NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXIV Night Seven Review
May 25th, 2016 | Suehiro Gymnasium in Komatsu, Ishikawa | Attendance: 1,994
The tournament returns with B Block action. Can El Desperado remain unbeaten? Can BUSHI finally get a much-deserved win? Will KUSHIDA turn his win into a streak? Speaking of KUSHIDA, he and ACH are the big match today and they had an IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title match last year that made my year-end list.
B Block: Tiger Mask IV [4] vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [4]
Tiger Mask has performed better than expected in this tournament, while Kanemaru has been as bland as I expected. This had the expected early Suzuki-Gun attack, because screw creativity. It followed more Suzuki-Gun tropes with interference and cheap shots galore. As Tiger Mask fought back, he took out TAKA at ringside. Unfortunately, that meant the awful Taichi strolled out to replace him. His distraction and cheap shot set up Kanemaru’s victory in 8:42. Standard Suzuki-Gun BS. Lots of cheap tactics to try and gloss over how dull the match was. Disappointing because Tiger Mask was on such a good run. [*¾]
B Block: El Desperado [6] vs. Volador Jr. [2]
NJPW tournaments are usually fun and filled with good wrestling, but there aren’t a ton of surprises. If a guy like Desperado starts undefeated, he’ll lose his next match or three. It happened with Kyle O’Reilly in last year’s BOTSJ and guys like Togi Makabe (2016), Shelton Benjamin (2014) and Yujiro Takahashi (2013) in previous G1 Climaxes. Anyway, Desperado continued to be the most interesting and entertaining member of Suzuki-Gun. I liked how they didn’t go the typical route. When Desperado tried using a chair, he was caught by the referee, leading to a great spot where Volador dove over the official and onto him. Desperado took a great bump on Voaldor’s spinning piledriver like move to lose at 8:03. Good work from both guys in a fun sprint. The result was the expected one, but either way, this was enjoyable. [***¼]
B Block: BUSHI [0] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [4]
Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Taguchi Japan! It continues! That came into play instantly, as both men had counters ready for each other. The crowd was way into this, most likely because of how each guy is prominently featured in multi-man tags. Taguchi was the first to go high-risk, nailing a sweet dive to the outside. Unlike the Suzuki-Gun guys, BUSHI found a creative way to utilize underhanded tactics. He crawled under the ring and to the opposite side to blindside Taguchi. BUSHI countered Dodon and survived the ankle lock. The finish was anti-climactic, with BUSHI just hitting MX and getting his first points at 9:26. Another fun match. It’s good to see BUSHI get on the board and the chemistry between these two made for a smooth match. [***]
B Block: ACH [2] vs. ROH World Television Champion KUSHIDA [2]
I gave their match in ROH **** last year. This began with a feeling out process, with neither man trying to make a mistake. They had each other very well scouted, leading to some fun counters and blocks in the early stages. It was odd to see KUSHDIA go after the arm. He’s been struggling with that strategy for a while, so he changed up his game in the win over BUSHI, but reverted back in this one. His Hoverboard Lock attempts never quite threatened to fully put away ACH. They had strong exchanges down the stretch, highlighted by ACH fighting off the Small Package Driver and hitting a Michinoku Driver. I wonder if TAKA is mad or honored about that. ACH hit a lariat and the Midnight Driver to put the ROH TV Champion down at 14:44. There’s something funny about that considering ACH left ROH recently. By the way, he, like Cedric Alexander, Donovan Dijak and others, has shined since leaving them. This was the best match of the night, with great back and forth and it told a sensible story.[***½]
Overall: 7/10. Outside of the opener, this is an easy watch. The other three matches are all fun and different. Guys like KUSHIDA, Desperado, ACH and Tiger Mask (sans this show) continue to do a good job and the B Block has been better than expected.
| A Block | Points | B Block | Points |
| Dragon Lee | 6 (3-1) | El Desperado | 6 (3-1) |
| Marty Scurll | 6 (3-1) | Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 6 (3-1) |
| Will Ospreay | 6 (3-1) | Volador Jr. | 4 (2-2) |
| Ricochet | 4 (2-2) | Tiger Mask IV | 4 (2-2) |
| Hiromu Takahashi | 4 (2-2) | ACH | 4 (2-2) |
| Taichi | 4 (2-2) | Ryusuke Taguchi | 4 (2-2) |
| TAKA Michinoku | 2 (1-3) | KUSHIDA | 2 (1-3) |
| Jushin Thunder Liger | 0 (0-4) | BUSHI | 2 (1-3) |
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXIV Night Six
May 23rd, 2017 | Tochigi Sports Park Gymnasium in Tochigi, Japan | Attendance: 641
The A Block is back with another single camera show. Every match on this card is intriguing. Yes, even Taichi’s, purely to see if Hiromu Takahashi can pull a watchable match out of him.
