By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Best of the Super Juniors tournament”
May 17, 2023 in Miyagi, Japan at Sendai Sunplaza Hall
Streamed on New Japan World
Kevin Kelly provided solo commentary at the start of the show; Kevin Knight would join him later on. Once again, the lights are low and it’s hard to get a sense of the size of this crowd, but this feels more like an arena than a gym.
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. Hiromu Takahashi (6) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi (0) in an A Block match at 5:23. Taguchi hit a basement dropkick early on, and Kelly reiterated that Taguchi is ‘playing it straight’ this tournament without all of his ‘butt stuff.’ Taguchi hit a flip dive to the floor at 2:00, then a springboard flying butt attack into the ring, and he switched to an anklelock. Taguchi hit a twisting frogsplash for a nearfall at 3:30 and he went back to the anklelock, and Hiromu is excellent at selling the pain. Taguchi hit a Tiger Suplex and a dropkick, and a clothesline for a believable nearfall; this has been 100% Taguchi. Takahashi got a rollup for the pin. He seriously didn’t get in any offense before that rollup. Taguchi was just in disbelief.
2. Kevin Knight (4) defeated Bushi (0) in a B Block match at 5:51. This is a first-time-ever singles meeting. Bushi is 40-46 all time in this tournament, Kelly said. He hit a dropkick that sent Knight to the floor, then a dive through the ropes and barreled onto Knight. Knight hit a plancha to the floor at 2:30. In the ring, Knight hit the D’Lo Sky High powerbomb for a nearfall, then his incredible dropkick at 5:00. He nailed the jump-up Frankensteiner and a DDT for the pin. While I’m glad that half of the tag champs won, I never would have expected Bushi to start 0-5.
3. TJP (6) defeated Sho (w/EVIL) (2) in an A Block match at 8:45. TJP jawed at EVIL before the bell and was clearly bothered by his presence at ringside. TJP hit a headscissors takedown and tied up the legs and applied a Muta Lock. EVIL hit TJP when the ref was out of position; TJP got shoved to the floor and EVIL choked him with a shirt. In the ring, Sho hit a series of kicks and got a nearfall at 2:30, and he was in control of the offense, hitting some Facewash kicks in the corner. TJP hit a huracanrana at 4:00 and a springboard forearm.
TJP hit his running Facewash kick in the corner. Sho shook the ropes, causing TJP to get crotched in the corner. Sho nailed a second-rope superplex for a nearfall. Sho nailed his cross-armed piledriver for a believable nearfall at 6:00, and Sho yelled at the ref. Sho twisted TJP’s fingers. The ref got bumped and Sho immediately got his wrench. However, TJP had a wrench and Sho was surprised by this. Sho dropped to the mat doing the ‘Eddie spot,’ pretending he was hit. Sho went for a low blow but TJP blocked it. TJP hit a tornado DDT, then the Mamba Splash, for the clean pin. I enjoyed that.
* Kevin Knight has joined Kelly on commentary.
4. Clark Connors (w/Gedo) (6) defeated Francesco Akira (6) in a B Block match at 8:33. Connors charged at him at the bell and they brawled. They went to the floor, where Connors whipped Akira into a ring post, then he sent him flying into rows of empty chairs. Akira barely rolled back into the ring before being counted out at 3:00. Connors remained in control in the ring, hitting a nice wheelbarrow-style German Suplex. Connors went for the Pounce, but Akira dropped to the mat, and Connors crashed into the ropes.
Akira hit a series of chops, a doublestomp to the chest, and a shotgun dropkick at 6:30, then a head-scissors takedown and a plancha to the floor. Akira hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. Connors caught him with a powerslam. He went for the spear, but Connors turned it into a sunset flip for a nearfall. Connors nailed the spear; that looked vicious. Connors nailed his brainbuster-style DDT for the pin. I liked that. NJPW is doing a great job of protecting Connors’ two-step finisher (spear then DDT); he hits that and it’s over.
