We’re getting right down to it in B Block, so tonight’s show from Mie is super important. The entire block is bunched up at six, eight or 10 points, so every outcome is meaningful. Let’s see what happens.

B Block: Zack Sabre Jr. [TMDK] (6 points) vs. HENARE [United Empire] (8 points)

Again, Sabre must win to avoid elimination.

HENARE dominates in the early-going, but Sabre gets his knees up on a senton attempt to take control. After several minutes, HENARE manages to hit a Berzerker Bomb to even things up. The match gets physical down the stretch, but every time HENARE tries to put Sabre away, Sabre counters with a hold to try to minimize the damage. Eventually, HENARE gets Sabre in the fireman’s carry position, but Sabre applies a choke that takes HENARE down to the mat and causes ref Marty Asami to stop the match and declare Sabre the winner. This was very, very good.

What’s next? Sabre (8 points) wrestles Aaron Wolf on Night 17, which takes place on Thursday at Korakuen Hall, while HENARE (8 points) wrestles faction-mate Callum Newman on the same show.

B Block: Drilla Moloney [Unbound Co.] (8 points) vs. Ren Narita [HOUSE OF TORTURE] (10 points)

Moloney must win this match to stay alive in the tournament, as this is his last block match. (He was supposed to wrestle Umino on Thursday.)

Moloney gets jumped by Yoshinobu Kanemaru during his entrance. After the bell rings, Narita takes Moloney outside and throws him into a seating section, leading to a near-countout. Kanemaru and Dick Togo interfere throughout the match, which once again causes me to wonder where Moloney’s bros are. There were six Unbound Co. members involved in preview tags earlier on this show, but none of them, not even Daiki Nagai, is willing to help him out here? Honestly, that’s just bad booking. Down the stretch, Asami gets bumped and Togo and Kanemaru run in to beat down Moloney, but Moloney cancels both guys out by himself. Then, Togo tries to throw powder in Moloney’s eyes but hits Narita instead, and then Moloney hits the Drilla Killa for the win. As usual, the parts without the shenanigans were good, but the shenanigans were, as usual, pretty silly.

What’s next? Moloney (10 points) is in the clubhouse, while Narita (10 points) wrestles Gabe Kidd on Thursday.

B Block: Aaron Wolf (6 points) vs. Callum Newman [United Empire] (10 points)

Wolf needs to win this match to remain alive in the tournament. Newman has Zane Jay with him, while Wolf has Tatsuya Matsumoto, and it’s worth noting that those dudes hate each other (in storyline). 

Newman dominates the early-going, sending Wolf to the outside and setting up for his running dropkick but spitting on Wolf instead. Wolf turns the tables with strikes and judo throws. They fight over a spot on the apron, which ends up with Wolf throwing Newman onto the apron on his shoulder and to the floor. Back in the ring, they go back and forth, with each guy trying to put the other away. Eventually, Newman hits Kiss the Crown and goes for Make Way, but Wolf lands on his feet and hits a Destroyer and the Angle Slam, and then locks in his submission for the win. As has been the case this entire tournament, Newman did absolutely everything in his power to make his opponent look good, and Wolf held up his end of the bargain. This was very good.

What’s next? Wolf (8 points) wrestles Sabre on Thursday, while Newman (10 points) wrestles HENARE on the same show.

B Block: Yuya Uemura (8 points) vs. Gabe Kidd (10 points)

Uemura takes the advantage at the outset, after which Kidd attempts to bait Uemura into a brawl outside the ring; Uemura initially refuses, but Kidd decides not to leave it up for debate, beating down Uemura in the ring and then tossing him outside. Kidd suplexes Uemura through a seating section and then goes back to the ring to try to get a countout, but Uemura returns to the ring in time. Kidd continues to bully Uemura, but Uemura battles back and spends a good deal of time working over Kidd’s arm. Kidd battles back and hits a lariat and a sit-out power bomb, which gets two. Uemura battles back once again and hits a High Fly Flow for two, then tries and fails to apply a cross armbreaker. Uemura continues to go after an arm submission, but Kidd manages to fight back with multiple O-KNEEs. Kidd gets two with a piledriver, but Uemura battles out of a Death Rider attempt and then counters a brainbuster attempt with a judo throw into an inside cradle for the pin. The finish was a bit sloppy, but the match itself was very good.

What’s next? Uemura (10 points) wrestles OSKAR on Thursday, while Kidd (10 points) wrestles Narita on the same show.

So, everyone in the block technically remains alive for now, although there’s really no way Moloney, Wolf, Sabre and OSKAR can win. The most anyone in the block can get is 12 points, and the only people who can do that are Kidd, Narita, Newman and Uemura; Kidd and Narita are wrestling each other, so only one of them can get to 12. So, aside from them, Newman and Uemura are in the driver’s seat.

• If there’s a winner in Kidd/Narita and Uemura and Newman win, there would be a three-way tie for first at 12.
  • If Narita beats Kidd, Narita would win the block because he has tiebreakers over Newman and Uemura, and Newman would take second by virtue of his head-to-head win over Uemura.
  • If Kidd beats Narita, Newman would win the block because of his wins over Kidd and Uemura, while Uemura would take second by virtue of his win tonight over Kidd.
• If there’s a winner in Kidd/Narita and only one of Newman and Uemura win, then, obviously, those are your top two. Again, Narita would have the advantage over Newman or Uemura, while either Newman or Uemura would have the advantage over Kidd.
• If there’s a winner in Kidd/Narita and both Newman and Uemura lose, then, according to the NJPW website, HENARE would finish second, which seems crazy, but I love the guy, so let’s go.

Now, obviously, little of this matters if there’s a draw in Kidd/Narita, and since that’s a battle between the two most dastardly heels in NJPW, I think a draw in that match is a very real possibility. That would very much open the door for Newman and Uemura, who, again, control their own destinies. If there is more than one draw, then we’re back to the same tiebreakers described above; this would favor Newman and Narita over the other two.

Anyway, we’ll find out what happens with all this on Thursday. However, before that can happen, the A Block wraps up tomorrow in Hamamatsu. I’ll see you then!