NJPW Dominion
June 9th, 2018 | Osaka Jo-Hall in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 11,832
Dominion is New Japan’s second biggest show of the year. Last year, they just repeated most of their Wrestle Kingdom card. This year, things are different, though the main events just see guys from WK swapped around.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru [c] vs. Roppongi 3K w/ Rocky Romero
Roppongi 3K beat the champions in singles matches during the BOTSJ. SHO, YOH, and Desperado were great in the tournament. Kanemaru? Not so much. The challengers were ready for the champs, jumping them before the bell to turn the tables. That was kind of the story of this match. Roppongi 3K has become wise to the tricks of the Suzuki-Gun duo. They had counters for their stuff and managed to avoid a lot of Suzuki-Gun shenanigans. Near the end, Sho even got free of a low blow and looked to pick up the win with the Shock Arrow. However, Desperado countered, we got a ref bump and Kanemaru brought out the whiskey spit. That set up a Desperado rollup as the champs retained in 9:29. I enjoyed the story this told. RPG 3K were so close to overcoming from all they’ve learned, it just wasn’t enough. [***]
David Finlay and Juice Robinson vs. IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Jay White and YOSHI-HASHI
This was here to continue the feud between Juice and Jay, though Finlay still has issues with the US Champion. Juice and David have won several tags in a row. YOSHI wasn’t a fan of Jay jumping Juice before the bell, continuing the trend of Jay being in CHAOS but not really being in CHAOS. Finlay took the heat for his guys. We got the great old school hot tag behind the referee’s back spot. Classic. The real hot tag didn’t have a ton of fire, but Juice was sure to involve the crowd in a lot of what he does. He has so much confidence in everything he does now. He ended up scoring the victory by hitting Pulp Friction on Jay White in 7:26! A big win for Juice as he pinned the US Heavyweight Champion. It should set up a title match, maybe at the Cow Palace. The match itself was some solid tag team wrestling. Dominion is off to a good start. [***]
RevPro British Tag Team Champions Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr. w/ TAKA Michinoku vs. RevPro British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano
RevPro with some big representation. Ishii and Suzuki were at each other’s throats instantly. That was the main appeal of this match. Watching Suzuki and Ishii go to war. Yano was way out of his element and that played into a lot of the comedy he brought to the table. It ended up being a nice little addition to stand out in this match. Basically, when Yano was in, he was screaming and running. When Ishii was in, he was all about taking it right to Suzuki, even if it meant getting beat up. Sabre had some revenge on his mind as well, considering Ishii took the RevPro title from him. The finish was stellar, as Yano went to low blow Sabre, but he locked his knees together and blocked it. From there, Sabre slapped on a vicious armbar and Yano tapped in 8:42. Another strong tag match, though this was my favorite so far. The personalities involved made it work, while the intensity of Ishii/Suzuki was enough to have me dying to see their singles match. [***¼]
Post-match, Ishii went after Suzuki in the aisle. They fought back to the ring and began dueling with chairs. They ended up fighting at ringside by just slapping the shit out of each other.
NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto [c] vs. Michael Elgin vs. Taichi w/ Miho Abe
I can’t stand Elgin, Taichi usually sucks, and Goto hasn’t meant much of anything since Okada Rainmakered him to the mid-card. Needless to say, I was not excited about this match. I will say, Elgin is in fantastic shape. This was mildly interesting to watch, as it featured some of the usual triple threat tropes we see in WWE. Like when one guy does a move and has to break up the pin because another guy tries to steal the pin right in front of him. Or the tower of doom spot. Stuff like that. Parts of this felt like an Elgin showcase since he was clearly booked to look the strongest. Just as Elgin and Goto began to do battle like their G1 banger in 2015, Taichi used the microphone stand to interrupt. He laughed like a villain, but his follow up offense wasn’t enough. The finish was cool, as Elgin lifted Taichi straight from a Gedo Clutch and into a Buckle Bomb. He then hit a second Buckle Bomb on Taichi into Goto and added the Elgin Bomb to win the title in 13:46. The first Westerner to hold the title. This was better than I expected. I thought it would be awful, but it was pretty good. A few too many obvious tropes were leaned on, but again, it was fine. However, not a fan of Elgin as champion, especially considering how folks have turned on him this year. [**¾]
IWGP Tag Team Championship: EVIL and SANADA [c] vs. NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks
The Bucks recently moved to the heavyweight division to prove they’re the best. Not sure what exactly they did to earn a shot except lose to the Golden Lovers. Still, this looked like one of the more interesting bouts. The Bucks worked better as a unit, having been a team forever, but the sheer size and strength of the champions was too much at points. Matt is STILL selling a back injury from Wrestle Kingdom, while Nick had his foot worked on and commentary sold it like it was broken. I wasn’t a fan of this match having a tower of doom spot, when we literally just got one in the previous match. Anyway, Nick’s foot came into play a lot. It stopped them from hitting an Indytaker and led to the champions hitting one of their own. The Bucks weathered the storm and survived a lot, before finally hitting More Bang For Your Buck and capturing the titles in 15:03. This was great. The Bucks have finally looked like a great tag team to me this year. They stepped away from their one dimensional comfort zone and have delivered some bangers. The selling was great and the action was fierce. I do think Nick did a bit too much with the bad foot, but that’s not a major gripe. Other than the Golden Lovers match, I believe this was my favorite Bucks outing ever. [****¼]
I do question the booking here. Before you Young Bucks fans get on me, hear me out. I think the Bucks should’ve lost here. Have their foot and back issues, plus size difference, present a new challenge. They relied a lot on their greatest hits and I think the better story would be that costing them. They could spend the next few months regrouping, win the World Tag League and win the big on in the Tokyo Dome. Just a thought.
