He defeated last year’s tournament winner Kosei Fujita in a rematch of last year’s final on Sunday in Ota City.
After the match, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI made his way to the ring. As YOH and DOUKI were staring each other down, SHO attacked YOH from behind. DOUKI joined in the attack but YOH gave them both low blows and cleared the ring.
YOH then brought out Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and Toru Yano to celebrate with him as the show came to a close.
YOH’s BOSJ 33 win is his first singles tournament or championship win in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
He is a six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, having held the titles five times with SHO and once with Master Wato. YOH and SHO also won the Super Junior Tag Tournament three years in a row from 2017 to 2019, and YOH is a two-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion as well.
A hard-fought victory over Kosei Fujita in the BOSJ 33 Final sees YOH finally capture the Best of the Super Jr. trophy in Ota!#BOSJFinal report:https://t.co/8BzwGKIXm8
We have known for a while now what the finals of New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors would be. Now we know the full card for that night’s show.
New Japan released the card and hyped up the main event in a press release on their website.
“For the second consecutive year, the final of Best of the Super Jr. has come down to YOH and Kosei Fujita,” the release states. “While rivals have crossed paths across multiple finals in the past, this is the first time in Best of the Super Jr. history that the same final has taken place in consecutive years, and the first time in an NJPW tournament such an event has taken place since EVIL and SANADA took on the Guerrillas of Destiny in 2017 and 2018 World Tag League finals.”
Fujita went 6-3 in the A Block of the tournament to finish with 12 points, with losses to Master Wato, Robbie X, and Jun Kasai. The 12 points left him tied with Wato and Francesco Akira at the top of the standings; with tiebreakers, Wato won the block, but Fujita still advanced to the knockout stage, where he defeated Robbie Eagles in the first round.
YOH also finished 6-3 with 12 points, with losses to KUSHIDA, Robbie Eagles, and Hyo. Eagles and YOH finished in a five-way tie atop the B Block, along with El Desperado, Taiji Ishimori, and SHO. Eagles finished atop the tiebreakers but lost to Fujita in the knockout stage. YOH also advanced and defeated Wato to reach the finals.
The full card:
Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI & Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Tiger Mask IV & Masatora Yasuda & Taisei Nakahara
Shota Umino & El Phantasmo & Jado vs. United Empire (Jake Lee & Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young)
Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi & Daisuke Sasaki & Nick Wayne & Valiente Jr. vs. Unbound Company (Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X & Titán & Gedo & Daiki Nagai)
El Desperado & Hyo vs. HOUSE OF TORTURE (SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Yuya Uemura & Taichi & KUSHIDA vs. T.M.D.K. (Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson & Robbie Eagles)
Aaron Wolf & Toru Yano & Jun Kasai vs. HOUSE OF TORTURE (Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo)
Unbound Company (Yota Tsuj & OSKAR & Yuto-Ice) vs. United Empire (Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan & Zane Jay
Best of the Super Jr. 33 Final: Kosei Fujita vs. YOH
The show takes place Sunday, June 7, at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. It will stream in English and Japanese on NJPW World.
The next three entrants in this year’s Best of the Super Junior tournament have been announced.
It was confirmed on Sunday that YOH and Master Wato would be returning this year. In addition, CMLL’s Valiente Jr. will be making his tournament debut, which starts on May 14 and concludes on June 7 in Ota.
This will be Master Wato’s sixth entry, missing last year’s tournament due to injury. He recently challenged current IWGP Junior Champion DOUKI during NJPW’s Anniversary show earlier this month, but came up short after frequent interference from the House of Torture.
YOH meanwhile made it to the finals of last year’s BOSJ, but lost out to Kosei Fujita. Valiente Jr. made his debut for NJPW earlier this year, taking part of the annual Fantasticamania tour in Japan featuring CMLL talent.
Those already announced for the tournament include last year’s winner Fujita, DDT’s Daisuke Sasaki, DOUKI, and El Desperado.
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 33 confirmed participants:
The card for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 officially has a new addition.
NJPW has confirmed that NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions YOH, Master Wato & Toru Yano will defend their titles in a multi-team ranbo at the January 4 Tokyo Dome show. The match was set up this week with an angle where YOH staged a protest at an NJPW show, demanding that his team get a spot on Wrestle Kingdom. YOH said they would take on any number of challengers.
The ranbo match has a tornado stipulation where there are no tags and eliminations can occur via pinfall, submission, or being thrown over the top rope. Once one member from a team is out, the whole team is eliminated.
