NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Final – Results and Review

by Damian Gibson

The stage was set for a great PPV-worthy night of action tonight, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling delivered again. Tonight’s Best of the Super Juniors Final wasn’t just a culmination of weeks of jaw-dropping athleticism—it was a celebration of the junior heavyweight division at its finest. From high-stakes drama to blistering in-ring action, the BOSJ 31 finale gave fans everything they came for and more. Whether you’re a long-time NJPW diehard or just jumping into the scene, tonight’s event proved why this tournament remains one of the crown jewels in pro wrestling.

Here’s a full recap and review of everything that went down—who stole the show, who shocked the world, and what this means for the road ahead.

Shoma Kato vs. Robbie X

Robbie X took control early with a stiff punt kick to Kato’s chest, sending the Young Lion crashing to the outside. He kept up the pressure at ringside, using his experience to dominate. Back in the ring, Kato showed some fire with a dropkick around the 2:30 mark, followed by a bodyslam and a brief Boston Crab attempt. Robbie shut him down quickly with a sharp spin kick to the head, hit the Lethal Injection, and sealed it with the X Express (top-rope corkscrew splash) for the win. A short, effective opener that gave Kato a bit of shine before Robbie closed the door.

Winner: Robbie X
Match Grade: C+

House of Torture (Sho, Ren Narita, Sanada, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Toru Yano, Kushida, Kevin Knight, Boltin Oleg & Master Wato

This started with immediate chaos as all ten wrestlers brawled from the bell. Sho and Kushida began in the ring, but the rest of the House of Torture quickly swarmed Kushida. Kevin Knight got in next and impressed with a crisp dropkick and a jumping bodyslam. Yano was dragged to the outside and beaten down while Sho picked up a nearfall around the 3-minute mark.

Boltin Oleg got the hot tag and made another strong impression. He launched Sanada with a shoulder tackle, followed by a double suplex, then a spinning gut-wrench on Sanada that fired up the crowd. Sanada answered with a Skull End attempt, and after dodging Oleg’s Kamikaze, hit a dropkick. Their brief exchange easily stood out in the segment, hinting at real potential in a singles match.

Wato and Kanemaru closed things out. Knight hit a sharp jump-up Frankensteiner, and Wato nearly stole it with a seatbelt pin. But Sho interfered with a spanner, allowing Kanemaru to lock in the Figure Four. Wato tapped shortly after.

Solid energy and flashes of chemistry—particularly between Sanada and Oleg—but cluttered by the usual HoT interference, even though they do look better as a faction with Sanada involved.

Winners: House of Torture (Sho, Narita, Sanada, Kanemaru & Takahashi)
Match Grade: C

United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman & Francesco Akira) vs. Taichi, Yoshi-Hashi & Tomoaki Honma

One more subtle but effective change NJPW has embraced this year is the increased flexibility in faction pairings. Seeing Taichi teaming with Yoshi-Hashi and Honma—a mix that wouldn’t have happened in years past—feels fresh without feeling forcedTaichi and O-Khan opened with heavy forearm exchanges. Akira and Yoshi-Hashi followed, with Akira hitting a clean standing moonsault for a nearfall around 3:30. Newman came in and slowed the pace, keeping Yoshi-Hashi grounded. Taichi re-entered at the 5-minute mark and landed a Helluva Kick and Russian leg sweep for a nearfall. Newman fought back with a dropkick, and both men were briefly down after a double clothesline exchange.

Honma got his first tag in at 7:30. O-Khan greeted him with Mongolian Chops, and Newman added a spinning heel kick. Honma rallied with a headbutt and connected with the Kokeshi falling headbutt for a nearfall. Akira took out Yoshi-Hashi on the floor with a plancha, and back in the ring, O-Khan sealed the win with a scoop slam into a twisting uranage on Honma.

Serviceable six-man tag that gave everyone a moment, but mostly by-the-numbers.

