Bullet Club's El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori win the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championships and take a shot at The Elite
At the NJPW New Beginning show in Ota, the Bullet Club duo of El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. Going toe-to-toe against now-former champions El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, the Bullet Club Jr. Heavyweight team was successful in winning the straps in a very controversial match.
In the closing stages of the contest, members from both teams used the tag team titles to hit one another. And to add to the controversy, not one but two referees were knocked out courtesy of the competitors.
At one point it did seem that Suzuki Gun would emerge as the champions after Kanemaru caught El Phantasmo with a Moonsault and a Brainbuster. To add to ELP's woes, Kanemaru even handed him a title and went down intentionally, pulling off a vintage Eddie Guerrero move. However, that wasn't enough for Suzuki Gun to retain the belts.
Eventually, El Phantasmo caught Kanemaru with a low-blow and followed up with a brutal Sudden Death superkick for the three-count. With the win, Suzuki Gun's reign ended at 134 days after two successful defenses. The duo was fresh off a win at Wrestle Kingdom 15 and could aim for an immediate rematch. As for the new champions, ELP and Ishimori now enter their second reign as champions.
El Phantasmo took a subtle shot at The Elite after the match
After the match, the new champions were confronted by Suzuki Gun's Taichi, who was at Japanese commentary and certainly didn't appreciate the Bullet Club duo cheating throughout the match.
The former IWGP Tag Team Champion didn't throw any hands with El Phantasmo or Taiji Ishimori and simply walked away with the beaten champions. ELP, however, did address the crowd and stated that he doesn't need multiple superkicks to win a match, and instead one is enough to seal the deal. Now, this could've been a potential shot at The Young Bucks, who once represented the Bullet Club as the primary junior heavyweight tag team.
The two-time Super J-Cup winner even labeled himself as an "Elite Athlete" to end his post-match promo.