By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Best of Super Juniors – Night 12”
May 29, 2025, in Niigata, Japan at Region Plaza Joetsu
Streamed live on New Japan World
The venue is a large gym with some tiered seating. It felt a bit empty because the crowd was so spread out, but attendance was perhaps 800. Walker Stewart provided solo commentary as the show began.
* 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 playoff. However, this year, only the Block winners will meet in a finale. Wins are worth 2 points; draws are 1 point each. Notably, there are no guardrails, which is the signature look of the BoSJ tournament shows, giving the high-flyers more room to move. In booking that can only politely be described as a debacle, Kosei Fujita won the A Block on Tuesday via a tiebreaker. The B Block winner will be determined tonight. Luckily, SOMEONE will finish at 6-3 tonight to advance to the finals.
1. Kushida, Dragon Dia, and Ninja Mack vs. Yushida, Daiki Nagai, and Shoma Kato. Mack and Nagai opened. Mack did one of his flips and made a ‘superhero landing.’ Shoma and Dragon Dia entered at 2:00. Yushida entered and battled Kushida, and he put Kushida in a Boston Crab at 5:00. Mack and Dia hit stereo planchas to the floor. In the ring, Kushida applied a Hoverboard Lock, and Yushida tapped out.d
Kushida, Dragon Dia, and Ninja Mack defeated Yushida, Daiki Nagai, and Shoma Kato at 6:50.
2. “House of Torture” Yujiro Takahashi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Ren Narita vs. Toru Yano, Katsuya Murashima, and Master Wato. Our first time seeing Narita on this tour. The HoT attacked from behind, and all six brawled at ringside. They got back into the ring, and we had a bell at 00:53 to officially begin. The heels worked over Wato in their corner. Kanemaru applied a Figure Four, but Yano made the save. Murashim entered at 4:00 to battle Narita. (The Young Lion is so much thicker than Ren. He’s clearly the top of the class.) Murashima hit a powerslam for a nearfall. Ren tied him in a heel hook, and Katsuya tapped out. Basic but passable.
Yujiro Takahashi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Ren Narita defeated Toru Yano, Katsuya Murashima, and Master Wato at 5:23/official time of 4:30.
3. Yota Tsuji and Hiromu Takahashi vs. “United Empire” Francesco Akira and Jakob Austin Young. Akira and Hiromu opened and they traded basic back-and-forth offense. Yota hit a backbreaker over his knee on Jakob and a stomp to his head for a nearfall at 4:30. Hiromu hit a clothesline on Akira. Young hit a twisting neckbreaker on Hiromu; he popped to his feet to celebrate, but Yota immediately cut him in half with a Gene Blaster (spear) for the pin.
Yota Tsuji and Hiromu Takahashi defeated Francesco Akira and Jakob Austin Young at 5:40.
4. “Bullet Club” Gedo, Clark Connors, and Robbie X vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa, and Hartley Jackson. Like Ren Narita, this is our first time seeing Oiwa on this tour. Connors and Robbie argued before the bell. Interesting… Connors turned around and was startled to see the massive Hartley across the ring from him! He immediately went under the ring and got the car tire he’s used all tournament. He held the tire like a shield and tried some shoulder blocks, but couldn’t budge Hartley. Hartley got the tire, and he knocked Connors down with it.
They all brawled to the floor. In the ring, the TMDK trio all missed sentons at 3:00. The BC began working over Oiwa in their corner. Fujita got a hot tag. Robbie hit a spin kick to Fujita’s head, and they were both down at 5:30. Gedo tagged in and fought Fujita. Hartley hit a running splash in the corner that flattened Gedo, and he hit his massive senton on Gedo. Kosei applied his Jungle Boy Snare Trap leg lock, and Gedo tapped out.
Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa, and Hartley Jackson defeated Gedo, Clark Connors, and Robbie X at 6:47.
* Ninja Mack joined commentary. I’ve never heard his voice before! (He took off his mask for a Bloodsport match a few years ago but he didn’t speak then.)
