By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Best of the Super Juniors – Night 2”
May 13, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
There are 20 wrestlers in this year’s tournament, divided into two Blocks. It is a round-robin tournament, thus, each wrestler has nine tournament matches. The top two from each Block will advance to a four-man playoff. The finals will be Sunday, June 9. The four men who reached the playoffs last year were either 6-3 or 7-2. So, anyone who starts out at 0-2 has a very unlikely path to reach the playoffs.
There appeared to be a good-sized crowd at Korakuen Hall. Chris Charlton and UK wrestler Callum Newman provided commentary. A reminder that there were no guardrails at ringside to give the high-flyers more room to move.
1. Blake Christian (4) defeated Kevin Knight (2) in an A Block match at 8:27. Quick reversals at the bell and Knight hit a plancha. Charlton said Blake has “a chip on his shoulder” because he was snubbed in past years. Blake hit a Fosbury Flop to the floor, then an inverted DDT on the floor, and that got a nice pop. In the ring, Blake hit a slingshot splash for a nearfall at 4:00. Charlton noted that Blake is undefeated in this building, having beaten Jordan Oliver in a GCW event here. Knight hit some clotheslines and a D’Lo Sky High powerbomb at 5:30. Blake hit an inverted senton.
Knight hit his dropkick as Blake sat on the top turnbuckle. Knight hit a springboard splash to the floor. He hit a splash back in the ring for a nearfall. Christian hit a stunner on the apron at 8:00. Blake kicked the ropes, causing Kevin to be struck in the groin. Blake hit a stomp to the head and a springboard 450 Splash for the cheap pin. Just like in his first match, Blake didn’t cheat until the very end of the match.
2. Ninja Mack (4) defeated Francesco Akira (2) in a B Block match at 7:40. Akira hit a Shotgun Dropkick at the bell, a splash to the floor, and a top-rope splash in the ring at 1:00. Akira applied a Tajiri-style Tarantula in the ropes. Mack hit a dropkick and a variety of kicks. He hit a tornado kick to the head at 4:30 and they were both down. Akira hit a Frankensteiner, but Mack rotated and landed on his feet for a MASSIVE pop. Akira hit a buzzsaw kick for a nearfall. Mack ducked a Fireball double knees. Akira blocked a Sliced Bread. Akira hit a twisting neckbreaker for a nearfall at 7:00. Mack hit a Superkick and a Sliced Bread for a believable nearfall. Mack hit a STELLAR top-rope corkscrew senton splash for the pin. What a move, perfectly landed.
3. Clark Connors (2) defeated Hayata (2) in an A Block match at 8:13. Clark knocked him down with a shoulder tackle; he is clearly close to the weight limit and much larger than Hayata. They brawled to the floor and amongst the fans in the first minute. Connors grabbed Young Lion Shoma Kato and bodyslammed him onto Hayata at 2:00! Hayata rolled back in at the 18-count. They went right back to the floor and continued to brawl near the fans, and Hayata whipped Clark into rows of chairs.
It was Hayata’s turn to bodyslam Kato onto Connors at 4:30! “He’s a good kid!” Charlton said in protest. Funny. Clark now barely got in at the 19-count. Connors hit a powerslam. Hayata hit a DDT for a nearfall at 6:30. Connors nailed a Pounce. He nailed a spear for a believable nearfall; I thought that was it. Hayata blocked the No Chaser spike DDT and hit an enzuigiri. Connors hit a headbutt, and he nailed the No Chaser for the clean pin. Good match. Charlton reiterated that Connors just pinned the GHC champion.
4. Robbie Eagles (2) defeated Drilla Moloney (0) in a B Block match at 9:20. Callum said “I knew Dan Moloney; I don’t know ‘Drilla’ Moloney at all.” Drilla hit a dropkick and a baseball slide dropkick to the floor, and now it was their turn to brawl up into the crowd and up the short bleachers. Back in the ring, Drilla was in charge. Charlton reiterated the story that Drilla arrived in Japan as a heavyweight but has dropped to under 100 kg to be the largest junior. Robbie hit a huracanrana for a nearfall at 5:00. Eagles hit a running elbow to the back of the head, then some Yes Kicks to the chest.
