After four final nights the dust settled on the twenty sixth Best of the Super Juniors’ block matches, with Shingo Takagi and Will Ospreay emerging as the finalists. Shingo rode an undefeated streak to eighteen points, while Ospreay had to overcome losses to El Phantasmo and Robbie Eagles to finish top of B Block. The final is at Ryogoku Sumo Hall on June 5th, and while I expect Takagi to pick up his first ever BOSJ championship, Ospreay is probably the only person with a realistic chance of ending The Dragon’s undefeated streak. I don’t think that Gedo would build Takagi up this far just to have him lose to a heavyweight bound Ospreay, so I fully expect that we will see Shingo victorious on June 5th.
Results
Night Eleven – Nagoya International Conference Hall
| SHO def. Titan |
| Taiji Ishimori def. Tiger Mask |
| Shingo Takagi def. Jonathan Gresham |
| Dragon Lee def. Yoshinobu Kanemaru |
Night Twelve – Osaka Municipal Gymnasium
| YOH def. Ren Narita |
| Bandido def. Robbie Eagles |
| BUSHI def. Rocky Romero |
| Will Ospreay def. Douki |
| Ryusuke Taguchi def. El Phantasmo |
Night Thirteen – Item Ehime
| Titan def. Tiger Mask |
| SHO def. Jonathan Gresham |
| Dragon Lee def. Marty Scurll |
| Shingo Takagi def. Taiji Ishimori |
Night Fourteen – ZIP Arena Okayama
| BUSHI def. Ren Narita |
| Bandido def. Rocky Romero |
| YOH def. Robbie Eagles |
| El Phantasmo def. Douki |
| Will Ospreay def. Ryusuke Taguchi |
A Block
Shingo Takagi 18 pts. – So Shingo went undefeated, as expected, and advanced to the final. His match against Gresham felt like a bit of a given, but the final night match against Ishimori had a bit more drama to it. Given how dominant he’s been in this tournament it would be a shock if he loses the final, although Ospreay could conceivably beat him. I expect that Takagi will be walking out of Dominion the Jr. Heavyweight Champion.
Taiji Ishimori 14 pts. – Ishimori just came up short on the final night against Takagi, although he pushed The Dragon close. It was rumoured that Ishimori was working hurt, and this was confirmed by New Japan after the show, but he still managed to go for twenty minutes in his match against Takagi. Ishimori’s tournament was mostly good, with a few exceptions (looking at the Scurll match) and Ishimori is sure to stay in contention for the title for the rest of the year.
Dragon Lee 14 pts. – With his finish of fourteen points, Dragon Lee finished with the highest total of a Mexican wrestler in BOSJ history (thanks to @luchablog on Twitter for this cool factoid). Lee only lost to Ishimori and Takagi, so he had a strong tournament as current Jr. Heavyweight champion. I expect that he’ll be facing Takagi at Dominion, and he’ll probably be losing his title to The Dragon. At least Lee has had a decent run with the title, and at twenty four he has many more years left to win the title back.
SHO 10 pts. – SHO started off with two straight losses to Shingo and Dragon Lee, but he came back from the slow start to finish fourth in A Block. His losses were to the three men ahead of him, and then a shock loss to Kanemaru. He finished the tournament with a crowd pleasing win over Scurll in his home prefecture of Ehime. SHO is a crowd favourite and he clearly has future star written all over him, although whether that is in the junior division or the heavyweight division remains to be seen. In a couple of years’ time he will be winning BOSJ.
Marty Scurll 10 pts. – I was surprised that Scurll finished so high, although losses to SHO, Lee, Ishimori, and Takagi kept him out of contention. Scurll was not my favourite in this year’s tournament, although he did improve as the tournament wore on, and his team with Brody King was enjoyable. If Marty doesn’t end up in AEW we will probably see him back in future BOSJ, but I doubt he’ll be winning.
Jonathan Gresham 8 pts. – Gresham was one of the stand-out in-ring performers in this year’s tournament, although he finished far out of contention for A Block. He lost to everyone above him and beat everyone below him, so no real surprises that he finished sixth in the block. I hope we see him back in the Junior Tag League and next year’s BOSJ because he’s a great addition to New Japan, and the junior division.
Titan 6 pts. – Titan had a solid tournament – he didn’t have too many standout moments, but he didn’t have many terrible ones either. He probably isn’t given the room to show off what he can really do in New Japan, but he’s a good hand to bring in for tournaments like BOSJ when you need people to take pins for the top guys in the tournament. I’d be glad to see him back for the Junior Tag League or future BOSJ tournaments.
