Destruction in Beppu

Beppu B-Con Plaza
17th September 2018

Yuji Nagata/Manabu Nakanishi/Yuya Uemura def Satoshi Kojima/Hiroyoshi Tenzan/Yota Tsuji in 9:08 

This was a tale of two matches, the old school methodical strength work of the New Japan Dads and the hyper-enthusiasm of the two Young Lions when they tagged in. The crowd were into both portions of the match especially for the returning Kojima. When the youngsters were in together Tsuji just about managed to get the best of Uemura, however when Tsuji demanded to be tagged in by Kojima it backfired as Nagata tapped the Young Lion out for the win.

Verdict : Good solid opener which warmed the crowd up nicely. Tsuji and Uemura really raised the tempo of the match in the time they were given and I look forward to their next singles match in Kobe on the 23rd. ★★1/2

David Finlay/Ren Narita def Toa Henare/Shota Umino in 6:38

Finlay comes out carrying his 'C Block' trophy which I hope he carries on doing for a while. The two Young Lions start the match and Narita gets the better of Umino early, at some point Umino gets his nose bust and is bleeding for the rest of the match. Henare works the crowd well when he tags in and Umino hits a top rope dropkick to both Finlay and Narita. Finlay hits Umino with an uranage for a 2 count and then finishes the bloodied youngster off with a stunner for the win.

Verdict : A good amount of time was given to the Young Lions in this match and Henare continues to impress with his rapport with the crowd. After the match Finlay bigs up Umino over the commentators mic and says that he thinks Umino could maybe beat him one day, looks like a possible match before Shota goes on excursion. ★★3/4

Ayato Yoshida def Takashi Iizuka by DQ in 4:30

When I saw this match on the card I thought an upset could possibly be on the cards and when commentary said it was only Iizukas second single match in 5 years I thought it was almost likely. What followed though, I struggle to call it a match, was a complete waste of Yoshida after a solid showing in Hiroshima two nights earlier. Iizuka attacked with a chair before the bell, tangled with Kevin Kelly at ringside to work his muzzle off and then proceeded to bite various parts of Yoshida for the next 2 minutes. he then choked the Young Lion with a rope before hitting him with the iron glove.

Verdict : A win for Yoshida against a non Young Lion but this was a complete waste of time. DUD

Jushin 'Thunder' Liger/Taguchi/Tiger Mask/Kushida def Will Ospreay/Sho/Yoh/Rocky Romero in 10:00 

Taguchi comes out wearing the scrum cap from Hiroshima a couple of nights ago which sets the tone for the match. It is a fun showcase for the juniors before the Junior Tag League and the crowd enjoy a comedy spot when the CHAOS members tease an argument before a group hug which Taguchi then tries to join in. Things get more serious when Kushida and Ospreay are in the ring together as they could potentially meet in the final of the Junior Heavyweight Title tournament. After the match breaks down into an 8 man melee Romero and Tiger Mask end up left in the ring, Romero kicks out of a Tiger Driver after 2 but Tiger follows up with a Tombstone for the win.

Verdict : Two falls in a row for Tiger Mask on these Destruction shows, could he possibly be first challenger to the next champion? This was a fun quick paced match with a preview of a possible upcoming Ospreay/Kushida final. ★★★

Killer Elite Squad (Davey Smith Jr/Lance Archer) def Best Friends (Trent Beretta/Chuck Taylor) in 10:34

K.E.S attack before the bell and isolate Beretta, utilising quick tags while they work him over. Smith tries a running power slam but Beretta escapes to make the tag to Taylor. After some back and forth work Smith stops a pin attempt by deadlifting Beretta off Archer into a German Suplex. Beretta attempts a dive but Archer catches him on the outside and hits a choke slam on to the apron, Beretta reaches for the tag but Smith pulls Taylor off the apron to the floor and runs him into the rail which leaves KES free to hit the Killer Bomb on Beretta for the win.

Verdict : This was classic old style tag work from Killer Elite Squad separating the ring and using quick tags. On this evidence they would look on course for a title shot soon but the fact this match is happening again in Kobe makes me worry we could be heading for a three way title match. ★★★1/2

Zack Sabre Jr/El Desperado/Kanemaru def EVIL/SANADA/BUSHI in 8:31

SANADA puts Kanemaru in the Paradise lock early which at least gets that nonsense out of the way. The commentary team are mentioning Bushi's close link to Hiromu so it looks like that will be the theme of Bushi's match with Kushida in the upcoming Junior Heavyweight Championship tournament. Bushi hits a nice top rope dropkick to clear El Desperado and Kanemaru out of the ring. Zack and EVIL are left in the ring to continue their budding rivalry. EVIL gets the better of Zack before Sabre counters with kicks to the arm leading into an Octopus hold which EVIL breaks by biting the top rope. EVIL attempts to hit Everything is Evil but Sabre counters into a bridging leg clutch roll for the win.

Verdict : Short but fast paced match where everyone got a moment to shine. The main story coming out is the continuing build between EVIL and Zack Sabre Jr. With a possible IC title match coming up for EVIL, I would love to see Zack challenge for the belt at the Dome. ★★★

Hiroshi Tanahashi/Juice Robinson/Toge Makabe/Tomoaki Honma def Toru Yano/Yoshi-Hashi/Jay White/Kazuchika Okada in 13:01

