It’s time for the Junior Heavyweight talent of NJPW to take center stage, as we kick off another edition of Best of The Super Juniors! Much like last year, this tournament will run side by side with World Tag League, meaning just one block – unlike the G1 which had two blocks of talent. This means that everyone will wrestle everyone else, and whichever two names have the most points at the end battle in the finals. Simple right? Let’s get into it!
Robbie Eagles Needs To Earn Back His Gold
Kicking off the tournament action, BUSHI would take on DOUKI. These two would pick the pace up fast, and keep that speed throughout the match. There was the expected brawling and choking from both men, with DOUKI showing some well timed flips as well. DOUKI tried to close things with the Daybreak DDT, but was countered. He’d keep the pressure on however, and nail Suplex de La Luna for the win.
Next up was Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Taiji Ishimori, who have been bitter rivals ever since their days in NOAH. All times except once, Kanemaru wins – holding a 11-1 record over Ishimori. He jumped Ishimori from behind to start this one with a brawl, before fending off a crossface attempt in the ring. Things spilled back outside, and as the referee reached 18 on his count, Kanemaru threw a Young Lion at Ishimori, causing the count out win.
Robbie Eagles could have entered this tournament as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, but he lost to El Desperado. Now he needs to battle hard to get back his singles gold, and that started with Ryusuke Taguchi. This one started off very technical, both men looking for signature leg submissions. Taguchi got things going with flying hip attacks, while avoiding submissions using the ropes. Eagles thought he had Taguchi down for a 450 Splash to the leg, but instead took two knees to the stomach. Turbo Backpack was his last hope, and Taguchi countered that into a Dodon for the win.
SHO Shows True Colors In Main Event
Next up was Master Wato & El Phantasmo. This one was an amazing showcase of counter wrestling to start, until Phantasmo took the edge and started his cocky tactics. Back rakes, unneeded cartwheels, the works. He’d nail a rolling solebutt and wanted One Winged Angel, but Wato countered into a roll up to steal two points.
YOH was up next, and his head is focused on his former tag team partner SHO. However, he’d start off a fast match with Hiromu Takahashi showing some fire. Two dives to the outside got things going hot, but that’s how Takahashi likes it. Skipping right to his max gear, Takahashi blitzed through YOH in just under four minutes, driving him into the corner with a death valley driver and rolling him up for the win.
Finally it was main event time, as SHO took on IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado. You could tell early on this one was going 20+ minutes, as they started at a snail’s pace with slow brawling. Things got interesting when both men assaulted the other with chairs on the outside. Desperado had SHO beat at every turn, with him able to survive anything SHO tried. This prompted Dick Togo to run in. If you’ve seen an EVIL match, you know what comes next. A ton of interference, low blows, choking with wires, and SHO nails his finish to win.
6 Men Take Early Leads
The point totals are simple tonight. DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato, Hiromu Takahashi and SHO all have two points. The rest have zero. Nothing more to say, this one is far too early to predict winners.
Do you think SHO will stick with House of Torture longterm? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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