NJPW

We have officially entered the latter half for the Best Of Super Juniors 26. Only two men enter the second half undefeated: A Block’s Shingo Takagi and B Block’s El Phantasmo. That said, it’s still almost anybody’s tournament… except of course Taka Michinoku or Ren Narita’s…

Anyway, there are at least two potential challengers for Dragon Lee’s Junior Heavyweight Championship in Taiji Ishimori and Shingo Takagi, as they have both pinned the champion. It’s also worth mentioning how amazing some of the matches have been involving Will Ospreay, Rocky Romero, Titan, and Takagi. I hope we get an Ospreay/Takagi match someday.

SHO (2-3, 4) p. Tiger Mask IV (2-3, 4) with Shock Arrow – This was a do-or-die match for both men, because they are both stuck at 4 points apiece. Tiger took the early advantage with strikes and kicks. Sho kicked out of a Tiger Driver, and reversed a Tiger Suplex attempt into a piledriver. Sho made his comeback, landed a huge clothesline, and finished off Tiger with a Shock Arrow.

Will Ospreay (4-1, 8) p. Ren Narita (0-5, 0) with an Oscutter – Even in the face of an impossible win, Narita fought with all his heart. That has been the story of Narita in this tournament. The biggest moment was when Ospreay tried a plancha to the floor on Narita, who got out of the way. Ospreay landed on his feet, then tried to rush Narita, who countered with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex on the floor. That almost got Narita a countout victory. The fact that Narita got so many surprising near falls has made all his matches interesting.

After the match, Ospreay applauded Narita and shook his hand as he layed getting iced.

Marty Scurll (2-3, 4) p. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (2-3, 4) with Black Plague – Kevin Kelly called this match Spy vs. Spy, which I thought was a hilarious and accurate comparison. Kanemaru immediately tried to attack before the bell. Both men stood with their respective weapons (umbrella and whisky bottle). They put down their weapons, and proceeded to brawl through the crowd. Back in the ring, Kanemaru yanked the referee in front of him, so Scurll shoulderblocked the referee into oblivion. Kanemaru then hit a DDT and got a visual pinfall on Scurll. While Scurll gathered his bearings, Kanemaru grabbed his whisky. Scurll blocked the spit with his umbrella. The roles then got reversed as Scurll spit whisky into Kanemaru’s eyes as the referee tried to remove the weapons. A Black Plague later, and Scurll got the pin.

Robbie Eagles (3-2, 6) s. (DOUKI 1-4, 2) with a Ron Miller Special Leglock – The second straight heel vs. heel match. Eagles got busted open very early. He put Douki in a leglock (Ron Miller Special, Kevin Kelly called it) and used the Turbo Backpack. Douki kicked out, but soon got put back in the Ron Miller Special. This time, Douki submitted.

Shingo Takagi (5-0, 10) p. Taka Michinoku (0-5, 0) with Last Of The Dragon – Chris Charlton noted that Taka gave Shingo one of his first breaks in wrestling. Surprisingly, Taka came out swining with a vengeance, and used the Figure Four around the ringpost. Then he hit a moonsault to the outside. Not only that, he put Shingo in a crossface on the floor until the ref made his count to 13 on the countout. Takagi barely escaped the countout, and immediately got rolled up into several La Magistrals. Finally, Takagi fired up, and nailed the Last Of The Dragon to get the win.

Bandido (2-3, 4) p. Ryusuke Taguchi (4-1, 8) with a 21-Plex – Taguchi repeatedly whipped Bandido into the ropes until Bandido got exhausted. Bandido then hyped up the crowd to let Taguchi show his rope running rope running skills, and promptly hit a superkick when he did so. The next few minutes saw Bandido control the match. Taguchi made his comeback with Hip Attacks. The two traded roll-ups and near falls. Bandido hit a GTS, followed by a 21-Plex and got the pinfall.

Taiji Ishimori (4-1, 8) p. Jonathan Gresham (2-3, 4) with a Bloody Cross – This is another do-or-die match. This time it’s for Gresham. If he loses, he is mathmatically eliminated from winning the block. They matched each other almost move for move and hold for hold. Ishimori clamped on the Yeslock. Gresham escaped and tried a comeback, but Ishimori cut him off and hit the Bloody Cross for the win in a short, but very good match.

