With the Wrestling Dontaku tour officially over, it is that time of the year again where some of the best junior heavyweight wrestlers gather together and compete in the prestigious tournament: Best of the Super Juniors! A tournament that started in 1988, this is now its 26th inception with a lot of past and new wrestlers being mixed in the field. Besides the wrestlers themselves, makes the BoSJ this year extra special is that the entire tour will be broadcasted live on NJPW World with English commentary available! It is really cool that the junior division is getting more and more prominence and respect that it deserves as time progresses. But with all that said, let us first take a look at New Japan Pro Wrestling's state of the junior division of 2019 so far. Due to the injury of Hiromu Takahashi which he is still recovering from as of the writing of this article, the division sort of went on an unfortunate stale state. Taiji Ishimori is an excellent "new kid on the block" and one of the best additions to the New Japan roster as a whole but he couldn't carry the entire division all by himself. Plus with KUSHIDA now going to the WWE and Will Ospreay moving up to the heavyweight divisions sooner rather than later, as well as the junior tag-team scene is getting redundant, the division as a whole is desperately needing of a "revamp." So in comes 2019, with a lot of the present New Japan wrestlers improving more and more, then a whole new batch of wrestlers rising into prominence adding in new flavor to the division, the junior heavyweights are on the rise again and could rival the G1 this year in terms of match quality! Anyways, without further ado, let's get straight into action and meet this year's contenders for the 26th Annual Best of the Super Juniors! BLOCK ATiger Mask IVBOSJ Appearances: 17 Faction: n/a Height: 5'8'' Weight: 192 lbs. From: Chiba, Japan Last year I made a mistake where I predicted it would be Tiger Mask's "final run" in the BOSJ tournament similar to Yuji Nagata in his final G1. But admittedly I was stupid as he did not have any hints whatsoever in retiring with the tournament and seems to be still going strong into this one! So yeah, had a lot of upset victories last year in my personal pick'ems. Tiger Mask IV is one of the veterans in the junior heavyweight division along with Jushin "Thunder" Liger (who will be retiring in next year's Wrestle Kingdom) and I guess Ryusuke Taguchi as well belongs in that category now too. He may be old now but Tiger Mask can still pull off a victory to any of the favorites to win and he is always a welcome addition in the tournament. It will be his 18th appearance in the tournament this year, making him the most experienced out of everybody in the field. The only back to back winner in tournament history in 2004 and 2005. He is a 6x IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and while his chances of actually winning the entire thing is pretty slim, never count out the man who donned the Tiger Mask the longest! SHOBOSJ Appearances: 1 Faction: CHAOS Height: 5'8'' Weight: 205 lbs. From: Uwajime, Ehime, Japan Entering in his second BOSJ Tournament, SHO is currently 1/2 of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Champions as "Roppongi 3K" with YOH, who is in the separate block. SHO and YOH have been going at it with the LIJ duo of BUSHI and Shingo Takagi ever since Wrestle Kingdom 13 for the aforementioned belts. SHO was always deemed the better wrestler or "fighter" of the two between him and YOH. This would lead to many altercations and exciting bouts against Shingo Takagi and the two have had a personal rivalry ever since! At NJPW's 47th Anniversary Event RP3K captured the belts from BUSHI and Shingo which they won at WK 13. They would have a re-match in one of the Wrestling Dontaku tours and successfully defended the belts. He is deemed by many fans as a future main eventer of the junior heavyweight division after they go solo, last year not much really stood out from SHO, but this year could very well be his and shine amongst the crop of great talent in the tournament! Dragon LeeBOSJ Appearances: 2 Promotion: CMLL Height: 5'7'' Weight: 165 lbs. From: Tala, Jalisco, Mexico Your reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion going into this match is none other than CMLL's own: Dragon Lee! For previous years, Dragon Lee has been just a touring comodity in New Japan usually for tournaments such as these and their yearly tradition of collab events with CMLL: FantasticaMania. But that all changed in the first ever G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden just two months ago, when he captured the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title for the first time in his career after a thrilling three way match against then defending champion Taiji Ishimori and another young luchador on the rise in Bandido! He is one of the most successful wrestlers in the world today being a current three championship holder because