Yuya Uemura defeats Gabriel Kid

NJPW Road to New Beginning: Tokyo

All wrestling during the early parts of this match as both men worked arm ringers and wrist locks. Gabe Kid got the advantage for a couple of moments until Uemura countered a hip toss and hit a scoop slam and a hip toss of his own. With Uemura running the ropes, Gabe got a high dropkick and then an uppercut in the corner and a shoulder tackle. Uemura blocked the Boston Crab, but Kid managed to cinch in the single leg crab. When Uemura attempted to get to the ropes, Kid dragged him back to the center. Yuya did make it to the ropes on his second attempt.

Gabe Kid nearly hit a vertical suplex but Uemura countered into a cradle for a near fall. Both men traded blows in the center of the ring. Kid slapped Uemura hard and shouted “I represent LA DOJO” and then hit the ropes, but Uemura nailed him with a dropkick followed by a double undertook suplex.

Uemura put Kid in the boston crab and secured a submission victory. Typical Young Lion match as it was well wrestled, very basic, but with nothing wrong.

Match Ratings

Six dimensions combine to make up the overall rating. Matches score ratings of 1-10 only if the match lasts for a minimum of 5 minutes.

1. Match Quality– Was the match well wrestled or sloppy?
2. Audience Engagement– Did the live audience care about the match?
3. Competitiveness– Was the match competitive or one-sided?
4. Stakes – Did the match matter?
5. Finish– Did the match end in a satisfying manner?
6. Performance: (1) Poor (2) Below Average (3) Average (4) Above Average (5) Excellent