By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Best of the Super Juniors tournament”
May 14, 2023 in Aichi, Japan at Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall
Streamed on New Japan World
This is a large room; the lights are low so it’s hard to gauge the crowd size. Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton provided commentary, and they said early on that they didn’t see an empty seat.
BoSJ is a 20-man tournament, with 10 wrestlers in each Block in a round-robin tournament, spread out over 12 shows in an 18-day span. So, each wrestler will have nine matches within their block. From there, we have a “final four” this year. The A Block winner will face the second-place finisher of the B Block, and the B Block winner will finish the second-place finisher of the A Block. Those winners head to the finals. Each win is worth two points. A draw is worth one each. To the show!
1) Kevin Knight (2) defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru (4) in a B Block match at 7:16. Charlton and Kelly immediately talked about how Knight has struggled to pick up singles victories; it’s just not a good look for half of the current tag champs to keep losing. They immediately brawled to the floor. Back in the ring, Kanemaru worked the left leg and he applied a Figure Four Leglock at 3:00; Kelly pointed out that Kanemaru won his first two tournament matches with it. Knight quickly reached the ropes. Knight hit a frogsplash and a D’Lo-style Sky High for a nearfall at 5:30. Kanemaru hit a basement dropkick on the left knee. Knight fired back with his jump-up Frankensteiner and a superkick, then a DDT for the pin. Wow, I didn’t see that as the finishing move. Good opener.
2. Sho (2) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi (0) in an A Block match at 7:04. A loss here is pretty much an elimination; it would be tough to come back from an 0-3 start. Sho got on the mic and asked Taguchi if he would be serious tonight. Sho vowed he would be serious too, and he turned his wrench over to the referee. An intense lockup to start with a clean break; the crowd politely applauded Sho wrestling a clean match. Taguchi hit a dropkick at 2:00 and a plancha to the floor. In the ring, Sho hit a series of forearms. They hit simultaneous clotheslines. Sho hit a German Suplex. Charlton was in disbelief that Sho isn’t cheating.
Taguchi applied an anklelock, and he hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 4:30, and went back to the anklelock. The ref got bumped. The lights immediately went out! When the lights came on, EVIL was standing in the ring while Sho and Taguchi were down. EVIL acted like the referee, ordering them to continue. The crowd laughed. Sho snuck up behind and hit a low blow uppercut. He got his wrench and hit Taguchi with it. “This sucks!” Kelly said. Sho hit his package piledriver as EVIL woke the ref, who counted to three. Sho and EVIL kept beating up Taguchi after the bell.
3. Clark Connors (4) defeated Bushi (0) in a B Block match at 6:04. They immediately brawled to the floor with Connors in charge, and he slammed Bushi head-first into a ring post. In the ring, Bushi hit a dropkick on the left knee at 3:30. Bushi dove through the ropes onto Connors; like other shows in the BoSJ, we don’t have guardrails. In the ring, Bushi hit a DDT for a nearfall. Connors countered with a powerslam, then he hit the “No Chaser” vertical DDT for the pin. Like Taguchi, Bushi is all but eliminated at 0-3.
4. Taiji Ishimori (6) defeated Douki (2) in an A Block match at 9:31. Kelly said Ishimori has the highest winning percentage of anyone in the BoSJ field, at 38-18 (.679 winning percentage.) Douki had a really good showing a day ago in a losing effort to Hiromu Takahashi. They fought to the floor, and Ishimori slammed Douki shoulder-first into the ring post. In the ring, Ishimori immediately began working the left arm. Douki dove through the ropes and barreled onto Ishimori at 3:00.
In the ring, Douki hit a Northern Lights suplex; Kelly and Charlton noted how he is protecting his shoulder. Ishimori slammed Douki shoulder-first into the corner, and he hit a shoulder breaker over his knee at 4:30. Douki applied the ‘Douki Chokey’ modified triangle choke, but Ishimori quickly escaped. Douki put Ishimori along his back and slammed him stomach-first to the mat for a nearfall, then he went back to the ‘Douki Chokey.’ Ishimori finally reached the ropes at 7:00.
