For the past several months I’ve managed to stay relatively up-to-date with New Japan Pro Wrestling, and whew – what a ride. I kept up with it either by the waking hours of the Midwestern morning or as background noise during work and lunch breaks, and it’s been such a great story to follow.
Even the most casual of wrestling fans who know of NJPW are familiar with the name of the G1 Climax and New Japan Cup; and it’s no different with Best of the Super Juniors.
Super Junior refers to the junior heavyweight division, filled with wrestlers under a certain weight limit as they face off in a round-robin tournament. For those accustomed to the type of tournament where only the winners proceed, a round-robin is one where every wrestler faces off against all the other wrestlers in their block. Wins mean points, and those with the most points move forward while those on the lower end get eliminated. It’s a bit complex, but I’ve found it fun to follow in my first round-robin.
This is my first BOSJ and it has been a journey for me. I feel like I’ve been through an epic story of junior heavyweight men trying to prove who is the best. In this, I’ve had songs stuck in my head, characters I’ve bonded with and side stories I’ve absorbed.
The most important of these is the onion on the English commentary. I hate onions with a fiery passion (those smelly bastards), but Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton and the revolving door of BOSJ participants joining on commentary got me invested.
I’m not going to be as researched as in previous Noob Japan entries, I’m not going to be going fully off of memory (because honestly, that’s too much sometimes when you dip into something new – also, my dumbass didn’t take notes. I know, I’m an idiot.). Instead, this feature will be driven by pure, unadulterated vibes.
Upon the announcement of the contestants, I found some of the talent I was looking forward to seeing: Speedball Mike Bailey, Lio Rush, KUSHIDA and Hiromu Takahashi. But equally exciting were those I hadn’t seen much of prior, if I had seen anything at all. This was a brand-new experience, and I was so ready.
Familiar with NJPW tournaments, some of the matches that took place were reaching high levels of acclaim. Most of these matches involved the likes of El Desperado, DOUKI, Mike Bailey, Lio Rush, Titán, and Hiromu with Ryusuke Taguchi’s hilarious, yet pretty cool game with Bailey being one of my highlights. I hope he faces off against Orange Cassidy at Forbidden Door 2, just to pop me.
Those I listed as having a great output of high-quality matches accelerated to the later parts of the tournament. Personal stories interconnected with other personal stories; Lio Rush fighting for his family, Hiromu fighting to remain strong as champion, Mike Bailey to prove he is the best, and whatever Titán is fighting for (I don’t speak Spanish). It makes it compelling, all these personal reasons, all these valiant goals. What’s more is that it shows in the performance, the participants truly show that it matters to them, and to do so in such a quick and consistent manner, at the speed and purpose they do is unreal.
During these two weeks of BOSJ, I’ve seen some unique things. Ryusuke Taguchi’s entire bare ass was exposed to the world. Someone handed Lio Rush their baby as though he were a visiting monarch or politician. Perhaps the most unfortunate thing, however, was Taiji Ishimori’s injury that took him out of the tournament. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery.
In the second week, the urgency was displayed in one of my favorite ways when Mike Bailey and Lio Rush met on the cerulean blue. They chased each other with quickness, moving like an action movie and nothing like the average human. Bailey continues his trend of being everyone’s dream opponent while Rush exudes his prodigal way, showing he is made for something truly special. They had every right to wrestle as such – they were in the endgame after all. Only this time, the modern-day Ricky Steamboat won out over The Bad Child.
Over time I’ve seen many people I was impressed with, some that I had to grow with, and those I did not expect to like. When it got to the finals between Master Wato and Titán, I was surprised. I liked Wato a lot after Wrestle Kingdom 17 and his lucha rival impressed me these two weeks, but never did I expect them to win out over the big names. That’s what I’ve been enjoying about NJPW, they take risks to make new moments and new stars.
The finals match was everything it needed to be. The desperation of two men so close to the finish line made for an already compelling story, and neither man let up. This was a ride from start to finish, I was rooting for Titán as I organically felt I was following him more than Wato on this ride. Incredibly though, Wato reeled me in to his side as well.
With NJPW matches, the story ramps up, up, up to the pearly gates as you are anticipated by St. Peter himself. The closing stretches in NJPW and Stardom are among the best I see and this was no exception. I was hooked and the world behind me faded into nothingness. In the end, Master Wato overcame and won Best of the Super Juniors tournament and I couldn’t be happier.
Another surprise I did not account for was that once the junior heavyweight crop died out, the NJPW wrestlers I’ve come to know and love would be integrated in other matches. Multi-man, trios and standard tag teams that brought the heavyweights back into the mix broke up the several days of juniors flying about. One of my favorite moments was Shota Umino pissing off Kazuchika Okada so much that the Rainmaker just fucking grabs a guard rail and slams it on the ground. He was not happy.
Best of the Super Juniors was an experience I quite enjoyed and now that it’s all said and done, I look forward to watching again next year to see what kind of madness transpires. I hope to see more international grapplers lock up and continue to earn bragging rights, glory and all the rewards that come with being the best, all while bringing about a heavy demand to any who sign up for high-speed aerial combat.
My verdict for the tournament this year as a first-time viewer? Loved it. Give me more.
Wrestle Inn 