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THE NEW BEGINNING IN SAPPORO: NIGHT 2

January 28, 2018

Kazuchika Okada . . . doesn’t do anything to make his upcoming title defense against SANADA seem the least bit interesting.

Matt Jackson . . . puts on one of the best selling (yes, I said selling) performances in recent memory.

Jay White . . . shows just how much punishment that he can take, en route to winning Kenny Omega’s vanity title.

JUICE ROBINSON vs. KATSUYA KITAMURA

This isn’t anything amazing, but it’s fun to watch Kitamura show off his power and bump Juice around a bit, since he wasn’t able to do that to Elgin the day before. The chops are insanely stiff, and the only real issue is early on when Juice drops down and Kitamura freezes up for a second, before realizing what Juice was doing. Juice gives Kitamura a nice opening to take control with the full nelson, and he takes a couple of gratuitous bumps, and winds up winning by outsmarting Kitamura, since it was obvious that Kitamura has the edge in the strength department.

TAKA MICHINOKU/TAICHI ISHIKARI/YOSHINOBU KANEMARU/EL DESPERADO vs. JYUSHIN LYGER/RYUSUKE TAGUCHI/TIGER MASK/SHOTA UMINO

There isn’t much of anything here that wasn’t seen in the match from the night before between these groups. The intensity and hate are still present, but there’s nothing as far as engrossing work or storytelling. When TM does a butterfly suplex off the top to Desperado, and he’s back on his feet less than minute later to work a segment with Taguchi, you know how little thought went into the match. Umino, the obvious fall guy, gets a few chances to look good, including a near fall on Ishikari with La Magistral, but Ishikari finishes him off with a decidedly non-Elite superkick. The heat segment on Lyger and the build to Tenzan’s hot tag from the night before are enough to make that match the better one.

TORU YANO/TOMOHIRO ISHII vs. YUJIRO TAKAHASHI/HIKULEO

This is also similar to the tag match from the night before, but, the Ishii/Hikuleo exchanges make this one more interesting. There aren’t many who can challenge Ishii physically, but Hikuleo can. Their vertical suplex exchange is one of the better moments of the match, and watching them both struggle to pull off the move looks completely credible. Yano still clowns around, and Yujiro camps things up with him. But, the finish shows why you can’t dismiss Yano just because of his goofiness, when he outsmarts and gets the pin on the big guy.

BAD LUCK FALE/TAMA TONGA/TONGA LOA/CHASE OWENS vs. HIROYOSHI TENZAN/TOGI MAKABE/MANABU NAKANISHI/TOMOYUKI OKA

Aside from a few amusing moments, this isn’t vastly different from the eight-man tag that the juniors had. It’s about the same length, it has the same rushed feeling without developing any themes or trying to tell a story. The Nakanishi/Fale exchange is interesting, but it’s gone as soon as it’s there. It’s funny to see Tenzan take over when Tama does a headbutt and hurts his own head, but it doesn’t play any significant role in the match. And, once Oka gets tagged in, it’s obvious that the match is winding down, although he at least gets finished off with something that looks like a real finisher.

MINORU SUZUKI/TAKASHI IIZUKA vs. MICHAEL ELGIN/TOA HENARE

Somehow, this was the first match that actually a told story. Of course, the match fell apart right after they wrapped it up, but the attempt is appreciated. Suzuki and Iizuka, along with the rest of Suzuki Gun on the floor, put Toa through the ringer to build up to a hot tag to Elgin. It’s fun to watch the heels work him over, but it’s rushed and there isn’t any real focus to what they do to him. Elgin gets the tag and bumps around Iizuka for a bit, and trade shots with Suzuki, which apparently sap his energy because he looks exhausted after he does a powerslam and has to tag Toa back in. The one really cool moment is after Toa gets a near fall with a Samoan drop. Suzuki gets to his feet with a look on his face says that he’s decided that enough is enough. He easily counters Toa to get his sleeper and then uses the same legbar that he beat Tanahashi with, and Toa has the sense to tap out. The work is rushed, the end result is obvious, and Iizuka’s exaggerated movements look more suited for someone being managed by Gary Hart in World Class, rather than in New Japan. Again, I appreciate the fact that they tried to tell a story, but even to say ‘they tried’ seems like a bit of a stretch.

CODY RHODES/ADAM PAGE/MARTY SCURLL vs. KOTA IBUSHI/KUSHIDA/DAVID FINLAY

It would have been nice if this got another five or ten minutes for the Bullet Club’s heat segment on Finlay, but it’s still nice overall. It’s fun to watch Finlay and KUSHIDA outwrestle Scurll and keep working his arm over. Between that, and his counter to Cody’s figure four that gives him the chance to tag Ibushi, this is the best that Finlay has looked. The heat segment on him is a bit rushed, but it at least features Cody taunting Ibushi to build up to the tag. The match turns into a bit of a spotfest after the tag, but they manage to do some smart things. After Ibushi tags in, he knocks Page and Scurll off the apron so that Cody can’t get away from him. During the segment where they take turns taking each other out, Page is smart enough to avoid the big shot, and keep things in Bullet Club’s favor. After Ibushi hits Page with a diving stomp, he decides to dive onto Scurll on the floor, and that allows Cody to save Page from the Hoverboard lock. And, after KUSHIDA counters the Cross Rhodes (as well as prevent Cody from doing it to Ibushi), Cody finds a way to counter KUSHIDA to get his move, and, with Page still being the legal man, he’s able to swoop in and finish KUSHIDA off. It’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but, it still blows away both of the eight-man tags that preceded it. ***

