Topic: New Japan Best Of The Super Juniors 2016 Thread

[Zandrax]

Best Of Super Juniors Night 1, May 21st

All the tag matches are non-tournament. Only the singles matches in the latter half of the show were part of the tournament.

Satoshi Kojima, Volador Jr. & Bobby Fish b. CHAOS members Tomohiro Ishii, Beretta, & Will Ospreay when Volador pinned Beretta after a top rope hurracanrana

Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, & Yuji Nagata b. Katsujori Shibata, Jay White, & Juice Robinson when Nagata pinned Hite with the Backdrop Hold

The Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, & Chase Owens) b. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yoshitatsu, Captain Mew Japan, & Ricochet when Fale pinned CNJ with the Hand Grenade. The heels continued to beat up the babyfaces after the match. Omega smacked Tanahashi with a ladder several times, as they have the first ever Ladder Match in New Japan between the two next month. Tanahashi was stretchered out.

Los Ingobernables De Japon (IWGP World Champion Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, & Sanada) b. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Yoshi-Hashi, & Hirooki Goto)  when Sanada made Yoshi-Hashi submit to a Dragon Sleeper.

TOURNAMENT MATCHES

Rocky Romero p. David Finlay with a Boma Ye like knee strike

Gedo p. Bushi with a roll-up following a low blow. Bushi sprayed him with mist after the match

Ryusuke Taguchi p. Matt Sydal with the Dodon, his face buster finisher. Taguchi was busted hardway about halfway through the match.

Kyle O'Reilly s. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA with an armbreaker. Easily the best match of the night. After the match O'Reilly cut a promo saying he will win the tournament.

This means Romero, Gedo, Taguchi, and O'Reilly all with two points after Night One

[KoppoKick]

O'Reilly vs. Kushida are putting on a great series of matches together.  Loved the armbar counter to O'Reilly's running dropkick off the apron.

O'Reilly seems like a safe pick to win Block A.  I wonder who wins Block B.

[SupTool]

He may not win Block B Koppo, but keep an eye on Chase Owens. I'm telling you, he's going to make some noise this year.

[Zandrax]

Night Two Results. Birst B Block Matches. This was a single cam show with no commentary.

Ricochet s. Tiger Mask IV with a cross armbreaker like submission

Jushin "Thunder" Liger p. Bobby Fish with some sort of hook/tie up. Fish appeared to be disputng the pinfall, he may have gotten to the ropes. It wasn't very clear on a one camera show.

Beretta p. Volador Jr. with The Dudebuster (Belly To Back Driver)

Chase Owens of Bullet Club p. Will Ospreay with a Package Piledriver.

[Zandrax]

Results for Night 3. Another single camera show with no commentary

Matt Sydal p. Bushi with the Shooting Star Press

Kyle O'Reilly s. Gedo with a Cross Armbreaker

Ryusuke Taguchi s. David Finlay with an Anklelock

Rocky Romero p. KUSHIDA with a knee strike

A Block scores so far

KUSHIDA    0
Ryusuke Taguchi    4
Kyle O'Reilly    4
Matt Sydal    2
Rocky Romero    4
Gedo    2
BUSHI    0
David Finlay    0

[Zandrax]

Day 4 Results. Once again, a single camera house show.

Volador Jr. s. Tiger Mask IV with an ARMBAR. The two shook hands after the match.
Jushin Thunder Liger p. Chase Owens with a side crucifix counter. Owens and fellow Bullet Club member Yujiro Takahashi beat down Liger after the match.
Ricochet p. Bobby Fish with a Firemans Carry into a kick.
Beretta p. Will Ospreay with The Dudebuster.


B Block Standings

Jushin Thunder Liger    4
Tiger Mask IV    0
Bobby Fish    0
Ricochet    4
Volador Jr.    2
Beretta    4
Will Ospreay    0
Chase Owens    2

[Zandrax]

Day 5 reults, matches aren't available yet.


