By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Best of the Super Juniors – Night 11”
May 30, 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 June 9. This is the final night of the round-robin tournament for the A Block, so at the end of the show, every wrestler will have completed nine matches.
The building appears packed. Chris Charlton is back and he joined Walker Stewart on commentary.
1. Dragon Dia and Ninja Mack defeated Kushida and Shoma Kato at 7:51. Dia and Kushida opened. Mack and Kato locked up at 2:00, and Mack hit some chops and a corkscrew press for a nearfall. Dia hit a huracanrana on Kushida at 5:30. Kato put Mack in a Boston Crab, and he traded forearm strikes with Dia. Mack hit a roundhouse kick to Kato’s head, then an incredible top-rope 630 senton splash for the pin on Kato.
2. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Robbie Eagles and Zack Sabre Jr. defeated “Just 5 Guys” Douki and Taka Michinoku at 6:05. Douki and Eagles opened and traded deep armdrags. Sabre entered at 3:00 and he immediately tied Taka up on the mat. Douki hit a doublestomp on Zack’s stomach! Eagles hit some kicks on Douki. Taka hit a running knee on Sabre for a nearfall. Sabre hit a Zack Driver (Michinoku Driver!) for the pin on Taka. Good action.
3. “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, and Tetsuya Naito defeated “Bullet Club” Taiji Ishimori, Drilla Moloney, and Gedo at 7:20..Hiromu and Ishimori locked up but the other BC members jumped in just seconds later. Naito fought Ishimori, and the BC worked over Naito in their corner. Naito hit an armdrag with Moloney’s head hitting Naito’s knee at 5:00. Shingo got a hot tag and suplexed Drilla. Moloney hit a superkick. Gedo entered, but Shingo hit a DDT for a nearfall. Naito hit an enzuigiri on Gedo, and Shingo nailed the Pumping Bomber clothesline on Gedo for the pin.
4. “United Empire” Henare and Callum Newman defeated “House of Torture” Sho and Yujiro Takahashi at 7:41. This is Henare’s first match in a couple months, since he was injured in a cage match in Will Ospreay’s final NJPW performance. The HoT attacked before the bell. They slammed Henare’s head on the top turnbuckle but he no-sold it. Henare hit a running double shoulder tackle. He hit a senton on Sho at 1:00. The HoT began working over Newman. Callum hit a doublestomp on Yujiro at 5:00. Henare got in and tackled the heels. He hit a swinging powerbomb on Yujiro. Yujiro got his staff but Henare blocked him from using it. Newman hit a moonsault to the floor on Sho. In the ring, Henare hit a fisherman’s brainbuster to pin Yujiro.
5. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (8) defeated Clark Connors (8) via count-out in an A Block tournament match at 3:26. I hate heel-heel matchups, as the crowd certainly won’t cheer for either man. Connors hit a Pounce and Kanemaru rolled to the floor. Clark whipped him into the ring post. They brawled up the stairs and to the landing, where Clark hit a snap suplex at 2:30. They both returned to the ringside area as the referee was counting toward 20. However, Kanemaru tossed a Young Lion at Connors and dove back into the ring before the bell. Connors was livid that he was counted out, and he hit a spear on the referee! This was a good way to handle a match no one wanted to see — keep it short with a screwy finish.
6. Bushi (8) defeated Kevin Knight (8) in an A Block tournament match at 8:18. They briefly tied up in the ring. Knight hit a missile dropkick off the apron to the floor at 1:30, and it was their turn to go up the staircase and brawl on the landing half-way up the seating area. Back in the ring, Bushi hit a dropkick on the knee and applied a half-crab, but Knight quickly reached the ropes at 4:00. Knight hit a dropkick but he sold the pain in his knee upon landing. He hit a Stinger Splash but was hobbled. He hit a Splash to the mat for a nearfall, then a top-rope flying clothesline. Knight hit a sit-out powerbomb and an F5 faceplant for a nearfall. Bushi tossed Knight to the floor, and Kevin grabbed at his knee again. In the ring, Bushi hit another missile dropkick on the knee, and he applied a modified Figure Four Leglock at 8:00. Knight fought it, but then he tapped out. A disappointing 4-5 finish for Knight.
7. TJP (10) defeated Titan (10) in an A Block tournament match at 13:20. TJP hit a Shotgun Dropkick at the bell, and they brawled on the floor. (Fun fact: this is TJP and Titan’s only rematch from last year’s round-robin tournament.) TJP was still wearing his ghoulish mask as they got back in the ring, and he hit his running Facewash in the corner at 3:00. He hit some rolling suplexes and dropped Titan stomach-first on the top rope. Titan hit a top-rope moonsault to the floor at 5:00 and they were both down. In the ring, Titan hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Titan hit a top-rope doublestomp to the chest on the ring apron.
