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NJPW BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS NIGHT 2 REPORT
MAY 11, 2025
IWANUMA CITY GENERAL GYMNASIUM
MIYAGI, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
English commentary for this show won’t be up for a few days, but I could not make you lovely folks wait so I put my Japanese lessons to practice.
(1) DRAGON DIA & KATSUYA MURASHIMA vs. FRANCESCO AKIRA & JAKOB AUSTIN YOUNG
I have to say, Akira looks like a big star in his new entrance robe. I hope that is foreshadowing. Speaking of foreshadowing, there was a miscommunication in this match that saw Young superkick Akira. It’s probably nothing, but on the off-chance that it’s a theme that continues throughout the BOSJ preview tags I felt it important to flag.
Murashima got some decent shine before falling victim to the Fireball knees.
WINNERS: Young and Akira via in 8:00. (**)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: Fun, high-paced opener. Murashima looks to be ready to go on excursion pretty soon. I remain impressed by what I have seen of Young, and he can feel justifiably unlucky to have missed out on a slot in BOSJ this year.)
(2) NICK WAYNE & DAIKI NAGAI vs. EL DESPERADO & SHOMA KATO
A big moment for Wayne as he got to cross swords with the reigning junior heavyweight champion. Their singles match in the tournament will be even bigger of course, even though I fully expect Wayne to lose.
Wayne and Desperado started the match and had somewhat of a tentative feeling-out session. Wayne continued to play the babyface and continued to sell the damage to his arm from his match with Sho. They had a second spell together in the match and that was a lot more fluid. Wayne pinned Kato after a ProdigyPlex for the win.
WINNERS: Wayne & Nagai via pinfall in 8:00. (**1/4)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: Nick Wayne has already benefited from this trip and he’s two matches deep. There is an outside chance he actually beats Desperado, both to set up something for Forbidden Door and to make the group interesting. He also seems to have been given the “sustains an injury early that hampers him all tournament” storyline that is a mainstay of these round-robin tournaments.)
(3) HIROMU TAKAHASHI & SHINGO TAKAGI vs. KOSEI FUJITA & HARTLEY JACKSON
Whenever someone asks me why I am such a big proponent of Shingo, I point to things like this match. Shingo is the next challenger for the world title, but still found time to compete on a BOSJ preview tag.
Hiromu and Fujita’s match could tell us a lot about who will win that block. By way of preview we got a lot of chops. We did also get some meat-on-meat action between Jackson and Shingo, as a treat. After a solid lariat, Shingo pinned Jackson.
WINNERS: Hiromu and Shingo via pinfall in 8:00. (*3/4)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: Fine, but nothing special. The match they were previewing needs little to promote it, so I am not too bothered.)
(4) NINJA MACK vs. ROBBIE X – A Block match
The night’s tournament matches began with an encounter that promised to be extremely flashy, if nothing else. Robbie X was making his tournament debut.
Robbie distracted Mack by tearing a mask, then jumped him with a slap to the face. Off an Irish whip they exchanged multiple acrobatic leapfrogs and dodges. Mack cartwheeled out of a headscissors, then lifted a charging Robbie over the top to the floor. He did a series of backflips before trying a moonsault to the outside. Robbie borrowed a spot from Samoa Joe and just walked away, but Mack landed on his feet and CONTINUED BACKFLIPPING UP THE ENTRANCE RAMP as Robbie tried to back away. Mack caught up with him and hit a backflip kick. I have seen a LOT of wrestling, but I have never seen that before. Mack returned to the ring as the referee counted, with Robbie sliding back in at 16. Mack caught him mid-slide and applied a front facelock. Robbie used the referee to shield him from a lariat, then used the distraction to mount Mack and pound on his face.
Robbie hit a vertical suplex for a one-count, then choked Mack on the middle rope. Mack rolled to the apron, and Robbie hit a sliding dropkick to send him all the way to the floor. Robbie quickly rolled him back inside and covered for a two-count. He went for a fireman’s carry, Mack slid out for a two-count from a sunset flip. Robbie hit a stiff chop, sent Mack to the apron, then somehow hit a somersault senton to a standing opponent. With Mack now on the outside, Robbie hit a corkscrew body press. At the five-minute mark he sent Mack back into the ring and hit a slingshot senton for a near fall. Both men were slow to get up. Robbie charged at Mack in the corner and hit a whirlwind spinning kick, but his standing shooting star press caught nothing but knees. An inside cradle got a two-count for Mack.
