With the month of May now upon us, we are just two weeks away from one of NJPW’s annual tournaments, the Best of the Super Juniors
For those unfamiliar, the BOSJ tournament runs with two blocks, similar to NJPW’s G1 Climax, with each competitor facing every opponent in their block one. A win is worth 2 points, a time-limit draw just 1 point, and a loss results in 0 points. The competitors withe most points in each block face off in the tournament final, with the winner earning a future title opportunity at the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Championship.
The previous two tournaments were both won by LIJ’s Hiromu Takahashi, with the field of competitors comprising only of NJPW talent due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year however, Japan are once again allowing external talent into the country, and thus the lineup for BOSJ 29 features some surprising inclusions.
The lineup goes as follows:
A Block:
Hiromu Takahashi – LIJ
Rysuke Taguchi – NJPW
YOH – CHAOS
Yoshinobu Kanemaru – Suzuki Gun
Taiji Ishimori – Bullet Club
SHO – Bullet Club
Clark Connors – LA Dojo
Alex Zayne – Independent
Ace Austin – IMPACT
Francesco Akira – United Empire
B Block:
Master Wato – NJPW
Robbie Eagles – CHAOS
BUSHI – LIJ
DOUKI – Suzuki Gun
El Desperado – Suzuki Gun
ELP – Bullet Club
Titan – CMLL
TJP – United Empire
Wheeler Yuta- AEW
El Lindaman – GLEAT
The tournament features champions from IMPACT, CMLL, GLEAT, and ROH, making for one of the most exciting BOSJ lineups in recent memory.
BOSJ 29 will also see two of the United Empire’s newest acquisitions, Francesco Akira and TJP, both look to make their marks on Block A & B respectively. Wheeler Yuta of AEW’s inclusion is also likely to excite many, with the newest member of the Blackpool Combat Club offering fans an early taste of what’s to come at ‘Forbidden Door’ in June.
Best of the Super Juniors 29 is set to commence on May 15th, and is expected to run until June 3rd. The tournament will also run on its own for the first time in two years, separate from World Tag League.
We are certainly looking forward to this year’s BOSJ, with a number of first-time-ever matches on the horizon, and the potential for many to have star-making performances.
