5/19 NJPW Best of Super Juniors night four results: Vetter’s review of El Desperado vs. TJP, Master Wato vs. El Phantasmo, Robbie Eagles vs. Bushi, Titan vs El Lindaman, and Wheeler Yuta and Douki in B-Block tournament matches

This year’s field features two blocks, each with 10 wrestlers. This is a round-robin tournament, so everyone will have nine singles matches in this two-week event. (Some nights, there will be 10 tournament matches, and other nights, there will be five tournament matches and a handful of non-tournament matches.) The winner of each block will then meet in the finals on June 3. This event features five B Block matches.

Kevin Kelly provided commentary solo. This is a smaller venue; on par with a high school gym. The floor is full but the upper benches are empty or sparsely filled. The fans are set back quite a distance from the ring, allowing for safe high-flying dives to the floor.

1. Yoh and Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Taka Michinoku and Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 7:38. The heels jumped the babyfaces at the start. Tenzan hit his Mongolian Chops. Yoh hit a flying shoulder tackle on Kanemaru. Kanemaru hit a basement dropkick on Yoh’s knee at 5:30, and Yoh sold the pain. Taka entered and tied Yoh up on the mat. However, Yoh hit a superkick, a neckbreaker over his knee, and a butterfly piledriver for the pin on Taka. Decent opener. Kanemaru kicked Yoh after the match and scampered away.

2. Alex Zayne, Ryusuke Taguchi, Jado, and Clark Connors defeated Sho, Dick Togo, Gedo, and Taiji Ishimori at 8:24. Zayne and Ishimori opened with quick reversals. Kelly pointed out that Zayne has his left elbow wrapped. Sho beat up Jado. Connors hit his spear, then his top-rope elbow drop on Sho for a nearfall at 6:00. Taguchi filnally got in, but he missed his flying butt attack on Togo. They did a comedy spot leading to Taguchi hitting the butt attack. Taguchi applied an ankle lock, and Togo tapped out. Decent for time given, as everyone roughly had two minutes in the ring.

3. Shingo Takagi and Hiromu Takagi defeated Ace Austin and Tiger Mask at 8:32. Ace and Hiromu opened with quick reversals, with Ace giving Hiromu the paper cut between the fingers.  The LIJ duo hit a team shoulder  tackle on Tiger Mask at 3:00. Tiger Mask came back with a Tiger Driver/butterfly powerbomb on Shingo. Ace and Hiromu got back in at 4:30, and Ace tied him up on the mat. Ace hit his punt kick to the chest from the ring apron, then he nailed the Fosbury Flop to the floor.

In the ring, Ace nailed a spin kick to the jaw, and they were both down. Tiger Mask got in and hit a crucifix on Shingo for a nearfall. Shingo nailed a basement clothesline on Tiger Mask, then a faceplant for a nearfall. Hiromu hit a huracanrana on Ace, sending Austin to the floor. That allowed Shingo to nail the Pumping Bomber clothesline on Tiger Mask for the pin. Good match.

4. Wheeler Yuta (2) defeated Douki (2) in a BOSJ match at 9:58. Yuta hit a senton early. Douki nailed a dive to the floor. They traded forearms at 4:00. Yuta hit an enzuigiri and a flying clothesline in the corner, then a dive through the ropes to the floor. Douki applied the Triangle Choke, but Wheeler quickly got the ropes at 6:30.

Wheeler hit a German suplelx with a nice bridge for a nearfall, then he applied a Bryan Danielson-style Cattle Mutilation. Douki again applied the Triangle Choke-style move. Douki nailed a slingshot DDT for a believable nearfall at 9:00. Wheeler avoided an enzuigiri, hit several elbow shots to the side of the head, then got a rollup for the pin. Decent match.

5. El Lindaman (2) defeated Titan (0) in a BOSJ match at 12:38. Kelly said Lindman defended a title in Koruken Hall a day ago at a non-NJPW show, and had to travel cross-country back for this event. They opened slower-than-expected with mat reversals and a standoff. They traded chops but Titan caught him with an unexpected kick. Funny. Titan nailed a running elbow into the corner at 4:00. Titan hit a missile dropkick, and he applied a Figure Four leg lock.

They traded hard chops on the ring apron and Titan hit a Superkick. However, he missed a move onto the ring apron and crashed to the floor in pain. Lindaman hit a dive to the floor. In the ring, Lindaman hit a DDT for a nearfall at 7:30. Titan is selling a knee injury from that crash to the ground. Titan nailed a dragon screw leg whip and applied a leg lock. Titan hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall, and they were both down at 10:00.

