Best of the Super Juniors 26 kicked off in the north east of\nJapan, starting in Sendai and then making their way south through Aomori and\nYamagata. Two last minute replacements, Douki and Ren Narita, were called up\nafter Flip Gordon couldn\u2019t get his visa sorted in time and El Desperado broke\nhis jaw in a hardcore match against Jun Kasai. Narita has been killing it in\nthe Young Lion matches this year, so I was excited to see him given a chance in\na higher profile spot. Douki mostly wrestles in Mexico, so I hadn\u2019t seen him\nbefore this tournament, but he was brought in by Taichi as a replacement for\nDesperado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Results<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Night One – Sendai Sunplaza Hall<\/p>\n\n\n\n Night Two – Sendai Sunplaza Hall<\/p>\n\n\n\n Night Three – Aomori Martial Arts Hall<\/p>\n\n\n\n Night Four – Aomori Industrial Exhibition Concourse<\/p>\n\n\n\n Night Five – Yamagata Big Wing<\/p>\n\n\n\n Night Six – Yamagata Big Wing<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Block<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Shingo Takagi 6 pts. <\/strong>\u2013 joint top of A Block on 6 points, and quite possibly going to go undefeated in the tournament. Shingo had a really good match with SHO on the opening night, then beat Titan in a decent showing, and had a good win over Kanemaru on night five. Shingo has been booked like a beast, and by and large he has performed well. His upcoming matches against Dragon Lee and Ishimori will be crucial in determining if he takes any losses in the tournament. Still the favourite to win A Block and the whole tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taiji Ishimori 6 pts. <\/strong>\u2013 level on points with Shingo, Ishimori has had more mixed performances. His opening night match against Dragon Lee was a step below their match at Wrestling Dontaku, his match with Scurll felt like it lasted forever, and his match against Titan was decent. He\u2019s coming off a good title reign so his performances so far have been quite disappointing. Ishimori is a possible block winner, but I expect him to drop points in the coming week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dragon Lee 4pts.<\/strong> \u2013 the first of three wrestlers level on 4 points, Lee has also had a mixed tournament so far. The Ishimori match and the SHO match didn\u2019t live up to expectations, but his match against Gresham on night five was good, so hopefully this is an encouraging sign for the Jr. Heavyweight champion. The opening night loss to Ishimori was a bit of a shock result, but I expect Lee to keep racking up wins from here on. I think he\u2019s just behind Shingo in terms of likelihood of winning A Block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marty Scurll 4pts.<\/strong> \u2013 possibly my least favourite wrestler in BOSJ this year, Scurll had a good match with Gresham but otherwise I\u2019ve been underwhelmed. Scurll feels a bit like he\u2019s treading water before he leaves Ring of Honor and goes to All Elite Wrestling. Also his new finisher, Black Plague, looks bad. Seeing Brody King in NJPW has been fun though, I\u2019ve preferred their tag team work to Scurll\u2019s singles matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tiger Mask 4 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 Tiger Mask is underrated in BOSJ and this year he\u2019s been his usual grumpy self, kicking people and handing out Tiger Drivers. Last year Tiger Mask started out strong and then faded down the stretch, and I expect something similar here. His upcoming match with Gresham on May 23rd <\/sup>could be sneaky good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonathan Gresham 2 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 this is my first time seeing lots of Gresham\u2019s work, and I\u2019ve loved it. His grappling and limb work is excellent, and everything he does feels like it\u2019s logical and has a purpose. He got a good match out of Scurll, and his matches with TAKA and Dragon Lee were very good. Unfortunately it doesn\u2019t seem like he\u2019s going to win many points in this tournament, but his matches are excellent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SHO 2 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 he hasn\u2019t been getting the results, but A Block has been all about SHO so far. His opening night match against Shingo was great, and while his second match against Dragon Lee wasn\u2019t as good, SHO was clearly being treated like a star despite his losses. He picked up his first points in a good win over TAKA on night five, and I expect he will continue to pick up wins from now on. He\u2019s not quite at the level of the top guys in the block, but he\u2019s on his way there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Titan 2 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 so far I\u2019ve been a bit disappointed with Titan\u2019s matches, which haven\u2019t been bad but