u/CranberryAssassin

I won't be around today but hoping there might be at least one other person on this sub who's more interested in bosj than two WWE employees getting married..!

The block matches all look good, obvs. I'm particularly interested in Titán vs Guch - if they're holding off on Guch breaking the all-time match wins record, then Titán is going to be at 5-0! I'm sure u/Marcotalin would have something to say but this seems like a guaranteed semis berth for him.

Also, we finally get Fujita vs Wato, which will be fairly contentious, I imagine.

In the previews, we have Sasaki and Yasuda vs JAY and Jay. I believe this will be Zane Jay's first encounter with a hontai young lion since he "graduated" it'll be interesting to see if he's suddenly presented as being dominant. Plus I love seeing UE get taken to school by someone much more experienced at heel shenanigans, so Sasaki will be fun to watch.

Because the main sub sucks, yada yada

Sho def KUSHIDA. It looked like one of SHO's contacts had fallen out? Really fun match, Great mix of hot shenanigans and brutal limb work. Sho tricked Kushi into taking off one shoe and then chased him around the ring trying to crush his toes with timekeeper's hammer. Two separate Mr socko spots. Again, really fun, seek it out.

Nobu def JAY - JAY was dominant at start but fell apart once Zane Jay got involved, HOT showing UE how proper heeling is done. The two Jay's shared an ice pack for their balls on the way out. Super quick but enjoyable.

Titan - def Nagai. Usual story with Nagai. Fine.

Taguchi def Valiente Jr - started off with weird miscommunication, followed by horrible botch and ref calling for the bell due to injury. With this, Guch equals the all-time record for BOSJ match victories. Clearly not the intended outcome. Guch dances and celebrates a little too much.

Akira def Nick Wayne (roll up with a handful of tights) - should we be surprised that an AEW wrestler is great at heatless bangers? Akira has really grown into the annoying little shit role.

Sasaki def Hyo. I'll say it again - Hyo is a star. At one point he chased Sasaki around on the outside (like a leopard) before eating a chair to the face. I'm really looking forward to Sasaki vs HoT. Am I the only one who would love to see Hyo vs Hiromu one day?

Wato def Robbie Twitter. Robbie x popular with the crowd again. Odd misyimed leg lariat. Pretty much what you'd expect from thus match. 

Yoh def Ishimori (Direct drive) Good match. Sort of what you'd expect.

Kasai def Fujita (inside cradle) - to my embarrassment, this is the first Kasai match I've ever seen, and holy shit is he over. They started the match mutually shoving red shoes away, and then Kasai wiped blood on him. Poor red shoes. Kasai jammed hypodermic needles into his own head, and gauged a fork into Fujita's. Fujitas stock will hopefully have risen from this. Brilliant match, Kasai surprised me.

Eagles def Despe. Handshake to start. Despe has an excellent whistle on him! Fucking awesome match. Great miz of technicality (including mutual destruction of each other's left knee), high flying, hard hitting and some mild silliness.

Random commentary thoughts:

Chris Charlton doesn't know how to say the word "albeit"

He also doesn't know what "escapabikity" means

Still no Jake Lee, my heart.

Because on a tournament day the main sub's busiest thread is about AEW.

I won't be able to watch today, but I think we need to keep pumping life support into this sub.

Because the main sub is more interested in WWE's developmental program than njpw. And is also an unmoderated cesspool.

What a perfect night of wrestling! Every single match was very good, with some that were legitimately great. And not a single outside interference spot.

Ishimori def JAY (bone lock)

Not much to say except, finally, after months of having him forced down our throats, JAY has finally grown on me. Some foul play from both, but that's our muscle chihuahua for you.

SHO def Nobu (DQ)

The best HoT matches are always when it's brother vs brother. A very fun sprint with some harmless shenanigans on both sides. As Chris Charlton pointed out, finally a house match that ends in a DQ! Nobu took a second swig of whisky and spat it directly into the ref's eyes. Gino highlight was requesting a mutual fingerpoke of doom.

HYo def YOH

handsome men, kissing, piss play. Hyo is a goddamn star. Highly recommend.

Nick Wayne def Robbie X

The crowd, astonishingly, were only about 5% as into Wayne as the njpw sub seem to think they should be. IMAGINE MY SURPRISE. The former Robbie Twitter had them eating out the palm of his hand. Very fun high octane match, seek it out if you haven't seen it.

KUSHIDA def Eagles (BTTF)

Fucking awesome. Motn. Not quite as perfect as KUSHIDA's match w/ Fujita last year - Eagles selfishly kept his boots on - but same style. Two bumps, one rope run and about 8 strikes all match. Go watch it. Crowd was very into Eagles, and seemed pleasantly surprised for ZSJ's return to Japan.

Titan def Wato

Tiran's first njpw match since the formation of unbound company? Not that you'd know it. He looked in brilliant form. Crowd ate him up.

Sasake def Despe (low blow + crossface)

Weakest match of the evening, still very good. Most heelish work of the night from Sasake.

Fujita def Akira (thrill ride)

About as great as you'd expect.

JAKE LEE WATCH: Jake Lee was not on the show.

Because the main sub is unmoderated and only interested in AEW and WWE.

I only caught the last three matches and it could've been worse, I guess. The matches themselves were fine and although the arena was way larger than needed, the crowd sound sizeable at least.

My very few highlights:

- Mistico's subbed in music was absolutely hilarious. Really ruined the vibe in the funniest way.

- if Aaron Wolf doesn't eventually slam Fale then what the fuck are we doing

- Always nice to see HoT lose

- No make up, latex glove or shenanigans at all from Jake Lee. He wrestled like a super heavyweight, suplexing the shit out of Tsuji.

- Callum pinned Robbie X to my surprise (I figured Zane Jay was there to get gene blasted)

- after the bell Shingo lost his temper and attacked Callum, who put him down easily and cleanly. Very cool.

- why the fuck are UE so good at brawling, against form BC and LIJ guys? Did turning heel make actual changes to Akira's physiology?

- Main event was surprisingly good aside from Hontai looking like absolute geeks and weaklings as usual

- If you noticed that Sho wasn't with HoT at the start of the match, then you already know how it ended

- I actually believed Tiger Mask might win for a brief moment, so it worked I guess!

- *Sigh*

Just because the main sub is an unmoderated corpse.

The title matches were as great as expected, even if ISB winning was the wrong call - I want Fujita to be free to win BOSJ, dammit!

Who can possibly be left for KOB? They owe HOT a title match when my beautiful boy is back from hiatus. After BOSJ, fingers crossed.

I didn't have time to watch every match, but Uemura and Oiwa getting some 1v1 time made their match worth watching.

Jake Lee watch:

- at one point, tagged in solely to put his (gloved) hand in Gedo's mouth and then tag out. I swear if Jay hadn't been on the apron he still would've left anyway

- clown make up is back

- awesome belly to back suplex on Tsuji

- still way too good to play second fiddle to Callum