5. Douki (2) defeated Lio Rush (8) in an A Block match at 5:43. Lio hit a dive through the ropes just seconds in; Douki then hit his own dive through the ropes. In the ring, Rush hit his spin kick to the head. Douki hit a clothesline at 2:00 and a nice Northern Lights suplex for a nearfall. Lio hit his Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Lio hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly; he went for the Rush Hour frogsplash, but Douki caught him and applied the Douki Chokey modified triangle choke. Douki hit a Dragon Suplex and he went back to the Douki Chokey; Lio rolled around and tried to escape, but he eventually tapped out. The crowd popped and Kelly was stunned at this finish. Lio’s first loss! That’s a big upset.
6. Robbie Eagles (8) defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru (4) in an A Block match at 10:13. Kanemaru attacked before the bell and he stomped on Eagles. Eagles dove through the ropes, and they brawled on the floor. In the ring, Kanemaru hit a basement dropkick on the knee and he began targeting it. He applied the Figure Four, but Eagles reached the ropes at 3:00. Kanemaru hit a Helluva Kick. Eagles hit a running elbow to the back of Kanemaru’s head at 5:00, but he sold the pain in his left knee. Eagles hit some Yes Kicks to the chest, then a running double knees in the corner, but he collapsed after the move and grabbed at his knee.
Kanemaru went back to the Figure Four Leglock, but Eagles got to the ropes at 8:00. Kanemaru hit another kick at the knee. Eagles hit a springboard dropkick onto Kanemaru’s knee, but he sold the pain that hitting the move caused him. Eagles went for a Shining Wizard, but Kanemaru blocked it. Eagles nailed the Turbo Backpack slam for a believable nearfall at 10:00. Eagles then hit a spin kick to the jaw for the pin. Good match. Eagles is the odds-on-favorite to join Desperado in the ‘Final Four.’ Kosei Fujita helped the hobbled Eagles get to the back.
7. Mike Bailey (8) defeated Titan (6) in an A Block match at 9:57. I feel like Titan has quietly earned his 3-1 record. They played to the crowd at the bell. Titan hit a huracanrana that sent Bailey to the floor. Titan flipped to the floor, but Bailey nailed him with a kick. In the ring, Bailey hit a Helluva Kick and a Vader Bomb-style kneedrop to the ribs at 2:30. They traded hard chops and Bailey hit his Speedball kicks to the ribs. Titan nailed a springboard crossbody block at 4:30. Bailey fired back with his series of kicks, but he missed a running Shooting Star Press. Titan hit a tornado DDT, and Bailey rolled to the floor.
Titan nailed a dive through the ropes to the floor. Bailey hit his Triangle Moonsault to the floor. “These guys are going at it!” Knight said. Titan hit a flip dive over the top rope to the floor. They both dove back in at the 19-count at 7:30. Bailey nailed a moonsault kneedrop to the chest on the ring apron. However, he missed the Ultima Weapon. They traded rollups. Bailey nailed a Superkick; he set up for the Tornado Kick but Titan caught him with a kick coming in. Bailey nailed the Flamingo Driver for the pin. That was fantastic. “What a spectacle,” Knight said.
8. Master Wato (6) defeated Dan Moloney (4) in a B Block match at 7:51. Maloney charged at Wato to start the match. Kelly reiterated how Moloney had to cut weight to make the 100 kg/220 pound weight limit, and he’s the biggest man in the tournament. He applied a leg scissors lock around Wato’s waist. He hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 2:30. Kelly talked about how this tournament was Moloney’s first time being in a 20-foot ring; Knight responded by talking about the adjustment needed for that. Very ‘inside baseball’ conversation. Wato hit his springboard diving elbow for a nearfall at 4:30.
Moloney hit a spear for a nearfall; Kelly said Moloney was given permission to use Rhino’s “Gore.” Wato applied his head submission hold, but Moloney reached the ropes at 7:00. Wato nailed a German Suplex and scored the pin. Okay match.
