It's that time of the year again, this May we begin the 25th Annual Best of the Super Juniors Tournament of NJPW! The tournament began in 1988 with the inaugural winner being Shiro Koshinaka, ever since then the tournament has been a yearly tradition for NJPW. With the exception of 1995 and 2000, Jushin "Thunder" Liger has participated in every year of the tournament holding the record for most participations, last year in 2017 marked his final BOSJ run as he is now retired from the tournament. Meanwhile, Koji Kanemoto holds the record for most finals appearances at 8. But enough about the past, because the present and even the future is bright for NJPW with the amount of great wrestlers being featured in this year's tournament! From your main stays in Japan to outsiders from ROH and CMLL, this will for sure be a BOSJ to remember! BLOCK A Will OspreayBOSJ Appearances: 2 Faction: CHAOS Height: 6'1'' Weight: 174 lbs From: Havering, London, England The current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion: Will Ospreay will be participating in his 3rd BOSJ this year. Certainly a polarizing figure among fans, you either love Ospreay or hate him. I personally don't mind him at all, I think he is the best highflyer in the world today and there's no denying that he is easily a top tier junior in NJPW right now. Since 2016 Ospreay has been competing for NJPW being also a member of CHAOS recruited by Kazuchika Okada himself. Most memorable match of his was against Ricochet which sparked a lot of debate in the wrestling community. He won the 23rd BOSJ and reached the finals last year losing to KUSHIDA. Speaking of KUSHIDA he is the recent defense of Ospreay for his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title which he won in Wrestle Kingdom, now that he is the current champion the chances of him winning another BOSJ is limited. Flip Gordon BOSJ Appearances: 0 Promotion: ROH Height: 5'10'' Weight: 187 lbs From: Kalispell, Montana, USA Making his BOSJ debut this year is ROH's own Flip Gordon! Best known for his appearances in the Young Bucks' "Being the Elite" series, Flip Gordon quickly became a nobody to one of the most well known wrestlers in the indy scene. Thanks to his breath taking performances either in an ROH ring or in other promotions, Flip continues to amaze the fans across the world! He even had a shocking victory on NJPW's Honor Rising show winning a Triple Threat match against Hiromu and KUSHIDA. Look for Flip to continue deliver stellar matches in this year's BOSJ, but unfortunately for him he is far from winning the tournament. Will he finally be booked for All In though? A.C.H. BOSJ Appearances: 1 Faction: Taguchi Japan Height: 5'9'' Weight: 210 lbs From: Austin, Texas, USA A.C.H. will be making his return to NJPW this year by participating in his 2nd BOSJ tournament! In my opinion ACH is one of the most underrated wrestlers today. He is an excellent worker but often gets overlooked among his peers mainly because he hasn't wrestled that "big match" yet or performed regularly on a large scale promotion. This year's BOSJ will certainly be his time to showcase his skills and hopefully gain more eyeballs on him on future matches. Hell, I'd be happy if he becomes a regular in NJPW. He has competed in last year's BOSJ reaching the semi-finals. Also reached the finals of the Super Junior Tag-Team Tournament the same year with Taguchi but they got defeated by Roppongi 3K. Tiger Mask IV BOSJ Appearances: 16 Faction: n/a Height: 5'8'' Weight: 192 lbs From: Chiba, Japan Now that Jushin "Thunder" Liger is retired from the BOSJ, the veteran for this year's tournament is the 4th Tiger Mask. Tiger Mask IV has donned the persona since 1995, making him the longest to portray the character. He has competed in 16 BOSJ tourneys already, having won back to back in 2004 and 2005, making him the only wrestler to do so in history. A former 6x IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Tiger Mask IV has had a storied career in NJPW but this time he will play the role similar to Yuji Nagata in last year's G1 Climax where he will lose probably to everyone, a sort of "passing of the torch" to the next generation if you will. At 47 years old, only time will tell if this will be Tiger Mask IV's final BOSJ. But even with said age, he can still put on good matches against younger opponents. YOH BOSJ Appearances: 1 Faction: CHAOS Height: 5'7'' Weight: 187 lbs From: Kurihara, Miyagi, Japan Ever since returning from excursion, Yohei Komatsu now just simply YOH has had a stellar career in NJPW's Junior Tag Division. Already a former 2x IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Champion with his partner SHO as "Roppongi 3K." He actually already wrestled in a BOSJ before during his young lion days but this time he will be competing as a full blown member of the roster and representing CHAOS as well since he is now under the tutelage of Rocky Romero. From what I've seen in the comments online people always deem YOH as the better half of Roppongi 3K, so it will be interesting to see him finally in solo action. His run for this tourney can go either way: take a lot of W's or L's. Taiji Ishimori BOSJ Appearances: 0 Faction: Bullet Club Height: 5'4'' Weight: 165 lbs From: Tagajo, Miyagi, Japan Much to the surprise of everyone, at NJPW's Wrestling Dontaku show Bullet Club's Bone Soldier made his return. But it wasn't the former Capt. New Japan under the mask, it was Taiji Ishimori. For the unfamiliar Ishimori is an alumni of Pro Wrestling NOAH, in my opinion their best junior wrestler since the days of KENTA/Marufuji/Kanemaru. He is a 3x former GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion and 6x GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Champion. Ishimori also competed beyond the borders most notably for