Titan hit a sit-out face plant. Lindaman fired back with a belly-to-back suplex, and he was fired up. Titan hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall, then a top-rope doublestomp onto Lindaman’s back. Titan missed a springboard move and sold the pain in his knee when he landed. Lindaman hit a flip slam for a believable nearfall. “I thought that was it,” Kelly said, and I agree. Lindaman then nailed a German Suplex with a bridge for the pin. Really good match.

6. Bushi (2) defeated Robbie Eagles (2) in a BOSJ match at 11:17. Kelly noted this is Bushi’s 10th BOSJ tournament. Bushi attacked before the bell. Eagles dove through the ropes to the floor, and he hit some deafening chops on the floor. In the ring, Bushi hit a DDT at 2:00, then he tied up Eagles on the mat. He choked Eagles with his T-shirt. Eagles fired back with a running elbow to the back of the head, and they were both down. Eagles hit a running knee to the chest for a nearfall at 4:30.

Eagles hit a springboard dropkick to the knee, and Bushi sold the injury. Bushi hit a missile drokick at 6:30, but sold the pain in his knee; Kelly noted he didn’t do a “Bushirooni” to his feet. Eagles applied a leglock submission hold and Bushi nearly gave up. Eagles hit a crisp spin kick to the chest at 9:00. Bushi hit a lungblower to the back, and they were both down. Bushi hit a Canadian Destroyer. Bushi jumped off the second rope, caught Bushi and hit a lungblower to the chest for the pin. Good back-and-forth match.

7. El Phantasmo (4) defeated Master Wato (0) in a BOSJ match at 16:27. Phantasmo and the ref collided heads before the bell; that was awkward. They traded armbars to start and this is a slower pace early. Phantasmo did his strut and gymnastic flips, to the polite applause of the crowd. They sped it up with Wato going for a huracanrana, but ELP landing on his feet at 4:30. Wato hit a huracanrana, sending ELP to the floor. However, Phantasmo nailed a suplex on the floor, and both men sold the pain of the move. Ouch.

In the ring, ELP tied Wato upside-down in the corner and kicked at his chest, then stood on his groin at 8:00. Phantasmo grounded him with a headlock. Wato missed a dropkick. ELP went for a Lionsault, but Wato got his knees up to block it. Wato nailed a flip dive to the floor at 10:00. Wato then nailed a corkscrew press dive to the floor and he was fired up.

Wato hit a top-rope missile dropkick for a nearfall. Wato nailed a high German Suplex, nearly dumping ELP on his head, for a nearfall at 12:00. Wato went to the top rope, but ELP tripped him, and he hit a top-rope superplex. ELP put Wato on his shoulders, spun him around, and hit a modified DVD for a nearfall at 14:00. They traded rollup attempts. They got to their feet and traded punches. Wato hit a spin kick leg lariat. Wato went for a move off the top rope but Phantasmo caught him with a superkick. Phantasmo then nailed his modified Styles Clash for the pin. This started slowly but built really nicely into a really good match.

8. El Desperado (4) defeated TJP (2) in a BOSJ match at 16:05. Francesco Akira joined TJP to ringside. Mat reversals to open, and this is good intense main event-style action. TJP hit a plancha to the floor at 3:30. In the ring, TJP tied up the legs while cranking on Desperado’s neck. TJP did a slingshot senton into the ring that completely missed Desperado, but Desperado sold it anyway. Awkward. TJP did face wash kicks in the corner. Desperado nailed a spear at 7:00.

Desperado hit a high back suplex for a nearfall, then he applied the Stretch Muffler on TJP’s knee. TJP hit a top-rope splash onto Desperado’s back. TJP then nailed an impressive frogsplash for a nearfall at 10:00. Desperado fired back with a spinebuster, and both men were down, and the crowd was getting hot. TJP applied a mid-ring Octopus submission hold. Desperado escapes and goes back to the Stretch Muffler.

TJP went for an STF, but Desperado escaped. They traded punches from their knees. TJP hit a spinning DDT, but he missed a frog splash. Desperado went back to the Stretch Muffler and cranked on the leg. Desperado hit a Tombstone Piledriver along his back for a nearfall at 15:00. Desperado went for an Angel’s Wings, but TJP got a rollup for a believable nearfall. Desperado’s second attempt was blocked. However, on a third attempt, Desperado hit the Angel’s Wings faceplant for the pin. Excellent match.

Desperado spoke on the mic in Japanese, but we have no translator here. It is really hard to imagine Desperado not finishing 7-2 or better based on his early showings.

Final Thoughts: The main event earns top match of the night, and I really liked Lindaman-Titan for second-best, with Bushi-Eagles third. The three undercard matches were probably the best of the tournament so far, between the appearance of Shingo and the lack of Young Lions.  The show clocked in at about two-and-a-half hours. The tournament takes a break Friday and resumes on Saturday.