We complete our look at A Block
Best of the Super Jr. 29 has been the talk of the wrestling world this week, and with good reason, as May 15 will see the start of a phenomenal three weeks of wrestling highlighting the best junior heavyweights from all over the world. In the second part of our A Block breakdown, we see another five athletes set to make their mark on BOSJ.
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Taiji Ishimori (6th entry, 5th consecutive. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion)
Taiji Ishimori comes into the Best of the Super Juniors as the freshly crowned IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, and with a sizable target on his back as a result. The now three time champion will likely face the BOSJ winner at Dominion on June 12, and even if he should get past that challenge, any competitor who might beat him during the league phase would have a very legitimate claim to a shot.
The best course of action for Ishimori then? To win every match in front of him; and don’t be surprised if he did just that. Marrying speed precision and technical ability, there are few if any flaws in the Bone Soldier’s game. After BULLET CLUB dominated the headlines through Dontaku, it’s on Ishimori to keep that momentum going, and it isn’t out of the realms of possibility for him to repeat Prince Devitt’s famed perfect 2013 run.
KEY MATCH: May 26 vs Ace Austin
Champion versus champion clashes add extra drama to tournaments like Best of the Super Jr., and the meeting of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight and IMPACT X Division Champions has to be the biggest match on paper through the entirety of BOSJ 29. Ishimori is himself a former X Division champion, and has made his excitement for this bout public at the post Dontaku press conference. How will the three time and current junior champion fare against the three time and current X champ? We find out May 26.
Ace Austin (Debut entry. IMPACT X Division Champion)
Calling himself ‘The Inevitable’, Ace Austin is keen to remind all concerned that this is no cheap nickname. ‘I speak things into existence’ remarked Austin on his third X Division Championship win, a spectacular achievement at just 25 years of age. Austin may straddle a fine line between confidence and arrogance, but his results more than back up his big talk, and there is no doubt that he will be a force to be reckoned with as he represents IMPACT at large in Best of the Super Junior 29.
KEY MATCH: May 21, Aomori vs Hiromu Takahashi
Austin will be seeking to live up to his name as the ‘ace’ of IMPACT’s X Division, and will relish the target on his back that being a champion creates in these tournament environments. The Inevitable will also be looking to take on the perceived ace of NJPW’s junior heavyweight division. Many fans and pundits have talked about Hiromu being the centerpiece of junior heavyweight wrestling for several years now, but should Austin defeat the Time Bomb, he could upset that order.
Alex Zayne (Debut entry)
A GCW and NJPW STRONG regular, Alex Zayne makes his Japanese NJPW debut, and enters his first Best of the Super Juniors. With additional proving a WWE sojourn provided in 2021, Zayne has honed his high flying style with solid fundamentals that will see him adapt well to most opponents, and he will carry a height and size advantage offer much of the competition that could make a significant difference in matches to come.
KEY MATCH May 31 Toyama vs Clark Connors
Fans will be most familiar with Zayne for his appearances on NJPW STRONG, a brand that Clark Connors will representing with pride during this tournament. This meeting of Saturday night regulars will be a key one then, as both will be looking to show their superiority, and cast a spotlight on NJPW STRONG at large for fans in attendance and watching all over the world.
Francesco Akira (Debut entry)
When it comes to Best of the Super Jr. 29, the Nova Fireball Francesco Akira is somewhat of a ‘known unknown’. No stranger to Japanese competition outside of NJPW, Akira also made his introduction to New Japan fans as he confronted El Desperado and Taiji Ishimori at Hyper Battle. What is unknown is how he’ll fare against the rest of the 20 man lineup, and in NJPW moving forward. With the endorsement of Will Ospreay, and considerable hype heading into BOSJ, can Akira carry the United Empire standard to success?
KEY MATCH May 15 Nagoya vs SHO
There are no second chances to make a first impression, and with all eyes on the first night of tournament competition, Akira vs SHO is going to be a match the world watches very closely indeed. Will Akira start his NJPW career with a win, or could the Murder Machine snuff his flames from the outset?
SHO (5th entry, 5th consecutive. NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Champion)
In 2021, by hook and by crook, SHO seemed unbeatable in the early going of Best of the Super Jr. 28. A hot streak driven by a meaner edge and copious interference and rule breaking, the Murder Machine was far from the most popular pick to win, but seemed the safest. That was before a late stretch collapse that saw him edged out of the finals by YOH, a point that made the HOUSE OF TORTURE member so furious he got involved in the tournament final in a bid to have the whole match thrown out.
Having thrown his toys out of the pram in December, and after coming achingly close to a dominant IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship win in Ryogoku this April, SHO now resets before his fifth BOSJ tournament. Will it see more gold and glory brought to HOUSE OF TORTURE, and BULLET CLUB by extension?
KEY MATCH: May 24, Korakuen vs Taiji Ishimori
After questions circled over how H.O.T fit into BULLET CLUB at large, it seemed like the group expulsion of the Guerrillas of Destiny had seen Switchblade Jay White rally the troops together in a common cause. Still, factional derbies, always create the question of whether team orders are at play, and with there being a clear hierarchy between Ishimori and SHO driven by Ishimori’s champion status, the questions here will be whether SHO will be inclined, or even commanded, to fight fair against the Bone Soldier. Last year’s tournament saw Ishimori outfox SHO’s corner cutting to pick up a key win, what happens in Korakuen?
