Bang! Pro Wrestling Presents The Sekai Saikyō Cup: Second Round, Part 2!

The Sekai Saikyō Cup marches on in the always lovely to Bang! city of Yokohama! With a fourth of the round of 16 decided, let’s see what happens when we go halfway!

MARCH 24^th, 2023: SEKAI SAIKYOU CUP, SECOND ROUND, YOKOHAMA, NIGHT 2

• The Aces of Bang! (“Ace of Spades” Izou Yoshida & “Diamond” Daisuke Hashiwara), “President” Roosevelt Black, and a mysterious birdman def. “Stunning” Sam Smart, “Thick Walls” Wally Wallace and the Fabulous Hentai Brothers (Michael & Matthew) @ 12:22 by pinfall after a Mysterious Bird Driver (double underhook piledriver) from the mysterious birdman to Michael
• Saikyō Cup, Second Round: Powerslam Anubis def. “Queen of Maniacs” Fujiko Natori @ 14:08 by pinfall with the Scales of Dominion (Fireman’s carry powerslam)
• Saikyō Cup, Second Round: “The Godslayer” Akira Hanazawa def. “Stuntman” Timmy Lester @ 3:17 by pinfall with the Ragnarok Driver (Argentine backbreaker rack to piledriver)
• Saikyō Cup, Second Round: Kensuke BLACK def. Ignacio el Jaguar @ 24:19 by pinfall with the Kurokami Suplex (Tiger suplex ’85)
• Saikyō Cup, Second Round: Ria Lockhart def. Victor “the Constrictor” Jimenez @ 21:18 by pinfall with the Lock Cutter (cutter)

I don’t know why a mysterious birdman suddenly appeared to team with Roosevelt Black and the Aces of Bang!, but his presence was quite the story as he caused mayhem in the opening eight man tag! After ten minutes of action, Smart and Wallace ditched the match completely and allowed the birdman to pick up the win for his team with a move that the English commentary team were calling the “Mystery Bird Driver”.

Yoshida, Hashiwara, and Black were all incredibly confused by their tag team partner the entire time, and it’s worth noting that all three of them were visibly confused on when he became the legal man in order to pick up the win… or maybe whether he was a “he” at all. I’m not one to judge.

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Powerslam Anubis matched his godly might against the Queen of Maniacs in the first Saikyō Cup match of the evening, and the result was a surprisingly back and forth bout between the self-proclaimed Judgment King and the Queen of Maniacs. Natori actually, briefly, lifted the big man up for an attempt at the Beautiful Golden Murder, but Anubis managed to give her the slip and the effort made her vulnerable for the Scales of Dominion for the closely fought victory!

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If anyone could get out the spatula to pick up “Stuntman” Timmy Lester after he was thoroughly beaten within an inch of his life by the Godslayer, I would appreciate it. Lester was little more than a ragdoll to the returning Hanazawa, who has entered the tournament for the first time since his 2020 victory in order to secure yet another shot at Gorou Ichikawa. After two minutes of suplexing Lester nearly to death, Hanazawa paraded him around on his shoulders like he was a trophy or a fresh kill before spiking him with the Ragnarok Driver and setting up a date with the last man to defeat him in one-on-one competition – Powerslam Anubis!

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Ignacio el Jaguar and Kensuke BLACK went toe-to-toe in a long back-and-forth contest that saw the Latino Sacramento native really shine! Iggy’s rapid improvement has been nothing short of a treat to watch, as he took the Black Ace of the Ironhearts to the limit! His improvement included an incredible backwards springboard poison rana that nearly took the match, but BLACK ultimately blocked the Sacramento Necktie with a backdrop driver before putting the young stud of the Crownless Kingdom down with the Kurokami Suplex!

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In the night’s main event, Ria Lockhart went up against the dangerous submissionist, Victor “the Constrictor” Jimenez reaching the top 16 of the Saikyō Cup on the line! Lockhart was on the back foot for much of the match, as it was clear that Jimenez had her number on the mat. However, once she turned things around, she was like a monsoon of offense against the Constrictor! The end came when Jimenez nearly had her in the Constrictor Coil late in the match, but was too near the ropes when he first grabbed it, allowing Lockhart to walk up the turnbuckles and nearly pin him. When Jimenez stood to try and regain the advantage, he walked straight into the Lock Cutter and lost the match!

Karen Nakano
RingDispatch.com