The 30th Best of the Super Juniors tournament saw the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion suffer a loss on the opening night.
Hiromu Takahashi, a four-time winner of the Best of the Super Juniors, was pinned by Speedball Mike Bailey in the main event of the first show after being hit by Ultima Weapon.
There was a spot in the match where Takahashi hit Bailey with a belly-to-belly suplex in the corner and Bailey appeared to land on his shoulder. He did favor the shoulder momentarily by rotating it but finished the match without any noticeable issues.
Bailey kicked out of the Dynamite Plunger and countered the Time Bomb before hitting his Tornado kick into the corner and landing Ultima Weapon.
Bailey addressed the crowd in Japanese and English noting he pinned the champion and four-time BOSJ winner and has momentum on his side.
In other A Block matches, Titan submitted TJP with a Muta Lock. TJP landed a Mamba Splash while Titan was draped on the top rope and caught Titan coming off the rope and transitioning to the Pinoy Stretch, which Titan escaped using the rope.
Lio Rush overcame the interference of EVIL and pinned SHO after hitting the Final Hour. EVIL jumped Rush during his entrance and the short match included a referee bump and the House of Torture members trying to use the wrench. Rush sent SHO into EVIL on the apron and struck SHO and EVIL with the wrench before hitting his finisher.
In one of the most exciting matches on the first night, DOUKI scored a major upset by pinning KUSHIDA. This match featured the crowd chanting for DOUKI as KUSHIDA played heel throughout the match. This featured fast transitions with a heavy submission-based attack by both and was so smooth. They traded covers and ended when DOUKI caught him with the Skayde Special.
Taiji Ishimori submitted Ryusuke Taguchi quickly after hitting La Mistica.
In the B Block, Yoshinobu Kanemaru has an upset win against El Desperado after attacking Desperado’s knee throughout the match. Kanemaru drove the knee into the mat and the floor and was threatening with the figure-four. Desperado hit Guitarra de Angel for a two-count and Kanemaru responded with the figure-four, kicked him in the face while the hold was applied, and Desperado submitted.
Robbie Eagles pinned YOH while also focusing the match around an injured knee. YOH used an Ushigoroshi, which affected the body part and Eagles attacked with a superkick to the knee, a springboard dropkick on target, and a follow-up kick for the victory. Eagles pointed to his teeth afterward and may have chipped one.
Master Wato pinned Francesco Akira after selling for most of the match and capturing the win after using Recientemente.
Former NXT UK talent Dan Moloney entered the field and established his presence by beating BUSHI with his Dorilla Killa piledriver. The broadcasters discussed Moloney’s diet regimen and how he has transformed his body.
In the opener, Clark Connors pinned Kevin Knight while introducing his new finisher called No Chaser, which is an impaler DDT that Gedo called for. Both worked really well, and Knight is a solid talent that has improved greatly. After the match, Connors destroyed Knight with eight chair shots to the back as the crowd booed Connors.
RESULTS
*Clark Connors over Kevin Knight in 9:21
*Taiji Ishimori over Ryusuke Taguchi in 3:55
*Dan Moloney over BUSHI in 7:16
*DOUKI over KUSHIDA in 10:34
*Master Wato over Francesco Akira in 7:21
*Lio Rush over SHO in 4:20
*Robbie Eagles over YOH in 13:09
*Titan over TJP in 11:13
*Yoshinobu Kanemaru over El Desperado in 14:02
*Speedball Mike Bailey over Hiromu Takahashi in 16:40
BLOCK A: Speedball Mike Bailey (2), Titan (2), Lio Rush (2), DOUKI (2), Taiji Ishimori (2), Hiromu Takahashi (0), TJP (0), SHO (0), KUSHIDA (0), Ryusuke Taguchi (0)
BLOCK B: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (2), Robbie Eagles (2), Master Wato (2), Dan Moloney (2), Clark Connors (2), YOH (0) El Desperado (0), Francesco Akira (0), BUSHI (0), Kevin Knight (0)
The tournament continues Saturday in Nagano and Sunday in Nagoya.
May 13 in Nagano:
*B BLOCK: YOH vs. Master Wato
*A BLOCK: Hiromu Takahashi vs. DOUKI
*B BLOCK: El Desperado vs. BUSHI
*A BLOCK: Titan vs. Taiji Ishimori
*B BLOCK: Kevin Knight vs. Francesco Akira
*A BLOCK: SHO vs. Speedball Mike Bailey
*B BLOCK: Robbie Eagles vs. Clark Connors
*A BLOCK: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Lio Rush
*B BLOCK: Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Dan Moloney
*A BLOCK: KUSHIDA vs. TJP
May 14 in Aichi:
*A BLOCK: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Lio Rush
*B BLOCK: El Desperado vs. Master Wato
*A BLOCK: TJP vs. Speedball Mike Bailey
*B BLOCK: YOH vs. Dan Moloney
*A BLOCK: KUSHIDA vs. Titan
*B BLOCK: Robbie Eagles vs. Francesco Akira
*A BLOCK: DOUKI vs. Taiji Ishimori
*B BLOCK: BUSHI vs. Clark Connors
*A BLOCK: SHO vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
*B BLOCK: Kevin Knight vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
