Tag: BoSJ

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors night four results: Ospreay vs. Romero

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Night four of this year’s Best of the Super Juniors saw an instant classic in the semi-main event. 

Will Ospreay and Rocky Romero tore the house down in Aomori, delivering a dramatic 25-plus minute back-and-forth battle. 

The other tournament matches on the evening were solid, but if you are cherry picking matches to watch on this tour, make sure you check out Ospreay vs. Romero.

Here are full results and match recaps:

TAIJI ISHIMORI & GEDO DEFEATED TITAN & YUYA UEMURA

They did a lot for an opener, including brawling around ringside. While Ishimori and Titan brawled on the outside, Uemura went for a double underhook suplex on Gedo. Gedo bit Uemura’s ear, then used an inside cradle for a near fall. 

He followed with a roll-up and a handful of tights for the pin. 

MARTY SCURLL & BRODY KING DEFEATED TIGER MASK IV & YOTA TSUJI

Tiger and Scurll will face off on Saturday, so we got a tag team preview here. Like with the first bout of the evening, they did more than you might expect from an undercard NJPW tag. 

The finish was cool. Scurll hit a sunset flip on Tsuji, into a German from King. King followed up with a Gonzo Bomb for the pin on Tsuji. 

They didn’t really play up Tiger’s supposed knee injury, which has been the story of this tour for him. 

SHO, JONATHAN GRESHAM & TOA HENARE DEFEATED DRAGON LEE, JUICE ROBINSON & SHOTA UMINO

They played the Time’s Up video for Juice right after the opening bell rang. Juice sold like he was distracted by the video throughout the match. 

This was much quicker than the first two bouts, and not nearly as good. Gresham was selling like he was hurt from last night’s tournament match. The finish saw Henare hit a uranage on Umino for the pin. 

TETSUYA NAITO & SHINGO TAKAGI DEFEATED YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & TAKA MICHINOKU

This was laid out in an interesting way. Shingo was in and out for a few spots, sandwiched between two lengthy segments of Suzuki-gun getting heat on Naito. 

TAKA hit a running knee on Naito, but Shingo broke up the pinfall. Naito made his own comeback and hit Destino on TAKA for the pin. 

After the match, Kanemaru posted Shinigo’s legs and hit them with a chair. So they have a story to work with in their match on Saturday. 

B BLOCK MATCH: ROBBIE EAGLES DEFEATED REN NARITA

Aomori is Narita’s hometown, and his parents were in attendance. They handed out signs with Narita’s photo on them to the crowd, which was a nice touch. 

Eagles worked over Narita’s left leg early. Narita came back with a dropkick and earned a near fall. Narita went for his bridging belly-to-belly, but Eagles blocked it and hit a springboard dropkick to the leg. 

Eagles went for a figure four, but Narita turned it into a cradle for a near fall. Eagles went for a backpack stunner, but Narita turned it into a backslide for a near fall. 

Narita hit a release belly-to-belly for a near fall. Narita used a modified Scorpion Deathlock, but Eagles reached the ropes. Narita got a near fall off a shoulder tackle, as the people really got behind him. 

Eagles hit a backpack stunner out of nowhere and pinned Narita. The air was sucked out of the crowd, who really wanted Narita to pull off the upset. This was a lot of fun. 

B BLOCK MATCH: YOH DEFEATED BANDIDO

Bandido hit a press slam early on. YOH responded by targeting Bandido’s left leg. Bandido came back with a tornillo off the top, a flying headscissors off the apron, and a gorgeous Asai moonsault. I thought Io Shirai had the best moonsault in the business, but it might actually be Bandido. 

Back inside, YOH hit a neckbreaker. YOH hit a flying forearm, but Bandido hit a pop-up cutter. They continued to go back and forth, as YOH hit a superkick. Bandido hit a 450 while YOH held himself up on the middle rope. 

Bandido went for the 21 Plex, but YOH reversed it into a suplex of his own. YOH hit a superplex into a falcon arrow for a near fall. Bandido hit a knee strike and a clothesline for a near fall. YOH blocked another 21 Plex attempt. 

YOH hit a dragon suplex, but Bandido landed on his feet. YOH hit a second dragon suplex, and held the bridge this time, earning the victory. 

Athletically, this was great. I could have used a little bit more music between the notes, though. It felt more like a collection of moves than a match. 

B BLOCK MATCH: EL PHANTASMO DEFEATED BUSHI

Phantasmo did his rope walk halfway around the ring. BUSHI cut him off. Phantasmo came back, choking BUSHI with his own T-shirt. He tied BUSHI to the tree of woe, then stomped on his groin. 

BUSHI hit Eat Defeat, followed by a missile dropkick. Phantasmo hit an airplane spin into a neckbreaker. He followed with a quebrada for a near fall. BUSHI crotched Phantasmo on the top rope, then hit a flying rana. 

Phantasmo sent BUSHI outside, then hit a pair of suicide dives. Back inside, he hit a top rope splash for a two count. He teased a CR II, but BUSHI countered with a DDT on the apron. 

Phantasmo hit a low blow and used a CR II for the pin. A good match, but it lacked intensity. 

B BLOCK MATCH: WILL OSPREAY DEFEATED ROCKY ROMERO

They started with a fun, fast-paced sequence, ending with both posing. Rocky hit a baseball slide, and they slowed the pace. Rocky teased his forever clotheslines, but Ospreay cut him off. Ospreay hit a big knee drop for a near fall. 

Rocky used an octopus hold. He held it for a long time, but Ospreay finally broke the hold with a backbreaker. Ospreay hit a knee to the back, then used a chinlock. Rocky broke the hold, then they exchanged strikes. Ospreay dropped Rocky with a chop. 

Rocky hit a tornado DDT. He followed up with a series of chops and punches. Ospreay flipped out of a flying headscissors, then hit a PK. Rocky blocked a handspring kick and hit a springboard  rana. He followed with a suicide dive. 

Back inside, Rocky hit a double stomp while Ospreay was draped over the second rope. He used a knee strike to the left arm and followed with an arm wringer. Ospreay hit a back handspring kick. 

Ospreay hit Pip Pip Cheerio with his right arm, but sold the damage to his left arm on the follow-up cover. Ospreay hit a Space Flying Tiger Drop, the first time he’s broken that move out on this tour. 

Ospreay hit a series of short kicks to the face, then a big high kick. Rocky blocked an OsCutter, and tried to lock on an armbar. After a fight, he briefly got full extension on the armbar, but Ospreay rolled to the ropes, forcing a break. 

Rocky kicked at the left arm. Ospreay hit a mid kick, Rocky hit a rewind kick, and Ospreay hit an enzuigiri. Ospreay went for a dropkick in the corner. Rocky blocked it, and hit forever clotheslines. Rocky hit a standing Sliced Bread for an awesome near fall at the 20-minute mark. 

Rocky went for a rana, but Ospreay caught him coming in and hit a buckle bomb. Ospreay hit a sidewalk slam for a near fall. Ospreay hit a hook kick. He went for a Storm Breaker, but Rocky turned it into a backslide for a near fall. 

Rocky used a cradle for a near fall. Ospreay hit another hook kick. He went for Storm Breaker again, but Rocky turned it into a roll-up for a near fall. 

They traded strikes from their knees. They got back to their feet and traded again. Rocky ducked a Hidden Blade, then hit a pair of strikes. Ospreay hit a thrust kick, but Rocky locked on an armbar. Ospreay powerbombed out of it and got a near fall at the 25-minute mark. 

Ospreay hit a shooting star press for a two count, then hit Storm Breaker for the pin. Awesome match. 

B BLOCK MATCH: RYUSUKE TAGUCHI DEFEATED DOUKI 

Douki attacked Taguchi before the opening bell. He hit a seated senton off the top to the floor, the most impressive move we’ve seen from Douki yet. They teased an early countout, but Taguchi made it back in at 19. 

Taguchi hit a hip attack. He went for a slingshot plancha, but Douki moved out of the way and hit a snap suplex on the floor. Douki posted Taguchi. Taguchi tried a hip attack off the apron, but Douki hit him with a chair. 

Back in the ring, Taguchi hit a hip attack. Douki hit a sunset flip, but Taguchi countered with a dropkick. He followed up with a springboard plancha to the outside, then a springboard hip attack inside for a two count. 

Taguchi hit Three Amigos. He applied an ankle lock, then transitioned to a Dodon on the knees, picking up another two count. Taguchi sat down into a cover on another Dodon attempt for a near fall. 

Taguchi put on the ankle lock. Douki grabbed Red Shoes, then Taichi jumped in to hit Taguchi with a suplex. They did a long double down. Douki was up first, and hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. 

Douki hit a springboard DDT. He went for Suplex de la Luna, but Taguchi blocked it. Douki used a triangle choke. Taguchi rolled through, but Douki kept the hold applied. Taguchi made it to the ropes, forcing a break. 

Douki hit a clothesline. He again went for the de la Luna, but Taguchi blocked it and used a roll-up for a two count. Taguchi hit a Blue Thunder Bomb into a double down. 

They exchanged strikes. Taguchi went for a hip attack, but Douki ducked. Taguchi hit Red Shoes, who took a bump. Taichi jumped on the apron and threw Douki a chair. Taguchi ducked a chair shot, and hit an enzuigiri. 

Taguchi dropped Douki on the chair, then followed with a Bomaye for a near fall. Taguchi hit Dodon and applied the ankle lock. Taichi tried to jump in with a steel pipe, but the Young Lions at ringside held him off. Douki tapped out. 

B BLOCK STANDINGS

  • Will Ospreay 2-0
  • Robbie Eagles 2-0
  • El Phantasmo 2-0
  • Ryusuke Taguchi 2-0
  • Douki 1-1
  • YOH 1-1
  • Bandido 0-2
  • Rocky Romero 0-2
  • BUSHI 0-2
  • Ren Narita 0-2

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors night two results: Taguchi vs. YOH

Posted on by Ethan Renner

B Block action began today in the 26th Best of the Super Juniors tournament, with NJPW running their second consecutive night in Miyagi. 

The Sendai Sunplaza Hall hosted a solid night of action. Nothing on night two could touch the Shingo Takagi vs. SHO battle from night one, but the card as a whole delivered more than you likely expected at first glance. 

YOH found himself in the main event the night after his tag team partner stole the show. YOH is perhaps better than SHO in the ring, but lacks a certain charisma or intangible that his partner has. That’s a real shame, because he really is something special as a worker. 

Here are full results and recaps from Tuesday’s show:

TAKA MICHINOKU, YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & TAICHI DEFEATED JONATHAN GRESHAM, TIGER MASK IV & YOTA TSUJI 

Gresham and TAKA started the show with some mat work. The Suzuki-gun squad went to work on Gresham’s left hand. Gresham made his own comeback, hitting Kanemaru with a cutter before tagging in Tiger. 

Tiger hit a high cross, but was immediately cut off. He also made his own comeback and hit a Tiger Driver. Tsuji and Taichi tagged in. Tsuji hit a powerslam. He went for a crab, but Taichi fought him off. 

Taichi took his pants off, and Tsuji rolled him up for a near fall. Taichi put on a stretch plum, and Tsuji tapped out. 

After the bell, Kanemaru ripped off Tiger’s mask, while Taichi and TAKA held Tsuji and Gresham in submission holds. The match never got out of first gear and was not as good as most NJPW openers. 

DRAGON LEE & JUICE ROBINSON DEFEATED SHO & SHOTA UMINO

SHO and Lee began, trading holds. SHO had his left shoulder taped up. Umino and Juice tagged in, and Umino aggressively went after Juice. Juice cut him off, then hit a cannonball and a senton. 

Juice and Lee isolated Umino in their corner and focused their attack on his left arm. Umino escaped a double ax handle, pushing Lee in the way. He managed to tag SHO, and SHO and Lee traded strikes. 

Lee and SHO exchanged big knee strikes. SHO landed on his feet out of a snap German, then hit a lariat. Both made tags. Juice missed a senton on Umino, who followed up with a back elbow. Umino ducked the Left Hand of God and hit a vertical suplex. 

Juice hit a flapjack and made a cover, but SHO broke up the pinfall. SHO and Lee fought to the floor. Juice hit a lariat for a near fall, then used a Tenzan-style crab for the submission. 

Lee and SHO continued to brawl after the bell, and their fight spilled into the crowd. They were finally pulled apart, with neither gaining a clear advantage. Good intensity between Lee and SHO throughout here, but just an average match. 

MARTY SCURLL & BRODY KING DEFEATED TAIJI ISHIMORI & GEDO

Scurll and Ishimori started out with an intricate sequence, while King and Gedo brawled on the outside. Scurll was getting the best of the exchange — until Gedo jumped in to choke him with a towel, cutting him off. 