Now in control, Mack laid in a series of chops to the chest. Robbie caught Mack mid-leapfrog and hit a kamikaze and a standing shooting star press for a near fall. Again both men were slow to stand, and again Robbie charged at Mack with a boot. From the top rope Robbie went for a space flying tiger drop. Mack moved, Robbie landed on his feet and went for a handspring elbow…countered into a German suplex bridge! 1…2…Robbie kicked out! Mack went for another German suplex, Robbie countered into a sunset flip! 1…2…no! Robbie went back to the handspring, but…got caught in the air with a flying bodyscissors bomb? I think? It looked impressive and it secured the points for Ninja Mack, whatever it was.
WINNER: Ninja Mack (2 points) via pinfall in 8:00. (***)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: I am torn on this one. On one hand, there was more variety in the style of match than we saw for most of night one. On the other hand, it felt like a collection of spots with no cohesion. Sure they were impressive, but there was nothing to tie them together. For an eight-minute match, we saw way too many moments where both men were trying to catch their breath and go to the next sequence. A good wrestler fills those gaps with strikes, stomps, or anything low-effort that serves as a binder. Not a bad match, just not really a logical one.)
(5) KEVIN KNIGHT vs. MAO – B Block match
Mao was also making his tournament debut. Knight is in his third BOSJ, but has never had a winning record. I would expect that to change this year.
On English commentary during the preview tag on night one, Chris Charlton noted that Knight had added some weight and was close to the 100 kilo limit now. He did look more chiseled, but still managed to break the opening stalemate with a lucha-style rope-assisted arm drag, a flying shoulder tackle, and a corner clothesline with some serious elevation. Knight called to the crowd and stomped down Mao in the corner. He took Mao over with a snap mare and hit a sliding lariat for a two-count. Mao sidestepped an attack from Knight, who ended up on the apron, then stopped a springboard attack with a spinning heel kick. He grabbed Knight’s arm, yanked him up in the air, and hit a cutter to bring him back into the ring. A split-legged moonsault got a two-count for Mao.
Mao went back to the top rope and hit a knee drop, then rolled backwards into an abdominal stretch. Knight reversed the hold and decided to pose, which allowed Mao to reverse and hit his own pose. Knight escaped with a hip toss, but Mao held on to his arm and applied a bulldog choke. Knight quickly got to the ropes for the break. Mao hit a flying body attack to Knight while he was leaning on the rope at the five-minute mark. They exchanged elbows, an exchange Mao won with a palm strike. He whipped Knight to a corner, but Knight came out with a lariat. He hit a second, and the third sent Mao for a loop. Knight missed a Stinger splash, but came right back with a gorgeous dropkick where he actually kicked down to hit Mao in the forehead. He went for the spike DDT, Mao blocked it and hit a yakuza kick. Mao avoided a superkick and smacked Knight in the chops. Knight returned fire and then hit a Pele kick, but Mao had a rebound spinning kick to leave both men down. That was a fun exchange, though a little clunky.
Mao pointed off in the distance, which distracted Knight enough for Mao to hit a straight right hand. Knight shrugged it off and hit a brainbuster and covered, but Mao Matrix-escaped the pin. Mao tried to go to the top rope, Knight simply leapt up and threw him off with a huracanrana. Knight then went up to the top rope, and Mao returned the favour with his own huracanrana (though he needed two jumps to get there). Mao again went up top, and again Knight leapt up to join him, this time dropping Mao with a superplex. Mao fired up and popped right up, but both men collapsed from the exertion. Knight recovered first and went for a springboard attack, which Mao countered with a spinning kick. Mao set for a body slam, Knight countered with a swinging DDT! Knight ran the ropes, Mao pulled the referee into his path, Knight put on the brakes but Mao came flying over the ref with a cutter…Knight sidestepped and hit him with a splash on his way down! Wow! A cover only got a near fall. Knight went for the spike DDT but Mao blocked…Michinoku Driver! 1…2…no! Mao measured Knight…superkick! 1…2…3!
