Pantoja’s NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2022 Night One Review

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2022 Night One

May 15th, 2022 | Nagoya Congress Center in Nagoya, Aichi

Guys, I’m actually excited about this tournament. I’ve been down on New Japan’s direction since about mid-2019 but they delivered a strong Wrestling Dontakuevent, this tourney is usually good, and we’ve got some fresh names in the field. And if there’s one thing this company desperately needs, it’s something fresh.

As usual, I’m only reviewing the tournament and not the non-tourney bouts.

A Block: Ace Austin [0] vs. Clark Connors [0]

Connors was a Young Lion from the LA Dojo, while Ace Austin is the current X-Division Champion in Impact Wrestling. We got the expected feeling out process here as these guys don’t have history, so they had to get to know each other. In a lot of ways it was about Connors using strength and Austin having the quickness and experience edges. I like that Connors brings power here as it isn’t something you see much in the tournament. I dug Austin bringing the literal tricks up his sleeve as he pulled out a lamented card to give Connors a paper cut between his fingers. That’s not something you see often. Austin got to showcase his aerial skills with a  Fosbury Flop (a move I’ve always dug). Connors could stop him with a simple Spear and he did but then Austin fired off kicks before winning with The Fold in 9:51. A good start for the BOSJ. Both guys showed what they can do and had an entertaining match with the right guy going over. [***¼]

A Block: Alex Zayne [0] vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [0]

Zayne is someone I haven’t seen much of, while Kanemaru is usually going to give you mediocre matches consistently. Zayne has quite an interesting look to him and its’ clear that this was a styles clash. Kanemaru put the focus on the leg and kept the pace slow, which works for him. Whenever Zayne tried to get something going, Kanemaru was able to keep him down. He finally got going and did a good job of selling the work done. Zayne survived a lengthy Figure Four spot that the crowd didn’t react all that much to. Zayne rallied and won with the Cinnamon Twist after 11:31 that felt way longer. Kanemaru’s game plan made sense though it made for a dull match. Maybe had Zayne established himself with a fast-paced match against someone like Hiromu and then was slowed by Kanemaru it might’ve worked better. Either way, this was lackluster. [**¼]

A Block: Francesco Akira [0] vs. SHO [0]

SHO was a consistent favorite of mine in this tournament but the House of Torture stuff has made him a drag. I don’t know much about Akira. Oh, no, he’s with the Empire? AND has TJP in his corner? I thought I’d have at least another show before I had to see him. SHO jumped Akira during his entrance, setting the tone for a brawl. The main difference here was that TJP was around to try and negate things. It was odd that the Young Lions would stop TJP, yet they never seem to be around for Torture Boys antics. Akira beat a countout attempt but the damage was done to his arm. Once things were back in the ring, they traded offense with SHO continuing to target the arm. I liked some of Akira’s offense that he did late though I don’t remember what they were called. It was mentioned on commentary. He hit two good shots late before double knees to the back of the head ended this for a relative upset in 11:49. They kept the shenanigans down and TJP was only used to stop SHO BS. The arm work was well done and both guys put in the effort. [***¼]

A Block: Hiromu Takahashi [0] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [0]

They met at the 45th Anniversary Show (****), BOSJ 2018 (***½), BOSJ 2020 (***¼), and BOSJ 2021 (***¼). Apparently, Taguchi said he wouldn’t use ass-based attacks in this tourney, similar to Yano saying he wouldn’t cheat in the G1 a few years back. The opening second saw Taguchi try an ass attack and offer a free pin as punishment, only to go for an Ankle Lock when Hiromu tried it. That ended up being the majority of this match. Ass-based offense, jokes, and chasing each other around the ring. You guys know I love goofy shit in my wrestling and I adore Toru Yano in the G1 but this wasn’t funny. It was just lame and it went on for way too long. Taguchi had his red underwear exposed before losing to a rollup in 10:42. [**]

A Block: Taiji Ishimori [0] vs. YOH [0]

Our new Jr. Heavyweight Champion Ishimori against last year’s runner-up, YOH. They met in the 2018 BOSJ (***¾) and the 2021 iteration (***¼). Commentary was big on the fact that YOH has continued to lose big matches despite his hot run in last year’s tournament. YOH is good as the underdog face, which they played into here as Ishimori cockily worked him over, knowing he was in control. He’s won big matches, so this is no problem. He also used the exposed turnbuckle to his advantage, putting more pressure on YOH. Whenever YOH seemed to get something going, Ishimori could strike with something big though his knee was banged up so he couldn’t take full advantage. The knee actually leveled the playing field a bit. Ishimori was like a surgeon with his precise arm work and when he’d go to that, YOH would struggle. If YOH wasn’t in the driver’s seat, he looked a bit lost and that’s what they were going for. In the end, no matter how hard he fought, YOH submitted to the Bone Lock after 16:15. A strong main event but nothing that blew me away. [***¼]

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

A disappointing start to the tournament. It’s certainly not a bad night of wrestling as there are three good matches out of five and while the other two lacked, neither was awful. It’s just that even the good stuff never sniffed being great so you get an above average show and that’s all.