NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 2023 Finals Results – May 28, 2023 – Master Wato vs. Titan

May 28, 2023

May 28, 2023
Tokyo, Japan – Ota City General Gymnasium
English Commentary: Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton
Results via Chick Fritts of F4WOnline.com

Quick Match Results

Boltin Oleg & Togi Makabe defeated Oskar Leube & Yuto Nakashima via King Kong Knee Drop (pinfall 6:37)
Clark Connors defeated Ryohei Oiwa via No Chaser (pinfall 5:18)
Lio Rush & YOH defeated TMDK via Final Hour (pinfall 9:12)
United Empire defeated Kevin Knight, KUSHIDA, Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan via Streets of Rage (pinfall 12:50)
Toru Yano & Bishamon vs. House of Torture went to a No Contest (9:07)
“Speedball” Mike Bailey, El Desperado, Ren Narita, & Shota Umino defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Kazuchika Okada via Cobra Twist (submission 12:47)
BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, & Tetsuya Naito defeated Just Five Guys via Destino (pinfall 11:52)
Best of the Super Juniors 2023 Finals – Master Wato defeated Titan via Recientemente II (pinfall 24:58)

Boltin Oleg & Togi Makabe vs. Oskar Leube & Yuto Nakashima

This opener was a lot of fun.

Oleg and Leube opened the match with an intense sequence before the Yuto helped the youngest team take full advantage. They also did a decent job at holding back Makabe early on. Eventually, Makabe turned things around, landing a leaping knee from the top rope to pin Yuto.

Winner: Boltin Oleg & Togi Makabe via Pinfall.

Ryohei Oiwa vs. Clark Connors

This was another good, to the point match.

This match quickly spilled to the floor, where Connors drove Oiwa into the ring post. Back in the ring, Connors maintained his lead until a well-timed dropkick from Oiwa turned the match around. Oiwa held the lead before a pair of spears ended any advances he made. Connor ended the match with a DDT.

Winner: Clark Connors via Pinfall.

After the match, Connors destroyed Oiwa with a chair.

Lio Rush & YOH vs. TMDK (Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles)

Eagles and Rush opened with a quick exchange before passing the match off to YOH and Fujita. YOH and Rush were able to single out Fujita to establish an early lead.

Eventually, Eagles received a hot tag. Rush tried his best to maintain his team’s lead, landing a big tope to the floor, but Eagles continued to advance, forcing YOH to hit the ring and resulting in a match reset.

Fujita tried taking on Rush, but Rush fought through, landing final hour to win the match for his team.

Winner: Lio Rush & YOH via Pinfall.

Kevin Knight, KUSHIDA, Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. United Empire (Dan Moloey, Francesco Akira, TJP, Aaron Henare, & Great-O-Khan)

The match opened with a few one-on-one sequences before UE worked to isolate Knight. Once the tag came, Kojima reversed the momentum of the match, leading to a few more one-on-one exchanges.

Ultimately, Henare hit Tenzan with streets of rage to win the match.

Winner: United Empire via Pinfall.

Toru Yano & Bishamon (YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto) vs. House of Torture (SHO, Yujiro Takahashi, & EVIL)

HOT opened the match by rushing the CHAOS trio. CHAOS held on through the initial onslaught to gain the first lead, but a trip from Dick Togo allowed HOT to take a full lead.

After an extended period of HOT control, Yano tagged in and began removing turnbuckle pads. This backfired when he was whipped into the exposed corner, only furthering HOT’s control.

Eventually, YH tagged in and turned the match around. He secured a butterfly lock, which seemed to mark the end of the match. Instead, EVIL and Yujiro dragged Arron Henare and Great O-Khan into the ring and started attacking them. The United Empire pair fought back, resulting in a no contest.

Winner: None.

Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Kazuchika Okada vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey, El Desperado, Ren Narita, & Shota Umino

Okada vs. defiant younglings continues to be the best feud in wrestling.

Taguchi tried starting the match, but Umino only wanted Okada. Once the veteran squad refused, the match opened with a typical exchange.

Eventually, rivals Desperado and Ishii came to blows. Desperado maintained a strong footing for his team, leading into a match breakdown.

Umino and Okada traded a few moves in a period of chaos before Umino tried to take on Tanahashi. Okada interrupted Umino’s advance, taking Umino to the floor, where he dropped him with a DDT.

Ultimately, Umino put Okada on the back foot, prompting Narita to tag himself in. Okada was able to fight off Narita before tagging in Taguchi. A match breakdown followed.

In the brawl, Umino threw a table at Okada, leaving Narita alone in the ring with Taguchi. Narita secured a cobra twist and forced Taguchi to submit, winning the match for his team.

Winner: “Speedball” Mike Bailey, El Desperado, Ren Narita, & Shota Umino via Submission.

After the match, Desperado and Bailey traded a couple of strikes.

Umino cut a promo where he called out the trios champions. Umino announced his partners for Dominion were Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley.

Just Five Guys (DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, & SANADA) vs. BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, & Tetsuya Naito

LIJ started the match by rushing J5G. J5G withstood the initial onslaught and turned the match in their favor early. Even though a second LIJ rush, J5G maintained a lead.

The third LIJ rush allowed Naito to take a bit of a lead over DOUKI. When J5G hit the ring to fight off LIJ, LIJ won out. Naito hit DOUKI with Destino and won the match.

Winner: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, & Tetsuya Naito via Pinfall.

Best of the Super Juniors 2023 Finals
Master Wato vs. Titan

Early on, the pair seemed to be on even footing. Wato scored a dive to the floor to establish the first lead. Dropkicks to the leg of Wato allowed Titan to turn the match around, at least for a moment, but a second dive to the floor left Wato back in control.

Titan threw Wato to the floor before landing a springboard flip to put Wato on the back foot; a second dive moments later only furthered this lead.

Back in the ring, the pair traded strikes before a bomb left Wato ahead once again. Wato tried for a submission, but Titan found the ropes and landed a DDT moments later to retake the lead.

Titan tried for a corner dropkick but overshot and crashed to the floor. Titan was quick to recover, landing a double foot stomp moments later before securing a leglock; Wato escaped with the rope.

Wato hit a sudden suplex to reset the match and score a near fall. Titan responded with la mistica for a near fall of his own. Titan then landed a second foot stomp, this time from the top rope, and again, Wato kicked out.

After hanging on, Wato hit another suplex. Wato then landed Recientemente and pinned Titan to win BOSJ.

Winner: Master Wato via Pinfall to become the winner of the Best of the Super Juniors 2023 tournament.

After the match, Wato and Hiromu shared the ring to set up their future title match