Drilla hit a superkick. Eagles applied the Ron Miller Special leglock (Trailer Hitch!) but Moloney quickly reached the ropes at 7:30. Moloney put a palm to the sternum and slammed Robbie to the mat, then a running kick for a nearfall. Robbie again applied the Ron Miller Special, but this time he dragged Moloney to the center of the ring. The crowd popped and taunted Drilla, who held on a few seconds before tapping out. Good action. Eagles grabbed Drilla’s junior tag belt and posed with it, making clear he thinks he should get a title shot.
5. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (2) defeated TJP (0) in an A Block match at 2:23. Hard to believe this is a first-time-ever singles match. Kanemaru attacked from behind as TJP was still disrobing in the corner. Kanemaru shoved the referee into TJP. TJP hit a springboard twisting forearm and a Helluva Kick at 2:00. He set up for the Facewash kicks in the corner, but Kanemaru took a drink from his bottle and sprayed whiskey in TJP’s eyes, rolled him up and scored the pin! That may wind up being the shortest match of the tournament. Charlton wondered about TJP’s momentum being lost with this 0-2 start.
6. Taiji Ishimori (4) defeated Dragon Dia (0) in a B Block match at 5:03. Dia ran the ropes and hit an armdrag and dropkick. They brawled to the floor, where Ishimori whipped him into the guardrail at 0:30. He hit Dia in the head with a skateboard! In the ring, Ishimori remained in charge. Dia hit an Asai Moonsault at 3:00. He hit a slingshot twisting press into the ring, then a pretty top-rope huracanrana move. Ishimori pushed Dia into the ref. Ishimori popped up Dia and hit a low blow mule kick with the ref out of position. Ishimori immediately hit Bloody Cross modified DDT for the pin. Dia’s offense was really good, but this is starting to feel like 2-7 is the ceiling for him. Ishimori again hit him with the skateboard after the bell.
7. Titan (4) defeated Bushi (0) in an A Block match at 8:41. These two are LIJ teammates; Titan has a previous BoSJ victory over Bushi. They brawled to the floor at 1:00 and into the crowd. (Bushi never took his T-shirt off so these two are easier to keep apart than normal.) They went up the larger side of risers, and Titan dove off the top of a stairwell onto Bushi below. Very cool spot. In the ring, Titan hit a springboard crossbody block at 3:00 and he hit a spin kick to the face. Bushi hit a basement dropkick to the knee. He repeatedly slammed Titan’s knee into the mat, then applied a submission hold around the knee.
Titan tied him in the Muta Lock and cranked back on Bushi’s head; this is how Titan beat Desperado on night 1! Bushi reached the ropes at 6:00. Bushi hit a Lungblower to the back, then a Rewind Kick. Titan hit a top-rope doublestomp for a nearfall. He again applied a Muta Lock and pulled back on the head, but this time he had Bushi’s arms locked up, too, so Bushi couldn’t reach the ropes. Bushi verbally submitted. Good match.
8. Kushida (4) defeated Sho (2) in a B Block match at 6:40. Sho got on the mic and made fun of Kushida for being a substitute for the injured Yoh. Kishida hit a dropkick to open the match. He hit a hard kick to Sho’s left elbow, then a dropkick on the arm. Yujiro Takahashi appeared at ringside and hit a reverse DDT on Kushida and tossed him in the ring, where Sho got a nearfall at 2:00. Yujiro distracted the ref, allowing Sho to hit Kushida’s arm with a chair. Back in the ring, Sho was trying to get a Hoverboard Lock to beat Kushida with his own move! However, Kushida applied a crossarm breaker, and Sho scrambled to the ropes.
Sho hit a spear, but Kushida went right back to the crossarm breaker; Sho hit a powerbomb to escape. Kushida hit a handspring-back-elbow. Yujiro again hit Kushida out of the ref’s view. Sho hit Kushida with a low blow, and he set up for the Shock Arrow/cross-armed piledriver, but Kushida blocked it, flipped over Sho and got a rollup with a bridge and scored the pin. Sho was irate!