IMPACT Wrestling (fka: TNA) in the States and AAA in Mexico. Earlier this year he announced his free agency after leaving NOAH and now has made his presence felt by becoming a full pledged member of The Bullet Club in NJPW. There's no doubt that Ishimori is going to take the win for his block, especially looking at the opposition, it's a lock for him at least reaching the finals if not winning altogether. Certainly a surprising threat to behold, but a welcomed one. Yoshinobu Kanemaru BOSJ Appearances: 1 Faction: SUZUKI-GUN Height: 5'8'' Weight: 187 lbs From: Yamanashi, Japan From one great NOAH Junior to another, we got the current 1/2 IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Champion: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, the master of spitting whiskey himself. Arguably Kanemaru is the greatest Junior in Pro Wrestling NOAH history having won the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship a record 7 times! During his peak he was one of the greatest wrestlers in the world and had wonderful bouts especially against KENTA now known as Hideo Itami! In 2017 he left NOAH for good, alligning himself with Minoru Suzuki and joining SUZUKI-GUN, competing in NJPW for good. Already a 3x IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Champion, Kanemaru currently holds said belts with El Desperado. He already competed in last year's BOSJ reaching the semis. He's gonna thrive for a better performance this year but I doubt it. BUSHI BOSJ Appearances: 5 Faction: Los Ingobernables de Japon Height: 5'8'' Weight: 183 lbs From: Tokyo, Japan One of my absolute favorites in NJPW right without a doubt is LIJ's Black Jet Death Mask: BUSHI. BUSHI is certainly an underrated wrestler, sure he ain't a flashy highflyer or a technical wizard, but he's an all-around and can adapt any style of wrestling due to his experience competing around the world, learning various crafts of pro wrestling. Initially training and competing at AJPW, BUSHI is somewhat of an experienced veteran at this point of his career. It is now just recently joining LIJ where he really got the spotlight he deserves. As I've mentioned he also competed for promotions in other countries such as ROH in the States, CMLL in Mexico, and RevPro in the UK. He is a former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion but his run was short, he had more success with the NEVER Openweight 6 Man Titles having won that three times already with his LIJ bretheren. Having competed already at 5 BOSJ's, the farthest he got was only reaching the semi finals. With the stacked competition this year, unfortunately for BUSHI I don't see him getting that far as well and might take lots of losses. BLOCK B KUSHIDA BOSJ Appearances: 8 Faction: n/a Height: 5'9'' Weight: 191 lbs From: Tokyo, Japan Leading Block B is in my opinion the greatest Junior Heavyweight of NJPW history since Jushin Liger, is Time Splitter himself: KUSHIDA. During his time with the company, KUSHIDA has seen the demise of NJPW during it's darkest periods under the "Inokism" management and the rise of the company from the ashes of it's previous leadership, with KUSHIDA leading the Junior Heavyweight Division in the process! His match against Hiromu Takahashi in Wrestle Kingdom 11 for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship marked the revival of what was once a dying division in NJPW. Already a former 5x IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion with a total combined day reign of 596 days, there is no denying KUSHIDA is one of the best in the world today! He also held the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team belts with Alex Shelley as the "Time Splitters" and the ROH Television Championship when he competed for the US promotion. Currently, KUSHIDA is somewhat on a "stagnant" state, trying to find his groove among this stacked group of individuals in the Juniors Division. His run as the "ace" of said division isn't far from over, but he needs to freshen up his game and character to become a relevant competitor again, because I only see him getting as far as the semis in this year's BOSJ. Speaking of his BOSJ endeavors, KUSHIDA has competed in 8, winning twice in 2015 and last year 2017. Although I think it will be a while before he wins again and might even move up to the Heavyweights sooner rather than later. Ryusuke Taguchi BOSJ Appearances: 13 Faction: Taguchi Japan Height: 5'11'' Weight: 200 lbs From: Iwanuma, Miyagi, Japan If Tiger Mask IV is the veteran of Block A, Block B has the leader of Taguchi Japan himself: Ryusuke Taguchi. Taguchi I feel is one of the most overlooked members of the roster in NJPW, he is already a former 2x IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and also a 6x IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Champion. Sadly due to his "comedic" style of wrestling, some fans don't take him seriously. But it is during BOSJ where Taguchi brushes off his comedic persona sometimes and plays a role of a more serious and technical competitor which he is still capable of doing so. He is more than just butting heads with his ass. This year will be Taguchi's 14th BOSJ, he already won one in 2012. Sadly I think he will be the one eating up a lot of pins for his block this year. But don't sleep on his matches though, the captain can still deliver! Chris Sabin BOSJ Appearances: 0 Promotion: ROH Height: 5'11'' Weight: 220 lbs From: Detroit, Michigan, USA Another surprise entrant for this year's BOSJ is 1/2 of the Motor City Machine Guns: Chris Sabin! Though not his first time competing for NJPW, this will be Sabin's first "real run" with the company if you will. Having already competed for various promotions across the globe, wracking up titles after titles, Sabin is looking to add the BOSJ to his list of accolades. He