A Block



Matt Sydal b. Gedo
Kyle O'Reilly b. BUSHI
KUSHIDA b. David Finlay
Ryusuke Taguchi b. Rocky Romero





Standings:

6 - Kyle O'Reilly
6 - Ryusuke Taguchi
4 - Matt Sydal
4 - Rocky Romero
2 - Gedo
2 - KUSHIDA
0 - BUSHI
0 - David Finlay

[Zandrax]

Day 6 Results. This show had TV coverage, but no commentary.

Rocky Romero & Yoshi-Hashi b. Matt Sydal & Mchael Elgin when Romero pinned Sydal with a counter roll-up.

Kyle O'Reilly, David Finlay, Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, & NEVER Openweight Champion Yuji Nagata b. Katsuyori Shibata, Jay White, Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi, & KUSHIDA when Nagata pinned White with the Backdrop Hold. Nagat and Shibata brawled a bit after the match

Tiger Mask p. Chase Owens vial roll-up, countering Owens attempt at a Sunset Flip. Owens Superkicked a New Japan Staffmember in frustration.

Bobby Fish s. Beretta with an Ankle Lock

The Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Yujiro Takahashi, & Bad Luck Fale) b. Satoshi Kojima, Yoshitatsu, & Captain New Japan when Omega pinned Captain with a Frog Splash. Omega also attacked Captain with a ladder after the match. Omega will defend the IC Title against Hiroshi Tanahashi in New Japan's first ever Ladder Match at Dominion.

Los Ingobernables De Japon (IWGP Heavyeight Champion Tetsuya Naito, Bushi, Sanada, & EVIL) b. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Gedo, Hirooki Goto, & Tomohiro Ishii) when Sanada made Gedo submit to a Dragon Sleeper. Okada jumpstarted te match by diving to the outside on Naito. Naito stayed on the outside most of the match, but did clash again with Okada later. Sanada wouldn't let go of the Sleeper after getting the win. Yoshi-Hashi tried to make the save. All of CHAOS sans Okada got beat down.

Volador Jr. p. Jushin Thunder Liger with a Top Rope Spansh Fly/Flux Capacitor. The two did shake hands afterward, and Liger did raise Volador's hand in victory. Great sportsmanship!

Will Ospreay p. Ricoshet with a springboard Stunner. Outstanding match if you like the athletic high flying stuff. This got "This Is Awesome" and "Holy Shit" chants... in Japan! Ricochet did get in Ospreay's face afterward, so it looks like there will be another match.

B Block Standings

4 - Beretta
4 - Jushin Thunder Liger
4 - Ricochet
4 - Volador Jr.
2 - Bobby Fish
2 - Chase Owens
2 - Tiger Mask IV
2 - Will Ospreay

[dam skippy]

The Ricochet match us getting a lot of love on the internet. I've seen some of the highlights. These 2 tore it up.

[Zandrax]

I haven't found a hotlinkable GIF yet, but this should give you an idea

https://twitter.com/DeathToAllMarks/status/736162084921167872

[KoppoKick]

It's even more glorious with audio:

https://twitter.com/mortenvh/status/736669657436938243

[Zandrax]

It's even more glorious with audio:

https://twitter.com/mortenvh/status/736669657436938243

Intresting, the njpwworld.com feed had no commentary. Which was fine, it was easier to hear Ospreay yell 'MOTHERF*CKER!" when he got kicked.

[SupTool]

The Ricochet match us getting a lot of love on the internet. I've seen some of the highlights. These 2 tore it up.

Its also getting a lot of hate from mainly old school fans.

[Zandrax]

Day 7 Results. Another multicamera show, but no commentary.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Michael Elgin, & Volador Jr. b. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Beretta, & Will Ospreay) when Elgin pinned Beretta with a powebomb. This had a good mix of Hossfight when Ishii and Tenzan were in the ring, and high flying with guys like Volador an Ospreay.

NEVER Openweight Champion Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV b. Katsuyori Shibata, Juice Robinson, Bobby Fish, & Jay White when Nagata pinned white with the Backdrop Hold. The big story is of course Shibata challenging Nagata for the NEVEER title in a rematch at Dominion. No post match attack this time around. The Babyfaces all celebrated their win.

