NJPW Best of the Super Jr. 26
Night 13 – A Block
#njbosj
Event Date: May 31, 2019 (19:00 JST)
aired live on NJPW World
City: Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan
Venue: Item Ehime
Attendance: 1,093
Series: Best of the Super Jr. 26
Commentary (English): Kevin Kelly, Gino Gambino
Commentary (Japanese): Haruo Murata, Milano Collection AT, Jushin Thunder Liger
Ring Announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki (1 – 4), Makoto Abe (5 – 8)
Video
The competitors in A Block of this year’s Best of the Super Jr. tournament are briefly profiled.
Match 1
Yuya Uemura & Tomohiro Ishii & Rocky Romero & Will Ospreay vs Yota Tsuji & Shota Umino & Bandido & Ryusuke Taguchi (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champ)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Shota Umino pins Yuya Uemura with a bridging fisherman suplex
Time: 8:57
Match Thoughts
This was a nice opener. Ospreay and Taguchi have a match coming up to decide the winner of B Block, and they were surprisingly aggressive with each other. For the most part though, the young lions were a large focus of the action. That meant the match had a lot of energy. It was a good way to start the show.
Match 2
Jado & Robbie Eagles vs Juice Robinson (IWGP US Champ) & Yoh (IWGP Jr. Tag Champ)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Juice Robinson pins Jado after Pulp Friction
Time: 8:33
Match Thoughts
Good match. Eagles and Yoh had a little interaction to get us ready for their final match in the tournament, and Jado finished the match with Juice. This was solid, though kind of unremarkable.
Match 3
Taichi (NEVER Openweight Champ) & Douki vs Gedo & El Phantasmo (RPW British Cruiserweight Champ)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Taichi forces Gedo to submit to the Holy Emperor’s Tomb (stretch plum)
Time: 8:01
Match Thoughts
This was fun. It was kind of a match to see who could cheat better and more often. At the end of the match, Gedo and Taichi had a face-off with weapons as the referee desperately tried to get them to put their weapons down. I liked it.
Match 4
Toa Henare & Ren Narita vs Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Tetsuya Naito pins Toa Henare after Destino
Time: 8:09
Match Thoughts
Good match. Narita had a decent showing against BUSHI, but the teamwork of Naito and BUSHI was too much for their opponents. Eventually, Naito and Henare ended up in the ring together, and they finished the match with a pretty good sequence.
Match 5
Best of the Super Jr. 26 A Block Match
Titan (2-6-0: 4) vs Tiger Mask (2-6-0: 4)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Titan wins via pinfall with a lateral press
Time: 8:10
Match Thoughts
This was a good match, but unfortunately the finish wasn’t very good. Tiger Mask continued his streak of coming out strong and using strikes and some powerful slams. Titan looked more agile tonight than he did in his previous match, and that led to a very entertaining match. It’s just too bad that the finish seemed like it was actually not supposed to end the way it did. Both men seemed upset after the match. I hope Tiger Mask can return to the Super Jr. tournament and get a better ending.
Match 6
Best of the Super Jr. 26 A Block Match
Jonathan Gresham (4-4-0: 8) vs Sho (4-4-0: 8) (IWGP Jr. Tag Champ)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Sho wins via pinfall after the Shock Arrow
Time: 10:27
Match Thoughts
Great match. Both men were hurting in different areas of their body, and the first few minutes of the match were spent with both men trying to figure out how they wanted to attack each other. Gresham saw an opportunity to focus on Sho’s knee, so that’s what he did. Gresham’s attack was precise and unrelenting, and he bent the rules in ingenious ways (including taking a figure four out to the floor so he had 20 seconds instead of 5 seconds for a rope break). Sho fought back with his power, so the match ended up being about who’s method would wear the other person out first. This was a strong finish for both men.
Match 7
Best of the Super Jr. 26 A Block Match
Marty Scurll (5-3-0: 10) w/ Brody King (ROH 6 Man Tag Champs) vs Dragon Lee (6-2-0: 12) (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champ)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Dragon Lee wins via pinfall after Desnucadora
Time: 16:12
Match Thoughts
Great match. Neither man could win their block, but Marty could earn a title shot if he could beat Lee. That gave the match a good amount of tension, and Scurll looked as good as he has in the entire tournament. Scurll and Lee started the match with some nice technical exchanges, but Scurll moved to underhanded tactics and cheating when he saw that they were pretty evenly matched. Scurll (and King) put Lee at a disadvantage, and that allowed Lee the chance to build a nice comeback as he and Scurll headed to a fun finish.
Match 8
Best of the Super Jr. 26 A Block Match
Taiji Ishimori (7-1-0: 14) vs Shingo Takagi (8-0-0: 16)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Shingo Takagi wins via pinfall after Last of the Dragon, Shingo wins A Block
Time: 20:58
Match Thoughts
Great match. The stakes were as high as hey could be in the tournament. Both men had suffered various injuries throughout the tournament, but they threw everything they had into this match. This was a great strong style match punctuated with great exchanges all the way through. Each man seemed to have answers for their opponent’s moves, and that meant both men were taking tremendous damage as they fought on. This was definitely a good end to A Block.
Show Impressions
A Block ended with a series of great matches. It’s unfortunate that TAKA Michinoku was injured and had to sit tonight out. I think his scheduled match with Kanemura would have been great as well.
Match of the Night
Taiji Ishimori vs Shingo Takagi
The final three matches were all great in their own ways, but the main event was probably the most exciting match tonight.
Standings After Night 13
Block A
| Wrestler | Win | Loss | Draw | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shingo Takagi | 9 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Taiji Ishimori | 7 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| Dragon Lee (Jr. Heavyweight Champ) | 7 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| Sho (Jr. Tag Champ) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| Marty Scurll (ROH 6 Man Champ) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| Jonathan Gresham | 4 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| Titan | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Yoshinobu Kanemaru | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Tiger Mask | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| TAKA Michinoku | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Block B
| Wrestler | Win | Loss | Draw | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryusuke Taguchi (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champ) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| Will Ospreay | 6 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
| BUSHI | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Yoh (Jr. Tag Champ) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| El Phantasmo (RPW British Cruiserweight Champ) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Robbie Eagles | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Bandido | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| Rocky Romero | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| Douki | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| Ren Narita | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
Official Results (Japanese): https://www.njpw.co.jp/tornament/186449?showResult=1