Oh wow, I'm two or three major shows behind on New Japan. No way I can talk about this as it's happening.

Plus, their tournaments always confuse me with their layouts and always run too long.

So I caught Night 1 and Night 2. Check out these matches:

ACH vs Bushi: 7.5/10Solid sprint from two workers that can go if given the chance. ACH seems so happy to be here and the crowd digs him. I still wish Bushi was pushed as a bigger threa.

Scrull vs Ospreay: 8/10 Damn fine match between two dudes that know each other well. Scrull has done what Lethal, Sabre Jr,Cody, and Adam Cole could not do in NJPW. Make the crowd give a shit about him. The crowd was red hot and it helped this match out a lot. It was a simple back and forth match with proper spots. Not their best meeting a nice tease of what Scrull Ospreay can do in a bigger/higher card setting. Ospreay with his move stealing of Shibata, Mark Andrews and Okada though come on man. His RKO mock was fun but still a reminder of Ospreay being a indy darling.

Takahashi vs Dragon Lee: 7.5/10: The hot start with the insane stiff shots was so good. Then they slowed down the pace but still hit the big moves. They then turned it up for a fast paced finale but had so many botches. Plus kicking out of a Canadian Destroyer and Takahashi losing pissed me off. Hope NJPW Match III has the feel and smoothness of Match I.

Scrull vs Dragon Lee: 7/10: Cool match with Scrull continuing his hot recent Bullet Club tactics. Lee was his usual lucha self. This was kept short and less flashy for these two. Right guy one won.

Takahashi vs Liger: 7.5/10 Good short match with Takahashi regaining some momentum after his big loss. Liger as the last chance vet has been fun. Takahashi continues to show why he is Wrestler of the Year with his in ring and character performances.

Ricochet vs Ospreay: 8/10 Look this was really good. When these fools went all out and fast speeds it was the balls to the wall action all spot monkey fans wanted. For the most part the big spots were hit on point as well. HOWEVER, this match was worked at a methodical pace. WHY? 30 MINUTES! Why? The longer it went the more obvious the acrobatics looked fake and pre planned. Some counters and spots just lacked the spark because of the toned down pace. Also the selling was whack because of it. One moment you take a backbreaker, kick combo into a pheonix splash and kick out the next you get groggy from some fists? Had this been kept to a insane 15 minute match, easily rival their match from last year that had everyone talking. Cool match, yes but disappointing considering the background of the two involved. I still hate the stupid OsCutter. Their meeting rankings for me now: Evolve (9.5/10), BOTSJ 2016 (9/10), PWG BOLA 2016 (8.5/10), this year (8/10).


Thoughts thus far: Night 1 had no tag matches and was kept to 3 hours! It was a NJPW miracle. Night one was fine overall and got the ball rolling. But then Night 2 was typical NJPW get all on card stuff. How often NJPW gets praised for being OMG BEST EVA and free passed for long shows still baffles me. Decent start to the tourney. Also please end Suzuki Gun after this year.

My quick rundown of night 2.... featuring the inevitable multi-man tag matches

Six Man Tag Team Match
Katsuya Kitamura, Shota Umino & Tetsuhiro Yagi vs. Hirai Kawato, Tiger Mask & Tomoyuki Oka
- I was making dinner.

Tag Team Match
ACH & Volador Jr. vs. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
- Just your average inevitable multi-man NJPW tag match.... but remember, NJPW is superior.

Six Man Tag Team Match
BULLET CLUB (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. War Machine (Hanson & Raymond Rowe) & David Finlay
- Honestly, for a multi-man tag match, this wasn't bad. Nothing mind blowing, but definitely not a bad watch.

Eight Man Tag Team Match
Juice Robinson, KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi & Satoshi Kojima vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito)
- Ya know.... when NJPW does multi-man tag matches right, they do them right.... this was a great match. Really fun, fun spots, and ya! I'd recommend watching this.

Best Of The Super Junior 2017 Block A Match
Taichi vs. TAKA Michinoku
- I. Hate. Taichi... but this was entertaining in its own way. The only moves they did on each other were hitting each other in the dick. It was like an episode of Jackass. I still can't stand Taichi... but I'll give this a pass for originality....

