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NJPW BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS NIGHT 1 REPORT
MAY 10, 2025
YOHAS ARENA
CHIBA, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
With Walker Stewart in California, Chris Charlton was on solo commentary duty.
(1) NINJA MACK & KATSUYA MURASHIMA vs. TAIJI ISHIMORI & ROBBIE X
The War Dogs team came out to Robbie X’s theme, which made sense as a way to introduce it and him to the Japanese audience. Mack and Robbie are scheduled to face off on night two. That match should be extremely fast-paced and exciting, if tonight’s teaser was anything to go by. I expected Robbie X to pick up the win over Murashima to continue the process of showing people what he can do, but Ishimori tapped out the Young Lion with the Bone Lock.
WINNERS: Ishimori and X via submission in 5:00. (*3/4)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: Not much to see here, I was hoping for more of Robbie X but there wasn’t much of anything.)
(2) KEVIN KNIGHT & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & MASTER WATO vs. MAO & TIGER MASK & SHOMA KATO
Mao’s sobriquet is “Strange Love Connection” and he is now my instant favourite. I had not seen him before this match, but I liked what I saw. Jorts like Cena, a wacky streak that reminded me of Yano, but a lot of agility. His match with Knight on night two will be fun. Outside of the brief preview, we got to see a little more of what Shoma Kato can do before he got folded in half with a German suplex by Wato for the win.
WINNERS: Knight, Taguchi, and Wato via pinfall in 8:00. (**)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: A little more cohesive than the opener, and it looks like Knight’s added muscle has helped him be more stable with his athletic displays. Mao is going to be one of those visiting talents who wins very little but captures my heart, and I am just fine with that.)
(3) YOH & TORU YANO vs. ROBBIE EAGLES & HARTLEY JACKSON
Apparently I am just a fan of weird gimmicks right now, because Yoh is ticking all the boxes for me in this incarnation. He has found the balance that lets him still be taken seriously, unlike Yano who is funny but to the extreme. Most of the match was between Jackson and Yano, and was heavy on the comedy. Yano got the pin after a ref distraction, a low blow, and a schoolboy pin.
WINNERS: Yano and Yoh via pinfall in 8:00. (*1/2)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: Aside from Yoh’s antics, this was pretty standard. It’s hard to do an entertaining preview when the competitors are veterans who have faced off plenty of times, so I did not expect much going in.)
- Kevin Knight joined Chris Charlton to cover the block matches.
(4) NICK WAYNE vs. SHO – B Block match
Wayne looked to be well aware of the moment as he made his entrance in a gorgeous HBK-inspired robe. He even gave the crowd a Christian Cage trademark pose, and got a good reaction. Sho got on the mic and offered Wayne a House of Torture towel as a gift, but it said in Japanese “I am a country bumpkin.” He continued to run down Chiba, then invited Wayne to introduce himself. He handed Wayne the mic, then jumped him from behind.
Wayne fought back and hit a gorgeous flying back elbow. Sho fled to the floor, but pulled a hapless Young Lion in front of him to stop Wayne from diving. He used the confusion to yank Wayne to the floor, and slammed his arm into the corner post. Sho continued to work on the arm as he dragged Wayne into the audience. The beatdown continued into the seating area, Sho using a chair to attack the arm and shoulder. He dragged Wayne back to ringside and wrapped his arm around the corner post. He stole the timekeeper’s mallet and acted like he was going to smack Wayne with it, which of course prompted the referee to confiscate the weapon. Naturally this led to Sho picking up a chair and hitting Wayne’s arm against the post.
Back in the ring, Sho covered for a two-count. He continued to focus on the arm, applying a cross armbreaker in the middle of the ring. Wayne scrambled to the ropes as the crowd started to get behind him. Sho went to the outside and grabbed Wayne’s title belt, which he dropped in the ring and stood on. As we hit the five-minute mark, Wayne fired up and tried to mount a comeback. He caught a charging Sho with a double boot, then hit a missile dropkick. Still selling the arm he hit a charging corner European uppercut and a standing Asai DDT for a two-count. He tried to lock in a full nelson, but Sho blocked it and threw Wayne shoulder-first into the ropes. Wayne sidestepped a charge, sending Sho to the floor, and followed with a tope con giro. He immediately rolled Sho back inside, called to the crowd, and went to the top rope…Sho avoided the double stomp and came off the ropes with a spear.
