BUSHI, DOUKI, Taichi win big
At New Beginning in Sapporo (Night 2), the final 5 matches of the evening all saw members of Los Ingobernables de Japon stand toe-to-toe with members of Just 5 Guys in singles competition.
In the first match in tonight’s faction warfare, TAKA Michinoku faced off against BUSHI. This bout started off hot with BUSHI attempting his patented BUSHI Rocket suicide dive, only for TAKA Michinoku to slow the pace down and test BUSHI in the technical ranks. Despite Michinoku picking up the victory over BUSHI at New Year Dash, it would be the submission stylings of BUSHI that would score a victory for Los Ingobernables de Japon in the end.
The following match would see the death-defying antics of an established junior heavyweight star and one of the hottest rising prospects in the division itself, where Hiromu Takahashi squared off against DOUKI. As Takahashi was making his way into the ring, DOUKI would connect on the outside with a suicide dive. In a match that would see high impact maneuvers, multiple pinfall attempts, and quick counters, it would be DOUKI scoring a massive defining victory via Suplex de la Luna, raising the LIJ-J5G record to 1-1.
The third match, ahead of the semi-main event hair vs. hair and main event IWGP World Heavyweight Championship encounters, was one of the most brutal matches on the night. Shingo Takagi faced off against Taichi in an absolute war. As the established tie-breaker in the LIJ-J5G situation so far, the pressure was on and neither man managed to crumble until the very end. The hard hitting nature of this match saw many lariat attempts, many slams, and a plethora of strikes that brutalized the bodies of each opponent. In a match that felt as if the competitors spent more time trying to knock each other off their feet then successfully doing so, Taichi’s Axe Bomber Lariat and Dangerous Backdrop would secure victory for the hometown native in the end.