is best known as a tag-team wrestler with his MCMG partner: Alex Shelley. They are perhaps best known in their runs at TNA with Sabin collecting a number of title wins most notably the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and being an 8x X-Division Champion! MCMG would also dominate the ROH promotion among many others. This will be Sabin's first BOSJ of his career, he certainly would gain a lot of wins although I think that's how far as it gets. It will be nice to see him lock up with the best NJPW has to offer. Dragon Lee BOSJ Appearances: 1 Promotion: CMLL Height: 5'7'' Weight: 165 lbs From: Tala, Jalisco, Mexico In my opinion Dragon Lee is the best Mexican wrestler in the world today, dare I say even better than Andrade "Cien" Almas! The reigning CMLL World Lightweight Champion is no shy to the world of NJPW, having competed a lot of times already for the company most especially last year's BOSJ and Junior Tag-Team Tournaments. His never ending rivalry with Hiromu Takahashi is a joy to watch as both men aren't gonna hesitate to kill one another every time they face each other in the ring! I'm actually surprised to see him listed as one of the official participants for this year's tournament as it wasn't that long when he suffered an injury during a match but it looks like that healed off fast, must be bathing in whatever water John Cena showers in. Although I'm expecting him to pull off wonderful highflying and hard hitting affairs, I don't expect Dragon Lee to take a lot of W's this year. SHO BOSJ Appearances: 0 Faction: CHAOS Height: 5'8'' Weight: 205 lbs From: Uwajima, Ehime, Japan The other half of Roppongi 3K, Sho Tanaka or now simply just SHO will be in the block separate from his partner. This will be SHO's first BOSJ and pretty much had a similar path of career with YOH. I'd say the same as well, now that they are former champions and members of CHAOS, SHO will certainly be treated more of a big deal but will ultimately not win. Hell, I don't think he'll even make the semis. YOH is the better worker of the two especially in terms of character work, but SHO is a consistent worker and can pull off some barn burners of his own. Marty Scurll BOSJ Appearances: 1 Faction: Bullet Club Height: 5'9'' Weight: 183 lbs From: Cambridgeshire, England The Villain will be making his 2nd BOSJ participation this year reaching the semi finals last year! Although he has just been competing for NJPW regularly recently, Scurll has already earned his spot as one of the top juniors in the division and desservingly so as he is an overall great worker. Scurll has been wrestling in the indies since 2005 most notably in the UK. It wasn't until May of last year where his career took an all time peak when he joined the Bullet Club! It wouldn't be long before Marty became one of the hottest acts in the wrestling industry whether in the WWE or not. Already a former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, he defended the belt in his first ever Wrestle Kingdom but was unsuccessful in retaining. Now he is 1/3 of the NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag-Team Champions with the Young Bucks. While I think Marty is one of the big names competing this year, I think he will reach the same fate he had last year and only go as far as to be in the semis. I could be wrong, but we have to wait and see. El Desperado BOSJ Appearances: 2 Faction: SUZUKI-GUN Height: 5'10'' Weight: 187 lbs From: Niigata, Japan Another SUZUKI-GUN member participating on this year's BOSJ is the other half of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Champions: El Desperado. In 2014 after an excursion from Mexico, young lion Kyosuke Mikami became the dastardly El Desperado. "Despy" as he is affectionately known to fans is one of the underrated workers in NJPW right now. The next year after his return, he joined SUZUKI-GUN and has been one of the most notable members among their ranks. He got his first title win at NJPW when he won the Jr. Tag Belts with Kanemaru earlier this year. This will be Desperado's 3rd BOSJ, last year he reached the semis. Might not make it far this year but he will rack up wins of his own considering he is a champion. Hiromu Takahashi BOSJ Appearances: 4 Faction: Los Ingobernables de Japon Height: 5'7'' Weight: 194 lbs From: Tokyo, Japan Last but not the least we got the best junior heavyweight in NJPW right now, one of my favorites in the entire world because I'm an LIJ fanboy: Hiromu Takahashi! Ever since losing the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship and unable to gain it back ever since, Hiromu has been stranded in somewhat of a limbo in his career. Yes, he is still one of the best in the juniors and undoubtedly the most popular thanks to his association with Naito, but winning his 5th BOSJ would certainly help him gain back all momentum! Started out as a young lion as is tradition, Hiromu went to CMLL and for a time in the US as well such as PWG to hone his craft and create the character that we now know and love today. He can be an oddball a lot of times but when it gets right into action, Hiromu is not only one of the best but tough as nails as you can get! With his undying charisma and great skills, he quickly rose among the ranks in the Juniors Division. I might be bias on this one but I don't care, I will proclaim that Hiromu Takahashi will be the winner of the 25th Best of the Super Juniors. DARYL BE PRAISED! The 25th Annual BOSJ Tournament begins on May 18. Catch all the action at NJPW World!
All the matches for the tournament are listed and can be read here. Thanks For Reading. |
AuthorSuper Mastodon. Spent countless of hours throughout my life watching professional wrestling. Now I write about it, because I like that too. Archives
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