NJPW: Best of the Super Juniors Finals Highlights & Results

From 20 down to two, the finals of the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 26 are here with the undefeated steam roller Shingo Takagi battling the bridge between the Juniors and Heavyweights Will Ospreay.

Plus, Jon Moxley makes his NJPW debut challenging Juice Robinson for the IWGP US Title and Hiroshi Tanahashi makes his in-ring return against Jay White.

It all began on May 13 with a crew of 20 wrestlers spread across the A and B Blocks. Over the following several weeks, the gap between the favorites destined to shine at the end and the rest of the crowd grew larger and larger.

In the end, the A Block broke down to a fight between two men: Shingo Takagi and Taiji Ishimori. Ishimori’s only loss on the way to his match with Shingo came at the hands of the master heel, Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Kanemaru was superb in his performance throughout the BOSJ using his skeevy skill set to pick up a count out victory over SHO as well.

The B Block was a more competitive field toward the end with Will Ospreay, Ryusuke Taguchi, El Phantasmo, and Robbie Eagles all vying for the top spot. It would eventually come down to Ospreay and Taguchi with the Aerial Assassin picking up the win in just over 20 minutes. Ospreay’s only losses along the way came at the hands of Bullet Club members ELP and Eagles.

Now, with the finals in the main event in Ryogoku’s Sumo Hall, Shingo and Ospreay clash to determine who will challenge Dragon Lee on June 9 at Dominion.

Alongside the Best of the Super Juniors tournament itself has been the torment of Juice Robinson. The IWGP US Champion has been teased with a video from a mysterious individual claiming that on June 5, time would be up for Robinson. That individual was revealed to be Jon Moxley who makes his New Japan debut fresh off of an 8-year run in WWE and surprise appearance at AEW Double or Nothing.

Recovering from surgery on his left elbow, Hiroshi Tanahashi has proven he’s a big Talking Heads fan with his goal for the IWGP Heavyweight Title: same as it ever was. Tanahashi, on the mend, announced at Wrestling Dontaku that he would begin climbing the mountain back to the championship only to be interrupted and attacked by Jay White. White, looking to solidify his status and regain the momentum he lost in dropping the gold to Kazuchika Okada, has his sights set on the Ace of the Universe.

Full results can be found on the last page, but let’s roll through the highlights and takeaways from the finals of Best of the Super Juniors 26!