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[Complete Results]
The annual junior festival, the Best of the Super Jr., returned for it's 2001 installment. An illustrious cast made up two blocks of six wrestlers (twelve in total), with combatants from Japan, America, and Mexico involved in the prestigious tournament. Additionally, the intensification of New Japan/G-EGGS vs. Team 2000 vs. BATT continued, with numerous important heavyweight matches on the junior-dominated tour, including Muto vs. Kojima and Nakanishi vs. Tenzan in Osaka on 6/4, a big convention that would also host the BOSJ final and serve as a lead-in to the major post-tour Tokyo Nippon Budokan event.
Foreign participation:
Brian Johnston (G-EGGS): All shows
Chris Candido: All shows
Rob Rage: All shows
Super J (Team 2000): All shows
Taiyo Kea (All Japan/BATT): 5/18 & 5/19
Dr. Wagner Jr. (CMLL): All shows
Silver King (CMLL): All shows
Super Shocker (CMLL): All shows
Special participation:
Keiji Muto (BATT): 5/18, 5/19, 5/28 & 6/4
Masahiro Chono (Team 2000): 6/4 only
Tadao Yasuda: 6/4 only
Gran Naniwa: All shows
Best of the Super Jr. 2001 scoring system: Win (1 point), draw (0 points), loss (0 points)
Block A:
1. Jushin Thunder Liger (9th participation, 1992 & 1994 winner)
2. El Samurai (10th participation, 1997 winner)
3. Wataru Inoue (1st participation)
4. Gran Naniwa (2nd participation)
5. Silver King (1st participation)
6. Chris Candido (1st participation)
Block B
1. Minoru Tanaka (3rd participation)
2. Shinya Makabe (2nd participation)
3. Katsuyori Shibata (1st participation)
4. AKIRA (1st participation)
5. Dr. Wagner Jr. (5th participation)
6. Super Shocker (2nd participation)
Points of note:
(5/18) Freelancers, Jado & Gedo, intruded during the official BOSJ introductions, appealing for matches with New Japan juniors. A furious Liger told them that he and El Samurai were tag kings, so Jado & Gedo would have to face them.
(5/18) Silver King, Shocker, Liger, and Tanaka scored opening day wins, Liger receiving an especially tough challenge from a young lion getting his first major chance in the spotlight, Wataru Inoue.
(5/18) Muto and his disciple, Taiyo Kea, picked up a big main event win at Korakuen, defeating Nakanishi & Nishimura when Muto submitted Nishimura with a figure-four leglock.
(5/25) Liger continued his march towards a hopeful third BOSJ tournament win, by scoring his third win in a row, today defeating Gran Naniwa in a tough 14 minute clash.
(5/27) Liger's flawless record remained intact when he went 4-0 with a win over old friend and rival, El Samurai. The win put him ahead of the pack, with Samurai and Silver King fighting it out for second place with six points each. Meanwhile, Tanaka tied Wagner as Block B leader with a win over Shocker.
(5/28) In the longest BOSJ match to date, AKIRA and Tanaka continued their series from last year, wrestling over 23 minutes in a severe fight. AKIRA got the much needed win, forcing the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion to tap out to an STF, and joining him on six points.
(5/28) In preparation for his IWGP Heavyweight Title shot at Kazuyuki Fujita on 6/6, Nagata faced G-EGGS friend, Brian Johnston, and made relatively short work of him, making the former UFC fighter submit to a grounded headlock in a little over 5 minutes.
(5/28) In a big main event, IWGP Tag Team Champions, Tenzan & Kojima, faced the all-star team of Muto & Liger. Despite a tough challenge, TenKoji were too good, but the finish came as a huge surprise, Kojima using one of Muto's own finishers, a figure-four leglock, on the man himself for a submission! The win sent a large warning to Muto, days before his singles match with Kojima in Osaka.
(6/1) In one of the biggest upsets of the BOSJ, Makabe defeated AKIRA by submission with a stepover armbar. Despite the win, the young lion remained second from bottom of the block, ahead of only Shibata, who managed no wins.
(6/1) Tanaka sealed Block B with a victory over the only other man in contention after AKIRA's loss, Wagner, submitting the luchadore in close to 15 minutes with a cross kneelock.
(6/1) Liger secured complete 5-0 victory in the BOSJ group stage, putting away Silver King in the final Block A match. This set up a rematch from March in the final, with Liger tackling the man who defeated him then, Tanaka.