Ishimori and Gedo worked like a totally old school heel tag team here. They used eye rakes, kept Scurll isolated in their corner, cheated behind the ref’s back, all building anticipation for the big tag to King. 

King never got a legal tag, but he jumped in and ran wild. He hit a springboard double arm drag and a double senton, allowing Scurll time to recover. Scurll hit Black Plague on Gedo for the pin. A fun little match. 

TETSUYA NAITO & SHINGO TAKAGI DEFEATED TITAN & TOA HENARE

Titan hit a springboard arm drag on Shingo, who rolled outside. Shingo grabbed a chair, but didn’t use it. Henare and Naito made tags. Naito and Shingo tried to double up on Henare. Henare  got some shine briefly, but was quickly cut off. 

Naito and Shingo worked Henare over. Henare blocked a neckbreaker from Naito, and both tagged out. Shingo and Titan went back and forth, then Shingo hit a DVD into a double down. 

Naito and Henare tagged back in, and Shingo jumped in for an assist. Naito hit some trademark spots, including the combinacion de cabron and a one-legged dropkick. Shingo and Titan brawled on the outside, while Naito hit a flying forearm and a Destino on Henare to win the match. This was quick. 

B BLOCK MATCH: DOUKI DEFEATED REN NARITA

Narita showed off some impressive amateur moves, out-wrestling Douki early on. Douki low-bridged Narita to the floor, then used a chair shot to take control of the match. 

Douki hit a double stomp and methodically worked over Narita. Narita went for a double underhook belly-to-belly, but Douki blocked it and applied a modified triangle choke. Narita reached the bottom rope with his feet, forcing a break. 

Narita hit a perfect dropkick. He followed with a pair of shoulder tackles and hit a vertical suplex for a two count. Narita used a modified Scorpion Deathlock, but Douki reached the ropes. Narita hit a big belly-to-belly, but could not bridge out of it. He covered, but Douki kicked out at two. 

Douki hit a lariat. Narita used a roll-up and an inside cradle for two near falls. Douki hit a sloppy springboard DDT, then used his Suplex de La Luna for the pin. 

After the match, Douki attacked Narita with a pipe. Narita was impressive in defeat. We obviously have a very small sample size, but Douki has not been impressive so far. 

B BLOCK MATCH: ROBBIE EAGLES DEFEATED ROCKY ROMERO

They came out firing strikes. Rocky hit a headscissors, and Eagles rolled outside. Rocky teased a dive, but slid out to the floor while Eagles jumped back in. Eagles went for a suicide dive, but Rocky hit him with a dropkick. 

Back in the ring, Rocky used an octopus hold, then hit a dropkick. Eagles went after Rocky’s left leg. He went for a figure four, but Rocky kicked him off. Eagles hit a chop block, then a lariat to the back of the head for a two count. 

Eagles continued to target the left leg with kicks. He hit a bridging fall-away slam for a two count. Eagles hit double knees in the corner, a 619 to the legs, then again hit double knees in the corner for a near fall. 

Rocky caught a kick and hit a slap to the face. He followed with a tornado DDT. Rocky hit a series of chops, then used a flying bodyscissors to transition to an armbar. Eagles reached the ropes, forcing a break. 

They exchanged kicks. Rocky hit his forever clotheslines, but his knee gave out, allowing Eagles to hit a springboard dropkick to the leg. Eagles used a Ron Miller Special submission, but Rocky made it to the ropes. 

Eagles hit an enzuigiri, then used a Pulse Drop for a near fall. Rocky flipped out of a backpack stunner, and used a magistral cradle for a two count. Eagles bridged out of another cover. Rocky hit a standing Sliced Bread for a near fall. 

Rocky hit a rewind kick. Eagles caught another kick, and he used a backpack stunner for a two count. Eagles hit a 450 to Rocky’s leg, then used the Ron Miller for the submission. Good match. 

B BLOCK MATCH: EL PHANTASMO DEFEATED BANDIDO

They used a really nice opening sequence, ending with both kipping up out of handstands. They used a series of monkey flips and bridges to transition in and out of covers. Bandido got sent outside, and Phantasmo hit a suicide dive, landing in the front row. 

Back in the ring, Bandido avoided a charge in the corner. He went for a gorilla press slam, but Phantasmo escaped. Bandido hit a flying headscissors, sending Phantasmo to the floor. Bandido hit a big tope con hilo, then sent Phantasmo back inside. 

Bandido went for a springboard crossbody, but Phantasmo hit a dropkick. Phantasmo used an airplane spin neckbreaker out of a torture rack position. They traded Canadian Destroyers, then both collapsed. Phantasmo ended up bleeding from the mouth. 

They traded chops, then exchanged strikes. Bandido hit a pop-up cutter for a two count. He used an inverted suplex, then a running knee strike, earning a near fall. Bandido went up top, but Phantasmo cut him off with an enzuigiri. Phantasmo hit a top rope rana, then used a frog splash for a near fall. 

Phantasmo used a rope walk, halfway around the ring. Bandido hit a moonsault press for a two count. Phantasmo pulled the referee in Bandido’s way, then hit a thumb to the eye. He then used a modified facebuster to pick up the pin. A good match with some cool moves, but not a blow-away outing. 

B BLOCK MATCH: WILL OSPREAY DEFEATED BUSHI 

A hot opening sequence ended with BUSHI hitting a flying headscissors over the top to the floor. He continued his attack on Ospreay’s neck with a chair shot. Back inside, BUSHI hit some chops, then used a neckbreaker. 

Ospreay came back with a series of chops. BUSHI grounded Ospreay with an STF, and Ospreay forced a break. Ospreay removed BUSHI’s shirt and hit some chops. BUSHI used the shirt to choke Ospreay, but Ospreay responded with a handspring kick. 

Ospreay hit a 619, then a dropkick in the corner. Ospreay hit Pip Pip Cheerio, but BUSHI kicked out at two. BUSHI hit a missile dropkick. After a nice series of teases and counters, BUSHI finally hit a swinging neckbreaker.

Ospreay hit a step-up enzuigiri. They traded strikes. Ospreay hit a sit-out powerbomb for a two count. BUSHI avoided an OsCutter, and hit a codebreaker for a near fall. BUSHI went to the second rope for an MX, but Ospreay cut him off. 

Ospreay flipped out of a top rope rana, landing on his feet. He followed with a standing Spanish Fly for a two count. Ospreay went for a Storm Breaker, but BUSHI flipped to the apron. BUSHI hit a draping DDT, dropping Ospreay on the apron. They teased a countout, but Ospreay made it back inside at 19. 

BUSHI hit a backstabber for a near fall. He went for an MX, but Ospreay caught him with a dropkick. Ospreay hit a Robinson Special, then an inverted Bloody Sunday DDT. He went for an OsCutter, but BUSHI blocked it. Ospreay dodged BUSHI’s black mist, then hit the Hidden Blade. Ospreay then hit a Storm Breaker for the pin. Again, a very good match, but not a great one. 

B BLOCK MATCH: RYUSUKE TAGUCHI DEFEATED YOH

They did a nice series of dropdown spots, ending with Taguchi avoiding a low dropkick. Taguchi hit a hip attack. YOH blocked a second with an atomic drop. Taguchi rolled to the ropes, then crotched himself on the bottom rope. 

YOH used the Paradise Lock, then broke it with a dropkick. Taguchi rolled to the floor, and YOH hit a rolling senton off the apron. Back inside, YOH used an elbow drop, a knee drop, and a double stomp for three quick near falls. 

YOH hit a dragon screw, then continued to attack Taguchi’s legs, as the pace slowed. Taguchi hit a springboard hip attack, rolled through a sunset flip, and hit a springboard plancha. Taguchi hit a hip attack off the apron, sending YOH into the front row. 

Back inside, Taguchi went for his rolling suplexes. YOH blocked the third, and he used an inside cradle for a two count. YOH hit a neckbreaker, then a flying forearm. YOH fought for a dragon suplex, but had to settle for a gutwrench German for a near fall. 

YOH went for a superplex. Taguchi fought him off, then hit a second rope hip attack. Taguchi went for a Bomaye, but YOH rolled through into a half crab. That was awesome. YOH again focused on attacking the legs, using a figure four. Taguchi reversed the hold, then reached the ropes. 

They traded cradles for near falls. Taguchi went for Dodon, but YOH rolled through. Taguchi got two quick near falls. Taguchi hit an enzuigiri, then YOH hit a thrust kick into a double down. They got back to their feet, and exchanged strikes. 

YOH ate a hip attack. He attempted to full himself up by the bottom rope but Taguchi caught him coming in. Taguchi used an ankle lock to set up a Tiger Suplex for a near fall. YOH went for an enzuigiri, but Taguchi caught him. Taguchi hit Dodon for a near fall. Taguchi then hit a modified Dodon for the pin.

Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of 2018: Takahashi vs. Ishimori

Posted on by Josh Nason

Throughout the week leading into December 31st, we’ll take you back to some of Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of the past year, starting with the five star matches and ending up with a seven star classic.

15 matches got the five star treatment while six matches garnered ratings above that level.

What follows is an edited version of Dave’s writeup from the match from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, available in full for subscribers. Also, we want to give a big shoutout to Cagematch.net who makes research for this list ridiculously easy. 

Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals | June 4, 2018
*****1/2 

“Takahashi and Ishimori had what could be argued was the year’s best match, and definitely the greatest finale in the long history of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, on 6/4 at Korakuen Hall.

It was not only the best match of the tournament, but one of the best matches I’ve ever seen. Emotionally, physically and mentally, it would be in the handful of matches, five so far, that I’d give ****** to. The only negative is not wanting to reward too much dangerous activity as Takahashi has such a lack of looking at his future, which makes him incredible today, but pro wrestling is a marathon, not a sprint. Ironically, his opponent, the current IWGP jr. champion, is becoming the ultimate historical sprinter, compared to both the brilliance and self-destructive long-term performances of the Dynamite Kid.

Considering the performance Takahashi put on in the Ishimori match, and consider that was only the No. 2 match of his current run, and now he’s facing Ospreay at Dominion, who tore it up every night himself, and they’re facing each other on what is New Japan’s second biggest event of the year, the goal would be to have the greatest match of the year, or die trying. But they do not have the pressure on that Okada and Omega have. They can have the 10th or 15th best match of the year and people will rave about it.

So in the first big spot, Takahashi went for his sunset flip power bomb and Ishimori did a backflip out of it. They hit hard elbows on the foot back and forth. They ended up in the bleachers and Takahashi ran from one side of the arena to the other in the walkway and hit Ishimori with a dropkick on the floor. He then went to power bomb Ishimori down the stars, but Ishimori turned that into a huracanrana sending Takahashi rolling down an entire staircase. Ishimori threw him into the post and gave him an amazing sliding German suplex. Takahashi finally came back hitting the sunset flip power bomb to the floor.

After working his safest big match of his life with Kushida, Takahashi decided to make up for it here. Takahashi followed with a wheelbarrow pancake on the floor and then a dropkick off the apron. Ishimori came back with a dynamite plunger and a crossface and then the bloody cross. He had him in he submission and the ref was about to stop it and just then Takahashi made the ropes. The timing of reading the crowd and the ref and getting to the ropes at the peak point was perfect here. Takahashi’s selling her was fantastic. Takahashi did a belly to belly into the corner and hit the dynamite plunger for a near fall. Takahashi did a front rolling cradle bomb off the middle rope for a near fall. Ishimori did a reverse huracanrana and Takahashi got up and did a reverse huracanrana and both collapsed. Ishimori landed badly on the second one. They teased a double knockout but both got up before ten.

They did a big elbow exchange and Takahashi went down. Ishimori did a jumping knee and killer clothesline but Takahashi kicked out at one. Ishimori did a Woo dropkick and running double knees, followed by a tombstone into double knees for another near fall. Ishimori used a bloody cross and Takahashi reversed into an armbar and Ishimori power bombed him, and then Takahashi got the triangle on for the first time. Ishimori tried a power bomb but Takahashi blocked him. But Ishimori was able to power bomb him into the turnbuckles. Ishimori used a uranage and then went for the 450, but Takahashi got his knees up. Takahashi was then selling his knee. Ishimori went for a huracanrana but Takahashi reversed back into a triangle. Ishimori got out with a power bomb. Takahashi used a double arm piledriver and followed putting on the triangle again. Ishimori made the ropes. Ishimori came back with the bloody cross but Takahashi powered out and gave him a Death Valley bomb into the turnbuckles and followed with the time bomb for the pin.

