NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Block A Preview: Will Ospreay, and more

YOH (CHAOS)

One half of Roppongi 3K is making his debut in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. Already a multi time IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champion, YOH is hoping to add Best of the Super Juniors Champion to his resume. YOH has quickly made an impact with his tag team partner, YOH, and you know his manager, Rocky Romero will be coaching them both. However, how will he do as a singles competitor? This marks one of the first times YOH will have extensive singles matches since his days as a young lion. He faces BUSHI on May 18th.

BUSHI (Los Ingobernables de Japon)

BUSHI is a multi-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, and former NEVER Six-Man Tag Champion. He has the credentials to be a winner in this tournament. It would be quite the surprise if he doesn’t perform well. BUSHI has had a run of bad luck lately, losing to Suzuki-gun several times with his partner, Hiromu Takahashi, so we know that he will be looking to redeem himself with a strong showing.

“Bone Soldier” Taiji Ishimori (Bullet Club)

The newest member, and second Japanese member (if we don’t count the original Bone Soldier, AKA Captain New Japan, who Prince Devitt had some famous words for (look it up on YouTube for a laugh)), of The Bullet Club makes his NJPW debut here in this tournament. Ishimori made an immediate Impact when he showed up at Wrestling Dontaku. I expect that he will do very well in this tournament. His first match in the tournament is against Will Ospreay, and he might win it.

Will Ospreay (CHAOS)

The current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion has been on quite the tear of late. While suffering from clear injuries from his match with Marty Scurll, he has taken no time off. The protégé of Kazuchika Okada has taken on everyone and defeated them since winning the title. Ospreay has been putting up match of the year level performances. Ospreay is one of the best wrestlers in the world right now, but how long can he keep working at this pace? Time will tell for the young IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. I expect Ospreay to do very well in the tournament, but I do not think he makes it to the finals. I think Ishimori defeats him on Night 1, making an immediate impact.

Final Thoughts

That is all the competitors for the A Block of the Best of the Super Juniors! Tomorrow, I return to look at the B Block. As far as who you should keep an eye on in the block, Ishimori, Ospreay, and BUSHI are all ones to watch. Flip Gordon debuting should be quite interesting, and also YOH, as he makes his debut too. You can never discount Tiger Mask, ACH, and Kanemaru, but I see them as the weakest of the block.

Next: Rey Mysterio Announced for All In

All in all, we are in for a treat with several good matches ahead. The story about who can actually defeat the resilient Ospreay is very interesting. Will he be able to survive the tournament without a loss? Will his body hold up? Or will he ultimately succumb to his injuries and be defeated like Okada was in last year’s G1 by EVIL and Kenny Omega? We are in for a very interesting few weeks.