Jun Kasai Wins First Points on Day 3 of NJPW Best of the Super Juniors

By Noah Leatherland

The third day of block action in the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors took place in the Yoyogi National Gymnasium #2. The wildcard of the tournament, Jun Kasai, earned his first ever BOSJ points in a violent clash with TMDK’s Kosei Fujita.

Fujita was not at all intimidated by the Crazy Monkey’s violent tendencies, bringing steel chairs with him down the ramp. The referee lost control of this one near-immediately, and it did not take long for Fujita to become bloodied. The action was unruly, going all over ringside, involving different objects, including a table that Fujita ended up splashed through.

Even after all the brutality, it was a tight roll up that secured the win for Kasai. He lifted himself off the bottom of A Block, winning the first points of his BOSJ career. In the post-match comments, Fujita reflected on the loss, taking ownership of it:

The reason I lost today was that I was having too much fun. And maybe I was too keen to play by his rules. Jun Kasai is absolutely brilliant. But I felt like we really connected somehow. I’d love to have another go against Jun Kasai. I’m frustrated today. That’s all there is to it. It felt like I’d rediscovered the essence of pro wrestling.

(Quote translated via DeepL)

While Kasai is now out of the starting blocks, other men in the competition are enjoying their time leading the pack. Titan opened the night with a comprehensive win over Daiki Nagai, pushing him up to 6 points at the top of A Block. Ryusuke Taguchi soon joined him, but under unfortunate circumstances. Less than a minute after the bell, Valiente Jr. had an awkward landing on his feet and went down clutching his knee. The referee stopped the bout, with Taguchi being awarded the 2 points. He now ties Jushin Thunder Liger for all-time Best of the Super Junior wins.

Over in B Block, SHO pushed himself to the top of the standings with a dirty win over KUSHIDA. He dipped into the House of Torture playbook a number of times in the match, with a smash over KUSHIDA’s head with the iron plate proving to be the most effective. SHO rose to 6 points, but was not alone at the top for long. DDT’s Daisuke Sasaki continued his unbeaten run in this year’s BOSJ. He faced off against fellow guest competitor, Dragongate’s Hyo. Sasaki managed to ground Hyo for much of the match, before locking in his crossface submission for the win.

The NJPW Best of the Super Juniors takes a couple of days off, before returning on May 20th at Korakuen Hall for Day 4.

Here are the full results for NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Day 3, courtesy of purolove.com:

• A Block: Titan [6] def. Daiki Nagai [0] (4:35)
• B Block: Yoshinobu Kanemaru [2] def. Jakob Austin Young [0] (2:50)
• A: Ryusuke Taguchi [6] def. Valiente Jr. [2] (0:49)
• B: SHO [6] def. KUSHIDA [2] (9:45)
• A: Francesco Akira [2] def. Nick Wayne [2] (10:08)
• B: Daisuke Sasaki [6] def. Hyo [2] (9:34)
• A: Master Wato [2] def. Robbie X [2] (9:10)
• B: YOH [4] def. Taiji Ishimori [2] (12:24)
• A: Jun Kasai [2] def. Kosei Fujita [4] (12:58)
• B: Robbie Eagles [2] def. El Desperado [2] (17:50)

Here are the updated standings for NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 33:

A Block:

• Ryusuke Taguchi – 6 points
• Titan – 6 points
• Kosei Fujita – 4 points
• Nick Wayne – 2 points
• Valiente Jr. – 2 points
• Robbie X – 2 points
• Jun Kasai – 2 points
• Master Wato – 2 points
• Francesco Akira – 2 points
• Daiki Nagai – 0 points

B Block:

• Daisuke Sasaki – 6 points
• SHO – 6 points
• YOH – 4 points
• KUSHIDA – 2 points
• Taiji Ishimori – 2 points
• Hyo – 2 points
• El Desperado – 2 points
• Robbie Eagles – 2 points
• Yoshinobu Kanemaru – 2 points
• Jakob Austin Young – 0 points