Takahashi then did an interview and said he doesn’t want to be called the Best of the Super Juniors winner, and the goal is the title and challenged Ospreay. Ospreay came out and said, “Well done. We’re all so proud of you.” Then Ospreay showed his belt and said that this proves he’s the junior heavyweight champion of the world and noted he’s beaten Takahashi twice. He said he’d see him in Osaka for Dominion. Takahashi then said that this is our Super Junior tournament and the whole building was on its feet clapping for him including Liger and Milano Collection A.T. at ringside. He said that five years ago he was right here at Korakuen Hall and his dream was to win the IWGP jr. title and bring it back here to Korakuen Hall. Naito, Evil, Sanada and Bushi came out to congratulate him.

The trophy he got broke in the celebration.”

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors night 12 results: KUSHIDA vs. Dragon Lee

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Saturday’s New Japan show in Gunma featured the penultimate night of B Block action. 

While the A Block standings are a mess heading into Sunday’s semifinal in Korakuen Hall, the B Block comes down to the Hiromu Takahashi vs. KUSHIDA matchup. If there’s a winner, that winner gets a spot in the tournament final. If there is a draw and Marty Scurll wins, then Scurll takes the block. 

If there is a draw and Scurll loses, well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I have a headache.

Here are the results and a recap of the BOSJ tournament matches from Saturday at the New Sunpia Takasaki. 

Prelim Results:

  • Tomoyuki Oka, Tiger Mask & Shota Umino defeated ACH, Yuya Uemura & Yota Tsuji when Oka submitted Tsuji with a Boston Crab
  • YOSHI-HASHI & YOH defeated Taiji Ishimori & Chase Owens when YOSHI-HASHI submitted Owens with a Butterfly Lock
  • Flip Gordon & Toa Henare defeated Will Ospreay & Gedo when Gordon pinned Gedo after a Four Flippy Splash
  • BUSHI, SANADA & EVIL defeated Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & TAKA Michinoku when BUSHI pinned TAKA after an MX

B Block Matches:

Chris Sabin defeated El Desperado

Desperado hid by the entrance and jumped Sabin as he stepped out ontoo the ramp. He sent him into the audience and hit him with chairs and pied chairs on top of him. Desperado beat him all over the building, and the referee started counting Sabin out for some reason, but he made it back inside. 

Desperado wedged a chair between the ropes and sent Sabin into it. The beatdown continued. Sabin got a small package for a nearfall, then began to mount a comeback. He hit a springboard DDT, and a plancha. He sent Desperado into the crowd, and hit a flip dive off the apron to a seated Desperado on the floor. 

Sabin hit a reverse Frankensteiner and a missile dropkick, picking up a nearfall. Desperado recovered, and hit a vicious spear, before using Guitarra de Angel for a nearfall. They traded reversals and counters, until Sabin ducked a chairshot, and kicked the chair back into Desperado’s face. 

The finish saw Sabin hit an enziguri, then a lariat for a nearfall, then hit Cradle Shock for the pin. 

I appreciated the layout here, I don’t recall seeing a ton of matches with this exact construction. The work itself was solid, but not spectacular. 

Marty Scurll defeated Ryusuke Taguchi

They started with a lot of comedy. Scurll would do a taunt, Taguchi would copy it. Scurll did his wing flapping taunt, and Taguchi did a penguin. Scurll would do a momve, and Taguchi would try to mirror it, but wouldn’t be able to, and sold. Scurll used some hip attacks, but Taguchi hit one, and his butt is more powerful. 

Scurll hit a superkick on the apron, before taunting the crowd. He used a back rake, and some short pucnhes, before throwing Taguchi back inside. Scurll stretched Taguchi and hit a backstabber, before Taguchi and his powerful ass made a comeback. He hit a bunch of hip attacks and a nice tope. 

Scurll went for a surfboard, but Taguchi reached the ropes. They went to the top and Scurll teased hitting an exploder, before settling for a superplex, and a nearfall. Taguchi rolled to the floor, and applied an ankle lock to Scurll on the apron. Scurll powered out, sent Taguchi into the post, then sent him ack inside, picking up a nearfall. 

Scurll teased the finger break, Taguchi reversed it, but Scurll finally got it. Taguchi hit an enziguri, then went into his Nakamura tribute act. He went for the Bomaye, but Scurll turned it into the chicken wing. Taguchi rolled through into a cradle, getting a nearfall. Scurll hit the Black Plague for a nearfall. 

Scurll grabbed his umbrella, but Taguchi cut him off. Taguchi pretended that he had taken a low blow, and in the ensuing confusion, Scurll pushed Red Shoes, who pushed him back, right into a Taguchi rollup, but Taguchi only got a two count. Taguchi hit a bridging suplex for another nearfall. 

Taguchi went for another, but Red Shoes took a bump. Taguchi put on the ankle lock, and Scurll tapped, but with no referee, it didn’t matter. 

They did the Angle/Guerrero finish from Wrestlemania 20. While Taguchi revived the referee, Scurll unlaced his boot. Taguchi put on an ankle lock, but Scurll slipped out of the boot, and small packaged Taguchi for the pin.  

I liked the comedy at the beginning, but this didn’t need to go almost twenty minutes. 

Hiromu Takahashi defeated SHO

They came out firing, immediately trading strikes and shoulder blocks. SHO got the best of the exchange, and hit a dropkick. He sent Hiromu to the apron, then hit him with a dropkick, sending him to the floor. He used an armbar, before Hiromu used a dropkick of his own to send SHO to the floor. 

Hiromu tokk control of the match, using a powerbomb from the apron to the floor. They teased a countout, as SHO sold his neck. Hiromu hit a shotgun dropkick for a nearfall, and the pace slowed, as he taunted SHO. Hiromu used a tarantula, and a low dropkick to send SHO outside, then hit a dropkick from the apron to the floor. 

SHO made a comeback with a powerslam, a lariat, and a series of kicks, before hitting a backstabber, and applying a cross armbreaker. Hiromu reached the ropes, then caught SHO coming off the ropes, and hit a powerbomb. They traded lariats and suplexes, and SHO went after Hiromu’s left arm. 

They crawled to the apron, and exchanged strikes. SHO hit a suplex on the apron, but Hiromu came back, and hit the Dynamite Plunger for a nearfall. SHO went for a charge into the corner, but Hiromu suplexed him into the pad. He went for another Dynamite Plunger, but SHO turned it into a cross armbreaker, which the crowd bought as a potential finish, but Hiromu reached the ropes. 

They traded kicks. Hiromu went for a reverse Frankensteiner, but SHO caught him, powerbombed him, and hit the powerbomb on the knees for a nearfall. Hiromu went for the Frankensteiner again, but this time he got it, and slapped on the triangle choke. SHO fought, but eventually tapped. Hiromu initally refused to release the hold, and it took several Young Lions to break it up. Great match. 

KUSHIDA defeated Dragon Lee

They started with hip tosses, armdrags, and reversals. KUSHIDA went for a rana, but Lee flipped out, and hit one of his own, sending KUSHIDA to the floor. He took his time getting back into the ring. He used an armbar in the ring, then a crucifix while Lee was caught in the ropes. Lee tried to roll to the floor, but KUSHIDA brought him back inside, and continued attacking his left arm. 

KUSHIDA got tossed to the floor, and Lee hit a great tope. Back inside, he attacked the head and neck of KUSHIDA with strikes, then hit a dropkick in the corner. Lee hit a backbreaker, then used an armbar. Lee tried to run the ropes, but KUSHIDA hit a back handspring elbow, sending him to the floor, before connecting with a crazy senton from the post to the floor. 

Back inside, KUSHIDA went for a moonsault, but Lee got his knees up, and slapped the mat, begging the crowd to get into it. Lee teased his dropkick from the ring to the floor, but KUSHIDA blocked it. They traded strikes, and both fell to the floor. 

Lee was first inside, allowing KUSHIDA to hit a springoard Frankensteiner. He resumed his attack on Lee’s left arm, using the Hoverboard Lock, but Lee reached the ropes. KUSHIDA became frustrated, as he was unable to put Lee away. He got careless, and left Lee an opening. Lee hit a pair of suplexes, then applied a sleeper with a body triangle. KUSHIDA reached the ropes, grabbing them with his teeth. 

They exchanged strikes, and both collapsed to the mat, as the crowd got behind them. This was one of the better crowds of the tour. Lee hit a shining wizard for a nearfall. They went to the top. KUSHIDA used a kimura, but Lee popped out and hit a footstomp for a nearfall. 

The finish saw Lee go for a powerbomb, but KUSHIDA turned it into a DDT. Lee cradled him for a nearfall, then hit a Frankensteiner. He went for a suplex, but KUSHIDA turned it into Back to the Future, and picked up the victory. A great main event. 

Standings heading into Sunday’s Semifinals:

A Block Standings:

Taiji Ishimori 4-2 (Holds tiebreaker over Ospreay, BUSHI, Tiger Mask)

Will Ospreay 4-2 (Holds tiebreaker over Tiger Mask, YOH)

Flip Gordon 3-3 (Holds tiebreaker over Ishimori, Tiger Mask)

BUSHI 3-3 (Holds tiebreaker over Ospreay, Gordon)

Tiger Mask 3-3 (Holds tiebreaker over YOH, BUSHI)

YOH 3-3 (Holds tiebreaker over Gordon, BUSHI)

ACH 2-4 (Eliminated)

Yoshinobu Kanemaru 2-4 (Eliminated)

B Block Standings:

Hiromu Takahashi 4-2 (Wins B Block with a win over KUSHIDA, holds tiebreaker over Scurll)

KUSHIDA 4-2 (Wins B Block with a win over Takahashi, holds tiebreaker over Scurll)

Marty Scurll 4-2 (Can only win B Block with a win over SHO and a KUSHIDA/Takahashi draw)

Dragon Lee 3-3 (Eliminated by virtue of loss to KUSHIDA)

Chris Sabin 3-3 (Eliminated by virtue of loss to Takahashi)

El Desperado 2-4 (Eliminated)

SHO 2-4 (Eliminated)

Ryusuke Taguchi 2-4 (Eliminated)

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors standings heading into final day

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

The next to last day of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament was today in Takasaki, with Hiromu Takahashi, KUSHIDA, and Marty Scurll all getting wins and going into the final day of action tomorrow at Korakuen Hall with 4-2 records.

Today’s results were:

  • Chris Sabin (3-3) defeated El Desperado (2-4)
  • Marty Scurll (4-2) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi (2-4)
  • Hiromu Takahashi (4-2) defeated Sho (2-4)
  • KUSHIDA (4-2) defeated Dragon Lee (3-3)

The A and B block will be decided tomorrow on a show with eight matches.

In the A block, Will Ospreay and Taiji Ishimori are both 4-2 while Flip Gordon, Tiger Mask IV, BUSHI, and Yoh are 3-3.

If Ishimori beats Yoh, he will go to the finals no matter what. If Yoh wins and Ospreay beats Gordon, Ospreay will advance. If Ishimori and Ospreay both lose, it gets confusing.

At that point Ospreay, Ishimori, Gordon, and Yoh would all be 4-3. Tiger Mask faces ACH and BUSHI faces Yoshinobu Kanemaru. ACH and Kanemaru are mathematically eliminated. But Tiger Mask or BUSHI could also end up tied at 4-3. If four to six guys end up 4-3, the winner will be determined based on head-to-head record among whoever is tied, so there are a number of different ways it could go. Additionally, if there is a draw in either the Ospreay or Ishimori match, that would give them a 4-2-1 record which could eliminate the big tie.

In the B block, it comes down to a KUSHIDA vs. Takahashi match, and Scurll. If Scurll beats Sho, he’ll be in a tiebreaker with the KUSHIDA vs. Takahashi winner, unless they go to a draw and a Scurll win would make him the block champion. If Sho beats Scurll, the KUSHIDA vs. Takahashi winner goes to the final.

If Scurll beats Sho and KUSHIDA wins, then KUSHIDA will advance since he beat Scurll in the tournament. If Takahashi beats KUSHIDA and Scurll beats Sho, then Takahashi advances. So the only way Scurll can advance would be if he wins and if Takahashi and KUSHIDA draw. If not, the Takahashi vs. KUSHIDA winner goes to the finals.

Tomorrow’s matches will begin at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on New Japan World, which will have both Japanese and English commentary. They are:

  • Ospreay (4-2) vs. Gordon (3-3)
  • Ishimori (4-2) vs. Yoh (3-3)
  • ACH (2-4) vs. Tiger Mask (3-3)
  • BUSHI (3-3) vs. Kanemaru (2-4)
  • Taguchi (2-4) vs. Sabin (3-3)
  • Lee (3-3) vs. Desperado (2-4)
  • Scurll (4-2) vs. Sho (2-4)
  • KUSHIDA (4-2) vs. Takahashi (4-2)

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors night 11 results: YOH vs. Kanemaru

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Thursday’s Best of the Super Juniors show in Aomori narrowed the list of potential A Block winners. 

