During the April 24th Korakuen Hall Road to Dontaku event, the lineup was officially announced for Best of the Super Juniors 26, which kicks off in Sendai on Monday May 13th and runs until Wednesday June 5th in Ryogoku Sumo Hall. Stay tuned to www.njpw1972.com for a full preview of the tournament and introduction of all the entrants in the coming days!

Of particular excitement was the announcement that Robbie Eagles, Bandido, Jonathan Gresham and Shingo Takagi would be debuting as well as the announcement a mystery participant. All is not entirely mysterious; we know that this is the same individual that will team with Taiji Ishimori against Dragon Lee and Will Ospreay on May 4. We also have had some strong indications about who the individual may be given the hints in the video that aired around arenas during the New Japan Cup. All will be completely revealed at Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka on May 4.

The announced names were:

・16th appearance – 14th consecutive year

Ryusuke Taguchi (2012 winner)

・18th appearance – 18th consecutive year

Tiger Mask (2004 & 2005 winner)

・7th appearance – 1st appearance in 3 years

Rocky Romero

・2nd appearance – 2nd consecutive year

SHO

・2nd appearance – 2nd consecutive year

YOH

・4th appearance – 4th consecutive year

Will Ospreay (2016 winner)

・3rd appearance – 2nd consecutive year

Taiji Ishimori

・4th appearance – 3rd consecutive year

El Desperado

・7th appearance – 1st appearance in 2 years

TAKA Michinoku

・3rd appearance – 3rd consecutive year

Yoshinobu Kanemaru

・7th appearance – 4th consecutive year

BUSHI

・2nd appearance – 2nd consecutive year

Flip Gordon

・2nd appearance – 1st appearance in 6 years

Titán

・3rd appearance – 3rd consecutive year

Marty Scurll

・3rd appearance – 3rd consecutive year

Dragon Lee

Debut appearance

Robbie Eagles

Debut appearance

Jonathan Gresham

Debut appearance

Bandido

Debut appearance

Shingo Takagi

Competitor no. 20

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Please note that the block division and cards will be announced later