WINNER: Mao (2 points) via pinfall in 10:00. (***1/2)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: This was more like it. This match had spectacular moments like the one before it, but it felt much less disjointed. The gaps between spots were filled with things that made sense, and although at times one man was left standing around waiting for the other it was less noticeable. A surprising result in my books, but Mao looked excellent here and Knight was never a likely winner of the block.)
(6) MASTER WATO vs. CLARK CONNORS – A Block match
Clark Connors competed at Resurgence on Friday night, then flew to Japan to compete in BOSJ less than 24 hours after getting off a plane. What a trooper. It’s probably worth noting that Connors had a good amount of neon pink and purple in his gear.
Wato took early control with a bulldog. He took Connors over with a snap mare, then hit a series of kicks. Connors ducked a kick and hit the Jeep Flip to send Wato to the outside. Connors joined him in a sensible, low-risk way and smashed Wato’s head off the apron before whipping him into the ringside seats. Connors continued to punish Wato through the crowd, jabbing a chair into his ribs and whipping him into multiple sets of seats. He continued to rearrange the furniture, clearly feeling that the energy in the room was off. Wato mounted a brief comeback, but Connors put paid to that by launching him chest-first into the corner post. Connors looked under the ring…for a tire? That’s a new one. He shoved the referee down and hit Wato with the tire, then slammed Wato’s knee off the metal rim.
Back inside, Connors applied a leg hold to the injured knee. Wato dragged himself to the ropes, forcing the break. Wato blocked an Irish whip and used a strike combination and a dropkick to regain control. He dropped Connors with a back suplex for a two-count. Wato went out to the apron and lined up a springboard attack, but Connors sidestepped it. Wato landed on his injured leg, and Connors added salt to the wound by hitting a spear to the back of the knee. Connors set for a spear, but Wato countered with a cradle for a near fall. He tried to follow up with a head kick but Connors caught his foot and hoisted him up into a powerbomb. Wato avoided a powerslam and hit Recientemente for a near fall, then locked in Vendoval! Connors struggled to make it to the ropes, but Wato leaned forward to block him off. Connors made one last desperation lunge to the ropes…and was able to break the hold.
Wato tried for a German suplex, but Connors held the ropes to block. Wato kicked his arm away and tried again for the German, only to be foiled by Connors kicking his knee. Wato ran the ropes right into a snap powerslam. Connors set for the spear…nailed it! 1…2…no! As we went past ten minutes, Wato blocked an attempted No Chaser, Connors escaped Recientemente…No Chaser connected! 1…2…3!
WINNER: Clark Connors (2 points) via pinfall in 11:00. (***1/2)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: Although far less flashy, the work in this match was solid and enjoyable. I could have done without the long brawl through the seats, but at least it made this match feel different from the previous one. Already night two feels better than night one in that regard. Either of these gents would be an outside contender at best, but Connors getting the win here was probably the right decision. One thing to watch: will Connors use this win to ask for a Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match?)
(7) YOH vs. ROBBIE EAGLES – A Block match
Yoh and Master Wato beat Eagles and Kosei Fujita to win the junior heavyweight titles, which is why this match got the semi-main event slot. Yoh came out in ring gear that was covered in Ziploc bags…because of course he did. Even the shorts he wrestled in had the bags sewn to the legs. No, I don’t know why.
In the opening moments, Eagles backed Yoh into the ropes, and gave him a kiss on the cheek as he stepped away. Eagles offered his cheek for Yoh to return the kiss, but grabbed a headlock as Yoh came in with lips puckered. They exchanged counters and Eagles kissed him again. Yoh tried to kiss him back, Eagles held up a hand to stop him and called to the crowd with his “Robbie Robbie Robbie” chant. At the end of the chant, Yoh kissed him in time with the “oi oi oi” and Eagles looked utterly bewildered.
I cannot believe I just typed that paragraph.
