wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2022 Night Two Review
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2022 Night Two
May 17th, 2022 | Sakata City Gymnasium in Sakata-shi, Yamagata | Attendance: 629
After a pretty average start to the tournament, we turn to the B Block to see if they can improve things. I will admit that at least one match on this card is among the ones I’m most excited about in the entire tourney.
B Block: DOUKI [0] vs. El Lindaman [0]
There was a kid in the crowd holding up a DOUKI picture. As a fan of Charlie Haas and Primo, I respect the loyalty and hype for a guy who is lower than a midcarder. Lindaman came out on fire and that was welcome because it gives a tournament like this a sense of urgency. He’s not a favorite to win so he’s going to go out there and kick ass from bell to bell. DOUKI had to weather his early storm and I appreciated that he didn’t resort to underhanded tactics. I dug him catching Lindaman in a Triangle Choke from a frog splash and they did a good job of teasing that as the finish even though it was only a few minutes into the match. Lindaman made the ropes and started throwing big offensive moves that felt different from a lot of what we’re used to in the BOSJ. He’s a welcome change of pace. They went into a series of near falls, counters, and close calls that ended when DOUKI hit a Dragon Suplex in 9:21. That was a good back and forth match that was better than I expected. Strong start for this block. [***¼]
B Block: BUSHI [0] vs. El Phantasmo [0]
This is their third meeting after the BOSJ in 2019 (***) and 2021 (**¾). A solid but uninspired pairing. We got t-shirt BUSHI, which doesn’t bode well for quality usually. Early on, ELP was doing his usual over-the-top antics of dancing and taunting and BUSHI mocked him for it after getting the upper hand. Ah, it looked like t-shirt BUSHI was just temporary so he can use it. Once that was done, we got into the meat of the match which saw them trading offense and really feeling like they were evenly matched. I was surprised at this since ELP has been higher in the food chain of sorts. ELP started busting out his bigger offense and was frustrated that he couldn’t keep BUSHI down. BUSHI came close with a late Lungblower but then ELP responded with a superkick and Styles Clash to win in 10:43. Another good match that was exceeded expectations. [***¼]
B Block: Robbie Eagles [0] vs. Wheeler Yuta [0]
This is the match I came in pumped for. Yuta was someone I didn’t like in AEW but his recent run into the BCC has been spectacular. Meanwhile, I’ve really come to like Robbie Eagles as a standout in the division over the past few years. They opened this with a feeling out process and the crowd was into this. I think it was cool to see that Eagles did a little clap for Yuta’s performance but when Yuta seemed to do it back, he quickly changed into going on the attack. It’s a little thing but it shows how the BCC has made him into a more serious competitor. He’s not here for his old Best Friends shenanigans. The exchanges between these two were crisp as expected and they were more hard hitting than you might expect at other points. That made for a balanced match. You can see the BCC influence in Yuta’s game. The closing stretch was also fantastic, with Eagles winning a battle of pin attempts via rollup to get the two points at the 11:30. That is so my shit. Just two really good wrestlers having a really good match with no BS. The finish was good, left things even, and opened the door for a possible rematch. [***¾]
B Block: Master Wato [0] vs. TJP [0]
Much less interested in this bout. No Akira with TJP despite TJP being with him on the A Block show. TJP played into his heel role, attacking Wato before the bell and keeping up the aggression throughout. I thought that worked well since Wato is kind of a goofy, generic face who would easily be taken down by a vicious heel. TJP did a good job of working the mat, which is stuff I’ve seen him do for a long time. Wato made some good comeback attempts with his hope spots but I never really felt like he threatened to win. You got the sense that TJP’s veteran knowhow made it so he was always in the driver’s seat. Kevin Kelly even said at one point that this was a wrestling lesson for Wato. That’s a good story to tell as it kept things entertaining despite being one sided at times. TJP made him tap to an STF in 12:21. That was good and different. [***]
B Block: El Desperado [0] vs. Titán [0]
Many are picking former champion Desperado to come out of this block. Kelly noted that Titán has kind of changed up his style in the few years since he last appeared in the tournament. He has slowed things down a bit though for a luchador, that didn’t mean he was boring. In fact, he kind of just came off as more controlled. He still hit high octane moves and dives while moving quickly but he knew how to balance things out. Desperado has worked face a lot recently but after some brawling here, he went as far as to go after the mask. RUDE. Both guys kind of went after the legs of the other, with Desperado using a Stretch Muffler and Titán using dragon screws and a Figure Four. The close calls late worked here as you never could really know who was going to win. I love when these matches don’t have obvious outcomes. A Titán rollup made for a believable near fall before Desperado won with Angel’s Wings in 13:45. The second best match of the night and I’m really digging Titán’s slight change in game while Desperado continues to shine. [***½]