KAZUCHIKA OKADA/HIROOKI GOTO/YOSHI-HASHI/WILL OSPREAY/GEDO vs. TETSUYA NAITO/SANADA/EVIL/HIROMU TAKAHASHI/BUSHI

Naito and YOSHI-HASHI seem ready to pick up where they left off the night before, but aside from that there isn’t very much that’s remarkable about this. The control segment on YOSHI-HASHI by Los Ingobernables is better than the one from Bullet Club, but, it’s still too sort and unfocused to really matter. Although, there was a nice touch where YOSHI-HASHI had the chance to tag, but decided to take a cheap shot on Naito on the apron and it allowed Hiromu to keep working him over. After YOSHI-HASHI tags out, the match settles down with each of them working a segment with their upcoming opponent to create some excitement for their match. And, once again, it’s only Okada/SANADA that disappoints in that respect. SANADA’s ode to Mutoh with the attempted moonsault is nice, but neither of them seems to be as fired up as their stablemates are. The finish makes them seem ‘equal’ by having SANADA submit Gedo to the Skull End, the same way that Okada taped out BUSHI the night before. But, two nights and two matches of disappointment don’t put me in any hurry to see Okada and SANADA for more than thirty minutes.

Despite a few questionable ideas, this is boatloads of fun. There’s some subtle hints early on that Matt’s back isn’t quite up to snuff, such as after he does the dive off the ramp. But, when he loses the powerbomb, and then takes that bump onto the apron, the match picks up in a big way. Of all the thing that one could equate the Young Bucks with, “great selling” probably wouldn’t be very high on that list. But, Matt is spot-on with almost everything he does. Even doing something simple like holding SHO in place for Nick, looks like it’s killing him. It adds an interesting dynamic to the sharpshooter spot, with the idea that even though it really hurts Matt do it, it’s hopefully hurting YOH even more. One of those questionable ideas was Matt’s quick crawl to the ropes in order to break the Boston crab. The first attempt, which resulted in YOH dragging him back, was fine, but, considering the heat it was generating, he’d have been better served to let Nick break the hold. There were also a couple of near falls that Matt didn’t need to kick out of, most notably Rocky and Koslov’s Contract Killer. But, even after he got hurt, Matt added one of the best moments of the match when he managed to crawl around the ring and pull SHO off the apron before he could tag in.

Matt’s back being fried puts some new meaning into Nick’s offense. Nick uses usual Young Bucks spots, like the springboard facebuster and the moonsault off the apron. But, finding himself in what has essentially become a handicap match, means that he has strike hard and strike quick. SHO and YOH don’t have a ton in the way offense just yet, but, they make up for it by being as dickish as possible when working over Matt’s back, and Matt selling so well, only makess their limited offense look that much better. The Boston Crab may be considered a “rookie” hold, but damn if it doesn’t seem like YOH is a hair away from winning the titles for his team. The finish with the flash cradle leaves something of a bad taste. It’s fine that Matt drops the fall, and YOH countering the Sharpshooter into the cradle is fine too. But, the booking comes across like it’s either protecting the Bucks, who don’t need it at this stage, or trying to ensure that SHO and YOH don’t get too much of a rub from winning. Truth be told, they could have done something nasty like had SHO suplex Matt on the apron or floor and then locked in a submission and made tap out or pass out. When they had a rematch in two or three months, nobody would have thought any less of the Young Bucks. ***1/4

This is easily the best non-Okada match I’ve seen from Kenny Omega. But, that’s more due to White than it is Omega. The parallels to the previous match are obvious, Jay gets an opening by surprising Omega with a suplex on the floor and takes advantage by working over his back and neck. It’s a smart avenue for them to use, because it shows that Jay is able to control Kenny. His offense isn’t anything amazing, but, Jay shows more in about thirty seconds than the entirety of what R3K did to Matt. The bodyslam on the exposed floor is a perfect example of something simple, but very effective. But, even without that opening, Jay shows how prepared he is for the match, by outsmarting and outwrestling Kenny. Where it falls flat is that Kenny is no Matt Jackson when it comes to selling. He has a few good moments, like when he counters Jay with a back body drop, and then drops to his knees to sell, and his reaction to both Jay’s attempt to do the Indian deathlock and the actual hold are nice as well. But other than that, there isn’t much to see from Kenny in that regard, and it’s even more irritating that he goes on offense by surprising Jay with a rana and then hitting a huge dive to the floor.

When Kenny takes over, it’s the complete opposite, and Kenny is every bit as great on offense, as he was disappointing while Jay was in control. Kenny sadistically tortures Jay with absurdly stiff V-Trigger shots, and even tries for pins afterwards, as well as a powerbomb on a row of chairs. The trios match from the night before had shows how lethal the snap Dragon suplex could be, and Kenny also uses that to hurt him. Jay also doesn’t reach the levels that Matt did, but he comes much closer than Kenny. Probably the best moment of the match was the near fall that appeared to be from Jay having an involuntary convulsion, rather than him kicking out. Jay’s comeback also looks much more believable, with him countering Kenny and hitting a backdrop, but it looked like it had next to nothing as far momentum, because Jay was still putting over the beating he’d taken. But the suplex is enough to give him a chance to recover. They have a pretty smart finish, with Jay telegraphing the Blade Runner, and Kenny countering it, only for Jay to escape the One-Winged Angel and hit the Blade Runner to pull off the upset. Also, like the previous match, they had a few questionable moments, Kenny could have used a few less V-Triggers, and the moment where White took one and started laughing, only to take another and fall in a heap was also odd. Overall, it’s still the best match of both nights. It’s just too bad that Kenny didn’t step up the same way that Jay did, otherwise it would have been the second year in a row that Kenny locked up the match of the year honors in January. ***½

Conclusion: This is a big improvement over the previous night. The undercard is still a bit questionable, but the two main matches definitely deliver.