“The NEVER Openweight 6 man Champions were created at Wrestle Kingdom 10, and their tenth anniversary is being marked in this first time ever team ranbo,” NJPW wrote. “In the match, an as yet unknown number of teams will make their entrances at one minute intervals. Tornado rules mean there are no tags, and when one member of a team is pinned, submitted or thrown over the top rope, that entire team is eliminated, with the last trio standing the NEVER 6 Man Champions. Who will be victorious in this new twist on a Ranbo Tokyo Dome tradition?”
In another Tokyo Dome announcement, NJPW has confirmed that Kaisei Takechi of DDT Pro Wrestling and pop group The Rampage will be competing at Wrestle Kingdom. It’s not been announced which match he’ll be wrestling in.
Here is where the Wrestle Kingdom card stands with more than a month to go:
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 (Sunday, January 4, 2026 on NJPW World) —
Winner-takes-all match: IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita vs. IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji
Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
NEVER Openweight Champion EVIL defends against Aaron Wolf
When the world shut down during Covid, Anna and I used to talk about one day competing for these tag belts. Five years later, that dream finally became real… and losing in the first round hurts in a way that’s hard to explain.
We believed in this moment so much. We poured so much of ourselves into this team, into growing together, into giving everything every time we stepped in the ring.
Sometimes things don’t go the way you hoped ,even when your heart is all in.
It is what it is.
But I’m grateful for everyone who’s been on this journey with us and for all the love you’ve shown.
Meet KUMA — the second we saw him, we completely fell in love. He’s chill, silly, loving, and absolutely huge.
Welcome home, buddy. We’re so happy that this gentle giant is now a part of The Friedman Family.
At the opening night of World Tag League 2025 today, NJPW ran a show-long angle where YOH demanded that he, Master Wato & Toru Yano be able to defend their NEVER Six-Man Tag Team titles at Wrestle Kingdom 20. The request was finally granted by NJPW Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi after a protest by YOH. Opponents for the match have not been announced yet.
@itsbrandonde showed incredible heart and courage holding his own against @AJFrancis410 in BDE’s first TNA singles match, proving how far he’s come in the early stages of his wrestling career.
@itsmilamoore stepped up on short notice to compete in a high-stakes, high-profile Knockouts World Tag Team Title match – making a memorable impact in her first TNA+ live special event.
Tessa Blanchard continues to show incredible dedication and readiness to help others, both in the ring and behind the scenes.
While in El Paso, Texas, TNA World Champion Frankie Kazarian visited an Eddie Guerrero mural: “Eddie Guerrero is what every professional wrestler should aspire to be. Heart, athleticism, authenticity, drive and passion. Honored to be representing @ThisIsTNA as World Champion in El Paso paying my respects to one of the very best to ever do it.”
NJPW has revealed YOH’s injury replacement for the Best of the Super Juniors 31 tournament.
In a social media post early Friday, two-time BOSJ winner KUSHIDA was revealed as the substitute for the injured YOH.
KUSHIDA notes in his video promo that he originally did not make the cut for this year’s BOSJ, but now he is stepping up and will go right for the trophy, and has cleared his schedule for May to take part in the tournament:
KUSHIDA won the BOSJ tournament in 2015 and 2017, and was the runner-up in 2014.
YOH is out of action after suffering a dislocated shoulder at Sakura Genesis earlier this month. NJPW announced Thursday that YOH also suffered damage to the labrum in the left shoulder as a result of the injury and would need to be replaced.
Block assignments have yet to be revealed for this year’s tournament which begins on May 11. The finals will take place at Dominion in Osaka-Jo Hall on June 9.
YOH is out of the upcoming Best of the Super Juniors tournament.
NJPW announced early Thursday morning that YOH would be out of action due to a dislocated left shoulder that he suffered in a match against SHO at Sakura Genesis last weekend. A replacement will be announced at a later time.
During a match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Sakura Genesis, YOH sustained an injury that necessitated the match being stopped. YOH went on to have a full medical assessment, and it has been determined that YOH sustained a dislocated left shoulder as well as damage to the shoulder labrum.
As a result of his injury, YOH will not compete in Best of the Super Jr. 31, beginning May 11 in Chiba. We apologise to fans who were looking forward to seeing YOH wrestle, and appreciate your understanding. A replacement for YOH in the tournament will be announced at a later date.
