Date:  March 31st, 2015
Location:  Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance:  1,303

This is a really big event for Big Japan as it has a lot of stuff going for it.  First of all we have three Death Match Survivor matches, which means there will be violence.  Then we have Sekimoto vs. Ishikawa in the main event which means there will be…. violence.  So basically this show will have a lot of violence.  Here is the full card:

- Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei, and Toshiyuki Sakuda vs. Yuko Miyamoto, Abdullah Kobayashi, and Jaki Numazawa
- Masato Inaba, Kazuki Hashimoto, and Masaya Takahashi vs. Tsutomu Oosugi, Hercules Senga, and Heddi French
- Death Match Survivor, Barbed Wire Board + Barbed Wire Weapon Death Match: Kankuro Hoshino vs. Ryuichi Sekine
- Death Match Survivor, Fluorescent Lighttubes Tower Death Match: Masashi Takeda vs. Ryuji Ito
- Death Match Survivor , The Devouring of Heaven and Earth Returns: Isami Kodaka vs. Takumi Tsukamoto
- Atsushi Maruyama, Ryuichi Kawakami, and Kamitani vs. Yuji Hino, Yuji Okabayashi, and Shinobu
- BJW Strong World Heavyweight Championship: Shuji Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Sekimoto

Onto the matches!

Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei, and Sakuda vs. Miyamoto, Kobayashi, and Jaki Numazawa
Miyamoto in a clipped opener?  Imagine that.   The Brahmans attack before the match starts but they accidentally spit water on a cute woman in the audience.  Numazawa gets Sakuda in the corner and gets the bowling ball, Shu gets in the ring but Kei kicks him from behind.  Sakuda throws luggage at Numazawa’s head and the Brahmans cover Numazawa for a two.  Kobayashi goes up top as does Miyamoto but the Brahmans throw Miyamoto off the top turnbuckle.  Oil Check to Kei but Kobayashi knocks them both to the mat.  Kobayashi is tripped into the luggage, Sakuda comes in and he throws water at Kobayashi.  Sakuda knocks the luggage into Kobayashi’s groin , then Sakuda hits a standing moonsault for a two count.  Sakuda headbutts Kobayashi but Kobayashi headbutts him back.  Sakuda headbutts Kobayashi in the mouth and Kobayashi hits a back bodydrop.  Side slam by Kobayashi and he puts Sakuda in a crab hold, picking up the submission victory!  This was clipped and not actively good but I did like that Sakuda got a lot of ring time.  Guy has to learn somehow and a little Brahman ridiculousness never hurt anyone.  Harmless opener but skippable.  Score:  3.5

Masato Inaba, Kazuki Hashimoto, and Takahashi vs. Oosugi, Senga, and Heddi French
We join this one in progress a bit with Inaba in the ring with French.  They trade holds back and forth until Takahashi and Senga are tagged in.  They bounce off the ropes and Senga delivers a dropkick.  Enzigieri by Senga and he tags in Oosugi.  Oosugi kicks Takahashi back and he hits an elbow smash.  Flipping armdrag by Oosugi but Takahashi hits a spinebuster.  Hashimoto and Inaba come in the ring to help and Hashimoto gives Oosugi a fisherman buster.  Doublestomp by Inaba, cover, but it is broken up.  Inaba picks up Oosugi but Oosugi hits a headscissors.  Oosugi tags in French and French hits a running knee on Inaba.  Spear by French and he hits mounted punches followed by a stretch hold.  Hashimoto breaks that up and the ring gets cleared before Oosugi and Senga hit stereo tope con hilos.  In the ring Inaba quickly rolls up French with the Sumi Otoshi for the three count.  Not much to this one, it was generally inoffensive but definitely nothing special.  Score:  3.0

