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7/23 NJPW Summer Struggle in Osaka Night Two
Hirooki Goto, Rocky Romero and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jado, Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo
A bunch of comedy spots in this match with Taguchi and Bullet Club shenanigans. Goto blew a whistle while Rocky and Taguchi double teamed Phantasmo. Lots of craziness in this match. Taguchi caught Jado with an ankle lock submission. ELP hit Sudden Death on Taguchi.
Jado pins Taguchi.
Rocky came to help his partner and ELP hit Sudden Death on him. The IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions gloated over their win on their way back to the locker room.
Yujiro Takahashi, KENTA and EVIL, with Dick Togo vs. Toru Yano, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii
More comedy in this match with Yano. KENTA and EVIL had enough of the silliness and attacked Yano. Bullet Club took the match to the floor. Wild match.
Ishii pins Takahashi with a Brainbuster.
EVIL and Togo attacked Ishii after the match with a chair. KENTA joined and laid out Tanahashi and Yano. Bullet Club beat down the baby faces, which sets up their respective matches at the Tokyo Dome.
Great O-Khan and Jeff Cobb vs. YOSHI-HASHI and Kazuchika Okada
Okada and YOSHI-HASHI attacked United Empire at the bell, just like last night. YOSHI-HASHI hit Cobb with chops and strikes. Cobb planted him with a running back suplex. United Empire kept YOSHI-HASHI in their corner as they double teamed him. Okada tagged in and he and Cobb traded elbows. Cobb mocked Okada calling him “young boy” and doing the Rainmaker pose. Okada fought back but Cobb hit a dropkick in the face. Okada countered with a neck breaker and tagged to YOSHI-HASHI. YOSHI-HASHI hit a Headhunter. The match was out of control.
Cobb hit Tour of the Islands and pinned YOSHI-HASHI.
Okada was on the floor holding his shoulder. YOSHI-HASHI was lying on his back in the ring and O-Khan pushed him to the floor. Cobb continued to mock Okada telling him to help his fallen partner.
Tomoaki Honma and Master Wato vs. BUSHI and Shingo Takagi
Kota Ibushi is out with a form of Pneumonia. We wish him the best in getting healthy.
Funny moment in this match: Honma pulled his knee pad down and was going to hit a Kamagoye on Takagi. He instead hit a Kokeshi.
Takagi hit Last of the Dragon and pinned Honma.
Much more competitive match than the night before.
Taichi vs. SANADA
The match began with both men flexing their pectoral muscles. They both looked to the crowd to see who had the best pectoral movement. Taichi attacked SANADA and choked him out. Taichi tied up SANADA with his version of the Paradise Lock in the ring ropes. Taichi dropkicked him out of the ring. Taichi choked out SANADA with electric cords. SANADA almost gets counted out. Both men trade choke holds on each other.
They both stop the rule breaking and get to wrestling. SANADA with a TKO. Taichi with a Dangerous Backdrop. SANADA with a dropkick. Taichi with a Choke Slam. Both men tried for their finishers but they reversed out. SANADA traps Taichi in Skull End. Taichi does not submit. SANADA goes for a moonsault but Taichi gets the knees up. Taichi hits the Last Ride. Two count. Taichi goes for Black Mephisto. SANADA reverses out. Taichi goes for the Gedo Clutch. SANADA reverses into a roll up with a bridge.
SANADA pins Taichi.
Great match. SANADA had two awesome matches against Dangerous Tekkers. SANADA deserves a top singles title.
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tetsuya Naito
Naito played mind games with ZSJ to get him frustrated. Naito attacked the left knee of ZSJ which was taped up. ZSJ caught Naito with a neck twist and turned the match to his advantage. ZSJ goes to work on Naito’s neck with submissions. Naito fights back and the pace of the match picks up. Too much to recap here. Both men are moving so fast. Naito hit an Esperanza and a Destino, but ZSJ kicks out at two. Naito hits a Valentia and another Destino.
Naito pins Zack Sabre Jr.
Wow! Both men are totally exhausted. Really great match.
SANADA and Taichi come to ringside to check on their partners.
Both teams will meet on July 25 in the Tokyo Dome for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
There has been no new information on the status of Kota Ibushi as of this report. If Ibushi cannot wrestle, it will be difficult to find another opponent for Shingo Takagi, when they have built no one else as an immediate challenger. Master Wato or Tomoaki Honma are not the best substitutes for Ibushi on the Tokyo Dome stage.
However, I think the past two nights with the matches between SANADA and Naito against Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. have been amazing. The IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match could main event the Tokyo Dome on July 25. All four men have told good stories in the ring and could do so again at Wrestle Grandslam.
We shall see how it all plays out within the next few days.
Thanks for reading.
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