1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Shingo Takagi & BUSHI [c] vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado
I don’t have much to say about this. Shingo throws a mean lariat, but the rest was kind of a bummer. Lots of… action, I guess? Kanemaru is a guy I’d love to love ironically, but Kanemaru as a guy still on top of the NJPW juniors tag division feels like somebody messed up somewhere. They got things popping for the finish, but don’t they always? **1/2
2. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Tetsuya Naito [c] vs. Taichi
The thing about this match is it’s pretty good, but it also feels kind of unnecessary. Taichi is another guy who’s fun to cheer for ironically, but kicking out of fuckin’ EVERYTHING Naito threw at him at the end seemed like an odd choice. Regardless, though this went a little long I dug that they messed with the format, immediately establishing Naito as the underdog due to Suzuki-gun shenanigans. They kept that up until the big comeback, and I loved how big the pop was when Naito grabbed Taichi’s mic stand and just blasted him with it. This match also got bonus points for Naito’s “hehe guess we’ll see if this works” face as he setup a piledriver to the floor through a table. ***1/2