Cody, Hangman Page, and NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion Marty Scurll vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jushin Thunder Liger, and Rey Mysterio Jr.
This is a strange sounding six man tag. Marty, who kind of started this whole thing, was eager to talk smack to Mysterio, but did his best to avoid him. When he got his hands on Marty, he was all over him. He and Tanahashi did well in the early stages. Liger came in and eventually became the man to take the heat segment. Great spot for him as he was clearly the guy who would be booked the weakest on his team, but is so beloved that the crowd would sympathize. Mysterio and Tanahashi came in and did their things at separate times. Liger and Cody ended up as the legal men, with Liger falling to Cross Rhodes in 11:35. This mostly felt like a typical NJPW multi-man tag, except for the addition of Mysterio, who looked good. [***]
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay [c] vs. Hiromu Takahashi
It’s the best junior in the world! Oh, and Ospreay is there, too. Their match in February was fantastic (****½) and Hiromu is coming off an incredible BOTSJ run. When these two wrestle, I want them to give us a reckless war. Of course, in the opening minutes, Will nearly killed himself with an insane dive off the ramp. However, Will slowed the pace because he realized how much Hiromu thrives in a fast paced match. Hiromu got going, showcasing some heavyweight like strikes that Will did his best to fire back. There were some awesome spots, like Will’s deadlift superplex followed by the Burning Star Press, or Hiromu hitting a Destroyer and going right into the triangle choke. To counter, Ospreay basically folded Hiromu and dropped him on his head. That kicked off an absolutely wild final few minutes. Hiromu countered Strom Breaker into the triangle choke. Though Ospreay didn’t quit, it was enough to wear him down for a corner DVD and Time Bomb to regain the gold in 20:20. Hiromu lost in February, saw Will hurt his neck a few months later, and came back with a newly developed submission to take back Mr. Belt. The match played off that and featured some of the frantic action we want from these two. [****½]
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito [c] vs. Chris Jericho
The story for this goes back six months. Jericho came out in a strange face painted goth getup. NJPW Jericho has been billed a more vicious, brutal character. He showed that by attacking Naito before the bell and powerbombing him through a table and hitting a DDT on another. Once the bell rang, Jericho tried for a quick win, but Naito was resilient. From there, these guys went to war, throwing big moves in and outside of the ring. That included Naito throwing a piledriver on a table. The match went back inside, but kept up the aggressive nature. Even when Jericho applied the Walls, he held it and reared back as if he was trying to do more than win. He wanted to hurt Naito. Jericho countering Naito’s rebound attack into a Codebreaker was one of my favorite spots. In the end, Jericho used a low blow and the Codebreaker to surprisingly become the IC Champion in 17:16. I’m really glad this wasn’t overly long. The pre-match attack set the tone for a war and they told a great story. Jericho badly wanted that tenth IC Title, but also wanted to destroy Naito. They had a match fitting of that. [****]
Post-match, Jericho continued the attack on Tetsuya Naito. Poor Naito lost at WK and again here. As Jericho whipped him with his belt, EVIL hit the ring and traded blows with Jericho. He hit a lariat to knock him down and got the belt. Jericho left with his title before he could get whipped. I’m all for Jericho vs. EVIL.