David Finlay p. Gedo with a counter roll-up. Gedo had a funny freakout afterward, kicking and screaming like a child. Finlay celebrated one of the bigger wins of his career. Gedo is the booker for New Japan for what it's worth.

Bushi p. Rocky Romero. Romero did manage to kick out after being sprayed with mist, but Bushi followed up with a Codebreaker from the middle rope for the win

Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, & Chase Owens) b. Satoshi Kojima, Yoshitatsu, Ricochet & Captain New Japan when Omega pinned Captain with a Sling Blade followed by a High Fly Flow. These are of course Hiroshi Tanahashi's moves. The heels smacked around Captain for a while until Kojima made the save

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, & Yoshi-Hashi) b. Los Ingobernables De Japon (IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetusya Naito, Sanada, & EVIL) when Goto pinned EVIL with the GTR (Kind of like Big Show's FInal Cut, but into a backbreaker). After some post match brawling Goto cut a quick promo, presumable insulting the heels. Naito got on the headset and said something to the commentators.

Matt Sydal b. Kyle O'Reilly with the SHooting Star. The match you'd expect from these too. Athleticism mixed with some high flying.

KUSHIDA s. Ryusuke Taguchi with a Cross Armbreaker. Good match. KUSHIDA is finally getting momentum after losing his first two matches. KUSHIDA cut a post match promo, presumably saying he's going to win. He and Taguchi shook hands after the match, finally showing each other the respect they didn't have a year or two ago.

Good show. The last show was probably better since it had that awesome Ricochet vs. Ospreay match. But a very solid show.

6 - Ryusuke Taguchi
6 - Matt Sydal
4 - KUSHIDA
4 - Kyle O'Reilly
4 - Rocky Romero
4 - BUSHI
2 - Gedo
2 - David Finlay

[Zandrax]

Here's teh full Ricochet/Ospreay match while it lasts

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4dbeb7

[KoppoKick]

Ricochet vs. Ospreay is available for free on the official NJPW World site:

http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00392_6_08

[Zandrax]

Ricochet vs. Ospreay is available for free on the official NJPW World site:

http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00392_6_08

I dunno if you need the New Japan Network to see that clip, but if you can't see that link, here's the official YouTube link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TgbxaQcheQ

[Zandrax]

Chase Owens p. Beretta with the Package Piledriver. Yujiro Takahashi accompanied Owens to the ring. The finish was Takahashi trying to hand Owens a chair. When the referee stopped this and tried to remove the chair, Owens hit Beretta with what appeared to be knucks. He then hit the Package Piledrier for the win.

Tiger Mask s. Will Ospreay with a double armbar submission

Bobby Fish s. Volador Jr. with a Leg Grapevine. Volador's leg buckled after a flip out of a Back Suplex. Fish saw this and capitalized with Leg Screw Whips and kicks to the leg. Eventually he tied Volador up in the grapevine and Volador tapped.

Ricochet s. Jushin Thunder Liger with some sort fo arm grapevine. Liger kicked out of a brainbuster, but Ricochet immediately clamped on the submission. Interesting that three out fo the four matches ended in submission. Also for what it's worth, there were very few highspots in this match. And half of them came from Liger.  This was more mat based grappling. Proof that Ricoshet is more than flips and dives. Especially if you've only seen the match with Ospreay.


6 - Ricochet
4 - Beretta
4 - Bobby Fish
4 - Chase Owens
4 - Jushin Thunder Liger
4 - Tiger Mask IV
4 - Volador Jr.
2 - Will Ospreay

[Zandrax]

Day 9 Results - This also was a single cam house show.

BUSHI p. David Finlay with a middle rope Codebreaker. A lot of fun near falls toward the end. A good match, but not much else to say. You knew Finlay wasn't winning this one as BUSHI was one of the favorites to win.

