By@ToykoWrestlingFan

The 25th Best of the Super Juniors tournament began at Korakuen Hall on May 18th, and this year’s tournament has the potential to be one of the best.  There are multiple former champions including KUSHIDA, Will Ospreay, Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi, along with exciting newcomers such as Taiji Ishimori, Chris Sabin, Flip Gordon and SHO.  I think Ishimori has a good shot at winning the whole tournament, but I wouldn’t rule out Hiromu Takahashi, or Will Ospreay getting another tournament win.  Tonight was the opening A Block matches, tomorrow will be the opening B Block matches.

KUSHIDA and Shota Umino vs. Chris Sabin and Ren Narita – The tag team matches in BOSJ set up the singles matches for the next night, so tomorrow KUSHIDA and Chris Sabin go head-to-head.  This was a fun little match that allowed Chris Sabin to show off his stuff as a singles competitor, and Umino and Narita continued their improvement.  Umino really does look good now.  KUSHIDA got annoyed by Umino’s constant enthusiasm to be tagged in, and refused to tag him in against Narita at first.  When he finally did tag him in against Chris Sabin Umino fell victim to Sabin’s finishing move All Hail Sabin, which allowed Sabin and Narita to pick up the win.

Winners: Chris Sabin and Ren Narita, 9:48

SHO and YOSHI-HASHI vs. Dragon Lee and Oka Tomoyuki – On paper this was a bit of an unbalanced match, unless YOSHI-HASHI now counts as a Young Lion.  This was another fun match, and Dragon Lee and SHO teased some great spots for their match on night two.  Oka took a lot of the punishment, but he’s increasingly over with the crowd and tonight was no exception.  YOSHI-HASHI got some boos for cutting off a Dragon Lee dive over the top rope with a vicious clothesline.  He forced Oka to tap out to the Butterfly Lock to give CHAOS the win.

Winners: SHO and YOSHI-HASHI, 11:47

Ryusuke Taguchi and Toa Henare vs. El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki – Korakuen Hall was rocking to Kaze ni nare as Suzuki-gun made their entrance.  There were a lot of Suzuki-gun shenanigans in this match, although El Desperado showed some flashes of the good wrestler that he can be.  I really hope that we get more of Desperado the wrestler in this tournament rather than Desperado the heel.  Suzuki brutalised Taguchi and Henare, at one point laughing at Taguchi’s attempts to hit him back.  Suzuki picked up the win for his team after hitting Henare with a Gotch-style piledriver.

Winners: El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki, 8:09

Marty Scurll and Chase Owens vs. Hiromu Takahahsi and EVIL – I’m a big fan of Chase Owens, but given that he’s supposed to be a heavyweight he really doesn’t look that much bigger than Marty Scurll.  Hiromu entered with a book describing this year’s BOSJ entrants – Marty Scurll’s entry said “umbrella man.”  Scurll played up his heelish tendencies, and before the bell rang he stole a fan’s Daryll plushie and stomped on it.  I’m really looking forward to the Hiromu vs. Marty match on night two – Scurll is the perfect mixture of comedy and serious wrestling, and Hiromu is a beast in the ring.  This was a good back and forth match, and all four wrestlers looked good.  EVIL forced Chase to tap out to the Banshee Muzzle for a Los Ingobernables de Japon victory, and Hiromu and Marty exchanged words after the match.

Winners: Hiromu Takahashi and EVIL, 9:28

Tiger Mask vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru – Tiger Mask won BOSJ back to back in 2004 and 2005 (the only person to win back-to-back tournaments) and Kanemaru was one of Pro Wrestling NOAH’s top juniors in the early 2000s, so these are two veterans with a lot of experience in these types of matches.  Kanemaru played up his heelish side in this match as he tried to rip off Tiger Mask’s mask, used Young Lions to throw at his opponent, and hit him with a low blow.  Tiger Mask threw some stiff strikes and got to hit the Tiger Driver for a close two count, then stole a win with a roll up after Kanemaru hit a top-rope brainbuster.  This was a decent match, but it had a few too many shenanigans from Kanemaru.  I’d much rather see him wrestle a serious match than watch him do his Suzuki-gun schtick.  Tiger Mask should have some better matches later in the tournament against better wrestlers.

