Welcome to Kyoto KBS Hall, which, for those who don’t know, is a cool, small venue with a huge stained glass mural covering one wall. This is an A Block show, and the A Block has been where it’s at so far in this tournament. Let’s see what happens.

A Block: Francesco Akira [United Empire] (4 points) vs. Daiki Nagai [Unbound Co.] (0 points)

Akira dodges a dropkick to start and beats on Nagai to start, but Nagai follows Akira into the corner with a clothesline and hits the seated corner dropkick. Nagai goes to the top for the diving headbutt, but Akira rolls outside the ring. Akira calls for a time out, but Nagai hits him with a shotgun dropkick instead. Back in the ring, they trade strikes and Akira hits a leg lariat to take control. Akira tosses him outside and hits a snap suplex and then tosses him back in. Akira gets two with a slam and then another two with a standing moonsault. Akira applies the Boston Crab, but Nagai quickly makes it to the ropes. Akira tries a backdrop, but Nagai flips out and counters with the Pounce, then hits a tijeras that Akira to the outside. Nagai hits a plancha, then tosses Akira back in and hits a missile dropkick. Nagai goes for the spinebuster, but Akira counters with a backslide for two. Akira gets the victory roll into a double stomp, then hits the slingshot clothesline to the bottom rope for two. Akira taunts Nagai for a while, then the two trade strikes, and Nagai holds his own, then hits a spinning DDT. Akira goes to the outside and Nagai hits the ropes for the tope, but Zane Jay cuts him off; Nagai kicks Jay off the apron and then hits him with a tope suicida. This gives Akira a chance to recover, however, and he attacks Nagai from behind, tosses him back in the ring and hits Speedfire for two. Nagai fights out of the Fireplex and then gets two with a victory roll. Nagai hits a spinebuster and then applies the Boston Crab, but Akira gets to the bottom rope. Nagai goes to the top, but Akira cuts him off; Nagai knocks him off the top with a headbutt and goes for the diving headbutt, but Akira avoids it. Akira hits the buzzsaw kick, then taunts Nagai, saying he’s still a Young Lion, but then Nagai spits at him. Akira hits another buzzsaw kick and then slams Nagai’s head on the mat several times. Ref Marty Asami considers stopping it, but Akira tells him not to and hits the Fireball for the pin. This was almost certainly the longest match of Nagai’s career, and he looked good in it – there were no hiccups in this one like there were in some of his matches earlier in the tournament, so this particular trial by fire seems to be producing some real growth in him.

What’s next? Akira (6 points) takes on Jun Kasai Wednesday in Shizuoka on the B Block show (presumably, Kasai has another booking that prevents him from working the A Block show on Friday), while Nagai (0 points) wrestles Master Wato in Niigata on Friday.

A Block: Master Wato (6 points) vs. Valiente Jr. (4 points)

The two start with a quick lucha-style exchange, with a double dropkick indicating a stalemate. Wato gets the best of the next exchange, sending Valiente to the outside with a tijeras; he hits the ropes to go for a tope, but Valiente gets back in the ring and sends him out with a tijeras of his own and hits a tope con hilo. Back in the ring, Valiente gets two, then begins going after Wato’s knee. Wato reverses an Irish whip and hits an elbow, followed by a facebuster out of the corner for two. They exchange strikes, and Valiente gets the best of it with an enzuigiri. Valiente hits a weird reverse roll of the dice thing that doesn’t really make much sense, and he gets two with it. After a series of reversals off the ropes, Wato hits Recientemente for two. Wato goes for the Tsutenkaku German, but Valiente counters with a victory roll into a splash for two. Valiente gets two with a Downward Spiral and then goes for the Valiente Special, but Wato flips out and gets two with a roll-up reversal. Wato then hits the Tenzen tombstone (with Tenzan himself nodding his approval at ringside) and the Tsutenkaku German for three. This was fine, though a bit of a Reader’s Digest version of what I’d imagine this match would be if this wasn’t Valiente’s third night in a row with a singles match and if Wato wasn’t coming off a main event two nights ago.

What’s next? Wato (8 points) wrestles Nagai on Friday, while Valiente (4 points) takes on Kosei Fujita on the same show.

A Block: Ryusuke Taguchi (6 points) vs. Kosei Fujita [TMDK] (4 points)

This is a hair match, of sorts, as after the preview tag yesterday, both guys accepted a challenge that demands that the loser get a new hairstyle with a center part for the next 69 days. Yes sir. Taguchi starts out fast with a La Magistral cradle for two and a schoolboy for two. Taguchi chases Fujita around the arena and they run to the back, but when they re-emerge, Fujita is chasing Taguchi in a very silly Looney Tunes moment. He eventually catches him at ringside, and then tosses him back in. Taguchi bails again, and Fujita chops him and sets him up in a chair, but as Fujita charges, Taguchi hits him with the Funky Weapon. Back in the ring, Taguchi applies a double wristlock and then a cross armbreaker, but Fujita gets to the ropes. Taguchi hits a low dropkick and applies the ankle lock, but Fujita quickly gets to the ropes once again. They exchange strikes, but Taguchi quickly reapplies the cross armbreaker and transitions back to the ankle lock. Fujita fights his way out and hits a chop, but Taguchi hits an enzuigiri and goes for the funky weapon again, but Fujita catches him and rolls him up with an ass-exposing pull of the tights for the pinfall (with the cameraman using the bottom rope as a censor bar). Of course, Taguchi does the entire post-match angle with his ass hanging out. This was an absurd amount of wackiness to cover up Taguchi’s injury (I think he took one bump the entire match), but the crowd seemed to like it, so whatever.

