Featured image by @funyakkichi_pw
These two teams go for the epic approach to finally pay off this rivalry. It’s an understandable impulse especially given how patient the booking has been to deny Astronauts the big win over Strong BJ for years. And after their last two matches ended in a draw, it makes sense that they’d want to go all out to finally put an exclamation point on the feud. This match also seems like a direct response to their 30 minute draw from 2022, with the Astronauts going past the half hour mark to finally gut it out and get the win over Strong BJ.
Unfortunately, the longer runtime does create some problems. I’ve always found that the Astronauts work better when they’re given just enough space to pack in their relentless offense. They’re buzzsaws and I love seeing them just slice through their opposition. They’re not incompetent working longer matches–whether together or as individuals–but it can’t help but dull a little bit of the appeal.
In this match especially, one really feels how things can sag in the second half of the match before it gets to the real emotional peaks of it all. Towards the finishing stretch as well, as the match begins to breakdown, it’s dangerously close to losing its shape and becoming a little too senseless with everyone in the ring just hitting their big bombs. It wouldn’t be so bad if there wasn’t such a clear focus that feels like it gets interrupted with the climactic showdown between Abe and Okabayashi. It doesn’t help things either that compared to how electric the Abe and Okabayashi interactions have been all year, there’s a much colder quality to Nomura and Sekimoto as a pairing in this match. When the latter are given more space in this match, though they’re never boring, one does feel the intensity dip a little lower than necessary.
That being said, a rewatch helped highlight some of the better aspects of this tag I’d neglected. The arm work felt a lot more sharply applied than I initially realized. I enjoyed that it comes at the expense of Strong BJ taking the fight to the floor–a tactic that served them well in previous matches, now come back to bite them in the ass. In fact, it takes a lot longer for Strong BJ to cut off the ring and isolate Abe this time around, whereas the Astronauts begin their assault on Yuji’s arm early and keep to it. There’s also a real sense of joy seeing Abe being the one to get the tap out victory over Yuji in the finish. Whereas it’s typically a Nomura tactic to pick apart an arm and get the submission, having Abe finish off Okabayashi here makes the Astronauts feel so much more like a solid, cohesive unit than just two exceptional wrestlers working together (which at their worse, they can occasionally feel like).
Okabayashi’s a wonder here as well, turning in another great performance in what was a really packed six months of work. The arm selling feels relevant and consistent through most of this, especially given that when he does start throwing does lariats down in the stretch, it comes across more as desperation that he can’t keep the space boys down.
This really could have used just the slightest bit of editing. A few minutes shaved off, tightening this, and I’d likely have it as one of the best matches of the year instead of just another really great installment in this series. That being said, the moment itself still feels massive and greatly earned. Abe gets the big submission win and the Astronauts definitively set themselves apart as the top tag team in the promotion.
Long live our space boys.
Rating: ****
