10 Things You Need To Know About NJPW Best Of Super Juniors 2017
Get to grips with NJPW's signature Junior Heavyweight tourney ahead of May 15th.
WWE's second Cruiserweight Classic is still up in the air, but while the McMahons plot their next move, New Japan Pro Wrestling are about to celebrate their lighter wrestlers through the 24th Best Of The Super Juniors tournament.
Kicking-off on May 17th, NJPW's annual Junior Heavyweight extravaganza features a host of exciting in-house stars along with some fantastic imports. New Japan's Juniors aren't typically pushed to the same level as the heavyweights, but this is their spotlight, and if the announced line-up delivers the goods, we're set for some incredible action.
Last year's champion Will Ospreay returns to defend his trophy, and he's joined by the likes of Ricochet, KUSHIDA, the legendary Jushin Liger, and the debuting Marty Scurll. BOSJ will see NJPW attempt to crown the next number one contender for Hiromu Takahashi's IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, but with the champion among the favourites to win himself, the competition is anything but predictable, and multiple wrestlers enter with a legitimate chance of victory.
But who are these competitors, what are the key stories heading into the tournament and more importantly, what is Best Of The Super Juniors?
10. How It Works
Much like the G1 Climax (NJPW’s signature heavyweight tournament), Best Of The Super Juniors starts as a block-based round robin Competition. Its 16 wrestlers are divided into two groups of 8, and will face everyone in their respective block once. Wrestlers receive two points for a win, one each for a draw, and zero for a loss, with the top wrestler from both blocks eventually meeting in the final.
The format makes BOSJ a more gruelling competition than most, and this year’s incarnation runs from May 17th to June 3rd. This makes ensures a busy schedule with 14 shows in total, and several days off to prevent burnout and injuries.
BOSJ kicks-off in Korakuen Hall - Japan’s most sacred combat sports venue - and concludes in Tokyo’s 3,202-capacity Yoyogi 2nd Gymnasium. While there’ll obviously only be two participants left in the running on finals night, NJPW will pad this card with a variety of tag matches featuring tournament participants, and a number of heavyweight competitors. The tournament final will headline the show, with the winner receiving an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title shot on June 11th’s Dominion PPV.