NJPW Best of the Super Juniors night 12 results: KUSHIDA vs. Dragon Lee

Saturday’s New Japan show in Gunma featured the penultimate night of B Block action. 

While the A Block standings are a mess heading into Sunday’s semifinal in Korakuen Hall, the B Block comes down to the Hiromu Takahashi vs. KUSHIDA matchup. If there’s a winner, that winner gets a spot in the tournament final. If there is a draw and Marty Scurll wins, then Scurll takes the block. 

If there is a draw and Scurll loses, well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I have a headache.

Here are the results and a recap of the BOSJ tournament matches from Saturday at the New Sunpia Takasaki. 

Prelim Results:

• Tomoyuki Oka, Tiger Mask & Shota Umino defeated ACH, Yuya Uemura & Yota Tsuji when Oka submitted Tsuji with a Boston Crab
• YOSHI-HASHI & YOH defeated Taiji Ishimori & Chase Owens when YOSHI-HASHI submitted Owens with a Butterfly Lock
• Flip Gordon & Toa Henare defeated Will Ospreay & Gedo when Gordon pinned Gedo after a Four Flippy Splash
• BUSHI, SANADA & EVIL defeated Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & TAKA Michinoku when BUSHI pinned TAKA after an MX

B Block Matches:

Chris Sabin defeated El Desperado

Desperado hid by the entrance and jumped Sabin as he stepped out ontoo the ramp. He sent him into the audience and hit him with chairs and pied chairs on top of him. Desperado beat him all over the building, and the referee started counting Sabin out for some reason, but he made it back inside. 

Desperado wedged a chair between the ropes and sent Sabin into it. The beatdown continued. Sabin got a small package for a nearfall, then began to mount a comeback. He hit a springboard DDT, and a plancha. He sent Desperado into the crowd, and hit a flip dive off the apron to a seated Desperado on the floor. 

Sabin hit a reverse Frankensteiner and a missile dropkick, picking up a nearfall. Desperado recovered, and hit a vicious spear, before using Guitarra de Angel for a nearfall. They traded reversals and counters, until Sabin ducked a chairshot, and kicked the chair back into Desperado’s face. 

The finish saw Sabin hit an enziguri, then a lariat for a nearfall, then hit Cradle Shock for the pin. 

I appreciated the layout here, I don’t recall seeing a ton of matches with this exact construction. The work itself was solid, but not spectacular. 

Marty Scurll defeated Ryusuke Taguchi

They started with a lot of comedy. Scurll would do a taunt, Taguchi would copy it. Scurll did his wing flapping taunt, and Taguchi did a penguin. Scurll would do a momve, and Taguchi would try to mirror it, but wouldn’t be able to, and sold. Scurll used some hip attacks, but Taguchi hit one, and his butt is more powerful. 

Scurll hit a superkick on the apron, before taunting the crowd. He used a back rake, and some short pucnhes, before throwing Taguchi back inside. Scurll stretched Taguchi and hit a backstabber, before Taguchi and his powerful ass made a comeback. He hit a bunch of hip attacks and a nice tope. 

Scurll went for a surfboard, but Taguchi reached the ropes. They went to the top and Scurll teased hitting an exploder, before settling for a superplex, and a nearfall. Taguchi rolled to the floor, and applied an ankle lock to Scurll on the apron. Scurll powered out, sent Taguchi into the post, then sent him ack inside, picking up a nearfall. 

Scurll teased the finger break, Taguchi reversed it, but Scurll finally got it. Taguchi hit an enziguri, then went into his Nakamura tribute act. He went for the Bomaye, but Scurll turned it into the chicken wing. Taguchi rolled through into a cradle, getting a nearfall. Scurll hit the Black Plague for a nearfall. 

Scurll grabbed his umbrella, but Taguchi cut him off. Taguchi pretended that he had taken a low blow, and in the ensuing confusion, Scurll pushed Red Shoes, who pushed him back, right into a Taguchi rollup, but Taguchi only got a two count. Taguchi hit a bridging suplex for another nearfall. 

Taguchi went for another, but Red Shoes took a bump. Taguchi put on the ankle lock, and Scurll tapped, but with no referee, it didn’t matter. 

They did the Angle/Guerrero finish from Wrestlemania 20. While Taguchi revived the referee, Scurll unlaced his boot. Taguchi put on an ankle lock, but Scurll slipped out of the boot, and small packaged Taguchi for the pin.  

I liked the comedy at the beginning, but this didn’t need to go almost twenty minutes. 

Hiromu Takahashi defeated SHO

They came out firing, immediately trading strikes and shoulder blocks. SHO got the best of the exchange, and hit a dropkick. He sent Hiromu to the apron, then hit him with a dropkick, sending him to the floor. He used an armbar, before Hiromu used a dropkick of his own to send SHO to the floor. 

