New Japan Pro Wrestling announced the 20 names in the 29th Best of Super Juniors tournament. This year’s tournament features 6 tournament debuts and 7 champions from four different promotions: NJPW, IMPACT, ROH/AEW & GLEAT.
The big debuts in A Block are GCW Original Alex Zayne, IMPACT X-Division Champion Ace Austin, United Empire’s latest draftee Francesco Akira, and former LA Dojo Young Lion Clark Connors.
Except for Francesco Akira, all of the A Block debuts have been featured heavily on NJPW STRONG programming, and seeing them brought into the fold is a big boon for the North American talent that have been working hard on NJPW’s upstart US promotion.
While the A Block debuts rewarded loyalty of talent, the debuts in B Block seemed to be designed to strengthen bonds between promotions. GLEAT’s G-Rex Champion El Lindaman returns to NJPW in his first Super Juniors tournament, after making occasional appearances alongside his STRONGHEARTS compatriots earlier this year. This is not the first time that GLEAT and NJPW have shared talent, as SHO wrestled at a GLEAT show back before he joined House of Torture.
The other debut in the tournament is ROH PURE Champion Wheeler Yuta. Yuta has been having a phenomenal run, from his attention-grabbing IWTV Independent Championship reign to his current run in AEW, that sees him teaming alongside Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson & William Regal in the Blackpool Combat Club. This BOSJ debut feels like the capstone to a great year for the PURE Champion.
NJPW Best of Super Juniors will run from May 15th to June 3rd. WrestleZone will have full coverage along the way.
A Block
- BOSJ 28 Winner Hiromu Takahashi (7th BOSJ, 3x winner)
- IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Ryusuke Taguchi (19th BOSJ, 1x winner)
- YOH (5th BOSJ)
- Yoshinobu Kanemaru (5th BOSJ)
- IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori (6th BOSJ)
- NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champion SHO (5th BOSJ)
- Clark Connors (BOSJ Debut)
- Alex Zayne (BOSJ Debut)
- IMPACT X-Division Champion Ace Austin (BOSJ Debut)
- Francesco Akira (BOSJ Debut)
B Block
- El Desperado (6th BOSJ)
- IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Master Wato (3rd BOSJ)
- Robbie Eagles (4th BOSJ)
- BUSHI (10th BOSJ)
- DOUKI (4th BOSJ)
- El Phantasmo (3rd BOSJ)
- Titan (3rd BOSJ)
- TJP (2nd BOSJ)
- ROH PURE Champion Wheeler Yuta (BOSJ Debut)
- GLEAT G-Rex Champion El Lindaman (BOSJ Debut)
WHAT A LINEUP for Best of the Super Jr. 29!
And we'll be with you EVERY step of the way!
Starting May 15, watch every card, every match, every moment LIVE with ringside English coverage on @njpwworld!https://t.co/cEFFsYKcrQ#njpw #BOSJ pic.twitter.com/IJQvhgIaju
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) May 1, 2022