Playtime was over as Eagles slapped Yoh, they ran the ropes, and Yoh tripped Eagles before sending him to the outside with a sliding dropkick. He hit a slingshot plancha to the outside, then threw Eagles back into the ring. A cannonball attack from the top rope sent Eagles into a corner. Yoh whipped him across the ring and followed with a back elbow, but Eagles countered the follow-up neckbreaker with a back suplex for a two-count. A sliding head kick got another two-count. Eagles slammed Yoh in the middle of the ring, then taunted him before sending him reeling with a loud chop. Eagles rolled into the Ron Miller Special, but Yoh quickly got to the ropes at the five-minute mark.
Eagles started working on Yoh’s leg. He hit a series of round kicks to the chest, then another sliding kick for another two-count. He tried an Asai DDT, but Yoh pushed him off. Undeterred he went for a back suplex, but Yoh slid out the back and tried his own. Eagles kicked out Yoh’s knee, but Yoh came back with a single-leg dropkick to leave both men down. Yoh recovered faster and hit a trio of flying forearms and a body slam. He stood next to a downed Eagles in an extended pose, then dropped an elbow for a two-count. A splash got another two-count. Yoh tried for a suplex, Eagles dropped to one knee to block it, Yoh clubbed him down with forearms and hit a roaring elbow into a falcon arrow for a near fall. He called to the crowd and set for a superkick, but Eagles ducked it and again applied the Ron Miller Special! Yoh scrambled to the ropes, and Eagles immediately dragged him up and hit the Asai DDT to leave both men down again.
Eagles flattened Yoh with a round kick, hit a charging double knee in the corner, and then ran into a boot. Yoh avoided a kick to his legs and hit a jumping knee, but Eagles had one of his own to send Yoh slumping to the corner. Eagles hit Bull’s Horns in the corner at the ten-minute mark, but could only get a two-count. Eagles went for the Turbo Backpack…Yoh escaped it and countered into an ushigoroshi for a two-count. Anaconda Vise by Yoh! Eagles got to his feet but Yoh dragged him back to the mat, maintaining the hold. Eagles was able to get to his feet again, Yoh tried to transition to Direct Drive but got caught with a sunset flip into the Ron Miller Special. Yoh kicked his way free, and both men slugged it out in the middle of the ring. Each man went for a superkick and they ended up kicking each other’s leg. Eagles charged Yoh in the corner, Yoh lifted him over to the apron, and Eagles kicked out his knee in return. Slingshot dropkick to the knee by Eagles! They exchanged counters, Eagles caught a kick and hit the Turbo Backpack! 1…2…no!
Eagles again measured Yoh and hit a superkick. From the top rope, Eagles hit a 450 splash to the knee and went for the Ron Miller Special…countered into an inside cradle by Yoh! 1…2…no! They struggled for position, Yoh trying for a half-and-half grip. He abandoned that and hit a poison rana, then a gorgeous superkick, then Direct Drive…Eagles escaped it! Ron Miller Special…Yoh blocked and went for the Gedo Clutch! Eagles blocked, slammed Yoh face-first, and clamped on the Ron Miller Special! Yoh tapped out!
WINNER: Robbie Eagles (2 points) via submission in 15:00. (****)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: Fantastic match. Each man seemed to have a gameplan, and worked towards it. They didn’t try to do too much, but they threw in some impressive sequences to keep the viewer interested. Eagles likely won’t win many this year, but an early loss for Yoh could easily turn into a string of wins that has him in contention on the last day. And of course, this means Eagles and Fujita have grounds to demand a title shot. )
(8) TAIJI ISHIMORI vs. RYUSUKE TAGUCHI – B Block Match
A somewhat bizarre choice for a main event, I would have thought. Taguchi is fully in the comedy division right now, and proved it by coming out with a cardboard belt with a mascot’s image on it. If my Japanese served me well, it said he was the PR representative for Iwanuma. That’s the location of the show and also his hometown, so now I understand the main event slot a bit better.
