NJPW BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS 32 FINAL REPORT (6/1) : Fujita vs. Yoh, Evil vs. Gedo, and more

NJPW BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS 32 NIGHT 13 REPORT
JUNE 1, 2025
TOKYO, JAPAN AT OTA CITY GENERAL GYMNASIUM
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
REPORT BY MAURICIO POMARES, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Commentators: Walker Stewart, Chris Charlton

(1) SHOMA KATO vs. ROBBIE X

Robbie knocked Kato down with a shoulder tackle and blasted him with a chop to the chest. Robbie caught Kato with a kick to the chest and a slap, setting him up for a drive-by dropkick. Kato caught Robbie off-guard with a dropkick and nailed him with a forearm strike, followed by a hip toss. Kato avoided a running Shooting Star Press and put Robbie in a Boston Crab, until he was able to reach the ropes. Robbie cracked Kato with a cyclone kick and laid him out with a handspring cutter. Robbie crushed Kato with the X Express to pick up the win.

WINNER: Robbie X at 4:49 (**)

(Pomares’ Analysis: Just a fine showcase match for Robbie X against one of the Young Lions. Despite being a last-minute replacement for Bushi, Robbie actually got a decent run in the tournament and even got to eliminate Hiromu Takahashi. Wouldn’t mind him seeing more of Robbie X in future Best of the Super Juniors.)

– The main show officially started.

(2) MASTER WATO & INTERGALACTIC JET SETTERS (Kevin Knight & Kushida) & BOLTIN OLEG & TORU YANO vs. HOUSE OF TORTURE (Sho & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Ren Narita & Sanada & Yujiro Takahashi)

Sho clobbered Wato with a chop block using his wrench, allowing Kanemaru to put him in a Figure 4 leg lock and steal the win.

WINNERS: House of Torture at 8:14

– After the match, House of Torture continued assaulting Master Wato and pummeling his knee.

(Pomares’ Analysis: This angle could seemingly set up future singles matches for Wato against Sho and Kanemaru at the Soul shows)

(3) TAICHI & YOSHI-HASHI & TOMOAKI HONMA vs. UNITED EMPIRE (Francesco Akira & Callum Newman & The Great-O-Khan)

Akira nailed Homa with a thrust kick and took care of Yoshi with a plancha, allowing O-Khan to beat Honma with a punch, a TTD and the Eliminator.

WINNERS: United Empire at 10:24

– After the match, Taichi had a face-off with Callum Newman and the Great-O-Khan. Taichi and Newman got into a fight, as the rest of United Empire tried to separate them.

(Pomares’ Analysis: Just an average tag match to build to the tag title match at Dominion between United Empire, Taichi & Ishii.)

(4) MAO & NICK WAYNE & EL PHANTASMO & SHOTA UMINO vs. TMDK (Robbie Eagles & Zack Sabre Jr & Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson)

Jackson turned Wayne and Mao inside out with a double clothesline, only for Umino and ELP to finish him off with a lariat and CR2.

WINNERS: Mao & Nick Wayne & El Phantasmo & Shota Umino at 10:38

– After the match, Ryohei Oiwa and El Phantasmo started shoving each other while Zack Sabre Jr and Shota Umino had a brief face-off.

(Pomares’ Analysis: Wouldn’t be surprised if Ryohei Oiwa becomes the next challenger to ELP’s TV title. Don’t know if it’s a match that would take place at Dominion or the Soul tour.)

(5) TITÁN & YOTA TSUJI vs. BULLET CLUB (Taiji Ishimori & Clark Connors)

Connors and Tsuji ran into each other at the same time, but Tsuji was able to connect with the Gene Blaster for the three count.

WINNERS: Titán & Yota Tsuji at 7:56

(Pomares’ Analysis: Not a lot to see here. Just Tsuji building to his title match against Gabe Kidd, but Kidd isn’t there to do a final angle or at least a face-off.)

(6) GEDO vs. EVIL

Gedo revealed that he had Dick Togo tied up to the entrance stage. Evil tried to chase after Gedo, only for Gedo to clobber him with a cookie tray. Gedo pummeled Evil with a kendo stick, taking the fight into the crowd. Evil tried to hide behind the English and Japanese commentators, but Gedo still hit him with the kendo stick. Once the match started, Gedo dropped Evil with a flatliner for a two count. Evil Irish-whipped Gedo into the exposed turnbuckle twice and laid him out with a fisherman suplex, only to break his own pinfall. Evil turned Gedo inside out with a lariat, but once again stopped his own pinfall. Before Gedo could react Evil put him in a Sharpshooter for the submission win.

WINNER: Evil at 2:50

– After the match, the rest of House of Torture showed up to beat Gedo down. Evil put a dog collar around Gedo’s neck. Robbie X and Taiji Ishimori tried to make the save, but were quickly outnumbered. Evil threw Gedo over the top rope and choked him out by pulling the dog collar chain over the ropes.

(Pomares’ Analysis: It’s bizarre to see the people cheer for Gedo, but it helped make this an actually quite fun angle to build to the Dog Collar match at Dominion. Once again, this would have been better if the other half of the match was here, but I guess David Finlay wasn’t available.)