Last week’s match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship only lasted 96 seconds when YOH injured his shoulder, causing the referee to stop the match. YOH was tended to by medical officials as he was helped to the back.
This year’s Best of the Super Junior tournament begins May 11, with the finals taking place at Dominion on June 9.
YOH suffered an apparent shoulder injury in an IWGP Junior Heavyweight title match at Saturday’s NJPW Sakura Genesis event.
While challenging his former Roppongi 3K tag partner SHO for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, YOH appeared to suffer a separated shoulder just 96 seconds into the contest.
The referee was forced to call a stop to the match, and medical personnel attended to YOH in the ring. SHO was declared the winner and retained his title.
In what looked to be a hastily-called audible, DOUKI and Kosei Fujita came to the ring to shoot an angle with SHO, with Fujita attacking the champion while DOUKI left with SHO’s title belt.
Earlier in the evening, NJPW announced the field for the Best of the Super Juniors 31 tournament, including SHO, YOH, DOUKI, and Fujita. With the injury, a replacement may be announced for YOH. The tournament kicks off on May 11, with this year’s finals taking place at Dominion on June 9.
The finals are set for the 2023 Super Junior Tag League.
The round-robin portion of the tournament concluded with a three-way tie atop the group after Thursday’s show in Osaka. Catch 2/2, El Desperado & Master Wato, and SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru all finished with 12 points.
Catch 2/2 advance to Saturday’s finals on tie-breakers as they defeated both SHO & Kanemaru and Wato & Desperado in the round-robin.
Kanemaru & SHO also advanced as they defeated Wato & Desperado in the main event of Thursday’s show.
Despite going into Thursday as the only team that controlled their own destiny, Master Wato & El Desperado are eliminated on tie-breakers despite a 6-3 record.
Super Junior Tag League 2023 night nine results:
Super Junior Tag League 2023 match: SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (6-3, 12pts) defeated Master Wato & El Desperado (6-3, 12pts)
Super Junior Tag League 2023 match: Francesco Akira & TJP (6-3, 12pts) defeated KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight (5-4, 10pts)
Super Junior Tag League 2023 match: Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles (4-5, 8pts) defeated Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney (5-4, 10pts)
Super Junior Tag League 2023 match: YOH & MUSASHI (4-5, 8pts) vs. TITAN & BUSHI (5-4, 10pts)
Super Junior Tag League 2023 match: DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku (2-7, 4pts) defeated The DKC & Ryusuke Taguchi (2-7, 4pts)
Super Junior Tag League standings —
TJP & Francesco Akira: 12 points (6-3)
SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru: 12 points (6-3)
El Desperado & Master Wato: 12 points (6-3)
Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney: 10 points (5-4)
KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight: 10 points (5-4)
BUSHI & Titan: 10 points (5-4)
Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita: 8 points (4-5)
YOH & MUSASHI: 8 points (4-5)
DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku: 4 points (2-7)
Ryusuke Taguchi & The DKC: 4 points (2-7)
Catch 2/2 vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SHO will meet in the finals on Saturday at Power Struggle.
NJPW Power Struggle November 4 lineup:
IWGP United Kingdom/United States Champion Will Ospreay defends against Shota Umino
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defends against Taiji Ishimori
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii defend against Zack Sabre Jr., Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls
Jon Moxley vs. Great-O-Khan
Super Junior Tag League finals: TJP & Francesco Akira vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SHO
SANADA & Yuya Uemura vs. Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji
David Finlay vs. Tanga Loa
Frontier Zone match: Mochizuki Jr., Yoshiki Kato & Strong Machine J vs. three NJPW wrestlers (pre-show)
Lio Rush has been pulled from Monday’s NJPW Destruction in Ryogoku event due to illness.
Rush had been scheduled to challenge for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Mike Bailey and champion Hiromu Takahashi in a three-way match on the show.
NJPW announced on October 3 that Rush was dealing with a fever and would miss the upcoming Road to Destruction shows. It was later confirmed at a press conference on Sunday that Rush has been pulled from Monday’s show as well and will be replaced by YOH in the title match.
YOH was the sole survivor of an elimination match that headlined Saturday’s show in Miyagi. He pinned Takahashi for the final elimination and then cut a promo saying he wants to face the winner of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title match in Ryogoku. However, with Rush having since been pulled from Monday’s show, YOH revealed at today’s press conference that he has been added to the three-way with Takahashi and Bailey.
YOH: Lio Rush can't wrestle tomorrow!
