#bosj25

This was started when I saw what he had written all over his tape on his match against Sho, and him walking out without writing against Kushida set this ramble ablaze. This is just a summary or what was written on his wrists for each opponent, and my interpretations of them. So forge on, its not too long. 

Hiromu likes writing things on his wrist tape, this is a fact. He really likes もっと which means more. But he seems to have branched out this Super Juniors. Marty and Dragon Lee got a “standard” treatment both plenty of “Mottos” along with their name, just in case he forgot who he was fighting i guess.

Dear Chris Sabin didn’t even get that, just “Alex Shelley’s Friend.” And SHO just got Tanaka(田中) written 15-20 times. And for the extra flavor after both of these matches he stated that Sabin was more than just “Alex Shelley’s Friend”, and SHO was no longer Tanaka. 

Now to the even meater ones.  ....Maybe, I for the life of me could not get google translate to spit out anything useful on his Taguchi wrist tape. It seems to be talking about something, maybe related to butts (which honestly isn’t surprising). 

 Desperado clearly brings out extra crazy Hiromu with tons of “ プ “ during the tag and then the same thing crossed out the Next night.  Which from all I’ve been able to figure out is like writing a letter, it makes a noise (’Pu’) but not much more. 

Now for the reason I decided to write this and not just let it rattle around in my brain until I started writing things on my arms. His match against Kushida. His arms were empty. Nothing, no paint no words, nada. 

So, why is nothing more important that the 6 other opponents and the half hour I spent on google translate?  Because suddenly something is different, its an indication something has changed. All of these phrases and words on his arms mean something, they are like little reminders. Its like when you write formulas on your arm before a math test. Its not complicated thoughts, its simple things to remind him why he is fighting, he wants more, he wants to have fun, he wants to see what “Alex Shelley’s Friend” is all about. Then silence, he doesn’t need a reminder about Kushida, he is focused.  If the normal Hiromu is a force to be reckoned with focused Hiromu is just about the scariest thing you could fight. 

And in the finals we saw a man not with an empty focused mind, but one turned to his dreams. One word, not focused on the opponent, or on the fight but the man himself. “Dream” 

NJPW BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 25 Days 10 - 12 Review

DAY 10 (May 30th, B Block)

Dragon Lee vs. Marty Scurll  ***3/4

Ryusuke Taguchi vs. SHO  ***1/4

Chris Sabin vs. Hiromu Takahashi  ***1/2

KUSHIDA vs. El Desperado  ***3/4

DAY 11 (May 31st, A Block)

BUSHI vs. Flip Gordon  **1/2

Taiji Ishimori vs. ACH  ***

Will Ospreay vs. Tiger Mask  ***1/4

YOH vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru  ***1/4

DAY 12 (June 2nd, B Block)

Chris Sabin vs. El Desperado  ***1/4

Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Marty Scurll  ***1/4

SHO vs. Hiromu Takahashi  ****

KUSHIDA vs. Dragon Lee  ****1/4

Photos.

The BOSJ rolls on to the finals with the final Block shows. Once again, the B Block proves its the superior Block with a couple of very fun shows, whereas the A Block trundles along with mainly decent action. The B Blockers on the 30th had another good showing. Marty Scurll submitted Dragon Lee with the Chicken Wing in a great contest, Ryusuke Taguchi rolled up SHO to win an enjoyable match that featured probably a liitle too much comedy. Chris Sabin submitted to Hiromu’s triangle choke, which they’ve done a really great job in getting over as a believable finish in this tournament. This was a very good outing with both guys looking good. And in the main event, KUSHIDA pinned El Desperado with Back To The Future to win another really good encounter. This started off as your usual Despy brawl around the building, and featured the usual silliness revolving around ref bumps, but on the whole it delivered.

The A Block show on the 31st was just OK, as far as I’m concerened, and was one of the weaker shows of the tour. It featured nothing bad, but nothing remotely memorable. BUSHI pinned Flip with the MX in an unispiring bout, Taiji Ishimori kept his winning streak alive by defeating ACH in a good, brisk high flying match-up, Ospreay was victorious over veteran Tiger Mask, in what was probably Tiger’s best match of the tourney, and Ospreay’s weakest. Ospreay won with Storm Breaker. And in the main event, YOH upset Kanemaru to take him out of contention in another very good match. The finish saw Kanemaru get a near fall with a brainbuster, then try another, only for YOH to turn it into a Five Star Clutch to win.

And on June the 2nd in Gunma, B Block action commenced with Sabin scoring a win over Desperado in another good brawl, though enjoyable enough, these Despy outings are wearing a bit thin at this point. Taguchi and Scurll did the Guerrero/Angle finish from WM 20 in the next bout, as Taguchi applied the ankle lock, Scurll’s boot came off and The Villian small packaged the Funky Weapon to win the two points. Hiromu and SHO had a great, hard-hitting match next. SHO has been tremendous in this BOSJ and his matches are usually completely different to everyone elses. Takahashi scored the tap out win with the triangle again. If theres one negative I have about this its that SHO had a devastating jujigatame on Hiromu for what felt like a couple of minutes, and it wasn’t the finish. I minor gripe I know, but it was too believable a hold to buy. And in the final tourney outing, KUSHIDA defeated Dragon Lee in an excellent contest. This started with great high flying, then turned into an ode to Katsuyori Shibata, with both guys, though especially Dragon, doing some of his signature spots. They even replicated that grabbing the ropes with the teeth spot from his match with Sakuraba at the 2015 Dominion show. After a great back-and-forth display, KUSHIDA won with Back To The Future. Great stuff.