Yoshinobu Kanemaru and ACH were eliminated by virtue of their losses. With the last A Block action set to take place on Sunday, Taiji Ishimori will win the block with a victory. Will Ospreay will take the block with a victory and an Ishimori loss. 

If both Ospreay and Ishimori lose Sunday, we’ll have to summon Mike Tenay and Don West and have them explain the various tiebreakers. Or maybe Scott Steiner can break them down for us in a promo. 

Here are the results of Thursday’s show, held at the Hachinohe City East Gymnasium. 

Prelim Matches:

  • Shota Umino & KUSHIDA defeated Dragon Lee & Yuya Uemura when Umino made Uemura submit to the Boston Crab.
  • Chase Owens & Marty Scurll defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Tomoyuki Oka when Owens pinned Oka after a Package Piledriver.
  • Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado defeated Chris Sabin & Toa Henare when Suzuki pinned Henare after a Gotch Piledriver.
  • Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi defeated YOSHI-HASHI & SHO when Naito pinned SHO after a Destino.

A Block Matches:

BUSHI defeated Flip Gordon

Flip hit a variation on the 619 around the post, but BUSHI sent him to the floor on a springboard attempt. BUSHI blatantly used a chair, before sending Flip back inside and choking him with his shirt. BUSHI got the first nearfall of the match off a neckbreaker. 

BUSHI worked a headscissors, attacking Flip’s head and neck. He hit a missile dropkick with Flip draped over the ropes, and got another nearfall. Flip made a comeback, clotheslining BUSHI on the top rope, and followed with a springboard dropkick and a tope, before hitting a cool springboard spear. 

Flip hit a rolling senton, a standing shooting star, and a moonsault, picking up his first nearfall. He missed a phoenix splash, and BUSHI planted hm with a DDT. He connected with a missile dropkick, but Flip countered a neckbreaker attempt with a falcon arrow for a nearfall. 

They traded strikes, and BUSHI went up top. Flip hit a springboard superkick, knocking BUSHI to the mat, but BUSHI was able to get his knees up, blocking a 450. BUSHI hit an enziguri and a codebreaker for a nearfall, then hit the MX, and got the pin. 

There was nothing wrong with this, but I was still left thinking that this was one of the weaker bouts of the tournament so far. 

Taiji Ishimori defeated ACH

ACH got the best of a good opening sequence, hitting a chop. He has some of the best opening spots in the business right now. Ishimori cut him off, and hit a seated senton, before going to work on the taped shoulder. He hit an enziguri, and his sliding German. 

ACH made a comeback, sent Ishimori outside, and hit a suicide dive. Back in the ring, he hit a frog splash for a nearfall. He teased the deadlift bridging suplex spot, before hitting it and getting a two count. He went for it again, but Ishimori hit a handspring enziguri, leading to a double down. 

They traded strikes, and ACH hit his doube footstomp. He connected with double knees in the corner, and used a lungblower for a nearfall. He missed a 450, allowing Ishimori to hit a shotgun dropkick. Ishimori used the lungblower for a nearfall, before hitting the Bloody Cross for the pin. 

This was solid, but both men have had better performances in the tournament. They only went about twelve minutes, and the lack of time kept them from getting out of first or second gear. 

Will Ospreay defeated Tiger Mask

They had a nice, simple opening exchange, filled with tackles, dropdowns, and leapfrogs. Ospreay used kicks to attack the left arm, but Tiger was able to counter with a tombstone, sending Ospreay rolling outside, selling his bad neck. They teased a countout, but Ospreay made it back in. 

Tiger used a chinlock. Ospreay fired back with strikes, but the neck gave out on him, and Tiger hit a guillotine legdrop. Ospreay recovered and hit a corkscrew enziguri, and a 619. His neck gave out again. Tiger teased a double underhook superplex, but Ospreay countered, and hit a sidewalk slam for a nearfall. 

Ospreay went for the Storm Breaker, and Tiger went for the Tiger Suplex, but they countered, and knocked each other down with simultaneous kicks. Ospreay hit the Robinson Special, but missed an Oscutter attempt. 

Tiger used a scissored armbar, and double underhook powerbomb for a nearfall. He followed with the double underhook superplex, which got another close nearfall. He went for another tombstone, but Ospreay reversed it into the Storm Breaker, and got the pin. 

They worked hard, and Ospreay did a good job of making Tiger look like a credible threat, but this was the weakest Ospreay match of the tournament. 

YOH defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Kanemaru jumped YOH during his introduction, and sent him to the floor. He threw him into the first few rows, and sent him into the post. YOH beat the count back inside, and Kanemaru applied a camel clutch. YOH rolled to the ropes, and Kanemaru hit a dropkick on the apron, and a DDT to the floor. 

YOH beat the count again, and Kanemaru hit three consecutive DDTs for a nearfall, before continuing to attack the head and neck with stomps and a headscissors. They traded strikes, and YOH hit a dragon screw, his first meaningful offense of the bout. He hit a slingshot footstomp, and a neckbreaker. 

Kanemaru low-bridged YOH on a charge, sending him to the floor. YOH made it back inside, and hit a tope. They teased a Kanemaru countout, but he made it back inside, and YOH hit a superplex into a falcon arrow for a nearfall. 

YOH missed a senton bomb, but recovered as Kanemaru went up top. He went for a superplex, but Kanemaru hit a DDT from the top, and they traded nearfalls. Kanemaru hit a tornado DDT, and both men went down, selling exhaustion. 

Kanemaru hit a dropkick, and connected with an inverted DDT on the apron. He prepared for the whiskey mist as Red Shoes counted YOH. YOH beat the count, and while Red Shoes took the whiskey bottle from Kanemaru, he sprayed the mist on YOH, hit a low blow, and got a nearfall off Deep Impact. 

Kanemaru hit a brainbuster for another nearfall, then went to the top. He jumped into a superkick, but hit a lariat on the rebound. He went for another brainbuster, but YOH cradled him for a nearfall, then rolled into his Five Star Clutch, and got the victory. 

This was another good, but not great main event, and it’s clear from this show that everyone in the tournament is feeling the impact of working so many tough matches in a short period of time. 

A Block Standings:

Taiji Ishimori 4-2 (Holds tiebreaker over Ospreay, BUSHI, Tiger Mask)

Will Ospreay 4-2 (Holds tiebreaker over Tiger Mask, YOH)

Flip Gordon 3-3 (Holds tiebreaker over Ishimori, Tiger Mask)

BUSHI 3-3 (Holds tiebreaker over Ospreay, Gordon)

Tiger Mask 3-3 (Holds tiebreaker over YOH, BUSHI)

YOH 3-3 (Holds tiebreaker over Gordon, BUSHI)

ACH 2-4 (Eliminated)

Yoshinobu Kanemaru 2-4 (Eliminated)

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors night 10 results: KUSHIDA vs. Desperado

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Night ten of the 25th Best of the Super Juniors featured an interesting match order, as the tournament’s B Block took center stage. 

KUSHIDA and El Desperado closed Wednesday’s show, held in Fukushima at the Big Palette Fukushima. 

Looking at the card beforehand, I would have put Marty Scurll and Dragon Lee on last. With the benefit of hindsight, I would have closed the show with Chris Sabin and Hiromu Takahashi, as they delivered the performance of the night. 

Here are the results from the show. 

Prelim Results:

  • YOSHI-HASHI & Will Ospreay defeated Tiger Mask & Shota Umino when YOSHI-HASHI submitted Umino with a Butterfly Lock
  • Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori defeated ACH & Tomoyuki Oka when Owens pinned Oka after a Package Piledriver
  • Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Minoru Suzuki defeated YOH & Gedo when Kanemaru pinned Gedo after a Deep Impact
  • Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI defeated Flip Gordon & Toa Henare when Naito pinned Henare after a Destino

B Block Matches:

Marty Scurll defeated Dragon Lee

They opened with some nice chain wrestling, with neither man gaining a clear advantage. Scurll bent the fingers back, then took control of the match, hitting a kick to the quadriceps, and a backbreaker. Scurll tied the top of Lee’s mask to the bottom rope and attacked, focusing on the left arm. 

Lee made a comeback, sending Scurll to the floor, before hitting a tope con hilo. Back in the ring, Lee connected with a dropkick in the corner, and got a nearfall. He hot a double underhook backbreaker and a running knee for another nearfall. 

Dragon went for another dive, but Scurll cut him off. He hit an enziguri on the apron, and a superkick, sending Lee to the floor. Marty got a nearfall off a knee strike, and connected with a throw from the top rope. 

Scurll missed a moonsault. He teased the finger break spot, but Lee hit a DDT gor a nearfall. A nice exchange of strikes and lariats led to a double down. Lee used a sleeper and a knee strike for a nearfall, but Scurll countered with the finger break spot. 

Lee was able to cradle Scurll for a nearfall. Scurll countered with a Code Red, but could not get a three count. Lee hit a double footstomp from the top, but Scurll countered with a DDT and a fisherman’s buster for a nearfall. Dragon hit a standing Spanish Fly, as the exchange of nearfalls continued. 

The finish saw Scurll connect with an inverted superplex, before locking on the chicken wing for the submission. 

They worked a different match than I expected, with Lee not doing nearly as much flying as usual. It was still quite good, but I am perplexed as to why working Dragon’s left arm never really led to anything. 

Ryusuke Taguchi defeated SHO

This is worth seeing if only for the spot where SHO was shooting invisible arrows at Taguchi, 

They started with the standard comedy built around Taguchi’s butt. SHO worked over the left arm, including applying a post-assisted armbar. He spent the next several minutes working a variety of holds, from abdominal stretches, to a triangle, to what I think was supposed to be a figure four. 

Taguchi made a comeback with hip attacks, and a pair of really nice dives to the floor. He went for Three Amigos, but SHO countered, hitting three rolling suplexes of his own. Taguchi hit a dropkick, but ate a lariat. He was able to rebound and apply the ankle lock, but SHO reached the ropes. 

Taguchi did his Nakamura impression, but when he went for the Bomaye, he ran into a suplex. SHO hit a lungblower for a nearfall, but Taguchi backdropped out of his finish and hit an exploder. He applied the ankle lock again, but SHO reached the ropes after rolling through several times. 

The finish saw Taguchi hit a nice bridging Korriyama, picking up the pinfall victory. 

This went too long for my liking, but some of the comedy at the outset worked, and the crowd was into seeing Taguchi win. 

Hiromu Takahashi defeated Chris Sabin

Hiromu went after Sabin at the bell, but Sabin responded, hitting a monkey flip, followed by a senton from the apron to the floor, and a high cross. Hiromu responded, and after initially countering a sunset bomb attempt, Sabin ended up taking a powerbomb on the apron. Hiromu took control. 

He used a tarantula in the ropes, before hitting a shotgun dropkick from the apron to the floor. He methodically worked on Sabin’s head and neck in the ring, using more brawling tactics than usual. Those tactics left an opening for Sabin, though, who responded by winning a striking battle, before planting Hiromu with a DDT. 

Sabin hit a missile dropkick, a Yakuza kick, a reverse Frankensteiner, and a tornado DDT, but Hiromu took all of it, and regained control with a powerbomb and a Dynamite Plunger. They traded superkicks and lariats, as the match reached the home stretch. 

The finishing sequence saw Sabin score a nearfall with a powerbomb into a jackknife cover, but he was unable to score a pinfall after an All Hail Sabin. He went for another, but Hiromu countered, and slapped on a triangle choke, forcing Sabin to tap. 

This was a good match, my favorite on the show to this point. Sabin has been impressive in this tournament. He can’t work at the pace of the best in the world, but he brings a lot of other things to the table. 

KUSHIDA defeated El Desperado

KUSHIDA warded off the trademark opening attack from Suzuki-gun’s Desperado, and connected with a cannonball to a seated Desperado on the floor. Desperado quickly gained the upper hand, as the action spilled into the audience. He used a handcart, and pushed KUSHIDA around the building, taking out row after row of chairs. 

They teased a countout, and KUSHIDA sold his left leg as a result of the assault. Desperado sent KUSHIDA into an exposed buckle, and continued working the leg, using a half crab. KUSHIDA made a comeback, hitting a tope con hilo to the floor, and a handspring into a back elbow in the ring. Desperado cut him off, and continued to attack the leg. 

Desperado pulled a Bill Watts and pulled up the padding at ringside, and teased a superplex to the floor. That seems like an exceedingly bad idea for a spot. Someone will try it soon, I’m sure. KUSHIDA was able to counter, and hit a flying cross armbreaker to the canvas. 

