NJPW “BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIOR 32 – DAY 3”, 5/14/2025
Korakuen Hall – Tokyo, Japan
Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi [2] vs. Titan [0]
Nothing of note here. Two minutes of Mexican flag waving, Taguchi’s hip attacks and a surprise rollup pinfall for Titan to get the crowd fired up. With so many matches on the card there will be a few “night off” type matches like this for sure.
Block A: Ninja Mack [2] vs. Francisco Akira [0]
Another short one here. If you haven’t seen Day 2 you should just go watch Mack/Robbie X if nothing else but for the viral Sasuke Special spot. Mack can be so fluid and execute so well but then at times looks to be moving in slow motion. We get a little of both here. Fun finish with Mack evading the top rope Frankensteiner, landing on his feet and while crouching there posing, Akira goes Fireball double knee strike to the back of the head to get the victory.
Block B: Kevin Knight [0] vs. Robbie Eagles [2]
Kevin Knight has been tearing it up on AEW TV since debuting this year. Personally I think I enjoy him more in multi-man tags where the posing and showboating is usually kept to a minimum and he can just go. I liked the knee crusher counter to Knight’s spike DDT – that gave us a nice payoff when Knight finally hit the huge roll through spike DDT. Knight is so athletic and this was also a good showcase of that though a lot of what he does requires spots to come off a little too cooperative for my liking. This was pretty fun though, with Eagles targeting the leg early and Knight gradually showing signs of damage due to his offense to the point that it cost him the match, collapsing (not in a cheesy way) and allowing Eagles to hit a shining wizard for the win. **1/2
Block A: KUSHIDA [0] vs. Robbie X [0]
The intensity KUSHIDA kept up gave this a nice pace as he stuck on Robbie throughout the match while Robbie had to figure out how to overcome shoulder damage to eventually pull out a win. Robbie was a little flippy just to be flippy here at times and it made things a little awkward but some memorable stuff from him like the no hands handspring after missing one earlier due to shoulder damage. I liked KUSHIDA’s approach here and want to see more of that urgency. **1/2
Block B: MAO [2] vs. Taiji Ishimori [0]
From the start I thought this was going to end up a throwaway comedy match as MAO ropes Ishimori into the comedy routine. When this got going it was pretty fun albeit not the tightest worked match in the world. A few sloppy spots took away what was looking to be a fine sprint and some of the best back and forth work of the night so far. **
Block A: Clark Connors [2] vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [0]
Conners attacks Kanemaru before the bell and they brawl on the outside. Connors gets his tire out again and they battle on the outside, eventually leading to a quick Kanemaru win via count out.
Block B: YOH [0] vs. SHO [0]
Your standard House of Torture fare and it isn’t good. 3/4*
Block A: Master Wato [0] vs. Dragon Dia [2]
This really was just standard going through the motions. At the point Dragon Dia hit the quebrada I thought we were going places but they never picked up the pace or urgency at all and the match overall was pretty flat. Dia is definitely athletic but did not showcase much of that here aside from a few quick spots but nothing really worth mentioning or seeing. Nothing offensive, just wasn’t that into it. **
Block B: El Desperado [2] vs. Nick Wayne [2]
Despy works over Wayne’s left leg for the first five minutes or so and Wayne does a great job of showing signs of comeback but selling the leg damage like a champ. The transitions were a little weird as Despy would kind of just give up and let the injured Wayne do whatever he wanted to him after controlling most of the match. Some real nice hope spots for Wayne – I don’t think anyone thought he would win, but this was very much a showcase for him and Despy did a great job putting Wayne over and making him look strong. It didn’t quite hit that next gear for me but there is a lot of potential here to build into a potential rematch now that Wayne has a win over the champ. **3/4
Block A: Hiromu Takahashi [2] vs. Kosei Fujita [2]
An important victory for Fujita if he is going as far in the tournament as expected. Pretty hard hitting match with some vicious chops (and some really really weak ones) that left Fujita’s chest a welted mess. Hiromu obviously doesn’t move like he once did and almost at times looks like he’s hobbling around to get into position, but he’s working with intensity here as he beats down the youngster Fujita, who hasn’t faced him since he was a young lion in 2021. Some good action and a fun final stretch that came maybe a little too late, with Fujita eventually hitting the Abandon Hope and getting the pin. **3/4
Final Thoughts: Four matches worth checking out. For the first Korakuen Hall show of the tournament, it was a little disappointing overall with nothing truly standing out as great – but a fun show.
X: @ligersama
