Dates: June 3rd, 2015 and June 4th, 2015
Locations: Nagoya International Conference Hall Event Hall and Chino City Hall Multi-Hall
Announced Attendances: 1,700 and 630 (respectively)

The last two house shows of the New Japan Best of the Super Jr. 2015, isn’t this exciting?  These are the last events with the matches split between two shows, as the final block matches of the tournament will be at Korakuen Hall on June 5th.  Here are the standings going into the events:

The tournament matches to be reviewed are:

- Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Barreta vs. Gedo
- Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
- Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: KUSHIDA vs. Rocky Romero
- Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Bobby Fish vs. David Finlay Jr.
- Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: El Barbaro Cavernario vs. Yohei Komatsu
- Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Kyle O'Reilly vs. Chase Owens
- Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Máscara Dorada vs. Nick Jackson

Tiger Mask is awarded six points due to the injury to Alex Shelley.  Onto the matches!

Barreta vs. Gedo
This match is part of the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament. They shake hands to start, Barreta tries to sneak in a kick but Gedo catches his leg.  Gedo puts it back down nicely, they try again to shake hands but this time Gedo goes for a kick.  Barreta catches it but he returns the favor, poke to the eyes by Gedo and he punches Barreta in the face.  Gedo charges Barreta but Barreta drops him out to the apron and knocks him down to the floor.  Gedo returns after a moment, stomps by Barreta and he hits a knee in the corner followed by a lariat.  Cover, but it gets two.  Kneedrop by Barreta, cover, but it gets another two count.  Jumping elbow by Barreta in the corner but Gedo throws him off when Barreta goes for a tornado DDT.  Dropkick to the knee by Gedo and he hits a lariat before kicking Barreta in the leg.  Dragon screw by Gedo and he applies a figure four leglock.  Barreta gets to the ropes to force a break, punches by Gedo and he hits the Complete Shot for a two count.  Barreta kicks off Gedo, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and he hits a doublestomp to Gedo’s back.  Barreta charges Gedo but Gedo moves and hits a jawbreaker. Barreta catches the superkick attempt and he hits an enziguri, another one by Barreta and he covers Gedo for a two count.  Running knee strike by Barreta, he picks up Gedo and he nails the Dudebuster for the three count!  I liked the stretch run but it was a short match that took too long to get going.  As I have mentioned before, if you spend several minutes stalling in a match that only goes eight, it probably won’t be a great match. Good ending but otherwise average.

Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
This match is part of the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament.  Side headlock by Liger to start, he gets Taguchi to the mat and applies a headscissors but Taguchi quickly gets out of it.  Stretch hold by Liger and he puts Taguchi in the Romero Special.  Liger picks up Taguchi and elbows him in the back, but Taguchi knocks Liger out of the ring.  Taguchi goes out to the apron and he hits a diving hip attack off the apron down to the floor.  Taguchi returns to the ring with Liger slowly following, Taguchi picks up Liger and he hits a back elbow.  Hip attacks by Taguchi, cover, but he gets a two.  Taguchi applies a reverse chinlock and he hits a leg drop.  More hip attacks by Taguchi and he hits a running hip attack before sitting down on Liger’s leg.  Basically he does a Gavin Stomp but with his butt.  Taguchi goes for a springboard version but Liger gets his knees up.  Irish whip and Liger hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.  Taguchi falls out of the ring, baseball slide by Liger and he hits a cannonball off the apron.  Liger returns with Taguchi making it in before the count, Shotei by Liger and he hits a Liger Bomb for a two count.  Liger goes for a brainbuster but Taguchi lands on his feet and hits an enziguri. Liger slams Taguchi back into the corner, he puts Taguchi on top and he hits a Frankensteiner, but Taguchi rolls through it for a two count.  Sunset flip by Taguchi but Liger reverses that for his own two count.  Schoolboy by Taguchi, he goes for La Magistral but Liger blocks it.  Liger goes for a roll-up but Taguchi reverses it and covers Liger for the three count!  Not a bad match but Taguchi sure is going all in with the hip thing.  For better or worse. That was the only memorable thing in the match, it was short and not particularly exciting.