other than the IWGP Jr. Belt, he is also the reigning CMLL World Lightweight and Welterweight Champion! Dragon Lee has been pretty much embraced by the Japanese fans and is definitely leading the wave for the junior heavyweight division right now with his title reign. He has already defeated his rival Ishimori in a re-match for the belt at Wrestling Dontaku and is aiming to rise up his momentum more to win the BoSJ for the first time in his career! If it ain't him though, certainly whoever wins the tournament will get to face him at Dominion AND we might very well see the return of his old pal/rival Hiromu Takahashi as well! After all, Hiromu never loss his belt but rather vacated it. Their respective careers are pretty much intertwined with one another at this point. We have to wait and see. TitanBOSJ Appearances: 1 Promotion: CMLL Height: 5'7'' Weight: 187 lbs. From: Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico Another one of Mexico's finest young luchadors is Titan who is making only his second appearance at BOSJ after seven years. Titan (pronounced Tee-tan) I feel is one of the most underrated luchadors today. He doesn't get talked a lot by fans outside of Mexico probably because he hasn't had that high profile match beyond the Mexican squared circle yet. He has participated in some NJPW tournaments before besides the BOSJ and is always a part of their FantasticaMania tours so long time fans are very much familiar with him. He is already at his 11th year of his wrestling career and has achieved a respectable amount of accolades but is yet to reach his peak. It could be this year where he gets to showcase not only all of Japan but the entire world what his creative style of lucha libre is all about! Marty ScurllBOSJ Appearances: 2 Promotion: ROH Height: 5'9'' Weight: 183 lbs. From: Cambridge, England A massive fan favorite not only in the US and UK, but in Japan as well, Marty Scurll is appearing for the BOSJ the third time in his career and is looking to make more waves in his return to New Japan! Its been an interesting year for The Villain so far. After leaving Bullet Club and with most of his elite pals going to create AEW, Scurll has squandered a bit but it wasn't for long until he found "new friends" and those friends are very big scary men. Villain Enterprises is compromised of him, Brody King, and PCO. Together they've made a name for themselves as a group in the short time they are established at ROH capturing the ROH World Tag-Team and Six Man Championships. Marty has also challenged for some illustrious gold this year. First for the ROH World Championship in a three way ladder match at G1 Supercard in his MSG debut. Then at the NWA Crockett Cup event where he main evented and challenged for Nick Aldis' NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Unfortunately for him he loss both matches and is looking to bounce back and get regain some momentum in this tournament for the former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. Jonathan GreshamBOSJ Debut Promotion: ROH Height: 5'4'' Weight: 161 lbs. From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA The Octopus is finally making his debut at Best of the Super Juniors! It may not seem like it due to only receiving prominence in recent years but Jonathan Gresham is already a 14 year veteran in the ring and has wrestled all over the world, honing his craft! He has wrestled for numerous indie promotions and in New Japan as well ever since being a part of the ROH roster, being involved in their touring collab events. For the unfamiliar, Gresham wrestles a "catch-as-can" style similar to that of Zack Sabre Jr. In fact the two had a match earlier this year and is an underrated gem showcasing the beauty of technical submission wrestling. Interestingly enough during Jay White's excursion in ROH, he was partners with Gresham, I still remember watching those not that long ago. Now their careers have went on to different paths. Gresham is still trying to find his stride in the ROH roster and with a great showing at this year's BOSJ, he could certainly leave an impact that will be felt in his entire career! It's make or break for The Octopus. Taiji IshimoriBOSJ Appearances: 1 Faction: Bullet Club Height: 5'4'' Weight: 165 lbs. From: Tagajo, Miyagi, Japan If we want to talk about making an impact, then The New Bone Soldier, Taiji Ishimori has certainly done that for the better part of last year since making his debut in NJPW! Ishimori went from being a blue chipper junior in NOAH to one of the most despised yet successful junior heavyweights in New Japan right now! In his inaugural appearance at the BOSJ, he reached the finals but would ultimately lose to Hiromu Takahashi. But the story does not simply end there. He would eventually capture the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 13 defeating KUSHIDA in the latter's final match at the Tokyo Dome before leaving for the WWE. Ishimori had a decent lengthy reign with the belt defeating