A Block: Marty Scurll [4] vs. TAKA Michinoku [2]
I say it each show, but Marty Scurll is impressively over for this being his first run in Japan. These two went out and had a fun match, filled with entertaining antics. TAKA got in control and applied the crossface , but Marty escaped. Marty’s need to shout moves before doing them (BRAINBUSTER and CHICKEN WING) cost him as TAKA countered both. They came up with a great finishing spot. Both men tried eye pokes but Marty turned TAKA’s into his finger break spot, which got a great reaction. He used the chicken wing to win at 8:32. I found this to be good fun. Both guys didn’t take things too seriously, while still showing a desire to win. [**¾]
A Block: Jushin Thunder Liger [0] vs. Will Ospreay [4]
There were two relatively disappointing matches between these two last year. Though Ospreay did dress as Dark Liger against him, which was cool. Something about their chemistry still lacked this time around. Liger schooled Will several times early, setting up a veteran vs. youngster story. Ospreay used his speed to combat it and went into getting his shit in. Liger fought back, but it lacked something. Ospreay won in 10:10 with the Oscutter in what was one of the more disappointing matches of the tournament. It missed a lot of the fire that both guys have brought so far. With Marty’s win and Liger’s loss, Liger is officially eliminated in his last BOTSJ. [**½]
A Block: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi [2] vs. Taichi [4]
Hiromu Takahashi is my current Wrestler of the Year, and I’ve made that clear. But if he pulls something good out of Taichi, he may be Wrestler of the Century. Taichi jumped Hiromu before the bell, leading to the typical Suzuki-Gun brawl around the ring. I say that way too often. I’d have booked Hiromu to run straight through Taichi, but instead, we had to sit through Taichi’s boring offense. When Hiromu rallied, the pace quickened. Taichi played mind games, bringing out black trunks to remind Hiromu of his time as a young lion. It was a fun thing to help the match stand out. Taichi honestly put in effort for the first time here. Hiromu won with a sloppy Time Bomb at 14:13 in a match that was easily the best Taichi work I’ve seen in forever. They brought something different and Hiromu did the seemingly impossible. I enjoyed a Taichi match. [***]
A Block: Dragon Lee [4] vs. Ricochet [4]
This had potential to be an absolutely wild match. It began like a lot of Ricochet/Ospreay matches. Fast paced exchanges and two men showing that they’re evenly matched in terms of athleticism. I was intrigued by the more arrogant side of Ricochet, kicking away at Lee’s head and talking smack. I also dug the twist on Ricochet’s rana counter of landing on his feet, by having him do so on Lee’s awesome apron rana. This was the kind of match where two guys went out and showcased their stuff. It’s a fine idea, but I think they are capable of more. Lee won by blocking a super rana and hitting the tree of woe double stomp at 13:07. A fun, fitting main event. Like I said though, I think they have a better match in them. [***½]
Overall: 6/10. A middle of the pack outing from the A Block. TAKA/Marty was solid fun, but Ospreay/Liger didn’t do much for me. Hiromu got the best possible match out of Taichi and the main event was a strong capper. I feel like the A Block can guarantee at least one ***½+ match each time out.
| A Block | Points | B Block | Points |
| Dragon Lee | 6 (3-1) | El Desperado | 6 (3-0) |
| Marty Scurll | 6 (3-1) | Ryusuke Taguchi | 4 (2-1) |
| Will Ospreay | 6 (3-1) | Tiger Mask IV | 4 (2-1) |
| Ricochet | 4 (2-2) | Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 4 (2-1) |
| Hiromu Takahashi | 4 (2-2) | Volador Jr. | 2 (1-2) |
| Taichi | 4 (2-2) | ACH | 2 (1-2) |
| TAKA Michinoku | 2 (1-3) | KUSHIDA | 2 (1-2) |
| Jushin Thunder Liger | 0 (0-4) | BUSHI | 0 (0-3) |
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXIV Night Five
May 22nd, 2017 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,250
The BOTSJ returns to Korakuen Hall for a B Block event. This wasn’t a house show style event and all the matches are available online. However, pressed for time, I’m still only reviewing the tournament matches.
