Finlay scores main event win; Jake Lee difference maker for Moloney
The top five matches in Korakuen Hall on April 23 saw a best of five series between Los Ingobernables De Japon and BULLET CLUB War Dogs.
The first singles bout was barely a bout at all- Yota Tsuji Gene Blasted Gedo in a mere five seconds to put LIJ on the board, but War Dogs had big hits to come.
BUSHI knew he had to wrestle a smart game against very tough heavyweight competition in Gabe Kidd, and brought the fight to the War Ready one. As Kidd, hellbent in violence, fought with BUSJI into the crowd, the masked man got up high on the entryway and dove onto Kidd far below; still though the size disparity was obvious as BUSHI was blown up trying to get Kidd back into the ring, giving the Briton the advantage.
Kidd was in control, but BUSHI had the wherewithal to trouble his larger opposition; most to the face and a BUSHI Roll had a visual three on Kidd, who made sure he bowled over the referee before being trapped. That would prove BUSHI’s best shot, and the Drill a Hole Piledriver ended his night, bringing War Dogs level.
Clark Connors got an early advantage on Shingo Takagi, frustrating the NEVER Champion as he baited him to the floor and took hold. Though giving up size to the Dragon, Connors gave up little in the way of power, as he gave as good as Shingo on his feet, but a Ryukon Lariat and Elbow did their damage.
Still, Connors didn’t lose easy, and kicked out of both Made In Japan. A Jeep Flip on Shingo and a crisp snap powerslam were there for Connors, but a Pumping Bomber was there for Shingo, and War Dogs were down 2-1 as Drilla Moloney was a rank outsider against Tetsuya Naito.
While Moloney was surprisingly effective at controlling the pace against the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Naito in the early going, Naito would shift gears effectively and would eventually ground Moloney with his patented neck work. Moloney would rally though, and attempted Drilla Killa on El Ingobernable; as Naito escaped the move, the referee took a tumble and War Dogs capitalised.
First David Finlay appeared ringside to distract Naito and then Jake Lee of Pro-Wrestling NOAH suddenly appeared on the scene to crush Naito with the FBS boot. That served El Ingobernable on a silver platter for Moloney, who landed Drilla Killa to score the biggest, albeit ill gotten, win of his career.
As the War Dogs put the boots in on Naito, Hiromu Takahashi sprinted in to try and make the save, starting the main event against Finlay hot. The match spilled all over the ringside area as Finlay took violent control by launching his foe into the ring post. A tijeras whip saw some hope for Hiromu, who leveraged the support of the Korakuen faithful to drive a shotgun dropkick down the apron line on the floor; inside the ring, Hiromu locked in D, but was countered with a harsh powerbomb.
After a Hiromu Chan Bomber, Takahashi scored with a page from Finlay’s own playbook in the form of Into Oblivion for two. Going back to D again, Hiromu was once mor eplanted with a pair of powerbombs by Finlay who landed his own Into Oblivion, but only for two to a huge reaction from the crowd. Yet Takahashi was by now spent. The Unnamed Hiromu Roll saw two from the referee, but with no further offense to muster, a barrage of European Uppercuts was followed by Overkill for three.
