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

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2022 Night Seven

May 24th, 2022 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,215

Yes! We have arrived at the stage of the tournament where the entire show is dedicated to it and not just half. It is tougher to get through these on a busy day because they’re longer but they ultimately feel like a real event and are usually better all-around.

A Block: Alex Zayne [4] vs. Francesco Akira [2]

Two new arrivals to New Japan. Commentary hyped that Zayne is already the most popular of the new arrivals with the Japanese crowd. That was clear from the opening exchanges with Zayne’s offense getting a strong reaction from the crowd. WAIT WHY HAVE I NEVER REALIZED GUARDRAILS ARE REMOVED FOR THIS TOURNAMENT? I’ve seen every tourney match since 2015 and this has somehow eluded me. Akira got a good reaction too and a lot of his offense was focused on the back of Zayne’s head. That’s a good way to set up his Fireball finisher and to show off what he’s learned from his stable leader. Down the stretch, they kept up the idea of them being evenly matched and neither giving up much of an edge. Both were down after a sweet poison rana from Akira and Akira kept up the high impact moves. The frustration of losing two straight and not being able to keep Zayne down was clear for Akira. Zayne followed up a lackluster looking move with the Taco Driver to win in 10:54. That was a really good, competitive opener filled with action. You got the sense they were out to make sure the fans remembered them. [***½]

B Block: Titán [0] vs. TJP [2]

Commentary noted that both men have performed well despite their record, especially since Titán was kind of screwed by the referee. They also mentioned that these guys have met before in Mexico and Japan in tags. Wildly, this is TJP’s first singles match in Korakuen since 2011. Their opening exchange was fast paced and showed them go to a standoff. TJP got in a cheap shot on a handshake and went after the mask, showing his Empire gimmick. Titán had to sell the leg while trying to get his offense in, which meant he had to go to the ground instead of the skies with things like an armbar. That made this an interesting match of submissions, which wasn’t what I expected. Titán finally took it to the next level with a diving double stomp to the outside despite his damaged knee. He took a while to recover, only getting two inside, before adding another double stomp onto the back to win in 13:53. That was another good match that went an unexpected route. [***¼]

A Block: Clark Connors [0] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [2]

Connors came into this wanting the serious Taguchi but he also had a bandaged forearm that was a target at points. Taguchi came in with ass attacks but didn’t feel like the total goof he can be. Commentary was sure to make plenty of “butt stuff” jokes. It was a good blend of what makes Taguchi work. He did some serious things but made sure to include the wackiness that people want. I was surprised to see Connors lean into it though, trading ass attacks with Taguchi. For a guy who supposedly wanted Big Match Taguchi, he went for the comedy with relative ease. Connors put down Taguchi with his finisher after 8:25. Good for Connors to get his first win though this wasn’t something that worked for me. It wasn’t very funny and felt out of place for Connors, a guy who was desperate for a win. [**¼]

B Block: BUSHI [4] vs. Wheeler Yuta [2]

I know people don’t care for BUSHI but I’ve always liked him as a solid guy in the division. Yuta came out more aggressive than he has so far, overwhelming BUSHI in the opening few minutes. He hit hard, attacked outside, and nailed a tope suicida. BUSHI could stop him with a stiff dropkick from out of nowhere but Yuta kept up the pressure to remain in control. I’m still loving his use of the Cattle Mutilation too. BUSHI survived it and kept coming at Yuta before getting pulled into a creative pinning combination that ended this in 8:05. They’re keeping some of these short and this is a solid choice. They packed a fun match into the time and kept me entertained throughout. [***]

A Block: Ace Austin [4] vs. YOH [4]

One of the most interesting matches of the tourney for sure. Not only are both guys really good but Austin’s cocky style could work well against YOH’s underdog quality. Austin did the card trick papercut early and YOH responded by going after the leg with some pretty sickening torque on a submission. They went back and forth after that but my biggest problem with this match was that it was too short. Don’t get me wrong, I love short matches but this was a case where it felt like they were really only getting started when it ended. I don’t even have much else to say about the analysis of the match because I’m still surprised it ended so soon. Austin secured the win after 7:20 in a match that on the road to being great only to abruptly end far too soon. [***¼]

B Block: DOUKI [2] vs. El Phantasmo [6]

We’re into the post-intermission section of the show now. These two have met in each of the last three BOSJ tournaments (**½, ***¼, and **½). We got the usual strutting and taunting from ELP, which made DOUKI getting in some offense a pleasing sight. He nearly even won by countout in just a few minutes. ELP came back with a sweet dive outside that Kevin Kelly praised and he followed it up with a trio of fantastic moves. I loved the finish because of that. DOUKI seemingly botched a springboard move trying to match ELP’s pretty offense. ELP mocked him but it was all a ploy as DOUKI pulled him into an inside cradle to steal this in 6:52. Yes! That finished ruled and played into who both guys are, plus it got a great reaction. [***]

