The third match of the card had the potential to be something special, given the athletic abilities of some of the participants. In the drama, Kato Minami and Yumoto Ami showed glimpses of what they could do in the ring, but their characters were considered minor players, so they got very little screen time regarding the action scenes. With a spotlight on them for this content, they could show more of what they learned in training.
Suda Akari’s character also upgraded, becoming the leader of another faction (Dasu Vaders) in WIP with the addition of Oya Shizuka and Nakanishi Chiyori. She also cut a promo which got the crowd in her team’s corner before they blindsided their opponents. This started the contest off fast, with several brawls outside the ring. The early exchange between Suda and Yumoto was very good, showing some of their natural ability. Once the members got some of their stuff in early, the match slowed down in the heel’s favour, where they used plenty of tried and true dirty heel tactics to gain the advantage.
Highlights from this match are plentiful. First is Nakanishi Chiyori. On Twitter, she showed her practice session where she tied up her opponent like a pretzel. And that exact move was used in this match in combination with Kenny Omega’s Rise of the Terminator and a dropkick to Takayanagi’s ass. Later on, she busts out a rolling cradle and gets herself dizzy in the process.
Now one would not expect to see “cruiserweight” or “flippy shit” type of action when it comes to idols attempting to put on their best pro wrestling match. But somehow, that happened. Yumoto, in particular, was the centrepiece in much of this type of wrestling, executing a Drive By from the crowd, a dive through the ropes, a springboard stunner (botched by Chiyori) and a top rope moonsault.
We have Suda Akari, who used most of her character’s signature move set and added the Exorcist Spider Walk that Bray Wyatt uses as a taunt. Like her or not, you have to admire her flexibility. She is very bendy. This match ended with Takayanagi eating an RKO and again announcing her retirement from WIP to add some continuity to the drama.
This match was the closest to the actual cluster fuck that are multi-person Japanese tag team matches and, despite a few noticeable errors, is probably the one match that will stand up well to repeated viewings.