B Block: Volador Jr. [2] vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [2]
Neither man has lit the world on fire in the tournament thus far. Volador was his flippy self early on, so Kanemaru knocked him outside for some Suzuki-Gun style brawling. There was more fire and interest from Kanemaru here than against ACH. I’d chalk it up to this being a bigger show, but it was missing against Taguchi on night one. Volador came back with some fire and Kanemaru tried cheating a few times. When Kanemaru couldn’t get it done, TAKA Michinoku distracted the referee, allowing Kanemaru to hit Volador with a bottle of tequila. Was it tequila because Volador is Mexican? Anyway, Kanemaru hit a diving DDT to win at 9:41. Better than expected and the best match for either guy so far. It was on the way to being even better but I didn’t dig the finish. [**¾]
B Block: ACH [2] vs. Tiger Mask IV [2]
ACH has been a fun addition to the tournament, while Tiger Mask IV had a very good match with KUSHDIA on night three. Tiger Mask targeted the lower back of ACH, trying to slow him down. ACH sold well, but still threw as much of his flashy offense at the veteran as he could. ACH’s dives all got great reactions from the audience. Despite his best efforts, ACH couldn’t keep Tiger Mask down. Tiger Mask withstood a lot of offense and kept waiting for openings. If ACH’s back gave out on a move attempt, he’d kick away. If ACH climbed to the top, he’d bring him down. They traded kicks down the stretch and ACH got Tiger Mask on his shoulders. He wasn’t strong enough, so Tiger slipped out and caught him with a crucifix to win at 11:40. Where has this Tiger Mask IV been for the past few years? This was a well told story of the young gun giving the old guy all he could handle, but the veteran waiting him out. Tiger Mask’s game plan worked and he won. [***½]
B Block: El Desperado [4] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [4]
The block’s two undefeated men in a battel for first place. I saw something I never expected to see in this match. Desperado took a pen from commentary and proceeded to shove it up the funky weapon! For those unfamiliar, that’s Taguchi’s ass. Though weird, the attack made sense considering Taguchi’s penchant for ass based offense. Desperado went after Taguchi’s knee, but he retaliated with the ankle lock. They’ve done a great job making the ankle lock a legitimate finish in recent months. I liked that this kind of became a battle of submissions, since it wasn’t what I expected. After kicking out of Dodon, Desperado got trapped in the ankle lock again. He escaped, removed his mask, tossed it to Taguchi and told the referee Taguchi did it. TAKA handed him a new mask and he hit Taguchi with a low blow while he argued with the referee. He won with Guitarra de la Muerta and won in 12:38. That was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the submission work and the SG antics made sense here. The other Suzuki-Gun juniors need to take notes from Desperado. I’d be all for him winning his block or the whole thing. [***¼]
B Block: NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion BUSHI [0] vs. ROH World Television Champion KUSHIDA [0]
These two met four times last year and they ranged from good to great (**** at New Beginning, ***½ at BOTSJ and Destruction, and *** at Power Struggle). Both men were desperate for their first points. Instantly, this had a sense of urgency from both men. Neither wanted to fall to 0-3. BUSHI was ready for KUSHIDA’s handspring elbow and knew not to dive off the apron at KUSHIDA, since KUSHIDA catches people in arm bars that way. KUSHIDA had the MX scouted, blocking it and trying for the Hoverboard Lock. They traded blows in the middle of the ring when nothing seemed to keep the other down. BUSHI used a Destroyer and MX, but KUSHIDA refused to stay down. KUSHIDA countered the next MX attempt into his own Codebreaker, before applying the Hoverboard Lock. BUSHI just wouldn’t tap, so KUSHIDA rolled over into God’s Last Gift! That got him the win at 15:51. This might’ve been my favorite match between them. They played off their past and brought a real sense of desperation to this. I love God’s Last Gift for KUSHIDA and how he had to try something new because his old stuff kept failing. I don’t want him to come back and win the whole thing because Dominion already has too many WK rematches, but this ruled. Also, I hate that BUSHI is 0-3 again this year. [****]
Overall: 7/10. The B Block rebounds after a dull night three with a strong showing. All four matches are good. Kanemaru/Volador and Taguchi/Desperado were both better than expected. Tiger Mask was awesome and his match with ACH blew away expectations. The main event is arguably the best BUSHI/KUSHIDA match and the whole thing just flies by.
| A Block | Points | B Block | Points |
| Marty Scurll | 4 (2-1) | El Desperado | 6 (3-0) |
| Will Ospreay | 4 (2-1) | Ryusuke Taguchi | 4 (2-1) |
| Ricochet | 4 (2-1) | Tiger Mask IV | 4 (2-1) |
| Taichi | 4 (2-1) | Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 4 (2-1) |
| Dragon Lee | 4 (2-1) | Volador Jr. | 2 (1-2) |
| Hiromu Takahashi | 2 (1-2) | ACH | 2 (1-2) |
| TAKA Michinoku | 2 (1-2) | KUSHIDA | 2 (1-2) |
| Jushin Thunder Liger | 0 (0-3) | BUSHI | 0 (0-3) |
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors XXIV Night Four
May 21st, 2017 | Kira Messe Yumatsu in Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan | Attendance: 1,470
We’re back to the mostly awesome A Block today, including what should be a fun meeting between Jushin Thunder Liger and Marty Scurll, as well as a rematch of the awesome Ricochet/Hiromu Takahashi match from 4/29.
