NJPW Best of the Super Jr. 24 Day 11
Toru Yano is on commentary. It's weird, but I actually missed him, that would probably change if he would wrestle.
Shota is starting the match, but neither man from Suzuki-Gun care enough about him to fight him, so he just pushes them off the apron, and I think he pissed them off, because they're kicking his ass bad. Shota being the only young lion here, he was obviously the babyface in peril, but once Dragon Lee got in, he got all control over the match. Unfortunately, teaming with a young lion also means you're likely losing the match.
Takahashi, EVIL, and Sanada on the LIJ side. Kawato doesn't wait for the ring and jumps Takahashi, he actually got the upper hand for a bit, but again, he's just a young lion, there's just so much you'll be able to do. Match was similar in the sense that Kawato was the weakest link, but he had so much fire in him that even though Juice and Ricochet knew that letting him in would cost them, they gave him the chance, and sometimes it actually worked for a while, we even had a great Kawato vs EVIL thing going on.
Good match, good showing for the face team. War Machine and GOD keep trading wins on each other preparing towards Dominion.
Well, ain't this a treat! Kenny and Okada had pretty much skipped all month, this would also be the first time Scurll and Okada would cross paths. Great match were most of the work was done on Gedo, ith Ospreay and Okada going crazy when in. They kept Omega and Okada apart for most of the match, only doing stuff when the match went into tornado, and even then, neither man was able to really hurt the other aside from a Dragon Suplex from Omega on Okada when the latter tried to go for the Rainmaker. Finish saw Scurll lock in the Crossface Chickenwing on Gedo when everyone else was outside. Good rub for Scurll getting the win here, even if it was over Gedo. Okada and Omega did face off a bit after the match.
BOSJ 24 Block B
First thing in, Desperado throws Tiger to the chairs (like usually) and he smashes his leg with a chair, he did this twice, Tiger doing a great job selling the injury skipping around to make the 20 count. From this point on, Desperado worked the leg all match (plus trying to rip Tiger's mask off). Tiger Mask kinda worked Desperado's arm, but there wasn't a real focus on it. The valiant fight that Tiger put on this was really made it great, working with one leg and not giving up got me cheering for him and when he finally got the pin, you just felt good.
Post-match - Tiger dragged Desperado back in the ring and was going to rip Desperado's mask, but the ref talked some sense into him.
BOSJ 24 Block B
BUSHI fan girls in the crowd <3<3 Kanemaru and Taichi jumped BUSHI from the crowd, they hadn't even made their entrance yet, they take them through the crowd to the top of the rafters and beat his ass, and BUSHI just did the spot of the tournament, he does a stage dive from the wall along the stairs that go down TO the other side of the stairs! Another spot that I loved was when Kanemaru went for the Whisky Mist, BUSHI shut his mouth and made Kanemaru swallow the whisky, obviously burning his insides. BUSHI takes the win hitting the MX.
This match did for BUSHI what Suzuki-Gun has been doing to Takahashi in Block A, as in they made him seem like a babyface for fighting off all of the Suzuki-Gun cheating. I wonder if they're prepping LIJ to feud with Suzuki-Gun later on as babyfaces.
BOSJ 24 Block B
Not in a cocky way, but Volador Jr was messing around with ACH all match, copying the SUPER taunt or abusing ACH's trust. Eventually, all this playing started to cost Volador a lot and he had to start getting serious. Match was pretty awesome by the time the finish came, tons of near falls, where it really felt that ACH had this match won.
BOSJ 24 Block B
KUSHIDA worked the arm, Taguchi worked the leg. Match was back and forward, both trading momentum at times. This was Taguchi getting serious, which is always a treat when he goes for a good match. At one point, KUSHIDA hit Taguchi's Dodon on him, but couldn't capitalize on the pin; later on, while trading submissions, KUSHIDA would also lock in the ankle lock, but this time Taguchi would reverse it to the armbar and the 9469.
These guys ended up decimating each other's limbs top to bottom in an amazing match, the whole finishing sequence starting from Taguchi hitting the BOMAYE, transitioned to a ankle lock, KUSHIDA reversing to a KUSHIDA lock, transitioning to the Back to the Future, all amazing!
Post-match - KUSHIDA, from what I imagine he said, put over Taguchi, put over Block A, and said he's gonna win. I don't know what else he said, but he made everyone stand up from their seats.
Non-tournament matches aside, this was a great show for Block B, they really capped it off before going into their final round. All tournament matches are worth checking out.
Now, on to points, which surprisingly enough, EVERYONE HAS 6 pts! Final round looks like this:
Taguchi vs ACH
BUSHI vs Tiger Mask
Kanemaru vs Desperado
Volador vs KUSHIDA
So straight up, Kanemaru and Desperado are gonna have to force each other to fight if they want those points, but I think they should go to a double count out or some draw. BUSHI, KUSHIDA, and Taguchi should win, but since BUSHI and KUSHIDA have wins over Taguchi, he's gone. Then since KUSHIDA has the win over BUSHI, KUSHIDA passes to the finals.
Suzuki-Gun (Taichi & Taka Michinoku) vs Dragon Lee & Shota Umino - 5/10
Shota is starting the match, but neither man from Suzuki-Gun care enough about him to fight him, so he just pushes them off the apron, and I think he pissed them off, because they're kicking his ass bad. Shota being the only young lion here, he was obviously the babyface in peril, but once Dragon Lee got in, he got all control over the match. Unfortunately, teaming with a young lion also means you're likely losing the match.
