Puroresu Show Reviews

Korakuen Hall 3/31/06 Pt.1
We begin with a look back to Abdullah Kobayashi winning the Death Match Title off Ryuji Ito back in December, and the build up to Takashi Sasaki becoming Kobayashi’s first challenger for the title. During the official press conference, Kobayashi brings out a basket full of nail stubs that will be used in the title match at Korakuen Hall. Those things look nasty!

Hardcore 6-Man Tag: Ryuji Ito, Jaki Numazawa & Daikokubo Benkei VS Kintaro Kanemura, Saburo Inematsu & Asian Cougar
I thought that these were two rather odd pairings.
The match was clipped down quite a bit (we didn’t see how Numazawa got busted open), but was still rather fun. I rather enjoyed seeing Benkei in a serious role again, as he played the immovable obstacle that the Apache Army had to get past. Big rub to Saburo Inematsu for being able to powerslam the big guy, with a little assist from his partners. And there was one rather funny bit where Benkei splashed Kanemura while he had Ito in an STF! They probably should have ended the match when everyone piled onto Benkei after Kanemura hit the diving senton, but Benkei managed to kick out with 3 guys on top of him!
Instead, the finish came with Ito cleaning house with a wooden board, followed by Benkei hitting an assisted Liger-bomb on Inematsu, Ito diving off the top with a big moonsault, and Benkei hitting the big splash for the pin. A bit on the short side, but still fun none the less.
Match Rating: *1/2

Another quick look back at the build up of Takashi Sasaki, followed by some comments from the challenger and champion. Kobayashi demonstrates the sharpness of the nails by dropping a tomato on them and watching it get impaled.

