The second to last night of B Block tournament action. Unlike A Block, where there are only two possible winners, B Block has as many as four potential Block Champions.
Jonathan Gresham, Titan, & Toa Henare b. Tiger Mask IV, SHO, & Yota Tsuji when Henare pinned Tsuji with a Uranage – Team Tiger worked over Titan. Gresham got the tag and traded dueling strikes with Sho. Then Tsuji and Henare went at it. Tusji used a Boston Crab on Henare until Gresham broke it up, which caused the obligatory multi-man brawl. Henare landed a headbutt on Tsuji, and followed up with a Uranage for the victory.
NEVER Openweight Champion Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru b. Tomohiro Ishii & Shota Umino when Kanemaru pinned Umino with a Deep Impact DDT – The heels immediately started the match via cheating by jumping Umino from behind. They pummeled him on the outside, and double teamed him in the ring. Ishii got the tag and briefly ran wild before he and Taichi battled to a double down. A double tag out to Umino and Kanemaru respectively. Umino dropkicked Taichi to the floor, but shortly afterward got DDT’d by Kanemaru. Taichi held Ishii at bay while Kanemaru finished off Umino with a Deep Impact DDT.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Dragon Lee & IWGP US Champion Juice Robinson b. Marty Scurll & Brody King when Robinson pinned King with a Pulp Friction – Lee and Scurll began the match, but it didn’t take long for King to distract Lee and open the door for a double team. The heels worked Lee over until Juice got the tag. King blocked a Pulp Friction and hit a Black Hole Slam for a two count. Juice responded with the Left Hand Of God and a Pulp Friction to pin King.
Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi of Los Ingobernables De Japon b. Taiji Ishimori & Gedo of Bullet Club when Naito pinned Gedo with a roll-up – This is the preview of the A Block winners match. Takagi and Ishimori even started off for their respective teams. However, it didn’t take long for the match to spill out to the floor. Gedo smashed Naito’s head into the announce table, and tossed him back into the ring. Naito got worked over until Takagi finally got the tag. Ishimori and Takagi went back and forth until a double down. Gedo and Naito entered back in, with Gedo going for brass knucks. Takagi made the save and leveled Gedo with a Pumping Bomber. Naito then rolled up Gedo for the pin.
YOH (5-2, 10) s. Ren Narita (0-7, 0) with a Calf Crusher – Yoh worked on Narita’s knee, and fended off Narita’s attempts to counter. Narita made a brief comeback with a belly to belly suplex. Yoh kicked out and applied the Calf Crusher for the submission.
Bandido (3-4, 6) p. Robbie Eagles (4-3, 8) with a top rope powerslam – The match went to the floor early, and almost ended in a countout victory for Eagles. When Bandido beat the count at 19, Eagles continued his assault with submissions and near falls. Bandido battled back and tried to hit the 21-Plex. but Eagles reversed it into a reverse hurricanrana for a two count. Bandido made his comeback, and battled Eagles atop the turnbuckles. Eagles tried for a top rope Sliced Bread. Bandido reversed it into a powerslam for the pin.
BUSHI (4-3, 8) p. Rocky Romero (3-4, 6) with a MX – Not only is Bushi still alive in the tournament, he has been on a roll, having won four matches in a row. Romero is mathmatically eliminated, but could play spoiler by beating Bushi here, because that would effectively eliminate him. Romero came to the ring in his Black Tiger mask. When Bushi asked for Rocky to remove his mask, he did so, and spat mist in Bushi’s face. However, Bushi quickly recovered and kicked out of a Strong Zero. A missile dropkick followed by a Bushirooni. and Bushi gained control of the match. Bushi DDT’d Rocky on the apron for the obligatory big match apron bump. Then, at the ten minute mark, Bushi hit the MX and got the pinfall.
Will Ospreay (5-2, 10) p. DOUKI (1-6, 2) with a Stormbreaker – Douki tried to attack Ospreay with a pipe before the bell, but Ospreay ducked. The match quickly spilled to the floor, and Douki gained control with a dive onto Ospreay from the top rope. While Douki distracted Red Shoes, Taichi attacked Ospreay with a chair. Ospreay used his agility to make a comeback. The two went back and forth, hitting big moves for near falls, including reversing finishers. Taichi again interfered by distracting Red Shoes. Douki hit Ospreay with the pipe behind Red Shoes back. Ospreay kicked out, and the Young Lions helped keep Taichi from interfering again. Ospreay then was able to cleanly get the with with a Stormbreaker.
Ryusuke Taguchi (5-2, 10) s. El Phantasmo (5-2, 10) with Oh My And Garankle Lock – Phantasmo motioned that he wanted to play catch with Taguchi’s rugby ball, but when it got passed to him, he booted it into the crowd. As Phantasmo gloated, Taguchi attacked him. ELP tricked Taguchi into running the ropes until he collapsed from exhaustion. Phantasmo then did his rope walk a la Undertaker’s Old School. Taguchi also tried to do it, only for him to crotch himself on the ropes as a result. ELP controlled the match for the next few minutes. Taguchi made a comeback with Hip Attacks, and followed up with a dive to the floor. Phantasmo retaliated by whipping him into the ringpost, and hit a dive from the top rope to Taguchi on the floor. That Seemed to tweak Phantasmo’s knee. The two battled back and forth, with each getting a few near falls. When Phantasmo tried to kick Taguchi off the top rope, Taguchi managed to reverse it into a Ankle Lock.Phantasmo tried to escape by grabbing Red Shoes, so Taguchi turned his anklelock into a German Suplex for a two count. Before Phantasmo could counter, Taguchi hit a Dodon, but Phantasmo re-applied the anklelock. This time, Phantasmo submitted.
B BLOCK STANDINGS
12 Ryusuke Taguchi
12 Will Ospreay
12 YOH
10 El Phantasmo
10 BUSHI
8 Bandido
8 Robbie Eagles
6 Rocky Romero
2 DOUKI
0 Ren Narita
