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The annual New Japan Pro Wrestling Best of the Super Juniors kicks off this Saturday, May 21st live on NJPW World. The round robin, junior heavyweight tournament sees everyone wrestle each other once in their block with the block winners meeting in the final on June 7th. The winner, if they aren’t already the champion, will get a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Wrestlers earn 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
Every match will be available on NJPW World, with more live shows than there were last year. Shows will be live on May 21, 27, 29, June 3, 5, 6 and the final on the 7th. The other shows will see the tournament matches made available on VOD the day after the show.
Block A
KUSHIDA
KUSHIDA is the defending BOSJ champion and the current IWGP Jr heavyweight champion. New Japan’s junior ace is having the best year of his career, and after winning the tournament last year, finally ascended to the top of the junior division. He is the first Jr champion to take part in the tournament since Prince Devitt in 2013, who was that years winner. If KUSHIDA doesn’t win his block and go onto the final, he will certainly be the runner up. KUSHIDA is one of the finest juniors in the world right now, so we are guaranteed several great matches from him in this tournament.
Ryusuke Taguchi
The Funky Weapon has become a comedy act in NJPW, but don’t be fooled. Taguchi can go in the ring when he wants to. The question is, will we get the ass-attacking Taguchi, or the guy that once won the tournament. If he is somewhat serious, we should get some very good matches from him, particularly when he faces his buddy KUSHIDA. If he isn’t a lot of his matches could become goofy fodder.
Kyle O’Reilly
O’Reilly is an out and out favourite to win this. After making it to the final in a losing effort to KUSHIDA last year, O’Reilly recently beat KUSHIDA at ROH in Toronto. That was a huge win for him, and he meets KUSHIDA again on the opening win of the tournament. A win for him there would be huge, and something you could bet good money on. O’Reilly is my favourite to win the whole thing and is someone that could be a major player as a singles in the NJP junior heavyweight division.
Matt Sydal
Veteran Sydal makes his first ever appearance in the BOSJ. He recently signed a contract with NJPW, so the current one half of the Jr tag team champions could have an outside chance of winning this. He will likely have a good showing and finish high in his block. Sydal will have great matches with the likes of Romero, KUSHIDA & BUSHI. One to look out for is his match with O’Reilly. They had an outstanding pure wrestling match in ROH over Wrestlemania weekend.
Rocky Romero
Every year Romero reminds everyone just how good he is by having several really good matches. Romero will be the guy that floats around the middle of the pack, picking up a win here and there. His meeting with fellow CHAOS member, Gedo should be a lot of fun.
Gedo
Gedo will probably be the guy left propping up the group. Although last year he scored a huge upset win over Taguchi on the opening day in an amazing match. Gedo will be looking for CHAOS revenge when he meets BUSHI, so that could be a really heated brawl.
BUSHI
BUSHI has had an incredible year since joining Los Ingobernables de Japon. He has been part of a group that has essentially taken over NJPW and has carved out a great role for himself. He is the sole LIJ member in the tournament and could very well pull off a major upset and win this, continuing the LIJ takeover of the company. BUSHI had an outstanding match with KUSHIDA, so there rematch here will be one to watch. BUSHI will bring something different to his matches, so he will have some really interesting meetings.
David Finlay
Finlay is the replacement for the injured Matt Jackson. Finlay made his NJPW debut in this tournament last year and impressed people. Finlay has grown leaps and bounds over the last year and this tournament will show people just how much he's grown. Finlay will likely finish with no wins, but he has a chance to turn in some impressive performances against the likes of KUSHIDA & O’Reilly.
Block B
Jushin Thunder Liger
The legendary Liger, just fresh off an Jr title challenge against KUSHIDA is the constant of the BOSJ. Liger is here to give big stature enhancing wins to the likes of Ricochet and Will Ospreay. He will have some really good matches, but don’t expect Liger to finish near the top of his group.
Tiger Mask IV
Tiger will be a guy that floats around the middle of the pack having decent matches and will pick up a win here and there. When Tiger goes into grump veteran mode and decides to beat the hell out of people he is a lot of fun to watch and can have some very good matches.
Bobby Fish
The new ROH TV champion had a great showing in last years tournament in what was his first singles outing in NJPW. Now with the TV title around his waist, Fish will probably be a guy that finished very close to the top of his block and pulls out some big wins. He had some excellent matches last year and opened up the eyes of NJPW fans to what he can do when he’s away from ReDRagon.
Beretta
One of the most underrated wrestlers in the world currently, Beretta is a guy that excels when he is given the chance to do so my NJPW. Last year he had two of the best matches of the tournament with ReDRagon. He meets Fish again here in what will be one to watch out for. His match with Will Ospreay could be a potential sleeper match of the entire tournament.
Chase Owens
Owens enters the tournament as a replacement for the injured Young Buck, Nick Jackson. Owens, who is indeed a member of Bullet Club impressed lots of people last year after they originally rolled their eyes at his inclusion. Owens will probably have some decent matches, but he will likely end up propping up this group. He has a chance to impress and earn himself some future NJPW bookings.
Ricochet
The other half of the current IWGP Jr heavyweight tag champions and the 2014 winner of the tournament. Ricochet, although it hasn’t been talked about too much, has a very good chance of winning this block. It all depends what his future holds. There have been lots of rumours, but if Ricochet is going to stick around in NJPW for the foreseeable future, he could be a centerpiece of the Jr division and a future heavyweight star. His matches with Ospreay & Volador will be aerial wrestling at it’s absolute apex. NJPW brings out the very best in Ricochet.
Volador, Jr
CMLL’s Volador Jr is one of the promotions flashiest stars. If you have seen Volador perform in CMLL or on the NJPW Fantasticamania shows you know that he is a spectacular high flyer with incredible grace. There are a lot of first time ever match ups for him and he has a chance to really stand out here as the only luchador in the tournament. He has a chance for uniques clashes with the likes of Fish and as mentioned before, he will take to the air with Ospreay & Ricochet.
Will Ospreay
The Aerial Assassin has taken NJPW and pro wrestling by storm in 2016. Ospreay, often described as a prodigy is primed and ready for a huge career. This is his biggest opportunity yet as he embarks on his first full tour with NJPW. Ospreay is a favourite to win the whole thing and is sure to be a future Jr champion after recently signing a two year deal with the promotion. Ospreay is carrying back and knee injuries, so he will have to pace himself if he is to last this tour. This is the toughest schedule he has ever had and it will be a new experience for him. Expect Ospreay to pick up some major wins over established names. Whether he wins this tournament or not, it’s likely that Ospreay will be who people are talking about when things are all said and done in June.
If i were to predict the final, I will say that Kyle O’Reilly meets Will Ospreay with O’Reilly winning it. However, this year's tournament is a lot harder to predict than previous years.
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