Best Of Super Juniors Standings & Schedule
A Block:
- Flip Gordon 6pts. (3-2-0)
- Taiji Ishimori 6pts. (3-2-0)
- Tiger Mask IV 6pts. (3-2-0)
- Will Ospreay 6pts. (3-2-0)
- Yoh 4pts. (2-3-0)
- BUSHI 4pts. (2-3-0)
- Yoshinobu Kanemaru 4pts. (2-3-0)
- ACH 4pts. (2-3-0)
B Block:
- Dragon Lee 6pts. (3-2-0)
- Hiromu Takahashi 6pts. (3-2-0)
- KUSHIDA 6pts. (3-2-0)
- Marty Scurll 6pts. (3-2-0)
- Chris Sabin 4pts. (2-3-0)
- El Desperado 4pts. (2-3-0)
- Ryusuke Taguchi 4pts. (2-3-0)
- Sho 4pts. (2-3-0)
5/31 VOD
- Flip Gordon vs. BUSHI
- ACH vs. Taiji Ishimori
- Tiger Mask IV vs. Will Ospreay
- Yoh vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
6/2 VOD
- Chris Sabin vs. El Desperado
- Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Marty Scurll
- Sho vs. Hiromu Takahashi
- KUSHIDA vs. Dragon Lee
6/3 5:30am EDT
- Tiger Mask IV vs. ACH
- Flip Gordon vs. Will Ospreay
- Yoh vs. Taiji Ishimori
- BUSHI vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- KUSHIDA vs. Hiromu Takahashi
- Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Chris Sabin
- Dragon Lee vs. El Desperado
- Sho vs. Marty Scurll
6/4 5:30am EDT
- A Block Winner vs. B Block Winner
Editorial
BUILDING THE FUTURE:
NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING’S YOUNG LIONS
By Jasmine Olan
They can be seen at every NJPW show. Fans recognize them instantly, the really young looking ones with short hair dressed in basic black trunks and boots. They are the young lions, a vital part of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s future. From legends like Keiji Mutoh and Masahiro Chono to current stars on the rise like Hiromu Takahashi and Juice Robinson, so many of NJPW’s finest got their start as hungry young rookies looking to prove themselves and make their mark in the wrestling world. Over the years, the success rate of NJPW’s young lions program has been nothing short of outstanding with many of its graduates going on to become major stars on the international wrestling scene. Along the way, fans get to watch these young performers grow and evolve into the stars of tomorrow. This tradition dates all the way back to the early days of New Japan in the early 1970’s and continues to this very day.
From the moment they first arrive at the NEW Japan dojo in Tokyo to begin their training, young lions are taught the fundamentals of wrestling as well as humility, discipline, and respect. They are also taught from the outset to listen to their senpais who are there to help and teach them. The lessons young lions learn from their seniors stay with them as their careers progress as well their lives outside of the ring. Physical training and in ring safety are taught and heavily emphasized first while showmanship and character development are learned later on in training.
The life of a young lion generally consists of intense physical training as well as taking care of their responsibilities around the New Japan dojo. As part of them learning respect for their seniors and paying their dues, the young lions do everything from laundry and meal prep to cleaning the dojo and packing for tours. When at shows and on the road, they help set up and take down the ring and do crowd control while observing the matches. The young lions also wrestle on the under card of each show, mostly in multi man tag team matches with their senpais. At first their move sets are very limited but increase as they gain more experience and confidence in the ring. As they progress, the young lions are allowed to make little adjustments to their look like growing out their hair or adding new elements to their ring gear. When they are ready, the young lions get to broaden their horizons when they are sent out on learning excursion to other promotions around the world that New Japan has working relationships with.
Throughout the shared experience of living and training together, many young lions form close bonds of friendship. The bonds formed during this time carry over to when they go on excursion and last long after they return to Japan. Those relationships are often at the very heart of many of the rivalries and alliances seen in NJPW. A prime example is the feud between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura, a legendary rivalry built around two of the promotion’s biggest stars over the course of ten years. Their relationship dates back to their time as young lions. Tanahashi and Nakamura along with Katsuyori Shibata were collectively dubbed the “new three musketeers”. The King Of Strong Style andThe Ace Of The Universe started out as good friends and tag team partners, even winning the IWGP tag team titles together. They eventually became embroiled in a heated feud that saw them go toe to toe in matches that always left fans and critics alike clamoring for more and raised the bar in terms of story telling and match quality. This rivalry would see Tanahashi and Nakamura truly become part of the backbone of the company, carrying the banner for NJPW when it needed them the most.
Another legendary NJPW rivalry is that of two of the original “three musketeers”, Keiji Mutoh, and Masahiro Chono. During their time as young lions and up until the very first G1 Climax finals in 1991, Chono had never beaten Mutoh one on one. That night, Chono would get the win. That historic battle helped set the precedent for the prestige and excitement which surrounds the G1 Climax tournament finals every year. In both cases, the history between former young lions helped lay the ground work for the future of New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Fans often eagerly await the return of their favorite young lions from excursion, wondering how they will look and looking forward to seeing what they have learned. They watch proudly as these young performers make their redebuts with new looks and different in ring characters and follow their journeys to stardom. 2017 saw the return of four former young lions who had all been touted as future stars of the promotion. They were Hiromu Takahashi, Jay White, Sho Tanaka, and Yohei Komatsu. After their returns from excursions in Ring Of Honor, and CMLL, each of them would go on to win championship gold. Hiromu Takahashi would go on to become IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Jay White would go on to win the IWGP United States Champion after defeating the inaugural United States Champion, Kenny Omega, and Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu would go on to become IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions as Roppongi 3K.
For most fans, there is definite satisfaction and pride in seeing the hard work the young lions put into what they do pay off. That hard work makes the journey worthwhile as the young lions evolve from humble and hungry young boys to fully rounded and mature young men ready to ascend to the top of the wrestling world. Over the past few years more focus has been placed on the current generation of young lions with the return of the Young Lion’s Cup tournament and the introduction of the Lion’s Gate Project shows. With new opportunities being placed in front of them to learn and hone their craft, New Japan Pro Wrestling is creating a new generation of wrestlers destined for greatness.
In their own way, the New Japan young lions are the heart of the promotion as it continues to build its future through them. The senpais or senior wrestlers also get to watch with pride as their kouhais reach new milestones in their careers from their debuts and return from excursion to their first title runs. The fun part of it all for fans is wondering which of these wide eyed young rookies dressed in basic black will go on to become the new ace of NJPW when the time comes. With heart and fighting spirit on their side and their senpais to guide them, the current generation of young lions are in store for a future that is filled with seemingly limitless possibility. Their journeys will continue, and NJPW fans will gladly be with them every step of the way. As this great tradition continues on, the young lions will forever be a vital part of building the future of New Japan Pro Wrestling.
