Himeji plays host to today’s B Block show, with one A Block straggler. After Daiki Nagai was eliminated yesterday, there are no looming outcomes for anyone today, but just looking at it, I’d say that if KUSHIDA, Jakob Austin Young, Robbie Eagles or Valiente Jr. lose on this show, they are going to have a mighty tough hill to climb.

A Block: Valiente Jr. (2 points) vs. Jun Kasai (6 points)

This match was postponed from Night 1, when Kasai had a FREEDOMS booking. This starts off fast, with Kasai rushing Valiente to start, but Valiente responds with high-flying moves, including a missile dropkick and a plancha to the outside. However, Kasai reverses a whip to run Valiente into the post, and now it’s Crazy Monkey time. He gets a bunch of chairs out from under the ring and sets them up like a bridge. Kasai drags Valiente down the aisle and DDTs him, then goes to the back to get a flatbed cart, like the ones they have at Home Depot. Kasai puts Valiente on the cart and runs him through the chair construct, which gets a big reaction from the crowd, even though it honestly didn’t look like it would actually hurt that much. Back in the ring, Kasai hits a lariat and a brainbuster for two. Kasai rips at Valiente’s mask, then gets out the skewers. These refs really need to start checking under Kasai’s flannel before the match, I dunno. Ref Kenta Sato tries to grab the skewers, and he and Kasai argue about what’s going to happen with them, while Valiente periodically comes over and is like, we’re still having a match, right? And Kasai is all like, go away, we’re trying to hash this out. Valiente eventually gets his attention, wrestles the skewers away and drives them into his head, as one might expect. Valiente gets two with a backslide, then gets two with an inside cradle, gets two with a victory roll into a splash, and then gets three with a seatbelt, which shocks the crowd, and not in a good way. You could hear a pin drop after the pinfall. Kasai wipes his ass with the Mexican flag afterward – both his losses in the tournament have come to CMLL luchadors.

What’s next? Valiente Jr. (4 points) takes on Master Wato tomorrow in Kyoto, while Kasai (6 points) wrestles Nick Wayne on the same show.

B Block: KUSHIDA (2 points) vs. Hyo (2 points)

Hyo has Ben-K with him tonight. Apparently KUSHIDA accidentally hit Hyo’s stuffed leopard in yesterday’s preview tag but didn’t apologize, which has enraged Hyo. They start with grappling, and KUSHIDA gains the advantage in this sequence. KUSHIDA knocks Hyo out of the ring and hits a baseball slide dropkick, then drives Hyo’s shoulder into the floor, which leads to a near-countout. KUSHIDA heels it up a bit, giving Hyo rope burn on his hand and choking him on the mat, but Hyo responds with a tijeras and a slingshot cutter for two. Hyo sets up for Hunting, but KUSHIDA slides out of the ring and grabs the leopard. They chase each other for a minute and Hyo gets the leopard back, but KUSHIDA dropkicks it out of his mouth and it somehow manages to get hung up on the top rope in a spot so perfect that you couldn’t possibly have planned it. KUSHIDA locks in a cross armbreaker, and after a long struggle, Hyo makes it to the ropes. (Sato gets the leopard off the ropes at this point.) KUSHIDA applies the Hoverboard Lock, but Hyo fights out and rolls him up for two. They fight over La Magistral, and both guys get two counts. Hyo hits a stunner and goes for the Samson Driver, but KUSHIDA catches it and applies an ankle lock, then shifts to a heel hook. KUSHIDA lets go and kicks the arm, but Hyo disorients him by running on all fours and hits a DDT and then Hunting for the pin. The two have a chat afterward and appear to part on good terms.

What’s next? Hyo (4 points) takes on SHO on Wednesday in Shizuoka, while KUSHIDA (2 points) wrestles YOH on the same show.

B Block: Jakob Austin Young [United Empire] (2 points) vs. Daisuke Sasaki (6 points)

You know, it just occurred to me that this is an absurdly old block. Like, fully half of this block is over 40, and eight of the 10 are over 35. That’s crazy. Meanwhile, in A Block, there are six guys under 30 (including three under 24) and only two over 40. Anyway, Sasaki jumps Young before the bell and immediately tries for both the crossface and the Pedigree. Young tries for Brain Rot, but Sasaki rolls him up for two. Young takes the ref while Zane Jay pulls Sasaki out of the ring and holds him for Young, but Sasaki moves and Jay takes the dropkick to the outside. Sasaki sends Young into the ringpost and sits him down, threatening the dive from the top to the outside, but Jay pulls Young out of the way. Sasaki tosses Jay a chair, which Sato sees, and while Sato is admonishing Jay, Sasaki wraps a chair around Young’s neck and sends him into the ringpost, à la pre-House EVIL. Back in the ring, Sasaki gets two with a neckbreaker but misses an elbow drop from the top rope. Young gets two with a lariat. Sasaki tries La Mistica, but Young blocks the crossface, then the two engage in a long series of crossface attempts and counters that ends with Young hitting a backstabber and a lifting reverse DDT for two. Young goes for Jakob’s Ladder, but Sasaki escapes and hits a Pedigree and a thrust kick. Sasaki lands La Mistica and applies the crossface, but Jay takes Sato just before Young taps out. Sasaki lets go, thinking the match is over, then realizes what happened, gets Jay agitated enough that Sato has to stay with him, and gets a chair; however, Young hits a dropkick to the knee, causing Sasaki to go face-first into the chair, then hits the hammerlock DDT onto the chair for the pinfall.

What’s next? Young (4 points) takes on El Desperado on Wednesday, while Sasaki wrestles Yoshinobu Kanemaru on the same show.

