By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Best of Super Juniors – Night 8”
May 22, 2025, in Osaka, Japan at Edion Arena Osaka
Streamed live on New Japan World
The venue is a large gym with all seating on the floor. The lighting was good, and the attendance was maybe 800. Walker Stewart provided 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. (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 as the B Block is in action, and we have six wrestlers sitting at four points. Again, anyone who falls to 2-4 will be eliminated.
* 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. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Kosei Fujita and Hartley Jackson vs. Dragon Dia and Shoma Kato. Dia and Fujita opened and immediately traded chops. Shoma and the massive Hartley entered at 2:00. Kato’s chops had zero effect. Kato tried a bodyslam but couldn’t lift him; Hartley easily bodyslammed Kato. TMDK worked over Kato, with Hartley hitting a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall at 4:30, and a massive senton. On a third try, Kato hit a bodyslam on Hartley but only got a one-count. Hartley hit a Death Valley Driver to pin Kato. Dia was barely in that one.
Kosei Fujita and Hartley Jackson defeated Dragon Dia and Shoma Kato at 6:24.
2. “United Empire” Francesco Akira and Jakob Austin Young vs. “Bullet Club” Robbie X and Gedo. The BC immediately jumped Akira to open the match. Robbie slammed Young stomach-first to the mat. On the floor, Robbie bit Akira’s fingers, and they traded forearm strikes at ringside. In the ring, the BC kept Young grounded. Akira got a hot tag at 4:30. He hit a plancha to the floor on Robbie X. He hit a top-rope crossbody block on Robbie. Robbie and Gedo accidentally collided, and Robbie was shoved to the floor. It allowed Akira to apply his Ground Tarantula on Gedo, who quickly tapped out. Basic but fine.
Francesco Akira and Jakob Austin Young defeated Robbie X and Gedo at 6:56.
3. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Yota Tsuji and Hiromu Takahashi vs. “House of Torture” Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Yujiro Takahashi. Hiromu and Kanemaru opened. Hiromu hit a huracanrana. Yujiro grabbed Hiromu’s ankle, yanked him to the floor, and beat him up at ringside. In the ring, the HoT worked over Hiromu in their corner. Yota finally got a hot tag at 4:00 and knocked Yujiro down with a shoulder tackle. Kanemaru dumped some whiskey on Hiromu’s face. He tried to hit the Pimp Juice DDT on Yota, but Yota blocked it, hit the Gene Blaster (spear), and pinned Yujiro. Acceptable.
Yota Tsuji and Hiromu Takahashi defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Yujiro Takahashi at 6:08.
4. Kushida, Katsuya Murashima, and Yuya Uemura vs. Master Wato, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Toru Yano. It really wasn’t that long ago that Yuya was shaved bald, so it’s pretty astonishing how he has a full head of hair again; this is his first appearance on this tour. Wato and Kushida opened, and Wato hit a huracanrana. Kushida hit a basement dropkick. Murashima entered at 2:00 and hit a bodyslam on Wato. Yuya and Hiroshi entered at 3:30 and traded chops, and Yuya hit some deep armdrags.
Yuya hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Hiroshi hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Uemura. Yano entered for the first time at 5:30. Everyone began brawling. Kushida hit a baseball slide dropkick to the floor, and suddenly it was just Yano and Murashima in the ring. Yano hit a chop block, then a powerbomb for the pin. (When was the last time Yano hit a powerbomb?) Decent match. Uemura and Tanahashi jawed after the match; they have a singles match coming up on June 15.
Master Wato, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Toru Yano defeated Kushida, Katsuya Murashima, and Yuya Uemura at 7:15.
* Francesco Akira joined Walker Stewart on commentary. I’ve never heard him speak English before.
5. Ryusuke Taguchi (6) vs. Mao (4) in a B Block tournament match. Again, Mao will be eliminated if he loses here. Taguchi hit an armdrag and grounded Mao. They did some juvenile and gay humor; the crowd was amused. Soon, Taguchi’s green pants were past his knees, and he was showing off his tiny red briefs… and Mao rubbed his head in Taguchi’s groin at 4:00. Taguchi hit some buttbumps to the head; again, his pants were around his ankles.
Taguchi finally pulled up his pants, got serious, and applied an ankle lock. Unfortunately, we had more comedy segments from Taguchi, and he got a rollup for a nearfall. Taguchi applied a Triangle Choke. Mao’s head was suddenly inside Taguchi’s pants. Mao stood up, with his head still inside Taguchi’s pants, and hit a Styles Clash for the pin. This humor is not for me at all. Akira noted this was a memorable first match for him on commentary.
Mao (6) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi (6) at 8:32.
6. Sho (4) vs. Kevin Knight (4) in a B Block tournament match. Whoever loses will be eliminated. Sho came out first and he has his wrench. He hid in the crowd. However, Knight snuck up behind him and stole the wrench. They ran into the ring and we had a bell to begin, but they immediately rolled to the floor, as Sho chased Knight, wanting his wrench back. Knight leapt over a huge trash bin (not a trash can, but a full bin!) and hit a clothesline on Sho! Sho got back into the ring at the 18-count, having retrieved his wrench.
In the ring, he hit Knight with the ring bell mallet, and he grounded Knight. They got up and traded forearm strikes. They went back to the floor, where Knight dumped Sho into the garbage bin at 4:00. In the ring, Knight hit a rolling splash to the mat for a nearfall. Kanemaru jumped in the ring and hit Knight in the head with the whiskey bottle. Knight dropkicked Kanemaru to the floor. He hit his spike DDT on Sho, then his top-rope UFO twisting frogsplash for the pin. Sho is the first B Block competitor to be eliminated.