Best Of The Super Junior 2017 Block A Match
Dragon Lee vs. Marty Scurll
- Definitely not as good as either mans Night 1 matches... BUT still a good match. Great to see Scurll over so hard in Japan. Worth watching.

Best Of The Super Junior 2017 Block A Match
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
- WOW! I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. Liger looked great, and of course Takahashi did as well. Liger was a lot more vicious than I had ever seen him. 

Best Of The Super Junior 2017 Block A Match
Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay
- I really don't know where to go with this. The match was good. If I did stars it'd be 4 or 4.5, but it didn't really affect me emotionally. The sprints did were great, and the in between stuff was fine too, I didn't mind the no selling, BUT it felt like it was just drawn out a bit too much. Having a shorter match with the same structure would likely have done the job. I'm not looking for an over the top spotfest, just something that makes me feel some sort of emotion while watching. Still enjoyable and the parts I loved I LOVED.


So yeah... there's night. I am liking this so far. Not sure how guys advance or gain points or whatever.... but liking the competition! 

Last nights/this mornings BOTSJ matches were pretty passable, plus they were just at a house show, so one stationary camera and no commentary.

Desperado vs Bushi was fun. Was hoping for more, really, but for what it was was fine.

ACH vs Katamaru was nothing special.

Taguchi vs Volador Jr had some fun moments, but nothing overwhelming.

Tiger Mask vs KUSHIDA was fine, nothing special. HOWEVER, still pretty surprised with how good Tiger Mask it.

Anyway, matches were fine, but if you aren't watching everything then no worries.

Tonight/tomorrow mornings matches are...
TAKA Michinoku vs. Will Ospreay (BOSJ Block A Tournament Match)
Jushin Liger vs. Marty Scurll (BOSJ Block A Tournament Match)
Dragon Lee vs. Taichi (BOSJ Block A Tournament Match)
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Ricochet (BOSJ Block A Tournament Match)

And looks like they'll be from a house show too.

Quick rundown from last nights/this mornings matches...

Taka vs Ospreay was fun, but passable.
Liger vs Scurll was pretty good. If you're a fan of either check it out.
Dragon Lee vs Taichi was I can't stand Taichi so whatever.
Takahashi s Ricochet was a DAMN GOOD MATCH. Even with the one static camera this match was all sorts of awesome. Amazing spots, so killer moves, and Ricochet even pulled out a new finisher. So good! Even my dad enjoyed it and he thinks wrestling is goofy

So watched the last two nights last night and there was some really good stuff!

Best Of The Super Junior 2017 Block B Match
Volador Jr. vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- I really have not been a fan of either of these guys, but this was a good match from both. Even Kanemaru looked good.

Best Of The Super Junior 2017 Block B Match
ACH vs. Tiger Mask
- Pretty solid match. Nothing special, but Tiger Mask is still impressing me with his age.

Best Of The Super Junior 2017 Block B Match
El Desperado vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
- Desperado has been a huge surprise. I've been so annoyed with Suzuki-Gun, but this dude is great.... except when he tried to sodomize Taguchi....

Best Of The Super Junior 2017 Block B Match
BUSHI vs. KUSHIDA
- DAMN GOOD MATCH! I wouldn't say MOTY quality, but the pacing was perfect. BUSHI is really coming into his own and looking like a star.

Best Of The Super Junior 2017 Block A Match
Marty Scurll vs. TAKA Michinoku
- Fun match. Taka hasn't done much for me since his "return", but this was one of his best matches I've seen. Scurll is so over.

Best Of The Super Junior 2017 Block A Match
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Will Ospreay
- Good match. Like Tiger Mask, Liger is really surprising me with his age and how good he still is. Ton of respect between the two.

Best Of The Super Junior 2017 Block A Match
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taichi
- Have I mentioned that I cannot stand Taichi? Guess what, this match started out like every other match of his. Getting really sick of it. Takahashi deserves better.

