Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe defeats Yota Tsuji and Toa Henare

NJPW Road to New Beginning: Tokyo

Honma and Henare start the match and both hit shoulder tackles with nobody getting the advantage for the first three. Henare knocked Honma down on the fourth. Tsuji and Makabe both tag into the match. Tsuji and Makabe then exchanged shoulder tackles with Tsuji knocking Makabe off his feat. Getting back, Makabe immediately hit Tsuji with a bodyslam and several elbows in the corner.

Honma then came in and put the boots to Tsuji. Makabe and Honma continued the assault on Tsuji. Tsuji was able to eventually hit a dropkick on Honma and get the tag to Henare. Henare and Honma exchnaged forearms until Henare knocked Honma down with a kick to the chest.

Honma hit a kokeshi on Henare before tagging Makabe back into the match. Henare connected with a Samoan drop as Makabe ran in and then tagged Tsuji into the match. Tsuji hit a big powerslam on Makabe for a two count. After Makabe escaped Tsuji’s boston crab with a rope break, the two exchanged forearms until Tsuji hit a spear and put Makabe back in the crab.

After about 40 elbow strikes tot he side of Makabe’s head, Tsuji hit the ropes and Makabe knocked him right down. Makabe pulled him up and nearly lost to an inside cradle twice. Makabe then put Tsuji in the Boston Crab for the submission 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