NJPW “Best of the Super Juniors” results (6/3): Vetter’s review of Taiji Ishimori vs. TJP, Hiromu Takahashi vs. Douki vs. El Desperado in semifinal tournament matches

By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)

New Japan Pro Wrestling “Best of the Super Juniors – Night 13”
June 3, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World

The show was sold out in advance. We started with 20 wrestlers in the tournament separated into two 10-man Blocks. We’re down to our final four! El Desperado, the A Block winner, takes on Douki, the B Block runner-up, while Taiji Ishimori, the B Block winner, takes on TJP, the A Block runner-up. Worth reiterating here that none of these four have ever won BoSJ before. Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton provided commentary.

1. Ninja Mack, Blake Christian, and Hayata defeated Kushida, Kevin Knight, and Shoma Kato at 6:08. Mack and Kushida traded offense with Mack making a superhero landing. Knight entered at 3:00 and hit a springboard double clothesline on Blake and Hayata. Blake hit a Lethal Injection on Knight. Kato tagged in and bodyslammed Hayata for a nearfall. Knight hit a dropkick on Blake. Mack hit a Sasuke Special to the floor at 5:00. Blake hit a Fosbury Flop to the floor. In the ring, Hayata applied a hammerlock, and Shoma tapped out. That was a sprint and fun action all around.

2. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Kosei Fujita, and Robbie Eagles defeated “Bullet Club” Gedo, Clark Connors, and Drilla Moloney at 1:07. Connors leveled Kosei at the bell; the other four immediately brawled on the floor. Connors hit a powerslam on Kosei. Kosei got an O’Connor Roll out of nowhere to pin Connors! What? That match is already over? Connors was enraged and he stomped on Kosei. The TMDK guys tied all of the Bullet Club in knots, with Zack twisting Gedo.

3. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb defeated “Just 5 Guys” Taka Michinoku and Yuya Uemura at 8:55. Yuya and O-Khan opened; they are still feuding over the KOPW title. O-Khan hit his Mongolian Chops at 2:30. They traded mat reversals and kept it in first gear. Cobb finally got a hot tag at 6:30 and hit some shoulder tackles. He hit a standing moonsault on Yuya for a nearfall. Yuya hit a Divorce Court armbreaker and a huracanrana and they were both down. Taka tagged in; a shoulder tackle didn’t budge Cobb. He couldn’t bodyslam Cobb, either. Cobb hit the Tour of the Islands swinging powerslam to pin Taka. Acceptable. O-Khan attacked Yuya after the bell.

4. “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Titan, and Bushi defeated Dragon Dia, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Boltin Oleg, and Toru Yano at 7:43. Oleg, Yano and Hiroshi wore their six-man tag title belts. Titan and Dia opened. Dia hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor. LIJ began working over Hiroshi. Yota and Hiromu hit a team shoulder tackle on Hiroshi at 3:00. Oleg made the hot tag and he hit a double shoulder tackle and he flipped Hiromu around in his arms, then hit a gutwrench suplex for a nearfall.

Boltin went for the Kamikaze (Finlay Roll) but Hiromu escaped, and Hiromu hit a superkick and a clothesline, and they were both down. Yano tagged in at 5:30 and battled Yota. Oleg hit a dropick. TItan hit a springboard dropkick on Oleg. Titan hit a flip dive to the floor. Three LIJ hit dropkicks on Yano. Yota then hit a top-rope Stomp to Yano’s head for the clean pin. Will LIJ go after the six-man titles? Good action.

5. “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito defeated “United Empire” Henare and Callum Newman at 8:44. Long-time enemies Shingo and Henare opened; they traded forearm strikes and shoulder tackles, then headbutts and clotheslines, then back to forearm strikes. Callum and Naito entered at 4:30, and Callum hit a Triangle Moonsault to the floor on Naito. In the ring, Callum hit a spin kick to the forehead for a nearfall. Naito tied up Newman’s head and shoulders on the mat. Naito hit a Frankensteiner on Newman at 7:30. Newman hit a running knee for a nearfall. Naito hit a tornado DDT, then the Destino on Newman for the pin. Solid.

* Shota Umino has mystery partners for his next match! We all know he was at AEW Dynamite on Wednesday. Did he bring anyone back to Japan with him? Jon Moxley appeared on a screen and accepted EVIL’s challenge for a lumberjack match. He said he will have his own “set of enforcers to keep law and order.” He vowed there will be no limits to how out of control this lumberjack match will get.