Hiromu tokk control of the match, using a powerbomb from the apron to the floor. They teased a countout, as SHO sold his neck. Hiromu hit a shotgun dropkick for a nearfall, and the pace slowed, as he taunted SHO. Hiromu used a tarantula, and a low dropkick to send SHO outside, then hit a dropkick from the apron to the floor. 

SHO made a comeback with a powerslam, a lariat, and a series of kicks, before hitting a backstabber, and applying a cross armbreaker. Hiromu reached the ropes, then caught SHO coming off the ropes, and hit a powerbomb. They traded lariats and suplexes, and SHO went after Hiromu’s left arm. 

They crawled to the apron, and exchanged strikes. SHO hit a suplex on the apron, but Hiromu came back, and hit the Dynamite Plunger for a nearfall. SHO went for a charge into the corner, but Hiromu suplexed him into the pad. He went for another Dynamite Plunger, but SHO turned it into a cross armbreaker, which the crowd bought as a potential finish, but Hiromu reached the ropes. 

They traded kicks. Hiromu went for a reverse Frankensteiner, but SHO caught him, powerbombed him, and hit the powerbomb on the knees for a nearfall. Hiromu went for the Frankensteiner again, but this time he got it, and slapped on the triangle choke. SHO fought, but eventually tapped. Hiromu initally refused to release the hold, and it took several Young Lions to break it up. Great match. 

KUSHIDA defeated Dragon Lee

They started with hip tosses, armdrags, and reversals. KUSHIDA went for a rana, but Lee flipped out, and hit one of his own, sending KUSHIDA to the floor. He took his time getting back into the ring. He used an armbar in the ring, then a crucifix while Lee was caught in the ropes. Lee tried to roll to the floor, but KUSHIDA brought him back inside, and continued attacking his left arm. 

KUSHIDA got tossed to the floor, and Lee hit a great tope. Back inside, he attacked the head and neck of KUSHIDA with strikes, then hit a dropkick in the corner. Lee hit a backbreaker, then used an armbar. Lee tried to run the ropes, but KUSHIDA hit a back handspring elbow, sending him to the floor, before connecting with a crazy senton from the post to the floor. 

Back inside, KUSHIDA went for a moonsault, but Lee got his knees up, and slapped the mat, begging the crowd to get into it. Lee teased his dropkick from the ring to the floor, but KUSHIDA blocked it. They traded strikes, and both fell to the floor. 

Lee was first inside, allowing KUSHIDA to hit a springoard Frankensteiner. He resumed his attack on Lee’s left arm, using the Hoverboard Lock, but Lee reached the ropes. KUSHIDA became frustrated, as he was unable to put Lee away. He got careless, and left Lee an opening. Lee hit a pair of suplexes, then applied a sleeper with a body triangle. KUSHIDA reached the ropes, grabbing them with his teeth. 

They exchanged strikes, and both collapsed to the mat, as the crowd got behind them. This was one of the better crowds of the tour. Lee hit a shining wizard for a nearfall. They went to the top. KUSHIDA used a kimura, but Lee popped out and hit a footstomp for a nearfall. 

The finish saw Lee go for a powerbomb, but KUSHIDA turned it into a DDT. Lee cradled him for a nearfall, then hit a Frankensteiner. He went for a suplex, but KUSHIDA turned it into Back to the Future, and picked up the victory. A great main event. 

Standings heading into Sunday’s Semifinals:

A Block Standings:

Taiji Ishimori 4-2 (Holds tiebreaker over Ospreay, BUSHI, Tiger Mask)

Will Ospreay 4-2 (Holds tiebreaker over Tiger Mask, YOH)

Flip Gordon 3-3 (Holds tiebreaker over Ishimori, Tiger Mask)

BUSHI 3-3 (Holds tiebreaker over Ospreay, Gordon)

Tiger Mask 3-3 (Holds tiebreaker over YOH, BUSHI)

YOH 3-3 (Holds tiebreaker over Gordon, BUSHI)

ACH 2-4 (Eliminated)

Yoshinobu Kanemaru 2-4 (Eliminated)

B Block Standings:

Hiromu Takahashi 4-2 (Wins B Block with a win over KUSHIDA, holds tiebreaker over Scurll)

KUSHIDA 4-2 (Wins B Block with a win over Takahashi, holds tiebreaker over Scurll)

Marty Scurll 4-2 (Can only win B Block with a win over SHO and a KUSHIDA/Takahashi draw)

Dragon Lee 3-3 (Eliminated by virtue of loss to KUSHIDA)

Chris Sabin 3-3 (Eliminated by virtue of loss to Takahashi)

El Desperado 2-4 (Eliminated)

SHO 2-4 (Eliminated)

Ryusuke Taguchi 2-4 (Eliminated)