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Two Out of Three Falls Match: Kazuchika Okada [c] w/ Gedo vs. Kenny Omega w/ Kota Ibushi
All their matches been grossly rated by Dave Meltzer. I have their WK11 match at ****¼ (Okada won), the Dominion time limit draw at ***½, and Kenny’s G1 win at ****¾. It’s tiebreaker time, folks. Anyway, the first fall mostly went as you’d expect. They gave us some of the usual early Okada formula, though I liked how Omega had things scouted. For example, cutting off Okada’s guardrail cross body with a V-Trigger was great and looked painful. Omega was out to control the pace, saying he had more stamina. They both went for their finishers, yet were unable to connect. Knowing he beat Okada the one time he hit the One Winged Angel, Omega went for it a bit too much and Okada had counters ready. One counter led to a rollup situation. Okada blocked one and sat on Omega to take the first fall at 28:47. There was a two minute rest period in between falls. With the lead, Okada grew cocky. He smiled during the break and acted like he had this in the bag. To be fair, when you’ve barely been pinned twice in two years, getting pinned twice in a row in two matches seems highly unlikely. Omega had to try something new, bringing a table into play. When he hit a double stomp onto the table onto Okada, the champion began making sounds like Shane McMahon earlier this year. Okada is obsessed with proving himself in each match, so he went to use the table back on Kenny and call back to the huge back body drop spot Omega took. Omega stopped it and we got a call back to the dragon suplex through a table that Omega used to win the US Title last July. Omega never let up, pouncing on Okada at every chance. He finally hit the One Winged Angel to even the score after 47:47. The next fall began interestingly, as Okada was still dazed from the finisher, so Omega quickly hit a V-Trigger. However, Okada hit a Rainmaker out of desperation to get some breathing room. The final stretch was a tremendous show of how exhausted these guys were and how desperate they were to win. Omega hitting a One Winged Angel while basically falling over was great. Okada was dazed and completely out of it. Omega eventually hit another One Winged Angel to finally end Okada’s reign of terror after 64:50. Is this the best match ever? Absolutely not. It is an incredible one that is a MOTYC? Yes. I think this was better than their WK match and much better than their last Dominion outing. They told a great story and for the most part, they paced the match very well. There were tons of callbacks to their history and they all worked. My only gripe is that it didn’t play off their G1 match enough. That night showed that coming right at Okada was the best strategy instead of playing into his hands. If Omega really believed he had the stamina advantage, he could’ve come out hot like he did in the G1. Regardless, this is a tremendous match and I love that they didn’t try something absurd like going 75 minutes for the sake of it. [****¾]
Overall: 9.5/10. Hands down, the best NJPW show of the year. In fact, I’d only put it behind TakeOver: New Orleans for the show of the year. There was no filler on the card. Even the early tags had meaning (building Juice/White and Ishii/Suzuki). All the titles, except one changed hands, giving the company a fresh feeling for the first time in ages, especially at the top. Bucks/EVIL & SANADA was great, Naito/Jericho took a vicious story, and the Jr. Title was outrageous. The main event lived up to the hype and it all added up to one hell of a show.
PROGRESS Chapter 69: Be Here Now
May 20th, 2018 | Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, England | Attendance: N/A
Following the successful three part Chapter 68 Super Strong Style 16 Tournament, PROGRESS set up one of their biggest shows ever. For their debut at the Victoria Warehouse, a new Atlas Champion would be crowned, Toni Storm’s near year long title reign was in jeopardy, and Jack Sexsmith was getting the biggest opportunity of his career.
Following the usual Jim Smallman opening stuff, the Grizzled Young Vets came out. They weren’t happy with the Tag Team Series announcement. Basically, PROGRESS announced a round robin tournament featuring seven teams, culminating at the big Wembley show. Each team (GYV, Aussie Open, M&M, Anti-Fun Police, #CCK, Sexy Starr, and Webster/Haskins) gets points based on wins, ties, or losses. The final match will be a Tag Team Thunderbastard match, with the entrances determined by block standings. The big caveat is that each match with the champions will see the titles on the line. They complained about not being booked tonight and about the tournament, before joining commentary.