Kankuro Hoshino vs. Ryuichi Sekine
This match is part of the Death Match Survivor and is a Barbed Wire Board + Barbed Wire Weapon Death Match.  Hoshino gives Sekine a barbed wire kick pad to put on so they would have one on, and they take turns kicking each other in the chest.  They then take turns kicking each other in the back until Hoshino hits a dropkick.  Hoshino gets the barbed wire chair, he puts it on the mat and scoop slams Sekine onto it.  Sekine drives Hoshino back into a barbed wire board and he hits Hoshino with the barbed wire kick pad.  Sekine slams Hoshino into a barbed wire board and covers him for two.  Sekine puts a board in the corner but Hoshino blocks the backdrop suplex and chokeslams Sekine into the barbed wire board.  Hoshino puts a barbed wire chair onto Sekine and he hits a senton.  Hoshino grabs Sekine but Sekine hits a high kick.  Fireman’s carry roll onto the barbed wire bat by Sekine, but the cover gets two.  Sekine puts a board on the mat and he hits a backdrop suplex onto it.  Sekine then puts on the barbed wire kick pad and he kicks Hoshino in the chest.  Sekine goes for a kick but Hoshino avoids it and hits a STO onto the barbed wire chair.  Sekine goes off the ropes but Hoshino hits a lariat followed by a chokeslam for a two count.  Hoshino puts a barbed wire board on the mat and he hits a vertical suplex onto it.  Hoshino puts a board on top of Sekine, he goes up top and he nails a Senton Bomb for the three count!  I like barbed wire weapons in comparison to lighttubes so I enjoyed the match.  With three different barbed wire weapons it had some variety and I liked the barbed wire kick pad.  A really fun match, nothing mind blowing but still quite entertaining.  Score:  7.0

Masashi Takeda vs. Ryuji Ito
This match is part of the Death Match Survivor and is a Fluorescent Lighttubes Tower Death Match.   Speaking of lighttube matches… its Ito time!  They both get tubes and go straight into the lighttube wars, and both get sent into the tubes.  They take their battle outside the ring before returning with more tube-based offense.  Takeda is the first sent into one of the big tube towers and his back immediately shows the damage from it.  Ito scissor kicks some tubes into Takeda’s back and hits him with a chair.  Ito kicks some tubes into Takeda’s back again and covers him for two.  Ito puts some tubes on the mat but Takeda grabs him and hits a side slam into them.  Knee by Takeda in the corner, he puts some tubes on Ito and hits another running knee.  Cover, but it gets a two count.  Takeda puts a chair on Ito’s head and throws another chair at it, but Ito throws a chair at his head when he goes off the ropes.  Jumping knee by Ito in the corner and he hits a release German suplex for a two count.  Ito slams Takeda into some tubes, he puts some tubes on his chest and goes up top, delivering the dragon splash.  Ito rolls Takeda over however and he hits a brainbuster, and both wrestlers are hurt.  Not really loving the delayed sell of a lighttube-assisted dragon splash but whatever.  Shining Dragon by Ito and he gets an even bigger bundle of tubes from under the mat.  They trade punches, and Takeda hits a knee for two.  Takeda gets the big bundle of tubes and he knees it into Ito’s chest for another two count.  Takeda grabs Ito and he drops him with the Reverse U Crash, picking up the three count!  I am pretty over lighttube death matches, that is well established, and I didn’t really like the random delayed sell spot in the middle off of Ito’s finishing move.  I guess for bloody tube matches it was fine but nothing really new or special.  Score:  4.0

Isami Kodaka vs. Takumi Tsukamoto
This match is part of the Death Match Survivor and is a The Devouring of Heaven and Earth Returns Match (aka ladder match).  They start out with mat work, Kodaka charges Tsukamoto but Tsukamoto moves and Kodaka runs into the ladder.  Tsukamoto throws the ladder at Kodaka and he hits him with a giant plastic hammer.  Tsukamoto twists Kodaka’s arm in the ladder and yanks on it but Kodaka elbows him back.  Tsukamoto throws Kodaka shoulder-first into the ladder and covers him for two.  Irish whip by Kodaka and he dropkicks Tsukamoto, elbow by Kodaka and he hits a big boot in the corner followed by a backbreaker.  Kodaka gets Tsukamoto’s giant hammer and he throws it at him before hitting a running elbow.  Kodaka puts the ladder on the mat but Tsukamoto hits a side Russian leg sweep onto it.  Kodaka returns the favor, he goes for a second one but Tsukamoto blocks it.  Kodaka applies an Octopus Hold instead but Tsukamoto wiggles away and hits a side Russian leg sweep onto the ladder.  Tsukamoto goes to the second rope and goes for a reverse splash but Kodaka gets his knees up.  Kodaka sets up the ladder near the corner, he climbs to the top of it but Tsukamoto gets up and climbs the other side. 

