Kizuna Road reaches its final destination in Sendai’s Sunplaza hall on Tuesday June 25 for a card highlighted by two British championship matches, with a whole lot more still at stake in the main event.
G1 Climax Entry/RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship Match
YOSHI-HASHI vs Zack Sabre Junior(c)
YOSHI-HASHI has exemplified the power of heart and spirit over physical capacity for a long time. Ever since his return from injury in January, this has been even more true; his shoulder injuries, a nagging issue even before he was forced to miss action in autumn of 2018, have still not properly healed, leading to tape on that injured body part that has functioned like a giant bullseye.
Zack Sabre Junior is particularly effective at targeting injuries, but the aloof British Heavyweight Champion has long maintained that he doesn’t need the handicap of an injured opponent. He feels so far above YOSHI-HASHI that he says he can happily find any number of alternate ways to tap out his opponent. This was the case through the spring, where YH was constantly snapping at ZSJ’s heels, only to be shut down.
YOSHI-HASHI will often say, however, that one’s fate can be changed in an instant. At Dominion, a flash Kinkoji pin saw the cocky champion defeated in a six man tag team match, and allowed a claim to be staked to the gold. From there, YOSHI-HASHI has racked up win after win on the Kizuna Road tour, with his biggest result being at Korakuen Hall on June 17. There he was the last man standing in a ten man CHAOS versus Suzuki Gun elimination tag match, and there he decided to raise the stakes.
‘If you’re so confident, how about this? If I take your title, then I take your spot in the G1 as well!’ Never before has a G1 Climax entry been put on the line in a match. Could YOSHI-HASHI do the unthinkable and secure entry to the toughest tournament in wrestling by unseating the record three times Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion? In the challenger’s words, it only takes an instant.
RevPro Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship
Ryusuke Taguchi vs El Phantasmo (c)
Is arrogance a required trait to be a British champion? It certainly seems to be the case when it comes to the champions that are plying their trade in New Japan rings. While faction allegiances differ between Suzuki-Gun’s ZSJ and BULLET CLUB’s El Phantasmo, ego and cocky attitudes are very similar indeed.
El Phantasmo’s rocket powered by pure self esteem almost saw him reach the finals of Best of the Super Juniors, but Ryusuke Taguchi stood in his way. The effortlessly athletic ELP took his opponent a little too lightly, and when a dive to the floor saw the Canadian roll an ankle, Taguchi took advantage and scooped the win. That put Phantasmo out of the tournament running and also set the Coach up for an Undiputed British Cruiserweight championship opportunity.
ELP’s bruised ego was soothed by double gold, seizing the IWGP Junior Tag Championships with Taiji Ishimori on June 16 in Korakuen. Taguchi, though, got the upper hand the very next night, denying Phantasmo, Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Championships that were presented to ELP as a deal sweetneer to put up the British Cruiserwight title at the Sendai tour closer.
Taguchi now finds himself on home turf; the last time he was in his home prefecture of Miyagi, he got his BOSJ campaign off to a fine start with a main event win over YOH. Can the steel buns steal championship gold?
Tiger Mask, Jyushin Thunder Liger, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada vs Suzuki Gun (DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki)
The CHAOS/hontai combination in this match seems to be in more than a little danger. Tiger Mask is always the target of Yoshinobu Kanemaru in particular, and will likely be struggling to conceal his masked face. Then there are the other members of the five man team that all have reasons to receive Minoru Suzuki’s wrath. Liger and Suzuki have been at war ever since April as the two seem to be on a collision course for a rematch from their 2002 Pancrase fight at some juncture. Then, Suzuki will still be raging at G1 entrants Okada Ishii and Yano for his exclusion from the tournament field. Add in a Lance Archer hugely motivated to make an impact ahead of his first G1 start in five years and you have a tough Suzuki-Gun side.
That’s not to discount the five opposite them however. If prior collisions on the Kizuna Road tour are anything to go by, these two teams may end up brawling all over Sendai.
SHO, YOH, Toa Henare & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs BULLET CLUB (Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi & Jay White)
Roppongi 3K were gracious in their loss of the IWGP Junior Tag Team Championships to Ishimori and ELP last week, but with a week to reflect on their lack of gold, will be hungry to make a mark again with Ishimori in the running in this eight man tag.
For the other members, Melbourne and Sydney are on the mind. In Sydney June 30, Henare has a huge singles opportunity against Tomohiro Ishii, and will look to stand out in this eight man beforehand. Owens and Yujiro will both be active in Australia, while Tanahashi and White will collide in the tag team main event in Mebourne June 29. A chance here to gain an upper hand before that major event, and the G1 that lies beyond.
Mikey Nicholls & Juice Robinson vs Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
‘New blood’ is what Guerrillas of Destiny have been calling for as five time IWGP Tag Team Champions. Mikey Nicholls and Juice Robinson certainly seem to qualify as a new and effective team, but haven’t been granted a tag team championship match in Sendai, or indeed in Melbourne. A win for Nicholls and Robinson here though could force the champions hands and have them put the belts up sooner rather than later.
For Nicholls, the Australian tag team specialist has a chance to go into his home country with a win over the tag team champions. Robinson meanwhile, oddly quiet in his backstage comments this tour, is focused on the G1 and is eager to blast through anything in his path.
Ren Narita, Shota Umino, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe & Kota Ibushi vs Los Ingobernables De Japon (BUSHI, EVIL, SANADA, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito)
With eager Young Lions, the powerful Honma and Makabe and the indefatigable Kota Ibushi mixing things up with Los Ingobernables De Japon, there certainly is a lot in the way of action here. Also of interest is how LIJ will function as a team in this match. EVIL has maintained his distance from the rest of the crew ever since the G1 entrants were revealed, but he and SANADA, and B block opponents Takagi and Naito, have been kept apart on live events until now. EVIL and Naito functioned as a very effective team on the road in fact, as they busted out some old No Limit team work in Morioka. Will the group function as effectively as ever? Or will relations be decidedly frosty here?
Tencozy (Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan) vs Yota Tsuji & Yuji Nagata
The night will kick off with Yota Tsuji teaming with Dojo mentor Yuji Nagata against Tenzan and Kojima. Tsuji has been particularly aggressive against Kojima of late as he tries to prove the strength of his own lariat and chopping arm. The experience and tag team expertise edge obviously falls to the six time IWGP Tag Team Champions, however.
