Nine more matches of Super Juniors action, coming at you from Esforta Arena in Hachioji. Tonight’s show features the debuts of Valiente Jr. and Jun Kasai, God help us, and nights off for Hyo (who is working a Dragongate show) and Yoshinobu Kanemaru.

A Block: Valiente Jr. (0 points) vs. Daiki Nagai [Unbound Co.] (0 points)

Chris Charlton is solo on English commentary tonight. Nagai jumps Valiente early and even hits a tope con hilo early on. Nagai applies the Boston Crab, but Valiente gets to the ropes. Valiente gains the advantage with a dropkick and hits a tope con hilo of his own; Nagai doesn’t get much of the catch, however, and Valiente goes splat on the floor, which looks like it sucks. Back in the ring, Nagai regains the advantage with a dropkick and a spinebuster, but only gets two. Nagai misses the diving headbutt, however, and Valiente hits a package facebuster thingy for the pinfall.

What’s next? Valiente (2 points) has Ryuske Taguchi tomorrow at Yoyogi National Gymnasium #2 in Tokyo, while Nagai (0 points) has his faction-mate Titán.

A Block: Master Wato (0 points) vs. Ryuske Taguchi (2 points)

Team Six and Nine explode! Ahem. The two trade roll-up attempts to start, and Wato quickly locks in Vendaval, but Taguchi rolls him into a pinning predicament for two. They trade La Magistral attempts, then trade crucifix attempts, and then, when Wato goes for Recientemente, Taguchi counters it into a cradle for the pinfall and the upset. The former partners shake hands after the match.

What’s next? Taguchi (4 points) gets Valiente Jr. tomorrow night, while Wato (0 points) gets Robbie X.

B Block: YOH (0 points) vs. Jakob Austin Young [United Empire] (0 points)

Somebody’s 0 has got to go, I reckon. Zane Jay and Tetsuya Matsumoto jawjack before the match, leading YOH to call for the bell in a funny moment. Young takes the advantage early, hitting YOH with a running dropkick to the outside, then, a bit later, gets two with a hanging neckbreaker in the ropes. They fight over a suplex, then YOH gets two with a Falcon Arrow. Young once again takes the advantage and gets two with Brain Rot, but YOH bites Taguchi’s pass-through spot and hits a Sling Blade and a superkick for two, followed by Direct Drive for the pin.

What’s next? YOH (2 points) has Taiji Ishimori tomorrow, while Young (0 points) has Kanemaru.

A Block: Robbie X [Unbound Co.] (0 points) vs. Francesco Akira [United Empire] (0 points)

Jay had just enough time between matches to change into an Akira shirt. X’s left eye is pretty messed up from the match he had with Nick Wayne on Thursday. Akira jumps X to start and tosses him into a seating section, but X runs up the ringpost into a moonsault in a crazy reversal. Back in the ring, X dodges a charge and goes for a kick off the ropes, but Akira hits a slingshot cutter for two. Akira works over X’s eye, but X hits a kick in the ropes and a plancha to regain control. X sets up for the X Express, but slips on the top rope and gives it up, going for X Marks the Spot instead, but Akira dropkicks him, followed by a slingshot clothesline on the bottom rope for two and Speedfire for two. Akira continues to work him over, but X fires up; however, Akira baits him into a striking battle and regains the advantage. X gets two with a backslide after a long struggle and then goes for X Marks the Spot, but Akira catches it and hits a German for two. Akira goes for the Firebolt, but X slips out and hits an enzuigiri. X misses the X Express and Akira gets a roll-up for two, followed by the Gedo Clutch for two. X avoids the Fireball twice and hits an Execution Kick for the pinfall in what has to be considered another upset.

What’s next? X (2 points) has Wato tomorrow, while Akira (0 points) has Nick Wayne.

