June 3, 2017
published on NJPW World
(aired live)
City: Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Venue: Yoyogi 2nd Gymnasium
Attendance: 3,454
Series: Best of the Super Jr. 24
Commentary: Milano Collection AT, Sou Shibata, Hiroki Yamazaki, Kasuki Kusanagi, Shinpei Nogami, Jushin Thunder Liger, Shinji Yoshino
English Commentary: Kevin Kelly, Don Callis
Ring Announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki, Makoto Abe
Video
Clips from the round robin portion of the Super Junior tournament featuring the finalists Will Ospreay and KUSHIDA.
Match 1
Tetsuhiro Yagi & Katsuya Kitamura & Nakanishi Manabu vs Shota Umino & Tomoyuki Oka & Yuji Nagata
(referee: Kenta Sato; ring announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki; commentary: Milano Collection AT, Sou Shibata, Hiroki Yamazaki)
Result: Tomoyuki Oka forces Tetsuhiro Yagi to submit to a Boston Crab
Time: 7:58
Match Thoughts
A pretty good match. It was a little bit of inexperience combined with age, so the match was kind of slow at times, but overall the action was good. It was a nice opener.
Match 2
Jado & Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirai Kawato & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Togi Makabe
(referee: Kenta Sato; ring announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki; commentary: Milano Collection AT, Sou Shibata, Kazuki Kusanagi)
Result: Tomohiro Ishii pins Hirai Kawato after a lariat
Time: 7:24
Match Thoughts
The main story in this match was Hirai Kawato. Kawato started yelling and pushing Jado before the match even started. Kawato began the match and did alright, but he got overwhelmed by the experience of his opponents. The match started to turn around when Makabe and Tenzan became more involved, the Kawato got tagged in towards the end. He managed to hang in there with Ishii for a while before the finish of the match. This was pretty interesting.
Match 3
TAKA Michinoku & El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Volador Jr. & Tiger Mask & Jushin Thunder Liger
(referee: Tiger Hattori; ring announcer: Makoto Abe; commentary: Milano Collection AT, Sou Shibata, Hiroki Yamazaki)
Result: Volador Jr. pins TAKA Michinoku after a belly to belly from the top rope
Time: 5:46
Match Thoughts
This was effectively a tornado match. It was fun, but it was surprisingly short. The short duration kept the pace very high though. Suzuki Gun worked well as a team, but they didn’t seem to have time to cheat like they normally do. I think that kept this match from being really good, but it was still nice to see Liger, Tiger, and Volador team up.
Match 4
Yujiro Takahashi & Bad Luck Fale & Tanga Roa & Tama Tonga vs ACH & David Finlay & War Machine (IWGP Tag Champs)
(referee: Tiger Hattori; ring announcer: Makoto Abe; commentary: Milano Collection AT, Sou Shibata, Kazuki Kusanagi)
Result: Yujiro Takahashi pins David Finlay after Pimp Juice (kneeling snap DDT)
Time: 10:06
Match Thoughts
Good match. It took a little while to get going, but once it started breaking down it became chaos. I think it built nicely, culminating in dives from both ACH and Hanson before the finish. The finish itself was a little underwhelming, but overall I liked the match.
– Intermission –
Match 5
YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto vs Taichi & Minoru Suzuki (NEVER Openweight Champ) w/ Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Deperado
(referee: Marty Asami; ring announcer: Makoto Abe; commentary: Milano Collection AT, Sou Shibata, Jushin Thunder Liger, Shinpei Nogami)
Result: YOSHI-HASHI pins Taichi after Karma (pumphandle half nelson driver)
Time: 12:13
Match Thoughts
Good match. Suzuki Gun did everything they could to use their numbers against YOSHI-HASHI and Goto, and it worked for much of the match. They took the fight to the outside, used weapons behind the referee’s back, and ganged up on YOSHI-HASHI when the ref got knocked out of the ring late in the match. This match got better as it went along, and I really liked the finish. It was simple, but it was well done.
Ring Area
After the match, Suzuki Gun attacks YOSHI-HASHI. Goto manages to clear the ring though. Afterwards, Minoru Suzuki decides to attack some of the young boys at ringside, smashing one of them repeatedly with a chair.
