B Block breakdown complete
Best of the Super Jr. 30 is nearly upon us. An intense schedule this year sees 12 events spread over 16 days, with most nights seeing both blocks in action for massive ten match cards. This year, the top two points scorers from each block will advance to semifinals in Yoyogi before the grand finals on May 28 in Ota, so competition is sure to be at its fiercest until the bitter end. Here’s what to expect from the other half of B Block.
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A Block part 1! Part 2!
B Block part 1!
BUSHI
11th entry, 8th consecutive
For the ever dependable glue guy of LIJ, it’s appropriate that the take for BUSHI over most of his 11 entries in Best of the Super Jr. is that you know what you’re going to get. Consistently scoring around eight points, and depending on field size, just under or just above even in his W:L records, BUSHI is someone to safely rule out when it comes to filling out your picks each year, right? Wrong.
For one thing, BUSHI has the ability to put together incredible runs, as illustrated in his 2019 6-3 finish that almost put him through to the finals in an intensely competitive B Block. For another, consistent inconsistency is all the more reason to keep an eye on BUSHI in this tournament, as his roughly .500 average, compounded by a 6-6 singles record over the last 365 days, means that you just don’t know who BUSHI might beat. With every match a trap game, BUSHI has the ability to beat anyone on any given night. Does he have it in him to beat everyone on every night?
Key match: May 18 Iwate vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
As DOUKI and Tetsuya Naito collided, and Hiromu went from defending against Yoshinobu Kanemaru to challenging SANADA, let alone the familiar taunt issued by Yota Tsuji as he made his return at Dontaku earlier this month, there has been a consistent theme of Los Ingobernables De Japon versus Just 5 Guys in recent weeks. BUSHI and Kanemaru are perhaps the two most strategic of their respective groups, and their Iwate collision will be one to keep a very watchful eye on May 18.
Robbie Eagles
5th entry, 5th consecutive
Robbie Eagles flies the TMDK flag for the first time at a Best of the Super Jr., and the group at large have their first ever BOSJ representation in 2023. When JONAH entered last year’s G1 Climax, the result was a performance that turned heads all over the world; when Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls joined the World Tag League fray, they were only eliminated at the last league match hurdle. Standards are set high for Eagles then, but the former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion has more than enough big match experience to meet them.
Key match: May 12, Korakuen vs YOH
Eagles came to TMDK in March from the CHAOS team, after only half jokingly stating some frustrations about the inner workings of the group that had been kept secret from him. Wanting to set himself apart as the junior heavyweight to look to in his faction, Eagles picked his spot with like minded individuals in TMDK, but he still has some frustration with CHAOS to act out, and YOH will be seeking closure in both men’s campaign openers.
Francesco Akira
2nd entry, 2nd consecutive
Francesco Akira exploded into the Best of the Super Jr. 29 lineup last year excited to be part of the world’s premier junior heavyweight competition, and looking to make a major mark. In the end, the Nova Fireball had sparks of brilliance but a lack of consistency as he experimented to find himself in the cerulean blue. That process would eventually be guided through the rest of the year by TJP, whose mentoring presence brought he and Akira to IWGP Junior Tag gold, and retentions for the best part of a year. While only a year has passed for Akira, a lot of maturity has accumulated for the 23 year old, who is set to make significant gains in this year’s tournament.
Key match: May 16 Akita vs Dan Moloney
Faction derbies are always the source of a lot of intrigue in NJPW tournaments. Making this meeting between United Empire’s most recent additions more intriguing is just how Dan Moloney came to be a part of the group. Moloney had pursued a singles match with Will Ospreay for months before an injury to Ospreay put paid to the bout. In its place on a RevPro card in York Hall, it would be Akira who fell to the Drilla, impressing Ospreay into offering him a spot int he group. Now they might be allies, but Akira wants singles revenge, and Moloney wants his place in NJPW and United Empire to be cemented in Akita.
Dan Moloney
Debut entry
The latest addition to United Empire, Drilla Dan Moloney takes the BOSJ stage for the first time. Having made the decision to drop from heavyweight to the junior heavyweight ranks in the UK to maximise his offensive impact, Moloney was inspired in ring by a wrestler who made the opposite move in Will Ospreay. After a 2018 singles match saw Moloney receive fresh motivation, the Drilla was driven to get another shot against the Aerial Assassin after five years of separation. The match was made official in RevPro, but fate intervened when Ospreay sustained a shoulder injury, and Moloney would battle Francesco Akira instead. Moloney’s victory in that match earned him a United Empire armband, and a place in this year’s BOSJ lineup. Now he looks to prove his worth in his first matches on Japanese soil.
Key match: May 21 Korakuen vs Robbie Eagles
When Robbie Eagkles transitioned from CHAOS into TMDK earlier this spring, it was in the wake of an offer from TJP to join United Empire instead. Eagles would quip that the group found their new junior heavyweight member in Dan Moloney rather quickly after his refusal, a joke that raised the hackles of Moloney. The Drilla has stated his plans to make sure Eagles does not take him lightly, and we’ll see the result in Korakuen on May 21.
Clark Connors
2nd entry, 2nd consecutive
Clark Connors takes a decidedly different attitude with him into his second BOSJ this year. Having made his tournament debut as the Wild Rhino, Connors leaned into a fun loving partying nuance of the word ‘wild’ for his first trip to Japan in some years. Now representing BULLET CLUB, and more precisely David Finlay’s ‘savages only’ vision for the group, Connors will be taking a vastly different interpretation of ‘wild’ to the ring. Will it bring him to the final four?
Key match: May 24, Osaka vs Dan Moloney
Connors’ last B Block match in Osaka on May 24 sees him opposite a fellow power junior in Dan Moloney. Styles make fights, and will make this match a compelling one to watch. The two have previous as well; Many moons ago, Moloney cruised to a UK victory over a then Young Lion Connors representing the LA Dojo. Now Connors will be looking to prove that he has evolved to become a very different beast indeed.
