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NEW JAPAN BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS TOURNAMENT TIP SHEET
A-BLOCK
PAUL CROCKETT - If you're asking me who is the most talented overall performer who deserves to win the block, I'm going to say it's Rocky Romero by a hair.
If you're asking me who is actually going to win the block, I'm going to say it's Kyle O'Reilly. And here's why:
KUSHIDA is the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. He is (hopefully) on his way to establishing himself as one of the best juniors in the history of New Japan. It benefits him to finish runner-up so that there are multiple challengers coming out of this tournament as opposed to only one. After losing to O'Reilly in Ring of Honor last week, I see him defeating O'Reilly in their opening match on night one, but losing the block to him on the last day.
MATTHEW MACKLIN - This block looks like it will come down to either KUSHIDA or Kyle O'Reilly as the winner. They meet on the opening day and with O'Reilly having beaten KUSHIDA last week at ROH, it's likely that O'Reilly will kick off the tournament with a big win over the IWGP Jr champion.
After signing a contract with NJPW, Matt Sydal has an outside chance of winning this, or at least finishing high. BUSHI is another guy that could cause a huge upset and win the whole thing, although it's unlikely. There will be lots of great matches in this block with O'Reilly & KUSHIDA capable of having a great match with anyone and BUSHI bringing something different with his Los Ingobernables inspired rule breaking.
CHRIS BOYCE - I actually had to look over "my squad" for a while to figure out who I thought was going to win not only this block, but to see who would eventually humble Paul's puny champion of B block. For me, it came down to three dudes: O'Reilly, Sydal, and Rocky Romero. O'Reilly recently defeated Kushida during the War Of The Worlds tour, and has already faced off against Kushida in the final of this tournament and lost in what I thought could have been 2015 Match of the Year.
Sydal recently signed a two-year deal with New Japan and is one of the best junior workers in the world. Rocky Romero has been with the company for years. He's a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion, and recently signed a two-year deal himself to remain with New Japan for the time being after reports came out that he was leaving for NXT.
I love this block. I think the matches you will see are going to be absolutely ridiculous. However, since I have to pick one guy (and this may come as a surprise to a lot of people): I'm going to go with Rocky Romero. There's a lot of weird nostalgia factor going on in New Japan right now, with the 3rd Generation and Nagata winning the NEVER belt. Not to mention all the great stuff they've done with Liger recently, I think Rocky winning gives him a thank you for signing that deal, and no matter who he faces in the final it's going to be a fantastic match.
And no I didn't just pick him because he talked to me on the internet once.
B-BLOCK
PAUL CROCKETT: We once joked on the Foreign Aces podcast that it would be great to see Chase Owens do a "slow it down" gimmick in the vein of early ECW Steve Corino. Since the booker of the promotion Gedo is such a fan of southern style wrestling, we think it would be tremendous.
With that being said, Chase Owens stands no chance, especially when speed, agility and high flying are in abundance in this block.
As much as I love a number of the talents here, it comes down to two men: Ricochet and Will Ospreay. I'm really interested to see both of them get in the ring with Liger especially.
With Ospreay signing a two-year deal and Ricochet's status in a constant question mark, I see the "Arial Assassin" getting the nod and taking the block.
MATTHEW MACKLIN: This block looks like it's sets up for a Will Ospreay win, with the only other likely winner looking like it might be Ricochet. Ospreay is a sensation and it would be quite the accomplishment to win this tournament, or even make it to the final at his age and on his first full tour with NJPW.
This block has a mixture of veterans and high flyers. There will be superb aerial wrestling on display when either of Ospreay, Ricochet or Volador mix it up. Expect a lot of great matches from Bobby Fish & Beretta, too. Both guys had great tournaments last year. Liger & Tiger are there to give strong wins to the younger talent.
CHRIS BOYCE: I mean, we've covered the inferior block how many times? Do I really have to go over this? In all seriousness though, I once again managed to cut this down to three guys, and sadly, unless he comes in as "Deep Fried Down South" Chase Owens, I don't see our li'l buddy taking this one.
The most logical choices here would be Ospreay, Ricochet and Bobby Fish. I have a feeling Ospreay is going to take the block, but would not be shocked at a Ricochet win to set up a potential rubber match with the Time Splitter. My dark horse in this block is new show favorite Beretta, who seemingly gets better every time I watch him. I would like to see him get a couple of marquee singles wins to potentially bump up his chances of challenging down the road.
FINALS
PAUL CROCKETT: This is really hard to pick. O'Reilly is on an absolute tear as far as being a singles competitor. Ospreay is clearly the future and someone New Japan probably wants around for a long time.
With that being said, I believe O'Reilly needs the win more than Ospreay. The "Arial Assassin" has plenty of time to grow, especially considering he is only 22 years old. O'Reilly, while he's only 29, is at a point where another loss would hurt his credibility as a legitimate Jr. Heavyweight Title contender.
No matter the result, look for both men to come out of the final looking like superstars.
MATTHEW MACKLIN: I'd love to see the final end up as O'Reilly vs Ospreay. It would be an incredible first time match that would propel someone new to the top of the pack in the junior heavyweight division. After losing in the final last year, O'Reilly has to win this. O'Reilly deserves a huge singles run in NJPW and could have countless classic matches for years to come if he gets a run as junior champion out of it.
CHRIS BOYCE: My final is Will Ospreay vs Rocky Romero. The cagey vet vs. the upstart rookie with the whole world ahead of him. This would definitely be a fun match with Ospreay's crazy amount of athleticism and Rocky being the type of guy that does all of the little things right.
When the dust clears, I think you're going to see Rocky Romero add a Best Of The Super Junior's title to his already stacked resume. This gives us an opponent KUSHIDA hasn't faced, is well known by the crowd and can add even more legitimacy to this run. while guys like Sydal, Ricochet, O'Reilly and Ospreay can bide their time before taking another crack at the champ. All in all i think this is going to be amazing tournament and I'm pumped to watch it.
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