Matt Sydal p. Rocky Romero with The Shooting Star Press. Funny spot where the two had a Forearm exchange on;ly for Sydal to kick Romero in the hamstring. Finish came when Romero was seated on the top rope and Sydal hurracanrana'd him off the top. You read that right. Romero was seated on the top, and Sydal STANDING ON THE MAT jumped up and hit a hurracanrana. He then hit the Shooting Star for the pin.

KUSHIDA s. Gedo with the Hoverboard Lock. Much longer than I was expecting, but there was nothing bad. I just figured Gedo wasn't winning, so there wasn't much in the way of suspense for me. Good match objectively though.

Ryusuke Taguchi s. Kyle O'Reilly with an Ankle Lock. Again, a lot of great counters with moves being hit, with pin attempts that get turned into counters. The finish was O'Reilly trying to lock in a Cross Armbreaker, only for Taguchi to turn it into a rollup. When O'Reilly kicked out of that, Taguchi grabbed O'Reilly's leg and went for the Ankle Lock. O'Reilly struggled for a bit, but Taguchi locked it in and O'Reilly tapped. This match, like Taguchi;s last match with KUSHIDA, was interesting because Taguchi is known for a lot of comedy in his matches. Criminy one of his signature moves involves hitting his opponent with his "Hip Attack" or as I call it "Flying Buttbutt". But there was little comedy here. I don't know if it's just for this tournament, but Taguchi has been playing it straight for the last few matches.

8 - Matt Sydal
8 - Ryusuke Taguchi
6 - BUSHI
6 - KUSHIDA
4 - Kyle O'Reilly
4 - Rocky Romero
2 - Gedo
2 - David Finlay

[Zandrax]

June 2nd results B Block. This was another single camera house show

Volador Jr. p. Chase Owens with a top rope hurrancanrana. Volador wore his mash in the beginning of the match, but lost it about halfway through.

Jushin Thunder Liger p. Tiger Mask IV with a small package. Very brief match, about a minute. But I've seen these guys wrestle each other several times, and this was effectively a house show, so no complaints.

Will Ospreay p. ROH TV Champion Bobby Fish with his Springboard Cutter. Competitive match with Ospreay playing the speedy high flyer, and Fish playing the grizzled veteran trying to grab and ground him.

Ricochet p. Beretta by reversing a cover attempt into a roll-up. Ricochet did take a German Suplex on the apron, but it at least lead to a near countout. The pinfall looked more like a desperation attmept than a recovery from the move, as Ricochet was selling the German Suplex after the match.

B Block Standings

8 - Ricochet
6 - Jushin Thunder Liger
6 - Volador Jr.
4 - Beretta
4 - Bobby Fish
4 - Chase Owens
4 - Tiger Mask IV
4 - Will Ospreay

[Zandrax]

June 3 Results, A Block - This was a multicamera show with no commentary

CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Beretta, & Will Ospreay) b. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ricochet, & Volador Jr. when Beretta pinned Volador by blocking a sunset flip with a sitdown rollup. Ricochet and Ospreay did get a couple minutes in the ring together to continue their feud.

NEVER Openweight Champion Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask, & Jushin Thunder Liger b. Katsuyori Shibata, Juice Robinson, Bobby Fish, & Jay White when Nagata pinned White with the Backdrop Hold. Shibata and Nagata had a pull apart brawl again after the match. There did seem to be some disagreement with Shibata's team over this, as White, Robinson, and Fish all lean babyface, and Shibata is disrespecting the legendary Nagata.

Kyle O'Reilly s. David Finlay with a Gogloplata. Perfectly fine match, but there was no doubt O'Relly was winning. O'Reilly di put over FInlay post match by pointing to him in approval. He also offered a handshake which Finlay accepted.

Rocky Romero p. Gedo with a running knee. Gedo hit a major low blow on Romero. Beretta tried to interfere, but Gedo fended him off. It wasn't a direct distraction, just failed interference. Also funny that there was interfrence, as all three men are part of the CHAOS stable. The three reconciled after the match, and Romero iced down his balls.