BUSHI (2-3, 4) p. YOH (3-2, 6) with a MX – Bushi attacked before the bell and took control almost immediately. Yoh made a comeback and targeted Bushi’s right knee. Bushi kicked out of a Falocn Arrow, and a Bridging German Suplex. Bushi retaliated with two straight Codebreakers and a Canadian Destroyer. Aho still managed to kick out, but fell to the MX.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Dragon Lee (3-2, 6) p. Titan (2-3, 4) with Desnucadora – Both men are masked luchadores. Dragon came to the ring with a mask and handed it to Red Shoes, who actually put it on. All three posed in the ring with a Mexican flag. Red Shoes event refereed some of the match while wearing the mask. The crowd did not like it when he took off the mask after a few minutes. The match quickly escalated into a battle of strikes, kicks, and throws. The two did dueling strikes atop the turnbuckles, which Dragon won. He hit the stomp while Titan was in the Tree Of Woe. Titan reversed a Desnucadora into a Blue Thunder Bomb, but Lee kicked out. Lee battled back, and finally hit the Desnucadora for the pin.

Rocky Romero (1-4, 2) s. El Phantasmo (5-0, 10) with a Cross Armbreaker – Rocky was already mathmatically eliminated, but he still fought hard. After all, he could still play spoiler and keep ELP from winning the bracket. Rocky jumpstarted the match by taking it to Phantasmo immediately. They fought through the crowd where Phantasmo targeted Rocky’s knees, which had been worked on through most of the matches. Phantasmo worked over Romero for the next several minutes. Rocky made his comeback, and focused on Phantasmo’s arm. Rocky hit an awesome combo of Tornado DDT/Falcon Arrow/Cross Armbreaker in one fluid motion. Phantasmo escaped, but Romero responded with a Sliced Bread, followed by the Forever Clotheslines. ELP used an airplane spin, which caused Rocky to roll to the floor. Romero almost got counted out, and when he slid in the ring, Phantasmo tried a frog splash. Rocky dodged at the 25 minute mark and hit a lariat for a near fall. Romero hit another Sliced Bread, but when Romero kicked out, it flopped Rocky onto Red Shoes. ELP low blowed Romero and rolled him up. Rocky still kicked out, and battled back with several rapid fire reversals for near falls. At the final minute warning, Rocky finally managed to lock in the Cross Armbreaker and get the surprising submission. A very happy ending to an excellently worked match that told the story of the grizzled veteran having one more big win in him.

After the match, Romero cut a promo about three straight nights with three straight sellouts. SHO, YOH and Ren Narita came out to congratulate him. And a good time was had by all.

A BLOCK STANDINGS
12 Shingo Takagi
10 Taiji Ishimori
8 Dragon Lee
6 Jonathan Gresham
6 Marty Scurll
4 Tiger Mask IV
4 SHO
4 Titan
4 Yoshinobu Kanemaru
0 Taka Michinoku

B BLOCK STANDINGS
10 El Phantasmo
6 Robbie Eagles
8 Ryusuke Taguchi
8 Will Ospreay
6 Bandido
6 YOH
6 BUSHI
4 Rocky Romero
2 DOUKI
0 Ren Narita

Another night of nothing but tournament matches. Every wrestler in each block will have a match.

El Phantasmo (4-0, 8) p, Ren Narita (0-4, 0) with a Frog Splash – This definitely met expectations given who’s involved. Nobody expected Narita to win, but he did manage to hit the Overhead Suplex and get a few near falls.

After the match, Phantasmo taunted Narita and hit the CR2 just to be a jerk.

Titan (1-3, 2) p. Taka Michinoku (0-4, 0) with a Michinoku Driver – Taka started out in control, using mat-based holds and submissions. Titan made a comeback with aerial moves, and hit a variation of a Michinoku Driver to get the pin.

BUSHI (1-3, 2) p. Robbie Eagles (3-1, 6) with a MX – Bushi jumpstarted the match with a dropkick before the bell. They quickly fought to the floor where Eagles got the upper hand. Back in the ring, Eagles stayed on the attack. Bushi had some spurts of offense, and kicked out of the Turbo Backpack. Eagles went for the kill with a Figure Four, only for Bushi to make the rope break. Eagles missed his 450 Splash, which resulted in Bushi making a comeback and hitting the MX to get the pin.

