By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Best of Super Juniors – Night 2”
May 11, 2025, in Miyagi, Japan at Iwanuma City General Gymnasium
Streamed live on New Japan World
The venue is a large gym. The lights were on. The crowd was maybe 800 to 1,000, and even the seats in the risers were mostly full. There was Japanese-only commentary. Somehow or another, the cartoonish Ryusuke Taguchi is in the main event. We’ll see if he can put the comedy aside for a night.
* This year’s tournament features 20 wrestlers, divided into two Blocks. It is a round-robin tournament, so each competitor has nine matches. The last three years, the top two of each Block have reached a four-man playoffs. However, this year, only the Block winners will meet in a finale. (So, someone will need to go 6-3 or possibly even 7-2 to win their Block. A 5-4 record isn’t going to cut it. Wins are worth 2 points; draws are 1 point each. We have five tournament matches tonight. Also, four competitors who had tournament matches on Saturday are not in action today; (kayfabe) that gives them quite an advantage over the six guys who do have preview matches on this show.
* Notable that we don’t have guardrails, which is the signature look of the BoSJ tournament shows, giving the high-flyers more room to move.
1. “United Empire” Francesco Akira and Jakob Austin Young vs. Dragon Dia and Katsuya Murashima. Dia and Akira opened and traded quick reversals. Murashima got in and hit some forearm strikes on Young. Akira hit a standing moonsault on Murashima at 3:30, and the UE took over. Dia got in and hit a corkscrew slingshot splash, then his own standing moonsault. Murashima hit a bodyslam on Akira for a nearfall at 6:00. Young accidentally superkicked Akira! Akira superkicked Murashima, then a buzzsaw kick for a believable nearfall. Akira nailed the Fireball running double knee strike to the back of Murashima’s head for the pin. Decent opener.
Francesco Akira and Jakob Austin Young defeated Dragon Dia and Katsuya Murashima at 7:38.
2. El Desperado and Shoma Kato vs. Nick Wayne and Daiki Nagai. Wayne and Desperado opened with standing switches, and they traded armbars on the mat. Wayne hit a flying back elbow at 2:00. Nagai tagged in, and he stomped on Despe. Shoma tagged in; he recently shaved just one side of his head. (Kids today!) He hit a flying forearm on Nagai, and the Young Lions battled each other. Nagai hit a series of bodyslams and got a nearfall at 4:00. Nagai hit a dropkick on Despe. Wayne got a hot tag, and he hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread on Desperado for a nearfall.
Desperado fired back with a Spinebuster for a nearfall, and he went for a Stretch Muffler, but Wayne quickly escaped. Nick hit a Lethal Injection at 6:00, and he went for the Prodigy Plex (fisherman’s buster), but Despe blocked it, and he slammed Nick. Kato got back in and battled Wayne, hitting a dropkick, then locking in a Boston Crab, but Nick reached the ropes. Nick hit a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall, but Despe made the save. Wayne hit a roundhouse kick to Kato’s head, then he hit the Prodigy Plex for the pin. (Interesting he’s going with this as a finisher here instead of the “Wayne’s World” fadeaway stunner.) Good preview tag. Wayne and Despe jawed at each other as they showed off their respective title belts.
Nick Wayne and Daiki Nagai defeated El Desperado and Shoma Kato at 7:55.
3. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Hiromu Takahashi and Shingo Takagi vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Kosei Fujita and Hartley Jackson. So, Titan gets a night off after a loss on Saturday. Hiromu and Kosei opened, and they immediately traded chops. Shingo got in at 2:00 and dropped Kosei with a shoulder tackle. Hiromu applied a Camel Clutch. Kosei hit a flying kick to the chest, and they were both down. Hartley tagged in at 5:00, and he traded shoulder tackles with Shingo, and he hit a flying crossbody block, then a senton for a nearfall.
