New Japan Pro Wrestling has been tearing across the island of Japan on a dual-tournament tour, showcasing the top talents in their Junior Heavyweight and Tag Team Divisions. With the tour taking them through rural areas like the mountains of Nagano, live broadcast was near impossible for last week’s Thursday and Friday shows, with live broadcasts resuming this past Sunday.
Now that all the matches are finally up on NJPWWorld, there is a lot to breakdown from the last few shows. SHO is currently leading the Best of Super Juniors standings thanks to help from his buddies in House of Torture. SHO’s compatriots EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi have been so focused on keeping SHO viable in Super Juniors that they’ve completely taken their eye off the ball in World Tag League, they have yet to earn a single point.
While SHO has been cutting a bloody path through the Super Juniors lineup, the buzz on Sunday was generated by Hiromu Takahashi & El Desperado. The two clashed in a rematch from last year’s Best of Super Juniors final, taking each other to the limit both physically and…you know…the time limit.
Desperate Struggle
Hiromu Takahashi and El Desperado wrestle to an instant classic in Aichi, as El Phantasmo and Robbie Eagles go to war, and SHO stays unbeaten.#njbosj report:https://t.co/4cxqXLE3Nl#njpw pic.twitter.com/99Yl9TCoB1
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) November 22, 2021
It was a thrilling bout, and one both men hope to repeat. Hiromu got on the mic after the match and essentially begged Desperado to make it to the finals with him, so that the two men can once again battle without a pesky time limit holding them back. Both men are behind the 8-ball if they hope to make the finals, as we near the half-way mark of the tournament.
The current leaders in World Tag League are not only former champions Tetsuya Naito & SANADA and current champions Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr, but also the delinquent combination of Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano. Paying homage to Japanese manga/anime/movie Be-Bop High School, Tanahashi has been taken under the degenerate-hustler wing of Toru Yano and they two have truly brought out a new side in them. What started as a joke about them sharing the names Hiroshi & Toru with the Be-Bop protagonists has turned into one of the most entertaining aspects of this year’s tournament. Their win over Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask on Friday kept them undefeated through the first three rounds of block competition.
One name that has fallen surprisingly flat in this year’s tournament is YOH. Winless over four nights of competition, he has been scattered, unfocused, and just a shell of the man he was before SHO’s betrayal. While there is still plenty of tournament left, YOH’s game will need a complete overhaul if he wants to make it to Ryogoku.
Here are the standings as of 11/22:
Best of Super Juniors 28:
- 8 points- SHO
- 6 points- Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taiji Ishimori
- 5 points- Hiromu Takahashi
- 4 points- Robbie Eagles, BUSHI, Ryusuke Taguchi, DOUKI
- 3 points- El Desperado
- 2 points- Master Wato, El Phantasmo
- 0 points- YOH
World Tag League 2021:
- 6 points- Dangerous Tekkers, Naito & SANADA, Be-Bop Tag League
- 4 points- Guerrillas of Destiny, Goto & YOSHI-HASHI, United Empire, Owens & Fale
- 2 points- Ten-cozy
- 0 points- Great Bash Heel, EVIL & Yujiro, Nagata & Tiger, Suzuki & TAKA
SEE ALSO: Best of Super Juniors (NIGHT 1) (NIGHT 2) World Tag League (NIGHT 1) (NIGHT 2)
Here are the full results from 11/18-11/21:
11/18
NJPW Best of Super Juniors: Night 3
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Non-Tournament Match: Yuto Nakashima wrestled Kosei Fujita to a Time Limit Draw. (10:00)
- Best of Super Juniors: El Phantasmo (2) def. DOUKI (4) by pinfall via CRII. (9:40)
- Best of Super Juniors: BUSHI (4) def. YOH (0) by pinfall via BUSHI Roll.(10:32)
- Best of Super Juniors: SHO (6) def. Ryusuke Taguchi (2) by pinfall via Shock Arrow. (14:42)
- Best of Super Juniors: Taiji Ishimori (4) def. Robbie Eagles (2) by submission via Bone Lock. (13:26)
- Best of Super Juniors: Hiromu Takahashi (4) def. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (4) by pinfall via Rollup. (14:24)
- Best of Super Juniors: El Desperado (2) def. Master Wato (2) by submission via Numero Dos. (20:10)
11/19
NJPW World Tag League: Night 3
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Non-Tournament Match: Ryohei Oiwa wrestled Kosei Fujita to a Time Limit Draw. (10:00)
- World Tag League: Be-Bop World Tag League (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano) (6) def. Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask (0) by pinfall. (8:49)
Toru Yano pinned Tiger Mask via Schoolboy. - World Tag League: United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare) (4) def. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku) (0) by pinfall. (10:17)
Great-O-Khan pinned TAKA Michinoku via Imperial Drop. - World Tag League: Bullet Club (Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale) (4) def. House of Torture (EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi) (0) by pinfall. (7:53)
Bad Luck Fale pinned Yujiro Takahashi via Grenade Launcher. - World Tag League: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA) (6) def. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) (0) by pinfall. (13:01)
Tetsuya Naito pinned Tomoaki Honma via Rollup. - World Tag League: Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.) (6) def. Ten-cozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) (2) by pinfall. (16:34)
- World Tag League: CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) (4) def. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (4) by pinfall. (20:02)
YOSHI-HASHI pinned Tama Tonga via Gyou.
11/21
NJPW Best of Super Juniors: Night 4
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Non-Tournament Match: Yuto Nakashima wrestled Ryohei Oiwa to a Time Limit Draw. (10:00)
- Best of Super Juniors: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (6) def. DOUKI (4) by pinfall via Touch Out. (10:35)
- Best of Super Juniors: Taiji Ishimori (6) def. Master Wato (2) by submission via Bone Lock. (11:21)
- Best of Super Juniors: Ryusuke Taguchi (4) def. YOH (0) by pinfall via Dodon. (14:36)
- Best of Super Juniors: SHO (8) def. BUSHI (4) by ref stoppage via Triangle Choke. (12:58)
- Best of Super Juniors: Robbie Eagles (4) def. El Phantasmo (2) by pinfall via Hurricanrana. (19:03)
- Best of Super Juniors: Hiromu Takahashi (5) wrestled El Desperado (3) to Time Limit Draw. (30:00)
NJPW returns with Night 4 of World Tag League on Nov. 23rd at 4am ET on NJPWWorld.com