Thunderbastard Tag Team Series: Aussie Open [0] vs. M&M [0]
I’m a sucker for round robin tournaments. It was interesting to watch this while listening to Zack Gibson. He continually bashed the styles of both teams and even walked off at one point because he was sick of how they wrestled. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but was good character work. The match was worked at the brisk pace you usually want from an opener. M&M performed much better here than when they got squashed at the Alley Palley. They showed a lot of heart. However, the teamwork of Aussie Open and the sheer size of Mark Davis proved to be too much. Mayhew got punched out of the air by Davis, leading to a Fidget Spinner for the finish in 8:32. A good opener and fun way to start the series. Aussie Open continue to impress, while M&M show fire in every outing. [***]
Mark Andrews vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Despite both men being well-traveled, they haven’t faced each other often. Sabre’s fresh off winning Super Strong Style 16, while Andrews is in a feud with former partner Eddie Dennis. This opened as a traditional match between two guys with zero animosity. There was counter wrestling, mat exchanges, and nobody had an advantage. However, Suzuki-Gun Sabre reared his ugly head. He got more aggressive and brutal as the match wore on. Andrews fired up and was game to trade strikes with Sabre. He even managed to win out on some of the strike battles. Sabre trapped him in Hyper Normalization to win via submission in 15:32. I thought this was great. It had some really good in-ring work, while telling two separate, important tales. One, Andrews can get physical when he needs to, which he will against Dennis. Two, Sabre’s time with NJPW has made him into one vicious SOB. [***¾]
David Starr vs. PWG Champion WALTER
WALTER just relinquished the Atlas Title so he could get another shot at the PROGRESS Title. He came in with the psychological advantage, being 9-0 against Starr across three countries. Starr was more serious than usual during his extravagant introduction because of it. He went after the leg, looking to cut the big man down to size. He was a man who came in with a game plan. There were points where he suckered WALTER in and even when WALTER got something going, it was with the leg so he couldn’t capitalize. It became WALTER being able to strike with great power against Starr’s ability to continue to wear down the leg. For example, when Starr had him in a submission, WALTER would just chop him to break it up. When Starr attempted a Sharpshooter, WALTER pulled him into a small package to go to 10-0 against Starr in 13:43. Great storytelling. A desperate Starr finally did enough and had the right plan to beat WALTER. He had him beat, but WALTER got lucky. If that didn’t work for Starr, what the hell will? [****]
Flash Morgan Webster, Jimmy Havoc, and Mark Haskins w/ Vicky Haskins vs. WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate w/ Trent Seven
Originally advertised as a six man tag rematch from Chapter 44 (****¼) turned into a handicap match as Seven wasn’t cleared to compete. He did plug the WWE Royal Albert Hall show that he’ll be on in June. It was very to see these guys in opposite roles from last year. BSS are the popular babyfaces, while the other team are heels. BSS had some fun in the opening moments. Things got serious quickly and surprisingly, it was Dunne who took the heat segment. Even commentary was surprised by it. BIG STRONG BOY Bate got the hot tag, which set off a barrage of offense from both teams in the closing minutes. The story of Webster being unsure how to deal with the heel tendencies of his new team continued. He stopped Vicky from using a barbed wire bat, but Havoc still ended up with him. He whacked it over Bate’s back and they hit the Kiss of Death to win in 13:03. I liked the action, character work, and continued story. It just never reached the excitement levels the six man tag did. Still good though. [***¼]
Before Pete Dunne could leave, “Sabotage” by Beastie Boys hit. That signaled the arrival of Christian Michael Jakobi. At the last chapter, he issued a challenge to Dunne to face Ilja Dragunov. This time, CMJ brought Dragunov with him. The pop for Ilja was insane. People were losing their minds. He and Dunne came face to face, but CMJ prevented a fight, saying this would happen for the big bucks at Wembley. Awesome segment.
PROGRESS World Championship: Travis Banks [c] w/ TK Cooper vs. Jack Sexsmith
Sexsmith was the focal point of an great video package before the match, talking about standing up for the people who are constantly held back or told they can’t do things. There’s more story behind this, as well. Banks came into PROGRESS by beating up Sexsmith and it was a match against Sexsmith that seemed to put the fans behind him in the first place. Sexsmith also came to Banks for help when he wanted to step his game up. Banks was in full heel mode here. He talked trash, taunted, was vicious, and got help from TK at ringside. As usual, Sexsmith fighting from behind worked well. The fans believed in some of his near falls and he brought a lot of fire to everything he did. Even when Banks used an avalanche Kiwi Krusher, Sexsmith found a way to survive. Once put in the Lion Clutch, though, he passed out and lost in 16:12. It was a good effort from Sexsmith and a good match. It just didn’t get to the great level it could have with the story. [***¼]
PROGRESS Atlas Championship: Doug Williams vs. Joseph Conners vs. Rampage Brown vs. Rob Lynch