After intermission, Hiroshi Tanahashi came to the ring in street clothes for a promo. Presumably he announced that he cannot compete in the Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Title at Dominion. He legitimately has a major shoulder injury.  Kenny Omega came to the ring and said he doesn't understand Japanese (he actually speaks it, but he IS a heel...) but it sounds like Tanahashi is apologizing. He reminded Tannahashi that when Gallows, Anderson, and AJ left, Tanahashi promised to stay around. Tanahashi yelled "SHUT UP!" in English. Omega said he won't shut up. Bullet Club surrounded the ring. Omega cheap shotted Tanahashi, but Michael Elgin quickly made the save. Elgin also did a canonball stype dive over the top rope onto Bullet Club.

This lead to the next match, which was already advertised anyway. Not like American wrestling where matches are made on the spot.

Michael Elgin, Satoshi Kojima, Yoshitatsu, & Captain New Japan b. The Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, & Chase Owens) when Elgin pinned Owens with a powerbomb. After the match, Elgin brought a ladder in the ring and challenged to take Tanahashi's place in the IC Title Ladder Match. Omega declined, saying he's already beat him.

Los Ingobernables De Japon (IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito, Sanada, & EVIL) b. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, & Yoshi-Hashi) when Yoshi-Hashi passed out to Sanada's Dragon Sleeper. Okada Naiton jumped Okada from behind after the match. The rest of LIDJ beat  down Goto and tossed security out of the ring. Naito brought Okada into the ring and lowblowed him.

Bushi p. Ryusuke Taguchi with the middle rope Codebreaker after spitting mist on him. Taguchi had been playing it more straight in his past few tournament matches, so he turned up the comedy early on in this one. Bushi came to the ring in a skull mask and black suit. So Taguchi came to the ring in a metal skull mask similar to Naito's and a green leisure suit. Match turned into a classic Good vs. Evil collision until Bushi cheated to win.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA s. Matt Sydal with The Hoverboard Lock. This was a great all around match and easily the match of the night. The first several minutes had no high flying, just great mat based wrestling, takedowns, and submissions. Then they kicked it into second and third gear. A lot of kicks and forearms in the final moments. After the match the two shook hands, and Sydal took the mic. He thanked the fans and asked KUSHIDA for a title sht even if he doesn't win the tournament. KUSHIDA seemed to accept with a thumbs up. KUSHIDA closed the show with a promo, presumably also thanking the fans and saying he'll win.

A Block Standings

8 - BUSHI
8 - KUSHIDA
8 - Matt Sydal
8 - Ryusuke Taguchi
6 - Kyle O'Reilly
6 - Rocky Romero
2 - David Finlay
2 - Gedo

[Zandrax]

6/5 Results - This was a multicamera live show with no commentary.

CHAOS (Rocky Romero & Yoshi-Hashi) b. Ryusuke Taguchi & Jay White when White submitted to Toshi-Hashi's double armbar.

NEVER Openweight Champion Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Kyle O'Reilly, & David Finlay b. Katsuyori Shibata, KUSHIDA, Juice Robinson, Matt Sydal & Captain New Japan when Tenzan pinned Captain with a moonsault. Shibata and Nagata brawled with each other throughout the match on the outside, leaving their respective teammates to work without them. Some fun exchanges near the end with guys tossing each other out of the ring. I have no ida if those two were even legal at the end of teh match.

Tiger Mask s. Beretta with a double armbar variation. Beretta played old school heel, trying to unmask Tiger. They also fought through the crowd as well. Beretta asked for a handshake, and raised Tiger's hand... then kicked him in the balls.

Will Ospreay p. Jushin Thunder Liger with the springboard cutter. Ospreay did help Liger to his feet and shook hands, showing much better sportsmanship that his CHAOS teammate Beretta.

Bobby Fish s. Chase Owens via leg grapevine. Good submission style wrestling. Owens even did the Bret Hart Figure Four Around The Ringpost. Chase Owens asked for help getting out of the ring, only to cheap shot the guy who tried to help him.

