Kevin’s NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 26 Night Eight Review

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 26 Night Eight
May 23rd, 2019 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,715

Another full slate of BOSJ matches today. Both the A Block and B Block are in action in Korakuen Hall. Let’s jump right in.

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B Block: El Phantasmo [8] vs. Ren Narita [0]
Phantasmo goes from winning the main event to opening the next show. He was a dick right from the start. Lots of stalling, taunting, and playing around with his opponent as if Narita didn’t matter. When you’re undefeated and your opponent is winless, you can be confident like that. I liked that it cost him when his grandstanding led to him getting caught in a Narita suplex. That woke the crowd up and sent this into the next stage. The fact that Narita kept coming close on flash pins was great. The fans bought into him pulling off the huge upset. Narita nearly escaped a splash but still got hit with one that moved Phantasmo to a wild 5-0 in 6:59. Another strong sprint from Narita and one of the more interesting Phantasmo matches. [***¼]

A Block: TAKA Michinoku [0] vs. Titan [2]
TAKA IS COMING…MOTHERFUCKER. It always gets me. During TAKA’s entrance, he told commentary that he hates lucha libre. That played into the match. TAKA teased a dive outside and stopped. TAKA has no time for those silly games. The story of this was basically TAKA grounding Titan and being a jerk about it, while Titan struggled to make a comeback. Surprisingly, that comeback didn’t come through the sky. Titan eventually hit a variation of the Michinoku Driver that got a three count that wasn’t clear. It made for an awkward finish at 8:09. A solid little match but nothing special. It told a fine story. [**½]

My day is pretty packed, so the rest of these matches will probably not get too detailed with the reviews.

B Block: BUSHI [2] vs. Robbie Eagles [6]
There’s potential in this. I’ve been wanting that big BUSHI match in the tournament and Eagles could be the opponent to get it from. BUSHI dropkicked Eagles during his introduction to start this, giving us a brawl in the opening minutes. This whole match was more intense than expected coming in. Eagles went after the leg and nearly won it with the Ron Miller Special. BUSHI made it to the ropes and won with the MX shortly after at the 8:04 mark. A good sprint with the sense of urgency you want in a tournament like this. Eagles wanted to remain in the hunt, while BUSHI was desperate to stay alive. [***]

A Block: Jonathan Gresham [4] vs. Tiger Mask IV [4]
Tiger Mask IV got off to a 2-0 start but has dropped two straight. Lots of smooth counter wrestling in this one. They showed respect after an even exchange, only for Tiger Mask to be the first to pull out something slightly underhanded. It seemed like he got annoyed that Gresham was outwrestling him. That made him go to strikes more than grappling, trying to take Gresham out of his element. There were points where Tiger Mask would just hit a vicious knee strike to the head. I haven’t seen this kind of aggression from Tiger Mask in I don’t know how long. It was the finish here that was truly awesome. As they went into a traditional headscissors exchange, Gresham held onto the legs on his and surprised everyone by getting a three count in 9:21. That was a lot of fun. Angry Tiger Mask gave this an added dimension and the finish was really inventive. [***½]

B Block: DOUKI [2] vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion YOH [4]
I never thought I’d be reviewing a match where the wrestlers involved are called, “YO, DOOKIE!” Though DOUKI has improved a bit after his awful match with Taguchi, he still isn’t exactly wowing me. He didn’t do anything offensively bad here, but everything was kind of just there. He’s not as good as El Desperado and it’s basically like we have another Kanemaru in the tournament. That’s not welcome. YOH looked to pick up another win with the Calf Killer, but DOUKI managed to survive the multiple attempts. DOUKI combated the leg work by going after the arm. Neither man could submit the other and YOH won with a Dragon Suplex in 11:22. This went a bit long for what they were going for. DOUKI just isn’t that interesting, though YOH did well here. [**½]

Knife Pervert II video time.

A Block: Marty Scurll [4] vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion SHO [2]
They met in last year’s tournament (***½), which SHO won. Scurll came out with a cane and bandaged up from the Shingo match. Then he threw off all the stuff and jumped SHO before the bell. The cheap start gave Scurll the upper hand for most of this match. It forced SHO to fight from behind. Combine how good he is in that position with how well Marty played up his heel side and this was just what I wanted from them. Scurll going after the bandaged ear of SHO mad for an interesting offensive attack and I appreciated that. The Korakuen crowd was hot. They love the Roppongi 3K boys. SHO survived a fair amount before winning via Shock Arrow in 13:18. I loved that they packed a lot of great stuff into such a short time. SHO having to overcome the odds is a great position for him.[***¾]

