NJPW Best of the Super Jr. 26
Night 6 – B Block
#njbosj
Event Date: May 19, 2019 (16:00 JST)
aired live on NJPW World
City: Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan
Venue: Yamagata Big Wing
Attendance: 1,101
Series: Best of the Super Jr. 26
Commentary (English): Kevin Kelly, Caprice Coleman
Commentary (Japanese): Shunichi Fujisawa, Milano Collection AT
Ring Announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki (1 – 2), Makoto Abe (3 – 9)
Video
The competitors in B Block of this year’s Best of the Super Jr. Tournament are briefly profiled.
Match 1
Yuya Uemura & Shota Umino & Jonathan Gresham vs Yota Tsuji & Titan & Sho (IWGP Jr. Tag Champ)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Shota Umino pins Yota Tsuji with a fisherman suplex
Time: 6:33
Match Thoughts
This was a fun opener. The young lions kind of took center stage throughout the match, and that allowed the tournament competitors to take it relatively easy tonight, though they did give us a short yet exciting preview for Gresham versus Titan. Additionally, Gresham took a kick in the match that rocked him, and that became an issue tonight. Hopefully it won’t be an issue going forward in the tournament.
Match 2
Tiger Mask & Juice Robinson (IWGP US Champ) vs Toa Henare & Dragon Lee (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champ)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Juice Robinson pins Toa Henare after Pulp Friction
Time: 6:42
Match Thoughts
Good match. Tiger Mask and Dragon Lee started the match, and that was fun. Both men are hurting, but they didn’t show it too much. Later in the match, Juice and Henare faced each other. Juice was all business. It felt like Juice was a bit vulnerable because of the distractions he’s had lately, but he was too powerful for Henare to get a whole lot of offense against him.
Match 3
Taichi (NEVER Openweight Champ) & TAKA Michinoku & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Gedo & Jado & Taiji Ishimori
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Taichi pins Jado after a superkick
Time: 8:12
Match Thoughts
This was fun. Bullet Club beat Suzuki Gun to the punch by initiating a brawl before the opening bell. There was a decent amount of comedy in this most, mostly just from the fact that pretty much everyone in the match is known for being sneaky cheaters. The final few minutes of the match involved three of the six men getting weapons and each hiding it from the referee as they attacked each other. I enjoyed this.
Match 4
Brody King & Marty Scurll (ROH 6 Man Tag Champs) vs Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Tetsuya Naito pins Brody King after Destino
Time: 10:10
Match Thoughts
Good match. This was a tough fight for LIJ. Takagi, even though his leg was hurting, started te match against Scurll. After a while, both Takagi and Naito got overwhelmed by the size, power, and teamwork of the combined efforts of King and Scurll. It really looked like King was on his way to pinning Naito at one point, and that helped elevate the excitement level of the match considerably. This match surprised me a bit.
Match 5
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
Ren Narita (0-2-0: 0) vs Rocky Romero (0-2-0: 0)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Rocky Romero wins via submission with a cross arm breaker
Time: 12:28
Match Thoughts
Good match. Narita again put up a valiant fight, but Rocky needed a strong showing tonight. Romero was strong, but Narita pushed him. Narita stood up and invited Romero to attack him. Romero obliged, but he also got caught by Narita on a number of occasions. This was very entertaining, and I hope Narita can get a couple points before this tournament is over.
Match 6
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
Douki (1-1-0: 2) vs Bandido (0-2-0: 0)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Bandido wins via pinfall with the 21 Plex
Time: 9:55
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Bandido was angry after Douki removed his mask last night. Bandido started quickly with a dive to the floor, but Douki was able to withstand Bandido’s onslaught and slow the match down. Bandido would hit some bursts of offense throughout the match, but Douki always seemed to find a way to slow things back down. As the match neared its end, Bandido started to pull ahead with some smart mat wrestling, and that allowed him to him some more big moves. Bandido looked strong tonight, and it felt like he built some momentum.
Match 7
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
Robbie Eagles (2-0-0: 4) vs El Phantasmo (2-0-0: 4) (RPW British Cruiserweight Champ)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: El Phantasmo wins via pinfall after the CRII
Time: 10:20
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Since both men are in Bullet Club, they started the match without getting too dirty. Their agreement for fair play quickly went away though. El Phantasmo was the aggressor for the most part, and he gained more than a few advantages through trickery and underhanded tactics. The actual wrestling in the match was quite good as well. Both of these guys are very good and smooth high-fliers, and a lot of their exchanges were very fun to watch.
Match 8
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
Yoh (1-1-0: 2) (IWGP Jr. Tag Champ) vs Will Ospreay (2-0-0: 4)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Will Ospreay wins via pinfall after Stormbreaker
Time: 24:43
Match Thoughts
Great match! Unlike Eagles and El Phantasmo, Chaos stablemates Yoh and Ospreay actually did fight a clean, competitive match. I think most people expected Ospreay to win, but Yoh showed that he is fully capable of beating him. Yoh put Ospreay in trouble early and often, and there were some very believable near falls going both ways. This will be a difficult match to top for tonight, and I think it’s one of the more entertaining matches so far in the tournament.
Match 9
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
BUSHI (0-2-0: 0) vs Ryusuke Taguchi (2-0-0: 4)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Ryusuke Taguchi wins via submission with Oh My & Garankle
Time: 14:56
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Taguchi, as usual, started the match with some hijinks, but he was still able to get an early advantage on BUSHI. BUSHI would eventually come back and put Taguchi in trouble, but Taguchi was able to rise to the challenge. This was fun.
Show Impressions
Another good show. I’m still liking A Block slightly more, but B Block is consistently entertaining as well.
Match of the Night
Yoh vs Will Ospreay
I figured this would be good, and it was probably better than I expected. I think Yoh might feel like he has something to prove considering the success and attention that Sho has been getting.
Standings After Night 6
Block A
| Wrestler | Win | Loss | Draw | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shingo Takagi | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Taiji Ishimori | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Dragon Lee (Jr. Heavyweight Champ) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Marty Scurll (ROH 6 Man Champ) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Tiger Mask | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Jonathan Gresham | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Sho (Jr. Tag Champ) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Titan | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| TAKA Michinoku | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Block B
| Wrestler | Win | Loss | Draw | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Phantasmo (RPW British Cruiserweight Champ) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Ryusuke Taguchi (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champ) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Will Ospreay | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Robbie Eagles | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Bandido | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Douki | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Rocky Romero | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Yoh (Jr. Tag Champ) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| BUSHI | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Ren Narita | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Official Results (Japanese): https://www.njpw.co.jp/tornament/186441?showResult=1