NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 29 - May 15 - June 2, 2022

[Comrade Khan]

Main event Yuta Despy gonna B A N G

 

[Chris]

Best of the Super Jr. 29 night 1 (May 15) Preview​

A Block kick off in Nagoya

Best of the Super Jr. finally kicks off this Sunday in Nagoya, as A Block start their three week journey toward the Nippon Budokan.
Watch ALL of Best of the Super Jr. LIVE in English on NJPW World!

Main event: YOH (0-0) vs Taiji Ishimori (0-0)
Singles record: 1-1

YOH and Taiji Ishimori couldn’t have ended their evening on May 1 at Dontaku in more diverse positions. Ishimori came away from a hard fought victory over El Desperado with his third IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, having wrestled third from the top in the Fukuoka PayPay Dome. YOH was nursing a second match loss to Hiromu Takahashi, Hiromu having staunchly criticised YOH’s lack of motivation and results, and arguably being proven correct.

Ishimori was a key opponent to YOH back in 2021’s tournament, a win over the Bone Soldier helping solidify what would go on to be a seven match winning streak that put him in the tournament finals. Will the same be true in the 2022 kick off? Or might another defeat give a shaky start to a tournament that could determine the fate of YOH’s career?

7th Match: Ryusuke Taguchi vs Hiromu Takahashi
Singles record: 5-2 Hiromu BOSJ record 3-1 Hiromu

The five two record in this matchup bears with it the asterisk that Hiromu Taguchi is undefeated against Ryusuke Taguchi since returning from excursion, and that each of his three BOSJ victories over the Coach has played a key role in ultimately winning the tournament in 2018, 2020 and 2021. The unique style that Taguchi brings has brought the best out of the Time Bomb in each of their encounter, making this match definitely one to circle not just tonight, but through the whole tournament. Long ago, Taguchi was instrumental in bringing Hiromu through his tryouts and into the Dojo; will he be instrumental in a historic trophy win for the Time Bomb, or could he finally defuse the explosive star?

6th Match: Francesco Akira vs SHO

Francesco Akira makes his NJPW debut against SHO in Nagoya. The Nova Fireball has been the recipient of a lot of hype, and Will Ospreay’s own personal endorsement, making the Italian’s debut the center of a lot of attention here tonight. Against SHO, every aspect of Akira’s game will be tested, the Murder Machine not only dangerous between the ropes, but on the outside as well. Who gets the first two points?

5th Match: Alex Zayne (0-0) vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru (0-0)

After drawing eyes in the US, including on NJPW STRONG, Alex Zayne makes his first NJPW appearance in Japan opposite Yoshinobu Kanemaru. A styles clash defined, Zayne will bring a wildly innovative and athletic style against the precision and unparalleled fundamental abilities of the Heel Master. After starting his 2021 BOSJ campaign with an impressive four win streak, can Kanemaru get another fast start in BOSJ 29, or will it be ‘The Sauce’ getting his first two points?

4th Match: Clark Connors (0-0) vs Ace Austin (0-0)

IMPACT’s X Division Champion faces La Dojo representative Clark Connors in the first BOSJ 29 matchup. The first match of the tournament will see both wrestlers setting the pace for the matches to come, and is all the more important as both Austin and Connors are making their BOSJ debuts. As X Division Champion fresh off a hard fought defence at the Under Siege event this weekend against trey Miguel, ‘The Inevitable’ will have a sizable target on his back; will Connors be able to hit the mark?

3rd Match: Jado, El Lindaman & Titan vs Suzuki-Gun (TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI & El Desperado)

El Lindaman and El Desperado’s Korakuen hall clash later in the tournament is one of the key matches fans have circled before BOSJ gets underway, and fans will get a preview here in this bout. Yet Titan and DOUKI will be looking to make their own statements, facing Desperado and Lindaman respectively first on May 17. This is set to be a hectic trios bout in the third match of the evening.

2nd Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) vs BULLET CLUB (Dick Togo & El Phantasmo)

On May 17, El Phantasmo will start his Best of the Super Jr. campaign looking to avenge a loss in last year’s tournament against BUSHI. LIJ’s masked man will want to start his own BOSJ with a win, and has heavy hitting backup in the form of KOPW 2022 holder Shingo Takagi, who will be more than happy to take the fight to ELP, and especially HOUSE OF TORTURE’s Dick Togo.