respected members of the division in Taguchi and Liger. He would wind up losing the belt after 92 days at the G1 Supercard event in a three way against Dragon Lee and Bandido. Ever since then, Ishimori and Dragon Lee ignited a personal feud between each other and are on each other's throats! The Bone Soldier would lose in his attempt to recapture the belt at Wrestling Dontaku and is looking to win it all back by becoming the BOSJ winner instead. Yoshinobu KanemaruBOSJ Appearances: 2 Faction: Suzuki-Gun Height: 5'8'' Weight: 187 lbs. From: Yamanashi, Japan From one notable NOAH junior alumni to another, we go to Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Ever since joining Suzuki-Gun, Kanemaru has received a fair amount of success in his career despite being hated by most fans. Last year he held the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Titles for a solid 304 days with El Desperado. They would finally lose at WK13 at the hands of BUSHI and Shingo Takagi. While his glory days in the ring are gone, Kanemaru is still an experienced wrestler especially when it comes to tournaments. After all, having a two decade in-ring career is no slouch. Don't be surprised if he gains upset victories over your favorites at the A Block. TAKA MichinokuBOSJ Appearances: 6 Faction: Suzuki-Gun Height: 5'8'' Weight: 176 lbs. From: Chiba, Japan COME ON OVER HERE! TAKA IS BACK AT BOSJ! All of you probably know TAKA Michinoku at this point. The inventor of the famous Michinoku Driver, member of the famous Attitude Era tag-team KAIENTAI, and yes one of the greatest junior heavyweights in Puroresu! It may sound a stretch for some due to his dirty tactics style of wrestling nowadays, but TAKA was one of the best to ever step foot in the ring in his prime. He mostly competes in tag-team wrestling nowadays because his new prominent role is being the adviser and most importantly, speaker for Zack Sabre Jr.! Ever since pairing with TAKA, Zack's character in NJPW has been far more interesting than ever, the two just mesh well together! But now TAKA is back in BOSJ, probably to eat up some pins but he may pull off the occassional shocker every once in a while. His match vs. Kanemaru is something to look forward to as not so long ago, he had a controversial match against fellow Suzuki-Gun member Taichi in the BOSJ tournament which a lot of fans just hated on! They did their jobs well I guess being the dastardly heels that they are. A little bit of trivia I'd like to share while researching for this article is that TAKA is the only entrant in this year's tournament who has participated in the first ever "Best of the Super Juniors" when the tournament was finally renamed that in 1994. The winner wasn't him of course, it was Liger during the peak of his career. Shingo TakagiBOSJ Debut Faction: Los Ingobernables de Japon Height: 5'10'' Weight: 209 lbs. From: Chuo, Yamanashi, Japan Dragon Gate's greatest son is now a full pledged member of the New Japan roster as "The Dragon" Shingo Takagi enters in his first BOSJ Tournament! With the absence of Hiromu, Tetsuya Naito just found the perfect newest addition to his group of LIJ and that is his fellow Animal Hamaguchi student in Shingo Takagi! Since making his debut, Shingo has been an unstoppable force and with his enormous size, towers amongst the entire junior heavyweight roster! Some fans find it controversial that Shingo is even a junior in the first place but hey if ZSJ can be a heavyweight, then there is nothing stopping Shingo from being a junior. Plus we get some entertaining matches out of it and once Hiromu eventually returns, I'm positive he'll move up to the heavyweights sooner. I'm sure of it that Shingo will dominate and may even go undefeated in the entire block! Maybe that's too much and its just the LIJ fanboy in me speaking but hey you never know. He is already a former Jr. Tag Champion with BUSHI, winning in his first ever Wrestle Kingdom match! Now my pick to win this year's BOSJ and soon to challenge for Dragon Lee's IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title is none other than the other dragon of the roster, Shingo Takagi! B BLOCKRyusuke TaguchiBOSJ Appearances: 14 Faction: Taguchi Japan Height: 5'11'' Weight: 200 lbs. From: Iwanuma, Miyagi, Japan With Tiger Mask being the veteran presence for his block, Ryusuke Taguchi is the one for his. It's going to be his 15th straight BOSJ participation. He has won the 2012 tournament and is entering this one as 1/3 of the NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag-Team Champions. Despite wrestling in a comedic style, Taguchi is one of the underrated wrestlers in the entire roster. He could very well move up to the heavyweights division if he desires but chooses to be a cornerstone of the juniors and he has been excellent at it for many years now. He has accomplished a lot already in his ongoing 16 year career becoming 2x IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and 6x IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Champion. Expect a lot of fun matches from the coach again, but I don't think he is back winning the tournament anytime soon. Will OspreayBOSJ Appearances: 3 Faction: CHAOS Height: 6'1'' Weight: 174 lbs. From: Essex, England I'm actually surprised we are seeing Will Ospreay in this year's BOSJ but it could very well be his last one. His transition into the heavyweights division has been well documented, it all really started after his phenomenal victory over Kota Ibushi in the opening match of WK13 for the NEVER Openweight Championship! Ospreay has successfully defended that title twice over the course of a 92 day reign. First against Chris Brooks in RevPro then vs. Dalton Castle at the NJPW/ROH Honor Rising tour. He would lose it to ROH TV Champion Jeff Cobb in a winner takes all match at G1 Supercard, which is a really great match as well. Now The Aerial Assassin is looking to perhaps have a one last run with the junior heavyweights division. He entered the tournament last year as the reigning champion, and now it seems to be just a stepping stone for him as he aims for bigger pastures. A lot of exciting match ups for him as well in this block against his CHAOS stable mates and the newcomer El Phantasmo which Ospreay has a lot of history with. We'll get to him later. Rocky RomeroBOSJ Appearances: 7 Faction: CHAOS Height: 5'7'' Weight: 172 lbs. From: Havana, Cuba Speaking of those CHAOS stable mates one of them is 8x IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Champion and record producer himself: Rocky Romero! Another returning participant of the tournament since his last one was two years ago. I'm actually really impressed to find out that Rocky has been going at it strong in the wrestling industry for 21 years now! He has accomplished a ton in US, Japan, and Mexico and well regarded by a lot of his peers. I've talked about Taguchi being the veteran of his block, but Rocky could very well count too with his vast experience competing in three of the biggest wrestling countries. However he is far from the days as Black Tiger and is mainly one of CHAOS' pin eaters for the most part. He is still a very entertaining wrestler to watch but I'll doubt we'll see him take a lot of W's in this tournament. His eventual match against YOH however is one of the matches I'm most looking forward to in the tournament! After all, if it wasn't for Rocky, Roppongi 3K wouldn't be as successful as they are now! YOHBOSJ Appearances: 2 Faction: CHAOS Height: 5'7'' Weight: 187 lbs. From: Kurihara, Miyagi, Japan The other half of Roppongi 3K is in the B Block as the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag-Team Champion YOH will be making his third appearance in the tournament. If SHO is seen as the workhorse of the duo, then YOH is the charisma. He is still an excellent worker himself, not taking anything away from him, but it is clear that he is the Ricky Morton to SHO's Robert Gibson. YOH takes majority of the beating before eventually getting that hot tag to SHO! It's a simple tag-team formula that will never get old. YOH had a decent showing in last year's tournament and is looking to improve some more and maybe in the near future could become a solo challenger to the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship! It may not be this year, but he will get there eventually. BandidoBOSJ Debut Promotion: ROH Height: 5'7'' Weight: 183 lbs. From: Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico Making his New Japan Pro Wrestling debut is another rising star of the wrestling industry, its ROH's own Bandido. Most fans were probably made familiar to Bandido by main eventing the All In event in a 6 man tag with fellow luchadors: Rey Mysterio and Fenix vs. The Golden Elite (Young Bucks & Kota Ibushi.) Bandido left a huge impact amongst fans with his great acrobatic maneuvers and is considered as one of the best luchadors today! He really first got the ball rolling so to speak with a successful tag-team run with Flamita both in Mexico and in the US. They would then part ways and as Bandido's name started to become more well known in the States, he officially signed with ROH. The biggest match of his career so far is the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship three way at MSG for G1 Supercard. He took the L however but still showed an impressive fight against Dragon Lee and Ishimori. Now Bandido is not only making his debut at the BOSJ, but for NJPW as well! The future is bright for this masked fellow. Flip GordonBOSJ Appearances: 1 Promotion: ROH Height: 5'10'' Weight: 187 lbs. From: Kalispell, Montana, USA Another ROH representative this time making his return after a wonderful showing last year in his BOSJ debut, it's Flip Gordon! I don't keep up with ROH that much other than some of their big events so I don't really know what's been happening to Flip ever since The Elite left. All I know he had that polarizing rivalry against Bully Ray then got sidelined with