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

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2022 Night Ten

May 28th, 2022 | Makuhari Messe International Hall 3 in Mihama Ward, Chiba

Just a heads up, I am late with this review (and the following night) because it was a hectic weekend. I had work stuff, Game 6 of the Rangers/Hurricanes series, episodes of Stranger Things and Obi-Wan Kenobi to watch, Top Gun: Maverick, and prepped for a friend to come over for Double or Nothing. Something had to fall by the wayside and the BOSJ it was. These reviews will likely not be really in-depth.

A Block: Francesco Akira [4] vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [4]

After several straight losses, Akira got back in the win column on the last show. Meanwhile, Kanemaru lost after beating Hiromu and Ishimori. Kanemaru started with a quick attack and worked the leg throughout the opening minutes. He wrapped it around the ring post and was relentless. It seemed like Akira was getting desperate again, a trait I’ve enjoyed from him in the tournament so far. He finally got going but there was Kanemaru with a dropkick to the knee to cut him off. Down the stretch, they traded rollups before Akira won with Fireball in 10:32. This told a good story but Kanemaru on offense was dull at points. [**¾]

A Block: Clark Connors [6] vs. Taiji Ishimori [8]

Commentary discussed that Ishimori/Austin should’ve been a double pin and ended in a draw. A win for Connors would not only be massive over the champ but would tie him with Ishimori and mark a third straight loss for him. Plus, Connors has won three straight. Ishimori shouted at the start that Connors isn’t a junior heavyweight. Connors used that size for things like a press slam, so Ishimori went after the knee. He also threw in some work on Connors’ taped arm. I liked that Ishimori would do the smart, veteran stuff while Connors could overwhelm him with big bursts of power. Ishimori eventually got him in the Bone Lock to get back on track in 8:45. A good, solid wrestling match. [***]

B Block: BUSHI [6] vs. Titán [2]

BUSHI is fresh off of a big win over El Desperado. However, knowing how these tournaments are booked, you could guess a BUSHI loss here. He was quick on the offensive, choking Titán out of the gate. Unlike the previous two matches, this was more high impact with the guys using speed and some aerial stuff to get going. It was a nice change of pace and fit right into Titán’s wheelhouse, including him hitting a big dive and taking a sweet DDT bump. He recovered from that and started in with bigger offense before winning with a springboard double stomp in 8:40. Another quality match though different from what we saw earlier. [***]

A Block: Ryusuke Taguchi [2] vs. YOH [6]

They met in the tournament in 2019 (***½) and 2021 (***). Given that Ishimori and Austin have 10 points each, I believe YOH needs to win to stay alive. This was kind of par for the course with Taguchi in this tournament as he did some goofy stuff and things were done surrounding his ass. When Yano brings his comedic stuff to the G1, it works because it’s funny and a nice change of pace. This is different but it’s not funny and the matches aren’t very entertaining. Taguchi got his lime green underwear exposed as the one-note jokes continued. He then won with a rana as his ass remained visible and this went a long 8:01. [*½]

A Block: Ace Austin [10] vs. SHO [6]

Austin entered this show alone at the top. SHO immediately stole his cane during his introduction and hit him with him, setting the stage for more House of Torture antics. That meant fighting through the crowd, using a chair, and even hiding behind the BOSJ trophy that was on display. Austin was the highlight here, trying to save this with swift offense and a pretty Fosbury Flop. We got a ref bump, a shot with a wrench, and SHO choking out Austin with a triangle choke in 7:06. I will never forgive Gedo for destroying the promising career of SHO. [**¼]

B Block: Master Wato [4] vs. Wheeler Yuta [6]

The first half of this show was a huge step down from the Korakuen shows so let’s see if the back half can rectify that. Thankfully, this got things off to a strong start. Wato was fine and Yuta continues to be a highlight of this tournament. This wasn’t a blow away great match but it was entertaining and made good use of the short time. Commentary noted that Yuta showed some Regal tendencies as he went after the arm. Wato got in a sweet German suplex and Yuta responded with an Angle Slam before they traded rollups. Yuta then added the elbows and his new signature pinning combination to win in 7:57. Not a great match but a solid one and a step up. [***]

