Toshizo © vs. Black Menso-re – GAORA TV Title
Remember the badass Menso-re/Hikaru junior title match during the Champ Carnival? This wasn’t quite as good, but they tried hard to get there. Toshizo was the perfect foil for Strong Style Menso-re – dude spent half the match soccer kicking him into oblivion to awaken his snake lord babyface energy. Both guys hit hard and told the simple but effective story of two pro-wrestlers laying their shit in. That’s all you need, bro. The match also gave us that powerful image of Nikkan Lee standing against the whipping spot. Bless her and bless this wildly-solid match. ***1/2
Kento Miyahara, Rising HAYATO & Oji Shiiba vs. Yuma Aoyagi, Hokuto Omori & Atsuki Aoyagi
Considering the level of maturity in this ring, I was really worried about how HAYATO and his new K-Pop gimmick would be received. To my entirely pleasant surprise – not only did he fit in seamlessly, but he worked in some sweet pose-offs with Kento and Atsuki. Mission accomplished. The rest of the match was your run-of-the-mill Nextream house show 6-man. By this I mean it overdelivered massive amounts of laughs, hot near-falls and high-flying fun for the whole family. ***1/4
Takao Omori vs. Naoya Nomura – Royal Road Tournament (Round 2)
If you were looking for SUBSTANTIATED EVIDENCE that Naoya Nomura has successfully reinvented himself as a Worker of the Arm – look no further than this match. A stiff, compact little blast of wrasslin’ augmented by Nomura’s limb-centric strategizing. Omori, 52 years young, is once again along for the ride but will take your head off with an Axe Bomber if you’re not looking. It is weirdly-satisfying/somewhat hilarious that Nomura went after old man Omori with the same intensity shown in his first-round match with Yuma. ***1/4
Jake Lee vs. Takuya Nomura – Royal Road Tournament (Round 2)
Judging by the entrances alone, one might’ve been expecting a stylistic catastrophe here. Barebones 80’s traditionalist taking on the The Actual Prince of Darkness? How could such a match work!? Well, these guys are professional wrestlers and they made it work. Many subplots were presented to YOU, the wrestling fan – and all of them were good.
Tall vs. Small, Tummy vs. Arm, Insider vs. Outsider. A rich tapestry of wrestling constructs taking place before the watchful eye of a single house show camera. Just like God intended. The Jakester came off as a dominant figure all the way through, but he also subtly reminded you that deep down he has a heart of gold. How did he accomplish this? By selling the arm of course. ***1/2