injury, would return to G1 Supercard and turned the supposed singles match between Bully and Juice into a 6 man tag match with him, Juice, and Mark Haskins vs. Bully, Silas Young, and Shane Taylor. Yeah that happened. Anyways other than that he did have a shot at the ROH World Championship at All In against Jay Lethal last year which was excellent and now he is back trying to make waves and take Japan. *UPDATE: As of 5/10/2019 Flip Gordon will not be able to compete in this year's BOSJ due to visa issues and will be replaced by Young Lion: Ren Narita. Read more here El PhantasmoBOSJ Debut Faction: Bullet Club Height: 6'1'' Weight: 196 lbs. From: "Northern Mexico" For months we were given vignettes of a new addition among the ranks of Bullet Club. Finally at Wrestling Dontaku he made his debut, it's none other than El Phantasmo. Although actually hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, he actually desires to be billed from "Northern Mexico" because gimmick reasons. ELP first started out in various Canadian independent promotions before branching out and making a name for himself in the UK. Just recently he became one of the top stars for RevPro, which is NJPW's partner promotion in UK. He defeated David Starr in his debut match for the promotion and would win the British J Cup tournament a year later. Ever since then ELP grew a following and became one of the top rising stars in all of Europe! Now with all the teases out the window, he is officially a part of the New Japan roster and he is certainly a welcome addition. Alligning himself with Bullet Club, ELP is going to be treated as a big deal going forward. Could very well reach the finals this year as well. Robbie EaglesBOSJ Debut Faction: Bullet Club Height: 5'10'' Weight: 176 lbs. From: New South Wales, Australia We go from a Canadian BC member to an Australian and another one making their BOSJ debut its Robbie Eagles! Back when NJPW toured Australia, it was reported that the Tongan members did their scouting, and Robbie Eagles was one of the new blood recruited. The Sniper of Skies made his NJPW debut last year as a participant of the Super Junior Tag League with Taiji Ishimori wherein they reached the semifinals. Ever since then Eagles has been going back and forth between Japan and Australia, representing Bullet Club. This will be his first BOSJ but he has his fair share of tournament experience through the years. An excellent wrestler in his own right, it would be interesting to see the dynamic between him and El Phantasmo in their inevitable block match up! El DesperadoBOSJ Appearances: 3 Faction: Suzuki-Gun Height: 5'10'' Weight: 187 lbs. From: Niigata, Japan El Desperado is once again participating in the BOSJ Tournament looking to build up his name and regain momentum ever since losing the Jr. Tag Titles in Wrestle Kingdom. Despy has proven that he is one of the consistent solid wrestlers in the entire division and has challenged multiple times before for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship but to no avail and a losing effort. This year he would like to change his destiny. He is in a tough block but I could actually see the chances of Despy potentially reaching the finals! It may seem like an upset for some, but he can do it and has the wrestling credibility to back it up. It's time for him to finally shine! UPDATE: As of 5/10/2019 El Desperado will not be able to compete in this year's BOSJ due to a broken jaw injury suffered in a death match. He will be replaced by K-Dojo wrestler: DOUKI. Read more here BUSHIBOSJ Appearances: 6 Faction: Los Ingobernables de Japon Height: 5'8'' Weight: 183 lbs. From: Adachi, Tokyo, Japan Last but not the least we got one of my personal favorite wrestlers in the world today, its the Black Jet Death Mask himself; BUSHI! Realistically, I know BUSHI may never get to hold the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title ever again but I'm still hoping as long as his career is active! BUSHI is never the best in a specific style, but he could actually blend in and work well with whoever opponent he is pitted against. Whether its highflying or technical, maybe even a little brawling, BUSHI will always deliver. He might just take a lot of pins this year again. Maybe the fate will change eventually and we'll see BUSHI back at top again! He is a 5x Champion in NJPW already but those accomplish don't feel enough for someone who is one of the most consistent yet underrated workers in the entire roster. So that is it for all of the participants in the 26th Annual Best of the Super Juniors Tournament of New Japan Pro Wrestling!
Feel free to leave your own thoughts, predictions, and favorites in the comments. The tournament officially starts at May 13, 2019 and all dates will be streamed live with both English and Japanese commentary until the finals on June 5, 2019. Catch it all on njpwworld.com 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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