KUSHIDA vs. Rocky Romero
This match is part of the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament.  They go to the mat to begin the match but they get back up unscathed, but KUSHIDA takes Romero back down and applies a headlock.  Romero gets out of it, atomic drop by KUSHIDA and he dropkicks Romero in the leg before hitting a cartwheel dropkick.  Irish whip by KUSHIDA, Romero poses in the ropes but thank God KUSHIDA was too smart to charge him. Wait no he wasn’t, so Romero moves and KUSHIDA tumbles out of the ring so Romero can hit the jumping knee off the apron.  Sigh.  Back in the ring Romero continues his assault and he applies an armbar, KUSHIDA gets out of it but Romero hits a cross armbreaker takedown. KUSHIDA kicks out of the hold, hiptoss by Romero and he applies an arm trap crossface.  KUSHIDA gets to the ropes to force a break, KUSHIDA dumps Romero out onto the apron, Romero goes for a swandive move but KUSHIDA dropkicks him on the way in.  Romero charges KUSHIDA, KUSHIDA flip kicks him out to the apron and he hits a swandive chop to the top of the head.  KUSHIDA kicks Romero, Irish whip by KUSHIDA and he hits a handspring elbow strike.  Romero puts KUSHIDA out onto the apron, and KUSHIDA snaps Romero’s arm over the top rope.  KUSHIDA goes up top but Romero punches him before he can jump off.  KUSHIDA applies an armbar on the top turnbuckle but Romero gets out of it and he delivers the avalanche cross armbreaker. 

KUSHIDA manages to get into the ropes to break the hold but continues to hold his arm, Romero shoulders KUSHIDA in the arm and goes off the ropes but KUSHIDA hits a handstand kick.  Romero falls out of the ring and KUSHIDA sails out onto him with a tope con hilo.  KUSHIDA dropkicks Romero as he re-enters the ring, KUSHIDA goes up top and he hits the moonsault for a two count.  Romero ducks a kick, KUSHIDA goes for Romero’s arm but Romero blocks it. Back kick by Romero but KUSHIDA hits an armbreaker.  Romero returns the favor, they then trade kicks to the arm but Romero gets the better of it.  Romero puts KUSHIDA over the top rope and hits a swandive dropkick, cover, but KUSHIDA kicks out.  Romero picks up KUSHIDA but KUSHIDA slides away and he goes for the Hoverboard Lock, but Romero reverses it.  Kick to the head by Romero and he hits a trio of lariats.  Romero goes for the Shiranui but KUSHIDA gets out of it and he applies the Hoverboard Lock.  Romero gets close to the ropes but KUSHIDA rolls him back to the middle of the ring and Romero has to tap out!  This match got time, which is good, the main issue is I have seen these two wrestle so much that I wish they would do some different spots.  It was just a bit too predictable, maybe in a vacuum and with a better angle this would have been a better match but as it was presented it was just solid.  The arm work was good, and I liked it when they weren’t just falling back on their more contrived spots.  Overall I still enjoyed it.  Mildly Recommended

Bobby Fish vs. David Finlay Jr.
This match is part of the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament.  Finlay gets Fish in the corner as the match starts but he gives a clean break.  Fish gets Finlay to the mat but Finlay gets out of it, but Fish takes him right back down again.  Side headlock by Fish, Finlay Irish whips out of it and he hits a dropkick.  Side headlock by Finlay, Fish Irish whips out of it but Finlay hits a shoulderblock.  Fish trips Finlay and applies a cross kneelock but Finlay makes it to the ropes.  Uppercut by Finlay and he shoulderblocks Fish in the corner.  Fish drives Finlay back into the corner and punches him in the cut before slamming Finlay to the mat for a two count.  Snapmare by Fish and he hits a senton atomico from the apron.  Snap vertical suplex by Fish, cover, but it gets two.  Finlay punches Fish off and hits a lariat followed by a back elbow and a jumping elbow.  Running elbow by Finlay in the corner and he hits the rolling fireman’s carry for a two count.  Finlay picks up Fish, snapmare, and Finlay hits a rolling elbow strike.  Cover, but Fish kicks out.  Finlay goes for an elbow but Fish ducks it and hits a Samoan Drop.  Fish knees Finlay in the corner and he hits an exploder into the turnbuckles.  Fish covers Finlay but it gets a two count.  Fish goes for a backdrop suplex but Finlay lands on his feet, kicks by Fish and he hits a dragon screw.  Jumping elbow by Fish, he picks up Finlay but Finlay slides down his back.  Fish kicks Finlay in the leg, elbow by Finlay and they trade strikes back and forth.  Finlay uppercuts Fish down but Fish connects with the jumping knee.  Falcon Arrow by Fish and he applies the cross kneelock, getting the tap out victory!  This was pretty basic, lots of elbows and leg kicks.  Fish led Finlay along pretty well here as they stayed focus, it just wasn’t really stimulating or memorable.  Definitely skippable.

