The New Japan Cup is now in the rear view for New Japan Pro Wrestling, with Zack Sabre Jr. taking the win in the finals against Tetusya Naito. Now, we’re closing in on the showcase of their Junior Heavyweight Division – Best of the Super Juniors. Most factions in the company have at least one member ready to go for the trophy, but not the United Empire. Will Ospreay has experience winning the tournament – and now looks to bring a fresh face into the mix.
BRUCIARE Is Coming – The Protege Of Will Ospreay?
In an upload to the NJPW YouTube channel, we’d see Will Ospreay reveal plans for a new member of the NJPW Junior Heavyweight division. He’d say the following in the video.
“The junior division has not been the same since I left. It must be burned down to the ground, and from those ashes – I will build my empire. And there is no one better to do that than my brand new protege.”
During this, Ospreay would start up a lighter and hand it off to his protege – who lit a picture of El Desperado on fire before both walked away.
Potentially The NJPW Debut Of Francesco Akira?
There is a likely candidate for this mysterious wrestler, with Francesco Akira. Francesco Akira has worked alongside Will Ospreay in Revolution Pro Wrestling, where he recently had a fantastic match with NJPW rookie Gabriel Kidd.
Born in Italy, Akira would hit the mix of the United Empire, and is a former champion in All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he held the AJPW Junior Heavyweight Championship. Add in that BRUCIARE means “to be on fire” in Italian, and we have a very strong match. We will possibly see BRUCIARE revealed during the month of April, or we might need to wait for Best of the Super Juniors.
Regardless of who this is, a new name in the Junior Heavyweight division is very welcome. There was a risk of having a duplicate field to the 2021 tournament, which only wrapped up in December. Fans want fresh faces and names, and NJPW are finally starting to be able to bring that.
Who do you think BRUCIARE could be? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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