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With the usual May to June tournament preempted due to the global pandemic, NJPW presented the Best of Super Juniors 27 to end 2020 this year. With an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship opportunity at Wrestle Kingdom 15 on the line, 10 of the best junior heavyweight competitors battled over the course of a month to determine who was the superior wrestler.
Due to travel restrictions, there could not be the typical 20-man dual block play, but that did not keep from every wrestler leaving every ounce of fortitude in an effort to win the Best of Super Juniors 27. This was arguably the most unique, yet intense, competition in the tournament's history.
With 46 different contests across the month-long block league and finals, some performers were able to standout more than others. In this article, we will take a look at the five must-watch Best of Super Juniors 27 matches.
#5 SHO vs. Robbie Eagles - Best of Super Juniors 27 Day 3 (November 20th, 2020)
Heading into this year's tournament, a lot of the attention was on IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori and the Ace of the Juniors, Hiromu Takahashi. Fans anticipated one of these two men standing out and having the best match on any individual night of the block league. However, if any two competitors stepped up the most in the Best of Super Juniors 27, it was SHO and Robbie Eagles.
SHO has seen the most opportunities in 2020 that he has been presented in his young career. With his Roppongi 3K partner, YOH, out with injury, the former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion was given the chance to take part in the New Japan Cup 2020 and get a shot at the NEVER Openweight Title. In the Best of Super Juniors 27, he performed like a man possessed.
On Day 3 of the Best of Super Juniors 27, he faced his fellow CHAOS stablemate, Robbie Eagles. These two men are fast, hard hitting and possess a great amount of submission ability. In this contest, their exchanges on the ground were as compelling as when they were going at breakneck speed.
This was a highly spirited banger of a contest that did not let up for the over 19 minutes that the two men battled. The pride that SHO and Eagles had being CHAOS members was on showcase here. In the end, Robbie got the victory using his Ron Miller special for the submission. The respect displayed after the match showed that both men knew what they accomplished here.
#4 Taiji Ishimori vs. Robbie Eagles - Best of Super Juniors 27 Day 5 (November 25th, 2020)
Robbie Eagles is once again here for our next entry. The Sydney, Australia native really made the most of this Best of Super Juniors 27 tournament and repeatedly elevated every opponent that he stepped in the ring with. On Day 5, he went one-on-one with his former Bullet Club stablemate, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori.
The two men are reflections of each other. They both are speedy, technically-proficient competitors who can defeat their opposition in a variety of ways. The counters and sequences in this bout were truly enthralling and made the fans aware that these two knew each other extremely well.
The ebbs and flows of this encounter were great and had the crowd wondering who would win. It was Ishimori who pulled out the victory with the Bloody Cross. Ishimori's story in the tournament was that, as champion, he was being disrespected by the NJPW matchmakers for the Best of Super Juniors 27.
This battle with Robbie Eagles stands as the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion's best contest of the entire Best of Super Juniors 27 tournament. Eagles was more than a formidable challenge for Ishimori and delivered on a match that probably should have been the main event of this particular night.
#3 SHO vs. Hiromu Takahashi - Best of Super Juniors 27 Day 7 (December 2nd, 2020)
SHO has been touted as a future ace for the junior heavyweight division of NJPW. One half of Roppongi 3K, he never lets up inside the ring and delivered at a high level in singles competition. The Best of Super Juniors 27 presented SHO with another opportunity to step up and prove where he stands in the ongoing progression in his career.
On Best of Super Juniors 27 Day 7, SHO would meet the current ace of the Juniors, Hiromu Takahashi. These two men had a hard-hitting affair that was different from the typical tournament contest. They battled in a physically intense encounter that featured the NJPW strong style at its finest.
Hiromu kept his pristine level of quality, while SHO looked to keep up with his opponent's main event status. There were stiff lariats, drops on the neck and huge moves back and forth. On this Best of Super Juniors 27 show, SHO would pull out his first win over Hiromu Takahashi in a truly superb main event.
These two showed a spectacular chemistry with one another that makes a rematch highly anticipated. If anyone can match Hiromu's frantic pace over the next few years, it seems like SHO just might be that man.
#2 Hiromu Takahashi vs. Robbie Eagles - Best of Super Juniors 27 Day 6 (November 29th, 2020)
Hiromu Takahashi is not only considered the ace, but also the top star of the NJPW junior heavyweight division. In the Best of Super Juniors 27, the Ticking Time Bomb was consistently featured in the main event scene. He was undoubtedly one of the MVPs of this year's tournament. However, Robbie Eagles gave him a run for his money.
Eagles elevated every opponent that he was in the squared circle with, but on this night, he more than met his match. The two men battled in a fantastic main event that built and built to a thrilling close. There was constant action throughout the 26-minute duration of the contest. Hiromu brought his insane, never-say-die arsenal, while Eagles looked to take things to the ground by working over Takahashi's bad knee.
In the conclusion, Hiromu took control and hit a Time Bomb 2 to get the win. This brought the two opposing sides to a head and made for a magnificent encounter that had the Budokan crowd engaged. Up until this point, this was the leader in the wheelhouse for match of the tournament. That was, until the Best of Super Juniors 27 Finals.
#1 Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Desperado - Best of Super Juniors 27 Finals (December 11th, 2020)
On Best of Super Juniors 27 Day 2, El Desperado defeated Hiromu Takahashi by using a steel chair and assaulting the knee of his opponent before making him submit with Numero Dos. The two men had a rematch in the tournament finals. Although their first encounter was great, no one could have been prepared for what was going to happen in this contest.
The two men came up in NJPW as Young Lions all the way back in 2010. They also both went on excursion in Mexico, which was where El Desperado found his signature mask. This Best of Super Juniors 27 Finals was deeply emotional due to these things and continuously elevated the level of heat from the Budokan crowd. The fans were given a bout that had a little bit of everything.
There were tremendous exchanges, breathtaking counters, chair shots, blood, dramatic submissions and an enthralling finish. This was a simply phenomenal main event that was captivating to watch unfold. The moment where Hiromu ripped off El Despy's mask gave the fans a new level of intensity that hasn't been seen in wrestling this year. Desperado removing his mask to show Hiromu what he was willing to do to win entranced every fan in attendance.
The match went from a fun main event to a career-best performance for El Desperado. Takahashi once again proved himself as the ace of the juniors, while Desperado showed that he could keep up with the main eventers of the division. This was not only the best encounter of the Best of Super Juniors 27, but this was also one of the very best matches for NJPW in 2020.
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