9. Taiji Ishimori (8) defeated Kushida (2) in an A Block match at 13:29. Kelly talked about how these two appeared to be on pace to face each other last fall before Kushida got sick and missed a month; they each have won once against each other. An intense lockup to open and Kushida immediately went to work on the left arm. “Neither of these guys age; they are both over 40 and don’t look a day over 25,” Knight said. (I didn’t realize Kushida was that old; he turned 40 last week!) Ishimori snapped Kushida’s arm across the top rope at 3:30, and he took control of the offense.
Ishimori rammed Kushida shoulder-first into the corner, then he hit a shoulderbreaker over his knee at 6:00. Kushida slammed Ishimori face-first in the corner. Kushida hit a second-rope kneedrop onto Ishimori’s leg and tied him up on the mat. Ishimori hit a Lungblower at 10:00 and they were both down. Ishimori went for the Bone Lock but Kushida blocked it. Kushida hit a Jay White-style Blade Runner faceplant, and he applied the Bone Lock on Ishimori! Ishimori escaped and applied his own Bone Lock.
Ishimori hit a Bloody Cross side slam for a nearfall at 12:30. Kushida applied a Hoverboard Lock, but Ishimori hit another Lungblower move to escape. He slowly crawled over, made the cover, and scored the pin. Knight left the booth to check on his tag partner. That loss all-but-guarantees that Kushida, at 1-4, is eliminated; even with a ‘Final Four’ format, I fully expect the top two in each Block will be 6-3 or better.
10. Yoh (6) defeated El Desperado (6) in a B Block match at 20:23. I consider this a must-win for Yoh to stay in contention. An intense lockup to begin; Yoh playfully slapped at Desperado’s tassels on his mask, so Desperado slapped him in the face! They rolled to the floor and brawled. Desperado whipped Yoh into the rows of empty chairs on the floor. Yoh hit a plancha at 3:30. In the ring, Yoh hit a basement dropkick on the knee and worked over the leg.
Desperado hit a vertical suplex at 9:00, and he twisted at Yoh’s left leg. Yoh hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 11:00. Desperado hit a spinebuster for a nearfall, and he switched to a Stretch Muffler leglock behind his neck, but Yoh reached the ropes. Desperado missed a frogsplash, and Yoh immediately hit a chop block on the knee. Yoh applied the “Out of Print” leglock, but Desperado reached the ropes at 14:30. Yoh hit a dragon screw leg whip, then a neckbreaker over his knee. Yoh hit a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall, and this crowd was really loud now.
They got up and began trading stiff forearms and chops, and Yoh hit a superkick, and they were both down. “This is the best Yoh match I’ve ever seen, I’ve ever called,” Kelly said. Desperado went for his Angels Wings move at 19:30 but Yoh blocked it. Yoh kissed him on the head to startle him, then he hit a kneestrike to the face. Yoh nailed the Direct Drive double-arm DDT to score the pin. “That was amazing to watch up-close,” Knight said.
* Yoh spoke on the mic to conclude the show.
Final Thoughts: Three really good matches again here that stood out. While it was shorter, I’ll go with Bailey-Titan for best, then Yoh-Desperado for second, and Kushida-Ishimori for third. I expected Yoh to win here; a loss would have virtually eliminated him.
A Block roundup: So, with 5 of the 9 rounds in the book, Ishimori, Lio Rush and Bailey stand atop the A Block with 8 points each, and I expect two of those three to reach the Final Four playoff spots; with Hiromu having lost to both Lio and Bailey, it is almost impossible for him to leapfrog them, even though he’s just one win back at 3-2. TJP and Titan also remain close at 3-2 but I don’t see either of them surging ahead of the top three. I said this a day ago — expect a winless Taguchi to go to his chicanery and juvenile trickery, and pull off a massive upset of a leader late in this tournament.
B Block roundup: Since Robbie Eagles joined TMDK, he’s been on fire and he leads the B Block at 4-1 (8 points) but there are five guys at 3-2 (6 points.) Even with Desperado’s loss here, I expect him to also make the Final Four. Like Taguchi, Bushi is too good to remain winless. Don’t be surprised if he scores a big win or two to finish at 3-6, even though he’s 0-5 now.
The tournament continues Thursday and Friday before the next off-day on Saturday.
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