Four top BOSJ league with two matches left

Osaka saw the pre-penultimate night of Best of the Super Jr. league matches on December 2, with SHO, Hiromu Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori and El Desperado ending the night top of the table at ten points while Yuya Uemura was alone at the bottom with zero. 

Fighting for their first win of the tournament, Yuya Uemura and DOUKI were fired up going into the first league match of the night, and started fast, with Uemura gaining an upper hand even when sent outside by DOUKI, connecting with an apron plancha. When DOUKI could send Uemura into the ringside barriers though, he did so with furious velocity, and with referee turned away followed with his steel pipe.

Battling back, Uemura connected with a dropkick and corner charge, building momentum until DOUKI stopped him cold with a lariat. Uemura countered a Daybreak attempt into the Overhook suplex and secured a Boston crab, DOUKI only barely getting to the ropes, but in no mood to give Uemura another inch. DOUKI locked in Italian Stretch #32, and when the Young Lion made the ropes, scored with Daybreak for two, before hitting Suplex De La Luna for the first time on the tour for the win. 

After a check of Ryusuke Taguchi’s rear for foreign objects, the Coach’s match with Robbie Eagles got underway. The early advantage went to Taguchi as he pressured Eagles to the ropes on a pair of occasions before going on the rearward offensive with his hip attacks, but Eagles stopped Taguchi in mid flight and started to target the knee.   

Taguchi paid for some underwear antics with a 619 to the rear, but the buns of steel remained true for Taguchi with a hip attack in ring and a second to the floor. Eagles avoided a Bummer Ye attempt, but Taguchi converted into Oh My and Garankle before Eagles was able to create some distance with corner knee strikes. 

Expertly sensing Eagles attempts at his trademark 450, Taguchi ‘nimbly’ log rolled away from the Sniper in the corner, but though his sluggishness turned out to be a ploy, Eagles still connected with a stiff combination of kicks. A springboard dropkick to the knee followed, and Eagles went for the Ron Miller Special, but Taguchi transitioned into the Japanese Rolling Clutch before putting Eagles back in his signature ankle hold. Eagles countered back into the Ron Miller however, eventually forcing a submission. 

BUSHI was first to the ring after intermission, in need of a win against Master Wato. After a high speed start, a mid kick put BUSHI to the mat, but a ringside trip from the masked man allowed for a tope suicida, and Wato was further punished by the ringside steel and neck work in the ring. Wato battled back with trademark strikes and a tornillo, but his comeback was stopped by a rope hung dropkick and apron DDT. 

Wato brought some heavy hits as he fought his way back into the match, but after a Recientemente, the follow up RPP missed. BUSHI scored a huge Codebreaker for a nearfall, and though MX was blocked on a first attempt, a Canadian Destroyer paved the way to a second, which secured victory. 

In the semi main event, feeling a win would be essential to his hopes of making the finals December 11, went right on the offensive. Taking Ishimori to the floor, he sent Ishimori into the guardrail, and pulled at his ears, before rubbing the champion’s face in his own belt. Not to be outdone when it comes to filthy tactics though, Ishimori responded in vicious kind before targeting his opponent’s arm.  

Ishimori strung together moves and holds all with the intent of softening Desperado for the Yes and Bone Locks. Desperado gutted through the punishment however, dealing a spinebuster against the run of the match. Despe targeted Ishimori’s knee and worked for Numero Dos, and both men’s affected body parts became the key for the rest of the match. 

An Ishimori Mistica was converted to the Yes Lock, but as the champion repositioned Desperado to center ring, he was countered into Numero Dos. Ishimori’s second Mistica was itself reversed into Guitarra Del Angel, but Desperado lacked the shoulder strength for Pinche Loco, blocked into Cipher Utaki. A classical conclusion was denied when both men went to their devious roots however. 

When the referee was temporarily stunned, Ishimori’s advantage was overcome by a desire to put an exclamation point on victory. He grabbed his title to strike Desperado, but as the referee attempted to stop the champion, he was wide open for a low blow, a fist to the face, and Pinche Loco. 

The evening’s main event saw SHO, neck and shoulders taped, charge at Hiromu Takahashi, both men trading lariats and refusing to fall. As Hiromu’s sunset flip powerbomb was countered though, it was SHO with the upper hand for the first time in the match, locking in an arm breaker on the apron and then kicking at Hiromu’s left arm. The advantage was short lived, as Hiromu found a shotgun dropkick on the floor and left SHO howling in pain as he threw his opponent into the guardrails and connected with the John Woo once more. 

Hiromu had control of SHO until being rocked by a spear, but the blow sent whiplash through SHO’s hurt neck. Still, the CHAOS member pushed through to send Hiromu reeling with kicks, but SHO’s stubbornness in looking for a deadlift German instead saw him countered with a Complete Shot. 

Maintaining the assault on his opponent’s neck, Hiromu landed the Dynamite Plunger and corner DVD before signalling for the Time Bomb, only to be blocked and dropped on his own neck with a German suplex.  Rolling suplexes were followed by successive elbows and lariats in the ropes by SHO, but Hiromu was able to take several blows to deliver one big one, drawing his opponent in for a sunset flip powerbomb to the floor. 

After narrowly beating the referee’s 20 count, SHO re-entered to meet Hiromu in a furious elbow exchange at the 15 minute mark. Gaining the upper hand, Hiromu forced SHO to swing, leading to him being caught in ‘D’ and forcing a desperation buckle bomb to escape. SHO again countered Time Bomb by threatening a Kimura lock, a hold he found on the second attempt. 

SHO refused to let go of the double wrist, even through a Hiromu running Death Valley, and Takahashi just barely made the ropes as the match crossed the 20 minute threshold. A Powerbreaker followed for a near two count, but SHO looking for Shock Arrow gave Hiromu a surge of momentum. One counts for both men came from hard collisions, the match approaching its conclusion the same way it began, before a Victory Royal almost led to three for Hiromu. Surging back SHO again fired in with a trio of lariats, and scored with a cross arm piledriver before Shock Arrow connected for three.