Taguchi got an early hammerlock and tried to tie Ishimori in knots. They worked through a series of mat transitions until Ishimori grabbed the ropes to avoid the ankle lock from Taguchi. Taguchi got a lucha arm drag and a dropkick that sent Ishimori to the outside. He thought about a dive, but as Ishimori scrambled away Taguchi decided to dance instead. Ishimori got on the apron, Taguchi used a hip attack to knock him down, but then Ishimori yanked Taguchi off the apron to the floor. He followed up by catapulting Taguchi into the corner post. Ishimori returned to the ring and removed the blue corner pad while the referee counted Taguchi on the outside. Wisely, Taguchi took his time and casually rolled in at 19…only to get stomped on. Ishimori stood on Taguchi’s face and pulled his arm, then at the five-minute mark threw Taguchi shoulder-first into the exposed corner. A fist drop led to a two-count, and off the kickout Ishimori grabbed an armbar. Taguchi immediately put a foot on the ropes to break the hold.
Ishimori jacked Taguchi’s shoulder over the top rope. He applied a cross armbreaker, but again Taguchi was close to the ropes. Taguchi mounted a brief comeback, but his hip attack was met with an atomic drop to counter. He tried again and ran into the same problem. Undeterred he went to the well again, but this time changed his run to the ropes and connected with the hip attack. Ishimori fell through the ropes to the outside, and Taguchi followed with a plancha. Both men were down on the outside as the referee started his count. At the count of 11, Taguchi rolled Ishimori in. He dropped his butt twice on Ishimori’s chest, then went to the apron for a slingshot Earthquake splash…which found nothing but Ishimori’s knees, directly to Taguchi’s groin.
Ishimori ran into a Taguchi boot in the corner, then had his head repeatedly slammed into Taguchi’s buttocks. A middle-rope butt-butt got a two-count. Taguchi kipped up and went for the Bummer Ye…Ishimori countered with a schoolboy for a near fall. At the ten-minute mark, Ishimori hit a handspring rolling kick to stop Taguchi’s momentum. He went for a body slam, but Taguchi slipped out the back and picked the leg to apply the ankle lock. Like a bullet Ishimori crawled to the ropes. Taguchi continued to attack the leg. He went for Dodan, but Ishimori countered into Cipher Utaki…blocked by Taguchi! Ankle lock…countered into a rollup! 1…2…no! Taguchi ducked a lariat and dropped Ishimori with an enzuigiri! Both men were down as the crowd showed their appreciation. Taguchi tried for Dodan again, Ishimori blocked it and sent Taguchi shoulder-first into the exposed corner again. Ishimori hit a hammerlock shoulderbreaker, then tried to apply a flying Bone Lock. Taguchi countered into the ankle lock, but Ishimori reversed that into the Bone Lock. Again Taguchi escaped and grabbed the ankle! Ishimori grabbed the referee’s shirt and pulled him into Taguchi to break the hold. Taguchi went back to the ankle, but Ishimori kicked him off and into the referee. Low blow by Ishimori! Gedo Clutch! 1…2…no!
Both men and the referee were down and slow to get up. Ishimori was first up at the 15-minute mark. The referee was not far behind. Ishimori set for Bloody Cross…countered into the ankle lock! Ishimori crawled towards the ropes but Taguchi dragged him back to the middle of the ring. Ishimori got to his feet, so Taguchi transitioned to Dodan…connected! 1…2…no! Taguchi went right back to the ankle. Ishimori tried to roll out of it but Taguchi held on! Ishimori tapped out!
WINNER: Ryusuke Taguchi (2 points) via submission in 17:00. (***1/2)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: On paper and without context, this would appear to be a huge upset. Given the fact that they were in Taguchi’s hometown, and given the way the match unfolded, the result seemed more and more likely as we went on. Taguchi is definitely not a serious contender for titles any more, but he still has the ability to pull out something impressive for a big match like this every now and then. Not the best match of the night but it told a good story and reminded us that in these tournaments, almost anything can happen in any given match.)
Final thoughts: A much better night overall, even with decidedly less star power in the tournament matches. Each match felt different and gave us some variety in entertainment, and we had a couple of mild surprise results. It is far too early to tell how things will unfold from here, but I would be surprised if any of these competitors made the finals. The top contenders coming into the tournament all competed on night one, and really only Yoh and maybe Connors would crack the top six in terms of contenders. After the Wednesday and Thursday cards, each of which has all 20 competitors in action, we will have a better picture of where things might be headed.
We’ll be back throughout the tournament to keep you up-to-date on the results and standings. As always, thanks for joining us!
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