Champion vs Champion clash a Tokyo Dome highlight
One of the top billed matches on Keiji Muto’s final event February 21 would see the GHC and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions do battle, Hiromu Takahashi representing NJPW against NOAH’s AMAKUSA.
With reference to spending time with AMAKUSA under his prior persona of Kenbai during his excursion to the UK, Hiromu carried AMAKUSA’s old mask to the ring and had Kenbai written on his wrist tape. Yet there was no time to reflect on the past, AMAKUSA quickly bringing Hiromu to the floor with a tijeras and following with a tope, Hiromu responding with a basement dropkick.
Taking control after AMAKUSA’s early flurry, Hiromu landed a shotgun dropkick down the apron line before grounding the GHC Champion. Yet after a second rope tijeras was blocked, AMAKUSA was persistent in landing a DDT, following up with a Sky Twister to the floor and Firebird Splash for two. Still AMAKUSA’s forward momentum would be stalled by the IWGP Champ, and the Time Bomb caught a charging NOAH representative with a belly to belly into the corner.
Confident and brutal, Hiromu buried a volley of forearms into AMAKUSA, but couldn’t draw the GHC Champuion into an exchange, AMAKUSA instead thinking fast with a thrust kick counter. Hiromu found a fast German suplex, and though his opponent popped to his feet, a Hiromu-chan Bomber would put AMAKUSA back down to the mat. Calling out to ‘Kenbai’ to take another hit, Hiromu went on the run, but was blasted with a thrust kick; AMAKUSA would take the Kenbai mask in hand to bury Hiromu with his old signature knees for two.
AMAKUSA pressed the advantage and got a near two from a cradle, before kicking out of a Time Bomb counter at another nearfall. Takahashi pummeled the NOAH Champion with another Hiromu-chan Bomber, and then Time Bomb II, scoring the three count before extending his hand in respect to hsi fallen foe as NJPW went 2-0 up on NOAH for the night.
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