NJPW reveals Best of the Super Juniors 31 lineup
NJPW has revealed the lineup for the Best of the Super Juniors 31 tournament.
This year’s BOSJ kicks off on May 11, with the tournament finals set for Dominion on June 9 in Osaka-Jo Hall.
20 competitors have been announced for the tournament. Block assignments have yet to be unveiled.
The tournament field includes four first-time entrants –Kosei Fujita, Blake Christian, Ninja Mack, & HAYATA. The current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion SHO, plus two former tournament winners in Ryusuke Taguchi (2012) and Hiromu Takahashi (2018, 2020, 2021, 2022) will also enter the tournament.
16 of the 20 competitors from last year’s tournament will return this year, with the exceptions being KUSHIDA, Lio Rush, Mike Bailey, and Master Wato.
The announced Best of the Super Juniors 31 lineup:
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion SHO
- Hiromu Takahashi
- Ryusuke Taguchi
- El Desperado
- Kevin Knight
- YOH
- BUSHI
- Titan
- TJP
- Francesco Akira
- DOUKI
- Robbie Eagles
- Taiji Ishimori
- Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- Clark Connors
- Drilla Moloney
- Kosei Fujita
- Blake Christian
- Ninja Mack
- HAYATA
YOH suffered an apparent separated shoulder in his IWGP Junior Heavyweight title match against SHO at Saturday’s Sakura Genesis event, which could necessitate a replacement.
