NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals
Ryogoku Sumo Hall
Tokyo, Japan
June 5, 2019
The following report is by Mike Killam for ProWrestling.com. Follow me on Twitter @MikeKillam and check out our new weekly NJPW podcast The Lion-Gun Show (@LionGunShow).
SHOTA UMINO, TITAN & DRAGON LEE vs. JONATHAN GRESHAM, BANDIDO & REN NARITA
Dragon Lee came out wearing a Shibata shirt, because he’s a gem. Shota drove down Gresham with a big shoulder tackle to get things started, before the two went back-and-forth with quick pinning combinations. In comes Bandido, and Titan tags in to meet him. All kinds of great lucha things here with both guys flipping and flying all around the ring, trading counter-for-counter until Bandido popped his opponent up into a cutter for a two-count. We’re off and running!
Bandido went for an early 21-Plex but ran into a heavy knee strike, before the two collided with a Spanish Fly that seemed to take it out of both men. Tags to Narita and Lee, with the Young Lion going crazy with wild rights and lefts, obviously something to prove against the champion. He managed to hang Lee up in the ropes while Bandido did a diving double foot stomp from the top, followed by a Shooting Star from Gresham, but Umino made the save for his team and cleared the ring.
The champion’s team took out all their agression on Narita for a few minutes, alternating in with quick tags and punishing the poor boy with flashy combos. Bandido and Titan ended up flying through the ropes, crashing into the barricade taking each other out. Narita again lit up the champ with a series of strikes and suplexes, but Lee caught him with a knee strike, then pulled down his kneepad for another, unprotected strike. 1…2…3.
Winners: Dragon Lee, Shota Umino & Titan
RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & ROPPONGI 3K vs. ROBBIE EAGLES, EL PHANTASMO & TAIJI ISHIMORI
Phantasmo is out first, being a huge dick as always. He attacks Taguchi early on and takes his rugby helmet and punts his ball into the upper deck. To be fair, it was a good kick. He spent the first portion of the match working over Coach and spending most of his time taunting the crowd, which seemed to annoying his own Bullet Club partner Robbie Eagles, who has had enough of his constant showboating.
In a total comedy spot the guy guys rally back and Coach has the boys does a chain of clotheslines on Phantasmo in the corner. He goes up to the top rope and tells them to send ELP flying into his rear, but Phantasmo stops up short and gives him the ole thumb-in-the-bum, shades of the great Steve Corino. It took all three Bullet Club members to pull his thumb out of Taguchi’s ass, like pulling the mythical sword from the stone. The smell alone knocks out his partners, and nearly gets him a three-count on Taguchi as well. Alright then.
ELP does the Undertaker rope walk but walks Taguchi all around the ring, bouncing off the ropes and taking out SHO and YOH whilst somehow never losing his balance on the ropes. Eventually Eagles tags in but doesn’t fair well as the tag champs double team him with all kinds of quick combinations. They took out ELP with stereo knee strikes, tried for the 3K on Eagles, but he blocked it and dropped both guys with DDTs.
SHO popped back up and turned Eagles inside out with a huge lariat, tried for another one but got caught in the Turbo Backpack for a two-count. He went to the top and hit the 450 Splash, but ELP made a blind tag his partner didn’t see. Eagles tried to cover him, but Phantasmo yanked him off, his the CR2 and covered SHO himself to steal the win.
Winners: Bullet Club
After the match Phantasmo paraded around the ring celebrating his great victory, before he and Ishimori stole the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championships and pretended like they had won them. Eagles shoved him across the ring and the crowd gasped. The two nearly went at it but Ishimori split them up, and Phantasmo basically said “to hell with you” and walked off by himself to the back.
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