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11/29/21 Results for New Japan's Best of the Super Junior 28 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo Japan:
1. Ryohei Oiwa vs. Kosei Fujita
Best of the Super Jr. 28 Matches:
2. DOUKI vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
Taguchi reversed DOUKI's Italian Stretch No. 32 into a roll up pin.
Good competitive match. Even with the loss, DOUKI looked strong by getting a lot of offense against Taguchi.
3. BUSHI vs. Robbie Eagles
Eagles forces BUSHI to tap out to the Ron Miller Special.
This was a fast paced match until Eagles focused on BUSHI's leg. Another competitive match.
4. YOH vs. Taiji Ishimori
Against YOH, Ishimori used the same strategy he used to beat Hiromu Takahashi, by attacking his left arm. Ishimori decimated his shoulder and arm but YOH endured it all. YOH rolled up Ishimori with an O'Conner Roll.
YOH pins Ishimori.
Good match. YOH was on the defensive for most of the match, but, as is the trend, quick pins can come out of nowhere. YOH is slowly starting to climb his way up in the tournament.
5. Master Wato vs. SHO
SHO used misdirection with the referee. He beat down a young lion, to distract the referee, while he beat down Wato with a chair. Wato fought hard and had SHO on the ropes. SHO shoved Wato into the referee who took a bump. Wato rolled up SHO for a pin, which could have been a 10 count, but no referee. Wato goes to revive the referee but SHO hits a low blow. SHO smashes Wato in the face with his wrench. SHO revives the referee and applies The Snake Bite. Referee checks on Wato and calls for the bell.
SHO wins.
Same pattern with the last few matches with SHO. SHO remains in the lead with 12 points.
6. Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. El Desperado
Desperado charged the ring ready to take on his tag team partner. Kanemaru tried to play mind games early on as he left the ring and Desperado almost got counted out. Kanemaru quickly focused on Desperado's neck with headlocks and submissions. Both men know each other well, and knew how to reverse out of each other's moves. Kanemaru got a lot of offense on Desperado, including a DDT, hitting a moonsault and a figure four leg lock. After a series of quick reversals, Desperado was able to hit Pinche Loco.
Desperado pins Kanemaru.
As was his match with DOUKI, Desperado gave a lot of offense to his Suzuki-Gun teammate. Kanemaru looked strong even in defeat. He is in a good position with 8 points, tied for 3rd with Ishimori and Taguchi. Desperado is in 2nd place with 9 points.
7. Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo
Hiromu tells the referee to check ELP for any weapons, especially his boot. ELP takes off his boot and gives it to the referee. Even Hiromu takes a look. Nothing inside. ELP shows his empty boot to the TV camera, then laces up his boot. ELP tells Hiromu to apologize to his boot. Hiromu tells the boot "I am sorry." ELP tells Hiromu to bow to his boot and say "Gomenasai" (which means "I am sorry" in Japanese). Hiromu gave a very polite and deep bow and said "Gomenasai". ELP raked his back with his fingernails and grabbed him in a headlock. (Note: in normal Japanese culture what Hiromu did was a true apology and would be taken as such. ELP attacking him during the apology just emphasizes what kind of a dastardly heel he is. Great stuff here.) They did some comedy spots, making fun of each other's mannerisms. Hiromu tried to dive onto ELP from the ring apron. ELP tripped him up. Hiromu fell on his shoulder. ELP rammed his shoulder into the ring post. Hiromu's shoulder could still be hurting after he tapped out to Ishimori's Bone Lock a few nights ago. ELP has the advantage as he back raked Hiromu.
ELP took a page from Ishimori's playbook and applied a Bone Lock of his own. Hiromu gets the rope break. They continue to fight until ELP hits a superkick to the gut of Hiromu. Hiromu doubles over then stands and smiles. ELP hits a Sudden Death right to his face. Hiromu get to his feet and smiles again. ELP retreats as Hiromu charges at him. ELP dodges and Hiromu smashes into the referee. ELP hits a straight right punch into Hiromu's privates. ELP goes outside the ring and pulls out another boot. He takes off his old boot and puts on the new one. ELP goes for Sudden Death. Hiromu ducks, hits a superkick of his own, then a lariat. The pace picks up and they reverse out of each other's moves. Hiromu goes for a Time Bomb but ELP reverses into Styles Clash. Two count. ELP goes for CRII but Hiromu rolls him up. Two count. Hiromu hits another lariat. He tries to pull ELP to standing position. ELP taps his boot on the mat 3 times. ELP hits Sudden Death.
ELP pins Hiromu.
The Japanese announcers were screaming with disappointment when ELP hit Sudden Death because they knew it was over. Hiromu sold the effects of Sudden Death well.
ELP took the mic and said he needs to stop worry about Bullet Club's past. He needs to worry about Bullet Club's future. He said "once I win the BOSJ and I gonna go on to Wrestle Kingdom, and JAY (White), if you're not there....." His voice trails off and he drops the mic. He goes back to the locker room.
A lot to unpack here. This was a great match and good storytelling. El Phantasmo has had the Sudden Death gimmick for a while now. Hiromu and ELP had a dramatic story with the checking the boot before the match and then the boot switch mid-match. ELP went for all his big moves but could not put Hiromu away. Only then did he pull out Sudden Death to get the win. While they are all in Bullet Club, the difference between House of Torture and ELP is that ELP does not pull out Sudden Death in every match. ELP even said before a live crowd that he will put it away for awhile, untill you forget about it, the pulls it out when he needs to. Very smart. House of Torture has weapons and referee bumps in EVERY match. It gets boring and repetitive till no one cares. Even the Japanese announce team reacted with real surprise and shock when ELP hit Sudden Death on Hiromu.
Now, ELP's comments about the future of Bullet Club is something that should be addressed. The group has been splintered with the formation of House of Torture, Guerillas of Destiny and Owens and Fale focusing on the Tag Division, Ishimori and ELP in the Jr. Division, KENTA mostly on his own and Jay White in New Japan Strong, with Chris Bey and Hikuleo. COVID-19 contributed to the splintering. The growth of New Japan Strong and sending talents to the United States was important as well. However, the lack of a true leader of face or Bullet Club on New Japan World has been lacking. I think the G1 Climax lacked the arrogant and despicable heel that Jay White is. The New Japan product in Japan does miss his presence. No one in Bullet Club, other than Jay White, is at the level of Kota Ibushi, Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay, Shingo Takagi or Hiroshi Tanahashi as a wrestler that could be in the main event in the Tokyo Dome.
I believe ELP's words are a warning that changes will be coming soon, maybe after Wrestle Kingdom at New Year's Dash. Perhaps ELP will ascend to Bullet Club leadership. Or Jay White will return. Or someone else could step into that position. As travel restrictions are lifted, perhaps Bullet Club and their story could be more of a focus in the next few months. Stay tuned.
Current Standings in the Best of the Super Jr. 28:
DOUKI - 4
BUSHI - 6
Taiji Ishimori - 8
Yoshinobu Kanemaru - 8
Robbie Eagles- 6
Ryusuke Taguchi - 8
Master Wato - 4
El Phantasmo - 6
YOH - 6
Hiromu Takahashi - 7
El Desperado - 9
SHO - 12
SHO remains in the lead with 12 points. El Desperado is in second place with 9 points. Tough loss for Hiromu which dropped him to fourth place.
Thank you for reading.
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