Dragon Lee vs. Marty Scurll – Best of the Super Juniors (Block B)
Everything in this match looked super sharp and both guys slapped their legs with great precision, but there wasn’t much more going on beyond that. Guys doing moves. Marty’s great at working a crowd and Lee’s New Japan tribute spots (‘’ICHAUZO BAKAYARO’’ and ‘’SHIBATA-SAN’’ before hitting the PK) are fun, I’ll give you that. The drawn-out match length probably didn’t help as I felt like the last 5 minutes were just a Your Move-My Move back and forth finisher fest with neither guy selling any of the accumulated damage. Obviously, this would have all worked better in Korakuen Hall with a few more cameras. **1/2
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. SHO – Best of the Super Juniors (Block B)
This started off brilliantly, lagged in the middle and then pulled through for the finish. The opening was straight out of an Osaka Pro midcard match with Taguchi doing a mock MMA stance and SHO shooting invisible arrows up his butt. Strong Style in its PUREST FORM. Meanwhile, SHO controlling the mid-section didn’t exactly light the world on fire. He was in full submission mode here and lot of his holds came off as filler rather than potential match-enders. Maybe the quiet crowd didn’t help, I don’t know. Quite enjoyed the clash between SHO’s cross armbreaker and Taguchi’s ankle lock near the end though. Execution was a little off in places – I’m sure these guys have a better match in them. **3/4
Chris Sabin vs. Hiromu Takahashi – Best of the Super Juniors (Block B)
Pretty fun match with Hiromu once again coming off as world class and Sabin being competent enough to hang with him. It really is a testament to Hiromu’s in-ring presence that a little red-haired dude with 90’s Buff Bagwell pants like him can believably punk out a veteran like Sabin and come across as a badass. Also, the kid will have a short career if he keeps hitting that dropkick off the apron in every match, so let’s enjoy it while it lasts. I liked the pacing and structure they went for – Hiromu destroying Sabin early, Sabin selling like a champ and slowly mounting a comeback. They nailed all the big bombs, counters and superkicks later on and I will be forever surprised at how good Sabin is at stiff lariat exchanges. ***1/4
KUSHIDA vs. El Desperado – Best of the Super Juniors (Block B)
Despy continues to be the unsung hero (or villain) of New Japan’s junior division as he managed to get the most fun KUSHIDA match out of the tournament so far. Seriously, this thing rocked my face off. Desperado went on a rampage right off the bat and pulled the greatest spot of the entire BOSJ by dumping KUSHI on a cart and WHEELING HIM THROUGH 10 ROWS OF CHAIRS! Stop the tournament, we have a winner. The guy was just tremendous at playing the aggressive heel, wrecking KUSHI’s leg and cheating at every opportunity. I dug KUSHI in the underdog role and him slowly coming back on top by going after Despy’s arm was some truly compelling pro-wrestling.
Sidenote: I hadn’t seen KUSHI do that top-rope flying cross armbreaker in a while and that thing is just WILD. Again, the Despy ref bump trope was used well and led to a huge near-fall where everything seemed to be over for The Kush BUT NO! I cannot believe Despy will have to go back to teaming with Iizuka for 6 months in midcard purgatory after this BOSJ run. The guy deserves to be a contender but the junior division is so stacked right now that I just don’t see it happening. Fuck. ***3/4
