◆ Best of The Super Junior 2019 : Tour schedule, Full lineup & Ticket sales info https://www.njpw1972.com/schedule/
◆ The event will be live-streamed on https://njpwworld.com/
It’s been the world’s premier junior heavyweight wrestling tournament for a quarter of a century. Now, the participants and blocks have been revealed for this year’s Best of the Super Juniors.
In Block A, it’s the man who defeated last year’s BOSJ winner KUSHIDA on May 4, the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Will Ospreay. Ospreay has youth on his side, but Tiger Mask has experience, making his 17th tournament appearance in as many years. The first man to win back to back BOSJ tournaments will bring the veteran’s edge to this year’s edition.
ACH is making his second successive BOSJ appearance. He ended last year’s tournament with a 3-4 record, but one of his wins was a notable victory over eventual winner KUSHIDA with the Midnight Driver. ACH has weaponized his insane athletic ability and will look to make a ‘suuuuperr!’ Impact on the tournament. Yoshinobu Kanemaru is also making his second consecutive appearance in the BOSJ, and does so as one half of the IWGP Tag Team Champions. Kanemaru has experience, expertise, and a profound alcohol driven mean streak.
For his sixth appearance, and third in as many years, BUSHI is part of BOSJ 25. Always a solid performer in the tournament, BUSHI will look to string enough victories together to reach the finals for the first time. For Flip Gordon, it’s his first BOSJ entry altogether. Gordon made a big splash to say the least back at Honor Rising in February when the ROH regular pinned Hiromu Takahashi. Could this innovative flier make an even bigger impact by going straight to the final?
At Dontaku on May 4, Taiji Ishimori was shockingly revealed as the ‘New Bone Soldier’ as the Bullet Club ranks grew. Ishimori has promised to ‘make the junior division interesting’ and certainly left his mark in Fukuoka with a brutal attack on Ospreay. Then, there’s RPG3K’s YOH, making his second BOSJ appearance after one entrance during his Young Lion years. How the tag specialist will adapt as a singles wrestler in the tournament is a definite point of interest.
Heading the charge in Block B is KUSHIDA, looking to recover from his failed challenge of Ospreay in Fukuoka with a repeat BOSJ win. He’d have to go through both friend and foe to do it though; also in B Block is his Taguchi Japan comrade and coach, Ryusuke Taguchi. The memory of his 2012 BOSJ victory, and reaching the finals in 2016 are what will drive a Taguchi with a serious game plan for game day.
Dragon Lee is making his second consecutive entry in the BOSJ. He started last year’s campaign by beating then IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi. The fearless high flier will be more than a handful for anyone else in the tournament. If anything can counter his high flying though, it’s the Villain Marty Scurll’s technical mastery and penchant for dirty fighting. The freshly crowned NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion team member will look to add the BOSJ trophy to his collection of accolades.
Another current champion looking to garner more gold is IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion El Desperado. While Despe often fights dirty, he can still use the Pinche Loco and Numero Dos to pin or submit his opponents. He will continue his rivalry with Hiromu Takahashi during the BOSJ. Takahashi lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Dominion in 2017, and hasn’t worn gold since. He’ll look to buck that trend by winning the tournament.
B Block sees two BOSJ debutants, the first being veteran junior, Chris Sabin. Sabin is most well known for his former IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship combination with Alex Shelley, the Motor City Machineguns. How will his return to NJPW as a singles wrestler fare? Then there’s SHO, who’s appearing as Block B opposite number to RPG 3K partner YOH. SHO hasn’t had a singles match since returning to NJPW in Roppongi 3K, but his combination of junior size and heavyweight like power is intriguing, as is the potential of his vaunted singles finisher, the Shock Arrow.
Best of the Super Juniors 25, presented by Fire Pro Wrestling World, kicks off on May 18 in Korakuen Hall, and you can catch all the night one action for FREE on NJPW World!
Fire Pro Wrestling World presents “Best of the Super Juniors 25”
【A Block】
17th entry, 17th consecutive, 2004, 2005 winner
Tiger Mask
2nd entry, 2nd consecutive
ACH
BOSJ Debut
Flip Gordon
3rd entry, 3rd consecutive, 2016 winner
Will Ospreay
2nd entry, first in two years
YOH
2nd entry, first in eight years
Taiji Ishimori
2nd entry, 2nd consecutive
Yoshinobu Kanemaru
6th entry, 3rd consecutive
BUSHI
【B Block】
9th entry, 9th consecutive, 2015, 2017 winner
KUSHIDA
15th entry, 13th consecutive, 2012 winner
Ryusuke Taguchi
BOSJ Debut
Chris Sabin
2nd entry, 2nd consecutive
Dragon Lee
2nd entry, 2nd consecutive
Marty Scurll
3rd entry, 2nd consecutive
El Desperado
4th entry, 2nd consecutive
Hiromu Takahashi
BOSJ Debut
SHO
Debutant profiles
Flip Gordon
Height: 177.8 cm (5’ 10’’)
Weight: 86 kg (190 lbs)
Debut: 2015
Finish: Four Flippy Splash
ROH’s high flying representative made his NJPW debut at Honor Rising and defeated Hiromu Takahashi in a three way match with the Four Flippy. Afterward he declared his desire to enter the BOSJ, and now makes good on that promise.
Chris Sabin
Height: 178 cm (5’10’’)
Weight: 93kg (205 lbs)
Debut: 2000
Finish: All Hail Sabin, Cradle Shock