B Block: KUSHIDA (2 points) vs. Daisuke Sasaki (2 points)

Sasaki takes off his boots while KUSHIDA enters, and as KUSHIDA is following suit (which he clearly had not planned to do, as it takes about as long as Naito taking his entrance gear off), Sasaki throws his boot at him and attacks, leaving KUSHIDA with one boot on. He goes after KUSHIDA’s now-exposed knee, wrapping it around the ringpost and hitting it with a chair. Sasaki continues the assault on the knee in the ring, but KUSHIDA replies with an Ali kick. KUSHIDA knocks him outside with a flip kick, but Sasaki pulls him outside and hits a Dragon Screw. Sasaki threatens another dive to the floor, like he hit Desperado with on Thursday, but KUSHIDA recovers enough to cancel it out, and they brawl on the top rope. KUSHIDA sticks his shooter boot in Sasaki’s face, and Sasaki responds in kind, knocking KUSHIDA off, but when Sasaki goes for an elbow drop, KUSHIDA catches it into a cross armbreaker. Sasaki escapes and rolls up KUSHIDA for a pin, but ref Kenta Sato catches him using the top rope for leverage and stops the count. KUSHIDA responds with an O’Connor Roll and also grabs the top rope, but Sato catches him, as well. If only these refs were this attentive during House of Torture matches. They do some first-week-of-wrestling-school stuff into a complicated series of pinning predicaments, and KUSHIDA ends up with the advantage. KUSHIDA grabs his sock off the mat, puts it on his hand, hits a Shotei and applies the mandible claw (as Charlton says, “In 2026? In Japan?”), which Sasaki eventually escapes. They get in a striking battle that ends with Sasaki biting KUSHIDA’s bare foot, and then Sasaki hits La Mistica, stuffs KUSHIDA’s sock in his mouth, and then applies the crossface for a quick submission. This was entertaining, if nothing else, and unquestionably the best match I’ve seen with a guy wrestling in one boot since that Zach Gowen/Ricochet match on Dynamite last year.

What’s next? Sasaki (4 points) has Hyo tomorrow, while KUSHIDA (2 points) has SHO.

A Block: Titán [Unbound Co.] (2 points) vs. Jun Kasai (0 points)

Kasai immediately goes outside and gets a bunch of chairs out from under the ring. Kasai hands Titán a chair and they duel; Kasai, of course, gets the better of Titán and hits him over the back before ref Marty Asami tells him that this is a match with rules, and they go inside the ring with Kasai in control. Kasai rips at Titán’s match and is reminded by Asami that that’s a disqualification, too. Kasai dominates, hitting Snake Eyes from the chicken position and then getting two with a lariat. Then, Kasai pulls out some bamboo spikes, but Asami cuts him off, allowing Titán to recover and hit a kick on Kasai that knocks Asami down. Titán drives the spikes into Kasai’s head (where they stick up like a mohawk), sends him to the outside with a dropkick, and then hits a tope suicida that drives Kasai into the pile of chairs from earlier. Titán hits a springboard splash for two, but then goes to the top and gets caught with a Dragon Punch. Kasai hits Titán with a shoot headbutt, which may have been grosser than the spikes, then hits a superplex, a backdrop driver and a brainbuster for two. Kasai gives Titán the kiss of death, then hits a reverse Tiger Driver for two. Kasai goes for a splash from the top, but Titán gets the knees up, tries a couple of cradles and gets two each time, then pins Kasai with a variation of Llave Inmortal. After the match, an infuriated Kasai drives Taisei Nakahara into the ringpost.

What’s next? Titán (4 points) has Nagai tomorrow, while Kasai (0 points) has Kosei Fujita.

B Block: Robbie Eagles [TMDK] (0 points) vs. SHO [House of Torture] (2 points)

SHO takes a seat in the crowd after his entrance and jumps Eagles while he’s making his entrance. The match starts and SHO controls, but Eagles eventually turns the tables and sends SHO to the outside. Eagles chases SHO around the arena; he corners SHO behind the timekeeper’s table, but SHO kicks the table into Eagles to regain the advantage. SHO works over Eagles’s midsection. Outside the ring, SHO gets some chairs out from under the ring, then tosses Masatora Yasuda into the ring to distract Asami and hits Eagles twice in the midsection with the chairs. Back inside, SHO continues the assault on the midsection, legally and otherwise. SHO gets two with a reverse Canadian backbreaker, but Eagles dodges a knee strike into an exposed buckle. Eagles hits a moonsault from the apron to the floor, then throws SHO back in and begins going after SHO’s knee. Eagles thwarts an attempt by SHO to bump Asami, then hits a spear for two. Eagles continues working on the knee, but he misses the 450 to the knee, which allows SHO to hit a sitout Dominator for two. SHO grabs a wrench, but Asami sees it, but when the two fight over it, Asami gets thrown off into an exposed turnbuckle and is knocked out. Eagles blocks the wrench shot, however, and whacks SHO’s knee with it, then applies the Ron Miller Special with added leverage from the wrench. SHO taps, but Asami doesn’t see it. Eagles lets the hold go, which allows SHO to go under the ring and get his cookie sheet, with which he whacks Eagles and then hits the Shock Arrow for the pin. This was a House of Torture match, for better or worse. I feel bad for Eagles.

