New Japan Pro Wrestling continued the 28th Best of Super Junior tournament on Friday. The show was headlined by the continued resurrection of Yohei Komatsu. Better known as YOH, the former-tag champion had started the tournament on a rough losing streak. As his luck began to turn around, he’d been putting together solid wins, but Friday’s win over IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion El Desperado was the most important on his road to facing his former tag partner SHO.
On a night where El Desperado failed, Hiromu Takahashi succeeded. Last year’s winner got a sneaky win over Ryusuke Taguchi, inching Takahashi ever closer to his promise of taking El Desperado to the finals with him. The two men wrestled to a time limit draw earlier in the tournament, and have promised each other that they’ll meet in this year’s finals, just as they did last year. Both men are tied for second place, with 9 points and plenty of tournament left to breach the gap between themselves and block leader SHO.
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?BEST OF THE SUPER Jr.28?8日目‼️
＼田口がヒロムに序盤からピンフォールをしかけまくる‼️
果たして勝つのは⁉️? @TIMEBOMB1105 × @taguchiryusuke
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— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) December 3, 2021
SHO didn’t have as good a night as his former partner though. Despite being crafty enough to wear a cup in his last rivalry with El Phantasmo, SHO was defeated by his Bullet Club compatriot in less-than-noble fashion. ELP used his infamous loaded boot to rock SHO right in the crotch. The pain was so excruciating that SHO crumpled to the canvas and tapped out. This reporter has never seen anything like it in all my days of watching wrestling.
Elsewhere on the card, Robbie Eagles and BUSHI all crowded into the third-place spot at 8 points. BUSHI’s win put a pothole in Taiji Ishimori’s road to the finals. Master Wato got a dominant win over Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Plus the Young Lions wrestled another thrilling 10-minute overture.
SEE ALSO: Best of Super Juniors (NIGHT 1) (NIGHT 2) (NIGHT 3) (NIGHT 4) (NIGHT 5) (NIGHT 6) (NIGHT 7), World Tag League (NIGHT 1) (NIGHT 2) (NIGHT 3) (NIGHT 4) (NIGHT 5), (NIGHT 6)
Here are the full results:
12/3
NJPW Best of Super Juniors 28: Night 8
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Non-Tournament Match: Ryohei Oiwa wrestled Kosei Fujita to a Time Limit Draw. (10:00)
- Best of Super Juniors: Master Wato (6) def. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (8) by pinfall via RPP. (10:17)
- Best of Super Juniors: Robbie Eagles (8) def. DOUKI (4) by submission via Ron Miller Special. (11:53)
- Best of Super Juniors: BUSHI (8) def. Taiji Ishimori (8) by pinfall via MX. (13:35)
- Best of Super Juniors: El Phantasmo (8) def. SHO (12) by forfeit, after El Phantasmo kicked SHO in the groin with a loaded boot. (11:47)
- Best of Super Juniors: Hiromu Takahashi (9) def. Ryusuke Taguchi (8) by pinfall via Rollup. (8:56)
- Best of Super Juniors: YOH (8) def. El Desperado (9) by pinfall via Direct Drive. (18:26)
Best of Super Juniors Standings
- 12 points: SHO
- 9 points: Hiromu Takahashi, El Desperado
- 8 points: BUSHI, Robbie Eagles, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taiji Ishimori, Ryusuke Taguchi, El Phantasmo, YOH
- 6 points: Master Wato
- 4 points: DOUKI
NJPW will return on Dec. 4th at 4:30am ET for World Tag League 2021 Night 8 on NJPWWorld.com
