NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Semi-Finals Are Set, Kosei Fujita faces Robbie Eagles, Master Wato faces YOH

By Noah Leatherland

The final day of block action in the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors took place in Korakuen Hall, bringing a close to a tight competition. The 4 semi-finalists were decided, with members from two tag teams set to face each other in the next round.

The day began with several men in both blocks on 10 points, meaning that 12 would be the magic number to get them a spot in the semi-finals. However, various tiebreakers played a part in deciding who advanced into the semi-finals.

The first half of the event saw B Block duke it out to decide a top two. Coming into the event, half of B Block were on 10 points, and the other half on 6 points. The tension only mounted as every participant on 10 points went on to claim a victory, moving themselves up to 12. As such, the block leaders changed with every match that took place. SHO moved up to 12 points first, followed by Taiji Ishimori. El Desperado defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru, moving him into first place and SHO out of contention. YOH picked up a vital win over DDT’s Daisuke Sasaki, moving him up to the top of B Block and eliminating Ishimori. Finally, Robbie Eagles gained a final 2 points over Dragongate’s Hyo, leapfrogging his way up to the top spot.

As such, Robbie Eagles and YOH advanced to the semi-finals, leaving A Block to fight over the final two spots.

It was another tight race in A Block. Kosei Fujita, Robbie X, Jun Kasai, Francesco Akira, Titan, Master Wato and Nick Wayne all had a chance to reach the next round.

Fujita was able to set the tone, picking up 2 points over Daiki Nagai to move up to 12 points and into first place of A Block. Valiente Jr. played spoiler to Robbie X, halting the Brit’s tournament progress. Ryusuke Taguchi then ruined Jun Kasai’s BOSJ hopes with an inside cradle, in the process becoming the winningest competitor in the tournament’s history. Akira and Titan battled to join Fujita in the qualifying positions. Thanks to some outside interference from Zane Jay, Akira secured the win and moved up to 12 points. However, his hard work was soon countered. In the main event, Master Wato picked up a decisive win over AEW’s Nick Wayne. Tiebreakers moved Wato into first place, with Fujita in second and Akira missing out in third.

The winners of each block now goes on to face the runner-up of the opposite block. As it has played out, Master Wato will face YOH, pitting two men who won the junior tag titles together last year. Similarly, Eagles and Fujita are set to collide in the semi-finals in a clash of the Ichiban Sweet Boys.

The semi-finals of the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors are set to take place on June 5th.

Here are the full results for NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Day 12, courtesy of purolove.com:

• B Block: SHO [12] def. Jakob Austin Young [6] (3:06)
• B Block: Taiji Ishimori [12] def. KUSHIDA [6] (6:20)
• B Block: El Desperado [12] def. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [6] (5:42)
• B Block: YOH [12] def. Daisuke Sasaki [6] (9:42)
• B Block: Robbie Eagles [12] def. Hyo [6] (8:34)
• A Block: Kosei Fujita [12] def. Daiki Nagai [0] (8:24)
• A Block: Valiente Jr. [6] def. Robbie X [10] (8:24)
• A Block: Ryusuke Taguchi def. Jun Kasai [10] (5:10)
• A Block: Francesco Akira [12] def. Titan [10] (13:54)
• A Block: Master Wato [12] def. Nick Wayne [10] (14:10)

Here are the final block standings for NJPW Best of the Super Juniors:

A Block

• Master Wato – 12 points
• Kosei Fujita – 12 points
• Francesco Akira – 12 points
• Titan – 10 points
• Jun Kasai – 10 points
• Nick Wayne – 10 points
• Robbie X – 10 points
• Ryusuke Taguchi – 6 points
• Valiente Jr. – 4 points
• Daiki Nagai – 0 points

B Block

• Robbie Eagles – 12 points
• YOH – 12 points
• El Desperado – 12 points
• SHO – 12 points
• Taiji Ishimori – 12 points
• Daisuke Sasaki – 6 points
• Yoshinobu Kanemaru – 6 points
• Hyo – 6 points
• Jakob Austin Young – 6 points
• KUSHIDA – 6 points