B Block: Master Wato [0] vs. Robbie Eagles [4]

They met in the 2020 tourney (***¼), 2021 tourney (***½), and a Summer Struggleshow last year (***½). With so many matches being short today, I liked the idea of Wato bringing out some key offense early. He needs a win in the worst way and he might as well go for a flash win like some others. Eagles wouldn’t let that happen and fired off some high kicks only to run into a backbreaker. Wato seemed to have more snap on a lot of his stuff, which is what I want from a guy who is winless. He also took to the skies more, being willing to take extra risks. However, a vicious pair of knees in the corner from Eagles looked to rock Wato into a daze. I always pop for the Ron Miller Special and did so here again but Wato made it to the ropes. From there, Wato won out on a series of counters with a pinning combination at the 11:39 mark. Like the rest of this show, this was another really good match with many aspects that worked. I really dug Wato’s sense of desperation. [***¼]

A Block: Hiromu Takahashi [6] vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [0]

Undefeated vs. Winless. There’s a surprisingly small number of matches between these two, with meetings at Wrestling Hi No Kuni in 2018 (***) and last year’s BOSJ (***¼). They’ve met in plenty of tags though. Kanemaru jumped Hiromu before the bell, which he needed given his struggles so far. That set the tone for Kanemaru dissecting Hiromu by attacking the knee around the ring post and on a chair. It gave him the unfair advantage he needed. Once back in the ring, Kanemaru applied the Figure Four. Commentary noted that Hiromu faces YOH next, who can be a leg specialist, so tapping would make sense to preserve yourself going forward. Hiromu fought hard but eventually had to tap after just 6:47. That wasn’t much as a match itself but it told a good story and sets up a storyline for the rest of the tournament where a favorite has a bad leg. [**½]

A Block: SHO [2] vs. Taiji Ishimori [6]

They’ve previously faced off in the 2019 Super J-Cup (****), 2019 BOSJ (***½), 2020 BOSJ (***¾), and 2021 BOSJ (***½). There’s potential here but SHO’s House of Torture antics can be a problem. A lot of people don’t like when a match has an overabundance of cheating and interference. I have been one of the many who hate it in House of Torture matches. That being said, I think it worked here. SHO pulled out every trick in his book but the problem is that Ishimori is no stranger to cheating as well. So whenever SHO tried something, it seemed like Ishimori had something ready to counteract it. SHO nearly got caught cheating and disqualified several times, including just before the ending. When the referee took away his weapon, Ishimori laid him out with the title to improve to 4-0 after 11:33. A good use of shenanigans made for a fun match. [***]

B Block: El Desperado [6] vs. El Lindaman [4]

There was hype here, especially after Desperado mentioned El Lindaman in a promo while Jr. Heavyweight Champion. The crowd was way into this as the guys hit each other hard from the start. Even dives to the outside had an extra layer of intensity to them, with a Desperado one seemingly catching Lindaman right on the nose. Desperado started going after the leg and Lindaman’s call to combat it was to throw big offensive moves. He could pull out a suplex when you’d least expect it, stopping Desperado in his track. Of course, Desperado could grab at the leg and apply something like the Stretch Muffler at almost any given time. Down the stretch they went into a fantastic series of counters and offense with Lindaman finally ending it by hitting a great looking Tiger Suplex in 15:08. That ruled. It had an intensity level that was unmatched in the tournament and played well off of the build. They had a stiff match that played to both of their strengths and this was huge for Lindaman. [****¼]

A Block

Taiji Ishimori: 4-0 (8 points)

Hiromu Takahashi/Ace Austin/Alex Zayne: 3-1 (6 points)

YOH: 2-2 (4 points)

Francesco Akira/Clark Connors/SHO/Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Ryusuke Taguchi: 1-3 (2 points)

B Block

El Lindaman/El Desperado/El Phantasmo: 3-1 (6 points)

Wheeler Yuta/Robbie Eagles/DOUKI/BUSHI: 2-2 (4 points)

Titán/Master Wato/TJP: 1-3 (2 points)

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

I really enjoyed that. The full show formula works better and makes everything feel more important. I will admit that a few matches weren’t as good as I’d hoped (BUSHI/Yuta, Austin/YOH) but there’s nothing bad on the show. Taguchi/Connors is skippable but even Hiromu/Kanemaru sets up a major angle. We get a really good opener, quality matches throughout, nothing going too long, and a tremendous main event.