The Best of the Super Juniors 31 finals are set. El Desperado will face Taiji Ishimori in the Dominion main event on June 9 with the winner taking the tournament and earning a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Sunday will mark the first time for the BOSJ finals to ever headline New Japan’s premiere summer show.
I’ve enjoyed the tournament this year. The blocks aren’t stacked with droves of junior heavyweight talent, but there has been enough to keep things exciting night to night for the last few weeks. The star power issue is important for New Japan to recognize and likely kept casual New Japan fans from taking the plunge and investing time into this year’s batch of scraps. However, if you pressed play and committed, you were treated to strong action, strategic booking, and what will be a fairy tale ending.