What’s next? SHO (4 points) has KUSHIDA tomorrow, while Eagles has El Desperado.

A Block: Kosei Fujita [TMDK] (2 points) vs. Nick Wayne (2 points)

There are five guys in this tournament (Kanemaru, Taguchi, KUSHIDA, Ishimori and Kasai) whose age is greater than or equal to the combined age of these two. After a brief feeling out process, they have a striking battle, and Wayne hits a flying uppercut for one. Wayne gets two with a legdrop, but Fujita responds with a mid-kick. Fujita gets two with a PK, and then catches a chop with an armbar, but Wayne makes the ropes. Fujita applies the Boston Crab, but Wayne again makes the ropes. Wayne stops a corner charge and hits a middle-rope dropkick. Wayne hits a stunner followed by a flipping reverse DDT for two. Wayne goes for a Dragon Suplex, but Fujita fights out of the full nelson and reverses it into a deadlift German for two. They trade strikes, then Fujita hits a snap German Suplex and Wayne hits a snap Dragon Suplex, and both men are down. Wayne goes for Wayne’s World, but Fujita catches him with a German, which Wayne flips out of. They go back and forth, and Fujita tries for another German, which Wayne turns into a roll-up for two, but Fujita counters with a Wheelbarrow Suplex. Fujita goes for the Thrill Ride, but Wayne slips out and hits the Prodigy Plex for two. Wayne goes for Wayne’s World, but Fujita catches him on his shoulders and hits the Thrill Ride for the pinfall. This was very good, but at a bit under 12 minutes long, it felt like a Reader’s Digest version of a great match. 

What’s next? Fujita (4 points) has Kasai tomorrow, while Wayne (2 points) has Akira.

B Block: El Desperado (0 points) vs. Taiji Ishimori [Unbound Co.] (2 points)

The remaining two of the “Big Three” of the past several years match up in this main event, although the dynamic is a tiny bit different because Ishimori is now a babyface. After a brief feeling-out process, Desperado starts going after Ishimori’s knee. After several minutes, Ishimori knocks Desperado outside with a kick, then hits a quebrada, but further injures his knee in the process. Ishimori tosses Desperado into a seating section, then removes a turnbuckle cover while Red Shoes administers the count to Desperado. Back in the ring, Ishimori goes after Desperado’s shoulder, then applies a cross armbreaker into a wristlock, but Desperado gets to the ropes. Ishimori drives Desperado into the exposed buckle, then into the ringpost. Ishimori tries the corner for a third time, but Desperado counters with a shot to the buckle and a spear. Desperado goes back to the knee, but a kneebreaker attempt is countered into a roll-up, followed by the Bone Lock, but Desperado makes it to the ropes. Ishimori gets two with a cartwheel slam into a kick. Ishimori hits a shoulderbreaker, but it’s onto his bad knee, and both guys are down. Ishimori goes for La Mistica, but Desperado counters into Numero Dos; Ishimori barely makes the ropes. Desperado gets two with Guitarra de Angel, then gets two again with a frog splash. Desperado tries for Pinche Loco, but Ishimori counters into the Cipher UTAKI, but, again, it hurts his knee. Desperado charges, but Ishimori hits a uranage slam for two. Ishimori hits La Mistica into the Bone Lock. As Desperado gets near the ropes and Ishimori rolls him back into the middle of the ring, but in the process Desperado slips out and grabs Numero Dos; Ishimori, however, fights out and counters that into a Destroyer in a cool and crazy spot. Ishimori goes for the Bloody Cross, but Desperado blocks it and counters into Numero Dos, which earns the submission. This was excellent professional wrestling.

After the match, Desperado cuts a promo praising Ishimori, then says that Hiromu Takahashi (the other one of the “Big Three”) is missing out and will regret leaving NJPW. I very much suspect that will be the case.

What’s next? Desperado (2 points) has Eagles tomorrow, while Ishimori (2 points) has YOH.