Before I say anything, I just wanna say fuck you Gedo for making me write and study so much in such a short amount of time.

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Hello r/njpw

Welcome back to my coverage of the BOSJ 32, and let me just say, if you thought A Block was a mess, B Block is even more so. No eliminations, though some people are worse off than others. LEt's see how it boils down.

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For those of you who are new to these, I make posts rounding up the possible outcomes for these round-robin tournaments. I look at the % odds of each team of making it out of the block phase (taking all results as equal), sometimes even taking draws into account.

As usual, you may also view my BOSJ 32 results summary page here. I'm manually updating it as we go along the tournament. It contains the schedule of the matches, results, and a summary of the top 20 best matches of the tournament (based on CageMatch Ratings).

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Just a quick update on things. Starting today, I will be taking draw results into account. They will be relevant for some people, so keep an eye out for that.

B Block Standings

Yeah, everyone is still alive. No technicalities, no ties only. Everyone is still in the running to claim sole block leadership in B Block. How is that possible, you may ask? Well, to start off, everyone being within 2 points of each other has a lot to do with it. As for the details, well, you'll just have to read on.

1) YOH

• 8 pts; 4 wins, 3 losses
• 28.8% to go to the finals
  • 25.0% as sole #1
  • 3.9% in a tie for #1
• Best Wins: MAO [8], Nick Wayne [8], El Desperado [8]
• Worst Losses: N/A
• Upcoming matches:
  • vs Titan (May 25)
  • vs Taiji Ishimori (May 29)

B Block has a new block leader, and his name is Yoh.

Okay, so it's not a score lead, but it's still pretty significant. Yoh has a clean record against other current 8-pointers, with only 1 of them left to face. A perfect record from here on out gives him the block, so Yoh has the most control of B Block.

That being said, it won't be an easy 2 wins. Both Titan and Ishimori have been to the BOSJ finals, and Ishimori himself is a former Jr. Champion. These are not competitors that Yoh can take lightly, regardless of his in ring antics. However, should he see himself through, he'll be primed for as second BOSJ finals appearance, and maybe even his first trophy.

2) Taiji Ishimori

• 8 pts; 4 wins, 3 losses
• 23.8% to go to the finals
  • 19.8% as sole #1
  • 4.1% in a tie for #1
• Best Wins: Nick Wayne [8], El Desperado [8]
• Worst Losses: MAO [8]
• Upcoming matches:
  • vs SHO (May 25)
  • vs YOH (May 29)

Next in line in B Block is Taiji Ishimori.

Ishimori has come a long way in this year's tournament. Both he and Yoh were at the bottom of the block at one point, but now they're on top with the best chances at taking the block. The fact that they're facing off on the last day feels like the finalist will be one of them, but we still have another show to go.

Similarly to Yoh, Ishimori has ended up with a sild roster of wins for this phase of the tournament, despite some of his early losses. If he wins both his remaining matches against the former R3K members, he'll have eliminated Yoh from contention and carved a nice spot for himself.

Unlike Yoh, however, Ishimori is not in complete control of his destiny, as he has to worry about of his losses: Mao. Mao has kept pace in the block, and is on 8 points, like Ishimori. If the two both score 12, Mao will benefit, and almost certainly lock Ishimori out of the finals.

3) MAO

• 8 pts; 4 wins, 3 losses
• 18.7% to go to the finals
  • 15.8% as sole #1
  • 2.9% in a tie for #1
• Best Wins: Taiji Ishimori [8]
• Worst Losses: YOH [8], El Desperado [8]
• Upcoming matches:
  • vs Nick Wayne (May 25)
  • vs SHO (May 29)

Our guest from DDT has been putting up a great showing in this year's tournament, and is now within arms reach of making the finals in his first appearance.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have the best win-loss record. Despe and Yoh are both alive and kicking, and could prevent Mao from making the finals. Not to mention who he has to face to make those points. Nick Wayne's reputation as a prodigy has been well-voiced, while Sho's craftiness and shenanigans can make any match with him a toss-up. Mao is used to shenanigans though, having come from DDT. Maybe that background can help him there.

4) Nick Wayne

• 8 pts; 4 wins, 3 losses
• 17.3% to go to the finals
  • 14.8% as sole #1
  • 2.5% in a tie for #1
• Best Wins: El Desperado [8]
• Worst Losses: YOH [8], Taiji Ishimori [8]
• Upcoming matches:
  • vs MAO (May 25)
  • vs Titan (May 29)

Nick Wayne has dropped a bit after this last show, but he's still very much in the running for the finals.

Losing to both Yoh and Ishimori on consecutive nights has been devastating to Nick Wayne, and his win over Despe, while significant to his career, is not as valuable in this tournament as it was. With Yoh and Ishimori facing each other on the last day, Nick Wayne is at great risk of ending up in a tie with one or both of them, a situation that does not favor young master Wayne. It's entirely out of his hands, though, so he'll just have to focus on getting himself to 12 points, and hope that neither of them do.

5) El Desperado

• 8 pts; 4 wins, 3 losses
• 14.5% to go to the finals
  • 12.0% as sole #1
  • 2.5% in a tie for #1
• Best Wins: MAO [8]
• Worst Losses: YOH [8], Taiji Ishimori [8], Nick Wayne [8]
• Upcoming matches:
  • vs Kevin Knight (May 25)
  • vs Robbie Eagles (May 29)

Our last 8-pointer is junior champion El Desperado.

