The state of emergency in Tokyo forced a complete reshuffle of the tag league schedule, causing this show to turn into a two-match card in an empty Ice Ribbon Dojo (home of the world-famous Chris Brookes Produce shows). I’m all for two-match cards during this cursed pandemic.
Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda vs. Daisuke Sasaki & Yuji Hino – Ultimate Tag League
While yesterday’s Brookes/Honda tag had just the right dosage of Anton, this was Too Much Anton. And I say this as someone who is somewhat pro-Anton. There should be a limit of one fake injury gag per match. Anything more than that is pushing the boundaries of performance art to a level that the human mind is not quite ready for. *3/4
Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata vs. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi – Ultimate Tag League
Extremely rad companion piece to the TakeMAO/Eruption tag from February, which still stands tall as my current MOTY. This show’s dry-as-fuck setting kept it from reaching its full potential, but the work was pretty undeniable. We already knew Takeshita/Higuchi had world class chemistry, so the real revelation here was Shunma/Sakaguchi.
They told a really fun story where Katsumata kept trying to take out the shooter’s leg at various points throughout the match to avoid getting his head kicked off. Yukio sold just enough to keep the subplot relevant, but was quick to beat the fuck out of the NEPOWER-ed scoundrel whenever he had an opening. Love a dynamic that just makes sense.
This goes without saying at this point, but Takeshita’s the most creative Ace-level dude in mainstream Japanese wrestling. He’s still young and has room to improve, but his willingness to try crazy new shit all the time already puts him in a league of his own. That whole sequence where he dodged Yukio’s corner knee and transitioned right into the springboard cross body was a real work of art. Also very much enjoyed the multi-layered finish where a big table bump led to poor Shunma facing the full wrath of Eruption on his own. Tag team wrestling! ****