Sho once again picked up Wayne’s belt. The ref took it from him, getting shoved down in the process, which gave Sho time to retrieve his wrench. Wayne ducked under the wrench shot, kicked Sho in the gut, and grabbed the dropped wrench. The ref recovered just in time to stop Wayne from using it, and Sho again used the distraction to uppercut Wayne in the groin. A powerbomb into a lungblower got a near fall. Sho set for Shock Arrow, Wayne blocked it, but Sho rolled through into a rollup for a two-count. After a couple of reversals Sho landed a German suplex. Wayne popped right up and ran into a lariat that turned him inside it. Sho again went for Shock Arrow, Wayne countered into a jacknife for a two-count. Sho tried another low blow, Wayne caught the attempt this time and hit a dragon suplex for a near fall. At the ten-minute mark, Wayne measured Sho and hit a big roundhouse to the head. He hooked Sho for the ProdigyPlex…and connected! 1…2…3!
WINNER: Nick Wayne (2 points) via pinfall in 11:00. (***1/4)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: It was interesting to see Wayne playing a face here, and there was some rust as he stopped selling his arm for a while. He was savvy enough to sell it after the match, however. Sho was a good opponent here, as his offence is crisp but he plays the clown enough to give Wayne a plausible way back into the match. It was a little clunky at times but Wayne looked at home and I think this tournament will do wonders for him. On the bright side, we saw no HoT nonsense.)
(5) DRAGON DIA vs. YOSHINOBU KANEMARU – A Block match
Dragon Dia’s results have not matched his popularity. He had one win last year, but putting him against Kanemaru to start is a good sign for him to at least match that this year. Kanemaru seemed to take offence to the mere suggestion, jumping Dia before the bell. He beat up on Dia on the outside, countering an attempted comeback and slamming Dia’s knee into the mat on the floor. Back in the ring, Kanemaru went to work on Dia’s knee. He hit a dropkick to the knee, then dropped Dia knee-first to the canvas. He applied a toehold, but Dia got to the bottom rope. Kanemaru went back to the spinning toehold, then transitioned into a single-leg crab. Dia again got to the ropes to force the break.
Kanemaru continued to work on Dia’s leg. He went for a kneebreaker, Dia blocked it and was able to hit a tilt-a-whirl arm drag and a dropkick that sent Kanemaru to the outside. Dia went for a dive, but a combination of his leg injury and Kanemaru moving prevented the takeoff. Kanemaru got to the apron but was knocked off with a 619. Dia followed up with an Asai moonsault off the apron, which almost entirely missed. He rolled Kanemaru inside, swept his leg and hit a standing moonsault for a two-count. He hobbled to the corner and went to the second rope, but Kanemaru avoided the DD-DDT and kicked Dia’s leg out from his leg. Kanemaru clamped on a figure four, but again Dia got to the ropes. Kanemaru hit a reverse DDT for a two-count, but his brainbuster was countered into a small package for a two-count. Dia went for a huracanrana, which Kanemaru countered and turned into another figure four. Dia again scrambled to the ropes.
Kanemaru bodyslammed Dia and went for a moonsault. Dia moved but Kanemaru landed on his feet. At the ten-minute mark, Kanemaru maneuvered the referee into getting squashed in the corner. He took a swig of whiskey but the referee snatched the bottle away, giving Dia time to hit a step-up enzuigiri. He perched Kanemaru on the top rope and hit a super huracanrana, then rolled through a sunset flip to pick up the sudden win!
WINNER: Dragon Dia (2 points) via pinfall in 11:00. (**)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: I did not really enjoy this. Kanemaru’s time in control was almost entirely spent on attacking the knee, with far too much repetition. That leg work played no further part in the match. Dia spent so little time on top that the win felt completely out of left field. An expected result that somehow felt like an upset is likely not where you want to be.)
(6) KOSEI FUJITA vs. FRANCESCO AKIRA – A Block match
This match should have been a main event, but the two matches after it on the card were even bigger. Fujita is one of the favourites, and Akira is a little behind him in the betting. With both in the same block it could be a little tricky. These two have tag team history and are both young and hungry, making this an intriguing prospect.
They started with a mat exchange, neither man able to get the upper hand. They traded hammerlocks and escapes, with Fujita slapping Akira on the back. Akira took exception to that and laid in some shots, Fujita calling him on. Fujita returned fire with a stiff chop, but Akira came back with a big leg lariat sending Fujita to the floor. Akira followed him and whipped him into a post. Fujita caught Akira with a smack to the chops, then ran him backwards into the apron. Back in the ring Fujita charged Akira but got lifted over to the apron. Fujita tried to springboard back in but got caught and dropped gut-first over the top rope. Akira covered for a two-count. Fujita tried to fight back but Akira stopped him with a knee to the gut and a bodyslam. A standing moonsault got a two-count for Akira.