Since WALTER vacated the title during Chapter 68, a new champion was needed. PROGRESS wasted no time in doing that, putting the title up for grabs in this four way. To be Atlas Champion, you must be over 205 pounds. Conners it 206, putting him at a big disadvantage here. He certainly came in with a dumb strategy, trying to go toe to toe with the guys who were much bigger than him. Needless to say, it didn’t go well. Williams took an awful landing on an apron piledriver and the crowd kind of fell silent. Even Rampage didn’t want to capitalize because of Williams’ possible injury. Conners was more than happy to, though. Doug got back into the action a while later, only to again fall on his head. Just when it looked like Conners was going to steal the match, Williams hit Chaos Theory from out of nowhere to a huge pop at 11:44. Williams hadn’t won in PROGRESS in four years, but is now champion. Solid match, with the feel good moment you want on a show like this.[***]
PROGRESS Women’s Championship: Toni Storm [c] vs. Jinny w/ The House of Couture
The women haven’t main evented since Toni became the inaugural champion about a year ago, beating Jinny and Laura Di Matteo (***¾). This has been brewing for a very long time and Toni’s title reign feels like a huge deal. Commentary noted how this was the queen who built the queendom (Jinny) against the crown jewel who has reigned over it (Toni). Lots of shenanigans right from the start. Nina Samuels and Chakara attacked Toni at every opportunity, including stopping to put lipstick on her, which is a classic Jinny move. As for the action, it came across like Toni was clearly the better wrestler, but Jinny was smart. She had a lot of Toni’s best stuff scouted and was more than willing to take all the shortcuts possible. Toni counted the Acid Rainmaker and nailed a Styles Clash for a visual win, but the House of Couture struck again. Toni still got another visual win following an accidental shot with the title and Strong Zero. Toni dumped Chakara outside, which opened the door for Jinny to roll her up and steal the title in 18:52. It was billed as a big deal, but that may have been the worst Toni title defense. I understood the story they were trying to tell. However, they overdid the interference to the point where the match couldn’t find a flow that worked. Jinny as the smarter wrestler with a plan was a great call, but it got overbooked. [**¾]
Jinny celebrated and left with the title. Toni Storm stayed behind to hug Jim Smallman and get a standing ovation for her reign, which lasted 357 days and featured 14 successful defenses. She got a microphone and said she wasn’t going anywhere, because the title is hers.
Overall: 7/10. Not the best outing from PROGRESS, despite being billed as a big show. Jinny/Toni disappointed, as did the potential for Banks/Sexsmith. However, nothing on the show was bad (as usual with PROGRESS). The Thunderbastard series got off to a good start, Doug Williams had a feel good moment, and the BSS tag was fun. Sabre/Andrews ruled and Starr/WALTER was MOTN. A good show, just not a great one.
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXV Finals
June 4th, 2018 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: N/A
We’ve reached the finals of the Best of the Super Juniors Tournament and it comes down to the two men I wanted to see in the end. For this review, I will just be covering the Ishimori/Hiromu match, as I’m pressed for time and want to get it out there. I will watch the rest of the show, but that will be later tonight.
Best of the Super Juniors Finals: Hiromu Takahashi [10] vs. Taiji Ishimori [10]
This is a first time ever matchup. They came out right after one another, brawling into the crowd and lifting some of what worked for the awesome Hiromu/Desperado match. However, they took it up a notch, with a spot that saw Hiromu take a rana down a flight of stairs. They went back to the ring, where Ishimori took control and wore down Hiromu. None of this felt like filler, by the way. Everything they did mattered and was interesting. When Hiromu got going on his comeback, it felt earned and the action heated up. I love that this didn’t follow the traditional “slow start, hot finish” of a lot of long NJPW main events. The pace made a lot of sense and worked for the guys involved. The back half of the match was outstanding, with two guys giving their all and throwing everything in their arsenal to win an important tournament. There’s a spot where Ishimori has a crossface in, and you think Hiromu might tap because Ishimori just pulls his limbs further and further from the ropes. That was far from the end, though. They went into an absurd stretch of counters, adding levels of the storytelling of the match, and heightening the drama. Seeing Taiji resort to the 450 was great, only to have it fail. Some of the moves we saw late were insane, especially Hiromu’s piledriver. Taiji refused to quit to the triangle choke, so Hiromu used Time Bomb and got the win in 34:09. What an incredible match. It featured breathtaking action, high levels of intensity, and edge of your seat drama. Everything they did just clicked and it provided me with arguably the best juniors match I’ve ever seen in NJPW.[****¾]
Hiromu Takahashi challenged Will Ospreay for the Junior Heavyweight Title (duh), which brought the champion out. Ospreay said he didn’t care about Hiromu winning the tournament, because the title makes him the best. At Dominion, we’ll really see who the best is. (Hint: even if he loses, it’s Hiromu.)
Hiromu ended the show by celebrating with his LIDJ buddies. During this time, the trophy actually broke.
Overall: 10/10. Yea, I only reviewed one match, but it was good enough to garner the rare 10/10 score. It’s a must-see match that currently sits in my top five for the year and it’s been a loaded year. Hiromu really is the best in the world.
