Unlike the somewhat cut and dry A Block, which is racing to its conclusion with Taiji Ishimori facing Shingo Takagi on Friday with everything at stake, B block is rather more complicated at time of writing. Several contenders are still in the hunt, which will give the sold out Osaka crowd a lot to chew on. In this at a glance guide, we’ll break down the matches and let you know each participant’s path to potential victory.
Ryusuke Taguchi (5-2) vs El Phantasmo (5-2)
ROUTES TO VICTORY
TAGUCHI: Taguchi must win this match. He can win the block if he wins both his last matches and Robbie Eagles loses one match.
PHANTASMO: Phantasmo holds tie breakers over both Ospreay and Eagles. If he wins this match, he can win the block in the event of a four way tie. If he loses this match, he will need to beat DOUKI, with Ospreay losing to DOUKI and beating Taguchi, and Eagles losing one of his last two.
Ryusuke Taguchi has been immensely impressive during this year’s Best of the Super Juniors, stringing together a run that has left him in strong contention going into the final week. His toughest two tests are coming at the end of his campaign however, with ELP tonight and Will Ospreay coming up on June 3. Phantasmo is dangerously close to falling into a deep slump however, with defeats to both Rocky Romero and YOH in his last two matches. If ever there was a time for Taguchi to pull out the win, it would be here, and Osaka will be cheering him on until throats are sore.
Will Ospreay (5-2) vs DOUKI (1-6)
ROUTES TO VICTORY
OSPREAY: Ospreay can only hope for a tie breaker with Taguchi at the end of the group. He has to hope for Eagles and Phantasmo to lose one more match while he wins out.
Ospreay’s losses to Eagles and Phantasmo have hurt him badly when it comes to hopes for block victory. While he has every chance of ending the group with 14 points, so too do the two men that have beaten him, which would mean he wouldn’t stand in the main event at Sumo Hall. Ospreay then will hope to prevent an upset by DOUKI tonight, while also strongly supporting Taguchi in his bout against ELP.
Rocky Romero (3-4) vs BUSHI (4-3)
ROUTES TO VICTORY
BUSHI: BUSHI holds one tie breaker over Eagles, but has lost to Taguchi, Phantasmo and Ospreay, mathematically eliminating him.
BUSHI and Romero have had heat with one another ever since BUSHI’s first Best of the Super Juniors in 2012. While much has changed since then, Romero’s distaste for the masked man has only continued to fester in ring and on commentary. It doesn’t help from Romero’s standpoint that BUSHI is undefeated against the Co-Head Coach of NJPW in their two singles outings so far. With both men fighting for pride in their last two matches, this might get very competitive, and very violent.
Bandido (3-4) vs Robbie Eagles (5-2)
ROUTES TO VICTORY
EAGLES: Eagles holds tie breakers over Ospreay and Taguchi. He needs to win out, with Taguchi beating El Phantasmo.
Robbie Eagles’s destiny in his tournament isn’t entirely in his hands thanks to his loss against El Phantasmo earlier in the tournament. More painful was that his destiny wasn’t fully in his hands Sunday night, either. More than a mere victory, Eagles wanted to see a competitive classic with Ospreay through to completion in Chiba, but ELP interfered, gifting Eagles the win, but causing internal conflict for the Sniper of the Skies. ELP’s move was far from magnanimous; the Headbanger knows that should B block be topped by the two Bullet Club members, he would advance. For Eagles now though, all he can do is play his part, and that means beating a Bandido eager to show he belongs in NJPW going forward.
YOH (4-3) vs Ren Narita (0-7)
ROUTES TO VICTORY
YOH: If YOH wins out, Eagles beats Bandido, Taguchi beats Phantasmo and loses to Ospreay on June 3, there will be a five way deadlock in B Block.
YOH’s defeat of ELP in Chiba opens the door to B Block the slimmest crack. His best hope will be a five way tie with Taguchi, Eagles, Phantasmo and Ospreay, with each holding two tie breakers over the other. In such a case, a playoff may be the chosen route. It’s a highly unlikely scenario, but YOH will be looking to do his part to make it there, and a winnable match against Narita seems to bode well.
