NJPW Reveals Full Best of the Super Juniors 33 Lineup, Including Entrants from DDT, Dragongate, FREEDOMS, CMLL and AEW

By Noah Leatherland

After drip-feeding the entrants over the past few days, NJPW have now revealed the full lineup for Best of the Super Juniors 33. As well as seasoned tournament veterans, a number of competitors make their BOSJ debut, including names brought in from outside NJPW.

A Block will consist of the following wrestlers:

• Master Wato
• Ryusuke Taguchi
• Kosei Fujita
• Robbie X
• Francesco Akira
• DOUKI
• Titan (CMLL)
• Valiente Jr (CMLL)
• Nick Wayne (AEW)
• Jun Kasai (FREEDOMS)

With the reigning IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, DOUKI, in the group, A Block could end up having big implications on future title challenges. A Block also hosts a good chunk of outside talent. Titan makes his 7th appearance in the tournament, while his CMLL contemporary Valiente Jr makes his BOSJ debut. Nick Wayne returns for a second consecutive year, representing AEW. But, perhaps the biggest surprise of the whole announcement is the participation of deathmatch legend, FREEDOM’s Jun Kasai. Kasai is making his BOSJ debut and is sure add a unique flavour to the tournament.

B Block will consist of the following wrestlers:

• El Desperado
• KUSHIDA
• YOH
• Robbie Eagles
• Taiji Ishimori
• Jakob Austin Young
• SHO
• Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• Hyo (Dragongate)
• Daisuke Sasaki (DDT)

The majority of B Block boasts a lot of BOSJ experience, with a couple making their tournament debuts. This will be the first BOSJ for United Empire’s Jakob Austin Young and for Dragongate’s Hyo. Hyo is a decorated member of the Dragongate roster and is not to be taken lightly by the rest of the field. DDT’s Daisuke Sasaki has competed in the BOSJ before, however, this will mark 14 years since his last one. He is a very different Sasaki to the one that appeared back in 2012.

Best of the Super Juniors kicks off on May 14th in Korakuen Hall.