B Block: Taiji Ishimori [Unbound Co.] (4 points) vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [House of Torture] (4 points)

Kanemaru has completely owned Ishimori during the 20 years they’ve been wrestling each other, winning 13 of the 15 singles matches they’ve had. (One of the other two was a draw.) Kanemaru jumps Ishimori before the bell, quickly rolling him up for two and applying the figure-four, but Ishimori makes it to the ropes. Kanemaru gets into it with ref Marty Asami, which gives Ishimori a bit of time to recover. Ishimori hits Cipher UTAKI, then hits a fireman’s carry driver into a thrust kick for two. Kanemaru tries three different roll-ups for pin attempts but only gets two each time. Kanemaru runs Ishimori into Asami, knocking Asami out, then hits a low dropkick to Ishimori’s knee and re-applies the figure-four. Kanemaru lets go because Asami is still out, then goes for the Suntory Surprise, but Ishimori kicks him low and gets the pin with the Gedo clutch for the second show in a row.

What’s next? Ishimori (6 points) takes on Robbie Eagles on Wednesday, while Kanemaru wrestles Sasaki on the same show.

B Block: El Desperado (4 points) vs. SHO [House of Torture] (6 points)

During his entrance, Desperado gets jumped from behind by Dick Togo. SHO sends Desperado into a seating section. SHO tries it again, but Desperado reverses, and after SHO recovers, they have a chair duel, which Desperado gets the best of, but SHO takes Asami and Togo hits Desperado with a chair; then, Togo takes the ref and SHO hits a couple of chair shots. The bell finally rings, and SHO covers for two. SHO grabs a double wristlock, but Desperado gets to the ropes. SHO works over Desperado’s left arm, with Togo adding a shot or two from time to time. Desperado grabs a sleeper out of desperation, then hits a low dropkick to SHO’s knee. Desperado continues working on the knee to set up Numero Dos. SHO rolls outside and Desperado goes for a tope suicida, but SHO hits him with a chair while Togo has Asami. SHO hits a piledriver, but Desperado kicks out at two. SHO goes for Shock Arrow; Desperado powers out, but SHO hits him with a high knee. SHO tries again, but Desperado flips out and hits a spinebuster for two, then tries to apply Numero Dos, but SHO counters into a cross armbreaker and then a gogoplata. After a long struggle, Desperado rakes the eyes and applies Numero Dos, but Togo rings the bell before SHO can tap out, causing Desperado to let go. Asami goes after Togo, allowing SHO to hit a low blow. SHO gets the wrench, but Desperado dodges the shot and hits a closed-fist punch. Desperado cancels out Togo and goes for Pinche Loco, but SHO counters into the cross armbreaker, which Desperado reverses into Numero Dos for the submission. This was all right, but during matches like this, it’s hard not to think that it’d be great if the babyfaces had friends like the heels do. Whither KUUKAI?

What’s next? Desperado (6 points) wrestles Young on Wednesday, while SHO (6 points) takes on Hyo on the same show.

B Block: YOH (6 points) vs. Robbie Eagles [TMDK] (2 points)

Okay, I’ll admit it: I’ve grown to like YOH’s new music. The drums are really cool. They start out with some mat wrestling, resulting in a stalemate. Eagles eventually takes control with a tijeras and a wheel kick, sending YOH to the outside, but YOH gets behind the Japanese announcers’ table to avoid a dive. YOH interrupts Eagles’s chant with chants for Toru Yano, who is doing commentary, so Eagles chases him back into the ring. YOH takes the advantage with an atomic drop and a dropkick, but misses a charge in the corner, allowing Eagles to hit a northern lariat. Eagles applies a figure-four armlock, then hits a kick to the back. Eagles starts working on YOH’s knee, then applies a modified stump puller, then gets two with a cradle. Eagles applies a reverse figure-four, but YOH makes the ropes. Eagles tries a running kick, but YOH catches it and hits a neckbreaker. YOH hits a series of forearms, then gets two with a single-underhook suplex. Eagles goes back to the knees, but YOH hits a falcon arrow for two. YOH hits a superkick and goes for a dragon suplex, but Eagles kicks the knee to escape and then hits a 619 to the back of the knee and a springboard missile dropkick to the knee before applying the Ron Miller Special; after a long struggle, YOH eventually gets to the ropes. YOH blocks the Hyperion kick and hits a body slam over his knee, à la the ushigoroshi, but Eagles hits an Asai DDT, and both guys are down. After a brief recovery period, they have a striking battle, including some hard chops. Eagles continues going after the knee, but YOH hits several superkicks and a poison rana. Eagles fires up, but then eats another superkick. YOH gets two with a dragon suplex, then Eagles ducks a lariat and gets two with a roll-up. Eagles tries the Ron Miller Special again but gets kicked off and then eats a high knee. Eagles goes for the Direct Drive, but Eagles reverses into the Turbo Backpack. Eagles hits a 450 to YOH’s knee, but once again gets kicked off when he goes for the Ron Miller Special. Eagles keeps trying for the Ron Miller Special and YOH keeps getting him into pinning predicaments. Eagles hits a front suplex, but YOH responds with a lariat. YOH goes for the Direct Drive again, but Eagles hits a DDT and the Hyperion for three. This was very good, and I think both guys are awesome, but it didn’t quite get to “great.” The two shake hands after the match, and YOH gives him a peck on the cheek. Now that Eagles has won both of his main event matches and lost all his undercard matches, I think it’s pretty clear that he just needs to make sure that he closes every show and he’ll be all set. 

What’s next? Eagles (4 points) takes on Ishimori on Wednesday, while YOH (6 points) wrestles KUSHIDA on the same show.