Akira grabbed a rear bear hug, which sent Fujita scrambling to the ropes. Not the offence I expected to see today. Akira buried a pair of shoulders into Fujita’s midsection, whipped him to the opposite corner, and landed a corner clothesline for a two-count at the five-minute mark. Fujita caught Akira with a single-leg dropkick to leave both men down briefly. Fujita recovered first and hit a loud double-hand chop. He went to the apron and hit a springboard shotgun dropkick for a two-count.A running PK secured another two-count. He went for a deadlift German suplex, Akira blocked it but got tripped with a drop toehold. Fujita tied up Akira and tried to lock in a modified surfboard, but Akira made it to the ropes. After a series of counters Akira dropkicked Fujita off the apron, ran the ropes, and hit a beautiful tope con giro. He rolled Fujita inside and went for a triangle moonsault…Fujita got the knees up!
Fujita again went for a German suplex. Akira fought it off, but Fujita gritted his teeth and tried it again. Akira flipped over and landed on his feet, then hit a step-up enzuigiri. Fujita returned fire with his own headkick. He went for Abandon Hope, which Akira countered into a Fireplex for a near fall. At the ten-minute mark Akira called for the end and hit Speedfire, then set up for the Fireball knee. Fujita ducked the attack but got flattened by a lariat. Another series of counters led to an Akira rollup counter for two. Fujita hit a snap German suplex, Akira got up and charged into a delayed-blast German for a very near fall. Akira maintained his grip, set up for Abandon Hope…Akira kneed him in the head to counter. Akira planted a series of knees into Fujita’s gut, but went to the well one too many times. Fujita caught the knee, flipped Akira onto his shoulders in a burning hammer position, and dropped him face-first in an inverted Attitude Adjustment for the win.
WINNER: Kosei Fujita (2 points) via pinfall in 12:00. (***1/2)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: The best match of the night so far, but I can’t help thinking that it would have been a 20-minute main event on another night. Akira did not look de-emphasised in defeat, but this match definitely felt like a flag-planting for Fujita. A block is stacked, with Hiromu as a perennial threat, but I could easily see these two finishing at the top of the block.)
(7) KUSHIDA vs. HIROMU TAKAHASHI – A Block match
Kushida manages to look 21 despite being 41. These two have such a long history of excellent matches, especially in this tournament. However it saddens me to say that this year Hiromu does not seem to have a folder of photos of his opponents.
Kushida jumped the gun, dropkicking Hiromu off the apron as the latter made his entrance. Kushida went to the top for a dive but Hiromu recovered quickly and met him on the top. They struggled for control, with Kushida able to apply the hoverboard lock briefly before Hiromu pushed him down. Kushida came back with a handstand kick, sending Hiromu to the floor. They ran around each other, ducking kicks, until Hiromu tried a sunset bomb off the apron. Kushida blocked it, but Hiromu ducked a kick and landed a basement dropkick to Kushida’s knee. Hiromu went to work on the knee on the outside, dropping it on the floor repeatedly. Charlton pointed out that every time Hiromu has won this tournament, he won his opening match. That is a great sign that he won’t win this year.
Back in the ring, Hiromu hit a corner clothesline and a basement dropkick. He went for his Maximum Beholding submission, but Kushida went right for the ropes. Hiromu applied a different hold, sending Kushida back to the ropes again. He fought back with some chops, but Hiromu got a drop toehold into a calf slicer before Kushida forced another rope break. As we went past the five-minute mark, Hiromu kept up the assault on the knee. Kushida came back with a sudden handspring elbow to leave both men down. Kushida tried to get feeling back in his leg as Hiromu got to his feet. Kushida charged, Hiromu got a boot up but Kushida caught it and applied a standing ankle lock. Hiromu hopped to the ropes for a break, so Kushida dropkicked him off the rope and to the outside.
Kushida ran along the apron and hit a huracanrana on the outside, rolled Hiromu back in, and hit a rolling DDT into an armbar. Hiromu immediately grabbed the ropes. Kushida kicked at his shoulder, but tried it too many times and got countered with a dragon screw. Hiromu locked in Maximum Beholding, but Kushida got to the ropes again. Hiromu went for the buckled Death Valley driver, Kushida escaped and ducked a lariat before dropping Hiromu with La Mistica. He clamped on the Hoverboard lock in the middle of the ring! Hiromu managed to get to his feet at the ten-minute mark, but Kushida maintained the hold. Hiromu clubbed away at him to break the hold, but Kushida laid in a flurry of Kawada kicks and went right back into it. Before it was fully applied, Hiromu lifted Kushida for a Time Bomb. Kushida escaped, they exchanged counters, and Kushida dropped Hiromu with a trio of sliding kicks to the ankles. Hiromu fired back with a lariat, and both men were down.
