Sho and Yoh vs. Rocky Romero and Ryuske Taguchi

New Japan Road February 20: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

It took about five minutes, but Sho and Yoh got the first sustained advantage over Rocky. Taguchi went for a springboard move on Yoh, but missed and ran across the ring and dove on Sho. Back in the ring, Taguchi pulled down the top rope as Yoh ran in. Taguchi followed up with a Tope Con Hilo on both men and a springboard hip attack on Yoh for a near fall.

Taguchi locked in an ankle lock submission on Yoh, but Yoh managed to survive and hit Taguchi with a sling blade.

Rocky got back into the match and hit a number of clotheslines and a sliced bread on Sho for a near fall.

Both team traded near falls for a long time. Sho and Yoh hit Rocky with 3K, but Taguchi broke up the pinfall attempt. At one point, Yoh accidentally hit Sho with a superkick. Yoh took Taguchi out with a tope con hilo, and Sho hit shock arrow for another near fall.

Finally Sho and Yoh hit the stomp assisted pile driver for the pinfall victory.

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