Dragon victorious in instant Korakuen classic
The main event of night two of the Road to Sakura Genesis on April 2 would see the KOPW 2023 belt on the line, holder Shingo Takagi defending against Aaron Henare in the Ultimate Weapon’s choice of matchup- an Ultimate Triad match where victory required a pinfall, submission and ten down count in any order to win.
The match started with some intense grappling exchanges as the two combatants looked to gain an advantage on the mat, Henare working for the arm of Shingo to force the Dragon to the ropes. With submissions not coming, the two men switched to strikes that could threaten a ten count, Takagi covering up before running through his challenger with a tackle and going to the outside. The Ultimate Weapon would have the advantage, but Shingo would again run through his foe back inside, turning the tide with a suplex for two.
Despite an impressive flying shoulder from Henare, Takagi would maintain the upper hand, working for first an STF and then an armbar, but not getting the tapout as the match passed ten minutes. Instead, his attempts at Made In Japan would be frustrated, and a charge at Henare would see a Maori Drop before Henare removed the turnbuckle pad, exposing the top bolt to sandwich Takagi in between the ropes where brutal knees were waiting.
Having dealt damage to Shingo’s midsection, Henare would follow with his Twister variant of the ground cobra, but there was still no give, neither man gaining the first of their required three ‘victories’ to claim a win. A Berserker Bomb would get two for Henare, but the damage was clearly severe for Shingo, who was rocked with a blistering series of kicks as he tried to fire up, eventually gaining some reprieve with a Dragon Screw. Noshigami followed for Takagi, who finally had some space at the twenty minute mark with no decision rendered.
After landing a Ryukon DDT, Takagi surprised Henare with a variant on the Anaconda Vice, but his challenger still didn’t submit, making the ropes and resetting to trade more strikes center ring. A body blow and roundhouse kick would take Shingo off his feet, seeing the downed count applied for the first time in the match; Takagi stood, but was struck with a Rampage Tackle, then a Twister transitioned into the Ultima, finally giving up to grant Henare the first of his three wins.
In the plus position, Henare looked to Rampage Takagi again, but was caught in mid air with a thunderous DDT. A knee into the corner from Henare was met with a powerbomb and then a Ground Cobra, levelling the match up at one decision apiece.
Back to their feet, Takagi and Henare only escalated in intensity, Shingo blasted with a flying headkick and met with a Pumping Bomber in response. The referee started to apply his ten count but was denied by the two competitors, who traded headbutts before Henare scored a corner knee and rugby ball kick, but Streets of Rage was countered into a backslide for three. The Dragon had scored his pinfall, but was met with a knee and Streets of Rage immediately afterward to level the match up again.
Both men exhausted, but desperate to win, the furious strikes continued as each pursued a knockout. A hard right to the jaw of Takagi put Shingo the mat; the Dragon stood at 9.5 and Henare wanted to land Streets of Rage again, but was a sack of potatoes as dead weight crashed to the mat. Wanting to make Henare pass out from the pain, Henare thought of Ultima, but was dropped with last of the Dragon, both men downed at the 35 minute mark but up at 7. As Shingo fired off Pumping Bombers, Henare refused to bow; the Ultimate Weapon fired back time and again, but was finally hit with a final Pumping Bomber for the ten count.
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