In the ring, he missed a top-rope doublestomp, and TJP immediately applied a Pinoy Stretch on the mat at 9:30. Titan hit a springboard tornado DDT. TJP hit a back suplex. Titan nailed the top-rope doublestomp to the chest, then another for a nearfall at 12:00. He came off the top rope but TJP sprayed red mist in his eyes and hit a running knee! TJP nailed a Mamba Splash for a believable nearfall. He nailed a running knee to the back of the head for the clean pin. TJP never did remove that mask; this is starting to feel like Finn Balor and his Demon split persona. Really good match. TJP started 0-4 but finished with five straight wins.
8. Kosei Fujita (6) defeated Blake Christian (10) in an A Block tournament match at 10:47. Kosei came out first and he dove onto Blake to begin. Blake stomped on the elbow in the ring, then he nailed a flip dive to the floor at 1:30. They got back in the ring, where Blake bit the left fingers and worked the left arm. He hit a dropkick at 4:00 and remained in charge. Fujita hit a springboard dropkick for a nearfall, and he applied a Dragon Sleeper. He went for a German Suplex but Blake rotated, landed on his feet, and hit a dropkick. Nice. Blake hit a springboard 450 splash onto Fujita’s back as Kosei was draped over the top rope at 7:00.
Blake nailed a jumping knee. Fujita hit a German Suplex for a believable nearfall. Blake snapped the left arm over his shoulder, then he hit a handspring-back-spin kick. Blake hit a second-rope Spanish Fly and he locked in a Rings of Saturn double-armbar, but Kosei reached the ropes at 10:00. However, Blake immediately hit a Stomp to the head for a believable nearfall. Blake missed a 450 Splash! Kosei immediately hit a TKO Stunner for the pin. I’m shocked; I assumed Blake was winning to advance.
9. El Desperado (12) defeated Hayata (10) in an A Block tournament match at 20:24. An intense lockup and feeling-out process to open. Desperado tied him up on the mat. They rolled to the floor where Desperado applied a Stretch Muffler leglock. As they got in the ring, Hayata snapped Desperado’s left arm over the top rope at 4:30. They went back to the floor, where Hayata shoved Desperado shoulder-first into the ring post. Back in the ring, Hayata tied the damaged arm in the ropes. Hayata hit an enzuigiri at 8:00. Desperado hit a brainbuster for a nearfall, and he went back to the Stretch Muffler, but Hayata scrambled to the ropes.
Hayata hit a Shotgun Dropkick and a second-rope moonsault for a nearfall at 10:30. Desperado hit a back suplex, then a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Hayata dragged Desperado to the mat by the injured left arm. He hit a DDT and a Buzzsaw Kick for a nearfall. Desperado countered with a spinebuster and he went back to the Stretch Muffler. Hayata nearly reached the ropes but Desperado dragged him back to the middle. Hayata escaped and applied a hammerlock on the damaged arm. Desperado reached the ropes and they were both down at 15:00.
They traded forearm strikes while on their knees, then while standing. Desperado nailed the Angel’s Wings faceplant for a believable nearfall. Hayata hit a DDT. He hit a spike DDT for a believable nearfall, but Desperado got a foot on the ropes at 19:30. Desperado hit a Spinebuster and a Jay Driller, then an Angel’s Wings for the clean pin. A very good match, and as expected, Desperado advances to the playoffs. It also means that TJP, at 5-4, takes second place as he scored victories over Hayata, Blake Christian AND Titan (who all also finished at 5-4).
* Desperado got on the mic and said it would have been a helluva story if Hayata had reached the playoffs in his BoSJ, but he didn’t want to give that story to someone from the outside. He said he couldn’t have asked for a better final opponent.
Final Thoughts: I really, REALLY didn’t think anyone was advancing at 5-4, so I had many matches wrong here. I assumed Kevin Knight was winning to finish at 5-4. I correctly assumed TJP was winning to also finish at 5-4. BUT I thought Blake Christian was winning to finish at 6-3 to advance along with Desperado. So, in retrospect, Knight “couldn’t win” his match tonight because it would have made for an even more weird five-way tie at 5-4…
The tournament continues on Friday with the B Block in action, featuring Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori; they are both 6-2 so at least one of them will advance with the win. Douki also faces Robbie Eagles, and I think Douki will wind up making the playoffs with a win.
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