5. Ryusuke Taguchi (6) vs. Kevin Knight (6) in a B Block tournament match. They flexed muscles at the bell and opened in a knuckle lock, but of course, with Taguchi’s brand of humor, they started dancing while locked up. Taguchi got Knight to run the ropes, but it made Taguchi dizzy watching him, and Taguchi collapsed. Knight hit a flip dive to the floor at 4:00. In the ring, Taguchi hit a mid-ring buttbump at 6:00 and he kept pushing his butt into Kevin’s face. Taguchi hit a flip dive to the floor. In the ring, Taguchi applied an ankle lock. Taguchi came off the ropes, but Knight caught him with a dropkick. Knight hit a spike DDT and his UFO twisting frogsplash for the pin. Passable.
Kevin Knight (8) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi (6) at 8:41.
6. Nick Wayne (8) vs. Titan (6) in a B Block tournament match. Mack put over Wayne and talked about seeing him on so many GCW shows. Quick lucha reversals at the bell, and Nick hit some chops. Titan hit a Pele Kick at 2:00. Hit hit a huracanrana. He set up for a dive to the floor, but Wayne caught him with a European Uppercut at 3:30. They fought on the ring apron, where Titan hit a superkick, then a top-rope doublestomp onto Wayne’s chest as Nick was lying on the apron at 5:00. In the ring, Titan jammed his knee coming off the top rope.
Wayne immediately hit a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall. Wayne hit a flip dive to the floor. In the ring, he hit a frogsplash for a nearfall. These guys were going at a breakneck pace. Wayne hit a Superkick, but Titan blocked Wayne’s World. Titan hit a tornado DDT and another spin kick to the cheek. He nailed a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a believable nearfall. He immediately tied Wayne in a Muta Lock, and Wayne submitted. I expected that outcome; Titan was in the finals two years ago, so I figured there was no way he was finishing at 3-6.
Titan (8) defeated Nick Wayne (8) at 8:13.
7. Mao (10) vs. Sho (8) in a B Block tournament match. Mack noted this was a first-time-ever singles match. Sho came out first. Mao came out behind him on a bicycle and rammed into him. They started brawling, and I started my stopwatch at first contact. Yujiro Takahashi and Ren Narita attacked Mao, but some DDT guys attacked the House of Torture. Sho whipped Mao into the rows of chairs, and they fought away from the ring. (And we can see how massive this gym is!) Walker noted we still hadn’t had a bell. They fought to an exterior door. Mao ran a hallway and hit a flip dive onto the House of Torture guys, who were standing on a street!
Mao got in a van and turned it on! He ran the vehicle into Sho, and Sho went flying! (Seriously, that was a bit faster and more dangerous than it needed to be.) Mao put Sho on a push-cart and brought him back into the gym and threw him into the ring. We had a bell at 4:18 to officially begin! Mao immediately got a nearfall. “Have you ever seen someone get hit by a car and kick out at two?” Walker said. The HoT stomped on Mao on the floor. Sho went and got the bicycle, which has “DDT” on the handlebars, and he dropped it on Mao.
The House of Torture stomped on the bike and ripped the DDT logo off of it. They got back in the ring, and Sho kept Mao grounded. He snapped Mao’s left arm over the top rope at 7:30, and he applied a cross-armbreaker, but Mao got to the ropes. Mao hit a dropkick and a cannonball, and he applied a crossface on the mat at 10:30. The bell rang, and Mao let go of the hold, but of course, it was Ren Narita who rang the bell. Ninja Mack said he was fooled by the bell. Mao leapt over the ref and hit a flying stunner. Mao hit a flying palm strike for a visual pin, but the ref was pulled to the floor.
Narita and Yujiro jumped in the ring and beat up Mao. A DDT guy got in the ring and brawled with the HoT. Mao and the blond guy hit high-low blows on Sho. Kanemaru jumped in the ring and hit Mao with a whiskey bottle. Sho hit the Shock Arrow (cross-arm piledriver) for a believable nearfall. Sho switched to a cross-armbreaker, but Mao reached the ropes at 15:00. Sho grabbed the belt, but the ref took it. Mao put a cartoonishly large giant fist on his arm, and he struck Sho with it! He nailed a superkick but only got a nearfall! Mao hit a top-rope 450 Splash for the pin! We finally have someone who reached 12 points! I was “sports entertained’ by that match.