Kevin Knight (6) defeated Sho (4) at 7:39.
7. Robbie Eagles (4) vs. Titan (6) in a B Block tournament match. Standing switches to open, some quick reversals, and a standoff. Titan dove through the ropes onto Eagles at 2:00. In the ring, Titan tied up Eagles on the mat. Walker said here that “LIJ is no more.” (But if that’s the case, why are Hiromu and Yota still teaming?) Eagles hit a running clothesline to the back of the head at 4:00. Titan hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip, and they were both down. They traded kicks on the ring apron, and Titan hit a superkick. Eagles hit a dive through the ropes and barreled onto Titan at 6:30, landing on his feet and rolling into people in the front row.
In the ring, Eagles hit a springboard dropkick and immediately locked in the Ron Miller Special leg lock, but Titan quickly reached the ropes. Titan hit a Stormbreaker spinning slam at 8:00, then a springboard frogsplash for a nearfall. Titan applied a Muta Lock and cranked back on Eagles’ head. Robbie escaped and slammed Titan’s knee into the mat. They got up, and Titan unloaded a series of kicks. Eagles hit his own kicks. Titan hit a tornado DDT. Eagles again applied the Ron Miller Special (Trailer Hitch), but Titan escaped at 10:30.
They traded rollups. Titan hit a superkick. He hit his running clothesline in the corner, but he clutched his injured knee as he landed on the floor. Titan missed a top-rope doublestomp, and Eagles again re-applied the Ron Miller Special, but Titan reached the ropes at 12:30. Eagles hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip and reapplied the hold, and this time, Titan tapped out. Like in the A Block, nearly every guy who was sitting at four points entering the day has won to avoid elimination. Good match.
Robbie Eagles (6) defeated Titan (6) at 12:39.
8. Nick Wayne (8) vs. Taiji Ishimori (4) in a B Block tournament match. A feeling-out process to open. Wayne is alone in first place. Wayne hit a flying back elbow at 1:30. They went to the floor, and Ishimori whipped him shoulder-first into the ring post, and Wayne immediately sold pain in his shoulder and neck. Ishimori stood on the floor and hit Wayne’s neck with the ring bell mallet. They got back into the ring, and Ishimori was in charge as the 5:00 call was spot-on. Akira and Stewart talked about the fact that Ishimori has been wrestling longer than Wayne has been alive. Wayne hit a top-rope dropkick on Ishimori’s left elbow.
Wayne hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor. He hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread for a nearfall at 6:30. Ishimori hit a handspring-back-spin kick, and they were both down. Wayne hit a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall at 8:00. Ishimori hit a jumping knee to the chin, and he spun Wayne to the mat and applied the Bone Lock (modified crossface.) Wayne hit a Lethal Injection and a fisherman’s buster for a nearfall at 9:30. Nick went for Wayne’s World, but Ishimori caught him and hit a Lungblower to the back! Ishimori immediately hit Bloody Cross (double knees to the chest) for the clean pin! Ishimori stays alive with the win. That was really good.
Taiji Ishimori (6) defeated Nick Wayne (8) in a B Block tournament match at 10:35.
9. El Desperado (6) vs. Yoh (4) in a B Block tournament match. A lengthy feeling-out process early on, and Yoh tied up Despe on the mat. Walker noted that Yoh holds a 2-1 record on Desperado since he returned from an excursion a few years ago. Yoh hit a DDT, and they were both down at 5:00. He hit a dropkick that sent Desperado to the floor. Yoh hit a plancha to the floor. In the ring, Desperado applied a Stretch Muffler and kept Yoh grounded. Yoh tied him in an Octopus Stretch at 9:00, and he turned it into a standing Anaconda Vice.
Yoh nailed a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall. (The five-minute call was early; the 10-minute call was a bit late.) Desperado hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip, and he reapplied the Stretch Muffler. Yoh escaped and hit a Canadian Destroyer, and they were both down at 12:30. Yoh hit some superkicks and was fired up. Despe hit some forearm strikes. Desperado hit the Pinche Loco (Angel’s Wings) for a believable nearfall at 14:30. He hit a second one but was slow to make a cover. Yoh re-applied the standing Anaconda Vice, and he flipped Despe to the mat with the hold still locked in, and Desperado tapped out! A very good match.
Yoh (6) defeated El Desperado (6) at 16:12.
* Yoh spoke quietly on the mic to close the show. Stewart read a quick translation. Yoh noted he beat the champion. He said he has always hated Desperado, but loves him now.
Final Thoughts: A show completely devoid of mystery. Six wrestlers entered the show at four points, and five of them won. (And the only one who didn’t is because he faced someone else at four points!) Point being, in the interest of keeping everyone alive in the tournament, it was far too obvious who was winning each match on this show, so it was really devoid of any mystery. So just like the A Block, we have one person at 4-2 (Nick Wayne), one person eliminated at 2-4 (Sho), and everyone else still in the running at 3-3.
While it was clear (to me anyway!) who was winning each of the five tournament matches, some were quite good. Yoh-Desperado was really good, and Wayne-Ishimori was good too. I was surprised Ishimori won clean, although I did expect him to win, so everyone else could catch up to the front-runner. I did not like Mao-Taguchi one bit… but the live crowd was ‘sports-entertained.’ I’ll reiterate that after putting Taguchi in the main event of the kickoff to this tournament, he has been in the opening match of the tournament events since then.
The tournament takes a day off on Friday and resumes on Saturday with all 20 BoSJ participants in tournament action, headlined by Taguchi vs. Desperado and Kushida vs. Master Wato.
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