1st Match: Tiger Mask, Hiroyoshi tenzan, Master Wato & Robbie Eagles vs Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa, Yuto Nakashima & Wheeler Yuta

The night will kick off with the former IWGP Junior Tag Team Champion team of Flying Tigers combine forces with Master Wato and Hiroyoshi Tenzan to face a Young Lion trio of Yuto Nakashima, Kosei Fujita and Ryohei Oiwa, along with Wheeler Yuta. ROH Pure Champion Yuta is undergoing his own trials and tribulations in the harsh learning environment of AEW’s Blackpool Combat Club, and will make a fine leader to the Noge trio tonight, but Robbie Eagles will look to set the pace ahead of their May 17 meeting with twists and turns in CHAOS allegiances also involved.

 

[Chris]

 

[Comrade Khan]

 

[Comrade Khan]

that girl fell earlier so he's making fun of her el p a national treasure

 

[Chris]

I think I'm gonna grow my mustache like Alex Zayne

 

[Chris]

They did a good job introducing all the non-NJPW roster members that appeared D1, most looked strong af

 

[Kairi HoHo]

They did a good job introducing all the non-NJPW roster members that appeared D1, most looked strong af

Hell yeah they did and let's not forget some butt stuff from Taguchi. El Lindaman though reminds me so much of Tyler Bate and are about the same size too. Strength like Zeus, and Speed like the Flash dude is on another level.

 

[Chris]

Oh I forgot to post the preview for N2 that happened this morning lol but here's the updated standings:

A Block --

• Taiji Ishimori -- 2 points (1-0)
• Hiromu Takahashi -- 2 points (1-0)
• Francesco Akira -- 2 points (1-0)
• Alex Zayne -- 2 points (1-0)
• Ace Austin -- 2 points (1-0)
• Clark Connors -- 0 points (0-1)
• Yoshinobu Kanemaru -- 0 points (0-1)
• SHO -- 0 points (0-1)
• Ryusuke Taguchi -- 0 points (0-1)
• YOH -- 0 points (0-1)

B Block --

• El Desperado -- 2 points (1-0)
• TJP -- 2 points (1-0)
• Robbie Eagles -- 2 points (1-0)
• El Phantasmo -- 2 points (1-0)
• DOUKI -- 2 points (1-0)
• El Lindaman -- 0 points (0-1)
• BUSHI -- 0 points (0-1)
• Wheeler Yuta -- 0 points (0-1)
• Master Wato -- 0 points (0-1)
• Titan -- 0 points (0-1)

Gonna try and watch at work today but we git some dumb HR shit going on so we'll see

 

[Comrade Khan]

heard the titan match was dope and that he rules

 

[Alexa]

heard the titan match was dope and that he rules

Did a Springboard Tornado DDT that looked gnarly

 

[Chris]

Best of the Super Jr. Night 3 (May 18) Preview​

Second night of A Block in Sendai Sun Plaza

Night three for Best of the Super Jr. sees the second night of A Block action, with three of Miyagi’s home prefecture heroes hit the Sendai Sun Plaza Hall. The venue for the 2016 finals and 2019 opening nights, what will Sun Plaza see in 2022?
Watch ALL of Best of the Super Jr. 29 LIVE in English on NJPW World!

Main event: Hiromu Takahashi (1-0) vs Francesco Akira (1-0)

A high profile main event will see Francesco Akira do battle with Hiromu Takahashi. Both Hiromu and Akira emerged from difficult first round contests owing to the unique characteristics of their competition; thanks to the presence of TJP in his corner, the Nova Fireball was able to cut SHO off at the pass when it came to the Murder Machine’s normal shortcuts, while Hiromu refused to let himself be swayed by Ryusuke Taguchi’s rearward arsenal.

This main event will likely be contested in a much more straightforward manner than the ones before it then. Two high speed performers with dynamic offense, Akira and Takahashi may be fairly evenly matches on paper, but Hiromu dwarfs Francesco in status within NJPW, fan recognition and main event experience. In only his second NJPW singles match, Akira is in the main event on a big stage; can he rise to the task to go 2-0?

