Our one match shows continued in Saitama and Gunma. Well, they weren’t one match shows, that would be very weird. There were multiple matches, but I only care about one of them. Make sense? No? Fuck it.
Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay and Robbie Eagles) (2-2) defeated TJP and Clark Connors (0-4)
With both teams in the midst of good tournaments, I was looking forward to this one. Although, it does mean I’m about to say more nice things about TJP, which is becoming worryingly common.
However, credit where it’s due, he and Ospreay were great in this. What’s making Perkins standout is how quick and smooth he is, so when you put him in there with someone who can match him on that, it creates magic. I would happily watch those two have a singles match, although I would continue to complain about TJP’s face throughout.
Connors and Eagles impressed too, as I think there’s a strong argument to be made for Eagles being the tournament MVP so far. That guy is fantastic, and while I think some of his facial expressions are a bit too much, the in-ring stuff is spot-on. There was a period where joining Bullet Club made the careers of many a non-Japanese wrestler, but he may well be the first to become a star by turning on them.
Matches like this will certainly do him no harm, as everyone came out of it looking good. If you were to prop a Junior division upon the shoulders of these four men for the next five years, I don’t think many people would complain.
Verdict: Three And A Half Stars
Volador Jr and Titan (3-1) defeated Suzuki-gun (El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (2-2)
I’ve been enjoying taking digs at Volador Jr’s work rate, but to be honest, he has had a decent tour. It’s certainly his best in New Japan for a while, as he seems more fired-up to impress than usual. Maybe he’s hoping he can fill the Dragon Lee sized hole in the roster.
As is the norm with Despy and Uncle Nobu matches, the story here was Volador and Titan’s attempts to overcome their underhanded ways. The Suzuki-gun pairing are such a brilliant paid of cunts, swarming around opponents and constantly looking for a way to get the upper hand. They’re the perfect foils for two high-flying babyfaces trying to build a head of steam, and these two teams created a nice wee story around it.
And those babyfaces valiantly battled to victory, taking all the shite that Nobu and Despy threw at them (including the customary ripping of Titan’s mask which Despy made sure to grab after the match in revenge) to sneak away with the points. It was a perfectly told story that did everything it needed to, and gets the thumbs up from me.
Verdict: Three And A Half Stars
Overall Show
Two enjoyable if unremarkable matches from the Super Junior Tag League. I know I was moaning at the start of this tour, but with the benefit of hindsight, I don’t know what I was talking about. I like all these teams, so if they keep going out and working hard, I’m going to have a nice time.
Watch New Japan: https://njpwworld.com/
Ramblings About Wrestling 
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