Match 6
Dragon Lee & Ricochet & Ryusuke Taguchi & Juice Robinson & Satoshi Kojima vs Hiromu Takahashi (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champ) & BUSHI & EVIL & SANADA (NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champs) & Tetsuya Naito (IWGP IC Champ)
(referee: Marty Asami; ring announcer: Makoto Abe; commentary: Milano Collection AT, Sou Shibata, Jushin Thunder Liger, Shinji Yoshino)
Result: Tetsuya Naito pins Satoshi Kojima after Destino
Time: 12:19
Match Thoughts
This was a good match with a ton of people. There were times when it resembled a normal multi-person tag match, but mostly it was a lot of in and out of the ring action with everyone participating. The final portions of the match were fun with nearly everyone passing through the ring and hitting a move. This was nice, but it felt like the comedy team of Taguchi Japan was a bit outclassed by Lod Ingobernables de Japon. At least in the teamwork department.
Ring Area
After the match, Naito gets on the mic and starts to talk about LIJ. As he does, Hiroshi Tanahashi comes out and heads to the ring. They discuss their upcoming title match. After Tanahashi finishes, Naito tosses the IC Title belt in the ring and leaves without it.
Match 7
Marty Scurll & Kenny Omega vs Gedo & Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Heavyweight Champ)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno; ring announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki; commentary: Milano Collection AT, Sou Shibata, Jushin Thunder Liger, Shinpei Nogami)
Result: Marty Scurll forces Gedo to submit to the crossface chickenwing
Time: 13:04
Match Thoughts
Good match. I liked the interactions between Okada and Omega, and I really liked the teamwork between Scurll and Omega. With the way Okada was treated, it makes me think Omega might lose at Dominion, but you never know. As for this match, it seemed to be the most focused of the night, probably because there were only four people in the match and there was a clear story going into it.
Match 8
Best of the Super Jr. 24 Final Match
Will Ospreay vs KUSHIDA (ROH TV Champ)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno; ring announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki; commentary: Milano Collection AT, Sou Shibata, Jushin Thunder Liger, Shinji Yoshino; at ringside: Ryusuke Taguchi, Dragon Lee, Volador Jr., ACH, Tiger Mask, Ricochet)
Result: KUSHIDA wins via pinfall with Back to the Future (small package driver) and wins Best of the Super Jr. 24
Time: 27:59
Match Thoughts
Really great match. It started with a sequence of chains and reversals where both men wrestled to a standoff. It built from there with both guys getting more and more aggressive. The pace gradually picked up, as did the impact of each man’s big moves. There were great moves by both guys and a lot of inventive and brutal maneuvers that we don’t often see from them. This was highly competitive and could have gone either way the entire time. Best match of the tournament.
Ring Area
After the match, KUSHIDA goes over to an emotional Will Ospreay and hugs him. After Ospreay leaves the ring area, KUSHIDA is presented with the Best of the Super Jr. trophy by Makoto Asanuma, the managing director of Bandai Namco Entertainment. KUSHIDA talks about his win and thanks Ospreay for the match they just had. He then gets the crowd to do the wave as he thanks the fans.
KUSHIDA invites his fellow tournament participants at ringside into the ring to thank them. Liger leaves the commentary table and joins in last. KUSHIDA thanks Liger. The segment ends with KUSHIDA holding up his ROH TV Title and Super Jr. trophy then going out into the crowd to celebrate with the fans.
Show Impressions
This was a very good show. The tag matches were all fun and the main event delivered the best match of this year’s Super Jr. tournament. The lack of singles matches in the undercard made it feel as if it wasn’t very important, but the Super Jr. final match more than made up for that.
As I was watching the entire tournament, I noticed that KUSHIDA was having the best match every single time he wrestled, regardless of whether he won or lost. This, plus his great match with Jay Lethal and his ROH TV Title victory during the ROH War of the Worlds tour have really propelled KUSHIDA towards the top of my current favorite wrestlers list. I’ve like the guy for a long time, but he’s having a very great summer right now.
Match of the Night
Will Ospreay vs KUSHIDA
The most important, most interesting, and most exciting match on the show. This was a great way to end the tournament.