7th Match: Ryusuke Taguchi (0-1) vs Taiji Ishimori (1-0)
Singles record: 3-2 Ishimori

After winning his first tournament bout in Nagoya this Sunday, Taiji Ishimori was left wondering why the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in a Sendai hometown derby would be in the semi main event and not top billing on the card. Ishimori would surmise that it was all The Coach’s fault; that Taguchi’s overwhelming tendency to expose himself in key matches in order to pick up the win was not something the company felt should be atop the card.
Indeed Taguchi would vow to play things completely straight with ‘no butt stuff’ in this tournament… Until the bell rang in his opening bout. A flying hip attack was well wide of the mark on Hiromu Takahashi and as Taguchi went down to the Time Bomb, he was left ruing his luck, and strategic choices. Might Taguchi go a traditional route with Ishimori, as the two did in a thrilling IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship bout in 2019? Might things take a less PG rated approach? And as Ishimori deals with the knowledge that Taguchi won both of their singles encounters last year, might the champion be rattled and at most risk of defeat?

6th Match: Francesco Akira (1-0) vs SHO (0-1)

Despite a brutal targeted assault on his knees in Nagoya by Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Alex Zayne’s combination of strength and agility saw him to victory on night one, a Cinnamon Twist giving The Sauce his first two points. SHO, meanwhile would do all he can to stop another debutant in Francesco Akira, but had his best plans foiled by both the Nova Fireball and his second TJP.

Without the moral support and physical backup afforded to him by any factional alliances, Zayne will face a difficult time against SHO tonight. Will he be able to call upon his experience against a then semi-reformed black hat in Ariya Daivari on NJPW STRONG? Time will tell.

5th Match: Ace Austin (1-0) vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru (0-1)

Ace Austin was in the high pressure situation on Sunday of being first to hit the ring in tournament action, and more than dealt with the pressure, surviving the hard hitting offense of Clark Connors and making expert use of his environment and ring awareness to pick up the first two points of BOSJ 29.
In the opposite corner tonight is a man who has the best environmental and ring awareness of the entire Super Jr. lineup in the form of Kanemaru. The Heel Master faces an opponent with heel tendencies of his own tonight, but will canny experience defeat uncanny natural abilities tonight?

4th Match: YOH (0-1) vs Clark Connors (0-1)

The first tournament match of the night will see both YOH and Clark Connors seek to bounce back from hard fought first bout losses to two champions. YOH brought the fight to IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori, but ultimately would be outclassed by the champion in Nagoya, while Connors came very close to X Division Champion Ace Austin to start his campaign before being struck with The Fold.

It hasn’t been since 2017 that the BOSJ trophy was won by somebody who lost their opening match, and YOH and Connors are both working to stop a five year trend. Who will get their first two points?

3rd Match: Titan, Robbie Eagles & Wheeler Yuta vs Suzuki-Gun (DOUKI, El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku)

A preview of Wheeler Yuta facing DOUKI on May 19 will see two uneasy alliances in this six man tag match. Just 24 hours earlier, Yuta and Eagles battled in their first B Block match, and the conflict of interests arising with Yuta transitioning from Best Friends and CHAOS alliance to Blackpool Combat Club will add another layer of awkwardness when it comes to teamwork. Meanwhile, DOUKI and Desperado have been at odds ever since the former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion pressed DOUKI’s buttons at the BOSJ press conference.

2nd Match: Master Wato, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Jado vs BULLET CLUB (El Phantasmo, Dick Togo & Gedo)

Before Master Wato locks horns with El Phantasmo in their second B Block match, he teams with Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Dick Togo to take on a BULLET CLUB trio. ELP has solid tag team backup here as the Far East Connection will offer solid teamwork, but perhaps Gedo’s own former partner Jado will give Wato the inside edge, as the blue haired prodigy is joined by two of his mentors tonight.

1st Match: Tiger Mask & Yuto Nakashima vs Ryohei Oiwa & Kosei Fujita

Back to back BOSJ winners book end the card tonight, with 2020 and 2021 winner Hiromu Takahashi main eventing and 2005-2006 winner Tiger Mask in the opening match of the night. Will he lead Yuto Nakashima to success opposite Oiwa and Fujita?​

 

[Alexa]

Spoiler: Cool Move from Francesco Akira

 

[Chris]

I'm only at the undercard tag matches still but man I can't say enough how well they're presenting the outside talent, counting Clark Connors in there too since he's never wrestled in Japan before. Maybe it's just bc they haven't had proper travel in so long idk lol feels like such a big deal just seeing Alex Zayne make an entrance and Kevin Kelly making Taco Bell jokes

 

[Chris]

Douki beating El Lindaman is wild but it's being treated as an upset at least