Sensational draw ends night in Aichi
Best of the Super Jr. 28 continued in Aichi’s Dolphins Arena on November 21, with SHO ending the night still clear at the top of the table and undefeated as YOH remains at zero points, and nearing the edge of the elimination bubble.
The night’s main event saw Hiromu Takahashi and El Desperado continue their epic rival story. The match started fast and furious, with big shots from both men exchanged before Hiromu got the upper hand with a shotgun dropkick. Desperado would try and get space with a spear, but Takahashi stayed in control, catching his masked foe with the D submission hold, and staying on the offense as Desperado sought solace on the floor.
Desperado was finally able to catch the charging Hiromu with a spear back inside, and now it was his turn for a receipt out on the floor. Targeting Hiromu’s knee, Desperado slammed his foe on the entrance ramp before attacking it with a steel chair, the 2020 tournament winner barely making it into the ring only to take more punishment.
Hiromu gritted his teeth to land an apron dropkick, but could not get a sustained break on offense with his badly injured base. Takahashi tried for a sunset bomb, but his leg gave out on the move, and a tope suicida rocketed him into the guardrails. Bringing the Time Bomb inside at the twenty minute mark, Desperado looked for the finishing blow; Takahashi landed a DVD into the corner, but again could not mount a follow-up just as Desperado couldn’t get the pin.
Pinche Loco was rolled through into the D, and Takahashi hung onto the hold even as the masked man responded with a pair of powerbombs. Finally breaking out of the hold over the ropes, Desperado was instead the victim of the Sunset Bomb and nearly a countout loss as the IWGP Junior Champion found his wits at 19. Once inside, the match continued as it began with traded shots, and Hiromu again went for D, but this time was countered into Numero Dos.
Takahashi found his feet with just three minutes left, and countered Desperado’s Loco Mono with another attempt at D. Time running out, both were desperate to secure victory; a wild lariat would only get two for Takahashi, a straight punch to charging Hiromu wouldn’t get a cover at all as Desperado was drained. Pinche Loco and then Victory Royal were countered, before Hiromu connected with the Victory Royal with twenty seconds left, only getting two. Desperado countered Time Bomb II into El Es Clero, but it was too late; the time limit had expired. As Aichi applauded both men, Hiromu made Desperado promise that they would meet again in the final with no time limit to restrain them.
Robbie Eagles and El Phantasmo’s own long standing rivalry continued in the semi main event of the evening, as both looked to improve to four points. A high paced open would see Phantasmo sent to the floor as Eagles mocked his foe; when ELP got back inside, Eagles stayed hold for hold before the two instead transitioned into a blow for blow trade of forearms.
A ‘loaded’ stomp to the foot and then the hand would finally give Phantasmo the advantage, one ELP used in typically arrogant fashion. Eagles found his back raked and groin tortured in the Tree of Woe. Eagles would struggle back into the match, but Phantasmo again used the boot, this time to the gut, as the Sniper of the Skies seemed effectively shot down.
The Australian finally was able to fight fire with fire, getting a back rake to Ishimori before a blistering running mid kick. Knees in the corner followed before Eagles went to his gameplan of working over ELP’s left knee. The relentless Robbie found the Ron Miller Special, forcing Phantasmo to hurl himself to the ropes, and though ELP powered himself to his feet on a pair of backdrop suplexes, a poison rana would send him tumbling to the floor.
An almost supersonic tope con giro from Eagles meant Phantasmo had no time to recover, and the former champion looked for a 450 across the leg, but Phantasmo pushed the referee into the ropes, causing Eagles to get crotched. A massive top rope Frankensteiner was the prelude to Thunder Kiss ’86 for two, and ELP countered a Turbo Backpack with a Wrist Clutch Burning Hammer, but the Sniper still kicked out. Phantasmo wanted to end the match with Sudden Death, a V-Trigger and One Winged Angel, all denied, before the CRII was reversed with a hurricanrana for three.
BUSHI headed into battle in Aichi looking to get revenge for his LIJ teammate Hiromu Takahashi at the start of the league, and to stop SHO’s unbeaten streak. BUSHI was furious out of the gate, attacking SHO with frenzied offense, but SHO would slow the pace with a punt down the apron and a slam into the ringside guardrails. Unbowed, BUSHI would target SHO’s throat before a big tope suicida, but the Murder machine would deliberately use the referee to distract his masked foe before a spear let him regain control.
SHO struck hard at BUSHI’s arm and went into a double wrist lock, driving the masked man to the ropes. SHO used his arm control to negotiate a cross armed piledriver, and though BUSHI escaped the Shock Arrow, a slick counter to the Codebreaker saw BUSHI almost tap to the Snake Bite were it not for the nearby ropes. BUSHI created distance and went for the MX, but SHO would shove the referee in the move’s path; a low blow, a wrench to the head and Snake Bite followed for yet another tainted victory.
The winless YOH attempted to get on the board against fellow Sendai native Ryusuke Taguchi on the night. YOH calmly dealt with Taguchi’s comic antics, until a hip attack and B-Triggers turned the tide. YOH tried to rollup Taguchi on both a Dodon and Oh My and Grankle, before connecting with a dropkick and then a tope con giro right out of Taguchi’s own playbook, but the Coach stayed in the hunt. A triangle hip attack was countered by YOH, but a super Hip Attack was not, and nor was a big Dragon suplex. Desperate for his two points, YOH set for the DNV, but met an enzuigiri, and then Dodon to the Throne for two, and then Dodon for three.
Taiji Ishimori battled Master Wato as he sought his third win. Wato was impressive in out maneuvering Ishimori in the early going, but a beautiful takedown from the former IWGP junior champion put Wato’s arm and shoulder in danger. Digging deep, Wato found a leg lariat and tornillo to the floor before a gorgeous springboard elbow, but a handspring overhead and sliding German turned the match back to Ishimori. Despite a Cobra Twist and Recientemente for two, Ishimori halted Wato with Cipher Utaki, and landed a Mistica into the Bone Lock for the victory.
The night’s tournament action started with Yoshinobu Kanemaru in Suzuki-Gun derby action with DOUKI. DOUKI brought the pace to ‘Nobu at the outset with impressive armdrags, but DOUKI wisely refrained to dive as Kanemaru created distance on the floor. It was back inside that both men would fight more scrappily, with rakes to the eyes from Kanemaru endured by DOUKI who fought back with a one legged dropkick and then a plancha outside.
Kanemaru blocked a Daybreak DDT attempt, and went to use DOUKI’s iron pipe, but DOUKI took Kanemaru’s whiskey in response. After a high head kick, DOUKI landed a swinging Northern Lights, and then Daybreak for two, but his veteran opposition saw Suplex De La Luna coming, and countered with a swinging DDT of his own. Knowing his own Suzuki-Gun teammate just as well, DOUKI countered Deep Impact into the DOUKI Chokey, but another Suplex De la Luna was countered into a thunderous brainbuster. Touch Out followed, and Kanemaru secured victory.
