Pantoja’s NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 30 Night 2 Review

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 30 Night 2

May 13^th, 2023 | Nagano Prefectural Budokan in Saku, Nagano

As is often the case, a New Japan round robin tournament got off to a strong start. The interesting thing is seeing if they can maintain that momentum.

A Block: KUSHIDA [0] vs. TJP [0]

If you know these guys, then you should know what this would be like. They worked the beginning of the bout at a quick pace but kept it grounded as both guys are known for their technical skills. Everything about it was well worked and right up my alley but the problem was that it never really got past first gear. It didn’t help that this might’ve been the quietest crowd I’ve ever heard and that includes the clap era of the pandemic. KUSHIDA and TJP kind of just kept exchanging things from mat work to kicks and none of it really seemed to have any zip or emotion behind it. TJP had a springboard countered into an armbar only for TJP to turn it into ap in and steal this in 9:27. That might’ve been the most 6/10 match in history. Technically proficient and lacking any intrigue. [***]

B Block: Dan Moloney [2] vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [2]

I respect Moloney for being pretty interested in Kanemaru’s whiskey. I would feel the same way. The newcomer started well enough and really gave Kanemaru some fits. Kevin Kelly noted that he had trouble with new guys in the tourney last year too. However, Kanemaru was able to turn the tide with a dropkick to the knee that helped set the stage for his patented Figure Four. Well, it ended up kind of just leading to it as Kanemaru won with the move in short order at the 5:42 mark. This format of 10 matches fails Moloney here who hasn’t really had a chance to showcase himself. [**]

A Block: Lio Rush [2] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [0]

Like yesterday, Taguchi tried to start quickly but Lio was prepared and quickly tired out the veteran with his speed. It’s a small thing but I really like that. Taguchi can’t keep up so play into that. Why hide it? Taguchi did his best to keep up and got in offense, including nailing Dodon. Alas, that’s no longer enough to put away his younger opponents. Lio got up and reeled off some moves capped by Final Hour to win in 5:19. A decent amount of action for a short match but nothing special. [**¾]

B Block: Clark Connors [2] vs. Robbie Eagles [2]

There’s potential here given that these are two guys I enjoy watching. Eagles’ technical skills against Connors’ power could make for something good. Eagles applied the Ron Miller Special about 30 seconds into this and I believed he might steal this one quickly. Connors survived and then this became a pretty even match with both guys playing to their strengths. Connors walloped Eagles with power and might’ve had this won with a Spear but picked up Eagles for the No Chaser. Eagles slipped out but his slap had no strength behind it and he just fell out. But then Eagles pulled Connors into a sneaky rollup to win in 5:57. That was a fun little sprint with a finish that I really liked. You don’t have to be better than your opponent every night, just smarter. [***]

A Block: Mike Bailey [2] vs. SHO [0]

SHO jumped Bailey before the bell because of course he did. That included the use of a chair on his bare feet. WELL PUT SOME SHOES ON MIKE AND THAT WOULDN’T HAPPEN. You brought this on yourself. Bailey fought back with some kicks before they got to the ring and officially started there. Once there though, it was time for an EVIL run-in and that almost automatically made me tune out. The House of Torture are legitimately among the worst things in all of wrestling, not just now but in the past decade or so. It must suck to be one of those guys and know that there are zero redeeming qualities about what you do. When it was just the two of them wrestling it was largely fine but they kept up with the antics and I just wanted to turn away. Bailey fought them off and won with the Ultimate Weapon in a LONG 12:10. If it wasn’t for the Bailey/SHO solo stuff being solid, this would’ve been a total stinker. [**¼]

B Block: Francesco Akira [0] vs. Kevin Knight [0]

Thankfully, this got off to a quicker start than the last match. However, it wasn’t really able to keep things up. They did relatively fine stuff together and I again dug Knight’s Sky High near fall but the crowd continued to sit on their hands for everything. Even Knight’s sweep jumping rana out of the corner got just a timid response. The idea of the match was that Knight had athleticism and speed but Akira outsmarted him on a few tries and would respond with a vicious strike. He hit Speedfire and the Fireball to win in 8:40. That was about as ho-hum a match as you’ll find. [**½]