After the CHAOS tension, and tease of Yoshi Hashi defecting to Tanahashi's 'Nice Guy Faction', at Hiroshima this match picks up pretty much where we left off. An early face-off between Tanahashi and Okada is interrupted when Jay White makes a blind tag much to the CHAOS leaders dismay. Honma misses a Kokeshi headbutt attempt and the match spills to the outside, during the melee Okada ends up holding Tanahashi from behind for White to attack but in another show of defiance White refuses the chance and instead re-enters the ring to make the tag to Yano. Another unsuccessful Kokeshi attempt by Honma is followed up with a third that hits the spot, Makabe tags in and hits a lariat after Yano has raked the eyes to leave both men down.
Hot tags to Okada and Tanahashi up the tempo in a blistering spell, Tanahashi hits a Dragonscrew followed by a dropkick to Okada's knee, Okada manages a neckbreaker and attempts a tombstone but the veteran Tanahashi escapes only to run into a signature Okada dropkick. Tanahashi ctaches Okada with a Twist'n Shout followed by a Slingblade before crashing and burning with a High Fly Flow attempt. Okada tags in Yoshi Hashi and Juice finally gets in the ring after a tag from Tanahashi, Juice is fired up and backs Hashi into the corner before hitting a Cannonball followed by a crossbody for a 2 count. After a back and forth spell Hashi sets up Juice for a powerbomb but Honma breaks it up with a Kokeshi which leads to the match breaking down again. In the confusion Hashi holds Juice for an attack by White but Robinson escapes and the CHAOS man accidentally hits his own teammate leading to Juice hitting the Pulp Friction on Hashi for the win. After the match Yoshi Hashi once again shuns his teammates and leaves the arena alone.

Verdict : Although the best part of the match was undoubtedly the Tanahashi v Okada section it fells as though the build for their match in Kobe is being overshadowed by the tension in the CHAOS faction. Jay White is excellent in his current role as the arrogant, would-be leader, who seems happier to stir trouble than actually win these multi-man matches and I still feel that he will somehow affect the result on Saturday. ★★★1/4

Never Openweight Championship Match 
Taichi def Hirooki Goto (c) in 20:54 

I was intrigued going into this match, thinking it would be interesting to see Taichi in a serious match with no bullshit, but then....... Taichi spends two minutes at the start of the match refusing to get into the ring before pushing Miho Abe into the ring to distract the ref while Kanemaru (accompanying Taichi) attacks Goto on the outside. Taichi hits Goto with a chair and the attack carries on out in the crowd. Five minutes after the bell rang we finally get action in the ring but after some chops by Goto the action spills back outside to the crowd. Taichi attempts a powerbomb on the ramp but Goto escapes and hits a suplex before delivering another to Kanemaru on top of Taichi.
Back in the ring Goto lands a Saito suplex for a 2 count, an exchange of blows follows with forearms from Goto being met with kicks from Taichi before an enziguri finally takes the champion down. Taichi hits a buzzsaw kick for a 2 followed by a high suplex and another enziguri for another near fall and the Suzuki Gun man is actually looking good with a spell of sustained offence. Goto manages to wrap Taichi up in a sleeper and attempts a GTR but the challenger grabs hold of the ref giving Kanemaru the chance to attack from behind, with the ref down El Desperado comes from the back to distract Goto but Roppongi 3K turn up to equal the numbers. A ushigoroshi by Goto is followed up by a Shouten Kai for the visual pin but there is no ref to count it. Goto hits a PK and a reverse GTR but this time Taichi kicks out at 2. Iizuka appears at ringside and after another ref bump Taichi hits a low blow on Goto for a 2 count but a superkick and a Last Ride are enough to keep Goto down for the 3 count.

Verdict : An overly booked nonsense match made even worse by the brief glimpse of what could have been when Taichi actually worked it like a real match. This would have been better served by cutting off the first 10 minutes but for a title match this was not good. Goto deserves a lot better and, to be fair, so does Taichi as this win does nothing for him going forward. ★★3/4

Tetsuya Naito def Minoru Suzuki in 30:28 

Suzuki attacks before the bell as Naito is taking his suit off and the match starts on the outside. Suzuki spits on Naito and rubs his boot in his face before delivering an armbar over the top rope and then booting Naito into the guardrail. Like the previous match this spills into the crowd and Suzuki chokes Naito with a chair before returning to the ring and delivering another armbar over the bottom rope this time. After a shotgun dropkick on the outside Suzuki continues the arm work back in the ring, the crowd are quiet for this and the first ten minutes have felt more like twenty.
Naito finally hits an atomic drop and a neckbreaker to break the Suzuki momentum but he fires back with some vicious strikes followed by 4 PKs before returning to the outside of the ring to get a table which he throws straight at Naitos head! The table is set up and both men end up on the apron of the ring, Suzuki puts Naito in the same hanging sleeper that he utilised in Beppu but Naito battles back and pulls Suzuki off the apron and through the table to the floor with a neckbreaker. Naito takes advantage of the break in action to recover while Suzki takes a 19 count before getting back in the ring.
Naito hits a flying forearm and attempts a Destino but Suzuki escapes, kneebar to Naito but he makes the ropes to force the break. Naito delivers a low dropkick and a top rope assisted DDT before attempting Destino which Suzuki escapes again and immediately goes back to work on Naito's leg. Suzuki has some nice transitions while he works over the knee with various submission moves for what feels like five minutes, the crowd do rally a bit behind Naito before he manages to reach the ropes but as soon as the hold is broken Suzuki slaps on a sleeper hold. Suzuki releases the hold and attempts a Gotch style piledriver but Naito counters with a Destino to leave both men down. After an exchange of blows Naito hits an enziguri before he picks Suzuki up in the Gotch Style piledriver position and delivers a kind of sit-down powerbomb and a quick Destino is enough to put Suzuki down for the three count.

Verdict : For a match with a heated build and some intense early action this descending into boring rather quickly and even the usually hot Naito crowd didn't seem into it. The most egregious element for me was how long Suzuki worked the leg before Naito completely no sold the effects for the closing stretch, A quick Destino could have been explained by an adrenaline rush but this went on for too long to use that as a cover. ★★★