Four singles matchups decide Jingu four way

Four singles matches with unique stipulations determined the first round of KOPW2020 tonight in Korakuen Hall, setting up a four way in Jingu Stadium on August 29 that will see Kazuchika Okada face SHO, Toru Yano and El Desperado.

Desperado was first to book his place in the Jingu four way when he defeated Satoshi Kojima. The match, contested under rules that saw Kojima’s lariat or El Desperado’s Pinche Loco as grounds for disqualification, started with a firm lockup as Desperado tried to show his strength against his heavyweight opposition, breaking clean in the ropes but going on offense with forearms thereafter, knocked back by Kojima. 

The fight soon spilled to the outside however, and Desperado entered his offensive wheelhouse. With Kojima pinged into the guardrails, a countout was very nearly an alternate finish for Desperado, but on entering the ring, the heavyweight found his leg picked apart for Desperado, who seemed to look for Numero Dos. 

Kojima would find his feet and rally with a Kojikoji Cutter, but Desperado avoided a top rope elbow, going back downstairs on his opponent. Fighting back, controversy seemed to strike for a second, as Kojima hit a clothesline like strike deemed borderline legal, following with a DDT on the apron. Back inside however, Desperado cut off Kojima’s momentum with a spear and Guitarra del Angel for two before negotiating into Numero Dos, Kojima barely making the ropes.  

A frustrated Desperado went to Hiroyoshi Tenzan’s moveset, attempting Calf Branding before being hit with a top rope Kojikoji Cutter. Kojima instinctively went for his lariat before stopping himself and almost paying with an El Es Clero derived two count. Desperado would play on Kojima’s muscle memory in the end however, hitting two of his own lariats to provoke a Kojima response and the disqualification. 

Two count pinfalls were the rules for Toru Yano and BUSHI, a stipulation that encouraged speed. Yano was certainly in a hurry to get the match started as he rushed to the ring. Yano tried to steal a quick win with a spray of disinfectant to the eyes of BUSHI for the count of one, but BUSHI would return the favour in short order. The two men continued to exchange one counts before Yano found his hands on a roll of tape outside; before he could use the tape to his advantage, Yano found himself on the receiving end of a BUSHI tope suicida. 

BUSHI would use the tape himself to bind Yano’s legs, rolling up Yano for one, but Yano countered the Magistral for the full two count. 

SHO and SANADA met in the rather more serious setting of a submissions match in the semi-main event of the evening. SHO, who had been picking up wins on the tour with arm submissions would focus in on SANADA’s arms for the bulk of the bout, snapping Cold Skulls left arm over the top rope early and handstanding to apply leverage on an hammerlock. 

Surprisingly given his junior heavyweight status against heavyweight opposition, SHO would lean on his power to counter SANADA’s agility on several holds. A standing moonsault would be countered into a short arm scissors, and a later moonsault would meet SHO’s knees, but those knees had been worked over effectively when SANADA was in control. A reverse dragon screw did a great deal of damage, and even though SHO had enough of a vertical base to power out of a SANADA hold with a powerbomb and powerbreaker, the damage was too much to overcome. A moonsault to SHO’s back would be followed by a figure four that ended SHO’s night. 

Kazuchika Okada had perhaps the hardest route to the finals of his own KOPW 2020 concept, entering into handicap rules against the BULLET CLUB trio of Jado, Gedo and Yujiro Takahashi. 

Takahashi himself had proposed lumberjack with leather belt rules for the bout; already with the numbers game in his advantage, BULLET CLUB would attempt to have their cake and eat it; Yujiro drawing the referee away and allowing Gedo to lay in with the belt outside. Damage done, the BULLET CLUB trio continued to work over Okada in the middle of the ring. A boot from Okada would turn away Gedo however, and even as the tag was made to Jado, an elbow in the corner and DDT for Okada led to the Money Clip applied. 

Gedo would be quick to rake the eyes of the former IWGP Champion, but Okada’s momentum kept building, a reverse neckbreaker connecting to Yujiro. A Jado kendo stick shot slowed Okada, and a Miami Shine gave Yujiro a near two count, before a Super Powerbomb from all three BULLET CLUB members got them even nearer victory.

As Jado and Gedo went to their classic playbook on Yujiro’s behalf, Gedo would even hit a superfly splash, but still Okada refused to lose.  Okada would counter Gedo’s brass knux and Jado’s kendo stick before launching himself onto Yujiro and Jado at ringside. With Gedo left in the ring with the Rainmaker, a Gedo clutch led to a two count before a Tombstone was converted into the Money Clip and submission victory.