NJPW Best of the Super Juniors night 5 results: Ospreay vs. YOH

The 25th Best of the Super Juniors tournament continued Thursday with Night Five’s A Block action, held at the Ukaru Chan Arena in Shiga. Here are the results.

Prelim Matches:

• Shota Umino & KUSHIDA defeated Yota Tsuji & Ryusuke Taguchi when Umino tapped out Tsuji with a Boston Crab.
• Chase Owens & Marty Scurll defeated Tomoyuki Oka & Chris Sabin when Owens pinned Oka after a Package Piledriver.
• El Desperado & Minoru Suzuki defeated SHO & YOSHI-HASHI when Desperado pinned SHO afyer a low blow. 
• Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi defeated Toa Henare & Dragon Lee when Naito pinned Henare after a Destino.

A Block Matches:

Tiger Mask defeated BUSHI

This was mostly a one man show, as BUSHI worked incredibly hard to make sure that Tiger makes it to the end of this tournament in one piece. Tiger didn’t do much, but all of his key spots looked good. 

BUSHI jumped Tiger as he tried to get into the ring, and hit a suicide dive. BUSHI grabbed a chair and choked Tiger with it in the aisle, and rammed him into the timekeeper’s table. He threw him into the ring, and continued to choke with the chair. 

As BUSHI raised the chair to strike with it, the referee cut him off, allowing Tiger to fire up and hit some kicks. BUSHI was back in control before long, using a chinlock and a headscissors, working on Tiger’s neck. 

BUSHI went for Tiger’s mask, then hit him with a guillotine legdrop off the top. He used an STF, but Tiger reached the ropes. He went for an attack of the ropes, but Tiger hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, and a cross armbreaker. BUSHI came back with a Meteora and a missile dropkick. 

They brawled on the top rope, and Tiger missed a splash. BUSHI hit a Codebreaker for a nearfall. Tiger hit a double underhook suplex for a nearfall. He hit it a second time, but this time from the top rope, and followed with a Tiger Suplex for the pin. 

Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated ACH

Kanemaru jumped ACH in the aisle during his entrance, and brawled around ringside, highlighting what appeared to be a sparse crowd. ACH had his left shoulder heaily taped. He went for a handspring attack n the ring, but his shoulder gave out. Problem is, he sold the wrong shoulder giving out. His selling was excellent through the rest of the match, which is why that minor momentary slip stood out. 

Kanemaru continued working the shoulder, using stomps and an armbar. They brawled outside and teased a countout, but ACH made it back in. Ricky Steamboat is one of the best in-ring babyfaces ever, and he had a rule about not taking more than x number of moves in a row before getting in a hope spot, or else the audience dies. The only wrestler I see practicing that principle with any regularity is Sasha Banks. In a related note, ACH hit a back elbow and a splash, his first meaningful offense of the match, seven minutes in. 

They did a cool criss-cross spot, that ended with ACH hitting a standing double footstomp. He hit a bridging suplex for a nearfall. They teased an Electric Chair, but Kanemaru raked the eyes and hit a DDT. They traded lariats, and ACH got a nearfall. 

ACH hit a slingshot cutter for a nearfall, then tore off his shoulder wrap. He hit a matrix kick for a nearfall, but missed a 450. They teased a ref stoppage, which Kanemaru used as a distraction, spitting the whiskey mist and a brainbuster for a nearfall. He immediately followed with Deep Impact for the win. 

They did a lot of good things, and the last several minutes were good. ACH exclusively selling for the first half of the match made it difficult to get into. 

Flip Gordon defeated Taiji Ishimori

This was a good action match, but lacked the time to be truly memorable. 

They worked at a crazy pace. Flip hit a moonsault off the post to the outside in the first big spot. Ishimori hit a seated senton, and cranked on Flip’s neck. He used a chinlock and a neck crank, continuing to work the neck. 

Flip came back with a springbord dropkick and a suicide dive. He landed a flipping neckbreaker off the middle rope for a nearfall. Ishimori caught him going for a springboard move, and hit his sliding suplex. He hit a Shining Wizard for a nearfall. 

Flip hit a knee strike and a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. Flip missed a standing Shooting Star, and Ishimori locked in a crossface. Flip rolled through, and Ishimori slipped to a triangle, but Flip powered up and put him on the top rope, then kicked him off. 

Flip went for a 450, but Ishimori got the knees up. He went for a suplex, but Flip turned it into an O’Connor Roll for the win. 

Will Ospreay defeated YOH

They worked this as a babyface match at the outset, trading arm wringers, clean breaks, reversals, and dropkicks. Things changed a bit when YOH turned to a more strike-based offense, and Ospreay laid in some chops and uppercuts, as well as a 619. 

They did a cool sequence that ended with YOH ducking a corner strike, and hitting a springboard footstomp to Will’s back. He hit a dropkick, and hit a superkick on a prone Ospreay. Ospreay went for an O’Connor Roll, but YOH rolled it into a Dragon Sleeper. Ospreay reached the ropes. 

Ospreay sent YOH outside, and hit the Sasuke Special. He followed with a springboard forearm inside for a nearfall. Ospreay hit a step-up Enziguri and a standing Shooting Star for a nearfall, before both men collapsed to the mat, exhausted. 

They traded strikes, and Will seemed to get the best of the exchange, but he stopped while running the ropes, and really sold the neck. YOH pounced, and hit a bridging suplex for a nearfall. He went for a Falcon Arrow, but Ospreay turned it into a cutter. He hit the Robinson Special, but YOH reversed an Oscutter attempt into an elbow strike. 

They went up top. YOH slipped going for a superplex, but they somehow completed the spot without killing each other. YOH hit a Falcon Arrow for a great nearfall. Ospreay bridged into a pinning combination, but YOH kicked out, and hit a huge lariat, as Ospreay took a flip bump. 

Ospreay hit a standing Spanish Fly for a nearfall, and immediately followed with the Storm Breaker for the pin. 

This was an excellent athletic display, and the last few minutes are worth going out of your way to see.