3 was the magic number on Wednesday. Hiromu Takahashi won his third Best of Super Juniors tournament, defeating YOH, and overcoming interference from SHO in a thrilling bout; the longest final in Best of Super Juniors history. With the win, Hiromu Takahashi has tied Koji Kanemoto for most Best of Super Juniors wins.
The win was also Hiromu Takahashi’s second Super Juniors win in as many years. He won last year’s tournament, defeating El Desperado in the finals. Now Takahashi & Desperado will face off in the Tokyo Dome for El Desperado’s IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship.
素晴らしい試合だった?
俺も嫉妬しちゃうくらいに?
おかげで火がついたよ…?#お疲れ様#njbosj pic.twitter.com/0BPeErv4hA
— 鷹木 信悟(SHINGO TAKAGI) (@Takagi__Shingo) December 15, 2021
Hiromu wasn’t the only big winner on Wednesday. 2/3rds of the longest reigning NEVER Openweight 6-man Tag Champions, Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI won World Tag League on Wednesday. They defeated House of Torture’s EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi, thanks to assistance from returning CHAOS member Tomohiro Ishii. With the win, Hirooki Goto becomes the first wrestler to win three tag tournaments since NJPW began the “World Tag League” branding in 2012.
The win is YOSHI-HASHI’s first tournament win in his entire wrestling career. The win is sweet, sweet revenge for YOSHI-HASHI specifically. After winning his first title in August of 2020, as part of the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champions, YOSHI-HASHI went on to hold the title for 454 days, with it ending last month at NJPW Power Struggle. The team that ended his reign, House of Torture, is the same team that he & Goto defeated tonight in Ryogoku. The two will face IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, and Tokyo Sports’ Best Tag Team of 2021, Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi, at Wrestle Kingdom.
おめでとう！ pic.twitter.com/Xo5uMuQ6EK
— 矢野 通（TORU YANO） (@YTR_CHAOS) December 15, 2021
While the dual tournament finals deservedly took center stage, there was plenty of notable happenings on the undercard, as The Road to Tokyo Dome begins and Wrestle Kingdom 16 begins to take shape.
In the opening contest, Suzuki-gun got an important win, as Suzuki & TAKA went a startling 0-11 in this year’s tag league. Thanks to Junior Heavyweight breakout talent DOUKI, they got an easy win over Taguchi and a team of Young Lions. Suzuki has been frustrated with Michinoku’s showing in the tournament, and the win buys the former-IWGP Jr. Tag Champ some time.
Speaking of the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Titles, current champ Tiger Mask was utterly embarrassed by the self-proclaimed Cutest Tag Team in Bullet Club. After getting pinned in under-3 minutes, Tiger Mask was the subject of a vicious beating from El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori, as they feel they’re next in line for a Jr. Tag Title match. Ryusuke Taguchi seemed to run in to make the save, but the literally turned his back on Tiger Mask, hitting him with a flying butt attack. Taguchi then called out the name of his Super Coaches tag partner, Rocky Romero. A three-way tag title match at the Tokyo Dome feels likely.
Suzuki-gun got another win in 8-man tag action, with Yoshinobu Kanemaru getting under the skin of provisional KOPW 2021 Toru Yano. Yano challenged Kanemaru to a match between now and the end of the year, when Yano’s reign as KOPW 2021 will be made official.
Hiroshi Tanahashi got another win over Chase Owens, his second in the past month. With the win, Hiroshi Tanahashi is now next in line to challenge IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion KENTA. KENTA appeared on the big screen in Ryogoku after the match, and challenged Tanahashi to a No DQ Match at Wrestle Kingdom 16 for the title.
Then Katsuyori Shibata announced his return to action, after nearly 5-years inactive.
Tetsuya Naito snuck out a win against the United Empire. The win infuriated UE’s Jeff Cobb, who chased Naito backstage to get revenge. It is likely these two will face in the Tokyo Dome, though no match has been made official.
In the final non-tournament match, G1 Climax winner Kazuchika Okada got a big tag win over LIJ, and his January 4th opponent Shingo Takagi. Here are the full results:
12/15
NJPW World Tag League 2021/Best of Super Juniors 28 Finals
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku) def. Kosei Fujita, Yuta Nakashima & Ryusuke Taguchi by submission. (6:07)
DOUKI submitted Kosei Fujita via DOUKI CHOKEY. - Bullet Club’s Cutest Tag Team (El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori) def. Tiger Mask & Ryohei Oiwa by pinfall. (2:31)
El Phantasmo pinned Tiger Mask via Sudden Death. - Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. Toru Yano, Master Wato, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma by ref stoppage. (9:16)
Zack Sabre Jr. forced a stoppage on Tomoaki Honma via Triangle Choke. - Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata def. Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale) by pinfall. (9:25)
Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned Chase Owens via Rollup. - Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA) def. United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) by pinfall. (9:30)
Tetsuya Naito pinned Jeff Cobb via Hurracanrana. - CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Robbie Eagles) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) by pinfall. (11:32)
Kazuchika Okada pinned BUSHI via Rainmaker. - World Tag League 2021 Finals: CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) def. House of Torture (EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi) by pinfall. (19:58)
YOSHI-HASHI pinned Yujiro Takahashi via Naraku (Abyss). - Best of Super Juniors 28 Finals: Hiromu Takahashi def. YOH by pinfall via Time Bomb II. (38:30)
NJPW will return on Dec. 21st for Road To Tokyo Dome: Night 1 at 4:3oam ET on NJPWWorld.com