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXV Night Thirteen
June 3rd, 2018 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,714
The A and B Blocks come together for the penultimate night of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. On this show, we’ll find out who will be facing off tomorrow with the crown on the line. Will KUSHIDA and Will Ospreay repeat? Does the new Bone Solider make it all the way through? Will Hiromu Takahashi add an accolade to his “best junior in the world” mantle? By the way, though NJPW usually books the juniors as lesser stars, these guys managed to sell out Korakuen today. Not a massive accomplishment, but good for them.
I’m using English commentary, which consists of Kevin Kelly and Chase Owens.
A Block: ACH [4] vs. Tiger Mask IV [6]
These two had a damn good match in last year’s tournament (***½). ACH paid tribute by coming out in a Tiger Mask. He did portray Tiger the Dark at Wrestle Kingdom 11 last year. ACH’s shoulder continued to play a major role. He would throw a hard strike and it would come back to haunt him. That was where Tiger Mask found his openings. ACH went into trying to beat Tiger Mask with some of his own moves, including the Tiger Driver. He survived the best Tiger Mask had to throw at him, before countering the Tiger Suplex into a rollup to win in 8:27. For a friendly match with nothing on the line, that was more intense than I expected. Good back and forth, with the story of ACH looking up to Tiger Mask and trying to match him. The arm work was very well done and ACH sold it like a champ again. [***]
A Block: BUSHI [6] vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru [4]
There’s history here, as BUSHI and Hiromu have feuded with Kanemaru and Desperado for the titles. Desperado/Hiromu was incredible earlier in the tournament. I don’t expect the same here, as Kanemaru has been the worst wrestler in either block. It was BUSHI who dropkicked Kanemaru during his introduction, turning the tables on the Suzuki-Gun scoundrel. He went for a tope and accidentally took out Tomoyuki Oka. From there, Kanemaru used all his underhanded tricks to keep control. Of course, it all led to a ref bump. BUSHI managed to avoid the whiskey spit, but tricky Kanemaru used it successfully shortly after. He hit Deep Impact for the victory in 9:24. The usual nonsense between these two. It wasn’t awful, but Kanemaru is just not very good. [**½]
B Block: Chris Sabin [6] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [4]
Surprisingly, we haven’t really seen BIG MATCH TAGUCHI this year. Gedo tournaments are typically predictable, so the outcome was expected here. Taguchi brought the comedy act in this one, rolling himself into an armbar and doing his drop down spots. This was worked at a bit of a slower pace than the previous two matches, though they picked things up down the stretch. We got some strong near falls, but the finishing stretch was less than stellar. Sabin survived Dodon, only for Taguchi to awkwardly transition the kickout into an Ankle Lock. Sabin tapped at 10:56. It was largely fine, but very forgettable and kind of just there. [**¾]
B Block: CMLL World Lightweight Champion Dragon Lee [6] vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion El Desperado [4]
Desperado and Lee have the two best tournament matches, both coming against Hiromu Takahashi. Lee wore a Shibata shirt to the ring. Lee came out firing, learning from BUSHI and attacking the Suzuki-Gun guy early. He also went for a dive, but when Desperado moved, he landed on his feet. Desperado begged off a ton, using it to sucker Lee in for a chair shot. From there, he was a jerk the entire way, by doing things like going after Lee’s mask. Dragon Lee lifted some Shibata spots, which I’m all for, because who doesn’t miss Shibata? The match was on pace to become something great, but Desperado’s mask got ripped and it caused some problems. He struggled to get it back on and from there, the match kind of suffered. Desperado ended up winning via rollup in 12:18, before removing Lee’s mask completely. This was heated, intense, and just the kind of match I wanted from them. Lee took to Twitter to challenge Desperado to a mask vs. mask match, so I’m hoping for more down the line. With a better finish, this would’ve been one of the best tournament matches. [***¼]
To the surprise of many, Tomoaki Honma’s music hit and he made his way out to the ring. He hasn’t wrestled in over a year, but announced that his return to the ring will take place on June 23rd!