A Block: TAKA Michinoku [2] vs. Will Ospreay [2]
TAKA beat Liger and lost to Taichi, while Ospreay lost to Scurll and beat Ricochet. I thought there were a few good moments in this. TAKA applying the crossface outside for a great countout tease, and then putting the hold right back on once Ospreay beat the count, was great. The tease was a bit phony though as Ospreay was down and then could suddenly run hard enough to beat the count at 19. My main concern with this match was that it was mostly TAKA on offense. I get the heel doing a heat segment, but this could’ve used more of Ospreay’s fun offense. Instead, he got beat up, then got his shit in and won with the Oscutter at 8:46. TAKA’s best work was still against Liger. This felt like an off night for Will following two tough matches to begin the tournament. That’s okay sometimes. [**½]
A Block: Jushin Thunder Liger [0] vs. Marty Scurll [2]
These two met at Global Wars UK last year (***¼), where Marty came out with his own version of Liger’s mask. This was literally a superhero against a villain. This was delightfully campy. Both guys brought fun antics and I got a kick out of Liger mocking the “WOOT WOOT” from Marty’s theme. With Liger in control, Marty got more aggressive. He targeted the arm, looking to set up the Chicken Wing. Liger retaliated with some hope spots, including a super rana and superplex, but it was never enough. He tried an O’Connor roll, but Marty turned it into the chicken wing and Liger had to tap at 12:16. Scurll is three for three in fun matches. This was another strong performance by both men. I’d like Liger to sweep his last four matches and win the block. [***½]
A Block: Dragon Lee [4] vs. Taichi [2]
This tournament is the rare case where a booker should’ve booked himself instead of another talent. He should be in this tournament instead of Taichi. Taichi has this ability to make even the most interesting wrestlers have shit matches. He did it with Ricochet on night one and he tried his hardest with Lee here. We got the typical Suzuki-Gun BS where Desperado jumped Lee while Taichi distracted the referee. Lee’s offense looked good, but everything Taichi did was a drag. Lee hit a corner exploder and a snap German, but then Desperado hit him with a chair. Taichi won shortly after with a powerbomb in 9:04. I wouldn’t be surprised if, at the end of this tournament, Taichi has the seven worst matches all by himself. This sucked and I’m already beyond tired of Taichi in this thing. [*½]
A Block: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi [2] vs. Ricochet [2]
Their match at Wrestling Toyonokuni ruled (****¼), but I came in expecting a bit less effort with this being a house show type deal. Their last match started insanely hot, but this had a more subdued Knowing the champion, Ricochet had a counter for his sunset flip bomb. Hiromu weathered that storm and took control, choosing to toy with Ricochet. It’s as if, because he beat him last month, Hiromu figured it would be a walk in the park this time. They kept yelling each other’s names before moves. “HIROMU!” “RICOCHET!” Ricochet rallied and the match kept a brisk pace throughout. There was a sense of urgency that neither man wanted to fall to 1-2. Both guys threw bombs down the stretch, before Ricochet dug deep and pulled out Vertigo. Or King’s Landing. I’m not sure what the name is. The match ended at 12:15. I wouldn’t put this on the level of their title match, but this was still a great main event that fit their styles. [***¾]
Overall: 6/10. As long as Taichi’s around, these A Block shows won’t be getting great scores. Hiromu, Ricochet, Liger and Scurll all brought it, producing two quality matches. Taichi sucked the life out of the show and Ospreay took a night off, which is understandable. Middling stuff. Check out Scurll/Liger and the main event, skip the rest.
| A Block | Points | B Block | Points |
| Marty Scurll | 4 (2-1) | El Desperado | 4 (2-0) |
| Will Ospreay | 4 (2-1) | Ryusuke Taguchi | 4 (2-0) |
| Ricochet | 4 (2-1) | Volador Jr. | 2 (1-1) |
| Taichi | 4 (2-1) | Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 2 (1-1) |
| Dragon Lee | 4 (2-1) | Tiger Mask IV | 2 (1-1) |
| Hiromu Takahashi | 2 (1-2) | ACH | 2 (1-1) |
| TAKA Michinoku | 2 (1-2) | BUSHI | 0 (0-2) |
| Jushin Thunder Liger | 0 (0-3) | KUSHIDA | 0 (0-2) |
