Hello NJPW Reddit this is my first post and first time watching a NJPW tournament. Sorry for the late post the tournament is really long. I watched wrestle dynasty/kingdom and enjoy both events so I thought I would give my opinion as a first time viewer of NJPW. I want to spilt up each block and talk about each competitor. I’d love to hear your opinion on my thoughts. So please let me know. Also recommend so matches from the tournament you think I should rewatch
Before I start I would like to say I watched WWE and AEW consistently so take that as you will.
A block
Clark Conners- amazing athlete, love the wheelson gimmick he is doing. Also what a dope theme song. Favorite match was against Akira. Unsure what is the story there but was definitely a curveball match that I enjoyed. Honestly can see him on NXT.
Dragon Dia- 2nd best theme song of tournament. Wasn’t as interested in him at first during korakuen hall matches but won me over in the match against time bomb. Favorite match vs robbie X. It was said he is from another company in Japan, would def check him out more.
Francisco akira- Saw him during WK19. Love the name not so much a fan of his theme but great in ring talent. Love his passion/fire during matches. Needs more time to become IWGP jr heavyweight champion in my opinion but is on the right path. Favorite match vs fujita or vs conners
Hiromu Takahashi- The main reason why I tuned into this tournament. Seeing him live at forbidden door I could tell he was special. I enjoyed all of his matches as I feel like he is the standard for jr heavyweight wrestling. Loved all matches didn’t miss a step once. Favorite matches were vs akira and vs robbie x
Kosei Fujita- I didn’t notice him during WK19 but I know he was a star during day 1 of BOSJ 32. I mean wow this guy is a full package wrestler even though I can’t understand his promos. His fire inside is different. He is different. Favorite match vs kushida. Also this was my match of the tournament. Thought he was going to lose it all here. What an in ring story told over the next couple matches.
Kushida- One of the main reason I wanted to see this tournament. Pillar of this division. Seeing him on TNA mostly but I’ve always used kushida in wwe games. As during his WWE days I was away from watching wrestling. Thought he was gonna win the tournament as well ngl. Just a different breed. Favorite match vs Fujita
Master wato- I love his finisher, I love his pose when the announcer says his name. But I can’t get behind him for some reason. I was honestly surprised he was a former BOSJ winner in the past 5 years. He’s a great hand don’t get me wrong but his tag partner YOH is the real star. Maybe I’m being too hard please let me know great matches from wato. Favorite matches vs Time bomb
Ninja Mack- who doesn’t love ninja Mack. Seen the clip ok ESPN and it reminded me to watch the tournament. One of my favorites def can be a good baby face if used right. Favorite match vs Fujita. Loved his role as the roadblock to Fujita tournament win.
Robbie x- Hated his theme at first but I got used to it. Love his style def wanna see more from him in NJPW. Took me some time to see his worth but is def a gem. Favorite match vs Time bomb and vs conners
Yoshinobu Kanemaru- Part of the reason why I wanted to watch BOSJ was to understand to idea of a heel cruiserweight/jr heavyweight. This is it right here. I love the whole attack the leg to tire out the opponent. If I was a heel wrestler I would do the same thing. Amazing talent. Kinda lost me later on in the tournament as I liked Ishimori’s style better. Favorite match vs Nick Wayne.
A block while being the weaker block had 2 of the 3 strongest competitors in FUJITA and Time bomb.
B block
El Desperado- Oh despy where do I start. The entrance, the look, the skillset, the fire. He has it all. I understand why he is the champion as he is the best in ring talent right now with that numero dos submission move. Need and want more Despy. Won’t lie didn’t notice him during WK19 but will keep my eye on him now. Strongest to beat in the tournament IMO just the best currently. Loved all matches didn’t miss a step once. Favorite matches vs Wayne or YOH
Kevin Knight- One of the main reason I’m watching this series of matches. Favorite to win the block. As a black American it’s great to see on of us represented correctly in NJPW. Loved every match. Favorite match vs Wayne
MAO- Im happy that i saw some tag matches before i saw his run in the tournament as I would’ve not understood his gimmick/style. Love mao and the strange love connection. Wish I could see more but DDT is hard to find in USA. My 2nd favorite to win the block. Favorite match vs Taguchi. Can’t lie I was rolling on the floor watching this match.
Nick Wayne- Another AEW guy I know in the tournament. What a talent was def upset to see him Lose momentum after his loss to knight but it’s okay. Would love to see him one day as jr heavyweight champion. Honestly didn’t have any bad matches in my opinion maybe sho. Favorite match vs Knight or ishimori
Robbie eagles- Loved him in the tag matches either night one or two absolutely carried and made me a fan there. ROBBIE ROBBIE ROBBIE. Great talent def wanna see more. Love his rod miller special. Can’t lie another guy I just didn’t notice during WK19. Def wanna see more. Favorite match vs Titan.
Ryusuke Taguchi- The father of the tournament. Loved his lil doll he had. Gotta love your comedy guys that can really go in the ring. I’m an Orange Cassidy guy what can I say. Favorite match vs Mao by far. Might be a top 3 memorable match in the tournament for me.
Sho- His entrance is dope. The doll/skelton thing is cool how he dresses them as the opponents. I dont have much to say about him as the faction he is apart of did a lot work for him. Not a problem for me just seems like he can do more. Saw that he was a former jr heavyweight champion which somewhat surprised me but i dont know seems like the faction is holding him back. Favorite match vs YOH. During this match i said man these guys could be great as a tag team. Then i did a search and had a long sigh.
Taiji Ishimori- took me a while to understand this guy but def appreciated his heel work. Can’t lie i love how he does the same thing every match. Could def be champion if he adds a wrinkle or two into his gameplan. Favorite match vs Knight
Titan- Amazing luchador, this block was so stacked that I felt like as time went on he got lost in the shuffle for me. Favorite match vs Despy or Eagles. Def wanna see more titan
YOH- Another guy at first I didn’t like as much but his win over Time bomb did a lot for me. He has the full package. And when the final was announced my choice changed. Sucks to see him runner up. At least he is the tag team champion. I feel for YOH fans because I’m not sure if he will ever win the big one. I hope so he’s great.
B block was the block to watch. This block had matches that you couldn’t stay in your seat for.
Final match Fujita vs YOH- personally would’ve wanted YOH to win but Fujita is legit. Can see him beating DESPY after some time but unsure how much rest they will get before the match. What’s next for YOH singles wise I don’t know but I hope he can get it done.
Thank you for reading this like a said. Leave your thoughts, opinions, comments and let’s start a conversation. Also recommend so matches from the tournament you think I should rewatch.
by MostSky1651