They trade elbows at the top of the ladder, Kodaka goes for a suplex but Tsukamoto blocks it.  Tsukamoto gets Kodaka’s leg and he hits a fisherman suplex down to the mat for a two count cover.  Superkick by Tsukamoto in the corner, he gets the big hammer and goes up top, the he jumps off and hits Kodaka in the head with it for a two count.  Kodaka dropkicks Tsukamoto in the knee but Tsukamoto hits an enzigieri.  Tsukamoto goes up top but Kodaka recovers and hits him in the leg.  Frankensteiner by Kodaka, he charges Tsukamoto but Tsukamoto hits a spinning side slam for a two count.  Kodaka quickly covers Tsukamoto using the ladder for leverage but that also gets two.  Tsukamoto picks up Kodaka but Kodaka snaps off a backdrop suplex.  Superkick by Tsukamoto but Kodaka kicks out of the cover.  Tsukamoto goes for a fisherman suplex but Kodaka reverses it with a brainbuster.  Kodaka goes up top and he hits a diving double knee to Tsukamoto’s back.  He then goes up to the top of the tall ladder and dives off with a diving double knee drop, picking up the three count!  I really enjoyed this match, I think partly because they were able to just do a normal wrestling match with occasional high spots.  The ladder wasn’t used much so it matter more when it did, and both wrestlers are quite good even without the weapons.  The spot at the end looked great and it felt like the match got just the right amount of time.  Good stuff between these two and a very quality tournament match.  Score:  7.5

Atsushi Maruyama, Kawakami, and Kamitani vs. Yuji Hino, Yuji Okabayashi, and Shinobu
Kawakami and Okabayashi start off, Okabayashi pushes Kawakami in the ropes and slaps him before backing off.  Kawakami pushes Okabayashi in the ropes and returns the favor with an elbow and they trade strikes back and forth.  Shoulderblock by Okabayashi and he tags in Shinobu.  Kawakami picks up Shinobu and throws him in the corner before tagging in Maruyama.  Shinobu and Maruyama trade holds until Shinobu delivers a dropkick.  Shinobu tags in Hino so Maruyama tags in Kamitani.  Kamitani and Hino take turns trying to knock each other down, which Hino gets the better of.  Okabayashi comes in and Kamitani is hit with a double shoulderblock for two.  Shinobu hits an Asai Moonsault onto Maruyama and Kawakami while in the ring Okabayashi puts Kamitani in an Argentine Backbreaker.  Okabayashi tags in Hino and Hino hits a big senton for a two count. Chops by Hino and he puts his hands behind his back to give Kamitani some free shots.  Kamitani has no luck with it at first but eventually shoulderblocks Hino down.  Hino tags in Okabayashi, Okabayashi cuts off Kamitani but Kamitani hits a vertical suplex on Okabayashi, giving him time to tag in Kawakami. 

Kawakami elbows Okabayashi and they trade strikes.  Hard elbow by Kawakami and he covers Okabayashi for two.  Kawakami goes for a bodyslam but Okabayashi blocks it, Irish whip by Kawakami and he finally hits the scoop slam.  Okabayashi hits a body slam of his own and he tags in Shinobu.  Shinobu Irish whips Kawakami but Kawakami drops him onto the apron.  Shinobu goes up top and hits a diving elbow smash, picking up a two count.  Scoop slam by Shinobu and he hits a quebrada for a two.  Shinobu goes off the ropes but Kawakami catches him with a slam, giving him time to tag in Kamitani.  Shoulderblock by Kamitani, he goes up top and hits a diving elbow drop.  Hino and Okabayashi come in to chop Kamitani, and they both lariat Kamitani in the corner.  Kawakami comes in to help but he eats a double lariat.  Hino grabs Kamitani but Kamitani back bodydrops out of the powerbomb and throws Okabayashi off the top turnbuckle.  Double shoulderblock by Kamitani but Shinobu comes off the top with a missile dropkick.  Kamitani absorbs Shinobu’s lariats and he drops him with a backdrop suplex, picking up the three count.  This was quite solid, Okabayashi and Hino are a pleasure to watch and everyone else kept up.  A good break between the death matches and the main event.  Score:  6.5

