Tag Archives: Best of the Super Juniors

Good Thing He Hit the Moonsault

The 2011 edition of NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors Tournament saw tournament veterans Prince Devitt and Kenny Omega lock up. Omega starts by hitting a flying elbow on Devitt that sends the latter into the corner. Omega then is either running around or screaming until he nails a corkscrew to the outside that slows down the bout.

Not much else happens until we almost see the Omega wiener when Devitt pulls too hard on his opponent’s tights during a suplex attempt. Back outside Omega plays a coward when he hides under a table while Devitt is signaling that he is going to dive onto Omega. Once Devitt decides to walk outside Omega attacks him and goes back inside to do a flip to the floor.

The fight then really picks up when Omega beats Devitt all the way to the outside…and by “the outside” I mean the outside of the arena! There Omega attempts to attack Devitt with a chair, which Devitt avoids by knocking it out of his hands. Omega then does an insane moonsault off of a ladder that probably would have broken his neck if he missed Devitt.

The two go back to the ring area after somehow not being counted out and Devitt runs off the ring apron trying to double stomp Omega through a table…that doesn’t break. The two finally get back in the ring where Devitt wins with a brainbuster.

Kota Ibushi ended up winning the tournament that year while Devitt made it to the semi-finals. Omega didn’t make it as far as either of these wrestlers, but was rewarded by not having his neck broken.

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Tiger Masks Battle for the Best of the Super Juniors’ Top Prize

NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors has produced a ton of great matches since the inaugural event was held in 1988, but few tournament finals had the intrigue that the 2004 edition had. Kojo Kanemoto was a former winner of the tournament and also a previous Tiger Mask, having been Tiger Mask III for a short time. Tiger Mask IV had never won the entire tournament and had a very different tenure as a Tiger Mask than Kanemoto, wearing the mask for nearly 10 years at that point.

Tiger shoves Koji into the ropes to start. The two then trade some quick kicks. Koji rolls out of the ring and gets hit by not one, but two suicide dives! Koji re-enters the ring and Tiger greets him with some shots. Tiger first goes up top to hit a knee and a diving headbutt into Koji’s back. Tiger clamps on a single leg Boston crab and only lets go to unleash more offense.

The masked man goes for a moonsault, but Koji gets up and Tiger lands on his feet. Tiger hits his first Tiger driver shortly, but only gets two and Koji puts on a submission. Koji is soon kicking Tiger’s teeth in, in one corner of the ring and does a second rope senton variation. Koji decides that this is not enough and goes up top for two moonsaults hitting the first and missing the second. Tiger tries a standing moonsault, but Koji rolls out of the way. Koji locks on a painful looking submission and twists Tiger’s foot. Tiger hollers so Koji lets him go. Koji relives his time under the mask by scoring a two count with a Tiger suplex.

Tiger fights back and gets Koji in a crossface chickenwing and also gets a two count. Kanemoto is weakened and Tiger hits a Tiger suplex in the middle of the ring for the three count!

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A Report on Best of the Super Juniors XIX

As longtime readers of this website (well as long as a few months can be) may recall I posted some videos hyping up NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors XIX Tournament a while back. Up until now I haven’t posted the result of the tournament, but figured that reporting within four months of the tournament should count as timely some place, perhaps sometime last century.

Anyway, this is a nice little match that shows Low Ki going back and forth with Alex Koslov. Who would have thought that the latter was the same wrestler who performed that stinker with HHH (wait a second, I’m an idiot). Koslov injects some comedy into the bout with constant chants of Russia that at one point gets a brief USA chant going from the Japanese crowd. Low Ki manages a little fun as well by stealing Koslov’s hat and getting his own Russia chant started. Comedy in The Best of the Super Juniors, I bet that would have been impossible to imagine when the annual tradition began.

There are also some stiff spots in this bout with Low Ki getting in a short chopfest on Koslov. Low Ki goes on to show that, that chopfest was nothing by beating Koslov into a corner of the ring and getting in some stiff shots. Too bad he didn’t follow this up with even some stiffer chops because the chopfest from that Kenta Kobashi match needs a capable successor!

GIF By El Pollo Guerrera of the FAN Forum.

Low Ki eventually puts Koslov away with the Ki Krusher and straps on his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship belt. Low Ki would go all the way to the finals in the tournament before losing to victor, Ryusuke Taguchi.

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Vintage Best of the Super Juniors

Here is one reason I hope that the WWE Network finally launches at some point this year. The long rumored cruiserweight show would give WWE the opportunity to showcase a genre of wrestling that hasn’t been highlighted in the company in…well just about has never been highlighted in the company. Even if the company does not end up signing a whole bunch of cruiserweight talents with their massive tape library a regular from the vault show dedicated to cruiserweight wrestling could be intriguing.

As for the match itself it is nice and tight. Also, I won’t spoil it, but I will say that there is an awesome setup to the Texas Cloverleaf at one point.

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Best of the Super Juniors Lives Up To The Name

As good as some of the matches that NJPW have produced have been they have only put on four, 5 star matches according to Dave Meltzer. While some may argue that more NJPW matches are worthy of this ranking, I don’t think anyone could convince me that this bout is unworthy.

After the wrestlers feel each other out the match starts to pick up about six minutes in when the two trade smacks to the face. El Samurai then attempts a double knee drop from the top rope, but Koji Kanemoto moves out of the way. It looks particularly painful as Samurai hits the bare mat with full impact. Samurai also sells the heck out of the move and Kanemoto immediately goes after the knees.

Samurai hits a breathtaking three move combo about halfway through the match. First, he hits a lariat that is so sexy that the commentators would have affairs with it if it was at all possible. Next, Samurai suplexes Kanemoto outside and follows it up with a suicide dive so the two can finally take a break.

With all the top rope moves including, but not limited to a reverse Frankensteiner, multiple moonsaults and a body slam that has to be seen to be believed it is no wonder that Samurai loses his mask before all is said and done.

All things considered in addition to earning Meltzer’s respect, the match has the rare distinction of possibly being the best match of both in the careers of both competitors.

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A Preview of Junior Heavyweights to Come

With the Best of the Super Juniors XIX fast approaching I thought I would showcase a few combatants. This match makes it easy as everyone in it will be competing in the tournament with the lone exception being Brian Kendrick.

Jado and Gedo have worked as a tag team with amazing chemistry for years, but each can pull out a good match when put into singles action. Jushin Liger and Tiger Mask IV have records that should speak for themselves, but both are never willing to be the least valuable player in a match. Just look at Liger’s crossbody off the top rope to the floor! KUSHIDA is considerably younger than the other four and has the most to prove. This is an intriguing factor to consider when taking in this upcoming tournament.

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Best of the Super Juniors XIX is Coming

NJPW recently announced the entrants for the Best of Super Juniors XIX Tournament. Two wrestlers making the cut are Prince Devitt and KUSHIDA. Both guys have a shot at winning as Devitt actually won the 2010 edition of the tournament and KUSHIDA has lately been on a rampage through NJPW.

In the following match KUSHIDA attempts to capture Devitt’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship so you know both guys are displaying their best.  The match has plenty of high spots and it keeps the sort of pace you would expect from two of the world’s premier junior heavyweight wrestlers. Look for Devitt to hit a top rope belly-to-back suplex followed by a double stomp from off the top! Purely lethal!

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