On December 12th, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) presented the Super J Cup 2020 tournament. The one-night campaign would crown a new trophy winner the day after former three-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Best of the Super Juniors 25 (BOSJ 25), and Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) member “Time Bomb” Hiromu Takahashi won the BOSJ 27 trophy.
The second semi-finals match of the single-elimination tournament saw Super J Cup 2019 winner and Bullet Club member El Phantasmo (ELP) take on “All Heart” Blake Christian. ELP came into the match after defeating Lio Rush in the opening round, while Blake Christian gained the upset over Rey Horus.
Christian came into the match with a broken nose, yet he refused to forfeit the match despite questions from the referee and from ELP. He started the match quickly, yet was not able to string together enough offense to cause ELP consistent problems throughout the match.
Despite the advantages for ELP, he did struggle at moments against the smaller; yet ultra-athletic high flying competitor. However, he was able to gain the fall at the 7 minutes and 24 seconds mark after connecting with his Superkick technique. The win guarantees ELP qualifies for his second straight Super J Cup Finals as he takes on ACH.
Blake Christian put on a great performance despite his loss, nearly guaranteeing he has a long term spot within New Japan of America (NJoA), perhaps a spot within the main NJPW touring branch in Japan if he continues to show form.
ELP managed to shake off the ring rust he showed in his opening match, making his finals appearance an impressive feet as he begins his charge back towards the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship which is currently held by his Bullet Club tag team partner “Bone Soldier” Taiji Ishimori.
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