NJPW crowns Best of the Super Juniors 32 winner

The Best of the Super Juniors 32 has concluded.

At 22 years old, Kosei Fujita is now the youngest wrestler to ever win the tournament. He defeated YOH in the finals on Sunday’s show in Ota City. He picked up the victory with a Thrill Ride following a back-and-forth match filled with nearfalls and submission attempts.

The previous youngest winner of the BOSJ was Will Ospreay, who had just turned 23 when he won the tournament for the first time in 2016.

With the win, Fujita has earned the right to challenge IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado. Originally, the winner was expected to challenge the champion at NJPW Dominion on June 15, but Fujita’s backstage comments cast doubt on this, as he said he wants to wait until after Desperado has wrestled Jun Kasai on June 24 at Korakuen Hall.

Kasai appeared on Sunday’s show after Desperado and his teammates were victorious in a multi-man tag match. He handed Desperado a red envelope, officially inviting him to the Deathpain Invitational show for what is billed as their last-ever match against one another. NJPW officially announced the match on May 20, but Desperado only received his formal invitation today. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship will not be on the line.

Desperado was on commentary for the finals but did not enter the ring to confront Fujita after his victory, allowing him to celebrate with his TMDK teammates and later in the crowd with the fans.

A Block standings:

  • Kosei Fujita (5-4): 10 points
  • Master Wato (5-4): 10 points
  • Hiromu Takahashi (5-4): 10 points
  • Clark Connors (5-4): 10 points
  • Francesco Akira (5-4): 10 points
  • Robbie X (4-5): 8 points
  • Dragon Dia (4-5): 8 points
  • KUSHIDA (4-5): 8 points
  • Ninja Mack (4-5): 8 points
  • Yoshinobu Kanemaru (4-5): 8 points

B Block standings:

  • YOH (6-3): 12 points
  • El Desperado (6-3): 12 points
  • MAO (6-3): 12 points
  • Robbie Eagles (4-5): 8 points
  • Taiji Ishimori (4-5): 8 points
  • Nick Wayne (4-5): 8 points
  • SHO (4-5): 8 points
  • Titan (4-5): 8 ponts
  • Kevin Knight (4-5): 8 points
  • Ryusuke Taguchi (3-6): 6 points