Douki nailed the Daybreak slingshot DDT for a believable nearfall; the crowd thought that was it. Ishimori immediately hit a Divorce Court armbreaker. Douki hit a clothesline and was fired up. They traded quick reversals and Ishimori applied the Bone Lock modified STF; Douki got close to the ropes, but Ishimori rolled him back to the center of the ring, and Douki tapped out. A realy good match. Not a surprise that Ishimori is the first wrestler to a 3-0 start.
5. Francesco Akira (4) defeated Robbie Eagles (4) in a B Block match at 12:02. They traded offense while in a knucklelock early on, and Akira hit a plancha to the floor. In the ring, Eagles hit a chop block on the knee at 4:30 and a leg lariat. Eagles applied the Ron Miller Special (Trailer Hitch) leglock, but Akira reached the ropes at 6:30. Akira nailed a Poison Rana; Eagles popped up and hit a running elbow to the back of the head, and they were both down.
Akira hit a shotgun dropkick. Eagles hit some stiff kicks. They traded several rollups for some believable nearfalls. Eagles nailed a Turbo Backpack slam for a nearfall at 11:30. Eagles hit a running double knees in the corner, but he missed a top-rope move. Akira immediately nailed a running double knees to the back of the head for the pin. That was really good. Kelly called it “match of the tournament so far.” (I’d say second-best behind Hiromu-Bailey.)
6. Titan (4) defeated Kushida (0) in an A Block match at 5:56. Charlton said that Kushida started 0-2 in 2017 but went on to win the tournament. That said, he can’t afford a loss here. Kushida immediately tied Titan up on the mat. Titan hit a huracanrana. Kushida ran around the floor through the crowd; upon them both re-entering the ring, Kushida targeted the left arm, and he snapped the limb across his shoulder at 4:00. Titan went for a handspring move, but Kushida caught him with a penalty kick to the chest.
Titan nailed a springboard crossbody block and a tornado DDT, sending Kushida to the floor. Titan immediately hit a flip dive to the floor, then a springboard doublestomp for the pin! Wow, once again, Kushida was dominant early, only to let it slip through his fingers. I didn’t see that coming at all.
7. Dan Moloney (4) defeated Yoh (2) in a B Block match at 9:00. Charlton said Yoh is 0-8-2 all time in this building; he made a comment that Kelly (and me!) didn’t get, and said it was a cricket reference. Funny moment. They immediately brawled to the floor. In the ring, they traded chops and Yoh hit some Mongolian Chops. Moloney hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 4:00. Charlton and Kelly talked about Moloney having to take time to regain his love for wrestling after departing the NXT-UK system. Yoh hit a flying forearm. Yoh hit a dropkick and a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 7:00. Yoh hit a backbreaker over his knee, and they were both down. Moloney nailed a spear and the Driller Killer swinging piledriver for the clean pin.
8. Mike Bailey (6) defeated TJP (2) in an A Block match at 13:01. Standing switches to open and TJP it a shoulder tackle. Bailey hit his Speedball kicks to the ribs. They brawled to the floor, where TJP slammed Bailey’s back against the ring at 3:00. TJP hit a Facewash. Bailey nailed a missile dropkick at 6:00 and a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall. Bailey hit his springboard moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Bailey missed the Ultima Weapon, and TJP immediately applied an STF at 8:30, but Bailey reached the ropes.
TJP began working the left arm. Bailey caught him with a superkick. TJP hit a back suplex at 10:00. Bailey nailed a moonsault double kneedrop, and he set up for the Flamingo Driver, but TJP escaped. TJP countered with a springboard DDT for a believable nearfall at 12:00. However, TJP missed the Mamba Splash. Bailey immediately nailed the Tornado Kick and the Flamingo Driver/modified One-Winged Angel for the clean pin. A really, really good match. They hugged afterward.