Winners: United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Newman & Akira)
Match Grade: C

Mao, Nick Wayne, El Phantasmo & Shota Umino vs. TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa & Robbie Eagles)

This was a fast-paced, multi-man tag with good energy throughout. Umino and Sabre opened with a classic knuckle lock exchange that led to some slick reversals, though neither gained a clear advantage. Hartley Jackson entered at the 2-minute mark, and TMDK took turns lighting up Umino in the corner. Hartley followed up with a suplex, and Eagles landed a sharp kick to the back.

In a comedic moment, the rest of Umino’s team locked a hold on one of Eagles’ limbs, only for the ref to finally notice and force the break. Oiwa focused on Umino’s arm, grounding him efficiently. Mao tagged in at 5:00, dropped Sabre with a punch, then nailed a dropkick on Oiwa. He added a creative spot by leaping over the referee into a stunner on Oiwa.

Nick Wayne first appeared with a Lethal Injection, but Eagles responded with a roundhouse kick. Wayne returned with a stunner and mid-ring Sliced Bread on Eagles, leaving both men down around the 7:30 mark. ELP finally tagged in and quickly exchanged rollups with Eagles before eating a spin kick. Hartley returned and landed a big splash in the corner on Phantasmo at 9:00, followed by a series of sentons from Eagles, Sabre, Oiwa, and a huge one from Hartley for a close nearfall.

Wayne cleaned house with a spin kick to Eagles and hit Wayne’s World. Hartley tried to turn the tide with a double clothesline, but Umino cut him off with a lariat. That set up ELP to hit the CR2 (modified Styles Clash) for the pin on Hartley.

Paced well, creatively structured, and packed with action—easily the best match on the card so far.

Winners: Mao, Nick Wayne, El Phantasmo & Shota Umino
Match Grade: B+

Titan & Yota Tsuji vs. Bullet Club (Clark Connors & Taiji Ishimori)

Titan and Connors opened this one with fast-paced action. Commentary made an interesting point—despite Los Ingobernables de Japon reportedly being no more, their members continue to team regularly, as seen here with Tsuji and Titan.

Outside the ring, Ishimori rammed Tsuji head-first into the ring post, setting up Bullet Club’s control stretch. Connors continued his recent trademark by pulling out the tour’s signature vehicle tire and jabbing it into Tsuji’s midsection at the 2-minute mark. Ishimori targeted the neck and grounded Yota, snapping it between his ankles for a nearfall.

Tsuji managed to fight back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, giving Titan a chance to re-enter. Titan delivered a sharp Pele Kick, but Ishimori cut him off with a Lumbar Check to the ribs. Yota got the hot tag at 5:00 and dropped Connors with a flurry of offence. Connors rallied with a strong Pounce and a powerslam, but only got two.

Titan came flying back in with a springboard crossbody, then hit a big tope suicida on Ishimori at ringside around 7:30. That left Tsuji and Connors to slug it out mid-ring. After a stiff exchange of forearms, both charged and Tsuji landed the Gene Blaster (spear) clean for the win.

It was an intense match that played to each wrestler’s strengths: crisp pacing and a solid finish.

Winners: Titan & Yota Tsuji
Match Grade: B

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ninja Mack & Dragon Dia vs. Yuya Uemura, Taka Michinoku & El Desperado

Tanahashi and Uemura opened with some crisp chain wrestling, exchanging armbars and standing switches to establish control. At the 2-minute mark, Mack and Desperado tagged in and quickly took the fight to the floor, where Mack landed a superkick. Desperado went for a Stretch Muffler on the apron, trying to isolate Mack’s leg.

Yuya’s team took over in the ring and cycled through offence, working over Mack with strikes and chops. Dia finally got in at 6:30, squaring off with Taka—an even size match-up—and hit a standing moonsault on Desperado for a two-count. Despe responded with a suplex and a nearfall of his own. Dia kept fighting with chops and a 619-style rope rebound. He attempted a springboard move but got caught—Desperado countered into a spinebuster, followed by Pinche Loco. Both men were down.

Tanahashi and Yuya returned at 9:00, with Uemura taking over with corner chops and a nice dropkick. A back suplex scored him a two-count. Taka re-entered at 11:00 and connected with a pump kick for a nearfall. Tanahashi answered with a dragon screw and locked in the Texas Cloverleaf, but Desperado broke it up.

