NJPW Best of the Super Jr. 26
Night 8 – A & B Blocks
#njbosj
Event Date: May 23, 2019 (18:30 JST)
aired live on NJPW World
City: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
Venue: Korakuen Hall
Attendance: 1,715
Series: Best of the Super Jr. 26
Commentary (English): Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, Juice Robinson
Commentary (Japanese): Haruo Murata, Milano Collection AT, Jushin Thunder Liger
Ring Announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki (1 – 5), Makoto Abe (6 – 10)
Video
The competitors in both blocks of this year’s Best of the Super Jr. Tournament are briefly profiled.
Match 1
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
El Phantasmo (4-0-0: 8) (RPW British Cruiserweight Champ) vs Ren Narita (0-4-0: 0)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: El Phantasmo wins via pinfall after a diving splash
Time: 6:59
Match Thoughts
Good match. El Phantasmo didn’t have a ton of trouble with Narita, but Narita did get soe decent offense in the match. Mostly though, El Phantasmo rolled through this match with a great deal of arrogance.
Match 2
Best of the Super Jr. 26 A Block Match
TAKA Michinoku (0-4-0: 0) vs Titan (1-3-0: 2)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Titan wins via pinfall after modified Michinoku Driver II
Time: 8:09
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. Most of the match was good, but the ending was odd. It seemed like one man thought they were going to keep going, but the other man thought the match was over. Up to that point though, Titan and TAKA looked really good against each other. TAKA continues to come out strong in these matches.
Match 3
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
Robbie Eagles (3-1-0: 6) vs BUSHI (1-3-0: 2)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: BUSHI wins via pinfall after MX
Time: 8:04
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Robbie Eagles focused on BUSHI’s leg throughout the match, but BUSHI used some of his momentum from last night and put in a very strong performance again tonight. Eagles had answers for some of BUSHI’s moves, but BUSHI kept pushing until he managed to accumulate a series of strong maneuvers. This was a close match all the way until the finish.
Match 4
Best of the Super Jr. 26 A Block Match
Jonathan Gresham (2-2-0: 4) vs Tiger Mask (2-2-0: 4)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Jonathan Gresham wins via pinfall with a headscissor takedown transitioned into a cover
Time: 9:21
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Gresham and Tiger Mask started the match with some friendly technical exchanges, but Tiger Mask got aggressive pretty quickly. Tiger Mask repeatedly attacked Gresham’s midsection, and that seemed to hurt Gresham a lot. Gresham struggled to catch his breath throughout the match, and for someone who seems to have unlimited stamina, that was a big hurdle to overcome. Gresham relied on his technical expertise to stay in the match as Tiger Mask continues to try to beat Gresham with kicks and strikes. I really, really enjoyed the finish to this match.
Match 5
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
Douki (1-3-0: 2) vs Yoh (2-2-0: 4) (IWGP Jr. Tag Champ)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Yoh wins via pinfall with a bridging dragon suplex
Time: 11:22
Match Thoughts
Good match. Douki attacked first and took Yoh out into the crowd. After his initial burst though, Douki had trouble gaining any sort of advantage against Yoh. Without help from Taichi like he had early in the tournament, Douki has struggled. Yoh, on the other hand, has been consistently good throughout the tournament.
Ring Area
The video warning Juice Robinson that “time’s up” plays once again. Juice is tired of it.
Match 6
Best of the Super Jr. 26 A Block Match
Marty Scurll (2-2-0: 4) w/ Brody King (ROH 6 Man Tag Champs) vs Sho (1-3-0: 2) (IWGP Jr. Tag Champ)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Sho wins via pinfall after Shock Arrow
Time: 13:18
Match Thoughts
Great match! Scurll came to the ring bandaged, limping, and being helped by Brody King. This was immediately revealed as a ruse when Marty used his fake-out to attack Sho from behind. Scurll followed up with some nice, powerful offense, and that put Sho in danger early in the match. Sho would come back through sheer force of will (and a lot of fighting spirit), and Sho began to dominate with more and more power moves. Marty wouldn’t go away easily though, and this match was a lot closer and more tense than I though it might be. I enjoyed this quite a lot.
