By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Best of Super Juniors – Night Thirteen”
June 3, 2022 in Tokyo, Japan at Nippon Budokan
Streamed live on New Japan World
The A Block winner Hiromu Takahashi will face the B Block winner El Desperado in the main event. The other 18 wrestlers who participated in the tournament are also all in action. Juice Robinson was slated for a match, but NJPW officials announced he has appendicitis and is out. Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton provided live commentary.
1. Tomoaki Honma defeated Ryohei Oiwa at 4:35. This was supposed to be Honma vs. Juice Robinson. No surprise that Oiwa, who is clearly the best of the three current Young Lions, was chosen as the last-minute replacement. Oiwa hit an impressive gut-wrench suplex. Painless and short.
2. El Lindaman, Alex Zayne, Wheeler Yuta, and Ace Austin defeated Clark Connors, Robbie Eagles, Titan, and Yoh at 6:42. Wheeler and Eagles opened, then Lindaman squared off with Yoh. Ace Austin entered at 3:00 and worked over Titan. Connors hit his Pounce on Ace, then his spear on Zayne. We had triple dives to the floor. Wheeler and Lindaman hit simultaneous dives to the floor. Zayne hit his top-rope corkscrew splash to score the pin on Connors. Not nearly long enough.
3. Franceco Akira and TJP defeated Master Wato and Ryusuke Taguchi in a non-title match at 6:49. The United Empire duo of Akira and TJP attacked to start the match. Wato hit a flip dive to the floor on both. In the ring, the UE beat up Taguchi, with TJP nailing his Facewash kick in the corner. Taguchi hit a mid-ring butt bump at 3:00. Taguchi applied an ankle lock on the mat on TJP. TJP caught Taguchi with a superkick in the corner. Akira hit a top-rope stunner as Taguchi sat on TJP’s shoulders, and TJP immediately locked on the STF until Taguchi tapped out. Solid match. The UE briefly celebrated with the junior tag titles, but they left them in the ring, and this is clearly setting them up for a future title shot.
4. Zack Sabre Jr. and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Sho and EVIL (w/Dick Togo) at 5:13. These are all essentially heels, so we’ll see how this goes. Sho and EVIL attacked from behind to start the match. EVIL hit a bodyslam on Kanemaru for a nearfall at 3:00. Sabre tagged in and hit his European Uppercuts on Sho. Togo entered the ring and choked Sabre while the referee was distracted. Togo accidentally sprays alcohol in EVIL’s eyes. Sabre locked on a divorce court armbreaker on Sho, and Sho tapped out. Another match that was far too short, but I liked that neither team was “babyface for the night” as they stayed heelish throughout. Great to see Sabre for the first time in a month.
5. El Phantasmo, Chase Owens, and Bad Luck Fale defeated Jeff Cobb, Aaron Henare, and Great-O-Khan at 8:17. The announcers talked about how popular GOK was during his recent tour in the U.S. El Phantasmo did his struts and back rakes. Cobb and Fale squared off at 4:00, and they took turns slamming each other’s head on the top turnbuckle. They wound up brawling to the floor. In the ring, Henare and ELP traded good offense. Suddenly, Ace Austin appeared at ringside, climbed on the apron, and distracted Henare. It allowed Phantasmo to hit a superkick then his modified Styles Clash on Henare for the pin. Ace Austin pulled out playing cards that show he is now a member of the Bullet Club.
* Coming out of intermission, Sanada hit the ring, wearing a suit. He challenged Juice Robinson for a title shot. Good news to hear he has recovered from his orbital injury and is ready to return. However, the announcers were baffled, because they aren’t sure when Juice will be back in action after having his appendix removed.
6. Shingo Takagi, Bushi, and Tetsuya Naito defeated Taichi, Taka Michinoku, and Douki at 9:29. Shingo and Taichi jawed at each other before the match started; that is the only ongoing feud among these six. All six brawled at the bell. Douki hit a dive through the ropes onto Naito at 2:00. In the ring, the heels worked over Naito. Shingo and Taichi entered the ring at 5:30 and traded hard chops, and they had a good, intense exchange.
