–> BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XX (5/24/13 to 6/9/13) <--

NJPW, 6/9/13 (TV Asahi ch2)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,015 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA, BUSHI & Titan beat Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov, Brian Kendrick, Ricochet & Baretta (7:39) when KUSHIDA used the Midnight Express on Kendrick.
2. Manabu Nakanishi & Hiromu Takahashi beat Yuji Nagata & Takaaki Watanabe (9:18) when Takahashi used a crab hold on Watanabe.
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan beat Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Jado (9:45) when Tenzan used the Anaconda Vice on Jado.
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Prince Devitt beat Kenny Omega (9:09) with a reverse Bloody Sunday.
5. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Alex Shelley beat TAKA Michinoku (10:14) with the Automatic Midnight.
6. Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii beat Minoru Suzuki & Taichi (11:13) when Ishii used a brainbuster on Taichi.
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto beat Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga (8:07) when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on Tonga.
8. Kazuchika Okada & Gedo beat Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma (11:14) when Okada used the Rainmaker on Honma.
9. Best of the Super Jr. – Final: Prince Devitt beat Alex Shelley (18:25) with the Bloody Sunday.

* Prince Devitt made history in the 20th Best of the Super Jr. with complete victory while reigning as IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. Only Jushin Thunder Liger in 2001 had previously ever won the tournament unbeaten but he had four less matches and wasn’t the title holder. Devitt stormed through the group stage with ease ahead of today’s semi finals which saw a major twist before they even began. Ryusuke Taguchi, who had worked so hard after a poor BOSJ start to reach the semis, had to pull out because of injury. Taguchi had sought revenge over his betrayer Devitt but that will have to wait as TAKA stepped in as his replacement and fell to the popular Alex Shelley. Devitt defeated Kenny Omega in the other semi, setting up an all-foreigner final.

The final was quite chaotic for a time with seconds interfering and fighting each other. “All of Korakuen is the enemy of Devitt” said one fan, the Bullet Club leader having quickly become one of the most hated figures in New Japan since betraying Taguchi and the fans. And there was to be no happy ending for the fans as Devitt dropped Shelley with the Bloody Sunday to win his second Best of the Super Jr. tournament – seemingly the invincible figure of New Japan’s junior division.

The question now rises – is Devitt too strong for the junior division and should he move into the heavyweight division? We may get a clue soon as he expressed his wish to face Tanahashi which would be the ultimate challenge of Devitt’s ability to face top heavyweights.

* Manabu Nakanishi will challenge Rob Conway for the NWA World Heavyweight Title on the big 6/22 Osaka show, hoping to do what Kojima couldn’t and bring the title to New Japan.

* Hiromu Takahashi said farewell to the fans after the second match with the young lion now set to head to the UK on his traditional learning excursion after finishing the BOSJ tournament without a single win.

NJPW, 6/9/13 (TV Asahi ch2)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA, BUSHI & Titan vs. Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov, Brian Kendrick, Ricochet & Baretta
2. Yuji Nagata & Takaaki Watanabe vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Hiromu Takahashi
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Jado
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Prince Devitt vs. Kenny Omega
5. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Alex Shelley
6. Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga
8. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Kazuchika Okada & Gedo
9. Best of the Super Jr. – Final: