By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Best of Super Juniors – Night 9”
May 24, 2025, in Hyogo, Japan at Arcrea Himeji
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is another large gym with no upper deck/risers, so everyone was seated on the floor. The crowd was maybe 800 to 1,000. Walker Stewart provided solo commentary as the show began; hopefully, someone joins him as the show progresses.
* This year’s tournament features 20 wrestlers, divided into two Blocks. It is a round-robin tournament, so each competitor has nine matches. The last three years, the top two of each Block have reached a four-man playoff. However, this year, only the Block winners will meet in a finale. (So, someone will need to go 6-3 or possibly even 7-2 to win their Block.) A 5-4 record isn’t going to cut it!) Wins are worth 2 points; draws are 1 point each. Notably, there were no guardrails, which is the signature look of the BoSJ tournament shows, giving the high-flyers more room to move.
* We have 10 tournament matches tonight as both Blocks are in action. Master Wato and Nick Wayne are both 4-2, while Ninja Mack and Sho are both 2-4 and have been eliminated. The other 16 wrestlers are all at 3-3!! EACH of the ten matches features someone who is 3-3, so we will have a minimum of six eliminations and a maximum of 10 eliminations tonight. (I fully expect Wato and Wayne to lose today so we have a whole bunch of guys tied at 4-3).
I enjoy when both Blocks are in action. I don’t like the preview tags, and we often have some surprisingly short matches. On to the show!
* I’ll note that Stewart is contending that someone at 3-4 isn’t eliminated. I refuse to believe we’ll have a five-way tie at 5-4 and a five-way tie at 4-5 in each Block by the end of this tournament. SOMEONE will get to six wins (12 points).
1. Clark Connors (6) vs. Ninja Mack (4) in an A Block tournament match. Connors knocked Mack to the floor early on, and they brawled on the floor. Connors again got a car tire from under the ring. Mack pulled out a throwing star! He tossed it at Clark, but Connors avoided it. We had a close-up look at it as it was wedged into the ring! Mack pulled out nunchucks and hit Clark with them at 4:00! Clark hit Mack with the tire in his chest. They got back in the ring, and Connors hit a spear, then the No-Chaser spike DDT for the pin to stay alive.
Clark Connors (8) defeated Ninja Mack (4) at 5:34.
2. Sho (4) vs. Titan (6) in a B Block tournament match. Sho dragged him to ringside and they started brawling. I started my stopwatch but we haven’t had a bell yet. They got in the ring, and we have the bell at 00:37 to officially begin. Titan hit a springboard crossbody block and a dropkick. The lights went out! When they came back on, Sho was beating on Titan on the floor. Yujiro Takahashi bodyslammed Titan onto the thin mat at ringside at 3:00. In the ring, Sho hit a scoop bodyslam and a vertical suplex for a nearfall and kept Titan grounded.
Sho grabbed his wrench, swung and missed; Titan hit a spin kick. Titan hit a Pele Kick on Yujiro, and he flipped Sho to the floor. Titan then hit a flip dive to the floor on Sho and Yujiro at 5:00. In the ring, Titan hit a series of kicks. Yujiro hit a chairshot to the back, and Sho slammed Titan for a believable nearfall. Sho applied a Boston Crab at 6:30. Titan got a rollup for a nearfall. He hit a series of quick kicks and was fired up. Sho hit a low blow and a chairshot to the back! Sho hit a Lumbar Check for the pin! Titan, who reached the finals two years ago, is out!
Sho (6) defeated Titan (6) at 8:23/official time of 7:46.
3. Francesco Akira (6) vs. Robbie X (6) in an A Block tournament match. Akira hit a plancha to the floor, and they brawled at ringside. Robbie launched off a chair and hit a flying somersault on a seated Akira at 2:00. They got back into the ring, with Robbie in charge. Akira hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall at 4:30 and a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Robbie hit a series of kicks in the corner for a nearfall. Akira hit a huracanrana and a running double knees. Robbie hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 7:00. Francesco hit a running Meteora. Robbie hit a Pele Kick. Akira got a folding press for a believable nearfall. He applied the Ground Tarantula submission hold, and Robbie tapped out! Robbie is now eliminated, too.
Francesco Akira (8) defeated Robbie X (6) at 9:03.
4. Robbie Eagles (6) vs. Mao (6) in a B Block tournament match. Quick reversals and a standoff. Mao began selling a knee injury at 2:00. Robbie hit some Yes Kicks, and he tied Mao in the Ron Miller Special (Trailer Hitch leg lock) at 3:30, but Mao reached the ropes. Mao began with unloaded kicks to the thighs and ribs; they hit stereo kicks to the head at 5:30. Mao hit his rebound spin kick to the head. Mao leapt over the ref and hit a stunner, then a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall at 7:00. Robbie hit a Turbo Backpack for a nearfall. He hit a 619 move to Mao’s leg. They fought on the ropes, and Mao flipped him, with Robbie landing stomach-first, and Mao got the pin. Eagles is out!
Mao (8) defeated Robbie Eagles (6) at 9:26.
5. Kosei Fujita (6) vs. Dragon Dia (6) in an A Block tournament match. They traded overhand chops to open. Dia is so much smaller than everyone else in this tournament. Dia hit a dropkick at 1:30 and was fired up. Walker said this is a first-time singles match, but they have met once in a tag. Fujita tied up Dia on the mat. Dia hit his slingshot corkscrew splash at 4:30. He went for a standing moonsault, but Fujita got his knees up to block it.
Fujita hit a snap German Suplex with Dia fully rotating and landing face-first. “That was a nasty, debilitating landing,” Walker said. Dia hit a spin kick in the corner, then his huracanrana out of the corner for a nearfall. Fujita hit a German Suplex with a high bridge for a nearfall at 7:30. Dia hit a buzzsaw kick. Fujita hit his Thrill Ride (Burning Hammer) for the pin. Good action, but I never once thought Dia was winning here. Dia is out while Fujita stays alive.
Kosei Fujita (8) defeated Dragon Dia (6) at 8:14.
6. Taiji Ishimori (6) vs. Kevin Knight (6) in a B Block tournament match. Kevin knocked him down with a shoulder tackle, and he hit a bodyslam. Ishimori hit a shoulder-breaker over his knee at 2:00, and they fought to the floor. Back in the ring, Ishimori targeted the left shoulder and worked it over. He rammed Knight’s shoulder into an exposed corner several times. Knight hit a top-rope crossbody block at 5:00 and some clotheslines. He hit a Lungblower move to the back and arm. Kevin hit a backbreaker over his knee and got a nearfall at 6:30.
Ishimori spun him to the mat and went for the Bone Lock, but Knight scrambled to the ropes before it was really locked in. Knight hit a dropkick that sent Ishimori to the floor, so Kevin hit a plancha onto him. In the ring, Knight hit a springboard flying clothesline for a nearfall at 8:30. Kevin hit his jump-up Frankensteiner, then his leaping DDT. He went for a top-rope twisting frogsplash, but Ishimori caught him and applied the Bone Lock, and Knight tapped out! That was pretty good. Knight has been eliminated.
Taiji Ishimori (8) defeated Kevin Knight (6) at 9:58.
7. Hiromu Takahashi (6) vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (6) in an A Block tournament match. Kanemaru came out first; as Hiromu walked to the ring, he was attacked by Sho and Yujiro Takahashi. The ref got them to leave, but Kanemaru repeatedly slammed Hiromu’s knee into the thin mat at ringside. They got in the ring, and we had a bell at 1:17 to officially begin. Kanemaru targeted the knee and applied a Figure Four, but Takahashi quickly got to the ropes. Hiromu hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip at 5:00, and he put Kanemaru in a Figure Four.
Yujiro now reapplied a Figure Four at 6:30; they rolled to the floor while still locked together. Hiromu dove back into the ring at the 19-count but Kanemaru again applied the Figure Four; Hiromu reached the ropes at 9:00. Hiromu tied up the legs again, got an inside cradle, and the pin! A bit dull but the right man won. Kanemaru has been eliminated. Kanemaru sprayed whiskey in Hiromu’s eyes and left.
Hiromu Takahashi (8) defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru (6) at 9:43/official time 8:26.
8. Yoh (6) vs. Nick Wayne (8) in a B Block tournament match. This is a first-time-ever matchup of any type, Walker said. Standing switches and a feeling-out process to open. They fought along the ropes, and Yoh kissed him on the top of the head. Nick hit an Asai Moonsault at 2:30. In the ring, Yoh hit a DDT, and they were both down. Yoh hit a twisting neckbreaker, then a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 5:30. Yoh applied a Cobra Twist and stretched Wayne. Nick escaped and hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread for a nearfall.
Wayne hit a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall at 7:30. Yoh hit his own Dragon Suplex for a nearfall. Nick nailed a superkick. Yoh got an inside cradle for a believable nearfall. Nick hit a Lethal Injection for a nearfall at 9:30. Yoh hit a jumping knee to the chin as we passed the 10-minute mark. Yoh almost immediately applied an Anaconda Vice on the mat, and Wayne quickly tapped out!
Yoh (8) defeated Nick Wayne (8) at 10:20.
9. Master Wato (8) vs. Kushida (6) in an A Block tournament match. Again, if Kushida wins here, no one will have a record better than 4-3. A feeling-out process early on as they traded standing switches. Wato hit a huracanrana. They both missed dropkicks and had a standoff at 1:30. Kushida targeted the left arm and twisted the wrist. He trapped Wato’s elbow between his ankles and snapped it at 4:00. Kushida went for a handspring-back-move, but Wato (barely grazed) him with a dropkick to the back at 6:00.
Wato hit a top-rope flying back elbow, then a flip dive to the floor. Stewart noted that Wato has never beaten Kushida before. In the ring, Kushida tied him in an ankle lock and hit a running Shotei palm strike for a nearfall at 8:00. Kushida hit a Pele Kick. Wato hit some roundhouse kicks to the chest. Kushida caught him and applied a Hoverboard Lock, with the hammerlock firmly behind the back. Wato hit a tornado kick, and the 10:00 call was spot-on. Wato hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. Wato mousetrapped both arms and slammed Kushida, then he hit a German Suplex for the pin! I am calling that an upset because I fully expected everyone to be at 4-3. Instead, Wato is alone at 5-2. Kushida is out!
Master Wato (10) defeated Kushida (6) at 10:58.
10) Ryusuke Taguchi (6) vs. El Desperado (6) in a B Block tournament match. I have no idea why the goofball Taguchi is back in the main event; he’s spent the past week having matches with his butt quite literally hanging out of his pants. Walker said these two have each won three of six prior meetings. Despe tied up the legs on the mat and kept Taguchi grounded. Taguchi hit a mid-ring buttbump, then a plancha to the floor at 6:30. Back in the ring, Taguchi applied an ankle lock.
Desperado tried a Stretch Muffler at 8:30, but Taguchi quickly escaped and reapplied the ankle lock. I’ll note that we’ve not had any of Taguchi’s juvenile antics and exaggerated facial expressions, and cartoonish comedy so far; this has been a straight-up wrestling match. They traded forearm strikes, and Taguchi went right back to the ankle lock; the 10:00 call was a bit late. Desperado again went to the Stretch Muffler.
Taguchi hit a flying buttbump for a nearfall at 12:00. Desperado hit a Pinche Loco (Angel’s Wings) but was slow to make a cover and only got a nearfall. Taguchi immediately reapplied the ankle lock again. Desperado re-applied the Stretch Muffler and did a Dragonscrew Legwhip. The Stretch Muffler was reapplied, and Taguchi tapped out. Easily the best Taguchi match of the past year. With the loss, Taguchi is one of eight men eliminated tonight.
El Desperado (8) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi (6) at 14:40.
* Desperado spoke on the mic, and it appears he put Taguchi over.
Final Thoughts: Desperado-Taguchi easily earned the best match. I have never hidden how much I hate Taguchi’s brand of comedy, and this match just shows he can go in the ring, but instead resorts to being a comedy act. Ishimori-Knight was really good and takes second, with Yoh-Wayne for third.
I’ll reiterate that Walker Stewart is claiming that anyone who is 3-4 is not eliminated. But for that to be the case, five guys would all have to finish at 5-4. It’s just not gonna happen. We have one person at 5-2 (Wato) and nine more at 4-3; at least two of them will finish 6-3 or better. The nine guys at 3-4 and one guy at 2-5 (Mack) are out.
The tournament continues on Sunday with 10 more tournament matches, including Hiromu Takahashi vs. Master Wato, Akira vs. Connors (elimination match), Mao vs. Nick Wayne (elimination match). Again, any of the nine guys at 4-3 will be out if they lose Sunday.
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