Desperado went for a rolling senton, but bumped Red Shoes in the process. KUSHIDA turned the senton into a Hoverboard Lock, and Desperado tapped, but with the referee out, no dice. He gave up the hold, allowing Desperado to hit a drop toe hold onto a chair, followed by a chair shot. He hit an Angle Slam as Red Shoes was revived, bit only got a two count. 

The finishing sequence saw Desperado go for a Guitarra de Angel, but KUSHIDA coutered, and sent him into the exposed buckle. KUSHIDA hit a scary looking springboard Frankensteiner, almost spiking himself right on his head, and rolled into a cradle for a nearfall. He immediately followed with Back to the Future, and got the pin. 

As a matter of personal preference, I would rather the Suzuki-gun chicanery to take place earlier in the card, rather than closing the show. This was fine, even good, but I’m still waiting for a trademark KUSHIDA performance in this tournament.

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors night 9 results: Ospreay vs. Kanemaru

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The ninth night of the 25th Best of the Super Juniors showcased the tournament’s A Block. 

Taiji Ishimori, Tiger Mask, Will Ospreay, and Flip Gordon sit atop the block following Tuesday’s show, held in Tochigi at the Tochigi City Athletic Park Gymnasium. 

Prelim Results:

  • Chase Owens & Marty Scurll defeated Dragon Lee & Yota Tsuji when Owens pinned Tsuji after a Package Piledriver.
  • YOSHI-HASHI & SHO defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Tomoyuki Oka when Oka submitted to YOSHI-HASHI’s Butterfly Lock.
  • Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado defeated KUSHIDA & Shota Umino when Suzuki pinned Umino after a Gotch Piledriver.
  • Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi defeated Chris Sabin & Toa Henare when Naito pinned Henare after a Destino.

A Block Matches:

Taiji Ishimori defeated Tiger Mask

Taiji jumped Tiger as soon as he stepped through the ropes, and worked him over with chops and closed fists. Tiger made a brief comeback, and Taiji sold his kicks like crazy, but Taiji regained the upper hand and went for the mask. 
Taiji landed some forearm strikes, but Tiger was able to come back with his kicks and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Tiger hit a hip toss off the top rope, and picked up a nearfall. He went for a Tiger Suplex, but when Taiji looked to counter, he switched to the cross armbreaker. Taiji reached the ropes, breaking the hold. 

Taiji hit double knees in the corner, and followed with a runing knee strike, before slapping on a crossface. Tiger reached the ropes, and got a brief comeback, including hitting a Tiger Suplex for a nearfall. He hit a Tiger Suplex from the top for another nearfall, then applied an armbar, but Taiji reached the ropes. 

Tiger went for the Tiger Clutch, but Taiji hit him with a knee strike and a lungblower, then hit the Bloody Cross for the pin. 

Tiger is obviouslly more physically limited than anyone else in the tournament,  but it’s a lot of fun to see how his matches are put together with that in mind. This was good, and Taiji was a great opponent for him. 

BUSHI defeated ACH

ACH got a double-leg, then torw off BUSHI’s shirt and landed some chops. BUSHI responded, using the shirt to choke ACH, and began working over his heavily taped shoulder. BUSHI hit a Hangman’s DDT on the apron, and continued his assault on the floor. 

Back inside, BUSHI used an STF and an armbar, working the shoulder. He hit a guillotine legdrop, before ACH was able to mount a comeback. ACH landed a double footstomp to the back, a uranage, and a bridging suplex for a nearfall. He followed with a backbreaker, but BUSHI came back with a missile dropkick and a rana from the ring to the floor. 

Back in the ring, ACH hit a DVD for a nearfall, and BUSHI countered a deadlift suplex into a cradle for a nearfall. ACH hit a deadlift suplex, and a running knee in the corner. He went to the top, but missed a 450 attempt. ACH countered an MX attempt, but BUSHI hit a backstabber, leading to a double down. 

BUSHI was first up, and hit an MX, but only got a nearfall. He followed with an MX from the second rope, and got the pin. 

This felt more like a collection of moves than a match with any real flow to it. They worked hard, but it was neither man’s best outing.

YOH defeated Flip Gordon

Flip got the best of a hot opening exchange, hitting a dropkick and a standing shooting star. He hit a handspring back elbow, but missed another, allowing YOH to hit a slingshot footstomp, a neckbreaker, and a standing senton for a nearfall. 

YOH worked a chinlock and a headscissors, as the pace slowed. He followed with a back elbow and a snap suplex, scoring a nearfall. Flip hit an enziguri, and a springboard dropkick, sending YOH outside. He hit a crossbody from the top rope to the floor, and a springboard Sling Blade, back in the ring. 

YOH countered a cradle attempt with a guillotine, and landed some Misawa elbows. Flip came back with a superkick, a rolling senton, and another standing sooting star, but YOH landed a superkick, leading to a double down. 

They traded forearm strikes, with Flip getting the bes of the exchange. YOH went for the superplex into a Falcon Arrow, but Flip turned it into a Falcon Arrow of his own for a nearfall. Flip hit a top rope 450 for a nearfall, but ate a superkick, and YOH bridged into the Five Star Clutch, and got the three count. 

This was a good action bout, and a good showing for both guys. 

Will Ospreay defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Kanemaru jumped Ospreay as he turned his back during ring introductions, but Ospreay was able to respond. He sent Kanemaru to the floor, and hit a plancha. They brawled into the first row, but as Ospreay went for a running attack, Kanemaru connected with a chair shot. He continued to attack Ospreay with a chair, driving it into Ospreay’s neck and shoulder. 

Back in the ring, Kanemaru used a headscissors, and a Bomaye. He pulled Ospreay back to the floor, and hit a DDT. Ospreay beat the count back inside, but Kanemaru tore off his shoulder tape, and applied a camel clutch. Ospreay hit a handspring enziguri and a 619, gaining momemtum for the first time. He followed with a springboard forearm for a nearfall. 

Kanemaru halted Ospreay’s momentum, hitting a DDT, and an inverted DDT, but Ospreay was able to counter with a standing shooting star, earning another nearfall. He went for a Storm Breaker, but Kanemaru countered, and Red Shoes took a bump. Ospreay went for the cover, but with the referee out, it was to no avail. 

Kanemaru hit a low blow. Ospreay stopped a chair shot, but Red Shoes woke up in time to stop Ospreay from using the chair himself. With Red Shoes distracted, Kanemaru went for the whiskey mist, but Ospreay kicked him in the gut, and Kanemaru spit the whiskey in the air. Ospreay hit a sitout inverted DDT for a nearfall. 

Ospreay connected with the Robinson Special. He went for an Oscutter, but Kanemaru countered with a dropkick. Kanemaru hit a brainbuster, but only got a two count. He hit Deep Impact, but Ospreay kicked out of that as well. 
Kanemaru came off the top, right into a roundhouse kick. Ospreay hit a superkick, a Burning Star Press, and a corkscrew splash off the top for a nearfall, then hit the Storm Breaker for the win. 

This was something of a styles clash, with Ospreay’s aerial tactics and Kanemaru’s brawling tendencies. The ref bump was to be expected given Kanemaru’s Suzuki-gun loyalties, but felt out of place in an Ospreay match. Still, this was good for what it was, and Ospreay never has bad matches. 

Here are the current tournament standings, and the results of Tuesday’s show.

A Block Standings:

Taiji Ishimori 3-2

Tiger Mask 3-2

Will Ospreay 3-2

Flip Gordon 3-2

BUSHI 2-3

ACH 2-3

YOH 2-3

Yoshinobu Kanemaru 2-3

B Block Standings:

Dragon Lee 3-1

Chris Sabin 2-2

Marty Scurll 2-2

El Desperado 2-2

KUSHIDA 2-2

SHO 2-2

Hiromu Takahashi 2-2

Ryusuke Taguchi 1-3

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors night 7 results: Ospreay vs. BUSHI

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The 25th Best of the Super Juniors tournament continued Saturday with Night Seven’s A Block action, held at the Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall in Aichi. Here are the results.

Prelim Matches:

  • Shota Umino & Chris Sabin defeated Yuya Uemura & Dragon Lee when Umino submitted Uemura with the Boston Crab.
  • YOSHI-HASHI & SHO defeated Tomoyuki Oka & KUSHIDA when YOSHI-HASHI submitted Oka with the Butterfly Lock.
  • Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado defeated Chase Owens & Marty Scurll when Suzuki pinned Owens after a Gotch Piledriver.
  • Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Toa Henare when Naito pinned Henare after a Destino.

A Block Matches:

Flip Gordon defeated Tiger Mask

Tiger Mask scored the first meaningful offense of the match. After trading holds, he hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He applied a headscissors and slammed Flip’s face into the mat, before transitioning to a camel clutch. 
Tiger gave up the hold for some reason, allowing Flip to land some strikes, and a standing shooting star. Flip hit a cool springboard Sling Blade, before Tiger was able to connect with the double underhook superplex for a two count. 

Tiger used an armbar, but Flip was able to escape, and hit a Falcon Arrow. He missed a corkscrew moonsault, but connected with a rolling senton and another standing shooting star, before Tiger caught him in a cross armbreaker. Tiger followed with a double underhook powerbomb, and a Tombstone, before heading to the top. 

Tiger missed a top rope splash, leading to the finishing sequence. Flip landed on his feet out of a suplex attempt, and connected with a superkick on the mat, and another to Tiger as he sat prone on the top rope. Flip hit the Four Flippy Splash, and got the pin. 

The first few minutes were nothing to write home about, and the rest of the match was average. 

ACH Defeated YOH

This was a good match, but not anything that you need to go out of your way to see. 

They started with their version of the Ospreay/Ricochet sequence. It was good, but these guys obviously aren’t at that level. ACH played bully for several minutes, working over YOH’s neck. He used strikes, holds, and a bridging suplex pinfall attempt, all targeting the head and neck. 

YOH was able to come back, landing a double footstomp, and a neckbreaker, which earned him a nearfall. They did a cool series of spots near the ropes, which ended with YOH hitting a crossbody off the top. ACH rolled through, and hit a DVD for a nearfall. 

ACH went for a deadlift suplex, but started selling his bad shoulder, and gave it up. YOH took notice, and started working over the shoulder. He went for a swanton bomb, but ACH got his knees up. The crowd really got behind ACH at this point. He tore the tape off his shoulder, which got a big reaction, but YOH took advantage, and hit the superplex into a Falcon Arrow spot for a nearfall. 

They traded strikes, and ACH got the best of the exchange, as YOH took a flip bump off a lariat. ACH followed with the Soul Buster (package DDT), and picked up the pinfall victory. 

Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Taiji Ishimori 

This was good, but if they had cut about three minutes of dead time out, it would have been great. They only went fifteen, but there were multiple countout teases, and some of the selling was too much. 

Ishimori jumped Kanemaru before the bell, landed some strikes, and a seated senton. He used a cravate, and landed blows to the back of the head, before the action spilled outside, and the match turned in Kanemaru’s favor. They brawled into the audience, and Kanemaru use a chair to choke Taiji. 

Back inside, it was Kanemaru’s turn to work the head and neck. He hit a draping DDT on Taiji, who bumped from the apron to the floor. They teased a countout, before Kanemaru continued his attack. Taiji missed a dropkick, but connected on a handspring into a kick. He followed with Ibushi’s Golden Triangle to the floor, and hit his sliding suplex. 

Kanemaru came back with a tornado DDT, leading to a double down. Taiji went for a superplex, but Kanemaru turned it into an implant DDT off the top. He followed with an inverted DDT, but Taiji was able to counter with the powerbomb lungblower, but could only get a two count from it. 

Taiji used a crossface, but Kanemaru was able to reach the ropes. Kanemaru grabbed Red Shoes, who took a bump to the floor. He spit the whiskey mist, and hit a brainbuster, but only got a two count, which came as a shock to the audience. 

Kanemaru came off the top into a Codebreaker, but as Taiji picked him up, Kanemaru small packaged him for the pin. I liked the zigs and zags at the end. 

BUSHI defeated Will Ospreay

This was not as good as most Ospreay matches, but only because they used this as part of telling a larger story. The idea is that Ospreay is exhausted, which I’m sure he is. As a result, he sold a lot here, and cut back on the spectacular offense a bit. It was still very good overall, and the crowd is into BUSHI as a part of the most over faction in the promotion. 

BUSHI hit a dropkick as Ospreay was being introduced, and he choked him with his ring gear. BUSHI wasted no time attacking Ospreay’s bad neck. Ospreay teased the Sasuke Special, but they both did their trademark poses. BUSHI continued his attack near the ropes, and they rolled to the floor, where BUSHI used a chair. 

Ospreay beat the count inside, and BUSHI used a headscissors. He followed with a dropkick to the back, and used an STF. Ospreay was able to hit a handspring knee strike, a 619, and a springboard clothesline, which earned a nearfall. 

