Eagles, Kanemaru top B Block after Nagano
May 13 saw Best of the Super Jr. 30 hit the Olympic city of Nagano, as both blocks continued their campaigns.
The main event of the evening saw YOH and Master Wato in B Block competition. It was a tense feeling out process for both men early on, but YOH would have the upper hand when it came to the early mental chess, and struck with a plancha to take control. It would be a pair of boots from the Hontai member that saw Wato start to make headway, and after a leg lariat, a tope con giro delighted the crowd in Nagano.
Still pushing the advantage, Wato got the Recientemente and then Vendeval on YOH; with shoulder hurting, the CHAOS representative caught a break as he went down to the knee on Wato. YOH went for broke with a superplex, but had a Falcon Arrow follow up denied, and was cracked with a springboard upper from Wato, but without a base, Wato couldn’t land his Tsutenkaku German suplex, instead caught with YOH’s modified Ushigoroshi.
With much less of the calculated grace that the early match held, YOH and Wato started swinging, with YOH getting the most of his foe. Wato nearly got three a pair of times on roll-ups, but still couldn’t lift YOH into the Tsutenkaku or Recientemente II, instead getting blasted with a poison rana and powerful lariat. Direct Drive followed for three, YOH getting on the board to close out the night in Nagano.
Elsewhere in the block, BUSHI took on El Desperado. Picking up on the work Yoshinobu Kanemaru had done to Desperado’s base 24 hours earlier, BUSHI went down to the knee early and effectively as Desperado struggled before getting distance with a suplex. Despite flurries from the Strong Style member, BUSHI had full control of Desperado, until a sudden transition into Numero Dos saw BUSHI unbalanced and hit with Guitarra Del Angel for two. Feinting with a Pinche Loco attempt, Desperado found El Es Clero and a sudden three.
Recent IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team opponents Francesco Akira and Kevin Knight went one on one for the first time in Nagano. Akira started fast and aggressive against Knight, who replied with a plancha but was still hurting after a post match assault by Clark Connors the night before. Akira would quickly regain control, and stretched a Knight who didn’t have enough for a quick Frankensteiner from floor to corner, but did score a mighty dropkick and Sky High for two. Akira drilled Knight with a DDT and went for the Fireball, but knight avoided contact and hit his Frankensteiner; cumulative damage was a facrtor though, and the italian scored with Speedfire and then the Fireball for the win.
Robbie Eagles and Clark Connors came to Nagano after a win apiece in Korakuen hall, and Robbie was fast in working for a second. An early Ron Miller Special had Connors troubled, but after blocking the Trigger kick, Connors took full and vicious control, a suplex on the floor doing heavy damage. Eagles fought back with some impressive strikes before going back to the knee, but a short spear scored big for the BULLET CLUB member. A second was a prelude to the No Chaser, but Eagles played possum and then surprised his foe with a roll up for three.
First for B Block, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Dan Moloney battled to stay undefeated. Kanemaru experienced Moloney’s considerable stopping power as Kanemaru struggled to get out the blocks, but a basement dropkick in the path of an attempted Gore would see the Heel Master start to build momentum. A Figure Four had Moloney screaming in pain, and eventually tapping, giving Kanemaru his second straight Figure Four victory.