Hiromu: For real? Chairman, do you know?
YOH: Lio's sick. There's not much we can do. So in that case, champion, let me take his place in the three way? Sounds like fun, right?
Gabe Kidd, Hikuleo, Alex Coughlin, Kevin Knight, and Jeff Cobb also missed shows this week due to illness. Hikuleo returned on Saturday but there has been no announcement regarding the status of Kidd, Coughlin, Knight, or Cobb, although their matches are still advertised for Monday’s show.
The updated card for NJPW Destruction in Ryogoku on Monday, October 9 is below:
BUSHI, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, & Tetsuya Naito vs. Callum Newman, HENARE, Great-O-Khan, & Jeff Cobb
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors defend against KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight
Master Wato, Shota Umino, & Yuji Nagata vs. El Desperado, Ren Narita, & Minoru Suzuki in match 5 of the Best of 7 series
Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions Gabe Kidd & Alex Coughlin defend against El Phantasmo & Hikuleo
NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions Tomohiro Ishi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Kazuchika Okada defeated against Josh Alexander, Chris Sabin, & Alex Shelley
NEVER Openweight Champion David Finlay defends against Tama Tonga
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defends against Mike Bailey and YOH in a three-way match
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA defends against EVIL in a Lumberjack Deathmatch
A title change took place at NJPW’s Burning Spirit tour show in Kagawa on Friday.
House of Torture (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO) defeated CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & YOH) in a Tornado Dog Cage Survival Match to win the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles. After Goto and YOSHI-HASHI had been locked in a dog cage, EVIL pinned YOH to get the win.
September 23’s penultimate evening on the Burning Spirit tour saw the NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Championships on the line, the Tornado Dog Cage Survival Match having been delayed from the prior week in Beppu.
The champion side of Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI and YOH headed into their bout with EVIL SHO and Yujiro Takahashi with an added rule to the no tag contest- keys for each of the ringside dog cages were on the ring posts, and could be used to release a team mate if they were locked away. That was the position YOH was put in from the outset though, left at an extreme handicap as HOUSE OF TORTURE shut both Goto and YOSHI-HASHI in a cage.
YOH valiantly fought in the face of H.O.T punishment, landing a barrage of Dragon Screws to EVIL and Yujiro before a neckbreaker to SHO gave him enough time to grab a key and release his partners. With the same furious energy, YOH shot SHO into the ringside guardrail before slamming a dog house over his former partners head; still he was unable to lock SHO away, instead being shut inside a separate cage by Yujiro after a Pimp Juice on the floor.
Goto was able to free YOH, but EVIL shut YOSHI-HASHI away, leaving HOUSE OF TORTURE with the numbers edge again. Dick Togo would provide the illegal added advantage before SHO brought another cage into the ring. As Goto took the fight to the floor, EVIL shut Goto in a cage with Yujiro and SHO on the outside, putting YOH at a practical handicap again with EVIL and Dick Togo.
YOH swung for the fences with a lariat to EVIL before striking Togo with an STO. Locking Togo into the in ring cage, YOH then kicked EVIL low and got a nearfall from a Five Star Clutch before a thrust kick, but EVIL escaped Direct Drive and hit EVIL for the victory, new champions being crowned.
With their victory, EVIL, Yujro & SHO regained the NEVER Six-Man Tag Team titles after having lost them to Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & YOH this July.
The Tornado Dog Cage Survival Match was originally scheduled to take place this past Sunday, but NJPW had to cancel two shows on the Burning Spirit tour due to Typhoon Nanmadol.
NJPW has announced several changes to the cards for its current New Japan Road tour.
Alex Coughlin and Yuto Nakashima will both miss the three remaining shows on the tour due to injury. Coughlin has sustained an injury to his left calf muscle, while Nakashima has a left elbow injury.
YOH has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been self isolating. He’ll miss the New Japan Road events on Sunday, July 3 and Monday, July 4 but will be cleared to return in time for the Tuesday, July 5 show, where YOH, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto will challenge EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles.
DOUKI is off the New Japan Road tour due to being in close contact with someone who was infected with COVID.
