Sho, Yoh, and Will Ospreay defeats Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, Zack Sabre Jr.

NJPW New Beginning February 6

This match previews the Sho and Yoh’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Defense against Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado.

After countless Suzuki Gun attacks prior to the bell, chaos attacked them before the match. Ospreay took Zack to the “East” sign in Korakuen Hall  and smacked his head off it. A few minutes later, Suzuki Gun got back on track and brought Chaos to the outside where Desperado used a chair on Sho’s knee and Zack Sabre took Ospreay into the fans and applied a submission.

The injury to Sho’s knee is the main storyline for this match and will likely be the story of the title match on 2/9. Kanemaru held Sho in a figure four a few minutes part way through the match. The match ended abruptly when Kanemaru misted whiskey in Yoh’s face and Desperado hit Sho with a chair. The beatdown would have continued after the bell, but Osprey made the save.

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