What’s next? Fujita (6 points) takes on Valiente Jr. on Friday, while Taguchi (6 points) wrestles Robbie X on the same show.

A Block: Titán [Unbound Co.] (10 points) vs. Robbie X [Unbound Co.] (4 points)

These two are faction-mates, but haven’t really interacted with each other as such, aside from a preview tag on yesterday’s show. X offers a handshake, but Titán instead suggests the goofy Unbound Co. salute. They start out with a fun flippy display that ends in a stalemate, then go again with another sequence that sees X gain the advantage and hit a corkscrew plancha to the outside. In the ring, X goes to work on Titán’s neck and gets two with a neckbreaker. Titán turns the tables with a series of kicks, a springboard plancha and a tope suicida that takes out the front row. Back in the ring, Titán hits a springboard splash for two and goes for Llave Inmortal, but X gets to the rope before it can be applied. X dodges a charge in the corner and hits a senton atomico for two. X gets two with a straitjacket neckbreaker, but Titán responds with a series of strikes and hits a tornado DDT, which X no-sells. X hits a flip kick and goes for X Marks the Spot, but Titán blocks it and eventually hits a leg lariat for a double down; both guys kip up at eight. They trade strikes, Titán takes the upper hand with a kick, and then he hits the clothesline-through-the-corner spot. Titán goes to the top, but X catches him with a handspring flip kick. X climbs to the top, but Titán fights back and hits the hanging double stomp for two. Titán applies a reverse deathlock, then transitions into Llave Inmortal, but X manages to make it to the ropes. Titán hits another tornado DDT and goes for the gourdbuster, but X fights out, hits an underhook DDT and applies a bridging chinlock, then hits a Liger bomb for two. X goes for the X Express, but Titán dodges and takes him down with strikes, then hits the double stomp from the top for two. X grabs a small package for two, then dodges a charge in the corner and hits X Marks the Spot for two, followed by the X Express for the pinfall. This was very, very good. They do the Unbound salute again afterward, which gets a good reaction from the crowd.

What’s next? X (6 points) wrestles Taguchi on Friday, while Titán (10 points) takes on Nick Wayne on the same show.

A Block: Jun Kasai (6 points) vs. Nick Wayne (6 points)

This is the youngest guy in the tournament versus the oldest. Wayne attacks before the bell with a tope con hilo over the corner post. Wayne gets some chairs out from under the ring and tries to suplex Kasai onto them, but Kasai blocks it and suplexes Wayne into the chairs instead. Kasai tosses a chair at Wayne, and it hits him perfectly, with the seat popping out and the frame ending up around his head; Kasai is the master – it can’t be denied. Kasai tosses Wayne in the ring and the match apparently starts, but I don’t remember hearing a bell. Kasai headbutts and bites Wayne, then gets two with a dropkick to a seated Wayne. Kasai gets two with a piledriver, then Kasai bites Wayne again and spits at Red Shoes. Wayne, however, responds with a diving uppercut and the Asai DDT for two. Wayne goes to the top, but Kasai cuts him off, and after a battle on the top rope, Kasai hits a superplex for a near-fall. Kasai applies a weird arm scorpion deathlock, but Wayne makes it to the ropes. Kasai goes for the Tiger Driver, but Wayne fights out and tries for a dragon suplex; Kasai drives Wayne into the corner to break it up, but it happens to be the corner Red Shoes is standing in, so with him down, it is time to get buck wild. Kasai pulls out the skewers and tries to attack Wayne with them, but Wayne kicks him, grabs the skewers and tries to drive them into his head. Kasai blocks this, however, and Wayne takes the skewers after all (above the hair line, of course). Wayne responds with a kick that sends Kasai to the outside, then sets up a table, lays Kasai on it and hits a frog splash from the top through the table. Kasai nearly gets counted out, but gets back in at 18, then engages in a striking battle with Wayne. Wayne gives Kasai the kiss of death, then goes for a Lethal Injection, but Kasai dodges it and Wayne hits a Spanish Fly for two. Wayne goes for Wayne’s World, but Kasai blocks it and gets a Tiger Driver for two. Kasai hits a huge lariat, but Wayne kicks out at one. Kasai slams Wayne and hits Pearl Harbor for two, but Wayne battles back with strikes and kicks. However, Kasai hits a headbutt, gives Wayne the kiss of death and hits a straitjacket piledriver for three. This was a lot of fun, and Kasai continues to be a highlight of this tournament. Kasai and Wayne bow to each other and bump fists afterward.

What’s next? Kasai (8 points) takes on Akira on Wednesday, while Wayne (6 points) wrestles Titán on Friday.