Jonathan Gresham (2-2, 4) p. Tiger Mask IV (2-2, 4) with a roll-up – The two were pretty evenly matched at the start, as neither man controlled the match for any long period of time. The match turned into a matter of each macn reversing each other’s roll-up. Gresham won by getting the roll-up and hooking the leg.

(YOH 2-2, 4) p. DOUKI (1-3, 2) with a Dragon Suplex – Douki dove to the outside onto Yoh to kickstart the match. They went 100mph out of the gate Even during submissions the match felt intense. The two exchanged a lot of fast paced reversals and counters. The finish saw Douki try for the Suplex De Luna, which Youh countered with a superkick. Yoh then followed up with a Dragon Suplex to get the pin. One of the better shorter matches you’ll see. It seemingly only went a few minutes, but those few minutes were a real ride.

SHO (1-3, 2) p. Marty Scurll (2-2, 4) with a Shock Arrow – Scurll came to the ring favoring his back and selling an injury from the night before. It of course turned out to be a ruse when Scurll attached Sho from behind. Scurll dominated the opening minutes. Sho made a comeback and knocked Scurll to the floor. Back in the ring, Sho applied a Cross Armbreaker. Scurll made the rope break and countered with a shoulderbreaker fora near fall. He followed up by trying for the Chickenwing. Sho escaped and hit the Shock Arrow. Scurll kicked out and grabbed Sho’s ear protection. Sho kicked out of a clothesline, and hit two of his own. After a Powerbomb to the knees, Sho finished Scurll off with a Shock Arrow.

Ryusuke Taguchi (3-1, 6) p. Rocky Romero (1-3, 2) with a roll-up – Both men consider themselves coaches. Taguchi for Taguchi Japan, and Romero for Roppongi 3K. Both men also came to the ring in a sports themed getup. Taguchi wore his usual rugby helmet, while Rocky came equipped with a basketball. In a funny start, the two tried to grab each other’s balls (I can’t believe I just typed that). Rocky jumped off the top rope and smacked Taguchi with his basketball. The match then got back in the ring. The two exchanged dueling attacks, with Rocky’s Forever Clotheslines against Taguchi’s Hip Attacks. They did that for several minutes, where it ended with both men falling over in exhaustion. Taguchi managed to apply the Oh My And Garankle, but could not get the submission. Rocky battled back and got several near falls. After an exchange or roll-ups and reversals, Taguchi finally managed to come out on top with one and got the pin.

After the match, Taguchi seemed to offer a partnership in coaching. Rocky pondered for a but, and accepted. The twoposed in the ring as the crowd roared their approval. At the risk of sounding like on of “those fans” I’m glad this wasn’t a WWE show, because almost assuredly it would have ended with one turning on the other.

Yoshinobu Kanemaru (1-3, 2) p. Taiji Ishimori (4-0, 8) with a small package – As expected, Kanemaru attacked before the bell, and the two fought through the crowd for a bit. Back in the ring, Ishimori gained the advantage. Kanemaru pulled Red Shoes in front of him, which cause Ishimori to cllide with him. With Red Shoes down, Kanemaru used his whiskey bottle. Ishimori inttercepted the bottle and was going to use it himself. Red Shoes stopped him and removed the bottle from the ring. With Red Shoes’ back turned, Kanemaru spat his whisky into Ishimori’s eyes and rolled him up for the pin.

Will Ospreay (3-1, 6) p. Bandido (2-2, 4) with a Stormbreaker – While both men were babyfaces, the crowd seemed to back Bandido. Ospreay landed several high flying moves. Bandido battled back and gorilla pressed Ospreay. The two kept trading big moves and reversals, almost giving it a “top this” feel. Ospreay flipped out of a 21-Plex and landed on his feet. Bandido hit his moonsault slam off the second rope for a very close near fall. The finish saw Ospreay catch Bandido during another moonsault, and heaving him over his shoulder to hit a Stormbreaker to get the pin. An OFF THE CHARTS match that may have been even better than the Ospreay/Romero match.