Despe has settled all his matches against the current 8-pointers, and the record is not good. Losing to Yoh, Ishimori, and Wayne is very bad for his tournament health, and isn't something a win over Mao can cure on its own. He'll need a lot of help if he's to make the finals.

6) SHO

• 6 pts; 3 wins, 4 losses
• 4.4% to go to the finals
  • 1.6% as sole #1
  • 2.9% in a tie for #1
• Best Wins: YOH [8]
• Worst Losses: Nick Wayne [8], El Depserado [8]
• Upcoming matches:
  • vs Taiji Ishimori (May 25)
  • vs MAO (May 29)

It's crazy that our 6-pointers are still in this race, and moreso that Sho survived after being in dead last before this show.

So how is he still alive? Well, two big matches against Ishimori and Wayne certainly help. Those could be valuable in offsetting his losses. Still, as with the other 6-pointers, this requires the top score to be 10, which is not an easy ask. If both Yoh and Ishimori win their respective matches tomorrow, then it's all over for the 6-pointers, so they're hoping that that doesn't happen, and Sho can influence that directly, since he's the one taking on Ishimori.

7) Titan

• 6 pts; 3 wins, 4 losses
• 4.2% to go to the finals
  • 1.7% as sole #1
  • 2.5% in a tie for #1
• Best Wins: Taiji Ishimori [8], MAO [8]
• Worst Losses: El Desperado [8], SHO [6]
• Upcoming matches:
  • vs YOH (May 25)
  • vs Nick Wayne (May 29)

Titan's in a very similar boat to Sho, but with a bit of a difference in details. Again, two big matches over current 8-pointers would be great leverage in a fibals decision. He also already has two wins over current 8-pointers. However, he also has a loss to Sho, which complicates things for him. Assuming neither Sho nor Despe score too much, Titan may just make the finals.

8) Kevin Knight

• 6 pts; 3 wins, 4 losses
• 1.1% to go to the finals
  • 0.4% as sole #1
  • 0.7% in a tie for #1
• Best Wins: Nick Wayne [8], SHO [6], Titan [6]
• Worst Losses: YOH [8], Taiji Ishimori [8], MAO [8]
• Upcoming matches:
  • vs El Desperado (May 25)
  • vs Ryusuke Taguchi (May 29)

We drift further and further away from realistic possibilities as we move onto Kevin Knight, who's sitting on just above 1%.

With only one win over a current 8-pointer and 3 losses, things don't look good for Kevin Knight. He does have one more big match against the junior champion El Desperado, and though a win there may be too little too late for Kevin Knight, it may still be good for his career as a whole.

9) Robbie Eagles

• 6 pts; 3 wins, 4 losses
• 0.7% to go to the finals
  • 0.1% as sole #1
  • 0.6% in a tie for #1
• Best Wins: YOH [8], Titan [6], Kevin Knight [6]
• Worst Losses: Taiji Ishimori [8], MAO [8], Nick Wayne [8], SHO [6]
• Upcoming matches:
  • vs Ryusuke Taguchi (May 25)
  • vs El Desperado (May 29)

It's bad times for poor ol' Robbie Robbie Robbie. Both he and Knight are just hoping that the 8-pointers fail and the 6-pointers succeed, since that's more likely to help Eagles in this tournament. He also does still have his last match against Desperado. That, at the very least, could be a solid win for Robbie, maybe even a title match.

10) Ryusuke Taguchi

• 6 pts; 3 wins, 4 losses
• 0.6% to go to the finals
  • 0.09% as sole #1
  • 0.5% in a tie for #1
• Best Wins: YOH [8], Taiji Ishimori [8], SHO [6]
• Worst Losses: MAO [8], Nick Wayne [8], El Desperado [8], Titan [6]
• Upcoming matches:
  • vs Robbie Eagles (May 25)
  • vs Kevin Knight (May 29)

Last, but not … well, I guess he is the least for B Block. It's Ryusuke Taguchi.

Coach Guch has been showing out this tournament (in more ways than one). However, it seems to have fallen apart near the end. He's the only 6-pointer without a match with a current 8-pointer, so it's not a terribly exciting last few matches with Taguchi. All I'll say is a well done to him. The Ishimori match was great.

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For the chaos lovers out there, there's a big 7-way tie left in play, though it's pretty tight. See if you can math it out. Here's your hint: it involves everyone but Knight, Titan, and Eagles.

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What's Next

Ryusuke Taguchi vs Robbie Eagles is the least interesting match on this next show. In contrast, the most interesting one (imo, as far as scores go) will be Nick Wayne vs MAO. That is guaranteed to raise the score ceiling in B Block, as both wrestlers are on 8. In addition, as I mentioned earlier in the post, because of the YOH vs Taiji Ishimori match on the last day, the matches that those two will be having will greatly affect the block. Should they both win, anyone at 8 or lower at the end of this show will be eliminated from contention. That leaves El Desperado vs Kevin Knight, which isn't terribly significant, though it may determine if the Jr champion will be a factor in the final day.

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And with that, I'm done with B Block. Thank you so much for reading. I'll be doing one final post after tomorrow's show laying out the stakes for the final block matches. B Block was relatively bloodless after today, but tomorrow, the field should be cut down.

Should.

Hopefully.

Come on Gedo, give me a break.

For now, I need to stop. The sun is literally rising, and I need to get at least a bit of sleep.

Until then, thanks for reading! See you next post.