A Block: Flip Gordon [6] vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay [8]
Many came in hyping this match, as Flip is just a shittier Ospreay right now. Ospreay came out looking like a bad Kazuchika Okada cosplay. To be fair, though, that’s basically Will’s entire look in NJPW. Folks wanted this to be Ricochet/Ospreay, but it never got to that level. Still, it was a high octane, flippy match, which is what everyone wanted. There wasn’t a ton of story behind it or a sense of urgency. Instead, it came across like an exhibition between two athletic guys. At least the Ricochet outings felt like they mattered. I did appreciate how Ospreay underestimated Gordon at times and it cost him. Will’s cocky attitude is a problem, similar to Okada. There just wasn’t enough of that aspect. Lots of cool moves and some impressive feats from both men. Ospreay put him down with Storm Breaker in 19:36. It went too long for what they were going for. They did do a lot of what people wanted from them, so there’s that. [***]
A Block: Taiji Ishimori [8] vs. YOH [6]
A win for Ishimori gives him the block, since he holds the tiebreaker over Will. Interestingly, Ishimori made the BOTSJ final in 2010, while he was part of NOAH. Though YOH couldn’t win the block, he could help his CHAOS buddy Ospreay out. Speaking of Ospreay, he came out for a closer look. YOH played the fiery underdog, throwing everything he had at the favorite. There was a calm confidence in Ishimori, always seemingly in control of YOH. The only time he’d look a bit off his game was when he’d stop to talk trash to Will. YOH’s comeback attempts were filled with energy and the hot crowd believed in him. They bit on his Seth Rollins style superplex/falcon arrow combo. His series of flash rollups were tremendous. Everyone was losing their minds. He made a mistake with them and got caught in a crossface, which he tapped out to in 14:55. YOH’s best performance of the tournament and right up there with Ishimori’s. The desperation from YOH (and Ospreay at ringside) sold a big part of this match. There was urgency, a hot crowd, and great action. I dug this. [***¾]
B Block: NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion Marty Scurll [8] vs. SHO [4]
Though SHO has just 4 points, he’s been the breakout stud of this tournament. This match came across as a struggle in the best possible way. The more experienced Scurll wanted to keep a slower pace, while SHO was out to quicken it at every opportunity. SHO mostly battled from behind, but like most of the tournament, he got more than YOH. It’s as if they were trying to show that he’s closer to the level of the top juniors than his partner. As the match progressed and got more intense, they went into a strike battle that wore down both men. The finger snap spot was big here, and it cost SHO the Shock Arrow, as he couldn’t get a good grip. Great stuff. Marty went into a barrage of elbow strikes that nearly saw the referee call for the bell. Instead of continuing, Scurll raised SHO up for the CHICKEN WING. That provided SHO with a tiny opening to successfully hit Shock Arrow and win after 20:39. Another strong match from a Roppongi 3K guy. SHO was absolutely the breakout star of the tournament. This was a great display from both men that played to their strengths. [***½]
B Block: Hiromu Takahashi [8] vs. KUSHIDA [8]
Last year, Hiromu beat KUSHIDA for the Jr. Title at WK 11 (****¼), then basically squashed him at Sakura Genesis. KUSHIDA got revenge and took back the title at Dominion (****½). Clearly, these are the two best juniors in the world. Seriously, it’s these two and there’s not really a case for anyone else. Winner wins the B block and faces Ishimori in the finals. If you wanted an indication of how intense this was, these guys worked a collar and elbow tie up to a stalemate for literally five minutes. Once that finally broke, the pace picked up and KUSHIDA delivered a huge dive. From there, they continued at a frantic rate. Due to their vast knowledge of one another, they had to find new counters for some of their best stuff. It really made for some awesome exchanges. In the end, it became a battle of submissions. KUSHIDA’s Hoverboard Lock against Hiromu’s new triangle choke. Hiromu baited him in on the Fastball Punch, pulling him into the triangle choke. When KUSHIDA didn’t tap, Hiromu added a brutal piledriver and put the hold back on, getting the win in 24:16. Not quite on the level of their 2017 battles, but still a great match between these two. It was different from their other matches, which just shows the versatility of these guys. Solid storytelling, action, and callbacks. [****]
So, our finals is Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori, which is literally the best possible finals that could’ve given us. Bravo, Gedo.
Overall: 8.5/10. Putting both blocks together made for a very fun show. The B Block was far superior throughout, but the A Block did well on this night. A whole lot of good wrestling, some impressive performances up and down the tournament, and we ended on some bangers. All while setting up a fresh finals. Yes, please.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Taiji Ishimori | 10 (5-2) | Hiromu Takahashi | 10 (5-2) |
| Will Ospreay | 10 (5-2) | KUSHIDA | 8 (4-3) |
| BUSHI | 6 (3-4) | Marty Scurll | 8 (4-3) |
| Flip Gordon | 6 (3-4) | Dragon Lee | 6 (3-4) |
| YOH | 6 (3-4) | Chris Sabin | 6 (3-4) |
| Tiger Mask IV | 6 (3-4) | El Desperado | 6 (3-4) |
| Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 6 (3-4) | SHO | 6 (3-4) |
| ACH | 6 (3-4) | Ryusuke Taguchi | 6 (3-4) |
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXV Night Twelve
June 2nd, 2018 | New Sunpia Takasaki in Takasaki, Gunma | Attendance: 1,515
Not only is this the final B Block only night of the tournament, but it’s also the final single camera show! NJPW took a while to get this uploaded, so night thirteen is already up as I check this one out. I’ve really enjoyed you B Block, so let’s go out with a bang.
