Tiger Mask vs. ACH – Best of the Super Juniors (Block A)
This had the endlessly-battered ACH adding a new (worked) injury to the list by accidently chopping a ring-post and wrecking his hand. Tiger Mask on offense is still a snoozefest but ACH is such a likeable dude that Korakuen was reacting to his selling and goofy facial expressions. This also needs repeating: ACH chops really fucking hard. I have not seen old Tiger Mask on the receiving end of such stiff shots in a long time. The Midnight Canonball (yes, that is ACH’s nickname) was a standout in Block A this year and I’d love to see him mix it up with some of the top players from Block B next year. **1/2
Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. BUSHI – Best of the Super Juniors (Block A)
Kanemaru had a bunch of great matches in this tournament – this wasn’t one of them. Don’t get me wrong, there was some cool stuff, namely Kanemaru WEAPONIZING THE YOUNG LIONS and the Black Mist/Whisky mist showdown. But other than that, this was just just a throwaway midcard ditty with a blown tilt-a-whirl DDT (I blame BUSHI for the bad catch). I would love for next year’s BOSJ to be BUSHI-less, but the guy is just too over. **1/2
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Chris Sabin – Best of the Super Juniors (Block B)
Smartly-worked match featuring my favorite BOSJ trope: Taguchi being utterly clueless about chain wrestling. They used the comedy organically to get Sabin in the driver’s seat, the guy just wrestling circles around his opponent until Taguchi used the power of HIS OWN BUTT to fight back. I was really down on Sabin at the beginning of this tournament (that boring ass match with KUSHIDA didn’t help) but he gradually won me over and now I think he’s OKAY! Progress. As usual, Taguchi’s ankle lock reversals were super smooth and made for a compelling ending stretch. Yeah, pretty fun stuff. ***
Dragon Lee vs. El Desperado – Best of the Super Juniors (Block B)
If the crowd had not disconnected from the match when Despy nearly lost his entire god damn mask and had to spend the entire ending stretch holding it together, this would have been GREAT. As it was, it was more like a preview of a potential great match, but maaaan oh man do these two have awesome chemistry. Dragon Lee brought the intensity up a notch with the rapid-fire dives and Shibata tributes while Despy was being a heel’s heel, begging off before sneakily destroying the fan-favorite with a chair. Best of all: that sweet, sweet HATRED. Both guys beating the shit out of each other and ripping their masks apart – just having themselves a glorious Lucha brawl. Finish seemed to come out of nowhere, maybe because of the state of Despy’s freaking mask. Long story short: I need a longer rematch ASAP. Dragon Lee tweeted some trash talk about a possible Mask vs. Mask match and I am ALL IN. ***1/4
HONMANIA IS RUNNING WILD AGAIN BABY!
Will Ospreay vs. Flip Gordon – Best of the Super Juniors (Block A)
You know Flip dropped out of breakdancing school and decided to become a pro-wrestler after seeing that Will Ospreay vs Ricochet match. And yes, they did some of that wild flippy shit here, but they also had a whole bunch of WRESTLING showcasing Will’s growth as a guy that does more than flips. He really gets his role as the junior ace and I greatly enjoyed seeing him slow down the match just to chop the hell out of Flip and take him apart with submissions. Hell, Will even worked a freaking CHINLOCK spot. I’m down with this.
I’m also glad they didn’t take the Full Spot-Fest route because the difference in execution between Flip and Will during some of the more elaborate sequences was almost distracting. Flip’s just not there yet. The match went a little too long and Flip kicked out of too much shit but I did mark out for the double jump tope con hilo and Will’s mid-air Oscutter counter near the end. Like ACH on opening night, Ospreay deserves props for carrying Flip in this one. ***1/2
YOH vs. Taiji Ishimori – Best of the Super Juniors (Block A)
What started as an okay little contest between YOH and Taiji turned into a super fun sprint when Ospreay came out at ring-side to cheer on his boi (YOH had to win this to guarantee Will a spot in the finals. Spoiler alert: it didn’t happen). Ospreay going crazy outside of the ring added a shitload of drama to the match and really cranked up the crowd heat, as everything seemed a little flat beforehand. I loved the spot where YOH tried to step up to Taiji only to get repeatedly forearmed into complete oblivion. The last few minutes with YOH pulling every rollup in the book and emoting like crazy was pure magic and Korakuen was going mental. If this tournament has taught us anything, it’s that YOH has craaaazy underdog charisma and it was all on display in those last few minutes. That final shot of Will in pure shock after YOH tapped out was great stuff. Fun! ***1/4
SHO vs. Marty Scurll – Best of the Super Juniors (Block B)
This had parts that felt kind of aimless and parts that were actively good. One thing’s for sure, SHO is one of few guys in this tournament (along with KUSHIDA) that was able to make all of Marty’s offense look like pure death. Great selling of the submissions and completely believable screams of agony whenever Marty went after his fingers. Not to mention all the superkicks he took square in the face. Here’s the bottom line: Ospreay needs to take some selling lessons from SHO. I also quite liked the build towards the Shock Arrow: SHO first having to settle for a regular Piledriver, then almost nailing it but being forced to let go due to his damaged fingers before finaaaally pulling it off after an elaborate reversal sequence for the finish. The endless forearm showdown was great stuff until they settled it with an awkwardly choreographed double slap. Oh well. SHO’s matches with nearly everyone else were better,but this was still pretty solid. ***1/4
KUSHIDA vs. Hiromu Takahashi – Best of the Super Juniors (Block B)
I’ll always prefer the Hiromu/KUSHIDA series to the Hiromu/Dragon Lee one because the matches with KUSHI always go beyond ‘’doing the craziest shit and putting all selling on hold’’. This latest chapter is another prime example of that. The first 5+ minutes of this thing were literally Hiromu and KUSHIDA just milking the shit out of the initial lock up and keeping the crowd completely engaged in the struggle. That is not an easy thing to do and it shows how good these guys are at making the little things matter.
The match had a lot of focus on submissions and both guys brought compelling selling to the table to keep things interesting. KUSHIDA did some amazing DROOL-SELLS of Hiromu’s various chokes, looking very much on the verge of death at key points in the match. Meanwhile, Hiromu kept acknowledging KUSHI’s arm work, which made it all the more satisfying when he would slap on the Hoverboard lock out of wacky angles. I also dug the Kawada-esque delayed selling during the big forearm blowoff battle, both guys having a real hard time keeping up. SELLING, MAN! It’s the best.
Hiromu’s doing a stellar job getting over the D submission in this tournament and the entire struggle around hold made for a great ending stretch. The new D-DRIVER is one of the scariest head-drop moves I’ve seen lately and will hopefully be saved for big-time matches only. Just good stuff all around. It feels important when these guys meet now and that’s the sign of a proper wrestling rivalry. ****