(6/1) In a non-title main event, Nakanishi & Yoshie defeated IWGP Tag Champions, TenKoji, in a close match. Three days before their singles match, Nakanishi and Tenzan decided the finish, with Mr. Unbelievable lifting his eternal rival into an Argentine backbreaker for the win. Immediately following the match, Yoshie grabbed the microphone and advertised an IWGP and AJPW World Tag Team Title Unification Match, confident that he and Nakanishi would dethrone All Japan's Taiyo Kea & Johnny Smith for the World Tag Title on 6/8, then face TenKoji with both prizes on the line.
(6/3) Young lion, Hiroshi Tanahashi, obtained one of his biggest career wins thus far, defeating fellow young lion, Kenzo Suzuki, for the first time ever in the opener. Tanahashi exploited an arm injury Kenzo suffered against Kojima the day before, using a cross armbreaker for the tap out.
(6/4) Before the third match, PRIDE GP Champion, Mark Coleman, appeared in the ring, sporting his title belts. Coleman said that as the champion of PRIDE, he would face a pro wrestler at the Sapporo Dome on 7/20. He sat at ringside to observe the next match.
(6/4) Nagata had one last chance to tune up for his big match with Fujita, and did so in style, defeating another PRIDE fighter and New Japan trueborn, Tadao Yasuda, in just 202 seconds with a standing achilles tendon hold. Nagata walked over to Coleman post-match, and shook hands with him, a match between the two on 7/20 appearing very likely.
(6/4) The eternal battle of Tenzan and Nakanishi continued with a singles confrontation in Osaka. The two fought a physical war, with Nakanishi bleeding, before Tenzan hit the TTD for the 1-2-3, and won the latest chapter of his war with Nakanishi.
(6/4) Despite the tag win on 5/28, Kojima wasn't able to defeat Muto in singles action. Muto won a close match lasting 18 1/2 minutes, striking Kojima with the Shining Wizard. Team 2000 attacked Muto after the match, and held him up for a Chono attack. Unexpectedly though, Kojima rushed in between the two, allowing Muto to escape, and raising questions about Kojima's future in T2000.
(6/4) Another MMA star appeared before the main event, as former RINGS fighter, Masayuki Naruse, was introduced to the crowd, and told the fans about how former New Japan icon, Akira Maeda, was his teacher, and now he would enter New Japan. He challenged Tanaka to an IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title match at the Sapporo Dome on 7/20, before taking a seat in the commentary booth for the tour finale.
(6/4) Liger's perfect record in the 2001 Best of the Super Jr. was complete when he defeated IWGP Jr. Champion, Tanaka, in a thrilling final lasting over 26 minutes. Following much see-saw action, Liger spiked Tanaka on his head with a brainbuster to seal a third BOSJ win!
Miscellaneous:
The final standings of the 2001 Best of the Super Jr. looked as follows,
Block A:
1. Jushin Thunder Liger [10]
2. El Samurai [6]
3. Silver King [6]
4. Chris Candido [4]
5. Gran Naniwa [4]
6. Wataru Inoue [0]
Block B:
1. Minoru Tanaka [8]
2. Super Shocker [6]
3. Dr. Wagner Jr. [6]
4. AKIRA [6]
5. Shinya Makabe [4]
6. Katsuyori Shibata [0]
Final: Jushin Thunder Liger beat Minoru Tanaka (26:12) with a brainbuster.
Block A was dominated by the mighty Liger, who won every match and had few problems winning the group. El Samurai and Silver King finished tied on six points, with Samurai taking second place because he defeated the luchadore. Although he picked up no wins, Wataru Inoue turned some heads with spirited performances. Block B was closer, and was a four horse race until the finish, with Tanaka, AKIRA, Wagner, and Shocker all in contention. Tanaka scraped through, but wasn't able to conquer Liger for a second time. Like Wataru, Shibata got no wins, but fought well, while Makabe, in his second BOSJ, showed much progress with two wins, and continued to climb the ladder.
Stuart's 2001 Best of the Super Jr. Awards:
MVP: Jushin Thunder Liger
Best Bout: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Minoru Tanaka (6/4)
Outstanding Performance Award: Jushin Thunder Liger
Fighting Spirit Award: Wataru Inoue
Most Inspirational Award: Jushin Thunder Liger
Back to: "WRESTLING DONTAKU 2001" (5/5/01)
Forward to: "SUPER-FORCE GROUP DECLARATION 2001" (6/6/01)
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