Shingo Takagi (4-0, 8) p. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Dragon Lee (3-1, 6) with Last Of The Dragon – If Takagi wins, not only will he be the only undefeated man in A Block so far, but he’ll almost assuredly get a title shot. The two shook hands, with neither man wanting to let go first. From there the match kicked off with a bang as Takagi took control of the match. Dragon made his comeback, and the two wound up on the apron for the obligatory big match apron bump. This time Takagi powerbombed Dragon on the apron. Dragon was on the offensive a minute or two later, and hit an insane suicide dive onto Dragon that sent them both into the crowd. Lee got the match back in the ring and got several more near falls, but still couldn’t get the pin. Takagi firef up and hit a Noshigami, and a Pumping Bomber for another two count. Dragon refused to stay down and countered every move Takagi tried into a small package. Lee fired up and hit a flurry of moves including a reverse hurricanrana and running knees. Still, Takagi managed to kick out. At last, Takagi hit the Last Of The Dragon to finally score the pin and remain undefeated. Amazing match! These last two matches were an incredible ending to a highly entertaining night of wrestling.

After the match, Takagi cut a promo saying he will be the man to win the tournament.

A BLOCK STANDINGS
10 Shingo Takagi
8 Taiji Ishimori
6 Dragon Lee
6 Jonathan Gresham
4 Marty Scurll
4 Tiger Mask IV
3 SHO
4 Titan
4 Yoshinobu Kanemaru
0 Taka Michinoku

B BLOCK STANDINGS
10 El Phantasmo
6 Robbie Eagles
8 Ryusuke Taguchi
8 Will Ospreay
4 Bandido
6 YOH
4 BUSHI
2 DOUKI
2 Rocky Romero
0 Ren Narita

We are not in the middle third of the Best Of Super Juniors Tournament. However, unlike events in the first third, these next few shows will be made up entirely of tournament matches. All entrants in both brackets will compete tonight.

Taiji Ishimori (3-0, 6) p. Taka Michinoku (0-3, 0) with a Bloody Cross – Taka used holds and submissions early on to keep Ishimori grounded. When that didn’t work, Taka started using more strieks. Ishimori made his comeback, and hit the Bloody Cross for the win, and stays undefeated.

Bandido (1-2, 2) p. Ren Narita (0-3, 0) with a 21-Plex – A very back and forth action packed match, that just escalated as it went. Both men took bumps on the apron. Back in the ring, Bandito hit the 21-Plex and got the pin.

Jonathan Gresham (1-2, 2) s. Titan (1-2, 2) with a variation on the Octopus Hold – Another fast paced match with a lot of high flying. Titan used an inverted slam on Gresham that dropped him on the top turnbuckle. A flurry of near falls where not only were both men using roll-ups, but counters as well. Gresham managed to use a submission as a counter to a roll-up, and Titan tapped out.

Yoh (1-2, 2) s. Rocky Romero (1-2, 2) with a Calf Crusher – This was the anticipated match of Coach (Romero) and Student (Yoh) as Roppongi 3K are Romero’s proteges. They matched each other almost move for move in the opening minutes. Rocky got a little momentum, but tweaked his knee on a kneedrop. He missed the Strong Zero, which gave Yoh the opening he needed to make his comeback. Yoh hit a Dragon Screw, followed by a Calf Crusher. Rocky reversed into a Cross Armbreaker. Yoh escaped, but got hit with a Sliced Bread for a two count. Yoh reversed a second attempt, and hit a German Suplex. The two exchanged several reversals and near falls, with Yoh finally getting the submission with the Calf Crusher. Very good match that told the story it needed to.

After the match, Rocky raised his protege’s hand in victory.

The cryptic Radiohead sounding video aired, which irritated Juice Robinson, who was sitting in on commentary.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Dragon Lee (2-1, 4) p. Tiger Mask IV (2-1, 4) with Desnucadora – Both men started out slow, trying to feel each other out. The match picked up when Tiger reversed a headscissor attempt into a powerbomb. The two battled atop the turnbuckle, which saw Tiger get put in the Tree Of Woe. Lee hit a dropkick to the corner. Tiger reversed another headscissor into a Tombstone, then hit a Tiger Driver for a close two count. Lee battled back with a knee strike, and landed Desnucadora for the pinfall.

BUSHI (0-3, 0) p. DOUKI (1-2, 2) with a MX – The two heels immediately started brawling before the bell. They fought all over the floor and through the crowd. By the time the match got back in the ring, Douki was in control. For the next few minutes, Douki used submissions. Bushi escaped, made his comeback, and hit the MX for the victory.