it feels like he hasn\u2019t had a breakout match yet. All three of his matches \u2013 against Kanemaru, Shingo, and Ishimori have been decent but not great. Hopefully his upcoming match against Dragon Lee will give him the chance to breakout more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yoshinobu Kanemaru 0 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 the two Suzuki-gun teammates both have 0 points so far, but they\u2019ve both been good in the tournament in their own ways. Kanemaru excels at being a slimy heel with his whiskey shots, and I particularly enjoyed his matches with Tiger Mask and Shingo. I expect Kanemaru to pick up some wins from here on, and maybe upset some of the bigger names in the block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TAKA Michinoku 0 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 back in the tournament after missing last year, TAKA has been really good in defeat in his three matches so far. TAKA\u2019s style is excellent \u2013 submission based heel wrestling \u2013 and it meshed well with the other people in his block. TAKA could well finish bottom of A Block, but I expect that he\u2019ll keep getting good matches out of all of his opponents, and maybe he\u2019ll pull out an upset win or two along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n B Block<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ryusuke Taguchi 6 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 Taguchi sometimes flies under the radar because of his comedy schtick, but always turns it on for Best of the Super Juniors, and he\u2019s been very good so far in wins over YOH, Douki, and BUSHI (all of which were the main event of the show too). B Block is more finely poised than A Block, with three competitors on 6 points, and I don\u2019t think Taguchi will last the distance, but he\u2019s definitely in contention to win his block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Will Ospreay 6 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 joining Taguchi on 6 points, Ospreay has had some strong matches against Rocky Romero and YOH on night three and six respectively (his opening night match against BUSHI was also decent). Just like Taguchi has been in every main event of B Block, Ospreay has been in the semi-main event of all the B Block shows. Ospreay is clearly going for the epic NJPW main-event style match, which I’m not a big fan of, but he does it well. This year Ospreay looks like he\u2019s on his way up to heavyweight, and as a result he\u2019s been incorporating more power moves into his arsenal in this tournament. I think Ospreay is a strong contender to win B Block, although I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll have him win the tournament again given his future seems to lie outside the division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n El Phantasmo 6 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 the newest member of Bullet Club also sits joint top of B Block, having defeated his fellow Bullet Club junior Robbie Eagles on night six. Phantasmo, now infamous for flipping off a child at one of the shows, has been a solid fit into BOSJ, although I wish he would cut down a bit on the finger guns. He\u2019s been good as a cocky heel, although I preferred his matches against Bandido and Eagles to his match against BUSHI. How well his style meshes with the other New Japan juniors remains to be seen. I doubt that El Phantasmo will win the block, but it seems like he\u2019s getting a strong push right out of the blocks, so it\u2019s possible that he\u2019ll stay at the top all the way to the end of BOSJ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robbie Eagles 4 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 the other Bullet Club junior is on 4 points, having beaten Rocky Romero and Ren Narita, before losing to El Phantasmo. I like Eagles\u2019 style of wrestling, incorporating submissions into his high flying moveset, and all of his matches have been good so far. I think Eagles could have a really great match in him, maybe when he faces Taguchi or Ospreay. I\u2019d expect Eagles to finish in a similar position, in the upper half of the pack but not challenging for top spot in B Block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Douki 2 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 a last minute replacement for El Desperado, Douki has been a somewhat polarising figure among fans. Personally I really like his style of wrestling, and I think he\u2019s been a good addition to the tournament as a heel with more lucha influence than Phantasmo or the other Britwres guys. All the other luchadors in the tournament wrestle more of a face style, so it\u2019s interesting to have some variety. Douki\u2019s match against Taguchi in particular was great, and his match against Bandido on night six was also excellent. So far the only points he\u2019s picked up have been against Narita on night one, so I don\u2019t expect that he\u2019ll trouble top spot in B