One of the wilder openings I’ve seen since crowds came back to pro-wrestling in Japan, as we got TWO song and dance performances from J-Pop idol group Teen Heavens. As Mitsuharu Misawa always intended.
Shuhei Taniguchi & Kinya Okada vs. Masa Kitamiya & Yoshiki Inamura
A full plate of meat and potatoes pro-wrestling delivered with the usual NOAH physicality. Inamura has a lot going for him right now, but his ability to absolutely cave a man’s chest with clubbing forearms has got to be right on top of the list. The boy is a tank. Him and Okada always work well together and I was greatly amused by their random MIL MASCARAS flying headscissors sequence. Taniguchi and Kitamiya played their sempai roles well, laying down the law whenever needed. Did Taniguchi always use the PUNT KICK or did he absorb it Highlander-style from his blood match with Kazzer Fujita? I would much prefer it being the Highlander scenario. Please submit the answer to captainlou4life@gedomail.com. **3/4
YO-HEY vs. Seiki Yoshioka
Not the biggest YO-HEY fan, but he was allright here. He controlled most of the action, laying in his chops and working the crowd as much as one can work a crowd in COVID-handclap-mode. Yoshioka feels a bit low on personality, but he has great-looking offense and picked his comebacks nicely. Big fan of his Quebrada and HIGH-SPEED BOOKER T AXE KICK~! They worked a pretty solid finish that managed to include a gnarly chop/middle kick battle and a classic Junior Singles Match Rollup Exchange. Obviously, everything would’ve gotten over better with a fully-vocal crowd, but I thought they did a good enough job keeping the fans engaged with their fast pace and polished execution. YO-HEY truly has 100% accuracy on that flippy dropkick. ***
Go Shiozaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Nioh & Haoh
Here’s a match that did pretty much everything right. The Kongo junior henchmen tried their best to get by AXIZ with their speed and trickery but ultimately got crushed in epic fashion. Lots of great little details throughout to put over the difference in stature between the two teams: Katsu forcing Haoh to work for every Irish-whip, Go staring down Haoh after taking out his partner with a flying shoulder. Not every match needs to be a 50/50 back and forth and I don’t think top-level guys like Nakajima and Go should be selling too much of Nioh’s crappy offense. So I loved all of this. Little Haoh is always a sympathetic babyface and I felt truly bad when AXIZ started nuking him with ENDLESS LOVE. Hierarchy and realism are two things often ignored in modern wrestling and this little number was a good reminder of why they should not be. High quality Pro Wrestling NOAH Sunday Night Heat main event. ***1/4
Naomichi Marufuji, Atsushi Kotoge & Hajime Ohara vs. Kaito Kiyomiya, Daisuke Harada & Tadasuke
This had its moments but also way too much Kotoge and Tadasuke being Osaka Pro dorks to really get anywhere near compelling. These guys can be amusing but it all felt pretty soft after the gritty ass kicking presented in the previous match. Highlights were the Maru/Hara segment, which had a lot of cool reversals, and the finish between Kaito/Ohara. Kaito is a lot more vocal these days: his poses and mannerisms come across a lot more convincing than last year during his GHC run. Future is looking bright for the kid. **1/2
