Hiromu Takahashi, El Desperado advance to tournament final

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Toyama saw the Best of the Super Jr. 29 final set on May 31, as Hiromu Takahashi and El Desperado will face off for the Best of the Super Jr. 29 trophy Friday in the Nippon Budokan.

Hiromu Takahashi looked to set a high pace in the main event opposite Taiji Ishimori, but he would be the one met with a shotgun dropkick by the ultra aggressive IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Ishimori would be quick to launch Hiromu shoulder first into the ringpost, and with Takahashi’s knee still giving him difficulty from one week prior, the Bone Soldier went downstairs as well. 

Gouing on will to win alone, Hiromu would land a tijeras and start to string offense together, ending in an apron line dropkick. Hiromu would want his corner DVD, but Ishimori would wriggle off the hook before a Complete Shot into the corner; once again with control of the match, Ishimori wanted La Mistica and a Cipher Utaki, but desperation counters would lead to a heavy German suplex from Hiromu before a surge of adrenaline saw Ishimori respond with a Destroyer. 

Resetting, the combatants traded blows before Hiromu found a shotgun dropkick, pop-up powerbomb and the D. After escaping the hold, Ishimori would finally hit the Cipher Utaki he had wanted earlier, before popping Takahashi into his own pop-up powerbomb, but the LIJ member would counter with D again. While Ishimori made the ropes, Hiromu would pursue victory with a Hiromu Bomber, but was met with a lariat of Ishimori’s own; a reverse Bloody Sunday scored to follow, but Bloody Cross was countered. 

Instead, Ishimori reacted fast to send Hiromu hard into the exposed ringpost, and landed a shoulder breaker, before La Mistica. Hiromu scratched himself away from the Bone Lock, though and looked for D as the match passed 20 minutes, getting dropped with a powerbomb for his trouble. As Ishimori again tried to end the match, he was once more countered into D, and after the Stunner connected, a final application saw Hiromu to victory, Ishimori passing out rather than submitting. 

El Phantasmo and El Desperado would lock up to fill the B Block final slot. Phantasmo was in no rush to engage from jump, the 30 minute time limit draw being to ELP’s advantage. When he did engage, it was with a snap of the fingers and rake of the back of his opponent, before Phantasmo looked for a countout, drilling Desperado with a hangman’s DDT on the floor and a shot into a chair. Yet the angered Desperado would soon fire back, delivering a backdrop onto two chairs, and following with a tope con giro. 

Starting his assault on ELP’s knees, Desperado dealt damage with an Indian Deathlock, but the BULLET CLUB member raked his foe’s eyes and then sent him tumbling over the top rope onto the floor. The power of Phantasmo was in full effect as he delivered a trio of brainbusters, and a sit out powerbomb for two. It would be a desperate spear that got some space for Desperado, and Guitarra Del Angel got a nearfall for the masked man, but after being dropped to the apron, ELP went back on the offensive. 

Far from the man who started the match playing for a draw, ELP went big with a Thunder Kiss ’86 plancha style to the floor, but before he could follow up back inside, would have his knee clipped into the Stretch Muffler. Gator rolling Phantasmo to the center, Numero Dos was in, and an attempted counter was met with the Bastard Driver for two as the match passed fifteen minutes.

Phantasmo surprised Desperado with a sudden El Es Clero counter to the Pinche Loco before landing Sudden Death for two; with his knee screaming in pain, Phantasmo wanted CR II and scored, but only for two. As the fans in Toyama applauded Desperado to his feet, Phantasmo looked for Pinche Loco, but his knee gave way; a Sudden Death audible was met with Loco Mono and Pinche Loco before ELP’s own CR II, this time for three.     

Phantasmo and Desperado had Titan to thank for a lack of distractions heading into their semi-main event, the CMLL star eliminating Robbie Eagles earlier in the evening and ensuring their match would decide the block. Athletic counters opened the match with neither gaining an upper hand until a head scissors saw Eagles pick up more heavy offense. Kipping up from his attacks saw his knee, still wrapped after the assault of El Desperado Sunday,  tweaked; the Sniper’s control would be seemed broken as a result when Titan elevated him over the top rope for a tope suicida, but a follow up double stomp to the floor found only the hard ground. 

 Eagles would make Titan pay dearly for his error, landing a tope con giro. Back in, Eagles sank in the Ron Miller Special, but Titan found the ropes along with his will to win. A succession of kicks scored before a reverse leg lariat, but the springboard double stomp would miss, and Eagles dropkicked out the knee. He went for the Ron Miller once again, but Titan countered with Immortal for the victory. 

The Best of the Super Jr. 29 final takes place Friday June 3 in the Nippon Budokan