New Japan Pro Wrestling
Best of the Super Junior 33 Night 4
May 20, 2026
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan
Watch: NJPW WORLD
Would you believe that this was another really good show? We’re now four for four at Best of the Super Junior.
As enjoyable as the show was, I’m ready for the tournament to leave Tokyo and go on the road. The shows will now be organized by blocks on alternate nights with proper undercards. The breezy five-minute matches have been good, and they’ve given time to the main and semi-main events, but it’s time for people to stretch their legs a bit. A lot of matches on this show were so short they were pointless. It’s time to raise the stakes.
It was great to see Robbie X main event a Korakuen Hall show, and especially great to see the crowd react so warmly to him. Robbie has been a hidden gem on the British scene for years, and it was great to see him show the world what many of us have known for a long time. He’s the best kind of wrestler: a journeyman. He travels and fights, and I find that endearing in a wrestler. He’s a normal bloke from England who just happens to be able to do mad flips, and it’s taken him to a Korakuen Hall full of people chanting his name. There’s a strange romanticism to that.
Let’s break down the action!
Best Of The Super Junior 33 Block B Match
Jakob Austin Young [2] def. KUSHIDA [2]
Zane Jay joined Jakob Austin Young in attacking KUSHIDA before the bell. It wasn’t a quick hit, but a full double-team in the centre of the ring. The “before the bell” caveat to wrestling cheating is a bit tiresome, especially when it is as ridiculous as it was here. It should be a sporadic thing, otherwise it becomes ridiculous. Imagine Roy Keane fought in the tunnel every week.
There was some running around ending with a great looking DDT on the floor from Young. The ending was very good, with Young just dropping KUSHIDA on his head until he got the win, but there was little else to be excited about. It’s a shame they spent most of their time being silly. **
Best Of The Super Junior 33 Block A Match
Jun Kasai [4] def. Daiki Nagai [0]
This was another sub-five minute match, and a disappointment. Nagai has been fascinating so far, and I was excited to see how he handled Kasai. He did very little, and this was a night off for Jun.
Nagai did his signature dive and Kasai pretended his knee was injured. It was all a ruse and he quickly disposed of the Young Lion. This was something and nothing. *¾
Best Of The Super Junior 33 Block B Match
Yoshinobu Kanemaru [4] def. Robbie Eagles [2]
This match was a reminder of what we used to have with Kanemaru. It was (mostly) wrestled without cheating, and Kanemaru wrestled like the solid hand he was. He targeted Eagles’ knee with compelling precision in such a simple and swift way. He’d kick it for a bit and lock in the figure four. It was solid wrestling.
Sadly, he struggled to get any real momentum. Age looks like it has caught up with him, and the work wasn’t smooth enough to elevate it.
Eagles’ selling was as good as ever. A one-legged kip up was fun and a speedy pin exchange maintained interest until the end.. **¾
Best Of The Super Junior 33 Block A Match
Nick Wayne [4] def. Ryusuke Taguchi [6]
Taguchi needed to win this to become the “most winningest” wrestler at BOSJ. That’s a horrendous phrase, and Charlton should be ashamed. Most winningest? Ridiculous.
Taguchi treated the occasion with the seriousness it deserved by shoving a cuddly toy down his pants again.
This was quite clumsy, and Wayne is back to overselling. Wayne doing an impression of Taguchi’s impression of Nakamura was entertaining enough, but otherwise this was a bit pointless. *¾
Best Of The Super Junior 33 Block B Match
Taiji Ishimori [4] def. Daisuke Sasaki [6]
This was a match that could have been good, but was peppered with too much silliness. They spent far too long on silly sequences, like getting announcers to fight each other. The crowd loved it, but I didn’t.
Sasaki’s charms continue to elude me, and I’m finding myself dreading his matches a bit. It’s not that they’re bad; he’s had some decent performances on the tour so far. He’s just incredibly boring.
There was a good spot towards the end of the match where both men traded submissions. There was also a brutal sit-down powerbomb that added half a star on its own. Apart from that, it was bang average. **1/2
Best Of The Super Junior 33 Block A Match
Titan [8] def. Valiente Jr. [2]
Valiente has recovered from whatever ailed him on the previous show; it was a swollen knee, according to Chris Charlton.
This was a lot of fun. The opening stretch was lightning-fast, with springboards leading to hurricanranas, which led to huge dives. Titan delivered a moonsault so high it looked like he would brush the ceiling.
The slapping, striking, and kneeing were suitably violent. Titan dodged a clothesline by millimeters, which was very cool.
A weird botch hampered the final stretch. Valiente hit the Valiente Special and it was supposed to be reversed. He crawled to the pin, presumably to give Titan time and protect the finish, but they just repeated the spot after he kicked out. Great wrestlers can adapt to things going wrong, and the repeated spot was awkward.
One of the best tropes in wrestling is a submission move being wrenched in harder to get the victory. Titan did that brilliantly here and this was a fun match. . ***1/4
Best Of The Super Junior 33 Block B Match
El Desperado [4] def. Hyo [2]
Hyo needed a good match, and thankfully, he had one. This match perfectly balanced his esoteric character, but resisted the lure of the cuddly toy.
It started off strong with a big exchange of strikes on the bell. A huge chop from Hyo seemed to echo around the room, and then we were treated to some great speed.
El Desperado’s control periods were excellent. He has perfected that calculated, methodical swagger. It adds a violent air to everything he does in a wonderfully subtle way.
The Numero Dos was death here. Hyo’s selling was excellent, and he worked well as the babyface in peril. He’d fight back with sudden bursts of speed, and the raucous Korakeun Hall crowd were firmly behind him.
The finish was spectacular. Despe locked in the Numero Dos and lifted Hyo off the ground. Walker declared the match over, but Hyo hung on for what felt like forever before tapping. It was a great moment, and consolidated Hyo’s babyface credentials. Great stuff. ***¾
Best Of The Super Junior 33 Block A Match
Master Wato [4] def. Francesco Akira [2]
Akira was wonderfully violent here. He attacked Wato at the bell and brutalised him. It’s not often an armlock stands out as a notable spot, but Akira locked in with such force it was sickening. He pressed his whole bodyweight into the move, interspersing it with big blows to the shoulder. It was violent and I loved it.
The match was structured perfectly for Wato to mount a bouncing comeback, and he played his role well. He’s a little too sloppy too often though, and it never quite clicked as well as it should. He did manage to deliver a huge stalling German suplex that looked incredible.
This was a match of big moves, and it was very entertaining. ***½
Best Of The Super Junior 33 Block B Match
YOH [6] def. SHO [6]
This was embarrassing. It was anti-wrestling, full of cartoonish nonsense. If someone were to book a match specifically to wind me up, it would look like this.
At one point, SHO put mixed berries into his mouth to convince the ref he was bleeding. Bleeding from the mouth doesn’t stop a match, and the audience didn’t realise what he was doing.
SHO used a tiny flap of his t-shirt to supposedly add leverage to a submission. He put YOH’s arm behind a soft corner pad and kicked it. The referee was tricked into doing a hurricanrana. He did so many nonsensical, pointless spots, it was insulting to the audience.
It ended in a DQ, with YOH pretending he’d been hit by a wrench. It was supposed to be clever, but it just exposed how dumb this HOT bollocks is. They disqualified SHO because it was convenient to the story, not because they’ve established any kind of precedent. It’s lazy and insulting. They expect the audience to turn their brains off and accept the slop without question or logic.
A torrid watch. DUD
Best Of The Super Junior 33 Block A Match
Robbie X [4] def. Kosei Fujita [4]
Robbie couldn’t hide the joy he got from hearing Korakuen chant his name, and it added a layer to this match that I wasn’t expecting. I didn’t think he would win, but I suddenly really wanted him to.
They launched from the bell at breakneck speed, and the crowd were swept along with it. The grappling at the start was lightning fast, and they only slowed down to slap each other’s chests.
The story revolved around Robbie’s knee, and was generally well worked. Fujita slammed the knee to the floor from the apron, before locking in a variety of holds to make things worse. There were lots of ZSJ-inspired movements, and Fujita drifted from hold to hold with ease.
Ultimately, it was the crowd that got this over. There were early kickouts and no-sells that felt electric, and they willed Robbie up to the top rope.
The closing stretch was a million ideas bundled together, but Robbie X matches work best when they are excessive. A cutter followed by a huge X Express was bombastic, and performed so well I almost forgot my hatred of cutters.
There was a little bit of connective tissue missing. The knee selling wasn’t perfect and they sold moves a little too long at times. These are minor complaints though, and this was a great match. ****
Final Thoughts
This was the weakest of the four Tokyo shows, but there were enough highlights to maintain our momentum. We’re off to Osaka next for block-based shows, and I’m hoping they let the matches run a little longer. We need a breather after four breakneck shows.
Next stop – Osaka!