B Block: Chris Sabin [4] vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion El Desperado [4]
Desperado took jumping his opponent before the match to a new level, hitting Sabin just as he stepped through the curtain. That led to Desperado beating him up all around the arena and nearly winning via countout. Sabin fought back by giving Desperado some of his own medicine. I’ve liked that about Sabin’s matches so far. He goes out and finds a way to work the style of the other guy. For example, he tossed Desperado into a sea of chairs and hit a cannonball onto one that he was sitting on. The pace picked up late, which worked in Sabin’s favor. He used Cradle Shock to stay alive after 12:14. This was a fine opener, though not the best outing from either man. I appreciated Sabin playing into Desperado’s style for his comeback. [***]
B Block: NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion Marty Scurll [6] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [4]
To stay alive, the “Funky Weapon” needed a victory. Meanwhile, the “Villain” has picked up three straight wins. The guys had some fun in the early stages, mocking each other a bit. It works because both characters are flat out silly. Yes, if you don’t think Marty’s gimmick is silly, you haven’t been watching him. Taguchi bothered him with all the clever counters he found for some of Marty’s key offense. Had this gone about eight minutes, we’d be talking about a fun encounter. Instead, it went the NJPW route and kept going, ending up twice as long as it should’ve been. The back half was oddly paced, featured another ref bump (a few too many of those in this tournament), and ultimately didn’t make much sense. After Taguchi got a visual tap out win, Scurll rolled him up to steal it in 15:42. It was on pace for something strong, but got marred by too much BS. [**½]
B Block: Hiromu Takahashi [6] vs. SHO [4]
One of my most highly anticipated matches of the entire tournament. For two guys without much history, there was an intensity in this that most other matches in the BOTSJ could rival. SHO continued to be desperate to prove himself against the top guys in his block, while Hiromu is always a safe bet for a wild performance. SHO knew he’d have to bring his best for Hiromu and he did with some German suplexes and a trio of powerbombs. As we saw when Hiromu faced Desperado, though, it takes a lot to keep the man down. SHO showed (ha) just as much heart, kicking out of some of Hiromu’s very best stuff. The finish was tremendous, as Hiromu applied his triangle choke. SHO tried to powerbomb his way out, but couldn’t get Hiromu up a third time and just collapsed, giving Hiromu a win in 16:19. Usually, I don’t these single cam/no commentary matches four stars or more. They just feel hollow. However, Hiromu is so special that he’s now got two in this tournament alone. This was awesome, with two gives throwing everything at each other in a match that felt important throughout. [****]
B Block: CMLL World Lightweight Champion Dragon Lee [6] vs. KUSHIDA [6]
Dragon Lee is basically the Tiger Mask IV of this side, starting hot and going cold late. On paper, this sounds incredible, but in practice, it lacked a bit. That’s not to say it wasn’t great, because it was. It just kind of felt like two great wrestlers having a very good match and not one that featured any real drama. It was mostly crisp, outside of a few miscommunications, but there didn’t seem to be much behind it. Basically, it was a good match that felt like it came between two guys who weren’t going anywhere in the tournament, rather than two at the top of the standings. They had each other well scouted, like KUSHIDA escaping Desnucadora and hitting Back to the Future, only for Lee to roll that into a pin. KUSHIDA eventually hit another Back to the Future to win in 18:17. Like I said, this was a strong main event and I apologize if the review led you to believe it wasn’t. It’s a very good match that had some issues keeping it from being one of the best in the tournament. [***¾]
Overall: 7.5/10. Though I was disappointed in two matches, this was a strong show from start to finish. The opener was solid, Taguchi/Scurll was half a very good match, and the final two matches were damn good. An easy watch outside of the second match. Hiromu is the best junior heavyweight on the planet, while SHO is the breakout star. It’s must watch.
| A BLOCK | POINTS | B BLOCK | POINTS |
| Taiji Ishimori | 8 (4-2) | KUSHIDA | 8 (4-2) |
| Will Ospreay | 8 (4-2) | Hiromu Takahashi | 8 (4-2) |
| BUSHI | 6 (3-3) | Marty Scurll | 8 (4-2) |
| Flip Gordon | 6 (3-3) | Dragon Lee | 6 (3-3) |
| YOH | 6 (3-3) | Chris Sabin | 6 (3-3) |
| Tiger Mask IV | 6 (3-3) | El Desperado | 4 (2-4) |
| Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 4 (2-4) | Ryusuke Taguchi | 4 (2-4) |
| ACH | 4 (2-4) | SHO | 4 (2-4) |
