Written by Strong BJ Val https://twitter.com/ShadGoesWryyy & Death BJ Luke https://twitter.com/PuroReviews





Opening match:

Kazuki Hashimoto* & Yuya Aoki vs Kota Sekifuda & Masaki Morohiro

[Strong BJ Val] Starting off the event, we have a Junior tag team match between some of the youngest top talents of the division. Perfect to open any show as this should be fast paced and quite enjoyable. Hashimoto and Aoki have been teaming together a lot, for quite a while. I wonder if we will see them again in the Saikyo Tag League this year. Same thing could be said for Sekifuda, even though Tatsuhiko Yoshino won’t be his partner for this specific match.



**** There have been reports of an injury to Kazuki Hashimoto and him being removed from this weekend’s shows in Korakuen and Nagoya **** – Luke



Second match:

Ryota Hama, Yasufumi Nakanoue, Kazumi Kikuta & Ryuichi Kawakami vs Okami (Daichi Hashimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani), Akira Hyodo & Takuho Kato

[Strong BJ Val] We keep on looking at pairings we should see in the Tag League with this second match, where we have the three teams which finished at the top of the Strong Style block last year. The other interesting thing to note, of course, is the presence of the trainees alongside Hashimoto and Kamitani. Not only this is another great learning opportunity for both Hyodo and Kato, but could we see them grow as an actual team in the future?



Third match:

Abdullah Kobayashi & Speed of Sounds (Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga) vs Ryuji Ito & The Brahman Brothers (Shu and Kei)

[Strong BJ Val] Speed of Sounds and the Brahman Brothers have clashed before in comedy outings alongside Great Kojika, but now, both teams will accompany two Death BJ mainstays in Kobayashi and Ito. With the Brahman Brothers tendency of bringing weapons in during their matches, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some shenanigans in that match, and who knows how far it could go with the Death BJ influence around.

Fourth match:

Drew Parker & Yuki Ishikawa vs Kankuro Hoshino & Takayuki Ueki

[Death BJ Luke] A standard Hardcore tag team match before the madness of Death Mania VII takes hold. Drew Parker, with his usual partners from Kobayashi-gun either otherwise occupied or not present, teams with Death BJ new blood Yuki Ishikawa. They face another unfamiliar tag team constellation of Kankuro Hoshino and Takayuki Ueki, who with their combined 18 years experience hold an edge over their younger opponents. I would be very surprised if Hoshino & Ueki lose this one.



Fifth match – GCW Style Light Tube Deathmatch:

Toshiyuki Sakuda vs G-Raver vs Markus Crane vs Jimmy Lloyd

[Death BJ Luke] One single fall to win, with the added bonus of light tubes and the first of two proper Death Match contests of the show. Markus Crane, Jimmy Lloyd and G-Raver all well established members of the GCW roster, Lloyd also sometimes referenced as Little Lobo after CZW legend Lobo. Whether any of them will go over Sakuda on a Big Japan card I’m unsure, Sakuda has had some terrific matches in the last calendar year, he’d be my pick to win, but if any of the gaijin win I doubt he’ll take the losing fall, it doesn’t make sense to me to have him lose.

Sixth match ~ Motoshi Okuma Memorial ~ Match:

Great Kojika & Atsushi Onita vs Masashi Aoyagi & Masaya Takahashi

[Death BJ Luke] The Great Kojika is a five time All Asia Tag Team Champion with Motoshi Okuma, who passed away in 1992 at the age of 51, with Atsushi Onita, usually with Masanobu Fuchi facing the team a number of times in the 80s era of All Japan. Onita and Aoyagi have met before in FMW, wrestling in front of 15,000 fans in a No Ropes Exploding Barbed Wire Double Hell Death Match in Osaka back in 1994. Masaya is the only ‘fresh’ face in this match, I’d be surprised if this gets too hardcore considering the age of 3 out of the 4 participants involved.



Seventh match:

Daisuke Sekimoto & Takuya Nomura vs Michael Elgin & Masaaki Mochizuki

[Strong BJ Val] Michael Elgin’s second match in Big Japan, following his debut against Sekimoto a day prior. Both men will again stand on different sides, but this time, Sekimoto teams up with Takuya Nomura to form what I’ll call “Team Big Japan” here, while Elgin teams with Dragon Gate’s Masaaki Mochizuki. Looking at all the talent here, this should be a really good tag team match, with the two pairings being somewhat similar, as both sides share a good balance between pure power and speed, with varying styles. I certainly wouldn’t sleep on this outing!



Semi-main event – BJW World Strong Heavyweight Championship:

Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs Kohei Sato /3rd Defence

[Strong BJ Val] This match, as surprising as it may be for some people, is a first timer! While it is not the first time Okabayashi and Sato will share the ring together, this is actually their first singles match. Sato became the challenger for the Strong Heavyweight belt after he and The Astronauts picked up another win over Okabayashi’s team (featuring Okami) in a 6-man tag match on July 30th. The five times Pro Wrestling Zero-1 World Heavyweight champion will be a tough match-up for the current BJW champion, who may look a little less impressive than usual compared to his taller (and nearly as big) opponent. A first timer which, knowing both wrestlers’ abilities, has all the potential to be a great match, and another highlight in Okabayashi’s tremendous 2019, regardless of the eventual result.

Main event – BJW Death Match Heavyweight Championship:

Isami Kodaka (c) vs Orca Uto /2nd Defence

[Death BJ Luke] The newly renamed, Orca Uto, who since joined Death BJ from Strong BJ last year has become one of my favourites to watch, despite a disappointing Ikkitousen ~Death Match Survivor ~ he finds himself up against the winner and current BJW Death Match Heavyweight Champion, Isami Kodaka. This isn’t his first singles match for a big title, he has previously challenged for the BJW World Strong title on two occasions but this is a different situation. This is a BJW Death Match title match, an orchestra of beautiful crafted violence. The instruments for this symphony of sickness will be four fluorescent light tube towers in each corner with other tubes scattered in the vicinity. This will be brilliant, I can feel it. Uto will further cement himself in Death Block, having recently defeated former champion Masaya Takahashi in a TLC match at Death Market 51, but Isami Kodaka will likely retain. I do see Uto getting the belt in the future though.