Match 7
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
Rocky Romero (1-3-0: 2) vs Ryusuke Taguchi (3-1-0: 6) (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champ)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Ryusuke Taguchi wins via pinfall a reversal to a reversal of the Dodon
Time: 9:58
Match Thoughts
This was fun. The commentators were saying that this was a match to determine who the head coach of Chaos. Taguchi came out with his helmet and rugby ball as usual, and Romero came out with a basketball. There was a lot of silliness early in the match, and I liked it. The match slowly got more serious, but it was pretty light-hearted throughout. The final few minutes did have both men trading some nice moves and counters, but it was mostly low-impact stuff. This was a nice, fun change of pace since the tournament has gotten very serious.
Match 8
Best of the Super Jr. 26 A Block Match
Yoshinobu Kanemaru (1-3-0: 2) vs Taiji Ishimori (4-0-0: 8)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Yoshinobu Kanemaru wins via pinfall with a small package (after spitting whiskey in Ishimori’s eyes)
Time: 3:51
Match Thoughts
This was another surprise from Yoshinobu Kanemaru. It wasn’t the best match in terms of technical wrestling, but it was definitely memorable. Kanemaru is going to be the biggest spoiler in this whole tournament.
Match 9
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
Bandido (2-2-0: 4) vs Will Ospreay (3-1-0: 6)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Will Ospreay wins via pinfall after Stormbreaker
Time: 18:03
Match Thoughts
Great match! This was easily Bandido’s best match so far in the tournament. Both men needed this win to be competitive, and they both wrestled like they knew it. This was evenly matched throughout, and both men hit some breathtaking moves. Both men gave everything, at at times it seemed like neither would give in. This was thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. It’s a shame either man had to lose.
Match 10
Best of the Super Jr. 26 A Block Match
Shingo Takagi (4-0-0: 8) vs Dragon Lee (3-1-0: 6) (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Champ)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Shingo Takagi wins via pinfall after Last of the Dragon
Time: 17:20
Match Thoughts
Great Match! This was one of the hardest hitting matches in the tournament. It might have been THE hardest hitting match. Lee didn’t seem desperate in this match, but he definitely turned up the aggression tonight. Lee tried to meet Shingo strike for strike, and he rocked Shingo like Shingo hasn’t yet been rocked. Lee had the advantage of his agile lucha style, but Shingo is a juggernaut. The final few minutes of the match were fantastic, and the energy was as high as it’s been so far in the tournament. This match had huge implications no matter what the result was, and the result was super exciting.
Show Impressions
As the halfway point of the tournament, this show did not disappoint. Tonight was better than last night’s show, and the emotions are getting high for a lot of the men competing.
Match of the Night
Shingo Takagi vs Dragon Lee
Great, great match. I keep saying each night has the best match of the tournament, but considering the implications and the match itself, this one is going to be difficult to beat.
Standings After Night 8
Block A
| Wrestler | Win | Loss | Draw | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shingo Takagi | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Taiji Ishimori | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Dragon Lee (Jr. Heavyweight Champ) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Jonathan Gresham | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Marty Scurll (ROH 6 Man Champ) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Sho (Jr. Tag Champ) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Tiger Mask | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Titan | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| TAKA Michinoku | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Block B
| Wrestler | Win | Loss | Draw | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Phantasmo (RPW British Cruiserweight Champ) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Ryusuke Taguchi (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champ) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Will Ospreay | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Robbie Eagles | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Yoh (Jr. Tag Champ) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Bandido | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| BUSHI | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Douki | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Rocky Romero | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Ren Narita | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Official Results (Japanese): https://www.co.jp/tornament/186443?showResult=1