J1 SUMMIT 2018: Day 3

Edwards and METAL HERO both took a striker’s approach. Each trying to go for headkicks on the other but scarcely missing until Edwards connected – by METAL HERO catching his kick and locking on a rolling kneebar! Edwards was in definite pain and somehow managed to the ropes. METAL HERO would attempt a shining wizard, but Edwards would block it and hit a Northern Lights Bomb!

HERO would tag in Dashi, as Edwards got Lynx into the ring and the masked cat showed that he’s not just a perfect body but that he’s got the speed and agility to go with the strength! Dashi would attempt a moonsault to a standing Lynx, who caught Dashi and downed him with the Final Breath for the win!

After the match, Musket said he like Jun Vegas almost as much as Zenki, saying that he reminded him of his early years wrestling in the Western United States’ Top Notch Wrestling in the late 70s and early 80s, a vintage promotion whose footage is currently airing on the OWA Network. Could we see a burgeoning tag team in the works?

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Before the next match, there was an incident in the arena with a particular Mountain Bro... and a rather young member of the Demon Brigade. A Mountain Bro supporter wearing a counterfeit #shinjiroswole t-shirt purchased from a street vendor was shouting and acting belligerent on the concourse near one of the concession stands. With a beer in hand, he approached a 7-year-old girl who just emerged with her father from the official MAX-J merchandise shop with a recently purchased a plush Zenki doll. He screamed obscenities at the father and daughter, grabbed the Zenki doll from her hands, and bit the doll’s head off! The little girl cried as her father accosted the inebriated Mountain bro and security escorted the man away.

You might say this incident pre-heated the Mirai Dome for Tokyo Zombie versus Shinjiro Nakama, as the fans were on their feet from the get-go. In the early going, Nakama was doing everything he could to lock up in the clinch with Zombie, but the Buddhist monk kept his cool and refused to let Mountain Shinjiro gets his paws on him. Nakama would eventually turn to throwing his trunk-like legs with kicks and that’s where he made a tactical error as Zombie snatched the foot and took Nakama to the ground and began working on the legs with strikes and kneebars trying to get the big man to tap.

But Nakama would fight back, as he is known to do, and eventually got the mount and began raining down open hand palm-strikes and chops down on the head of Zombie and got up to his feet and hit a soccer kick that KO’d the monk! Nakama went for the pin but only got a two count! It turned out Zombie had recovered from the blow, but Nakama would stay on the attack, hitting a belly-to-belly suplex and then a knee strike! He’d go for the pin… but again Zombie would kick out! Let’s take you to the action from there…

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After Zombie’s impressive victory, GRIM and Robb Daniels would get busy in a testy match that saw GRIM’s unusual tactics creep out Daniels. At one point the Headliner would complain that GRIM drooled slime on him while in a side headlock! The referee checked GRIM for his patented mist but could not find evidence of any illegal substances. Whether it was slime or just saliva, Daniels seemed woozy for the rest of the match and eventually got caught in the GRIM Clutch for the tapout victory. When asked later about the substance, GRIM said that before the match he enjoyed an elixir from the vineyard of Mṛtyu-māra and that perhaps normal humans react poorly to the supernatural.

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In the final match of the night, Daichi Kusumoto looked to step up to the MAX Heavyweight Champion Demon Lord ZENKI. The Thunder Beast was not deterred as he kept up the intensity, trading strikes before hitting a spinebuster and then a rolling senton to have the champion on the ropes! At one point both fighters would go for a rolling Koppu kicks and get their legs tangled together, resulting in ZENKI locking on a heel hook – but Kusumoto made it to the ropes!

ZENKI would muster a few palm strikes of offense before Kusumoto would block it and back up the Demon Lord into the corner and nail rapid-fire chops to the chest! He’d then begin pummeling ZENKI’s face with headbutts! The crowd was going crazy seeing the champ on the ropes. Kusumoto would attempt a release German suplex but ZENKI would step on his boot and then hit an enzuigiri that stunned Kusumoto before a flying elbow smash put him on the mat! ZENKI would then take to the air and land a moonsault right on Kusumoto’s stonelike belly! He’d get the 1-2-3-err-no! Kusumoto would lift up a shoulder at the last second.

ZENKI would attempt his patented ZENKI Bomb, but Kusumoto would fight back and hit a “dangerous” backdrop driver! Kusumoto’s pin would earn him a 1-2-2.9 but no dice! ZENKI would get a foot on the ropes and the Demon Brigade fans in the audience earned a sigh of relief. Kusumoto would then drop ZENKI on his head with a vertical-drop brainbuster! 1…2…2.9…2.999… somehow ZENKI kicked out! The fans were in shock.

Kusumoto then powered up and he rebounded against the ropes hoping to hit the Golem Tiger on a sitting up ZENKI, but ZENKI rolled backward and dodged it! The two men ran at each other and ZENKI hit Kusumoto in the knee and lifted him up and dropped him down with a Tombstone Piledriver! 1… 2… 2.9… 2.9991… Kusumoto kicked out! But it was obvious the Thunder Beast was out of it and Zenki was able to hit the ZENKI Bomb to put him away. Nevertheless, the fans applauded Kusumoto’s tremendous fighting spirit when he finally got up to his feet.

With the third day in the books, we’ve got some movement in the standings. In a Block A there’s a three-way tie for first place has Musket, ZENKI, and Hammerstein all locked up with 4 points. Kusumoto still has an outside chance, but he’ll need a lot to break his way to make the semifinals. Shimada, who has already been defeated by Hammerstein and Musket, has been eliminated due to tie-breaker considerations.

Block B is a bit more open. Tokyo Zombie and Shinjiro Nakama occupy the top two spots, but Edwards and GRIM both have two points. The still undefeated Zombie’s win today over Nakama may come to play an important role in helping him advance if he runs into trouble on Days 4 and 5. Daniels has yet to earn any points and apparently has been taken to a Yokohama hospital for treatment after his match with GRIM. As of right now, he is in stable condition.

BLOCK A
Mike Musket [4]
ZENKI [4]
Jacob Hammerstein [4]
Daichi Kusumoto [0]
Mitsuo Shimada [0]

BLOCK B
Tokyo Zombie [4]
Shinjiro Nakama [4]
James Edwards [2]
GRIM [2]
Robb Daniels [0]

The next day in the J1 SUMMIT will be on 8/15. The fans pouring out of the Mirai Dome, they were already discussing the next match, in particular as we will see an all-Demon Brigade and World Tag Team showdown between the two champs and stablemates as GRIM and Tokyo Zombie will square off. What will a match between these two resemble? Fans were also excited at the debuts of Lynx and Jun Vegas, who have been confirmed for the rest of the tour. So there’s a lot to be excited about! See you next time in Yokohama!