Ricochet, Juice Robinson, & Hirai Kawato vs Los Ingobernables de Japon - 6.5/10
Takahashi, EVIL, and Sanada on the LIJ side. Kawato doesn't wait for the ring and jumps Takahashi, he actually got the upper hand for a bit, but again, he's just a young lion, there's just so much you'll be able to do. Match was similar in the sense that Kawato was the weakest link, but he had so much fire in him that even though Juice and Ricochet knew that letting him in would cost them, they gave him the chance, and sometimes it actually worked for a while, we even had a great Kawato vs EVIL thing going on.
Bullet Club (Guerrillas of Destiny & Yujiro Takahashi) vs War Machine & David Finlay - 6.5/10
Good match, good showing for the face team. War Machine and GOD keep trading wins on each other preparing towards Dominion.
Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, & Marty Scurll) vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Gedo, & Will Ospreay) - 7/10
Well, ain't this a treat! Kenny and Okada had pretty much skipped all month, this would also be the first time Scurll and Okada would cross paths. Great match were most of the work was done on Gedo, ith Ospreay and Okada going crazy when in. They kept Omega and Okada apart for most of the match, only doing stuff when the match went into tornado, and even then, neither man was able to really hurt the other aside from a Dragon Suplex from Omega on Okada when the latter tried to go for the Rainmaker. Finish saw Scurll lock in the Crossface Chickenwing on Gedo when everyone else was outside. Good rub for Scurll getting the win here, even if it was over Gedo. Okada and Omega did face off a bit after the match.
BOSJ 24 Block B
Tiger Mask IV (4) vs Desperado (6) - 7/10
First thing in, Desperado throws Tiger to the chairs (like usually) and he smashes his leg with a chair, he did this twice, Tiger doing a great job selling the injury skipping around to make the 20 count. From this point on, Desperado worked the leg all match (plus trying to rip Tiger's mask off). Tiger Mask kinda worked Desperado's arm, but there wasn't a real focus on it. The valiant fight that Tiger put on this was really made it great, working with one leg and not giving up got me cheering for him and when he finally got the pin, you just felt good.
Post-match - Tiger dragged Desperado back in the ring and was going to rip Desperado's mask, but the ref talked some sense into him.
BOSJ 24 Block B
BUSHI (4) vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru (6) w/Taka Michinoku - 7.5/10
BUSHI fan girls in the crowd <3<3 Kanemaru and Taichi jumped BUSHI from the crowd, they hadn't even made their entrance yet, they take them through the crowd to the top of the rafters and beat his ass, and BUSHI just did the spot of the tournament, he does a stage dive from the wall along the stairs that go down TO the other side of the stairs! Another spot that I loved was when Kanemaru went for the Whisky Mist, BUSHI shut his mouth and made Kanemaru swallow the whisky, obviously burning his insides. BUSHI takes the win hitting the MX.
This match did for BUSHI what Suzuki-Gun has been doing to Takahashi in Block A, as in they made him seem like a babyface for fighting off all of the Suzuki-Gun cheating. I wonder if they're prepping LIJ to feud with Suzuki-Gun later on as babyfaces.
BOSJ 24 Block B
ACH (6) vs Volador Jr (4) - 8.5/10
Not in a cocky way, but Volador Jr was messing around with ACH all match, copying the SUPER taunt or abusing ACH's trust. Eventually, all this playing started to cost Volador a lot and he had to start getting serious. Match was pretty awesome by the time the finish came, tons of near falls, where it really felt that ACH had this match won.
BOSJ 24 Block B
Ryusuke Taguchi (6) vs KUSHIDA (4) - 9.5/10
KUSHIDA worked the arm, Taguchi worked the leg. Match was back and forward, both trading momentum at times. This was Taguchi getting serious, which is always a treat when he goes for a good match. At one point, KUSHIDA hit Taguchi's Dodon on him, but couldn't capitalize on the pin; later on, while trading submissions, KUSHIDA would also lock in the ankle lock, but this time Taguchi would reverse it to the armbar and the 9469.
These guys ended up decimating each other's limbs top to bottom in an amazing match, the whole finishing sequence starting from Taguchi hitting the BOMAYE, transitioned to a ankle lock, KUSHIDA reversing to a KUSHIDA lock, transitioning to the Back to the Future, all amazing!
Post-match - KUSHIDA, from what I imagine he said, put over Taguchi, put over Block A, and said he's gonna win. I don't know what else he said, but he made everyone stand up from their seats.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Non-tournament matches aside, this was a great show for Block B, they really capped it off before going into their final round. All tournament matches are worth checking out.
Now, on to points, which surprisingly enough, EVERYONE HAS 6 pts! Final round looks like this:
Taguchi vs ACH
BUSHI vs Tiger Mask
Kanemaru vs Desperado
Volador vs KUSHIDA
So straight up, Kanemaru and Desperado are gonna have to force each other to fight if they want those points, but I think they should go to a double count out or some draw. BUSHI, KUSHIDA, and Taguchi should win, but since BUSHI and KUSHIDA have wins over Taguchi, he's gone. Then since KUSHIDA has the win over BUSHI, KUSHIDA passes to the finals.