Yoshinobu Kanemaru (0-3, 0) b. SHO (1-2, 2) via countout – Kanemaru attacked before the bell. Sho quickly battled back, dropkicked him out of the ring, and landed a kick off the apron. They brawled through the crowd with Kanemaru suplexing Sho on the floor. The referee began his count. Kanemaru made his way to ringside. Sho desperately sprinted to beat the count. However, when he made it to ringside, Kanemaru shoved a Young Lion in his way to trip him. Kanemaru then slid in the ring at the 19 count to get the countout win.

Robbie Eagles (2-1, 4) p. Ryusuke Taguchi (3-0, 6) – A mat based beginning quickly picked up into a fast paced high speed exchange. Taguchi stayed on top until Eagles managed to hit his weak point… Taguchi’s ass. Eagles then controlled the next few minutes of the match. Taguchi tried a comeback, but was cut off. Eagles missed a 450, allowing Taguchi to clamp on the Ankle Lock. Eagles managed to reverse into his Turbo Backpack Stunner, but Taguchi kicked out. Eagles then kicked out of a Dodon. The two exchanged several reversals before Eagles tied Taguchi up in a pinning combination.

Shingo Takagi (3-0, 6) p. Marty Scurll (w/Brody King) (2-1, 4) with Last Of The Dragon – This was definitely one of the more anticipated matches of the entire tournament. The two started with lock-ups, that escalated to shoulder blocks, which escalated to elbows. The match spilled out of the ring where Scurll took control. Scurll hit a series of strikes in the corner, which only seemed to anger Shingo. Takagi erupted into his own strikes. The two battled atop the turnbuckles where Scurll landed a superplex for a two count. The two continued the striking contest where Scurll, rather than match smash for smash, used strikes to different parts of Takagi’s body to stay ahead. When Takagi got momentum going, King tripped him from behind. This enraged the crowd, and got the attention of Red SHoes. While Red Shoes turned his attention to King, Scurll struck with his umbrella. Takagi kicked out, but Red Shoes got bumped. King got in the ring and attacked Takagi. Still, Takagi managed to kick out and give King a Pumping Bomber that knocked him out of the ring. By this time, Takagi was clearly the crowd favorite. Takagi made his comeback and hit a Pumping Bomber and a Last Of The Dragon to finally pin Scurll and stay undefeated.

El Phantasmo (3-0, 6) p. Will Ospreay (3-0, 0) with a CR2 – These two became rivals due to Phantasmo’s joining of Bullet Club. Ospreay immediately hit a shotgun dropkick that took ELP out of the ring. The two fought around the floor where ELP gained control. Ospreay made his comeback and hit a standing Shooting Star for a near fall. Phantasmo retaliated with a springboard moonsault. The two went back and forth, exchanging strikes, reversals, and roll-ups. Ospreay mounted Phantasmo on his shoulders, climbed to the second rope, and slammed him to the mat for another near fall. Ospreay blocked a low blow, and landed a kick to the face. Phantasmo blocked an Oscutter, which put the two on the apron for the obligatory big match apron bump. This time, it’s a piledriver on Ospreay. If I never seen an apron piledriver again, it’ll be too soon. Anyway, he made it into the ring to beat the countout, and immediately was hit with a frog splash. He still kicked out, and reversed a Rainmaker into a powerbomb for another near fall. ELP hit a Cutter for a two count at the 25 minute mark. By this time, Phantasmo started arguing with Red Shoes. Red Shoes responded by shoving him into Ospreay, whi hit a Shooting Star for another near fall. Ospreay lifted him for a Stormbreaker, but ELP kicked Red Shoes. This allowed him to low blow Ospreay and hit the CR2 for the underhanded win. Terrible finish to an otherwise great match.

After the match, Phantasmo cut a short promo demanding everybody buy Bullet Club merchandise.

A BLOCK STANDINGS
8 Shingo Takagi
8 Taiji Ishimori
6 Dragon Lee
4 Jonathan Gresham
4 Marty Scurll
4 Tiger Mask IV
2 SHO
2 Titan
2 Yoshinobu Kanemaru
0 Taka Michinok

B BLOCK STANDINGS
8 El Phantasmo
6 Robbie Eagles
6 Ryusuke Taguchi
6 Will Ospreay
4 Bandido
4 YOH
2 BUSHI
2 DOUKI
2 Rocky Romero
0 Ren Narita