Ten singles matches on loaded Korakuen card
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After the first third of the Best of the Super Jr. tournament saw individual blocks get the spotlight, May 24 starts a grueling and thrilling run of six nights with ten singles matches on each massive card. A packed Korakuen Hall crowd will see both blocks take to the ring tonight, fighting to make a lasting impression and to get two points.
Main Event- B Block: El Lindaman (2-1) vs El Desperado (3-0)
Ever since El Desperado first dropped El Lindaman’s name for the first time back in January, anticipation for the two to collide in ring has been at a fever pitch. The G-REX Champion of GLEAT and Suzuki-Gun’s masked maestro finally do battle tonight in Korakuen Hall for what has to be one of, if not the most anticipated matchups of the entire league phase.
Desperado’s first mention of Lindaman was an expression of his desire to broaden the landscape of junior heavyweight wrestling not just in NJPW but nation and world wide. While IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, he carried the responsibility attached to the belt with all seriousness, and had a desire to show why the letters ‘IWGP’ represent the best in all of professional wrestling. Yet Lindaman has assumed a different responsibility; that of showing the world that NJPW isn’t the be all end all of wrestling in Japan. Lindaman’s underdog story has seen him rise from having an application to the Noge Dojo denied as a teen to representing his stable and promotion as champion in this most elite of junior heavyweight tournaments; can he go one further and pull off the win in our main event?
9th Match- A Block: Taiji Ishimori (3-0)vs SHO (1-2)
Singles record: 3-1 Ishmori
The sole BULLET CLUB derby of BOSJ 29 sees Taiji Ishimori go head to head with SHO. While choices between the side of Switchblade Jay White and the Guerrillas of Destiny cast a fog of doubt over intrafactional matches in the New Japan Cup, Ishimori and SHO head into this match more resolutely on the same side. Yet with every man for himself in this environment, it’s hard to think that team orders or hierarchy would hold much sway, even as Ishimori sits at six points to SHO’s two. Last year’s tournament saw Ishimori beat SHO in his own home town of Ehime, part of the Murder Machine’s late phase collapse in the tournament. Can SHO get revenge over the IWGP champion tonight?
8th Match- A Block: Hiromu Takahashi (3-0) vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru (0-3)
Singles record: 2-0 Takahashi
‘Everyone loves ‘Uncle Nobu’: so reads Hiromu Takahashi’s sentence on his opponent tonight in his ‘BOSJ strategy guide’. Indeed, Hiromu has enjoyed beating Kanemaru in their last two singles meetings, but the admiration for the Heel Master comes with the acknowledgement that the Suzuki-Gun member presents a difficult trap game for the very best of competition. Furious at a third straight loss in Aomori to YOH, Kanemaru, especially in familiar climes of Korakuen Hall, could present Hiromu with more than a little difficulty tonight; can he stop him from getting to eight points?
7th Match- B Block: Master Wato (0-3) vs Robbie Eagles (2-1)
Singles record: 2-1 Eagles
After losses to TJP and El Phantasmo, Master Wato continued his rough form in Akita this weekend as he fell to BUSHI. Having no points to his name, Wato now has to take on a man he knows he can beat, but hasn’t done so since late 2020. After a strong start against Wheeler Yuta, Eagles suffered a hard fought loss against BUSHI, before bouncing back over DOUKI in Akita. Can the Sniper of the Skies start the middle third of his campaign with another win over a champion in the form of Wato?
6th Match- B Block: DOUKI (1-2) vs El Phantasmo (3-0)
Singles record: 2-0 Phantasmo
Both DOUKI and El Phantasmo have gotten off to a strong start to their Best of the Super Jr. 29 campaigns. While Japones Del Mal cannot claim the perfect record that Phantasmo possesses, his opening night victory against G-REX Champion El Lindaman was followed by a bout with Wheeler Yuta that went right down to the wire, and by coming closer than ever to defeating Robbie Egales. As mentioned though, Phantasmo is perfect, and is perfect in one on one matches with his opponent tonight. If DOUKI wants to get to four points, he has to break both of those perfect records tonight.
5th Match A Block: YOH (2-1) vs Ace Austin (2-1)
After Saturday’s semi main battle with Hiromu Takahashi ended with a Time Bomb II, Ace Austin sits at 2-1 and four points. Despite a defeat, it’s no shame to be losing to Hiromu, and it’s hard to see his confidence being dampened any heading into his Korakuen meeting with YOH. Conversely, confidence is an area the CHAOS member has struggled with. Yet after finally breaking a rut against Clark Connors early last week, YOH seemed to turn a corner against Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Turning the Heel Master’s own tactics against him, YOH would spray whiskey into the face of Kanemaru to get to the same 2-1 level as his opponent tonight. Embarking on a difficult three match stretch with Autsin, Hiromu Takahashi and Francesco Akira, YOH needs to bring his A game; and he could well be getting there.
4th Match- B Block: BUSHI (-) vs Wheeler Yuta (-)
In the ever complex game of ‘who did he ever beat?’, Robbie Eagles defeated Wheeler Yuta on night one of B Block, but was himself beaten by BUSHI in the second matches for the group. That should make Yuta sit up and take notice; while BUSHI is considered a perennial mid-table runner in the tournament, he’s a trap game for any wrestler, and a dangerous figure for the ROH Pure Champion. Off the back of a narrow defeat to El Desperado in his first NJPW career main event in Akita Sunday, can AEW’s Yuta bounce back, or will BUSHI rack up his third consecutive win?
3rd Match- A Block: Ryusuke Taguchi (1-2) vs Clark Connors (0-3)
A slow start to BOSJ for Taguchi and Connors plagued both men headed into this past weekend. While Taguchi was able to break his duck with a spirited win over Francesco Akira though, the run of bad luck continued for Clark Connors, who arguably lost due to a poor call against SHO, where a bowled over referee and low blow should have led to a DQ. Whether his position is justly earned or not, Connors has a very difficult road to the final that will be all but impossible should he lose tonight against Taguchi. With Taguchi tapping into big match form to defeat Francesco Akira in Aomori, could the Wild Rhino see his tournament chances extinct by the end of the night?
2nd Match- B Block: Titan (-) vs TJP (1-2)
Every competitor in B Block had TJP’s name circled pre-tournament as one to give them trouble through the league, and the Public Enemey has done just that. Though defeat to El Desperado and El Lindaman has ensured his record is in the red, TJP has rigorously and skillfully dictated the pace through each of his encounters thus far, and there is nobody in the lineup that seem to present difficulties for him stylistically.
That includes Titan; TJP has been very active in CMLL in recent months, and indeed shared a ring with Titan last autumn. Titan was victorious that night in tag action, but won’t be taking victory for granted, especially off the back of hard losses in all three of his matches thus far, leaving him currently on nil points.
1st Match- A Block: Francesco Akira (2-1) vs Alex Zayne (1-2)
After main eventing the last two A block nights, Alex Zayne and Francesco Akira will face one another in the opener tonight in Korakuen Hall. Akira’s first main event ended in narrow defeat to Hiromu Takahashi in Sendai, while a bloodied Alex Zayne was a Taco Driver away from picking up the biggest win of his career, just falling short to Taiji Ishimori. Who picks up the first win tonight as both make their NJPW Korakuen debuts?