Hiromu hit a shotgun dropkick on Fujita. Hartley knocked Hiromu down with a shoulder tackle. Shingo hit some punches on Hartley and a DDT. Hiromu hit a superkick, and Shingo hit a brainbuster, then a Pumping Bomber decapitating clothesline for the pin. Good action.
Hiromu Takahashi and Shingo Takagi defeated Kosei Fujita and Hartley Jackson at 7:52.
4. Robbie X vs. Ninja Mack in an A Block tournament match. Robbie X is a late replacement for Bushi; I’ve compared his look and style to Alan Angels, as both are short and bald. Quick reversals to open. Robbie hit a huracanrana, but Mack rotated and landed on his feet. Mack hit a handspring dive to the floor, and he kept doing handsprings up the aisle until he kicked Robbie, who was trying his best to run away. This is an awesome, must-see spot! Robbie dove back into the ring at 2:30, but Mack grounded him.
Robbie hit a suplex for a nearfall. Robbie hit a top-rope corkscrew dive to the floor at 5;30. In the ring, Robbie hit a spin kick, and he went for a running Shooting Star Press, but Mack got his knees up to block it. Moments later, Robbie hit the running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 7:00. Mack hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. Mack caught him with a spin kick for the pin! That was a really good match. I wouldn’t have argued if that had been given the main event slot.
Ninja Mack (2) defeated Robbie X (0) at 7:47.
5. Mao vs. Kevin Knight in a B Block tournament match. Yes, I highlighted this match as a possible main event, too. Knight’s gear is a glorious gold and silver. (Remember when he used to wear ugly orange basketball warmup pants?) Quick reversals, and they traded armdrags. Mao hit a slingshot stunner at 3:00. Mao hit a frogsplash move, and he tied up Knight in an Octopus Stretch; Knight reversed it and applied his own stretch. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Knight dropped him with a hard clothesline at 6:00, then his picture-perfect dropkick for a believable nearfall.
Kevin hit an awkward Pele Kick that didn’t quite land. Mao hit a roundhouse kick out of the ropes. Kevin hit a suplex, but Mao bridged to his feet. Knight hit his jump-up Frankensteiner at 8:00; Mao hit his own Frankensteiner. Knight hit a top-rope superplex; they both got to their feet but then collapsed. This has been really good. Knight went for a springboard move, but Mao caught him with a kick. Knight hit a DDT. Mao leapt over the ref, but Knight avoided it. Mao hit a Michinoku Driver for a believable nearfall at 9:30, then a superkick for the pin. That was really, really good!
Mao (2) defeated Kevin Knight (0) at 9:52.
6. Clark Connors vs. Master Wato in an A Block tournament match. Worth reiterating that Connors wrestled in California maybe 32 hours earlier, which is just insane that he’s now here. (The Tokyo-to-Los Angeles flight time is about 10 hours even!) They fought to the floor, and Clark whipped Wato into the rows of folding chairs. They fought through the crowd for several minutes. Connors whipped Wato into the ring post at 4:00. He went under the ring and found a car tire! What the heck was that doing under there??? He hit Wato in the gut with it and slammed Wato’s knee against the thin mat.
They finally got back into the ring, and Connors hit a running kick to the side of the head at 6:30. Wato hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Connors went for a spear, but Wato sidestepped it and got a rollup for a nearfall. Clark hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 8:00. Wato flipped Connors and got a nearfall. Wato applied the Vendeval (submission hold around the neck and shoulders), but Clark got his feet to the ropes. Connors hit a powerslam, then he cut Wato in half with a spear for a believable nearfall at 10:00. (I thought that was it!) Connors went for the No-Chaser spike DDT but Wato blocked it. Seconds later, Connors nailed the No-Chaser for the pin! A very good match. Keep in mind that Wato won this tournament two years ago.
Clark Connors (2) defeated Master Wato (0) at 10:34.