Best Of The Super Junior 2017 Block A Match
Dragon Lee vs. Ricochet
- Great flippy dippy match that didn't go too overboard. Ricochet keeps reminding me why I love wrestling.

I would definitely add to my list:
Kushida vs BUSHI: 8.5/10 Damn fine match with a sweet start. Then they went back and forth with some vicious moves. End stretch was fine but I feel Bushi will always be the LIJ lackey. Kushida coming out with ROH TV title though yeah ROH tapings are slacking again...

Does anyone know why Ricochet never worked for ROH? Seems odd that he's never had a run there.

Not sure why he hasn't in the past, but more "recently" it's because of his contract with Lucha Underground. He made a comment recently when it was announced that AAA/LU started a working relationship with TNA and the wrestlers could go appear on their shows, and Ricochet said something like "So I can go wrestle in TNA but not ROH?" He wants to, but that Lucha Underground contract seems worse than a WWE contract.

Yeah, I am behind on this by 2 or 3 shows now lol. People complain that WWE puts out too much to keep up with, but goddamn, NJPW just overloads when it comes to tournaments. Seen some cool stuff in what I've caught since my last write up, but everything is just starting to blend together now since most of the shows are from house shows with just one hard cam.

Reviewing all the matches are going to be difficult since I'm behind on here, so here are my thoughts on each competitor though

Marty Scurll
I love Marty, been a fan of him since I first saw him, but he has REALLY shown in this tournament. His matches are just great, and even if he hits a lot of the same spots, they at least feel fresh and enjoyable and not overdone. He just sweats charisma.

TAKA Michinoku
Not too much to say. He definitely still has it, but you can tell he's just in it to fill up a space. He's put on some entertaining matches though, and actually made me enjoy a Taichi match!

Hiromu Takahashi
He's the man, one of the best in NJPW, just worry that he is going to injure himself with all of his insane moves. He always puts on a great show, and despite him being and acting like a heel, you just can't help but love him.

BUSHI
One of the highlights so far. He always just felt like the extra guy in LIJ, but he's shown his abilities and skills and that he can go when he has to. I think I've only ever seen him in multi-man tag matches, so its an absolute treat to see him in singles competition finally. Plus his entrance theme is catchy as hell.

Ricochet
This is one of the guys that made me fall in love with indie wrestling, and the fact that he's gone from being "The flippy guy" to "The flippy guy that can put on some damn good matches and phenomenal wrestling" really shows how much he's grown as a competitor. He looks so light on his feet and makes everything look so easy.

Will Ospreay
Eehhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ospreay is good, but so many of his matches feel the same after a while. His flips and spots are definitely breathtaking, but after seeing them done for no reason multiple times makes me roll my eyes a bit. I'm glad he got rid of his "booty shorts" though, looks way more like a "star" in standard tights.

Taichi
Can't stand him. Every match is the same. His entrance is annoying. He needs to go away.

Jushin "Thunder" Liger
The fact that Liger has been wrestling for as long as he has and can still deliver A+ performances just goes to show how much of a legend he truly is. Sure, his matches aren't overly exciting, but he still has all the skillz and doesn't look at all like he is the age that he is.

ACH
ACH just felt random being in this tournament, but he's been so great. He's insanely over in Japan, and you can tell he is having the time of his life. These have been some of the best matches that I've seen him in. His style just fits Japan so well. That's about it... I don't see him getting to the finals, but he's been great at what he has done.

Tiger Mask
Much like Liger, he has gone on to prove that age is only a number. According to Wikipedia, this incarnation of Tiger Mask is only 46, but still, give the length of his career, that is phenomenal to think about. His entrance music is so great, and he has really looked like a million dollars. Plus, it's great to see him not in a multi-man match and be able to put on a one-on-one match and still bring it.

Taguchi
I love Taguchi... at first I wasn't sure because I figured he was "just another comedy wrestler", but he does it SO WELL. He does comedy matches the way they should be done, with great wrestling, good entertainment, and good moves. I will say though.... his match with El Desperado made me cringe because it looked like Desperado was trying to shove a sharp object up his butt... which is his main source of offense.... THAT BUTT HAS A FAMILY.