BUSHI was back in control in short order, hitting a missile dropkick and double knees in the corner. Ospreay hit an enziguri, and a Sasuke Special. After a struggle on the floor, Ospreay hit a brainbuster, dropping BUSHI on the apron. Ospreay dignalled for the Storm Breaker, but BUSHI bumped Red Shoes, and sprayed Ospreay with the black mist. He used a backslide for a nearfall, but ate a kick on a follow up strike, allowing Ospreay ample time to wash the mist out of his eyes. 

Ospreay hit a superkick, and a lifting inverted DDT for a nearfall. The crowd began buzzing at this point.

Ospreay hit a Robinson Special, and went for the Oscutter, but BUSHI hit a backstabber, leading to a double down. BUSHI landed a Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall, then went up top, landed the MX, and got the pin. 

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors night 6 results: Takahashi vs. Lee

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The 25th Best of the Super Juniors tournament continued Friday with Night Six’s B Block action, held at the Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium in Osaka. Here are the results.

Prelim Matches:

  • Shota Umino, Tomoyuki Oka & Tiger Mask defeated Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji & Flip Gordon when Umino tapped out Uemura with a Boston Crab
  • YOSHI-HASHI & YOH defeated Toa Henare & ACH when YOSHI-HASHI tapped out Henare with the Butterfly Lock
  • Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori when Suzuki pinned Owens after a Gotch Piledriver
  • BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito defeated Gedo & Will Ospreay when BUSHI pinned Gedo after an MX

B Block Matches:

Marty Scurll defeated Chris Sabin

This was a good outing for both guys. Sabin looked better than in his earlier tournament bouts, and they did a lot of cool cross-up and counter spots. 

They started with some crazy good chain wrestling sequences, with Sabin using something that looked like a La Magistral hip toss. They did some comedy, which worked well. Sabin went for a springboard DDT, but Scurll countered, and went to work on Sabin’s left arm. 

Sabin hit a DDT and got a couple of nearfalls with cradles. Scurll hit  Sunset Flip, but Sabin rolled through and landed a kick, and a Fisherman’s Suplex, getting another nearfall. Scurll slapped on a Surfboard, then stomped on both of Sabin’s surgically repaired knees. He hit an inverted brainbuster for a nearfall. 

Sabin got the best of an exchange ini the corner, and tied Scurll to the Tree of Woe for a dropkick. They traded shots on the apron, and Sabin shoved Scurll into the post, before hitting a flip dive to the floor. Sabin got a nearfall, and avoided the finger break spot. 

They traded strikes and counters. Scurll teased the Chicken Wing, while Sabin teased hitting All Hail Sabin. A sequence of strikes ended with Scurll taking a flip bump off a lariat, only to pop back up and hit Black Plague for the win. 

Ryusuke Taguchi defeated KUSHIDA

The ring entrances were longer than the match. They teased locking up for a bit, then their opening volley ended in a stalemate. They hit each other with stereo hip attacks, then KUSHIDA caught taguchi in a flying armbar. Taguchi turned it into a cradle attempt for a nearfall, then caught KUSHIDA jumping in with a front facelock, and small packaged him for the upset. 

I like the idea of doing a finish like this once in a while to sell the idea that matches can end at any point, and a Taguchi match is as good a time as any.

SHO defeated El Desperado

Desperado jumped SHO at the bell, and beat him all around ringside, including using a chair. They teased a countout, but SHO made it back inside, and sold the left leg in a big way. Desperado spent five minutes working the leg, until SHO hit a sweet dropkick, and a series of lariats. 

Desperado flipped SHO off, so SHO grabbed his arm and slapped on a cross armbreaker. He hit a baseball slide, but Desperado nailed him with a series of low dropkicks to the bad leg, reclaiming control. 

Desperado hit an Angle Slam for a nearfall, but SHO was able to backdrop out of a follow-up double underhook bomb. SHO hit a suplex, and a powerbomb lungblower for a nearfall. He went for another, but Desperado turned it inito a pinning combination for a nearfall. 

The finish saw Desperado miss a low blow, and eat a lariat and a Shock Arrow for the pin. 

These guys are good, but this was missing something, and SHO’s intermittent selling of his leg distracted me. 

Dragon Lee defeated Hiromu Takahashi

These are two of the best performers in the world, and they showed why here. 

They came out of the gate going a thousand miles an hour, then threw a changeup and had a prolonged exchange of slaps to the chest in the center of the ring. They teased a hurracanrana from the apron to the floor, but Hiromu powerbombed Lee on the apron instead. 

They brawled into the crowd, and Hiromu used a chair. Back inside, Hiromu played bully, and went for Lee’s mask. Lee threw some chops, but they established that Hiromu was the more powerful striker of the two. Hiromu used a Tarantula on the ropes, and followed with a wheelbarrow facebuster to the floor. He came off the apron into a dropkick, and the tide turned in favor of Lee.

Lee hit a Tope con Hilo, and followed with an Angel’s Wings for a nearfall. Now it was Lee’s turn to play bully, as the crowd heated up. He hit the slinshot dropkick in the corner, and taunted Hiromu with the Tranquilo pose. 
They traded cradles, then a series of suplexes. Hiromu hit a lariat, and Lee took a flip bump, leading to a double down near the ten minute mark. Lee used an armbar, but Hiromu reached the ropes. They teased a double footstomp in the corner, but Hiromu turned it into a suplex, then went outside. 

Lee hit a running dropkick over the top rope to the floor. How he avoided blowing his knee out, I don’t know. They teased a double countout, but Hiromu hit a suplex on the floor, and made it back inside, before pie-facing Red Shoes, stopping the count. He then landed a senton from the post to the floor. They teased a countout again, but both men beat the count. 

They exchanged strikes, and Lee hit a Frankensteiner. Hiromu countered with a Canadian Destroyer. Hiromu hit a series of elbow strikes, but Lee countered with Desnucadora for a close nearfall, as Hiromu was just able to reach the ropes. 

Lee charged in for an attack, but Hiromu suplexed him into the corner, then hit the Dynamite Plunger for a nearfall. They went up top, and Lee hit a double footstomp to the back off the top rope for a nearfall. Lee hit a standing Spanish Fly, which is go-to the move of the tournament for a lot of guys, for a nearfall. 

With Hiromu spent, Lee hit the Dragon Driver, and scored the pinfall. Excellent stuff. 

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors night 3 results: Will Ospreay vs. ACH

Posted on by Ethan Renner

New Japan ran their third show in as many days Sunday, with Night 3 of the 25th Best of the Super Jr. taking place in Shizuoka. 

The undercard was not made available on New Japan World, but the tournament matches were posted as Video On Demand content late Sunday night Eastern Time. 

Below are the results from Sunday’s card.

**********

Prelim bouts:

  • Shota Umino & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Dragon Lee & Yuya Uemura
  • YOSHI-HASHI & SHO defeated Tomoyuki Oka & Chris Sabin
  • Chase Owens & Marty Scurll defeated Toa Henare & KUSHIDA
  • Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado defeated EVIL & Hiromu Takahashi

Best of the Super Junior Block A matches:

Tiger Mask defeated YOH

The two competitors shook hands before locking up. They exchanged holds and shoulder blocks early, keeping everything very basic. Tiger Mask took control with some strikes and worked a headlock and an armlock on the mat, then unleashed some kicks and knee lifts. 

YOH hit a sweet handspring back elbow, and a dropkick, and Tiger Mask rolled outside. YOH followed him out with a tope, but sold the damage done to his left arm as he waited for Tiger Mask to get back inside. He hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. 

Tiger Mask came back with a backbreaker, and teased a double underhook superplex, but YOH blocked it. Tiger applied a scissored armbar on the mat, but YOH reached the ropes. YOH hit a superkick and collapsed onto Tiger Mask for a nearfall as both men sold exhaustion. 

They traded nearfalls with cradles and backslides. Tiger hit a Destroy Suplex for a close nearfall. He landed a high kick, and hit a double underhook superplex for a nearfall, then hit a Tiger Suplex for the pin. This was good. Tiger looked better than he has in his tag outings of late, but I was surprised at how little he gave YOH. 

Flip Gordon defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Kanemaru jumped Flip at the bell, but Flip, well, flipped his way out of trouble, scored a nearfall off a cradle, and hit a tope con hilo. He went for a springboard strike, but ate a boot to the head, and the action spilled outside. 

They brawled around ringside and into the seats, with Kanemaru taking firm control of the bout. Back inside, he grounded Flip with a camel clutch. Flip hit a springboard Sling Blade, leading to a double down. The crowd got into the match, firmly behind Flip. 

Kanemaru went for a suplex, but Flip escaped. They went to the top rope, Flip flew off, and landed a superkick and a dropkick from the mat. Flip went up top, but ate Kanemaru’s knees to the gut on the landing. Kanemaru hit a lariat and a slam, but missed a moonsault. 

Kanemaru hit a Tornado DDT for a nearfall. He came off the top into a superkick, and Flip hit a standing shooting star for a nearfall. Kanemaru used a backslide for a two count. They traded strikes, and went up top. Flip kicked Kanemaru off the top, and hit his Four Flippy Splash for the pin. This was good, but they didn’t have the time to make it great. 

Taiji Ishimori defeated BUSHI

They stalled a lot early on, circling, sizing each other up. BUSHI kicked Taiji outside, but Taiji cut him off before he could hit a tope. BUSHI recovered and went for a guillotine legdrop, but Taiji avoided it and hit a seated senton, then worked a headlock. 

Taiji sat BUSHI on the middle ropes, and hit a suplex, sliding outside while BUSHI landed in the ring. That was a great spot. BUSHI came back with a DDT, and a flying headscissors. He sent Taiji outside and hit a suicide dive through the ropes. 

Back inside, BUSHI hit double knees in the corner and a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall. Taiji hit a handspring into a kick, leading to a double down. BUSHI hit a flying headscissors off the top for a nearfall. He went for an enziguri, but Taiji turned it into a cool move, using a tombstone grip, then dropping into a double knee gutbuster for a nearfall. 

They traded strikes and BUSHI got a nearfall with a Canadian Destroyer. BUSHI came off the second rope into a Codbreaker, and Taiji followed with the Bloody Cross for the pin. They did some cool stuff, but it seemed like they had some miscommunication in places. 

Will Ospreay defeated ACH

They had a hot opening sequence, and within a minute, they established that ACH was a credible threat to Ospreay, as he went flip for flip and reversal for reversal with Ospreay. ACH hit a dropkick and they rolled outside, where Ospreay took over, slamming ACH’s left shoulder into the post. 

Ospreay targeted the shoulder, and focused much of his offense on holds and strikes. ACH bounced out of an arm wringer into a hip toss attemot, and hit a standing splash, and a foot stomp to Ospreay’s back. Ospreay went for a springboard strike, but jumped into a uranage into a bridging suplex for a nearfall. 

They traded chops and strikes, and Ospreay hit a handspring enziguri, a dropkick into the corner, and a standing shooting star for a nearfall. He followed up with a springboard lariat, and went for the Storm breaker, but ACH reversed into a bridging suplex for a nearfall. 

Ospreay went for the Oscutter, but ACH turned it into a DVD for a nearfall. ACH missed a charge into the corner, and flipped to the floor. He went for a suplex from the apron, but Ospreay bblocked it, and followed up with a Sasuke Special. Back inside, he hit a corkscrew 450 for a nearfall. 

He went for another, but ACH knocked him off the top and covered for a nearfall. ACH went for a deadlift german, and finally got it after a struggle. Ospreay turned a suplex attempt into a cutter, leading to a double down. 
Ospreay went for the Storm Breaker again, but ACH escaped. He ent for a lariat, but Ospreay turned it into a corkscrew kick, and followed with the Storm Breaker for the pin. 

I personally liked the Dragon Lee match from Night 2 better than this, but this was a fine main event, and one of the two or three best matches of the tournament so far. 

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors night two results: Takahashi vs. Scurll

Posted on by Ethan Renner

New Japan Pro Wrestling kicked off the B Block of the 25th Best of the Super Juniors tournament Saturday in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall. 

The strong tournament bouts delivered, and the undercard, while short on star power, provided some good action as well, particularly in the opener which featured Young Lions Shota Umino and Yota Tsuji. 

The tournament continues on Sunday in Shizuoka, with IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay set to headline with ACH, capping a night of A Block action. 

Below are the results from Saturday’s show.  

**********

Shota Umino defeated Yota Tsuji by submission 

Good fundamental work here from both guys. Tsuji’s selling brought the crowd into the match at the end, and Umino’s top rope Shotgun Dropkick is a thing of beauty. Umino submitted Ysuji with the Boston Crab.