B Block: El Phantasmo [8] vs. TJP [6]

Commentary hyped that the rest of the show is guys with 8 points against dudes with 6 points. Basically, these all matter. The crowd was into this despite both guys being heels. ELP came in with a broken nose suffered in the banger against Eagles the other night. TJP surprisingly didn’t work the leg or any specific body part as they instead had a relatively even-level match with neither gaining a clear upper hand. Both shocked their arrogance, with TJP even mocking ELP’s strut and Kevin Kelly saying it was better, prompting a hilarious response from ELP. ELP managed to avoid the biggest shots from TJP including the Mamba Splash and a prolonged STF. ELP won with CR2 (all of the acronyms) in 11:12. Basically the TJP rating special in this tournament. He’s basically eliminated now. [***¼]

B Block: El Lindaman [8] vs. Robbie Eagles [6]

Loads of potential here. Eagles could keep himself alive with a win, especially since he beat ELP and has Desperado tomorrow. This was a strong match between two guys who wrestled like everything was on the line. You’d think these guys wrestled a ton in the past as their work was crisp, quick, and it all came off so well. Commentary noted that El Lindaman had Eagles well scouted, doing everything he could to avoid the Ron Miller Special. Both guys hit some impressive aerial offense and they traded some pretty stiff strikes, making for a varied bout. They blocked big moves from each other until Eagles nailed the Turbo Backpack for a good near fall. He transitioned over into the Ron Miller Special and Lindaman quickly tapped, losing in 10:29. Best thing on the show so far and with a few more minutes, it likely would’ve been a top-tier tourney match. [***¾]

A Block: Alex Zayne [8] vs. Hiromu Takahashi [6]

Hiromu entered Korakuen unbeaten but lost three straight and another here would eliminate him. In the early stages, Zayne had advantage as Hiromu’s knee remained a problem. Hiromu still brought more energy than he was able to muster in his previous losses, making for an action-packed match. Hiromu had to fight from beneath because of his injury and Zayne kind of threw everything at him. It was a case of Hiromu being resilient and willing himself to NOT get eliminated this soon in the tournament. When I saw him hit the sunset flip bomb off the apron, I kind of had a feeling that Hiromu was back, at least temporarily. Zayne got another good run going but Hiromu avoided the Taco Driver and bested him with triangle choke, winning in 13:32. A very good match and it sets up intrigue on the final shows. [***½]

B Block: DOUKI [6] vs. El Desperado [8]

They met in both the 2020 (***¼) and 2021 BOSJ (***¼) but this felt different. It was a main event, DOUKI has been better than ever, and commentary did a good job of hyping this as his chance to really prove that he’s more than just the guy who replaced Desperado in the tournament one year. They’ve also talked smack and had issues in tags on earlier BOSJ shows. On top of that, Taichi came out for commentary. I have one major gripe with this match in that it started a bit too slow. Given what was going on coming in, I wanted to see them just go balls to the wall with a fight. Now, once they got going, they gave me what I wanted and this brawl was pretty great. We got dives outside and a DDT on the floor before they started attempting to trade submissions inside. The closing minutes were wild, highlighted by DOUKI spiking Desperado with a tornado DDT on the concrete. DOUKI nearly had this won with a submission but Desperado survived and won with a variation of Numero Dos in 21:51. That was excellent and the best match I’ve ever seen from DOUKI. He is proving himself in this tourney. [****]

A Block

Ace Austin/Taiji Ishimori: 5-2 (10 points)

Hiromu Takahashi/Alex Zayne/SHO: 4-3 (8 points)

Francesco Akira/Clark Connors/YOH: 3-4 (6 points)

Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Ryusuke Taguchi: 2-5 (4 points)

B Block

El Desperado/El Phantasmo: 5-2 (10 points)

Robbie Eagles/El Lindaman/Wheeler Yuta: 4-3 (8 points)

BUSHI/DOUKI/TJP: 3-4 (6 points)

Titán/Master Wato: 2-5 (4 points)

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

I thought this was a good show but it started as one of the weaker ones. Nothing got past *** until the back half of the show, which ended up having three really good to great matches to close things out. We’re setting up for a fun finish.