NJPW Best of the Super Jr. 26
Night 9 – A & B Blocks
#njbosj
Event Date: May 24, 2019 (18:30 JST)
aired live on NJPW World
City: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
Venue: Korakuen Hall
Attendance: 1,722
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 of this year’s Best of the Super Jr. tournament are briefly profiled.
Match 1
Best of the Super Jr. 26 A Block Match
Sho (2-3-0: 4) (IWGP Jr. Tag Champ) vs Tiger Mask (2-3-0: 4)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Sho wins via pinfall after the Shock Arrow
Time: 8:14
Match Thoughts
Good match. Tiger Mask came into the match strong. It felt like he wanted to make up for dropping a match to Jonathan Gresham last night. Tiger Mask hit Sho with a lot of strikes, and Sho was rocked. Like in many of his matches in this tournament, Sho had to fight from behind and use his power to overcome his opponent. That led to a nice finish and a good opening match.
Match 2
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
Ren Narita (0-5-0: 0) vs Will Ospreay (4-1-0: 8)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Will Ospreay wins via pinfall after the OsCutter
Time: 8:45
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Ospreay didn’t really take the match lightly, but Narita still surprised him early and often throughout the match. Narita hit some very good counters at some very important moments in this match, and he had Ospreay in serious trouble late in the match. This was a ton of fun, and I was very happy with how much offense Narita got in the match. Even Ospreay seemed impressed with Narita.
Match 3
Best of the Super Jr. 26 A Block Match
Yoshinobu Kanemaru (2-3-0: 4) vs Marty Scurll (2-3-0: 4) w/ Brody King (ROH 6 Man Tag Champs)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Marty Scurll wins via pinfall after Black Plague
Time: 5:02
Match Thoughts
This was a lot of fun. Scurll and Kanemaru both cheated as much as they could throughout this match. The fight went all the way up to the second level of the seats, and Kanemaru tried to get Scurll counted out just like he’s tried multiple times in the tournament. Brody King nearly caused that plan to backfire though. Then, the last few minutes were filled with shenanigans involving the referee, Marty’s umbrella, and a lot of whiskey.
Match 4
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
Douki (1-4-0: 2) vs Robbie Eagles (3-2-0: 6)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Robbie Eagles wins via submission with the Ron Miller Special
Time: 8:11
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Douki has often looked like he’s just wanted to hurt people, but he looked like he wanted to win this match. Douki had some very nice technical holds and pin attempts throughout this match, but he did try to hurt Eagles as well. Early in the match Douki hit Eagles with a DDT on a chair on the floor. That move busted Eagles head open, and Eagles struggled to regain his composure for a long time after that. The blood seemed to make Eagles angry, and he eventually started to snipe Douki’s legs in an attempt to set up the Ron Miller Special. This was easily Douki’s beast may in my opinion, and it might have been Eagles’ best as well. Eagles definitely showed a ton of heart. I really like Eagles now.
Match 5
Best of the Super Jr. 26 A Block Match
TAKA Michinoku (0-5-0: 0) vs Shingo Takagi (5-0-0: 10)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Shingo Takagi wins via pinfall after Last of the Dragon
Time: 7:23
Match Thoughts
Good match. TAKA surprised Shingo right away with a flurry of offense. Shingo couldn’t keep up with TAKA at all. TAKA tried everything to beat Shingo including multiple submissions and trying to get him counted out, and Shingo looked to be as in trouble as he’s been in the tournament. This was a lot of fun, and it was good to see TAKA have such a good showing against someone so dominant.
Ring Area
Again, the mysterious “Time’s Up” video plays for Juice Robinson.
Match 6
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
Bandido (2-3-0: 4) vs Ryusuke Taguchi (4-1-0: 8) (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champ)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Bandido wins via pinfall after the 21 Plex
Time: 10:50
Match Thoughts
Good match. Bandido seemed to have a lot of fun in this match. Taguchi had a good mix of silliness and seriousness going on, and Bandido joined in with some levity of his own. After a while, the match became more serious, but there was always a sense of fun between the two competitors. The finish wasn’t quite as clean as it could have been, but it worked well enough.