BJW Death Match Title - Light Tubes & Nail Board Death Match: Abdullah Kobayashi [C] VS Takashi Sasaki
You can feel the intensity when these two locked eyes and never broke off contact once they entered the ring, not even during the ring introductions. I sort of dread these matches sometimes when the ropes are all lined with light tubes and the audience are in such close proximity with the ring. There’s also a light tube cabin and a bucket of nail stubs in each neutral corner of the ring.
Starts with both men trying to muscle each other into the light tubes. Kobayashi clamps on a wrist-lock, but Sasaki flips out of it, grabs a light tube off the ropes, and breaks it over Kobayashi’s head! Sasaki now with a rear wrist lock, but Kobayashi powers out of it, and gets behind him with one of his own. Sasaki grabs another light tube, switches around and whacks Kobayashi on the back of the head with it! Sasaki tries to whip Kobayashi into the light tubes, but he manages to put the brakes on. Sasaki tries it again, but Kobayashi reverses it and Sasaki breaks into the light tubes! Kobayashi whips Sasaki again hard into the light tubes. The champion grabs a big bundle of light tubes and tries to break it over Sasaki’s head, but the challenger dodges it and kicks Kobayashi low. Sasaki rebounds off the ropes and misses a sliding dropkick, leaving himself open for Kobayashi to smash the light tube bundle over his head! Kobayashi follows up with a big dropkick, sending Sasaki into the light tube lined ring ropes again.
They exit the ring, and Kobayashi digs a nail stub into Sasaki’s head! Sasaki reverses an Irish whip and sends Kobayashi into the front row. Sasaki whacks the champion with a chair several times before sending him to the other side and breaking a light tube over his head. Back in the ring, Sasaki delivers several hard kicks to Kobayashi, he then switches to breaking light tubes by kicking them into the champion’s body! Kobayashi fights off a scoop-slam attempt, but is dropped by several hard knees to the mid-section before Sasaki breaks a light tube bundle over his head. Sasaki goes for the bucket of nail stubs and empties it out in the middle of the ring! Sasaki tries to slam Kobayashi, but the champion blocks it and tries to slam Sasaki on them. Sasaki floats over and rebounds off the ropes, but Kobayashi catches him with a powerslam onto the nail stubs! Kobayashi than backdrop suplexes Sasaki off the apron to the floor! Both men are bloody and down.
Kobayashi recovers first and sets up Sasaki on a table before going up the corner post and diving down with a Bakachinga Press through the table on the challenger! Kobayashi back up on the apron again, and this time he just drops a bundle of light tubes, breaking over Sasaki’s head as he gets up! Kobayashi takes a bite out of a light tube and spits the glass in Sasaki’s face! Sasaki than puts a nail stub in his mouth before digging it into Sasaki’s forehead. The champion than slams Sasaki down and places some light tubes on him before stomping them down on his groin! Kobayashi than digs a broken light tube into Sasaki’s already bleeding head. Sasaki tries to fight back with punches and kicks, but Kobayashi rakes and digs a nail stub in his head! Kobayashi slams Sasaki down in the center of the ring with a Samoan drop, then delivers the Bakachinga elbow drop with light tubes for a 2 count.
Kobayashi sets up a light tube cabin, but Sasaki recovers in time to catch Kobayashi with a kick in the chin. Sasaki tries to suplex Kobayashi onto the cabin, but Kobayashi counters it. Sasaki floats over and tries to German suplex the champion on the cabin! They switch around several times and Kobayashi escapes Sasaki’s waist lock with a back elbow to the head. Kobayashi runs off the ropes, but Sasaki catches him with a backdrop onto the light tube cabin! Kobayashi chant starts up now as the champ struggles to his feet, but is met by several whacks to the head with a wooden board by Sasaki! Sasaki tries for a tornado DDT, but Kobayashi overpowers the move and swings Sasaki back onto the corner post, so Sasaki breaks a light tube over Kobayashi’s head instead before spiking the champion with a jump swinging DDT out of the corner!
Sasaki rebounds off the ropes with a big kick to the head for a 2 count. Sasaki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick. He goes up top again, but Kobayashi recovers and breaks two light tube bundles over his head! Kobayashi sets up another light tube cabin, than gives Sasaki a Samoan drop off the top through them! The champ only gets a 2 count though. He slams Sasaki down near the corner and sets another cabin on his body before going up the second rope and delivering an inverted corner press (Vader-bomb) for another 2 count! Kobayashi tries to whack Sasaki with a bundle of light tubes, but Sasaki catches them, so Kobayashi head butts them into Sasaki’s head! He than gives Sasaki a weak looking Shining Wizard for another near fall. Abby Jr. sets up Sasaki in the corner where the nail stubs are, and looks to want to superplex the challenger on them, but Sasaki slips under and slams the champ out of the corner onto the nail stubs!
Sasaki on the offensive now with a series of hard kicks which knocks down the champion for a 2 count. Sasaki sets up a big bundle of light tubes in the ring and looks to try to D-Geist (Emerald Frosion) Kobayashi onto them, but the champion counters and pick up Sasaki off his feet and gives him the Koba-Driver onto the nail stubs! OH MY GAWD! TWO STUBS ARE STUCK IN HIS HEAD! And one of them is REALLY deep in! Kobayashi covers for a 2 count as a huge “Sasaki” chant starts up. Kobayashi sets a bundle of light tubes on Sasaki and goes up top to hit a big Bakachinga elbow drop for a 2.5! Kobayashi grabs a HUGE bundle of light tubes from under the ring and piledrives Sasaki before placing them on him and going up top again. Sasaki recovers in time and tries to superplex Kobayashi onto the bundle, but Kobayashi knocks him off the top, but the big man himself misses the Bakachinga elbow and crashes onto the bundle of light tubes!
Sasaki hits a pair of stiff lariats which stagger the champion. He tries for a third, but Kobayashi ducks and catches Sasaki with a release German suplex! Remember Sasaki still has that nail stub stuck in the back on his head! Sasaki is able to block a Shining Wizard attempt and hit a big buzzsaw kick to the head, followed by a big time lariat for a 2.8! Sasaki sets up several light tube bundles onto the nail stubs and gives Kobayashi the D-Geist onto them, but only gets a 2.9! Sasaki hits several quick kicks to the head followed by breaking a bundle of light tubes with a big kick to Kobayashi’s head and covers him to finally score the 3 count and win the Death Match Title!!!
This match was really hard to watch once that nail stub got stuck in Sasaki’s head! Definitely one of the sickest things I’ve ever seen, and it didn’t help that they’d zoom in on it every time we saw the back of his head! Kudos to Sasaki for being able to continue the match in that condition, even if the match was still heavily one sided. Kobayashi is definitely a good death match wrestler, but he’s more of a spot wrestler than actually being able to carry the match with wrestling ability like Ryuji Ito can.
Match Rating: ***