9. El Desperado (4) defeated Master Wato (2) in a B Block match at 14:08. Standing switches early on. They brawled to the floor. In the ring, Wato applied a leglock around Desperado’s head and this was methodical early on. Desperado hit a back suplex at 6:00, and he appied the Stretch Muffler leglock around his neck. Wato nailed a flip dive to the floor. In the ring, Wato hit a springboard flying elbow to the jaw for a nearfall at 8:30. Wato hit a Code Red for a nearfall, and he applied a submission hold around the neck, but Desperado reached the ropes.
Desperado’s left knee gave out as he went for a move. Wato hit a modified Tombstone Piledriver at 11:30. Kelly shouted at him to go for the cover, but Wato went to the top rope and missed a corkscrew splash, and they were both down. Desperado hopped up and hit a spear, then a swinging Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. They traded rollups. Wato hit a spin kick to the head at 13:30 and he was fired up. Desperado hit his Angel’s Wings faceplant for the clean pin. Good match; Desperado remains my favorite to win the B Block.
10. Lio Rush (6) defeated Hiromu Takahashi (2) in an A Block match at 18:09. They bounced off the ropes and changed directions; Hiromu stealing Lio’s mis-direction stuff. They brawled on the floor, where Lio nailed a snap suplex at 2:30. Lio charged at Hiromu, but Hiromu hit an overhead belly-to-belly suplex, tossing Lio onto an open chair! Ouch! In the ring, Hiromu hit a basement dropkick for a nearfall at 5:30, and he applied a leglock around Lio’s head. Lio dove through the ropes and barreled onto Hiromu; he hit a second one, then a third at 8:00.
Back in the ring, Lio hit a running knee to the chest. He put Hiromu on his shoulders and spun him face-first to the mat for a nearfall at 10:30. Hiromu hit a Death Valley Driver into the turnbuckles, and they were both down. They fought on the ring apron, where Hiromu hit another DVD. In the ring, Hiromu hit the Dynamite Plunger swinging sideslam for a nearfall at 13:00. Lio caught him with a superkick. Lio hit a Vader Bomb; he went for the Final Hour frogsplash but Hiromu got his knees up. Hiromu hit a superkick; Lio fired back with a Pele Kick and a roaring elbow.
Lio nailed a mid-ring Spanish Fly at 15:00. He went off the top rope but Hiromu caught his head and hit a stunner for a nearfall. Lio nailed a Poison Rana, then the Rush Hour cutter out of the ropes. Lio hit a Final Hour frogsplash to the lower back for a believable nearfall at 16:30, and they were both down. They fought on the ropes; Lio pushed Hiromu to the mat and he hit another Final Hour frogsplash for the pin. What a tremendous match.
* Lio got on the mic and said “this was the hardest test I’ve had to overcome in my life.” He mixed in a few Japanese words. “This win means everything to me. This win means everything to my family.” He vowed that he would be the winner of BoSJ 30.
* Before the show signed off, we see Sho attacking Hiromu Takahashi backstage.
Final Thoughts: Night two was rather sluggish with no standout matches, but the tournament bounced back in a big way on Sunday. Lio got a huge pinfall over Hiromu to stay undefeated, and that earns best match. The Akira-Eagles match also was stellar and takes second place, with a good TJP-Bailey match for third. All three of these matches (and Desperado-Wato) were better than all the matches from Saturday’s card.
A great night for the four guys debuting in this year’s tournament. Lio Rush and Mike Bailey are both 3-0 and seem to be on a collision course for the A Block title, along with Ishimori. Hiromu has lost to both of them, which means with tiebreakers, it will be challenging for him to get into the top two spots for the four-way playoff. Meanwhile, Moloney won to improve to 2-1 and Kevin Knight picked up his first win.
Over in the B Block, six guys are 2-1 (4 points).
Meanwhile, Kushida is a surprising 0-3 and still has Hiromu, Bailey, Ishimori and Lio in front of him. I still wouldn’t be surprised if he goes 6-3 or 5-4, but he’s definitely on the verge of elimination.
This is a non-stop tournament. There is an off-day on Monday for everyone to catch their breath, but action resumes Tuesday through Friday with four straight days of action.
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