Big Japan in Korakuen: Strong Climb Finishing Run

2014/7/26

1.      Ikkitousen 2014 ~ Strong Climb ~ Semi-Final: Yuko Miyamoto vs. Daisuke Sekimoto

Yuko is the Deathmatch Champion, that’s his forte, but unlike many others from BJW history, he’s also rock solid in regular competition, he’s quick and tough, therefore Sekimoto’s gonna have to work damn hard to advance. Super nifty match that delivered both style and substance, awesome shit, Daisuke’s on the roll, and this is definitely the best non-DM for Yuko.

****1/4

2.      Ikkitousen 2014 ~ Strong Climb ~ Semi-Final: Manabu Soya vs. Shuji Ishikawa

Two early minutes are missing due to bad video, but it’s okay, the majority is there. About the match-up, all I have to say here is that I’ve never seen Shuji hit so damn hard, and that should speak volumes as I’ve seen tons of Shuji matches. Takayama must be proud somewhere.

***1/2

3.      The Brahmans (Shu & Kei) & Takayuki Ueki vs. Shinobu, Takumi Tsukamoto, Atsushi Maruyama

Your typical Brahmans/Ueki comic relief, harmless fun, although it’s sad to see Shinobu and especially Maruyama wasted like this, they should be kicking ass in multi-man tags instead.

**

4.      UWA World Tag Team Championship: Speed of Sounds (Tsutomu Oosugi & Hercules Senga) vs. MEN’S Teioh & Hiroshi Fukuda ©

Clipped in half, but I didn’t mind, because other than Teioh’s occasional greatness, there wasn’t much going on.

N/A

5.      LIGHTTUBE & CARRY WEAPONS DEATHMATCH: Isami Kodaka, Kankuro Hoshino, Masaya Takahashi vs. Ryuji Ito, Jaki Numazawa, Masashi Takeda

Big Japan might never have an epic deathmatch scene producing countless classics again, but they’re still solid and give their best considering the talent involved, as evidenced here in a fun little match.

***1/4

6.      Ryuichi Kawakami, Kazuki Hashimoto, Masato Inaba vs. Shinya Ishikawa, Shiori Asahi, Hideyoshi Kamitani

Strong BJ 6-man tags in Korakuen are always tons of fun, and this one was no different. The story here revolved about Kamitani and his painful road to recognition, good shit.

***1/2

7.      Ikkitousen 2014 ~ Strong Climb ~ FINAL: Shuji Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Sekimoto

Sekimoto’s hot summer streak continues in this super clash of trucks, he’s the face of the promotion trying to prevent the marabou stork of Big Japan from almost totally dominating everything there is in the fed. High octane beginning, methodical middle parts and crazy finishing run, this was an excellent slugfest in three acts with perfect pacing, well placed comebacks and Shuji throwing the craziest Shinya Hash/Takayama hybrid strikes imaginable. NOTHING BUT LOOOVE!

****1/2