{"id":9173,"date":"2018-05-19T08:00:28","date_gmt":"2018-05-19T08:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/?p=9173"},"modified":"2018-05-19T08:05:52","modified_gmt":"2018-05-19T08:05:52","slug":"njpw-best-of-the-super-juniors-night-one-review-18-05-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/19\/njpw-best-of-the-super-juniors-night-one-review-18-05-18\/","title":{"rendered":"NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Night One Review, 18\/05\/18"},"content":{"rendered":"

By@ToykoWrestlingFan<\/a><\/p>\n

The 25th Best of the Super Juniors tournament began at Korakuen Hall on May 18th, and this year\u2019s tournament has the potential to be one of the best.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I think Ishimori has a good shot at winning the whole tournament, but I wouldn\u2019t rule out Hiromu Takahashi, or Will Ospreay getting another tournament win.\u00a0 Tonight was the opening A Block matches, tomorrow will be the opening B Block matches.<\/p>\n

KUSHIDA and Shota Umino<\/strong> vs. Chris Sabin and Ren Narita<\/strong> \u2013 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Umino really does look good now.\u00a0 KUSHIDA got annoyed by Umino\u2019s constant enthusiasm to be tagged in, and refused to tag him in against Narita at first. \u00a0When he finally did tag him in against Chris Sabin Umino fell victim to Sabin\u2019s finishing move All Hail Sabin, which allowed Sabin and Narita to pick up the win.<\/p>\n

Winners: Chris Sabin and Ren Narita, 9:48<\/strong><\/p>\n

SHO and YOSHI-HASHI<\/strong> vs. Dragon Lee and Oka Tomoyuki<\/strong> \u2013 On paper this was a bit of an unbalanced match, unless YOSHI-HASHI now counts as a Young Lion.\u00a0 This was another fun match, and Dragon Lee and SHO teased some great spots for their match on night two.\u00a0 Oka took a lot of the punishment, but he\u2019s increasingly over with the crowd and tonight was no exception.\u00a0 YOSHI-HASHI got some boos for cutting off a Dragon Lee dive over the top rope with a vicious clothesline.\u00a0 He forced Oka to tap out to the Butterfly Lock to give CHAOS the win.<\/p>\n

Winners: SHO and YOSHI-HASHI, 11:47<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ryusuke Taguchi and Toa Henare<\/strong> vs. El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki<\/strong> \u2013 Korakuen Hall was rocking to Kaze ni nare as Suzuki-gun made their entrance.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I really hope that we get more of Desperado the wrestler in this tournament rather than Desperado the heel.\u00a0 Suzuki brutalised Taguchi and Henare, at one point laughing at Taguchi\u2019s attempts to hit him back.\u00a0 Suzuki picked up the win for his team after hitting Henare with a Gotch-style piledriver.<\/p>\n

Winners: El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki, 8:09<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marty Scurll and Chase Owens<\/strong> vs. Hiromu Takahahsi and EVIL<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019m a big fan of Chase Owens, but given that he\u2019s supposed to be a heavyweight he really doesn\u2019t look that much bigger than Marty Scurll.\u00a0 Hiromu entered with a book describing this year\u2019s BOSJ entrants \u2013 Marty Scurll\u2019s entry said \u201cumbrella man.\u201d\u00a0 Scurll played up his heelish tendencies, and before the bell rang he stole a fan’s Daryll plushie and stomped on it.\u00a0 I\u2019m really looking forward to the Hiromu vs. Marty match on night two \u2013 Scurll is the perfect mixture of comedy and serious wrestling, and Hiromu is a beast in the ring.\u00a0 This was a good back and forth match, and all four wrestlers looked good.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Winners: Hiromu Takahashi and EVIL, 9:28<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tiger Mask<\/strong> vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru<\/strong> \u2013 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\u2019s top juniors in the early 2000s, so these are two veterans with a lot of experience in these types of matches.\u00a0 Kanemaru played up his heelish side in this match as he tried to rip off Tiger Mask\u2019s mask, used Young Lions to throw at his opponent, and hit him with a low blow.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 This was a decent match, but it had a few too many shenanigans from Kanemaru.\u00a0 I\u2019d much rather see him wrestle a serious match than watch him do his Suzuki-gun schtick.\u00a0 Tiger Mask should have some better matches later in the tournament against better wrestlers.<\/p>\n

Winner: Tiger Mask, 10:27<\/strong><\/p>\n

ACH<\/strong> vs. Flip Gordon<\/strong> \u2013 Flip made his debut in this year\u2019s tournament, while ACH entered for a second year in a row.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The crowd were slightly more pro-ACH, but there were duelling chants and it seemed like Flip has a decent fanbase in Japan already.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 ACH picked up the win after a running knee into the corner, then hit Flip with a cradle DDT.\u00a0 This match could be one of the best of the tournament.<\/p>\n

Winner: ACH, 15:28<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.@TheFlipGordon<\/a> leaps the Korakuen stairwell! #NJPW<\/a> #njbosj<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/4ULitIni5Z<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/J13qchGk1r<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 LARIATOOOO!! (@MrLARIATO) May 18, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n