Taichi was still recovering at the table. Douki then went to do a top rope senton to the floor that Ospreay did not catch. Douki fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Taichi would eventually get there and take out Ospreay with a chair.
The match got really good towards the end, the sequences with both men chasing their finishers was great. At one point for the finish, Taichi once again tried to distract Ospreay and the ref, giving Douki the opening to use the pipe on Ospreay for a near fall. Ospreay would recover and hit Hidden Blade and Stormbreaker for the win while it seemed that Milano and some Young Lions held off Taichi outside the ring. Probably Douki's best match all tournament, but he was outclassed here.
Best of the Super Jr 26 Block B
El Phantasmo (10) vs Ryusuke Taguchi (10) - 8.5/10
Big stakes match, whoever loses is eliminated from contention, this are semifinals by level of importance. Phantasmo kicked away Taguchi's ball, and it at least pissed Taguchi enough to bring out a short mean streak. Story of the match was that Phantasmo was cocky knowing he was going against comedy Taguchi, and so every other time he made fun of Taguchi or tried to imitate him, he would get his actions turned around. From Taguchi's side, he pretty much got his ass kicked for a while, he fucked up when he tried to play the same game as Phantasmo, and he wouldn't make a comeback until he started relying on his own butt arsenal.
The match followed with comedy for a bit, but as it went of, it got super intense and great once Taguchi focused on Phantasmo's legs. Taguchi pulled off some great counters into the ankle lock, and much to my surprised, Taguchi dropped Phantasmo with Dodon, locked in the Ankle Lock, dropped the elbow and submitted Phantasmo! If you hate Taguchi's comedy, this is one of those matches that pay off if you wait and sit through it.
Post-match - Taguchi cut his closing promo and danced.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Good show, went by fast, and the tournament matches were actually pretty good.
As for points, Taguchi and Ospreay, who fight on the final night, are tied at 12 points each, meaning that everyone else is eliminated, because even in a draw, they'd leave everyone else behind. Interesting that this year, they didn't leave people with potential to win, both blocks are down to two men only.
POINT CARDS
Block A Block B |
Marty Scurll [10] Bandido [8] |
Shingo Takagi [16] BUSHI [10] |
Taiji Ishimori [14] Douki [2] |
Tiger Mask [4] El Phantasmo [10] |
Titán [4] Ren Narita [0] |
Dragon Lee [12] Robbie Eagles [10] |
Jonathan Gresham [8] Rocky Romero [6] |
SHO [8] Ryusuke Taguchi [12] |
TAKA Michinoku [0] Will Ospreay [12] |
Yoshinobu Kanemaru [4] YOH [10] |