Dragon Lee
Lee has been a good addition to this tournament. I am still pretty fresh on him, but he's becoming one of my favorite lucha's. His moveset is great, and even if he is a bit of a flippy dippy guy at times, he can still deliver some brutal chops and great wrestling. I was hoping for a bit more with his match again Ospreay, but oh well, I'm sure they'll meet again!

KUSHIDA
I think KUSHIDA is the favorite to win this tournament to help further his feud with Hiromu. He has been really good in this and has delivered some solid matches. Not too much more to say that hasn't already been said. He always puts on great matches so it's no surprise!

El Desperado
Outside of Minoru Suzuki, I find Suzuki-Gun to be quite annoying. All their matches just go through the motions from beginning to end, then they cheat to win... HOWEVER, Desperado has really won me over as a huge fan of his. I wasn't sure what to expect because like a few others in this list, I have only seem him in multi-man matches, but given the chance to go one-on-one, he has become one of my favorites in this tournament and I look forward to every match I see him in. Plus is scream is BRUTAL, I want him to do vocals or a band of mine.

Volador Jr
I have been pretty back and forth with Volador. He just feels "there" in the tournament, honestly, and seemed to have a bumpy start at the beginning of the tournament, but he's come back and has been putting on some better performances. He reminds me a lot of Neville with his moves and look, but a bit more ground based. That handspring he does against the ropes though... JESUS, looks like the ring is going to flip over when he hits them.

Kanemaru
AH! I almost forgot about Kanemaru! I really don't have much to say about him. His matches are like Taichi's in a way. Goes through the motions, does his "heel cheating" stuff, and then the match is over. I will admit though, his match that he had over the weekend against KUSHIDA was really good, the best match I have seen him in.

So yay... that took a lot more time than expected lol.

Johnny what a write up and I had similar thoughts on this thing.

Volador Jr vs KUSHIDA: 7.5/10 Really solid back and forth match with Jr looking good again. Dug the focused attack from Kushida.

Finals Matches to Watch:

Bullet Club B team vs War Machine/Finlay/ACH:7/10 Fun match with War Machine looking beast as usual in NJPW. B Team looked determined in this match. Fun stuff and who does not like Tokyo Latina!!!

LIJ vs Taguchi Japan: 7.5/10 Really fun back and forth match with some dope sequences. LIJ being treated as top dawgs is where it is at. It must continue. No more short dominant sequences. Just kill everyone. Naito has a point with his OH US Belt now everyone will have a belt. More on this later in other thread.

Scrull/Omega vs Okada/Gedo: 7/10 A small tease with comedy of what is to come between Okada/Omega II.

Kushida vs Ospreay III BOTSJ Finals: 9/10 Awesome match with Kushida talking everything from Ospreay. First 5-10 mins with the feel out was unnecessary and did nothing to enhance this match. Once Kushida started to target the arm and leg of Ospreay this picked up. Ospreay responded with a use my body at all costs to take out Kushida approach. It worked, I bought in. But then they went overkill with Kushida surviving everything for the finish. This included a flipping super ddt, imploding 450, OsCutter. Like damn he went Super Cena. Kushida one off one mistake. This match had some minor botches but once it picked up it truly was all business. All the NJPW fanboys giving this 5 Meltzer Stars be on something. It was a standard great slow burn NJPW match.

Overall: 7/10 This tournament was alright. Kinda play by the numbers with some good matches in here. I believe Kushida beats Takahashi then Ospreay beats his Nemesis in USA show.

FINALLY FINISHED THE GODDAMN TOURNAMENT!!

Those three matches you listed Doomsy were definitely awesome. Usually the multi-man matches tend to bore me, but those were so rad! Especially Tokyo Latina :3

That final though, goddamn! It was definitely the NJPW style of feel out then balls to the wall, then chill, then blow your load in the end sprint, but done so well. Ospreay really showed an interesting character in this match, and it didn't feel like every other Ospreay match. I did start to get a bit tired near the end of it and wanted it to end, but still paced well with some goddamn nasty moves!