NJPW DESTRUCTION in Beppu Results and Review

Sabre Jr, Desperado, & Kanemaru vs EVIL, SANADA, & Bushi

SANDA and Kanemaru start as the legal men, but Despy jumps in at the very beginning to assist his partner. SANADA gets the better of both of them though, the silly juniors. Cold Skull continues to dominate, but Suzuki Gun responds by playing dirty as they often do. SANADA loses out to the numbers game as all three of his opponents team up on him. Eventually SANADA fights off both Despy and ZSJ and makes the tag to Bushi.

Bushi takes advantage of the momentum gained by his partner and works over Despy for awhile. A spinebuster ends their back-and-forth, and EVIL and ZSJ are tagged in. The King of Darkness starts off overpowering Sabre Jr, but eventually the technical wizard uses technical wizardry to get back into the fight. SANADA enters and helps his partner set up the Everything is EVIL, but Sabre reverses it into a variation of the European Clutch for the sudden pinfall victory. EVIL remains motionless in the ring for minutes after the match, really selling his frustration and the importance of his taking the pinfall from Zack. Great stuff.

This was a solid little match. It could’ve used a few more minutes, but honestly these multiman tags are probably best kept short and to the point. Despy and Kanemaru continue to have no direction, which is unfortunate. On the positive side, there’s a rivalry building between ZSJ and EVIL. Hopefully we’ll get them in a singles match some time in the near future.

Rating: **3/4

Okada, White, Yano, & Yoshi-Hashi vs Tanahashi, Robinson, Honma, & Makabe

Okada and Tanahashi begin (although Okada has to physically remove Jay White from the ring). Tana and Okada go at it for a while, with neither gaining the advantage. Okada runs the ropes, and Jay White tags himself in, because duh. There are Wrestle Kingdom flashbacks as Tana easily gets the best of Switchblade. Honma gets the tag and goes for the Kokeshi, but it misses and Chaos takes advantage by laying out all of their opponents.

Okada sets up Jay White to attack Tanahashi, but the Switchblade ignores him and tags in Yano, who trades tags with Hashi as they go after Honma together. Eventually Honma is able to connect with the Kokeshi and takes the opportunity to tag in Makabe. Yano does his best to fool with Makabe, but it isn’t happening.

Okada and Tanahashi simultaneously get tags back into the match, and this time they’re all business. Then there’s Tanahashi with the dragon screw. Okada fights back and attempts the rainmaker, but settles for an air-raid crash neckbreaker. He goes for another rainmaker after a dropkick, but Tana reverses it and goes for the high fly flow. It misses and Okada tags in Hashi. Tana fights hard and is able to get enough breathing room to tag in Juice.

Hashi and Juice have a really great sequence before the match breaks down into a four-on-four brawl. Jay White accidentally runs into Hashi, allowing Juice to connect with the Left Hand of God and the Pulp Friction. 1 2 3. Tanahashi rushes to check on Hashi after the match, continuing the apparent recruitment angle.

Another strong, effective multi-man tag match for this show. The chaos in Chaos continues. Jay White’s being a brat and causing all kinds of problems in a faction that’s been drama-free for most of its history. Meanwhile, Tanahashi is trying to convince Yoshi-Hashi to quit, and it seems to be working. Lots of interesting stuff going on, but at the center of it all is the upcoming Tanahashi vs Okada match. Layers, baby. Love that crap.

Rating: ***