Match 7
Best of the Super Jr. 26 A Block Match
Taiji Ishimori (4-1-0: 8) vs Jonathan Gresham (3-2-0: 6)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Taiji Ishimori wins via pinfall after the Bloody Cross
Time: 6:50
Match Thoughts
Good match. Ishimori seemed to throw Gresham off his game a little tonight. Gresham was extremely confident coming into tonight’s match, but Ishimori spit on Gresham before the match. That pissed Gresham off, and even though Gresham got some revenge for the spit, he seemed like he was trying to embarrass Ishimori throughout the match. That worked for Gresham sometimes, but it also left Gresham open to some of Ishimori’s power attacks. This was a tough fight for Gresham, and it was nearly a must-win for Ishimori. I enjoyed this.
Match 8
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
BUSHI (2-3-0: 4) vs Yoh (3-2-0: 6) (IWGP Jr. Tag Champ)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: BUSHI wins via pinfall after MX
Time: 11:46
Match Thoughts
Good match. Yoh came into this match as strong as usual, but BUSHI has been on the rise in the last few matches. This was a struggle for both men, and it was close all the way until the end. I think they both might have had flashier matches so far in the tournament, but this was as solid as any match they’ve had.
Match 9
Best of the Super Jr. 26 A Block Match
Titan (2-3-0: 4) vs Dragon Lee (3-2-0: 6) (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champ)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Dragon Lee wins via pinfall after Desnucadora
Time: 14:01
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Dragon Lee and Titan are friends, and they wrestled a friendly match. A friendly match where they both agreed to hit each other as hard as they possibly could. There were some breathtaking dives, a lot of great sequences, and plenty of very hard strikes. This was probably Titan’s best match of the tournament, and it was a very entertaining one for Dragon Lee.
Match 10
Best of the Super Jr. 26 B Block Match
El Phantasmo (5-0-0: 10) (RPW British Cruiserweight Champ) vs Rocky Romero (1-4-0: 2)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Rocky Romero wins via submission with a cross arm breaker
Time: 28:38
Match Thoughts
Great match! The commentators were talking about how this was Rocky Romero’s first main event in Korakuen Hall, and they were talking about how much Rocky means to so many people in New Japan. Rocky was a huge sentimental favorite tonight. Plus, the douchebaggery of El Phantasmo was at an all time high, so pretty much everyone everywhere was pulling for Rocky. The match went long, and El Phantasmo dominated a large portion of the first half. Rocky wouldn’t go away though, and the match kept building and building in intensity. The time limit became an extra factor as the match started to close in on thirty minutes, and that added to the already super fun and exciting atmosphere. This might be the emotional and inspirational match of the tournament.
Show Impressions
This was another very fun show. The main event stole the show, but everything building up to the main event was a lot of fun as well.
Match of the Night
El Phantasmo vs Rocky Romero
This match came at the perfect time in the tournament. Both men have been built up to the point where we kind of know where they’re both headed in the standings. That allowed the match to be more about the personalities than the points (although the points certainly mattered to Phantasmo as well). This was a huge sympathetic underdog versus a dominant douche bag, and it came together beautifully.
Standings After Night 9
Block A
| Wrestler | Win | Loss | Draw | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shingo Takagi | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Taiji Ishimori | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Dragon Lee (Jr. Heavyweight Champ) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Sho (Jr. Tag Champ) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Marty Scurll (ROH 6 Man Champ) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Jonathan Gresham | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Tiger Mask | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Titan | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| TAKA Michinoku | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Block B
| Wrestler | Win | Loss | Draw | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Phantasmo (RPW British Cruiserweight Champ) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Will Ospreay | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Robbie Eagles | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Ryusuke Taguchi (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champ) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| BUSHI | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Yoh (Jr. Tag Champ) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Bandido | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Rocky Romero | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Douki | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Ren Narita | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Official Results (Japanese): https://www.njpw.co.jp/tornament/186444?showResult=1