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5/26/23 Results of the Semifinals for the Best of the Super Junior 30 - Yoyogi, Tokyo, Japan:
1 - Clark Conners and Gedo vs. Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita
Fujita pins Gedo with an O'Conner Roll.
Big win for the young lion.
2 - Great O-Khan and Aaron Henare vs. Toru Yano and Tomoaki Honma
O-Khan and Henare hit an Imperial Drop on Honma.
O-Khan pins Honma.
3 - Dan Moloney, TJP and Francesco Akira vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Kevin Knight and KUSHIDA
Catch 22 hit a 2X2 on Taguchi.
Akira pins Taguchi.
United Empire talk trash to Knight and KUSHIDA and want a shot at the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles.
4 - Dick Togo, SHO, Yujiro Takahashi and EVIL vs. YOH, Lio Rush, YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto
Bishomon hits a Shoto on Togo.
YOSHI-HASHI pins Togo.
After the match, O-Khan and Henare attack Bishomon and lay them out. O-Khan takes the mic and says the IWGP Tag Belts belong to the United Empire. Aussie Open had to relinquish the Tag Title at New Japan Strong Resurgence last week because Mark Davis suffered an injury. O-Khan said they will win the Tag Belts at Dominion and then face their teammates, Aussie Open, in a future title match.
EVIL and Yujiro low blow Henare and O-Khan. EVIL calls them stupid and Bishomon are also stupid. House of Torture lays out everyone with more low blows.
Looks like United Empire, Bishomon and House of Torture will meet in a three way match for the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship next week at Dominion.
5 - Boltin Oleg, Oskar Leube and Shota Umino vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada
Wild match. Umino and Okada threw each other into the chairs in the crowd.
Ishii forces Oskar to submit to a Boston Crab.
Okada and Umino stared each other down after the match.
6 - BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, DOUKI, Taichi, and SANADA, with TAKA Michinoku
SANADA submits BUSHI to Skull End
Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton on English commentary discussed the IWGP World Title match between SANADA and Yota Tsuji. They stated that, after appearing at Wrestling Dontaku 2023, Tsuji has returned to Mexico to fulfill commitments. There will be no preview tags for Tsuji as far as the schedule states right now prior to Dominion. Kelly and Charlton sold it as if it was a strategic tactic by Tsuji so SANADA will not see him till Dominion.
My opinion is that this lack of build between SANADA and Tsuji makes no sense. I would compare this to Cameron Grimes coming from NXT to Smackdown and immediately getting a title shot with Roman Reigns, which would never happen. In New Japan, opponents will have preview tags so they can get time in the ring to build to a particular match, and tell a story. Right now there is no story about Yota Tsuji, especially if you only follow New Japan World. New Japan is pushing the new batch of stars like Ren Narita and Shota Umino. Even Kosei Fujita with Team TMDK. However, Ren Narita already got pinned and lost the NEVER Openweight 6-man titles. Umino challenged twice for the NJPW TV title and lost. Narita and Umino got smashed by Tanahashi and Okada earlier in the year. Fujita consistently takes the fall in TMDK tag matches. This is fine if they are looking to build them back up within a few years. More on this later.
Now, the new IWGP World Champion's second challenger to his title is former young lion who has yet to compete in a New Japan ring since leaving on excursion over a year ago, and is still in Mexico learning. The last we saw of SANADA before this match tonight, he was on his back after a spear by Tsuji. If Kazuchika Okada was still World Champion, I do not see him being in this position, getting beaten down by a young lion. SANADA cannot lose the belt yet to a wrestler who has not been in a New Japan ring in over a year. After Dominion, SANADA will have beaten a junior heavyweight (Hiromu) and a former young lion (Tsuji). How does this help SANADA, who is still in the process of establishing himself as a credible champion? Why is the World Champion helping to get a new wrestler over in his debut? And how does this make Yota Tsuji look in the short term? He starts at the top to lost and get pushed all they way to the bottom. Hopefully, New Japan has a long term plan in place.
Semi Finals of the Best of the Super Junior 30:
7 - Mike Bailey vs. Master Wato
They shake hands and trade kicks. Wato dropkicks Bailey to the floor. Wato hits a plancha. Wato rolls Bailey in the ring and applies Vendaval. Rope break. Bailey hits rapid fire kicks and a high kick to the face. Wato goes to the floor. Bailey hits a springboard moonsault to Wato on the floor. Bailey with a running kick to the chest. Bailey hits a knee drop on the left arm to the floor. Bailey rolls him in and throws two stiff kicks to the back. He drops a double knee. Two count.
Bailey hits a running foot to the face. Bailey with a slam and a double knee off the ropes to the chest. Two count. They trade elbows. Bailey misses a shooting star press. Wato withface crusher and a neck breaker. Wato hits a leg lariat. Wato with a tope con hilo on Bailey. Wato favors the arm but goes for a springboard uppercut, but Bailey counters into a cross arm breaker. Wato quickly goes for the ropes. Bailey hammers him with chops. They exchange nearfalls. Bailey goes for a cross arm breaker. Wato reverses into Vendaval. Bailey escapes and they trade more nearfalls. Bailey misses a flipping double knee. Wato applies Vendaval again. Bailey gets to the ropes. Bailey kicks Wato in the face. Bailey goes for the triple spin roundhouse but Wato blocks it and counters into Recitemente. Bailey kicks out. Wato goes for the high angle German suplex, but Bailey escapes to the ring apron.
Bailey snaps Wato's arm over his shoulder. They trade kicks on the apron. Bailey trips Wato and hits a flipping double knee. Wato crawls in the ring. Bailey hits the Ultimate Weapon. Wato kicks out! Wow! Bailey goes for a Flamingo Driver, but Wato reverses into a Tenzan Tombstone Driver. Bailey kicks out. Bailey hits multiple kicks to the face. Wato stuns Bailey with a high kick. Wato hits a high angle German suplex (aka Tsutenkaku German).
Wato pins Bailey.
Master Wato advances to the Finals.
Impressive win by Wato. The 2nd place in the B Block beats the top guy in the A Block.
8 - El Desperado vs. Titan
Both men were evenly matched until Titan tried his high flying moves. Desperado avoided the attacks and slammed Titan's left leg on the ring floor. Desperado throws Titan into the crowd. Titan fights back with a high kick and a tope suicida. Titan then throws Desperado into the crowd chairs. They battle to the back of the arena. Titan climbs to the upper deck and hits a diving splash. (ECW! ECW! ECW!)
Desperado almost gets counted out. Titan applies an Indian Death Lock. Desperado gets to the ropes. Titan applies a Mexican Figure Four. Desperado goes for the ropes. Titan with a super kick. Desperado with a spear, a back suplex and high vertical suplex. Desperado goes for Numero Dos, but Titan escapes. They trade strikes. Titan his a tornado DDT. Titan tries for a flying attack but Desperado throws a right punch to the head. Titan hits a Pele Kick and a tope con hilo. Titan goes a double stomp off the top rope to the floor. Chris Charlton said this was a how Mercedes Mone got hurt at Resurgence. Titan misses and lands hard on the floor, hurting his leg. Desperado rolls him in the ring and applies Numero Dos. Titan gets to the ropes. Desperado hits Guitarra de Angel. Two count. Both men are struggling to stand. Desperado with a spinebuster and Numero Dos. Titan reverses out and hits a Destroyer. Titan with a tornado DDT. Titan hits a double stomp. Two count. Titan applies Inmortal.
Desperado taps out.
Titan advances to the Finals.
Wow! Both 2nd place finishers make it to the Finals.
Titan will face Master Wato for the BOSJ 30 Trophy on Sunday.
To my earlier point, Master Wato, a young lion returning from excursion, was pushed hard when he debuted in July 2020. He was green and made many mistakes. He found his groove and became a Jr. Tag Team Champion and became a top challenger for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title at Wrestle Kingdom this past year. His match with Mike Bailey was great and he told a story throughout the BOSJ tournament, moving away from the RPP finisher (which he would always miss) and using the Tsutenkaku German.
If New Japan is doing the same story telling and development pattern for Ren Narita, Shota Umino and Kosei Fujita, then I expect them to grow from these losses, as Wato had to learn. However, I think putting Yota Tsuji immediately into the World Heavyweight Title picture does not make any sense and hopefully it will not backfire.
No card announced yet for the BOSJ 30 Finals on May 28.
Thank you for reading.
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