7. Robbie Eagles vs Yoh in a B Block tournament match. A feeling-out process to open; I guarantee these two have fought multiple times, including in past BoSJ bouts. (This is where I’m missing English commentary to fill me in on their prior battles.) Yoh hit a plancha to the floor at 2:30. In the ring, Yoh hit a top-rope somersault splash onto Eagles. Robbie hit a back suplex. Eagles grabbed a leg and hooked the ankle, but Yoh reached the ropes at 5:00. Yoh hit a dropkick, and they were both down. Yoh hit a flying forearm and a bodyslam. He hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 8:30.
Eagles applied the Ron Miller Special leg lock, and he hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread, and they were both down. He dropped Yoh with a roundhouse kick to the chest, then he hit a flying double knees in the corner. Yoh hit a neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 10:30. Yoh applied a modified Anaconda Vice on the mat, and he kept Eagles grounded. They hit stereo kicks, and both went down at 12:30. Eagles hit a springboard missile dropkick on the knee. Eagles hit a buzzsaw kick and a top-rope 450 splash on the knees. Yoh hit a Poison Rana. Eagles applied the Ron Miller Special (Trailer Hitch) leg lock in the center of the ring, and Yoh tapped out. Yeah, that could have been the main event, too.
Robbie Eagles (2) defeated Yoh (0) at 15:03.
* Okay… no, I don’t like Taguchi’s brand of juvenile humor. But he barely got any wins in the past two tournaments. So… it just doesn’t make sense that he is being given a main event slot.
8. Taiji Ishimori vs. Ryusuke Taguchi in a B Block tournament match. Taguchi has some sort of toy title belt over his shoulder; this isn’t giving me any hope that this will be a straight wrestling match without his juvenile comedy. Tajiri was 7-2 last year and won his Block; Taguchi finished 2-7 in the same Block. Basic reversals early. They fought to the floor, and Ishimori hit a slingshot to send Taguchi into the ring post at 3:30. Taguchi was in charge as they got back into the ring as he kept Taguchi grounded in a hammerlock. He dominated and hit his Atomic Drops so Taguchi could make his cartoonish faces. Ugh. Taguchi hit a mid-ring buttbump and a dive to the floor, and they were both down at ringside at 8:30.
In the ring, Ishimori got a knee to the groin so Taguchi could make more of his overly exaggerated facial expressions. Taguchi hit a second-rope flying buttbump for a nearfall. Ishimori rammed him shoulder-first into the corner at 12:00, and he hit a shoulder breaker over his knee, and Taguchi writhed in pain. Taguchi applied an ankle lock. Ishimori escaped and applied a Bone Lock (modified crossface.) Ishimori pushed the ref into Taguchi, and the ref was down. Ishimori immediately hit a low blow, mule kick, and got a rollup for a nearfall at 14:30. Taguchi re-applied an ankle lock. Ishimori kept escaping, but Taguchi reapplied it, and Ishimori tapped out!
Ryusuke Taguchi (2) defeated Taiji Ishimori (0) at 16:44.
Final Thoughts: Eagles and Yoh showed how polished they are and are such familiar foes, and I’ll go with that for best match. Now that the event is over, I looked on Cagematch.net, and Yoh and Eagles have shared the ring 66 times! Also, they have each won twice in BoSJ matches. Knight-Mao was really sharp and was a close second. Even though it was shorter, Mack-Robbie X was dazzling for third.
No, I didn’t like that main event. I presumed Taguchi was actually winning because it was in the main event… it would have been more of a shocker win for Taguchi if it had been one of the first tournament matches of the day (where it should have been!) Even with the win, don’t expect Taguchi to suddenly do better than 3-6. And no, I just can’t get past his cartoonish and exaggerated faces in a main event slot. Comedy has its role in wrestling, but in my opinion, that’s not in the main event. I really hoped Taguchi would leave the juvenile stuff at home for this match, but no such luck.
I will reiterate that it just doesn’t seem fair, from a kayfabe standpoint, that Titan, Kushida, Kanemaru and Sho all got the day off to rest and recover, while everyone else was in action. The tournament takes two days off and returns on Wednesday… it’s a sprint from there until the tournament wraps up June 1.
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