Volador Jr. p. Ricochet with a reverse hurracanrana. Good athletic high flying match.

Michael Elgin, Satoshi Kojima, & Yoshitatsu b. The Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, & Yojiro Takahashi) when Elgin pinned Takahashi with the powerbomb

Los Ingobernables De Japon (IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito, Sanada, BUSHI, & EVIL) b. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Gedo, Tomohiro Ishii, & Hirooki Goto) when Sanada made Gedo submit to the Dragon Sleeper. The heels ran wild post match and Naito cut a promo, which looked like it was taunting Okada.

8 - Ricochet
8 - Volador Jr.
6 - Bobby Fish
6 - Jushin Thunder Liger
6 - Tiger Mask IV
6 - Will Ospreay
4 - Beretta
4 - Chase Owens

[SupTool]

Dammit. Chase needs to go back up in the standings

[Zandrax]

Dammit. Chase needs to go back up in the standings

I believe he's mathmatically eliminated, since there are only one or two shows left. His last match will be against Ricochet, so he could conceivable cost Ricochet the tournament.

[Zandrax]

Results 6/6 - Both A & B Block. This was a fully produced show complete with commentary. Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino provided an English commentary.



B Block - Beretta p. Jushin Thunder Liger with The Dudebuster. Beretta has been the most dastardly of the heels the past few days. He cheap shotted Liger early on, and while he didn't outright cheat, he was taunting Liger a lot. The crowd showed their appreciation for Liger by cheering him as he left.

B Block - Bobby Fish s. Tiger Mask with The Fish Hook Deluxe Edition (Leg Grapevive). The two shook hands and showed sportsmanship after the match.

B Block - Chase Owens p. Rcochet with a roll-up after Ricochet missed a Phoenix Splash. This was the classic case of the babyface outwrestling the heel, so the heel resorted to cheating. Yujiro Takahashi interfered on several occasions, grabbing Richet's leg so he couldn't bounce of teh ropes or dive in. Ricochet took care of Takahashi by hitting him with a running dive to the outside.

B Block - Will Ospreay p. Volador Jr. with the Springboard Cutter. A lot of high flying in this match. Maybe not as much as Ospreay's match with Ricochet. This also puts Ospreay in the finals. While we was tied for first with 8 points, the other 3 guys are Ricochet, Volador, and Fish. All of whom Ospreay has beaten.  (Ties in points go to the wrestler that won the match between the two)

Los Ingobernables De Japon (IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito, Sanada, & EVIL) b. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Yosh-Hashi) when Sanada pinned Yosh--Hashi with a moonsault. More of the same if you've been following this thread or watching the matches

A Block - Rocky Romero p. Kyle O'Reilly with a running knee. Absolutely a great match that had it all. Mat wrestling, submissions, and some nice kick fests too. Kevin Kelly drove home that O'Reilly was mathmatically eliminated with this loss.

A Block - Matt Sydal p. David Finlay with a Shooting Star. Fine match for what it was, but I figured Finlay wasn't winning. This puts Sydal at 10 points, the first to do so. If both KUSHIDA and Taguchi lose, Sydal will be the winner of A Block.

Ryusuke Taguchi p. Gedo with a surprise tie up as Gedo tried to get him in a Camel Clutch. Gedo had another tantrum after losing. This eliminates Sydal, as Taguchi beat Sydal in their match. Thus, if Kushida wins, he will go to the finals. If Kushida loses, Taguchi is in the finals.

BUSHI p. KUSHIDA with a second Lungblower (middle rope Codebreaker). Suspenseful match that really impressed me with BUSHI. This does eliminate KUSHIDA from the tournament. After the match BUSHI spit mist on the belt and challenged KUSHIDA to a title match.

This also means KUSHIDA has established contenders in BUSHI, O'Reilly, and Romero, as they all pinned him in the tournament.

The finals will be tomorrow, Taguchi vs. Ospreay.