Lio Rush, Ishimori, Bailey at the top after Nagano action
Night two of Best of the Super Junior 30 saw the action head to Nagano for five block matches from each of A and B.
Headlining A Block, DOUKI set a fast pace on Hiromu Takahashi, quickly bringing him to the floor where a handstand DDT followed. On the back foot, Hiromu had to get scrappy, with a tijeras and flashing dropkick before a Falcon Arrow got two. DOUKI still had the upper hand however, and though an attempt at Doton No Jutsu was denied, the Italian Stretch had Hiromu struggling to the ropes. The Time Bomb’s strength was still there meanwhile, and when DOUKI had designs on Daybreak, a catch brought his foe into a running DVD into the corner.
Hiromu struck with the Dynamite Plunger for two, but got rolled back into the Italian Stretch on a Time Bomb attempt. Doton No Jutsu followed on a second try and this time Hiromu was fading fast in the Italian Stretch transition, only barely walking to the ropes where he fell victim to an emphatic Daybreak for a nearfall. On his way back up, Takahashi prevented Suplex De La Luna, but his Hiromu-Chan Bomber was met with a lariat of DOUKI’s own as the crowd was pulling for an upset. DOUKI kept scoring offense on Hiromu but couldn’t get three, and tried for Suplex De La Luna once more, but got denied again with Time Bomb, Hiromu recording his first win of the tournament.
The A Block semifinal saw two undefeated wrestlers face off in Titan and Taiji Ishimori. Ishimori struggled in the face of Titan’s speed in the early moments, but a dive to the floor simply served Titan up for an easy catch and a slam of the shoulder into the ring post. His traditional target set, Ishimori set to work in building toward the Bone Lock, but a stepping tornado DDT and tope suicida created distance for the masked man.
Ishimori stopped Titan’s momentum with a handspring overhead kick before going back to the shoulder. Titan got two on the break with a Skayde Special, before going for the springboard double stomp, but would be caught with La Mistica and then Bone Lock for the submission.
After quickly breaking the rules in his opening bout in Korakuen, SHO stayed true to form against Mike Bailey in his match. Attacking Bailey on his entrance, SHO used a chair across the bare foot of the Speedball. That wasn’t enough to stop Bailey’s strikes, but when the referee got drawn, EVIL made a sudden appearance to bring the tide to HOUSE OF TORTURE. A parade of dirty tactics followed from both teammates, and despite some satisfying kicks and moonsault double knees, a wrench to the foot and double team looked to seal the deal. Bailey gutted through though, and a crane kick was followed by attacks to both SHO and EVIL before the Ultima Weapon for three.
Ryusuke Taguchi started his second match of the tournament with the same serious approach as he did the first, with a rapid start that saw him take the advantage with a hip attack and plancha. As Rush came back, a premature attempt at Final Hour was met by Taguchi’s knees before a massive lariat and then the Dodon for a near two; Taguchi’s wiles continued to match well against Rush’s speed, but after Rush Hour and a second Final Hour, Rush was victorious as Taguchi fell to 0-2.
First on the night were KUSHIDA and TJP, a main event worthy match starting the action in Nagano. Two proficient technical wrestlers, the Timesplitter and the Public Enemy fought for control of abdominal stretches and heel hooks; TJP would get the upper hand as he snapped the knee and shoulder however, and maintained an advantage even as KUSHIDA tried to work free. When the Hontai member did find his break, it was on the arm of TJP, which saw hefty damage, but a sudden inside cradle would grant TJP victory.