(7) DRAGON DIA & NINJA MACK & HIROSHI TANAHASHI vs. EL DESPERADO & JUST 4 GUYS (Yuya Uemura & Taka Michinoku)

Dia took care of Desperado with an Asai moonsault while Ninja took Uemmura out with the Ninja Special. Tanahashi laid Michinoku out with a sling blade, setting him up for High Fly Flow and the win.

WINNERS: Dragon Dia & Ninja Mack & Hiroshi Tanahashi at 13:01

– After the match, Yuya Uemura and Hiroshi Tanahashi had one final face-off. El Desperado shook Dragon Dia and Ninja Mack’s hand, only for deathmatch legend Jun Kasai to show up to confront Desperado. Kasai said that on June 24, he didn’t want to face the Junior Heavyweight champion, but just El Desperado. Kasai gave Desperado a red envelope to invite him to the Death Pain Invitational.

(Pomares’ Analysis: A pretty good match and final moment to build to Tanahashi vs. Uemura at Dominion. Didn’t expect to see Jun Kasai here, but I like that they gave Desperado and Kasai some time on a major NJPW show to promote their final match.)

(8) RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & HIROOKI GOTO vs. HIROMU TAKAHASHI & SHINGO TAKAGI

Takagi blocked a jumping hip attack and dropped Taguchi with GTR before taking the three count with the Last of the Dragon.

WINNERS: Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi at 9:10

– After the match, Shingo Takagi declared that he would have his way at Dominion. Takagi said that he might not have a family or a faction, but all that he needed was the IWGP World Heavyweight title.

(Pomares’ Analysis: A strong final step before Goto vs. Takagi at Dominion. Goto is at the point in his title reign where I feel like any title defense could be his last. I’m leaning towards a Goto retention, but I don’t think it’s impossible for Takagi to win.)

(9) YOH vs. KOSEI FUJITA (w/Robbie Eagles & Zack Sabre Jr & Ryohei Oia & Hartley Jackson) – Best of the Super Juniors 32 Finals Match

They started the match trading wrist locks and headlocks. Fujita attacked Yoh with a series of chops, forcing him to hide in the ropes. Yoh slammed Fujita by pulling his hair, but Fujita forced him to crawl out of the ring by picking his legs. Fujita clocked Yoh with a Penalty kick, setting him up for a moonsault off the apron. Back in the ring, Fujtia put Yoh in a half Boston Crab, until he was able to reach the ropes. Yoh evaded a clothesline and took Fujita down with a running blockbuster.

Yoh smashed Fujita’s shoulder into the ring post and hyper-extended his elbow. Before Fujita could react, Yoh crashed into him with a plancha, followed by a Butterfly lock. Fujita reached the ropes and managed to hit Yoh with an enzuigiri before crashing into him with a top rope cannonball. Back in the ring, Fujita put Yoh in a Guillotine Lock and knocked him down with a double wrist lock. Yoh managed to break the hold with a Falcon Arrow. Fujita evaded a thrust kick and kicked out of an O’Connor Roll before trapping him in a Kami Special. Fujita locked Yoh’s arms and one of his legs, but Yoh managed to reach the ropes with his free leg.

Before Yoh could react, Fujita put him down with a series of German suplexes for a close two count. Fujita blasted Yoh with a series of chops to the chest, until Yoh was able to take him down with a lariat. Yoh cornered Fujita with a barrage of chops to the chest while mocking him while flicking his forehead. Fujita knocked Yoh off the top turnbuckle, but Yoh was still able to lay him out with a superplex. Yoh put Fujita in the Anaconda Vice in the middle of the ring, until Fujita countered it into a pinning combination. Fujita blocked a ripcord move with a cutter, leaving both men knocked down.

They exchanged numerous forearm strikes, until Yoh laid Fujita out with a German suplex. Yoh immediately got up and planted Fujita with a dragon suplex, followed by a thrust kick. Fujita evaded a clothesline and got a close nearfall with an O’Connor Roll. Fujita nailed Yoh with a hook kick, only for Yoh to crack him with Ushigoroshi. Yoh blocked a knee strike into the corner and dropped him with Shoto for a nearfall. Fujita blocked Direct Drive, but Yoh blocked the Thrill Ride with a pump knee. Fujita countered a Rainmaker with the Zack Driver, setting Yoh put for Abandon Hope and a close nearfall. Before Yoh could react, Fujita dropped him with the Thrill Ride to pick up the win.

WINNER: Kosei Fujita at 28:05 (****1/2)

(Pomares’ Analysis: An outstanding ending with a white hot crowd to a somewhat of a mixed bag of a tournament. Fujita has been a fan favorite for a while, but I didn’t think New Japan would actually commit to pushing such a young guy. Yoh had one of his greatest singles performances in a long time and I wouldn’t have minded if he won after seeing this match. I don’t think Kosei Fujita will win the belt whenever he gets his title shot, but he already shocked me once, so he might have more of a chance than everyone else expects.)