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Best of the Super Jr. night 9 (May 24) Preview
Both blocks compete in Himeji
After A and B Blocks had individual nights in Gunma and Osaka this week, the whole lineup of 20 are back together in Hyogo for night nine of the tournament Saturday night. It's the pre-penultimate matches for the league phase, and with only the top point scorers from each block advancing to the finals, the pinch is being felt in a race to the wire.
Watch live in English on NJPW World!
Main event: B Block- El Desperado (3-3) vs Ryusuke Taguchi (3-3)
Singles record: 3-2 Desperado
Ryusuke Taguchi might be over a decade removed from his last IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship reign, and close to that since he last made the BOSJ final in 2016, but big match Taguchi causes trouble for everyone on any given night, and nobody is more keenly aware of that fact than El Desperado. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion might have the 3-2 career edge on the Coach, but every win has required equal parts tenacity, viciousness and ingenuity.
Now at six points, Desperado is frustrated at being a part of B Block's massive tie, and at his recent loss to another Miyagi wrestler in YOH. Taguchi's loss to MAO meant that he was unable to pull off a perfect series against his fellow home prefecture athletes, but can he put away the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion?
9th Match: A Block- KUSHIDA (3-3) vs Master Wato (4-2)
A first time meeting post Young Lion era for Master Wato and KUSHIDA sees our headline A Block match of the evening. Tuesday night in Gunma, Master Wato managed to master Robbie X and the group maths to put himself alone at the top of the table. Yet he's still only one win ahead of the pack of eight behind him, and that includes KUSHIDA. Wato will need to show KUSHIDA every bit of the maturity he's gained since he was a young man against an experienced senpai dealing harsh lessons back in the day. Rather a win here could propel Wato a huge step closer to his second BOSJ trophy- or KUSHIDA to his third.
8th Match: B Block- YOH (3-3) vs Nick Wayne (4-2)
After a defeat at the hands of Taiji Ishimori and the Bone Lock in Osaka Thursday, Nick Wayne might be feeling the damage of his incredible early efforts in this tournament starting to catch up to him. Those early efforts included a win over El Desperado however, a victory that YOH was also able to pull off Thursday night. Defeating the IWGP Junior heavyweight Champion creates a special kind of momentum; can YOH make best use of it to put himself joint top of the table?
7th Match: A Block- Hiromu Takahashi (3-3) vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru (3-3)
Singles record: 3-1 Hiromu
With a well applied D and a submission win over Ninja Mack Tuesday, Hiromu Takahashi continued his drive back to the top of the table after a difficult three match losing streak. Tonight he tries to keep his momentum going against Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Tuesday in Gunma, Kanemaru called on the HOUSE OF TORTURE to set himself up for victory, but Hiromu has beaten H.O.T antics before. Will he be able to do so tonight and catch up to the winning pace?
6th match: B Block- Kevin Knight (3-3) vs Taiji Ishimori (3-3)
It's a first time meeting for Kevin Knight and Taiji Ishimori in B Block. In a singles environment at any rate; back during Super Jr. Tag League, Knight and KUSHIDA got the win over Ishimori and his partner Robbie X. With a win over SHO in Osaka, Knight has balanced out an opening three match losing streak with a three match win streak to match, but tonight he has to keep that going in an intimidating task against Ishimori. The Bone Soldier has similarly pulled himself back from the brink of elimination, beating block leader Nick Wayne in Osaka. Now it7s the battle of the only two men in the tournament thus far to have beaten the Seattle prodigy.
5th Match: A Block- Kosei Fujita (3-3) vs Dragon Dia (-)
Tensions escalate in A Block as young guns Kosei Fujita and Dragon Dia do battle. It wasn't a great time for either of these men Tuesday in Gunma. Fujita suffered his third loss of the tournament thanks to Yoshinobu Kanemaru and the HOUSE OF TORTURE, while Dragon Dia suffered and submitted in the clutches of Francesco Akira's Ground Tarantula. Who bounces back and gets to eight points tonight?
4th match: B Block- Robbie Eagles (3-3) vs MAO (3-3)
Osaka Thursday night saw Robbie Eagles feeling good with a needed win over a top prospect, submitting Titan with the Ron Miller Special to get to six points. MAO also got to six with a win against Ryusuke Taguchi in Osaka, but his experience in victory, tainted as it was with the experience of having his head deep in Taguchi's draws, was rather last positive perhaps. Still, it was a win that showed the versatility of MAO in this competition, a versatility that Eagles also prides himself on. Who gets to eight points here tonight?
3rd Match: A Block- Francesco Akira (3-3) vs Robbie X (3-3)
Singles record: 2-0 Akira
The second A Block match of the night has Francesco Akira meet a familiar foe in Robbie X. Two singles meetings in the UK back in 2021 saw Akira victorious, but now circumstances are very much different for both men. As both fight to break away from the six point pack, who will take a valuable two points tonight?
2nd Match: B Block- Titan (3-3) vs SHO (2-4)
Singles record: 2-0 SHO
SHO must win
The first B Block match of the evening has Titan facing SHO. This is the third time the two have met in BOSJ action, with both prior matches going the way of the Murder Machine. Will Titan have an answer and completely eliminate SHO from BOSJ contention, or will the Murder Machine keep slim, dark hopes alive?
1st match: A Bock- Ninja Mack (2-4) vs Clark Connors (3-3)
Mack must win
We start the night off with Ninja Mack and Clark Connors. At four points, Ninja Mack is all but eliminated from contention, needing to win out and get a lot of help just to join a tie at a theoretical ten point maximum. Connors meanwhile got a much needed win over KUSHIDA in Gunma to join a very crowded pack at six points, and needs to keep that momentum going tonight, despite a clearly painful back injury as the mileage on all the competitors begins to add up.
