Recapped: 01/31/2016-02/04/2016
This is the third show of the tour, on 2016-01-20, in Osaka
What happened: This is the third show in a build up to shows you already saw, can anything really that important have happened? Okumura got his usual hometown win (and Zavala got one too) to set up the tag title match. Everything else just continued being everything else.
What was good: The singles matches were good, and the atomicos have always been good. This had the best Ingobernables de Japon match on the tour.
Where can I watch it: Most of these matches are on Real Hero’s rutube channel, with a couple on his dailymotion channel.
Match 1: Jushin Liger & Stuka Jr. vs Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu
Osaka Prefectual Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan, 01/20/2016
Winner: Liger & Stuka (Stuka torpedo splash on Komatsu)
Match Time: 9:33
Review: [ok] Match highlights by Lyger and Stuka attempting to figure out who had the harder chop. The young guys are definitely getting spotlighted in these, and it would’ve been nice to see a little more for Stuka and Lyger. The rookies had some good moments, but this felt the most generic of this run of matches and I’m OK moving onto soething else. The blown powerbomb (?) spot looked as off as anything in these matches.
Match 2: The Panther vs Boby Zavala
Osaka Prefectual Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan, 01/20/2016
Winner: Bobby Zavala (spinning powerbomb)
Match Time: 8:14
Review: [good] seemed like a singles match with these was going to be a problem, but they found a way to make it work. This might have been The Panther’s best match on the tour. He landed the corner triangle headscissors he had trouble with on the next show, and the triple tope spot (with Zavala taking the last in the back after he tried escaping) was very well done. Zavala got in a few key spots and handled the finish well.
Match 3: Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Okumura
Osaka Prefectual Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan, 01/20/2016
Winner: Okumura (hanging DDT)
Match Time: 8:11
Notes: Maya had Okumura in the suastica, but Mima Shimoda distracted him, and Okumura would land the DDT soon after.
Review: [good] enjoyable lightning match style match, with the weirdness of the crowd totally being behind hometown guy Okumura. Mima cheated a bunch but Okumura actually kind of played it straight, and I was waiting for Maya to do something rudo the entire match to complete the one night turn. Didn’t happen, but they had good action thru the match with running into any problem.
Match 4: Jay White, Kushida, Ryusuke Taguchi, Titán vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Gedo, Hechicero, YOSHI-HASHI
Osaka Prefectual Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan, 01/20/2016
Winner: rudos (Barbaro Cavernario cavernaria Jay White)
Match Time: 9:43
Notes: Barbaro gets everyone, referee and ring announcer included, to dance before the match. Kushida is wearing a mohawk Titan mask.
Review: [good] sprint atomicos with lots of action for the entire match, and really got started with the prematch dance session. Titan and Cavernario had another outstanding sequence in this one as a prelude to their title match; both guys had a really good tour entirely. Kushida & Taguchi embraces the spirit of the match, even working in the lucha armbar pump over the top rope spot. Jay White got some revenge on Hechicero before finishing up well with Cavernario. Cavernario’s post match interview is worth watching too.
Match 5: Atlantis, Fuego, Máscara Dorada vs Bushi, EVIL, Tetsuya Naito
Osaka Prefectual Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan, 01/20/2016
Winner: Los Ingobernables del Japon (Out Of Control on Fuego)
Match Time: 11:01
Review: [good] this was another IdJ match I didn’t need in my life for the first half, but it really picked up once the tecnicos made their comeback. The BUSHI/Dorada fight felt very heated, the best build up their title match. This is not the right match for Fuego, but they sort of tell a story about it being the wrong match for Fuego, so it kind of worked. The Ingobernables came off as totally out matching this combination of tecnicos, cheating (foul on Fuego before the finish) because they wanted to, not because they needed the help.
Match 6: Juice Robinson, Mistico, Volador Jr. vs Mephisto, Shinsuke Nakamura, Último Guerrero
Osaka Prefectual Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan, 01/20/2016
Winner: rudos (Nakamura cross armbreaker Juice)
Match Time: 13:02
Review: [good] The kick off to this match is the 90 second Nakamura/Misitco match you never knew you wanted, and then Ultimo and Juice screw around for about five minutes. It’s the weirdest thing, is what I’m saying. This turns into the usual good main match acting they’ve been doing on this tour, though it’s a slower start to get there. Volador & Ultimo flub the spot they never ever flub, but all the other bigger spots look good.
Match 7: Dragon Lee & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Okada & Virus
Osaka Prefectual Gymnasium, Osaka, Japan, 01/20/2016
Winner: Dragon Lee (top rope double stomp Virus)
Match Time: 15:47
Review: [ok] The least of the matches on this show, but not a bad match by any means. Just less to it than other ones. There was an entertaining sequence around old man Tanahashi being old earlier on. It later turns into Okada going thru his book of Negro Navarro moves and pulling out his favorite lucha libre submissions. The NJPW took it easier than the CMLL ones in this match, and we only got about 10 seconds of the Virus/Tanahashi fighting. Must’ve been saving it for the Dome.