(c) Shuji Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Sekimoto
This match is for the BJW Strong World Heavyweight Championship.  They trade tie-ups and holds to start before going into the attempted shoulderblocks to see whom can knock over whom first.  Ishikawa wins the battle, he picks up Sekimoto and they trade chops.  Sekimoto knocks Ishikawa out of the ring and then dives out onto him with a tope suicida.  Sekimoto grabs Ishikawa and goes for a suplex on the floor but Ishikawa blocks it and hits a tombstone piledriver.  Ishikawa rolls Sekimoto back in the ring and knees Sekimoto in the chest before hitting a DDT down to the floor.  Ishikawa picks up Sekimoto and they trade chops until Ishikawa slams Sekimoto’s head into the ring post.  Damn this is a stiff match, as you may imagine.  Back in the ring Ishikawa elbows Sekimoto in the back of the head and elbows him some more in the corner.  Sekimoto fires back with chops but Ishikawa knees him in the midsection.  Another knee by Ishikawa and he applies a full nelson and then a chinlock, he picks up Sekimoto and they trade strikes.  Front necklock by Ishikawa but Sekimoto suplexes out of the hold.  Sekimoto goes off the ropes and he levels Ishikawa with a spear.  Lariat by Sekimoto in the corner and he covers Ishikawa for a two count.  Sekimoto applies a Scorpion Deathlock but Ishikawa gets a hand on the ropes.  Sekimoto chops Ishikawa into the corner but Ishikawa kicks him back and hits a dropkick off the second turnbuckle.  Lariat by Ishikawa, he suplexes Sekimoto onto the top rope and hits a double stomp.  Ishikawa picks up Sekimoto, knees by Ishikawa and he hits a DDT.  Back up they trade strikes, trapped headbutts by Ishikawa and he puts Sekimoto in the Anaconda Vice.  Sekimoto gets to the ropes and Ishikawa drops him with a tombstone piledriver.  Ishikawa charges Sekimoto but Sekimoto levels him with a lariat. 

Sekimoto goes up top and he hits a diving body press for a two count.  Sekimoto goes for another one but Ishikawa ducks it, hitting a backdrop suplex.  Sekimoto gets back up and hits a release German suplex followed by a lariat, and both wrestlers are down.  Enzigieri by Sekimoto, he goes off the ropes and he hits a lariat for a two count.  Sekimoto grabs Ishikawa around the waist and delivers a deadlift German suplex hold, but Ishikawa barely gets a shoulder up.  Sekimoto hoists up Ishikawa again but Ishikawa headbutts him off.  Running elbow smash by Ishikawa but Sekimoto gets a shoulder up.  Ishikawa grabs Sekimoto and hits a few more headbutts, he scoops up Sekimoto and delivers the Fire Thunder Driver for a near fall.  Running Knee Lift by Ishikawa, but Sekimoto kicks out of the pin.  Ishikawa hits a sit-down powerbomb, but again Sekimoto kicks out.  He goes for a powerbomb but Sekimoto back bodydrops out of it.  They trade slaps until Sekimoto hits a hard elbow.  Sekimoto goes off the ropes but Ishikawa hits a headbutt.  Lariat by Sekimoto and he hits a second one.  Deadlift German suplex hold by Sekimoto, and he picks up the three count!  Sekimoto is your NEW champion!  I mean, wow, what can I say?  How much strong style is too much strong style?  This wasn’t quite too much, but they certainly came close to that line.  Lots of hard hits here, some complained about the selling but the bigger moves were respected (it took Sekimoto several minutes until he was back in control after the outside action early on, which is all you can hope for) and it never really slowed down.  The ending stretch felt a little too long, it probably could have ended a few minutes sooner, but it was still entertaining.  If you like BJW Strong matches, you’ll enjoy this one.  Score:  8.0

Final Thoughts:

From top to bottom this was a really good card from Big Japan.  There were three singles death matches for people into that type of thing, and since all three had different stipulations they felt fresh.  Then you had the main event which was exactly what you thought it would be, for better or worse.  As far as being a complete show this is one I can easily recommend as it has a little bit of everything with very little silliness.  Really good effort from Big Japan, if the undercard had been better it would have gotten my highest recommendation but still a great show.

Grade:  B

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event reviewed on 4/16/15