After A and B Blocks had individual nights in Gunma and Osaka this week, the whole lineup of 20 are back together in Hyogo for night nine of the tournament Saturday night. It's the pre-penultimate matches for the league phase, and with only the top point scorers from each block advancing to the finals, the pinch is being felt in a race to the wire.
Watch live in English on NJPW World!
Main event: B Block- El Desperado (3-3) vs Ryusuke Taguchi (3-3)
Singles record: 3-2 Desperado
Ryusuke Taguchi might be over a decade removed from his last IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship reign, and close to that since he last made the BOSJ final in 2016, but big match Taguchi causes trouble for everyone on any given night, and nobody is more keenly aware of that fact than El Desperado. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion might have the 3-2 career edge on the Coach, but every win has required equal parts tenacity, viciousness and ingenuity.
Now at six points, Desperado is frustrated at being a part of B Block's massive tie, and at his recent loss to another Miyagi wrestler in YOH. Taguchi's loss to MAO meant that he was unable to pull off a perfect series against his fellow home prefecture athletes, but can he put away the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion?
9th Match: A Block- KUSHIDA (3-3) vs Master Wato (4-2)
A first time meeting post Young Lion era for Master Wato and KUSHIDA sees our headline A Block match of the evening. Tuesday night in Gunma, Master Wato managed to master Robbie X and the group maths to put himself alone at the top of the table. Yet he's still only one win ahead of the pack of eight behind him, and that includes KUSHIDA. Wato will need to show KUSHIDA every bit of the maturity he's gained since he was a young man against an experienced senpai dealing harsh lessons back in the day. Rather a win here could propel Wato a huge step closer to his second BOSJ trophy- or KUSHIDA to his third.
8th Match: B Block- YOH (3-3) vs Nick Wayne (4-2)
After a defeat at the hands of Taiji Ishimori and the Bone Lock in Osaka Thursday, Nick Wayne might be feeling the damage of his incredible early efforts in this tournament starting to catch up to him. Those early efforts included a win over El Desperado however, a victory that YOH was also able to pull off Thursday night. Defeating the IWGP Junior heavyweight Champion creates a special kind of momentum; can YOH make best use of it to put himself joint top of the table?
7th Match: A Block- Hiromu Takahashi (3-3) vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru (3-3)
Singles record: 3-1 Hiromu
With a well applied D and a submission win over Ninja Mack Tuesday, Hiromu Takahashi continued his drive back to the top of the table after a difficult three match losing streak. Tonight he tries to keep his momentum going against Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Tuesday in Gunma, Kanemaru called on the HOUSE OF TORTURE to set himself up for victory, but Hiromu has beaten H.O.T antics before. Will he be able to do so tonight and catch up to the winning pace?
6th match: B Block- Kevin Knight (3-3) vs Taiji Ishimori (3-3)
It's a first time meeting for Kevin Knight and Taiji Ishimori in B Block. In a singles environment at any rate; back during Super Jr. Tag League, Knight and KUSHIDA got the win over Ishimori and his partner Robbie X. With a win over SHO in Osaka, Knight has balanced out an opening three match losing streak with a three match win streak to match, but tonight he has to keep that going in an intimidating task against Ishimori. The Bone Soldier has similarly pulled himself back from the brink of elimination, beating block leader Nick Wayne in Osaka. Now it7s the battle of the only two men in the tournament thus far to have beaten the Seattle prodigy.
5th Match: A Block- Kosei Fujita (3-3) vs Dragon Dia (-)
Tensions escalate in A Block as young guns Kosei Fujita and Dragon Dia do battle. It wasn't a great time for either of these men Tuesday in Gunma. Fujita suffered his third loss of the tournament thanks to Yoshinobu Kanemaru and the HOUSE OF TORTURE, while Dragon Dia suffered and submitted in the clutches of Francesco Akira's Ground Tarantula. Who bounces back and gets to eight points tonight?
4th match: B Block- Robbie Eagles (3-3) vs MAO (3-3)
Osaka Thursday night saw Robbie Eagles feeling good with a needed win over a top prospect, submitting Titan with the Ron Miller Special to get to six points. MAO also got to six with a win against Ryusuke Taguchi in Osaka, but his experience in victory, tainted as it was with the experience of having his head deep in Taguchi's draws, was rather last positive perhaps. Still, it was a win that showed the versatility of MAO in this competition, a versatility that Eagles also prides himself on. Who gets to eight points here tonight?
3rd Match: A Block- Francesco Akira (3-3) vs Robbie X (3-3)
Singles record: 2-0 Akira
The second A Block match of the night has Francesco Akira meet a familiar foe in Robbie X. Two singles meetings in the UK back in 2021 saw Akira victorious, but now circumstances are very much different for both men. As both fight to break away from the six point pack, who will take a valuable two points tonight?
2nd Match: B Block- Titan (3-3) vs SHO (2-4)
Singles record: 2-0 SHO
SHO must win
The first B Block match of the evening has Titan facing SHO. This is the third time the two have met in BOSJ action, with both prior matches going the way of the Murder Machine. Will Titan have an answer and completely eliminate SHO from BOSJ contention, or will the Murder Machine keep slim, dark hopes alive?
1st match: A Bock- Ninja Mack (2-4) vs Clark Connors (3-3)
Mack must win
We start the night off with Ninja Mack and Clark Connors. At four points, Ninja Mack is all but eliminated from contention, needing to win out and get a lot of help just to join a tie at a theoretical ten point maximum. Connors meanwhile got a much needed win over KUSHIDA in Gunma to join a very crowded pack at six points, and needs to keep that momentum going tonight, despite a clearly painful back injury as the mileage on all the competitors begins to add up.
