CHAOS to face in Sendai Wednesday
The last day of Super Junior Tag League matches saw BULLET CLUB’s Ace Austin and Chris Bey and CHAOS’ Lio Rush and YOH advance to face one another Wednesday in Sendai, after three crucial battles determined the top two point getters.
First of the league deciding bouts would see the STRONGHEARTS side of Alex Zayne and El Lindaman collide with the already eliminated, but on a hot streak Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI. A jump start for the Suzuki-Gun side had mixed results as Kanemaru took to Zayne on the floor, but Lindaman had DOUKI dead to rights in the ring with a dropkick. It would be a DDT on the floor by the Heel Master that stopped Lindaman’s forward momentum though, and put the match in Suzuki-Gun control.
A neckbreaker over the ropes would bring Zayne in for high impact offense, but a counter to the Baja Blast put the SAUCEHEARTS side back in peril. A short DDT from Lindaman scored, and the G-REX Champion put paid to a British Fall attempt from Kanemaru before a German Suplex on DOUKI got a near two. After Kanemaru landed a satellite DDT on Zayne, DOUKI pushed the advantage with Doton no Jutsu, and then surprised Lindaman with Suplex De La Luna for a surprise win, eliminating the SAUCEHEARTS side.
That meant the winners of the final two bouts of the evening would advance to the Sendai finals. YOH and Lio Rush met Titan and BUSHI of Los Ingobernables De Japon, the masked side getting the early advantage on Rush until the Bad Child landed a snug enzuigiri on Titan. YOH would take over on the luchador, but with trademark non verbal communication, BUSHI would provide well timed support for Titan to once again dictate the pace.
Backflipping away from a charging Titan, YOH would land a neckbreaker that saw Rush re-enter to take down both LIJ members before a quebrada to the floor. Not to be outdone however, El Inmortal would land his own spectacular tope con giro to turn the tide back to LIJ. On a roll, the LIJ team set for Angel Inmortal, but YOH made a flying save, leading to Rush Hour for two on BUSHI; Titan interrupted a Final Hour splash attempt, and a lope suicida saw the match further break down. BUSHI was legal with YOH, who rocked the masked man with a thrust kick and DNV. The Final Hour followed, and YOH and Rush made it to the final.
Catch 2/2 would then face IMPACT and BULLET CLUB’s Ace Austin and Chris Bey for the right to face CHAOS in Wednesday’s final. It would be Francesco Akira starting out with Austin, and having defeated the former IMPACT X Division Champion during Best of the Super Jr., the Italian was confident in sending Austin to the floor and drawing tags both sides. As TJP kept Chris Bey grounded, the champions had the match well in hand early until a well timed assist from Austin from the apron put Akira in the BULLET CLUB corner.
TJP tried to create a break for his partner, but Austin would use his parkour training to flow to both of Catch 2/2, retaining control of the bout, and keeping AKira far from home. The tenacious Fireball would be able to use Bey as a springboard to dropkick Austin though, and TJP re-entered, getting some offense back, and washing the face of Austin with his boot. After an Alley-Oop to TJP’s former IMPACT rival, the champions were back in fine form, Akira stopping Austin’s attempt at the Soar to Glory, and landing a picture perfect tope con giro to Bey at the ten minute mark.
Akira certainly seemed to be catching fire before being rocked by an Austin head kick, Bey taking advantage for a flurry before a double superkick from the champion. Austin would save Bey from the Leaning Tower however, and with a shout to El Phantasmo, Bey and Austin landed the UFO for a nearfall. After Austin hit House of Cards on TJP, Bey followed for the near two and set for the 1-2-Sweet, but a spectacular counter from TJP turned the tide.
The match growing ever more chaotic, Akira got a near two on Bey from Speedfire, before setting for the 2×2, but Bey ducked out of the way. With Austin making a timely appearance, Bey landed a double 1-2-Sweet, before the Fold and Soar to Glory. Bey followed up with a small package driver, and advanced BULLET CLUB to the final.
Before the decisive matches, SHO and Dick Togo took on Wild Hips, while Kevin Knight and KUSHIDA took on Flying Tiger. Kevin Knight withstood tremendous pain in Tiger Mask’s double armbar before getting a Spike DDT on the veteran, recording an emotional pinfall win. SHO meanwhile got a frosty reception from his own hometown crowd, but piled more shame on Uwajima as he spiked a half naked (a long story) Taguchi with Shock Arrow for two final points.
