Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe defeat Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Manabu Nakanishi

NJPW Road to New Beginning: Tokyo

Nakanishi and Honma start the match trading forearms. Honma went for a bodyslam, but Nakanishi countered and hit one of his own followed by an elbow drop. Tenzan hit a diving headbutt, and Nakanishi followed with a splash.

When Nakanishi missed a knee drop, Honma and Makabe began working over Nakanishi’s knee. Honma bodyslammed Nakanishi, but then missed the Kokeshi. Tenzan tagged in and chopped Honma into the corner and then hit a brain buster and a spinning heal kick. After a missed kokeshi from Tenzan, Honma connected with one of his own and tagged Makabe in.

Nakanishi came back in and began chopping both Honma and Makabe to the ground. He then took both Honma and Makabe down with a clothesline. Makabe hit a King Kong knee drop fro 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