6. Shota Umino, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tiger Mask, Yuji Nagata, and Togi Makabe vs. “House of Torture” Sho, Dick Togo, Ren Narita, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Yujiro Takahashi (w/EVIL) at 9:14. HoT came out first, then Shota through the crowd with no one with him. Oh, it’s just the “NJPW enhancement crew,” no one from AEW, so I’m disappointed. You can’t tease like that without getting hopes up! All 10 brawled on the floor. In the ring, Sho tied up Tenzan on the mat. Nagata got a hot tag at 4:30 and hit some Yes Kicks on Narita, then an Exploder Suplex, and he cranked back on Ren’s arm, but Kanemaru made the save. Togo hit his knife-edge chop to Shota’s groin for a nearfall at 7:00. Shota hit an Exploder Suplex on Kanemaru for a nearfall. Tiger Mask hit a dive through the ropes. Shota hit a Death Rider double-arm DDT on Ren, then on Togo, for the pin on Togo.

7. Taiji Ishimori defeated TJP in a BoSJ semifinal match at 19:31. Ishimori finished 7-2 in round-robin action, while TJP was 5-4 and advanced to the playoffs via tiebreaker over three others who were also 5-4. A feeling-out process early on. No scary mask on TJP today; he wore it in his entire last match. TJP applied a bow-and-arrow at 4:30 but Ishimori quickly escaped. TJP applied the Pinoy Stretch and Ishimori scrambled to the ropes, then stalled on the floor. Back in the ring, TJP snapped TJP’s neck between his ankles at 6:30 and he focused on the neck. TJP snapped Ishimori’s left arm backward as they fought on the ring apron at 8:30, then he hit a missile dropkick to the floor. In the ring, TJP hit a Facewash kick, then his rolling suplexes.

TJP missed a Mamba Splash but he hit a second-rope leaping DDT. Ishimori hit a shoulder breaker over his knee and they were both down at 12:00. TJP hit a superkick. Ishimori hit a Lungblower to the chest for a nearfall. They fought on the ropes, and Ishimori chopped TJP to the floor. TJP got back in the ring and hit a Frankensteiner, then a running knee to the back of the head at 14:30 and he was fired up. Taiji applied the Bone Lock, but TJP escaped. They traded forearm strikes, then spin kicks. They traded rollups for nearfalls. TJP hit a tornado DDT and a Mamba Splash for a believable nearfall. TJP re-applied the Pinoy Stretch. Ishimori escaped and re-applied the Bone Lock. Ishimori nailed Bloody Sunday face plant for the clean pin. A very good match.

8. El Desperado defeated Douki in a BoSJ semifinal match at 22:21. Both men finished at 6-3 in round-robin action. Desperado lost in the semi-final round last year to Titan. Mat reversals and a feeling-out process early on, as Douki tied up Desperado’s arms. They went to the floor at 4:30, where Douki hit a huracanrana. In the ring, Douki tied up Desperado and put him in a pendulum, and he remained in charge. Desperado tied up Douki and slammed his knees onto the mat at 7:30. He began working over Douki’s knees, hitting a Dragonscrew Legwhip. They got up and traded chops. Desperado went for an Irish Whip, but Douki collapsed as he crossed the ring, and Desperado kept kicking at the knees.

Douki hit a springboard back elbow for a nearfall at 12:00. He went for the Douki Chokey/triangle choke but Desperado escaped, and Desperado applied a Stretch Muffler, with Douki scrambling to the ropes at 13:30. Douki applied a Douki Chokey in the ropes! That’s new! Douki went for Daybreak but Desperado blocked it. Douki dove through the ropes, caught Desperado’s head, and hit a DDT onto the thin mat at 15:00. Douki then nailed the Daybreak/slingshot DDT for a nearfall, and he re-applied the Douki Chokey.

Desperado hit a German Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall at 18:00 and they were both down. They traded forearm strikes. Douki hit an enzuigiri. Douki set up for the Dragon Suplex but Desperado broke free. Douki re-applied the Douki Chokey; Desperado flipped over and got a nearfall. Desperado hit an Angel’s Wings at 22:00, then a second one, for the pin. I’m a bit surprised; I wanted Desperado to win, but I thought Douki was winning the trophy this year. A very good match, and we’ll have an epic finale of Ishimori vs. Desperado. Ishimori stormed into the ring and glared at Desperado and they jawed at each other. Ishimori left the ring with no punches thrown.

* El Desperado got on the mic and vowed he was going to win the tournament. Just one sentence from him, then he rolled to the floor and left.

Final Thoughts: Two very good semi-final matches. We were robbed of a Desperado-Mike Bailey finale last year when Titan and Master Wato scored upsets in the semifinals. So, I’m very glad to see Desperado in the finals. I feel good about this finals matchup. The undercard was fine except the tease of Shota having four mystery partners. Don’t make me think that Moxley and Claudio could be showing up to assist Shota, and instead, I get Togi Makabe and Tiger Mask. We have a full week off before the finals on Sunday, June 9.