Block, but he might well upset one of the leaders going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n YOH<\/strong> 2 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 the second member of Roppongi 3K has been one of the best performers in B Block so far, impressing in matches against Taguchi, Bandido, and Ospreay. YOH often gets overshadowed by his partner SHO, especially in discussions about who will be the breakout star of Roppongi 3K, but honestly YOH has impressed me more in the tournament this year than SHO has. He probably won\u2019t finish near the top of B Block, but I\u2019d expect him to pick up more wins going forward. His upcoming matches against Rocky and Douki could be really good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rocky Romero 2 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 Rocky is back in BOSJ this year and has quietly been having a good tournament so far. His matches against Eagles and Ospreay were very good, and his win over Narita was a solid opener on night six. At this point in his career Romero is here to put over other people in the tournament, but he\u2019s doing a very good job at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bandido 2 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019ve been impressed by Bandido in his first BOSJ, despite his losses to El Phantasmo and YOH. His match against Douki on night six was probably his best match of the tournament, and hopefully he will improve from here. I expect Bandido to pick up a good numbe of wins from here and finish in the top half of B Block when everything is said and done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BUSHI 0 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019m not a huge fan of BUSHI as a singles wrestler, and BOSJ always confirms to me that BUSHI is better as a tag team wrestler. At this point in his career he is fairly limited in his move set, but he plays his role well in his matches. On 0 points right now, I doubt that BUSHI will be troubling the leaders of B Block by the end of the tournament, but he will probably pick up a few upsets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ren Narita 0 pts.<\/strong> \u2013 Narita was a last minute replacement for Flip Gordon, and the Young Lion has made the most of his opportunity. Narita, who is an Aomori native, has been excellent in his matches as a face in peril, and although he hasn\u2019t registered any wins he has looked great in defeat. I wouldn\u2019t be shocked if he ended the block on 0 points, but Narita will definitely put up a really good fight against anyone he faces this tournament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Best of the Super Juniors 26 kicked off in the north east of Japan, starting in Sendai and then making their way south through Aomori and Yamagata. Two last minute […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":12537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,204,37,22],"tags":[373],"class_list":["post-12581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-njpw","category-njpw-reviews","category-reviews","tag-best-of-the-super-juniors"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9jnWd-3gV","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/86c5d-15561015844227-800.jpg?fit=800%2C611&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12581"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12606,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12581\/revisions\/12606"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Tiger Mask def. TAKA Michinoku
<\/td><\/tr>Titan def. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
<\/td><\/tr>Marty Scurll def. Jonathan Gresham<\/td><\/tr> Shingo Takagi def. SHO<\/td><\/tr> Taiji Ishimori def. Dragon Lee<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n Douki def. Ren Narita
<\/td><\/tr>Robbie Eagles def. Rocky Romero<\/td><\/tr> El Phantasmo def. Bandido<\/td><\/tr> Will Ospreay def. BUSHI<\/td><\/tr> Ryusuke Taguchi def. YOH
<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\nJonathan Gresham def. TAKA Michinoku<\/td><\/tr> Tiger Mask def. Yoshinobu Kanemaru<\/td><\/tr> Shingo Takagi def. Titan<\/td><\/tr> Taiji Ishimori def. Marty Scurll<\/td><\/tr> Dragon Lee def. SHO
<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\nRobbie Eagles def. Ren Narita
<\/td><\/tr>YOH def. Bandido<\/td><\/tr> El Phantasmo def. BUSHI<\/td><\/tr> Will Ospreay def. Rocky Romero<\/td><\/tr> Ryusuke Taguchi def. Douki<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n SHO def. TAKA Michinoku<\/td><\/tr> Marty Scurll def. Tiger Mask<\/td><\/tr> Taiji Ishimori def. Titan<\/td><\/tr> Dragon Lee def. Jonathan Gresham<\/td><\/tr> Shingo Takagi def. Yoshinobu Kanemaru<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n Rocky Romero def. Ren Narita<\/td><\/tr> Bandido def. Douki<\/td><\/tr> El Phantasmo def. Robbie Eagles<\/td><\/tr> Will Ospreay def. YOH
<\/td><\/tr>Ryusuke Taguchi def. BUSHI
<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n