A Block: Taiji Ishimori [2] vs. Titán [2]

They met in the BOSJ 2019 (***). I haven’t enjoyed TJP on commentary much today (he joined in the third match) but I did like him pointing out that Titán is just one of those guys who has his number. Anyway, these two worked another solid match with Ishimori being the dick Bullet Club heel, doing things like going after the mask, and Titán doing some luchador stuff to rally. Ishimori’s bump on a tornado DDT was probably the high point of the match. Even that and the sweet aerial stuff that followed was still received by silence from the crowd. What do these guys have to do? In the end, Ishimori won with the Bone Lock at the 9:24 mark. A dead crowd and a pretty damn good match. [***]

B Block: BUSHI [0] vs. El Desperado [0]

Lots of history here. That includes the 2017 BOSJ (***), Wrestling Hi No Kuni 2018 (**¾), Road to The New Beginning 2019 (***¼), the 2020 BOSJ (***¼), 2021 BOSJ (***¾) and 2022 BOSJ (***½). That’s not counting three-ways or tag bouts. Given what Kanemaru did on night one, it made sense for BUSHI to go after the leg. His work there was pretty damn good and at times, innovative. Desperado did the big rally with a fair amount of fire but I must say it again, the fans still treated it like it didn’t matter. And that’s Despy, who is a big star in the division. BUSHI did things like his Codebreaker but it never really felt like he was threatening to win. Desperado got going with Numero Dos and Guitarra del Angel but it was El Es Claro that secured the victory after 8:54. A low bar but that’s the MOTN at this point. [***¼]

A Block: DOUKI [2] vs. Hiromu Takahashi [0]

Hiromu is perfect against DOUKI in his career, which includes the 2020 BOSJ (***½), 2021 BOSJ (***¾), and Summer Struggle 2021 (***¾). DOUKI jumped Hiromu at the bell, likely due to knowing his poor record against him and to try and take advantage of Hiromu coming off of a loss. He went for a countout win with a DDT outside but Hiromu wasn’t about to lose that way. Once back inside, DOUKI held serve, weathering a comeback attempt started by a Falcon Arrow and applying the DOUKI CHOUKI, KEVIN. Hiromu managed to survive or escape that multiple times, mostly with the help of the ropes. Hiromu kind of took a beating here, including a torture rack/sidewalk slam combo. You could tell that DOUKI was starting to get frustrated that he couldn’t keep the champion down. Commentary harped on the fact that DOUKI might not know how to handle that. Hiromu countered Suplex de la Luna into a Time Bomb to pull off an unlikely win in 12:51. A new MOTN as it told a good story with some strong action. DOUKI has to beat him at some point, right? [***½]

B Block: Master Wato [2] vs. YOH [0]

They met in the 2021 BOSJ (***¼) but that’s it. This feels like an odd choice for the main event though. It also doesn’t always help that both guys are faces so the crowd has nobody to boo (it’s not like they’d react much anyway). YOH tried some early misdirection but scattered outside to avoid Wato and some dive attempts. The majority of this match was pretty level with neither guy taking full control. I think it was meant to showcase how even they are on the totem pole. Like a lot of the matches today, the stuff they do is mostly fine outside of a few disjointed moments but it’s lacking something to really pull me in. We hit the 15 minute mark and I’m still not fully grabbed. The trading of strikes helped out though and YOH sent Wato to the mat. YOH got going from there and used a barrage of moves capped by Direct Drive to attain two points in 18:12. It went a bit long for what it was and never really stood out but was good. [***]

4.5

The final score: review Poor

The 411

That was a painfully mediocre show in front of an all-time bad crowd that dragged it down. Due to them, it went form a middle of the road score to a below average one.