Bushi entered and hit a superkick on Taka, and Shingo hit a hard clothesline on Taka for a nearfall. In a silly spot, Taka went for an eyepoke on Shingo, but Shingo forced the eye poke on Taka. Shingo then got a rollup on Taka for the pin. Some fun spots while it lasted. Bushi was barely in the ring. Shingo and Taichi brawled some more after the match.
* Before the next match began, Jay White got on the mic and said Bullet Club is back in Japan. He then brought KENTA out from the back. KENTA has been out of action since January. Good to know he joins Sanada among the healthy roster.
7. Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, Jado, and Tama Tonga defeated Jay White, Taiji Ishimori, Doc Gallows, and Gedo at 8:31. Gallows and Yano started, and of course, it didn’t long for Yano to stall on the floor. The Bullet Club worked over Jado. Jay White and Okada traded offense at 4:30, with Okada hitting a DDT for a nearfall. White hit a series of chops and a spinning suplex for a nearfall. Okada nailed his dropkick at 7:00, and they were both down. Jado and Tama Tonga beat up on Gedo, with Tama Tonga nailing the Gun-Stun/stunner for the pin on Gedo. Middle of the match with Okada-White was really good, and they argued some more after the match.
8. Hiromu Takahashi defeated El Desperado to win the BOSJ tournament at 30:45. Feeling out process early with neither man getting an early advantage. They brawled on the floor, with Desperado hitting the ring post at 3:30. Hiromu hit a suplex on the thin mat, and Desperado was immediately selling a back injury. In the ring, Desperado jammed Hiromu’s knee, and the announcers pointed out how Hiromu’s knee took a lot of damage in the A Block matches. Desperado applied an Indian Deathlock at 8:30. This has moved at a pace that indicates we are going 30 minutes. Hiromu hit a huracanrana at 10:00, then a shotgun dropkick from the apron the floor.
In the ring, Desperado went for a spear, but Hiromu caught him and applied his Triangle Choke, but Desperado reached the ropes at 13:00. Desperado hit a chop block on Hiromu’s injured left knee. Desperado nailed a flip dive through the ropes, and they both crashed hard to the floor. In the ring, Desperado hit a frogsplash for a nearfall at 15:00. Desperado applied the Stretch Muffler for the first time in the match; it had been highly effective all tournament. Hiromu escaped and re-applied the Triangle Choke, but Desperado eventually reached the ropes at 18:30.
They got to their feet and traded forearm shots. Desperado went for his Angel’s Wings finisher, but Hiromu turned it into a rollup for a nearfall. Hiromu hit a superkick and a clothesline for a nearfall. Hiromu hit a faceplant and he was fired up. Desperado nailed two consecutive Angel’s Wings for a nearfall at 24:00. He then applied the Stretch Muffler again, and this time had Hiromu’s hands tied up too. Hiromu somehow escaped and hit a Canadian Destroyer. Hiromu got a couple of rollups for nearfalls, then a Superkick.
Hiromu hit a Time Bomb 2 side slam for a believable nearfall at 27:00. They got up and traded straight punches to the jaw. Desperado again went for his Angel’s Wings, but Hiromu hit two stunners and a Time Bomb/twisting DVD. Hiromu then hit the Time Bomb 2 side slam for the pin. Very good match that built nicely throughout.
* Hiromu was presented with the BOSJ trophy. He got on the mic and thanked Desperado, saying he had fun. He promised to keep pushing forward. The confetti cannon went off and bathed him in silver/blue streamers to conclude the show.
Final Thoughts: This whole show was built around the main event, and as expected, it delivered. It could have gone either way and the fans would have been satisfied.
I feel it needs to be pointed out that all 20 wrestlers stayed healthy (both injury-free and COVID-free) to the point we didn’t have a single match canceled in the entire tournament. While I don’t love the parity — everyone finished between 6-3 and 3-6 — it was a good tournament with a lot of fresh, first-time-ever matchups. That said, once the blocks were announced, it seemed that Desperado vs. Hiromu was the inevitable outcome.
I want to point out what a road warrior that Jeff Cobb has been just in the past 10 days. He was in Las Vegas for AEW on Wednesday, New York for House of Glory on Friday, suburban St. Louis on Saturday for Warrior Wrestling, Portland for Prestige Wrestling on Saturday, and now in Japan for this show. (And he may have appeared in other shows I am not aware of in that timespan!)
The show lasted about three hours.
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