El Barbaro Cavernario vs. Yohei Komatsu
This match is part of the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament. Cavernario pulls down Komatsu by his arm but Komatsu gets out of it, wristlock by Cavernario but Komatsu gets into the ropes.  Side headlock by Komatsu and he hits a hurricanrana, kick by Komatsu and he elbows Cavernario into the corner.  Komatsu stomps Cavernario, Irish whip, and Komatsu hits a hard elbow.  Cover, but Cavernario gets a foot on the ropes.  Stomps by Komatsu and he applies a reverse chinlock, back up he throws Cavernario into the corner but Cavernario hits a sloppy springboard armdrag. Cavernario runs to the corner when Komatsu falls out of the ring and he hits a plancha off the side ropes down to the floor.  Cavernario rolls Komatsu back in and he hits a pair of leg drops for a two count.  Cavernario picks up Komatsu and he hits a DDT, cover, but again it gets two.  Worm by Cavernario and he dropkicks Komatsu, he then goes for a reverse splash but Komatsu gets his feet up.  Elbows by Komatsu, Irish whip, and Komatsu hits a jumping elbow.  Elbows by Komatsu and he hits a running elbow, Komatsu goes up top and he hits a cannonball.  Komatsu picks up Cavernario and he hits a bridging single arm suplex hold for a two count.  Crab hold by Komatsu but Cavernario makes it to the ropes.  Irish whip by Komatsu but Cavernario hits a rebound dropkick out of the corner.  Cavernario picks up Komatsu but Komatsu slides away and hits a hurricanrana for a two count.  Komatsu goes for an inside cradle but Cavernario blocks it and hits a vertical suplex.  Cavernario picks up Komatsu and tosses Komatsu hard into the turnbuckles.  Reverse splash off the ropes by Cavernario, cover, but it gets two.  Cavernario charges Komatsu but Komatsu hits a drop toehold followed by a schoolboy for a two count.  Backslide by Komatsu but that also gets two as does the La Magistral.  Komatsu picks up Cavernario but Cavernario applies the Cavernaria, picking up the submission victory!  This was a bit sloppy, I don’t think that Komatsu knew how to take Cavernario’s offense at times and it showed.  I liked Komatsu’s hope spots but beyond that it was short and not very good.

Kyle O'Reilly vs. Chase Owens
This match is part of the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament. O'Reilly applies a side headlock off the bat but Owens Irish whips out of it, shoulderblock by O'Reilly and he hits a hiptoss, but Owens kicks him back. O'Reilly re-applies the side headlock but Owens gets out of it again, O'Reilly drops Owens out onto the apron but he pulls him back into the ring. Backdrop suplex by Owens, he pushes O'Reilly into the corner but O'Reilly grabs his head again. Owens gets in the ropes and jumps out of the ring but O'Reilly goes out after him and parades him around the ring while having the headlock applied. It is like this match is a giant rib or something. They return to the ring and Owens throws O'Reilly hard into the corner. Owens elbows O'Reilly in the back, Irish whip by Owens to the corner and O'Reilly collapses. Cover by Owens but it gets a two count. Owens goes for the piledriver but O'Reilly back bodydrops out of it and he applies a cross armbreaker. Owens mostly blocks it but O'Reilly applies the guillotine choke. Owens rams O'Reilly into the corner to break it up and Owens applies an abdominal stretch. O'Reilly hiptosses out of it, Owens knocks O'Reilly into the corner and Irish whips O'Reilly but O'Reilly fires back with a lariat. Elbows by O'Reilly and he hits a kick followed by a knee and a leg sweep. Kicks to the chest by O'Reilly, he goes off the ropes but Owens knees him. O'Reilly knees him back and applies a sleeper and then into a cross armbreaker, but Owens gets to the ropes. Back up, O'Reilly elbows Owens and goes off the ropes, but Owens catches him with a backbreaker. Owens picks up O'Reilly but O'Reilly slides away and hits an armbreaker. Double knee to the gut by Owens but O'Reilly hits the rebound lariat. Brainbuster by O'Reilly, cover, but it gets a two count. O'Reilly does a silly sell out of the breakup for some reason and he tumbles out of the ring. He barely makes it back before the count, and he trades elbows with Owens. Backfist by Owens but O'Reilly elbows him back, Irish whip by O'Reilly but Owens dropkicks him back. Slingshot backbreaker by Owens and he hits a half nelson backbreaker. He goes for the Package Piledriver but O'Reilly gets out of it and applies the guillotine choke. Owens suplexes out of it but O'Reilly quickly re-applies it and Owens taps out! Well this was almost painful. I like O'Reilly a lot, don't think too much of Owens but between wasting time and O'Reilly's wacky out of place selling I don't even know what to say about this. I get that this was the smallest show on the tour and they had been wrestling a lot so they were probably hurting, but I still would prefer to be entertained at least a little bit. Poor showing by both here.