9. El Desperado (2) defeated Kosei Fujita (2) in an A Block match at 17:24. They traded intense mat holds early. Kosei applied a crossarm breaker. They tied up each other’s legs and rolled right out of the ring to the floor at 3:00, with the dual leg locks still applied. The ref was counting! They finally let go and jumped back in at the 18-count! Back on the floor, Desperado applied a Stretch Muffler leglock, then he slammed Kosei’s knee onto the thin mat at ringside. Kosei hit a plancha at 6:30 and they were both down.
In the ring, Desperado was back in charge and focused on the left leg, twisting the ankle. Fujita hit a springboard dropkick for a nearfall at 11:30 and a running Penalty Kick for a nearfall. Desperado hit a Spinebuster and he went back to the Stretch Muffler, but Fujita escaped and applied a crossarm breaker! Fujita tied up both arms behind Despe’s back! Desperado teased tapping out, but he finally got a foot on the ropes at 13:30. Tremendous segment.
Fujita applied a sleeper, then he hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. Desperado nailed a single HARD forearm strike that leveled Kosei. “Just the one!” Callum said, noting the devastation of that one blow. Desperado set up for Angel’s Wings, but Kosei blocked it. Desperado again applied the Stretch Muffler! Kosei crawled towards the ropes, but Desperado trapped one arm, and Kosei tapped out with the other. Tremendous match.
10. Douki (2) defeated Hiromu Takahashi (0) in a B Block match at 16:34. Charlton reiterated that Hiromu still hasn’t won a singles match in 2024. Both men have started 0-1 so a loss here will be devastating for their playoff chances. Hiromu hit a shotgun dropkick. They brawled up the risers, where Hiromu hit a snap suplex on the landing (halfway up the seating area) at 2:00. They hit simultaneous crossbody blocks and both were down. Both barely made it back into the ring before being counted out. They traded forearm strikes and Douki hit a DDT. Douki went for the Douki Chokey, but Hiromu immediately got to the ropes at 5:00. Hiromu hit a basement dropkick. He hit a Death Valley Driver into the corner.
Douki again got the Douki Chokey at 8:00. Douki tied him in a Gory Special and turned it into a backslide for a nearfall. They got up and hit simultaneous clotheslines and Douki hit a German Suplex, so Hiromu hit one. They hit more simultaneous clotheslines and were both down at 11:00. Hiromu hit a Time Bomb/Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. He hit a superkick. They traded rollups. Hiromu hit a Victory Royal faceplant at 14:00. Douki hit a DDT and went back to the Douki Chokey. Hiromu tried a powerbomb but Douki kept the hold locked in! Hiromu’s eyes bugged out and he foamed at the mouth. The ref called for the bell, as HIromu had passed out!
* Douki got on the mic and said Hiromu is one of the best and toughest wrestlers in the world, “but I won,” and that got a pop.
Final Thoughts: Two very good matches to conclude the show. Desperado-Fujita is best match ahead of the main event. Fujita is showing why he’s in Zack Sabre Jr.’s faction, as he showed quite the ability to tie up an opponent on the mat. Meanwhile, I’ve written for months that I could see Douki going on a Master Wato-style run this year, and he certainly showed that here against Hiromu. That was no fluke win. Unlike the (bland and boring) Wato, Douki has the crowd behind him, too.
The rest of the show was solid but nothing must-see. I’ll give Blake Christian-Kevin Knight third, ahead of Ninja Mack-Francesco Akira. Anyone who has seen Blake’s heel run in GCW knows he comes from the back, immediately taunts the crowd, does crotch chops, etc. This heel role is far more subtle and I like it; he’s playing fair all match until he cheats right at the end to win. Ninja Mack continues to dazzle. The only other noteworthy development is that TJP is 0-2, right after solidifying his role as leader of the United Empire. We’ll see how he turns it around, because he’s definitely matching last year’s 5-4 mark, or topping it, right? The tournament resumes on Wednesday with the A Block in tournament action, along with four undercard matches.
Be the first to comment