Will Ospreay, YOSHI-HASHI & YOH defeated ACH, Tiger Mask & Tomoyuki Oka

I covered the Lions Gate Project show earlier this week and came away more impressed with Oka than any of the current group of Young Lions because of his charisma. That was on display here as well, but the work in the match itself was nothing special. Oka tapped out to a butterfly lock.

Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Toa Henare & Flip Gordon

Suzuki is much better suited to working tags than long singles bouts at this stage of his career, and looked better here than in his main event with Naito earlier this month. Suzuki pinned Henare with the Gotch piledriver.

SANADA & BUSHI defeated Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori

A good action match. The crowd was really into Ishimori. A lot of focus in the ring and in the post-match was on BUSHI and Ishimori, who will face off in a singles bout tomorrow. SANADA submitted Owens with the skull end.

BOSJ B Block Matches:

Dragon Lee defeated SHO

This was great. They got the crowd into it right away with a strong exchange of strikes. SHO went for a cross armbreaker, but Lee made the ropes. SHO continued to focus his attack on the arms of Lee. Lee hit a sweet tope con hilo, which led to another strike exchange. 

They traded belly-to-back suplexes, and Lee hit a standing Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Something tells me we’re going to see that move a lot in this tournament.  SHO went back to working the arms, but Lee countered by striking the right arm and applying a Kimura. SHO was able to reach the ropes, and both men sold exhaustion. 

Lee went for a rana from the apron to the floor, but SHO caught hi and powerbombed him into the ring. SHO hit a Last Ride onto his knees, got a nearfall, then used a cross armbreaker. They teased a top rope German, but Lee turned it into a double footstomp and a nearfall. 

They traded knee strikes, but Lee grabbed an arm, and hit the Desnucadora for the pin. 

El Desperado defeated Ryusuke Taguchi

This was excellent in spots, and a wacky comedy bout in other spots 

Desperado jumped him before the bell. Taguchi came back with hip attacks and a 619. He went for another 619, but Desperado crotched him on the middle rope and threw him outside. Desperado wedged a chair between Taguchi’s legs and hit that with another chair. Ouch. Lots of groin attacks in wrestling, lately. 

They teased a countout, but Taguchi made it back in. Desperado whipped Taguchi into an exposed buckle, and tried to hit him low again with an international object, but the referee cut him off. Desperado worked on the legs. 
Taguchi made a comeback and hit a springboard dropkick, and used an ankle lock. Desperado cut him off with a spinebuster. Both went for double underhooks, but Taguchi was finally able to get them, and hit a slam, and a hip attack for a nearfall. 

The finish saw Desperado kick Taguchi low while the referee’s back was turnned, and he picked up the pinfall. 

Chris Sabin defeated KUSHIDA

This was a solid, fundamentally sound, strike-based match. It was different than I expected. Sabin was never quite the same guy after tearing his knees up a few years ago, but he makes up for that in other ways. KUSHIDA had to slow his usual pace to allow Sabin to keep up, but that is by no means a shot at Sabin. Few guys in the world can work at KUSHIDA’s pace. 

They started slow, working holds. KUSHIDA attacked the left arm, while Sabin went to work on KUSHIDA’s right. Sabin used a headbutt, and followed up with strikes to all of the limbs. They traded strikes, and Sabin used a La Magistral for a nearfall. He went for another, but KUSHIDA turned it into a Kimura. Sabin reached the ropes. 

Sabin went for a springboard Tornado DDT, KUSHIDA coutered, but Sabin was able to hit it on the second try. KUSHIDA hit a handspring into a kick. Sabin hit a top rope German and an All Hail Sabin for a nearfall. He followed up with another All Hail Sabin, and got the pinfall. 

Hiromu Takahashi defeated Marty Scurll

These are two of the best wrestlers on the planet. Scurll has some of the best ring psychology in the business, and Hiromu is so spectacular. All of that was on display in the opening sequence, as they traded moves, counters, and bird taunts. Hiromu went for a Sunset Bomb, but Scurll countered, bent the right arm back, and hit a superkick on the apron. 

Scurll continued to target the right arm on the floor, and sent Hiromu into the first few rows of seats. Back inside, he stomped on Hiromu’s right hand, and hit a backbreaker. Scurll attacked the head and neck with uppercuts and double sledges. He hit a Backstabber, but Hiromu countered with a suplex into the corner pad. 

A lengthy strike exchange ended with Hiromu hitting a flying headscissors and a Shotgun Dropkick off the apron to the floor. He hit a top rope standing senton for a earfall. Scurll teased the finger break spot, but Hiromu hit a pop-up powerbomb, and the momentum shifted to him. 

Scurll countered with a top rope DDT. Hiromu came back and hit the Sunset Bomb. Back inside, Hiromu hit Dynamite Plancha for a nearfall. He wet for a headscissors off the apron, but Scurll turned it into a powerbomb off the apron, and Hiromu landed hard. They traded strikes on the apron, and Scurll hit a Tombstone on the apron, leading to a nearfall. 

Scurll went for the Chicken Wing, Hiromu powered out, but Scurll was finally able to apply the hold. He gave it up, but did the finger break spot and hit a pair of superkicks. He stomped on Hiromu’s head,  but Hiromu countered with a Time Bomb attempt. Scurll countered into a cradle, but Hiromu countered, locking in a triangle choke. 

Scurll tried to break the hold with a powerbomb, but Hiromu held on, and Scurll passed out in the hold. A great main event. 

NJPW reveals full Best of the Super Juniors 2018 lineup

Posted on by Joseph Currier

New Japan Pro Wrestling has rounded out the lineup for this year’s Best of the Super Juniors.

Taiji Ishimori, ACH, and Chris Sabin were confirmed as the final three additions for the tournament, joining IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay, KUSHIDA, Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI, Marty Scurll, Flip Gordon, Dragon Lee, Sho, Yoh, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Tiger Mask IV.

Ospreay, Ishimori, ACH, BUSHI, Gordon, Yoh, Kanemaru, and Tiger Mask make up the A Block. KUSHIDA, Takahashi, Sabin, Scurll, Lee, Sho, Desperado, and Taguchi are in the B Block.

The first 13 wrestlers for BOSJ were revealed in advertising for the tournament. Ishimori being one of the remaining three additions became apparent when he attacked Ospreay and was revealed as the new Bone Soldier at Wrestling Dontaku night two last Friday.

Ishimori, Gordon, Sabin, Sho, and Yoh didn’t take part in the tournament last year, and Gordon, Sabin, and Sho are appearing in their first BOSJ.

The tournament will begin at Korakuen Hall on May 18th and conclude at the same venue on June 4th. If Ospreay doesn’t win, the winner will likely challenge for his Junior Heavyweight title at Dominion on June 9th. If he does, he’ll probably pick his own challenger for the show.

Here’s the schedule of tournament matches:

May 18th (Korakuen Hall, A Block) —

  • Will Ospreay vs. Taiji Ishimori
  • Yoh vs. BUSHI
  • ACH vs. Flip Gordon
  • Tiger Mask IV vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru

May 19th (Korakuen Hall, B Block) —

  • Hiromu Takahashi vs. Marty Scurll
  • KUSHIDA vs. Chris Sabin
  • Ryusuke Taguchi vs. El Desperado
  • Dragon Lee vs. Sho

May 20th (Shizuoka, A Block) —

  • Will Ospreay vs. ACH
  • Taiji Ishimori vs. BUSHI
  • Flip Gordon vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Tiger Mask IV vs. Yoh

May 22nd (Korakuen Hall, B Block) —

  • Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Desperado
  • KUSHIDA vs. Marty Scurll
  • Dragon Lee vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
  • Chris Sabin vs. Sho

May 24th (Shiga, A Block) —

  • Will Ospreay vs. Yoh
  • Taiji Ishimori vs. Flip Gordon
  • ACH vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Tiger Mask IV vs. BUSHI

May 25th (Osaka, B Block) —

  • Hiromu Takahashi vs. Dragon Lee
  • Sho vs. El Desperado
  • KUSHIDA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
  • Marty Scurll vs. Chris Sabin

May 26th (Aichi, A Block) —

  • Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI
  • Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • ACH vs. Yoh
  • Flip Gordon vs. Tiger Mask IV

May 27th (Aichi, B Block) —

  • Hiromu Takahashi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
  • KUSHIDA vs. Sho
  • Dragon Lee vs. Chris Sabin
  • Marty Scurll vs. El Desperado

May 29th (Tochigi, A Block) —

  • Will Ospreay vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Flip Gordon vs. Yoh
  • ACH vs. BUSHI
  • Taiji Ishimori vs. Tiger Mask IV

May 30th (Fukushima, B Block) —

  • KUSHIDA vs. El Desperado
  • Hiromu Takahashi vs. Chris Sabin
  • Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Sho
  • Dragon Lee vs. Marty Scurll

May 31st (Aomori, A Block) —

  • Yoh vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Will Ospreay vs. Tiger Mask IV
  • Taiji Ishimori vs. ACH
  • Flip Gordon vs. BUSHI

June 2nd (Gunma, B Block) —

  • KUSHIDA vs. Dragon Lee
  • Hiromu Takahashi vs. Sho
  • Marty Scurll vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
  • Chris Sabin vs. El Desperado

June 3rd (Korakuen Hall, A and B Block finals) —

  • Will Ospreay vs. Flip Gordon
  • Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoh
  • ACH vs. Tiger Mask IV
  • BUSHI vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • KUSHIDA vs. Hiromu Takahashi
  • Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Chris Sabin
  • Dragon Lee vs. El Desperado
  • Marty Scurll vs. Sho

June 4th (Korakuen Hall, Tournament finals) —

  • A Block winner vs. B Block winner

Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of 2017: KUSHIDA vs. Will Ospreay

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Editor’s Note: Every day this week, we’ll take you back to one of Dave Meltzer’s top-rated matches of the past year, starting with No. 10 and going through No. 1. What follows is an edited version of Dave’s writeup of that match from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

KUSHIDA vs. Will Ospreay
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals | June 3rd
*****

With the worldwide boom in quality lighter weight wrestlers, this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament looked to have potential to be the best one ever. Between the ridiculously loaded A block and a solid B block, the tournament largely lived up to that. Not every match was great, but most were good, and almost all the dream matches lived up to and, in some cases, he exceeded expectations.

It came down to 24-year-old Will Ospreay trying to become only the second repeat winner (Tiger Mask in 2004-05) and 34-year-old KUSHIDA doing his comeback storyline. KUSHIDA had suffered a number of losses including the two minute loss to IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi on April 9th at the Sakura Genesis show. Then after winning the ROH TV title from Marty Scurll, the simple story was that he developed a new finisher: a small package power bomb called Back to the Future.

Then in the tournament, he pulled a Cleveland Cavaliers, going down 3-1 in the best of seven before pulling out the win for his block and then beating A block winner Ospreay in what may have been the greatest match in the history of the tournament with a history that dates back to 1988.

The match featured great wrestling, tremendous selling, body part working and blow away moves that made it probably one of the top four matches at this point o of an amazing year. It was held before a sellout crowd of 3,454 fans at the smaller Yoyogi Gym in Tokyo, Japan.

KUSHIDA beat Will Ospreay in 27:59 to win the Best of the Super Juniors tournament

This was an incredible match that blended in so many different facets and so many different styles. Ospreay did a great stepover toehold escape when they were trading holds early. Ospreay was bleeding from the mouth right away. There were a great series of misses leading to both guys missing a dropkick at the same time. They traded hard elbows with Ospreay getting the better of it, but KUSHIDA used a koppo kick to knock Ospreay out of the ring and did a flip plancha off the top rope to the floor. He then started working on both the right arm and the knee and clamped on the figure four. Because of AXS and New Japan World, there are a lot more American fans who fly over for the big shows which was evident by the noticeable “Whoo” for that move.

Ospreay did two running dropkicks into the corner and the Octopus hold, a tribute to Katsuyori Shibata. KUSHIDA came back with Divorce Court off the middle rope. Ospreay later did his dropkick where he landed on his feet and followed with a step-up enzuigiri. That knocked KUSHIDA out of the ring and Ospreay did a Fosbury Flop, followed by a springboard forearm. However, he missed the Robinson special (the spinning kick he uses just before the Oscutter, named after British wrestler Paul Robinson).

KUSHIDA used a Pele kick which Ospreay followed with a standing Spanish fly for a near fall. He went for the Sky Twister but KUSHIDA got his knees up. Ospreay got out of Back to the Future, but KUSHIDA used a Dragon suplex. He went up for the moonsault, but Ospreay got up and dropkicked him. Both were standing on the middle rope when KUSHIDA put on the Hoverboard lock. Ospreay hit a shooting star, then a reverse huracanrana on the ring apron, but KUSHIDA managed to get in just before the 20 count. Ospreay followed with the Essex Destroyer, a crazy move that ends up as a DDT, for a near fall.

