Back to Korakuen as Best of the Super Jr. gets ever hotter on road to final

With just over a fortnight left in the dual Best of the Super jr and World Tag League tour, we’re back in Korakuen on Monday November 29, with Best of the Super Jr. action to come. 

Watch live or in English on demand on NJPW World!

Main event: Hiromu Takahashi (3-2-1) vs El Phantasmo (2-4)

Singles record: 1-0 Hiromu

The main event in Korakuen Hall sees the winners of last year’s Best of the Super Jr. and Super J-Cup tournaments collide, as Hiromu Takahashi battles El Phantasmo. January 4 in the Tokyo Dome, the winners of the prior year’s two junior heavyweight themed tournaments faced off for the right to challenge for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship the very next night. Hiromu won, but just barely; after ELP used what many still argue is a loaded boot to his advantage for the first time in crushing his opponent’s hand, a hurricanrana saw Takahashi just escape with the victory.

Now, as pressure grows for both men with just five matches left to wrestle in their campaigns, ELP is in a frustrating position. The back to back Super J-Cup winner has found himself stuck at the bottom of the table with a scant four points, and very dim hopes of a place in the Ryogoku finals. Tonight, Phantasmo will stop at nothing to get a win, and Hiromu will expect nothing less. 

6th Match: El Desperado (3-2-1) vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru (4-2)

Singles record: 3-0 Kanemaru

In the last of BOSJ’s Suzuki-Gun derbies, El Desperado faces Yoshinobu Kanemaru. As a team, Desperado has long credited Kanemaru with honing his skills and making him into the wrestler he is today. Desperado will always cite ‘Nobu as the man who helped him unlock his full potential, but to this point in time, through three matches across multiple promotions, that potential hasn’t realised itself in the form of a win. Now, as competition heats up in the league, Desperado could find this is an essential match to win if he is to make the finals December 15. At the same time, after a very impressive start to his run that included claiming the first win over SHO in the tournament, Kanemaru has his own shot at glory that he is not going to pass up.

5th Match: Master Wato (2-4) vs SHO (5-1)

Singles record: 1-0 SHO

Last week, Korakuen saw key matches for Master Wato and SHO, for better and for worse respectively. With a win over Ryusuke taguchi, Wato seemed to be emerging into his own, and followed up in Fujisawa with a confident performance against YOH, albeit one that ended in a narrow loss. For SHO though, his first defeat against Yoshinobu Kanemaru showed that the Murder Machine could be halted. That led SHO to be take double the shortcuts in Fujisawa, twice bumping the referee before a wrench shot rang off the head of DOUKI to lead to a Snake Bit victory. Now, will young prodigy Wato be able to slow SHO once again?

4th Match: YOH (2-4) vs Taiji Ishimori (4-2) 

Singles record: 1-0 Ishimori

With a Five Star Clutch over Robbie Eagles last week, YOH finally got on the scoreboard in this years Best of the Super Jr. With a second win against Master Wato in Fujisawa to follow, it seems like the pieces are slowly coming together for YOH, even though it may be too late for a spot in the finals. Can he grab another two points against Taiji Ishimori to keep slim hopes alive? Should he do so and bring his record to six points, he could still have a shot heading into the latter phase of the league.

Yet Ishimori, 4-2 after a hard fought win over Hiromu Takahashi in Fujisawa, is desperate for another victory himself. Ishimori has now beaten both the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado, and the favourite to go back to back Hiromu Takahashi. Two very valuable tie breakers indeed, and two tiebreakers he could not attain last year. The Bone Soldier has repeatedly stated that he wants perceptions of the junior heavyweight division expanded beyond Hiromu and Desperado, and redoubling that affirmation will be the fact that neither main event player is in the top three in the standings as of right now. Ishimori has a campaign progressing that extends to status within the junior division well past this year’s tournament, and he won’t let YOH be an impediment to that. 

3rd Match: Robbie Eagles (2-4) vs BUSHI (3-3)

Singles record: 2-0 BUSHI

With a 2-4 record, Robbie Eagles hasn’t had the first half to Best of the Super Jr. that he was hoping for, and now getting on the final stretch, will likely need to win out to have any chance at all of threatening the all important top two spots. To even get that 14 point mark though, he will first need to beat a man he has never beaten before in BUSHI. Ever the effective tactician, will BUSHI outsmart the Sniper of the Skies once more, or could the former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion make a key step toward Ryogoku tonight?

2nd Match: Ryusuke Taguchi (3-3) vs DOUKI (2-4)

Singles record: 2-0 Taguchi

With Taguchi enjoying a 2-0 advantage over DOUKI from their first two singles meetings, and heading back to Korakuen Hall on six points to his opponent’s four, Taguchi will be feeling eager to get another win over the Suzuki-Gun member tonight. With an even record, Coach’s as hopes for the final are certainly still alive as DOUKI’s are fast fading. But as he seeks to prove his early successes have not fizzled out, can it be third time lucky for DOUKI against the Coach?

1st Match: Ryohei Oiwa (0-0-7 this tour) vs Kosei Fujita (0-0-6 this tour)

Singles record: 0-0-7

Another match, another draw for Oiwa and Fujita? Or will this ten minute opener finally see an advantage gained? We find out in our opening bout!