B Block: Rocky Romero [2] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [6]
Taguchi won their meeting in the 2016 BOSJ (**½). He also won their 2014 meeting that I’ve never seen. Here, it was the battle of the coaches. Basketball vs .Rugby. That made for a fun dynamic. You’ve got two guys who are here to have a good time and put on a fun little show. They did they just. The exchange where Rocky’s lariats went against Taguchi’s ass attacks was enjoyable. That was the tone for this one. Back and forth action that wasn’t taken too seriously. We got some near falls as they traded pins late, with Taguchi using one of them to win in 9:58. A fine change of pace from most of the show. Post-match, they posed together and agreed to coach NJPW together. Aww. [**¾]

A Block: Taiji Ishimori [8] vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [2]
Kanemaru won their meeting last year (*½), which was arguably the worst tournament bout. El Phantasmo stayed undefeated earlier. Could his Bullet Club buddy follow suit? He came out limping as the tournament has taken its toll. Kanemaru jumped him before the bell because that’s just who he is. He took the fight outside and looked to win his second straight match by countout. Unlike SHO, Ishimori was able to beat the count and survive. Not for long because Kanemaru spit the whiskey at him and used a small package to steal this in 3:51. I’ll take short Kanemaru matches for sure. Kanemaru moved to 11-0-1 against Ishimori. [**]

B Block: Bandido [4] vs. Will Ospreay [6]
Commentary has been hyping this one since the tournament started. We all know both guys are quick and athletic. They showed that early, but this really got going when they started showing off the power. Ospreay has bulked up and it’s clear, but something like Bandido press slamming him with one hand was sick. He was able to dish out the strikes as hard as Will. That’s something Ospreay hadn’t faced in this tournament yet. The only guys who could match him are over in A Block. Bandido shined with things like a crazy powerful reverse rana spot and a Shooting Star Press to the outside. Both guy were worn down as they neared the 15 minute mark. To give Ospreay his due, watching him take a rana, roll into a pin, then into a submission, and then into a sick Liger Bomb made for great action. Him landing on his feet on the 21 Plex was insane and easily the best “land on my feet” spot he’s run. Bandido made a crucial mistake and got caught with Storm Breaker to give Ospreay the win in 18:03. ARE YOU WATCHING GEDO? I’ve been saying since the tourney started that Will’s wheelhouse is 15-20 minutes. He went 18 here and EASILY gave his best performance of the BOSJ. I loved the battle of power in this as it was unexpected. Some of the exchanges in this were breathtaking. The late drama added to this, as did the hot crowd. The breakout match Bandido needed. [****¼]

A Block: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Dragon Lee [6] vs. Shingo Takagi [8]
A huge matchup considering Lee is the champion and Shingo has been a monster. Shingo accepted a handshake at the bell, but held on and pulled Lee right into the fight. This was your ultimate strength against power matchup. Still, Lee looked to prove he wasn’t intimidated by Shingo and stood his ground. It took him a while to get going, but he finally got enough behind his shots to send Shingo outside. He immediately followed with a massive tope suicida. Things picked up in a big way down the stretch. When Lee kicked out of some of Shingo’s best offense, fans believed he might have a chance. They bit on the near falls for his best shots. There was a particular one after a huge knee strike that was one of the best near falls I’ve seen all year. Lee didn’t capitalize on that quick enough, because his Desnucadora got countered and Shingo won with Last of the Dragon in 17:20. Look at that. Another sub-20 minute banger. What an encounter. Lee was forced to unload his entire arsenal against the unstoppable Shingo. And it still wasn’t enough. [****¼]

A BLOCK	POINTS	B BLOCK	POINTS
Shingo Takagi	10 (5-0)	El Phantasmo	10 (5-0)
Taiji Ishimori	8 (4-1)	Will Ospreay	8 (4-1)
Dragon Lee	6 (3-2)	Ryusuke Taguchi	8 (4-1)
Jonathan Gresham	6 (3-2)	YOH	6 (3-2)
Marty Scurll	4 (2-3)	Robbie Eagles	6 (3-2)
Tiger Mask IV	4 (2-3)	Bandido	4 (2-3)
SHO	4 (2-3)	BUSHI	4 (2-3)
Titan	4 (2-3)	Rocky Romero	2 (1-4)
Yoshinobu Kanemaru	4 (2-3)	DOUKI	2 (1-4)
TAKA Michinoku	0 (0-5)	Ren Narita	0 (0-5)

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Great stuff here. Not every match was worth checking out, but most of it was. And most importantly? The show runs just under three hours. I’m okay with major shows like Wrestle Kingdom or WrestleMania going super long, but these need to stay within that three hour mark or so. You’ve got two must see matches at the end and almost everything else is at least enjoyable.