New Japan Pro Wrestling kicked off the 24th annual Best of the Super Juniors in grand style yesterday, with a stacked card featuring eight good matches, four of which could be described as being great. The show featured the New Japan debut of the newest member of Bullet Club, ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll, who faced off against long-time rival and 2016 BoSJ winner, Will Ospreay.
Elsewhere Jushin Thunder Liger began his final Best of the Super Juniors against old foe TAKA Michinoku, KUSHIDA took on El Desperado and Ryusuke Taguchi, ACH, Volador Jr. and more were in action.
The show was headlined by yet another thriller between IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi and Dragon Lee. The full show results can be found below.
#1 A Block – TAKA Michinoku def. Jushin Thunder Liger
This was a great way to start the tournament, as two old veterans put on a classic Japanese junior match. Liger worked as one would expect him to in his final tournament, like a man with a lot to prove and nothing to lose.
He still lost this match however, TAKA pulling out the win with a roll up out of an armbar. This was a hot way to start the tournament, helped no end by the lack of Suzuki-gun interference.
#2 B Block – Volador Jr. def. Tiger Mask
CMLL”Jr.”#njbosj https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP#njpw #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/6qQr88gY8A
— njpwworld (@njpwworld) May 17, 2017
Volador Jr. may well be a sneaky outside bet to win it, and the Mexican superstar began on the right foot with a solid victory over Tiger Mask. TM put in a great performance here, working harder than usual to prove that he can still go with the younger juniors.
Volador was too much for the veteran, pulling out the win after a brutal looking Spanish Fly.
#3 A Block – Ricochet def. Taichi
Taichi being Taichi this was never going to be great, but his dreary act was balanced out by the sheer wonder of King Ricochet. There aren’t many more fluid wrestlers in the world than Ricochet, and the Future of Flight was able to pick up the win after hitting Taichi with a Shooting Star Press.
#4 B Block – ACH def. BUSHI
ACH @GoGoACH "SUPER"BUSHI#njbosj https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP#njpw #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/Wp0vEAPIhI
— njpwworld (@njpwworld) May 17, 2017
The fourth match of the evening saw ACH and BUSHI meet, with both men continuing the theme of bringing their working boots and putting on a great match.
With the abundance of athletic wrestlers around in 2017 it is easy to forget just how talented ACH is, and it is somewhat baffling that he hasn’t been picked up by WWE yet. BUSHI played his part here too, but it was ACH who got the victory after a Lariat/Brainbuster combo.
#5 B Block – El Desperado def. KUSHIDA
To some, this might read as a shock result, but this could be considered par for the course when it comes to New Japan and tournaments. El Desperado is hugely underrated as a worker, and only a fool would sleep on the masked man’s matches in this tournament.
KUSHIDA put in a typically top tier performance, but it wasn’t enough. Despy picked up the win after a belt shot and a Guitarra de Angel.
#6 A Block – Marty Scurll def. Will Ospreay
IWGP2…@WillOspreay vs@MartyScurll #njbosj https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP#njpw #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/7syBKU8eQy
— njpwworld (@njpwworld) May 17, 2017
Scurll made his New Japan debut against the winner of the 2016 Best of the Super Juniors, and the two put on a great match. Scurll vs. Ospreay is one of the great rivalries of our time, and this was another excellent chapter in that far from finished book.
Scurll proved immensely popular with the Japanese crowd too, which bodes well for him moving forward. The Villain picked up the win via tap out, when Ospreay couldn’t survive the Chicken Wing. The finger breaking spot needs to go though.
#7 B Block – Ryusuke Taguchi def. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
This was probably the weakest match of the evening, but that isn’t to say it was bad. Far from it, Taguchi and Kanemaru are two of the most experienced juniors in the promotion and as such, they were both wise to their place on the card.
This bout was heavy on Taguchi’s hip-based offence, but it was successive low blows that ultimately brought victory to the Funky Weapon.
#8 A Block – Dragon Lee def. Hiromu Takahashi
Hiromu Takahashi suffered his first singles defeat in New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2017 to his old rival Dragon Lee, in what was a barnstorming main event. These two have put on countless wonderful matches in recent history and this was more of the same.
The story was that the two knew each other so well that they already have counters to each other’s counters, but ultimately it was Dragon Lee who managed to get one step ahead of the Ticking Time Bomb.
@TIMEBOMB1105 vs @dragon_leecmll2#njbosjFREEhttps://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP#njpw #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/oVALG66T5Q
— njpwworld (@njpwworld) May 17, 2017
Lee got the three count after hitting Hiromu with a vicious looking Phoenix Plex (Steenalizer with a bridge), setting himself up for another IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship shot down the line.
An incredible first night of action that should be considered yet another must-see show from New Japan in 2017. Night two will be headlined by Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Jushin Thunder Liger.