Ospreay came off the ropes for his Oscutter, but KUSHIDA caught him in an armbar. He was arching his back while applying it with the idea of added pressure to it. He switched to the triangle, but Ospreay then broke it with the one arm power bomb into the turnbuckles. Later, when KUSHIDA came off the top rope, Ospreay hit the RKO (a tribute to Randy Orton) with perfect timing and then hit the Robinson special. He went for the Oscutter again, but KUSHIDA moved and Ospreay fell on his ass.

KUSHIDA hit a handspring diamond cutter and put on the hoverboard lock but Ospreay punched him in the face to break it. Ospreay delivered a series of Kawada kicks, and KUSHIDA came back with Kawada kicks of his own. They traded elbows, leading to Ospreay throwing a punch and KUSHIDA coming back with a punch. In every long KUSHIDA match, he throws exactly one punch, and his timing of when to throw it is impeccable because the crowd always goes crazy. Both were down.

KUSHIDA went for the hoverboard lock, and then went for Back to the Future which Ospreay reversed into a stunner. Ospreay hit the inverted 450 for a near fall. The key is that was the move Ospreay used on Taguchi last year to win the tournament. Ospreay used Sami Zayn’s helluva kick in the corner, and then tied up KUSHIDA in the corner and threw seven hard kicks to the face. Ospreay went to the top rope again but KUSHIDA pulled him off with the Back to the Future off the ropes and did a second one for the pin.

Adding to the atmosphere was Dragon Lee, Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi, Ricochet and Volador Jr all kneeling around the ring watching the match. They kept the heels away so there would be no interference. Jushin Liger was also at ringside doing commentary. After KUSHIDA and Ospreay hugged after the match, they presented KUSHIDA with the trophy and he told all the wrestlers at ringside to get in the ring, thanking them. He then told Liger to get in the ring. Liger wrestled his final Best of the Super Juniors match of his career a few days earlier, and was the most over wrestler in every city except on the final night. He then addressed the different guys in the tournament, led the crowd in a big wave, and they had a confetti celebration and trophy presentation that gave the feeling you just saw something noteworthy, which, in fact, we all just did.

*****

Previous Matches:

– Keith Lee vs. Donovan Dijak
– WALTER vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
– Tanahashi vs. Naito

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors finals fan feedback

Posted on by F4W Staff

Thumbs Up

  • Best Match: Ospreay vs KUSHIDA
  • Worst Match: None, nothing I didn’t like

I thought the tournament was great overall. I’ve only followed NJPW closely for a few years, but it was the best BOSJ in that time. I couldn’t agree more with what you have continually said regarding Liger’s usage in the tournament. The first tapes I traded for back in college were of Liger, and I think there are a lot of people in similar situations. Given Liger’s popularity in the few American dates that he’s worked over the last 18 months, him doing well in the tournament might have given a small bump to the streaming service. Though maybe all of us hardcores have already subscribed.

– Brian Reznick

**********

Thumbs way up. Incredible main event. The LIJ match was also very good and the Tanahashi angle was really fun.

Other than that it was a bunch of good matches, enjoyable as NJPW matches always are but nothing special. Expected more from Kenny and Okada but I don’t really have a worst match since everything was good.

KUSHIDA’s post match celebration was awesome.

– Petter Olsson

**********

Thumbs Up

  • Best match: Ospreay/KUSHIDA
  • Worst: None.

Thought Ospreay/KUSHIDA was the best match of the tournament, and third best match I’ve seen this year (only Okada Omega and Okada Shibata were better, in my opinion.) It’s funny because Ospreay has been the focus of a lot of discussion, criticism and praise (deservedly so in the last category I think) recently but I thought KUSHIDA was a little more impressive and honestly he’s probably the big standout of the stacked tournament.

It’s funny because this really combined every aspect of the Jrs. division, with the flips and the technical wrestling, etc. and when compared to the Cruiserweights, it’s like clear what the distinction is, outside of Neville. Personally, I think this was a better Super Jrs. final than the past few years, and outside of doing something more with Liger and maybe not doing the same shtick with Suzuki Gun all the time, I have no complaints about the tournament.

I do think it’s too soon to take the belt off of Takahashi, but I’m not sure how you keep the feud going if KUSHIDA doesn’t win this time, though I’m really excited to see what these two guys come up with this time around, especially since I think KUSHIDA started using the Small Package Driver to win his matches in the tournament, so the counters and set ups for that will be really interesting.

Everyone will probably remember the spots on the apron (rightfully so, because both guys were amazing today) but I think the thing I’m going to remember the most is probably the point where KUSHIDA is going to the top rope and Ospreay grabs his leg, and then KUSHIDA just destroys his elbow. That, along with the Danielson kicks told so much of the story of these two guys who had gotten past the respect stage and were now in the STAY DOWN part of the match, it was incredible.

I’ll stop ranting now, sorry. Great great show, great great match. Can’t wait for next Sunday.

– Jonathan Beckner

**********

Thumbs up

Best match: Ospreay/KUSHIDA

Thought this was a really good show with the LIJ Taguchi Japan 10 man tag match being really fun and exciting to watch. An excellent mix of humor and fast paced high impact action that I believe is becoming a staple match of NJPW. I understand and get the criticism some fans have of the humor spots but I really do enjoy these matches.

– Erik Yonker

**********

Thumbs in middle

All the mix tags were fine. Built towards June 11th show. Makes sense but the show dragged something fierce. For me seeing so much of Okada-Omega in ring has lessened seeing the rematch. 

  • Worst match: opener. It was what it was but was boring. 
  • Best match: Ospreay-KUSHIDA. I didn’t think this was as great as many. I thought 2/3 of match was real sloppy at times. They missed a lot of moves. The entire finishing sequence made 0 sense. Ospreay beat the hell out of KUSHIDA then he hits the finisher from top rope and finisher for pin. Thought it was real non-sensical. Some of the match was spectacular when timing was on. Could really do without Ospreay swearing so much. Dropping F bombs, B and C word just really lessens his appeal to me. He should be above all that by now. 

One match show really. The wow factor was there for main event but again the finish and missed timing I wouldn’t call it anything but very good and entertaining. 

– Mike Flynn

**********

Thumbs down.

I’m sure I will be in the minority, but I hated the main event. Both wrestlers are among the best in the world and KUSHIDA may be my personal favorite in New Japan but that was just a series of well executed moves. Instead of doing a 30 minute match they did a six minute match five times.

Did we really need a reverse Frankensteiner on the apron and and detroyer on KUSHIDA’s head? These moves looked really dangerous and meant nothing in the match. I think the time is over for praising wrestlers for dropping people on their head. The new style of match where people kick out of 15 finishing moves is going to have bad long term consequences.  **1/2

– Russell Griffith

**********

This Ospreay vs KUSHIDA match was so amazing. It’s 5 stars no doubt. The little things in the match make it for me. Ospreay had me when he did the space flying tiger drop with no cartwheel cause his arm was too hurt. When he dug his elbow into KUSHIDA’s rib cage for the abdominal stretch was so great too. Then when they did the did the closed fist punch spot that took it over the top for me, the intensity was amazing. The reverse hurricanrana on the apron was insane too.

The crowd was so into this as well and how could they not be. Tournament finals in Japan have the best atmosphere. It’s like a NCAA tournament championship or Super Bowl. You can feel the intensity in the air and it’s so much better than a best of 7. Unless it’s a game 7. WWE should take note.

I was also so impressed by the show on the 31st. That Ricochet vs. Scurll match was just awesome and Hiromu vs. Ospreay too was so great. These bigger “PPV” shows on NJPW seem to always deliver unlike WWE with Backlash or inevitably with Extreme Rules, when they end I feel so empty like I wasted hours and got no bang for my buck. 

– Kyle Jaworski

**********

I thought the show was great overall. The first few matches were really very good. The first match had big men being big men but it was fairly forgettable.

The next match I think was the Ishii 6 man. Kawato really worked and got a lot out of little and Jado sucked. He looks to me like someone who’s playing at wrestling and isn’t believable or sufficiently surreal to be funny. I thought Kawato came across as well really. He got a lot out of a moveset that is very standard and it definitely helped that he was interacting with Ishii.

The next match got off to a great start with Desperado and Volador working very smoothly together the match was very good and Tiger had a cool sequence with a few of the Gun guys.

War machine were great and Hansen damn near killed some folks. The Fale spot with ACH where he stomped on him was very brutal looking. ACH’s gimmick is something I go back and forth on. His DB fusion jacket is a nice nostalgic callback to me for my childhood but at the same time sometimes he can be too goofy. Here he came across as so nuts I couldn’t not find it funny. Tanga Roa sold a rana were he knocked into his brother… It sucked. Tama I actually like. He’s my mini Roman.

I despise Taichi and he was in the match for too long. He actively makes me less interested in a match or feud. Suzuki is great as is Goto and Yoshi.

I fell asleep in the Naito match… not the matches fault I was tired after work but that’s what happened. Naito is my favorite NJPW guy so lets just say i thought it was good.

Okada has amazing chemistry with Omega and the spot with the umbrella was great. Okada looked great. Omega looked great.

The main event is one of my favorite matches of the year. The selling was magnificent. My favorite thing in this was when Ospreay had KUSHIDA in the octopus. He pulled his injured leg to tighten it and winced cause it was injured and Ospreay is amazing. KUSHIDA was fantastic in this match too his kicks looked brutal and he worked very well. Me and the guy I watched it with were looking for the selling and I thought it was great.

The shooting star onto a KUSHIDA hung on the ropes was a great spot done safely as KUSHIDA took very little of Ospreay’s weight HOWEVER KUSHIDA didn’t land on the ropes and had to jump back on them. I don’t really like numerating matches cause I like different matches for different reasons. Ospreay has improved so well. I watched his flippy match with ricochet (first one) and he was using the same insults and reactions a lot relying on a certain pattern to sell he’s hurt or angry. Now he’s loud and expressive. He reacts in different ways and really gets the match over. Just that is an amazing improvement.

– Faisal Yaquib

**********

Thumbs Up

  • Best match: KUSHIDA vs. Will Ospreay
  • Worst match: Bad Luck Fale/Yujiro Takahashi/Guerrillas of Destiny vs. War Machine/ACH/David Finlay

Automatic thumbs up because the main event was that great. The rest of card was fine basically. Scurll managed to come off as a big time star in a match involving Omega and Okada. Goto and Suzuki interaction was good in amongst all the Suzuki-gun nonsense. The Ishii and Kawato stuff in their 6 man was really good.

– Jan Buxton

**********

Thumbs up

  • Best: Will Ospreay vs. KUSHIDA
  • Worst: Yano/Ishii/Jado vs. Makabe/Tenzan/Kawato

A surprisingly great show. Even though it was mostly multi-man matches everyone turned it on tonight. The main event was epic & a fitting way to end the most consistently action packed BOSJ tournament I’ve ever seen. Will Ospreay stole the show both tonight & throughout the entire tournament. He’s cemented himself alongside Okada, AJ Styles & a motivated Kenny Omega as one of the best in the business right now.

Random tech note: I watched the show in Japanese instead of English because on the English feed everything was blocky & choppy while the Japanese feed was HD & smooth. Don’t know if it was just me but it was weird.

– Nick Randall

**********

Thumbs Up

  • Best Match: KUSHIDA vs. Will Ospreay
  • Worst Match: Volador Jr. & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Taka Michinoku & Desperado

For as great as the main event match was, and I loved it, what I’ll remember from this show ten years from now is the post-match celebration with a jubilant KUSHIDA hoisting his BOTSJ trophy and ROH World TV Title belt high in the air. He was surrounded by fans who were genuinely happy that he won. It was a special moment that made for a fantastic visual.

New Japan embraces the kind of organic fan reaction that WWE seems to avoid at nearly all costs. It’s quite the contrast. Ditto for WWE robot-style interviews versus the genuine emotion from KUSHIDA, both when he won Block B and then again tonight/this morning.

Don Callis continues to impress me on English color commentary. I really liked Steve Corino in the role and figured he would be hard to replace, but Callis is outstanding. Corino did a better job of saying move names that Kevin Kelly couldn’t be bothered to call, but Callis makes me legit laugh out loud frequently. His comic timing and delivery are impressive. And, more importantly, Callis treats the product seriously and puts over positive aspects about the wrestlers.

Though, despite Callis being great, I simply can’t watch the big matches live without Shinpei on the Japanese feed. Shinpei legit calls more English language moves than Kelly, and it’s remarkable how his emotion can add to a match. Even something as simple as Shinpei freaking out over Minoru Suzuki teasing the Gotch piledriver on Hirooki Goto adds to the drama of the match — and the perception of the danger of the move.

– Lou Pickney