Hiromu was first up, but his fireman’s carry was countered into a crucifix for a two-count. Kushida went for a Magistral but Hiromu countered to his own rollup for two. They traded near falls with rollups, then traded head kicks. Hiromu hit a running Codebreaker, then locked in Maximum Beholding. He cranked backwards on the hold before turning into it, and secured the tapout.
WINNER: Hiromu Takahashi (2 points) via submission in 13:00. (***3/4)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: I expected these two veterans, with all their familiarity with each other, to deliver the best match of the night. They did just that. Hiromu wrestled as an unaffiliated competitor, further confirming the death of LIJ. He also wrestled a notably slower and more deliberate style. Kushida is not the contender he would have been a few years ago, but he has enough gravitas that a win over him means something. I would expect him to prop up the group with Kanemaru.)
(8) EL DESPERADO vs. TITAN – B Block Match
Another match with some real history behind it. Two years in a row, Titan has beaten Desperado in BOSJ. Last year it was a block match but in 2023 it was in the semifinal. They shook hands before the bell, to the approval of the crowd.
After the early exchanges, Titan took control with a double stomp to the back. He hit a springboard crossbody, then sent Desperado to the floor with a dropkick. Titan missed the sliding dropkick to the floor, and Desperado pounced on the slip-up with a suplex on the outside. He laid in a series of chops as they walked around ringside, with no count from the referee. Desperado rolled Titan back inside, where he planted him with a back suplex for a two-count. Desperado applied a double armlock, then whipped TItan to a corner. He followed him in with a corner clothesline, but Titan fired back with a flurry of chops, a sliding trip, and a springboard headscissors that sent Desperado to the outside again. Titan hit a tope to the floor, then got back in the ring. He went for a second tope, saw that Desperado had moved, and changed directions to come through a different set of ropes and hit the tope anyway.
Back inside the ring at the five-minute mark, Titan hit an Attitude Adjustment for a two-count. He went for Llave Imortal, but Desperado caught him in an inside cradle to counter, only getting a two-count. Titan recovered quickly and connected with a stiff superkick. He hit a charging lariat in the corner, and went up top for a double stomp. Desperado avoided the impact and dropped Titan with a spinebuster, which he transitioned immediately into Numero Dos. Titan reversed it into a headscissors, again sending Desperado to the floor, and came right behind him with a tope con giro. Seems like I have seen that before somewhere.
Titan rolled Desperado back inside, and hit a springboard splash for a near fall. He went for Llave Imortal again, but Desperado kicked him away. They traded strikes, Titan used a Matrix-style dodge to go under a lariat, and dropped Desperado with a leaping back kick. Desperado came back with a suplex, and both men were down at the ten-minute mark.
Desperado recovered first and went for Pinche Loco. Titan blocked it and went for a tornado DDT, Desperado blocked that and went for a brainbuster, but Titan escaped out the back and landed the tornado DDT. Desperado blocked a head kick and almost locked in Numero Dos, but somehow Titan sat up out of the hold and ended up on Desperado’s shoulders. Desperado locked up his legs and dropped him with an Awful Waffle for a very near fall. Both men were slow to recover in opposite corners. Desperado charged at Titan, who caught him coming in with a flurry of palm strikes. A spinning back kick dropped Desperado, and Titan went to the top…double stomp to the back connected! Titan sold some damage to his leg from the landing, and the delay in the cover allowed Desperado to kick out. Again Titan tried to apply Llave Imortal, and this time Desperado spun out of it and reversed into Numero Dos! Titan tapped out!
WINNER: El Desperado (2 points) via submission in 14:00. (***½)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: The match was hurt by following a very similar formula to every other tournament match on the card tonight, but when the action did pick up it REALLY picked up. The finishing sequence was crisp and fast, which could actually describe the entirety of the last two or three minutes. Anyone beating Desperado would expect a title shot after the tournament, and with Titan recently having had one it was unlikely he would come out on top here. I have to wonder if he ends up in the middle of the pack this year. Desperado might win the block, but having the champion win the tournament would be a rare occurrence.)
Final thoughts: I generally enjoy Best of the Super Juniors, and that’s mostly because of the variety of styles we see. Almost every match tonight seemed to follow the same script: one person on top working a limb, multiple rope breaks, then the other person mounting a comeback. You expect multiple dives to the outside, but there was very little variety in those too. I hope this is not a sign of how the tournament as a whole will unfold, and is just a function of the matches we had on night one. The only person I can say really stood out was Fujita, which cements his position as a favourite to win it all. Nick Wayne gave a solid accounting of himself, and Hiromu looks to be in a take-no-prisoners mode. Overall a slightly disappointing start, but not the end of the world. There’s a long way to go!
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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