Máscara Dorada vs. Nick Jackson
This match is part of the Best of the Super Jr. Tournament. They trade holds to start the match, Irish whip by Jackson but Dorada hits a shoulderblock. Dorada goes off the ropes but Jackson avoids him, Jackson grabs Dorada's arm and he hits a springboard armdrag out of the corner. Dorada hits an armdrag of his own and Jackson falls out of the ring, Dorada goes off the ropes to do a dive but Jackson runs out of his range. Jackson gets back in, tripping in the process, hurting his own leg. Nope his leg is fine and he hits a superkick, Dorada falls out of the ring and Jackson hits a springboard tope con hilo down to the mat. Jackson gets back in with Dorada slowly following, stomps by Jackson and he throws Dorada into the corner. Cartwheel backflip back scratch by Jackson, Irish whip by Jackson and he hits a lariat in the corner. Dorada comes back with his own lariat, Jackson drops him onto the apron but Dorada kicks him back and hits a swandive missile dropkick. Jackson falls out of the ring, Dorada goes off the ropes and he flies out of the ring with a tope con hilo. Dorada throws Jackson back in, Irish whip by Dorada, reversed, but Dorada hits a springboard back elbow for two. Dorada picks up Jackson and chops him into the corner, Dorada runs around in the corner and jumps at Jackson but Jackson hits a superkick. Swanton Bomb by Jackson, but the cover only gets two. Jackson picks up Dorada and chops him against the ropes, Irish whip, reversed, but Jackson boots Dorada back. Jackson goes out to the apron, Dorada goes for a sunset flip powerbomb to the floor but Jackson blocks it. Dorada avoids Jackson's kick from the apron, Dorada gets up on the apron with Jackson and he hits a hurricanrana to the floor. Back in, cover by Dorada but it gets two. Dorada picks up Jackson and he hits a scoop slam, Dorada goes up top but Jackson recovers and joins him. Jackson slams Dorada off the top to the floor, cover, but Dorada kicks out. Jackson hits a knee in the corner and delivers a running leg kick for a two. Jackson picks up Dorada and he hits a high kick, Jackson charges Dorada but Dorada drops him into the apron. Jackson goes for a springboard move but Dorada kicks him, leaving Jackson stuck on the top rope. Rope walk hurricanrana by Dorada, he picks up Jackson and he nails the Dorada Driver for the three count! Now this is how you do a short match. Clearly Dorada and Jackson were not told this was a small show, they wrestled the same match they would have in front of thousands (just a bit shorter). Very little wasted time, lots of big moves, and a conclusive ending. If you watch one match from this set of shows, watch this one. Recommended

Final Thoughts:

If it wasn't for Dorada and Jackson's effort, this would have probably been one of the worst full New Japan events I've ever watched. The second show in particular wasn't good until the last match, normally New Japan matches are at least average but these weren't even that good. It wouldn't kill you to watch the last match but besides that just bypass these shows and get straight to the next event as soon as possible.

Grade: D

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event reviewed on 6/9/15