Yoshinobu Kanemaru 6 pts. – Kanemaru got shock wins over Ishimori and SHO, and then a default win over TAKA to keep his score respectable. At this point in his career he’s not going to win a BOSJ, but he’s still an excellent heel who brings a change of pace to the tournament. I’m sure that when El Desperado returns from injury that the Suzuki-gun team will be in the thick of the Jr. Tag title hunt.
Tiger Mask 4 pts. – Tiger Mask started off strong but faded down the stretch, ending with just two wins. Still, I really like grumpy veteran Tiger Mask, who can put over the younger guys while still looking good. As long as he wants to keep wrestling he’s a good addition to tournaments like this.
TAKA Michinoku 0 pts. – An injury to TAKA meant that he forfeited the last three matches and ended with zero points. TAKA is another guy at the point in his career where he won’t be winning any tournaments, but I thought he might at least pick up one win if not for the injury. Still, he’s another good hand to have for tournaments like this, and I’d expect to see him back for the Junior Tag League later in the year as long as he’s healthy.
B Block
Will Ospreay 14 pts. – Ospreay emerged from B Block as the winner, overcoming Taguchi on the final night to secure his place in the final. I’ve been lower on Ospreay this year than a lot of people, but his more heavyweight style should mesh pretty well with Shingo in the final. I don’t think he’ll beat The Dragon, but of all the juniors he probably has the best chance.
Ryusuke Taguchi 12 pts. – Taguchi lost out on the final night with defeat to Ospreay, but he had a very good tournament overall. Taguchi always reminds viewers that he’s not just a comedy wrestler when it comes to the BOSJ. Taguchi will probably fade back into the midcard pack as the coach of Taguchi Japan until the Junior Tag League comes around later in the year.
BUSHI 12 pts. – BUSHI started off slowly but ended with a very strong run in the tournament, beating YOH, Rocky, Bandido, Narita, Eagles, and Douki to finish near the top of the block. I’m not the biggest fan of BUSHI in singles matches, but he’s a fan favourite in Japan and he knows how to work the crowd well. I expect that Shingo will be moving up to heavyweight within the year, but when Hiromu Takahashi comes back there could be a Jr. Tag title run for him and BUSHI on the cards.
YOH 12 pts. – YOH shot up the table in the second half of the tournament, picking up big wins over Phantasmo and Eagles, but losing out to Taguchi, Ospreay, and BUSHI. Everyone talks about SHO as the future breakout star of Roppongi 3K, but honestly I prefer YOH at this point as a singles wrestler. I don’t want R3K to break up any time soon, but I think YOH will be just fine when the time comes.
El Phantasmo 12 pts. – ELP really established himself as a force in the junior division during this tournament, with only losses to Rocky, YOH, and Taguchi taking him out of contention. I’m not the biggest Phantasmo fan, but he was certainly effective at getting heat with the crowds, especially in Korakuen Hall. Given his booking in this tournament it seems clear that there are plans for him as a challenger in the division going forward.
Bandido 10 pts. – Bandido had a quietly good tournament, ending up on ten points with big wins over Eagles and Taguchi. He’s a very good addition to the junior division, and he’s one of the (few) bright spots in the relationship between NJPW and ROH. Hopefully he returns for the Junior Tag League and future BOSJ tournaments.
Robbie Eagles 10 pts. – Eagles had a very good tournament, despite losing to YOH, Bandido, and ELP to keep him off top spot. There are clearly tensions developing between Eagles and his Bullet Club teammate ELP, so it will be interesting to see how those develop in the future. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Eagles break away from Bullet Club and become a face later this year, maybe to take Ospreay’s place as a junior face.
Rocky Romero 6 pts. – Rocky had a very solid tournament as a veteran who was mostly there to put over the younger talent, although he picked up a notable win over ELP in the main event at Korakuen Hall. On this evidence Rocky is a solid hand to bring in for these tournaments, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back next year.
Douki 2 pts. – There had to be some people in B Block who were there to put people over and Douki – a last minute replacement for El Desperado – was one of them. His only win came over the Young Lion Narita, but he had a lot of good matches as a brawling, lucha-style heel. I’d like to see him come back again for another tournament run in New Japan.
Ren Narita 0 pts. – Narita was my personal MVP of B Block, as the Young Lion seized his chance to be in the tournament after Flip Gordon was unable to sort out his visa. Like most Young Lion tournament runs, Narita lost all the matches, but based on this tournament I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that he’s the best Young Lion in New Japan right now. Get him on excursion so that he can come back and start tearing it up on the main roster.