Mao (12) defeated Sho (8) at 16:14/official time of 11:56.
8. El Desperado (10) vs Robbie Eagles (8) in a B Block tournament match. Basic reversals early on, and Robbie hit a spin kick to the jaw at 3:00. Eagles tied up Despe’s legs and kept him grounded. Desperado twisted the left ankle, and this was methodical early on. Eagles hit a flying elbow to the back of the head at 7:30, then a flip dive through the ropes and barreled into Desperado. Eagles hit a springboard dropkick onto Desperado’s knee, and he immediately locked in the Ron Miller Special leg lock, but Despe reached the ropes at 9:00.
Desperado hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip, and he applied the Stretch Muffler. He hit a suplex for a nearfall, then he reapplied the Stretch Muffler. Eagles reapplied the Ron Miller Special, but Desperado reached the ropes at 12:30. They got to their knees and traded forearm strikes, and traded more while standing. Robbie removed his signature bandanas and hit a series of kicks and a mid-ring Sliced Bread for a nearfall at 15:30.
Desperado hit a Pinche Loco (Angel’s Wings) for a nearfall. Desperado hit an X-Factor, but he couldn’t hit a second Pinche Loco. Eagles hit a Turbo Backpack for a nearfall. Eagles hit a buzzsaw kick, but he clutched at his sore knee. Desperado again applied the Stretch Muffler, and Eagles fought it for several seconds but eventually submitted! Because of this win, Mao is eliminated.
El Desperado (12) defeated Robbie Eagles (8) at 17:44.
9. Yoh (10) vs. Taiji Ishimori (8) in a B Block tournament match. Standing switches to open. Yoh snapped Ishimori’s neck between his ankles at 2:00. Ishimori hit a moonsault from the corner to the floor. In the ring, Ishimori kept Yoh grounded. Yoh hit a bodyslam for a nearfall at 7:00. Ishimori kept him tied on the mat and hit a double-knees-drop to the chest at 11:00. Yoh hit a neckbreaker over his knee, and they were both down. They got up and traded forearm strikes.
Ishimori tied him in a Bone Lock and kept him grounded, but Yoh flipped him over into an Anaconda Vice at 14:00. Yoh hit another neckbreaker over his knee, then a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall at 15:30. Yoh nailed the Direct Drive double-arm DDT for the pin! A good mat-based match that didn’t offer a lot to describe.
Yoh (12) defeated Taiji Ishimori (8) at 15:49 to win the B Block.
* Kosei Fujita came to the ring and confronted Yoh. They spoke softly to each other, not on the mic. Fujita left. Yoh then spoke to the crowd. It was quite brief.
Final Thoughts: Well, a much better finish to the B Block. Desperado-Eagles was really good for best match. I was so entertained by Sho-Mao that I’ll give it second. It certainly appears that the segment outside was filmed live. Point being, Sho took one heckuva bump by being hit by a moving car, but seemed fine. The main event lacked mystery to me; I never doubted Yoh was winning the match and the Block, when the match order was announced earlier this week.
Yes, I’m still stewing about the wrong-headed booking of Tuesday’s A Block finale. When Hiromu was pinned, I was unclear who won the Block. The commentators were unclear about who won the Block. The crowd was also unclear. When your booking creates that much confusion, it means you have failed as a booker. The decision to have Kosei Fujita back into the playoffs via a tiebreaker, rather than go over strong, is just baffling. Two days later, I still can’t wrap my head around the decision not to put ANYONE over in that Block because everyone finished 5-4 or 4-5. This isn’t a criticism of Fujita winning the Block, as he’s a great choice; it’s a criticism of how we got there.
The tournament finals are on Sunday, and we’ll definitely have a first-time winner of the BoSJ. My guess is that it’s Yoh’s turn to win. I’m hopeful that when the other matches are announced, it will feature Nick Wayne facing some other guys he hasn’t battled before.
Be the first to comment