Wrestlers quickly rush the ring to check on Sasaki, and they even attempt to pull the nail stub out of his head before thinking better of it and just leaving it there so the proper medical authorities can take a look at it. Sasaki seems OK as he cuts a promo on Kobayashi, who congratulates him on the win before promising to win the title back. Sasaki than calls out Ryuji Ito and wants to defend the title against him to avenge his loss to him from last year. Sasaki thanks the crowd for supporting him and Big Japan before finally leaving. The show closes out with Kobayashi giving comments while greeting fans at the merchandise table all bloodied up still, than Sasaki being interviewed by the press with the nail stub still stuck in his head!

Korakuen Hall 3/31/06 Pt.2
Death Match Wars #72 kicks off with Katsumasa Inoue & Hiroyuki Kondo doing a press conference announcing their challenge for the BJW Tag Titles. Inoue has a score to settle with the champions as they busted his mouth open pretty bad with a wicked chair attack the last time they met. They than demonstrated their new tandem move where Inoue does a diving head butt off Kondo’s shoulders off the top rope, but ended up short of the target on each attempt! They were still confident they would the titles though.

BJW Tag Titles: Shadow WX & Mammoth Sasaki [C] VS Team Wakazaguri (Katsumasa Inoue & Hiroyuki Kondo)
Fun tag match with a lot of tandem moves thrown out by both sides. Team Wakazaguri came really close to winning the belts, and they had the right strategy attacking their bigger opponents with tandem moves, as well as some new, and rather bizarre looking, double team moves. They did manage to perfect that diving head butt move of theirs too. The champions unfortunately had the size and power advantage, as well as the hardcore advantage when they brought some chairs into the match. The big men hit some good tag moves themselves, and the stereo brainbusters they did was a cool visual. Mammoth picks up the win after planting Inoue with a 29-Years Old on a chair.
Match Rating: **1/2

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki VS Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda
Usually, unless your NJPW, the whole purpose of bringing outsiders is to get them to put over your own talent, but by the end of this one I seriously felt that Yoshihito Sasaki came out looking better than Sekimoto. Sure, Sekimoto had some heated exchanges with Tanaka, as well as scoring several near falls, but Sasaki looked stronger the way absorbed some big time offense and showed his never say die attitude. The two of them were even able to put together some cool double team moves, like Sasaki hitting the Argentine Coaster followed by a Sekimoto using his dead lift German suplex for a near fall. And there was a great visual moment when Sasaki & Sekimoto had both their opponents up in Argentine Backbreakers while out in the audience! I thought maybe they were going to battering ram them together from that position!
Give credit to Tanaka for still being able to work and bump like a monster despite his never healing shoulder injury. And Kuroda was fun to watch as well even if his offense is getting rather redundant. A fun match overall that was nicely built up with a great heated finish with tons of near falls before Tanaka finally put Sekimoto away with a barrage of elbow strikes, ala Misawa.
Match Rating: **1/2

Overall: Takashi Sasaki with that nail stub stuck in the back of his head definitely is not for the weak of heart, but give the man credit for getting back in the ring just a weak later! All four matches on this show were definitely fun, and I seriously recommend checking it out.

Labels: BJW