Winner: Tiger Mask, 10:27

ACH vs. Flip Gordon – Flip made his debut in this year’s tournament, while ACH entered for a second year in a row.  This match was great, ACH and Flip both gave it everything they had, and I think this could be a star making performance for Flip in Japan.  The crowd were slightly more pro-ACH, but there were duelling chants and it seemed like Flip has a decent fanbase in Japan already.  There was a lot of great high-flying in this match, including one spot in the audience when Flip channelled his inner Ibushi and hit a cross-body off the top of a stairwell.  Flip lived up to his name and pulled out some amazing looking flips, but ACH was no slouch and he showed off his athleticism as well as his power.  Early in the match he injured his arm on a ring-post and sold it throughout the match, at one point hitting a single-handed deadlift German suplex.  ACH picked up the win after a running knee into the corner, then hit Flip with a cradle DDT.  This match could be one of the best of the tournament.

Winner: ACH, 15:28

BUSHI vs. YOH – YOH participated in BOSJ in 2015 as a Young Lion and picked up 0 points, so this time round he will almost certainly do better.  BUSHI entered looking very cool wearing a silver suit and a black hat, maybe one day all of Los Ingobernables de Japon will wear suits to the ring.  YOH’s ring gear was quite strange – he had a red and white outfit with tassels only on one leg.  This match was okay, but it lacked the intensity of the previous match, and the crowd were a bit burnt out after cheering for ACH and Flip.  YOH also made some botches and his strikes didn’t always connect that well.  BUSHI was on the attack for most of the match, and got a near fall with a Canadian Destroyer, then YOH won after a roll-up that he calls a Five Star Clutch.  This match dragged quite a lot – if it had been five minutes shorter it would have been better.  It was nice to see YOH pick up a win and get his first ever BOSJ points though.

Winner: YOH, 15:18

Will Ospreay vs. Taiji Ishimori – This match has been hotly anticipated ever since Ishimori debuted as the returning Bone Soldier and attacked Ospreay at Wrestling Dontaku.  Ospreay has had an amazing run of matches this year, and this match did not disappoint.  Ishimori controlled more of the match than I was expecting, but they are obviously booking him to look very strong off the bat, and I was impressed by his skill and speed.  He’s absolutely jacked and carries himself like a big deal, so he’ll be a great addition to the junior division.  Ospreay started the match quickly looking to get some revenge for the attack at Dontaku, but Ishimori took control near the middle of the match and targeted Will’s neck before he locked in a crossface.  Ospreay got a near fall when he hit a reverse Bloody Sunday (stolen from former Bullet Club member Prince Devitt) and then he nearly hit his new finisher Storm Breaker, but Ishimori escaped.  Ospreay tried to finish the match with an Os Cutter, but Ishimori caught him in mid-air and hit him with his finisher Bloody Cross for a surprising three count.  This was a great match from both competitors and if they have more time in the future they will be able to deliver greatness.  After the match Ishimori cut a promo saying that he will win Best of the Super Juniors.

Winner: Taiji Ishimori, 13:47

Day 1 Standings

ACH – 2 points

Taiji Ishimori – 2 points

Tiger Mask – 2 points

YOH – 2 points

BUSHI – 0 points

Flip Gordon – 0 points

Will Ospreay – 0 points

Yoshinobu Kanemaru – 0 points

Final Thoughts

This was a good opening night, with two great matches, one good match, and one average.  The ACH vs. Flip match and the Ishimori vs. Ospreay match were excellent and need to be seen.  I expect that we’ll get a rematch between Ishimori and Ospreay that will be even better, but the ACH vs. Flip match will probably end up being one of the matches of the tournament.  The undercard matches were all short and fun, and they served their purpose of setting up the singles matches for night two.  I’m excited for B Block to start, as it’s arguably even more stacked with talent than A Block, and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Marty Scurll should be excellent.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR