On May 6th, 2020, the worst fears of New Japan fans all over the world were realized; that the COVID-19 pandemic had claimed another tournament. New Japan canceled the Best of the Super Juniors 27 10 days before its scheduled start. Consequently, the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi was denied another opportunity for “Motto!” (more) glory. Hiromu Takahashi has a plan to save the Best of the Super Juniors Tournament.
Hiromu Takahashi reclaimed the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship following a return from a career-threatening injury at Wrestle Kingdom 14 day one, and pinned Jyushin “Thunder” Liger in his retirement at Wrestle Kingdom 14 day two. Following his match against Liger, Takahashi vowed to lead the Junior division into the future. According to Tokyo Sports (original in Japanese), Takahashi may have found the key to the division’s future.
Takahashi states “I think it’s a postponement, not a cancellation. I think it’s a tournament I have to do when the box office resumes.” Takahashi, while trying to occupy his time between his youtube channel and his efforts to learn English, has tried to remain “positive about the self-restraint period and to think about a more interesting outlook.” That has led him to the idea of holding the G1 Climax, New Japan’s top tier round-robin Heavyweight tournament, and the Best of the Super Juniors tournaments simultaneously in the Fall of 2020.
Hiromu Takahashi Has Plan to Save BOSJ Tournament
Takahashi also hoped that a possible fan vote would decide which tournament finals match would main event the final day. When asked about the hurdle of inviting wrestlers from outside of Japan, Takahashi had another explosive idea; “I wonder if I can hold a BOSJ for the whole world of Japanese professional wrestling. That’s because if there is a person from another [promotion] who [volunteers], it’s possible to participate. I think it might be possible” (Tokyo Sports). Historically, the Best of the Super Juniors and the G1 Climax has hosted wrestlers from outside of New Japan Pro Wrestling, including current Pro Wrestling NOAH wrestlers Katsuhiko Nakajima and Naomichi Marufuji.
For now, Hiromu Takahashi and New Japan fans will have to wait to see if conditions will improve enough to consider starting events, especially events as physically taxing as the G1 Climax and BoSJ. As previously reported, New Japan does have a strategy for holding events. For the Ticking Time Bomb, the wait will hurt, but the reward will be worthwhile.
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