Dia hit an Asai moonsault to the outside on Despe. Ninja Mack followed with a superkick on Yuya and then a textbook Sasuke Special to the floor. That left Taka alone—Tanahashi capitalised and connected with the High Fly Flow for the win.

Well-paced trios match that gave everyone time to shine. Nothing groundbreaking, but it kept the energy up and never dragged.

Winners: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ninja Mack & Dragon Dia
Match Grade: B

Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Hirooki Goto

Despite the official disbanding of LIJ, Shingo and Hiromu continue to operate as a cohesive unit. Shingo and Goto opened with a familiar power exchange, trading forearms to set the tone. Taguchi and Goto hit a double shoulder tackle on Hiromu, giving their side early momentum.

Hiromu and Taguchi traded sequences, with Taguchi keeping things light early on. At 4:30, Goto and Shingo locked up again and resumed their slugfest. Goto landed a back suplex for two. They followed with stereo lariats before Goto dropped Shingo with a neckbreaker over the knee—both men down at 6:30.

Taguchi re-entered and went to the hip attacks, landing several running butt bumps on Shingo before getting caught with a clubbing blow to the back of the head. Taguchi tried to counter with an ankle lock, but Shingo powered out and dropped him with a lariat. From there, Shingo delivered a neckbreaker over the knee, while staring Goto down, then finished things with the Last of the Dragon for the pin.

A straightforward tag that served its purpose and leaned on existing rivalries. Nothing flashy, but technically solid.

Winners: Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi

Yoh vs. Kosei Fujita (w/ TMDK) — Best of the Super Juniors Final

The match started slow, with a feeling-out process and a tense standoff at 1:30. Forearm strikes were traded as the pace gradually picked up. Charlton noted Fujita’s surprising completeness for a Young Lion, which was displayed when Kosei hit a moonsault off the apron onto the floor.

In the ring, Fujita locked in a half-crab at 5:30. Yoh answered with a running Blockbuster and targeted Fujita’s left arm. At 9:00, Yoh dove to the floor with a plancha, dragging Fujita back inside for a neck breaker and keeping the hold tight on the mat.

Fujita fired back with a spin kick to the chest at 10:30, followed by a springboard somersault dive to the floor, landing on his feet but selling shoulder pain. He hit a springboard dropkick in the ring for a nearfall and immediately isolated Yoh’s arm. Yoh responded with a Falcon Arrow at 13:00.

Fujita applied a Jungle Boy Snare Trap leglock, with Yoh nearly tapping out. The hold transitioned into a brutal one-arm, one-leg crank, and the crowd was electric. Yoh barely reached the ropes at 15:30, despite the ref being slow to call it.

Back to the action, Fujita landed two German suplexes for a nearfall. Both traded chops, with Yoh allowing Fujita to hit a few more by placing his hands behind his back. A big clothesline from Yoh put both men down around 18:30.

Yoh hit a second-rope superplex at 21:00 for another nearfall, then locked in an Anaconda Vice. Fujita struggled but rolled Yoh over for a nearfall. The crowd was very engaged in the match as they rose, and Fujita landed a stunner — both down again.

On their knees, they traded forearms. Fujita hit a German suplex; Yoh fired back with a Dragon suplex. Fujita caught Yoh with an O’Connor Roll for a close two at 25:00. Yoh hit a neckbreaker over the knee and followed with a one-man Shoto slam for another nearfall.

Yoh set up for Direct Drive, but Fujita blocked it, countering with a jumping knee that dropped Yoh. At 27:00, Fujita hit the Zack Driver, then the Abandon Hope pop-up stunner for a believable nearfall. He finished with the Thrill Ride (a modified Death Valley Driver) and got the pin.

Winner and New BOSJ Champion: Kosei Fujita
Match Grade: A

Fujita cut a confident promo post-match, declaring the start of a new era. The youngest BOSJ winner ever, he promised even more incredible things to come and told fans to keep their eyes on him. TMDK joined him in the ring as confetti fell, their signature tune playing. Fujita celebrated with the fans, trophy in hand, closing out a thrilling final.