Here is the full list of card changes:
Sunday, July 3 —
– Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Ryohei Oiwa & Yuto Nakashima will now be Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Ryohei Oiwa & X (mystery partner)
– Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors & The DKC vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & Shingo Takagi will now be Yuji Nagata, Clark Connors & The DKC vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & Shingo Takagi
– YOH, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano vs. EVIL, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO will now be Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano vs. EVIL, Dick Togo & Yujiro Takahashi
– Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Taichi & DOUKI will now be Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Taichi & TAKA Michinoku
Monday, July 4 —
– Yuto Nakashima vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru will now be X (mystery opponent) vs. TAKA Michinoku
– Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors & The DKC vs. Taichi, El Desperado & DOUKI will now be Yuji Nagata, Clark Connors & The DKC vs. Taichi, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
– YOH, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano vs. EVIL, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO will now be Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano vs. EVIL, Dick Togo & Yujiro Takahashi
Tuesday, July 5 —
– Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yuto Nakashima will now be Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & X (mystery partner)
– Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors & The DKC vs. Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Alex Zayne will now be Yuji Nagata, Clark Connors & The DKC vs. Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Alex Zayne
– Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI will now be Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & TAKA Michinoku
Changes have been made to next month’s Wrestling Dontaku event in Fukuoka.
A new singles match between YOH and Hiromu Takahashi has been added to the May 1 card. Takahashi was originally set to team with Shingo Takagi and Tatsumi Fujinami against Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, and Taka Michinoku in the opening match of the card. BUSHI will take Takahashi’s place instead.
“YOH’s motivation seemed to be in question in recent weeks, and after a loss during the Golden Fight Series tour opener this past Monday, he found himself aggressively called out by Hiromu Takahashi,” NJPW’s website wrote. “The Time Bomb stated that YOH was a ‘completely different person’ to the one who fought so valiantly in the Best of the Super Jr. 28 final this past December, a criticism that YOH took to heart. Bringing fire to the ring in Korakuen Hall this week, YOH would take to the microphone and promise that he would ‘crush’ Hiromu. Not waiting for Best of the Super Jr., YOH demanded the match happen sooner, and that bout is now official for Fukuoka.”
Here is the updated card for Wrestling Dontaku 2022:
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight title
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Will Ospreay for the IWGP United States title
El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title
EVIL vs. Tama Tonga for the NEVER Openweight title
YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto vs. Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan vs. Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens for the IWGP Tag Team titles
Ryusuke Taguchi and Master Wato vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI for the IWGP Junior Tag Team titles
Tanga Loa vs. Yujiro Takahashi
YOH vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Tatsumi Fujinami, Shingo Takagi, and BUSHI vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, and Taka Michinoku
NJPW’s Golden Fight Series tour got underway on Monday with an event at Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall.
Ahead of their IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestling Dontaku on May 1, Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito met in tag team action on Monday. Here are the results from the show:
Takahashi got the win after hitting Time Bomb on YOH. Okada and Naito were fighting on the floor near the end of the match, with Okada giving Naito a DDT.
Following the match, Takahashi cut a show-closing promo:
Post match, Hiromu slammed a ‘lack of fire’ in YOH, and dared him to enjoy professional wrestling more. That was a call for Naito to rise to, as he conducted a mock sports interview with Takahashi, allowing Hiromu to predict El Ingobernable would become IWGP World Heavyweight Champion at Dontaku, before giving his own version of Naito’s ‘De Japon!’ role call.
– Shingo Takagi & BUSHI defeated Taichi & TAKA Michinoku
– Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado defeated EVIl, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Dick Togo
After their first 11 singles matches against each other ended in 10-minute time limit draws, Oiwa broke the deadlock against Fujita here by submitting him with a Boston Crab. It’s the first singles win of Oiwa’s career.
NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors 28 finals are set following the final block action today in Hyogo.
Hiromu Takahashi and YOH finished atop the block and will face off in the finals on Wednesday, December 15 to determine the winner.
Hiromu defeated former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Robbie Eagles in the main event of today’s show to get to 15 points and secure his spot in the finals. Earlier in the night, YOH defeated his former Roppongi 3K tag team partner SHO to get to 14 points.
YOH defeated Eagles in their head-to-head matchup in the tournament, so he held the tiebreaker over Eagles. El Desperado could have gone to 14 or 15 points with a draw or win against El Phantasmo, but ELP defeated Desperado with his loaded boot Sudden Death superkick to eliminate him. That left Hiromu needing a win or draw in the main event to advance, while Eagles could have advanced with a victory.
Hiromu and YOH had a brief promo exchange after the main event to set up Wednesday’s match.
Hiromu will be going for his third career BOSJ tournament win and his second in a row. He defeated Taiji Ishimori in the 2018 finals, then defeated El Desperado in the 2020 edition.
