NEWS

The 2026 class of 20 to be revealed here

 

Best of the Super Jr. 33 will dominate the month of May in NJPW, with the annual tournament kicking off May 14 in Korakuen Hall and running through to a thrilling June 7 conclusion in Ota. The lineup this year is to be revealed one day and three wrestlers at a time; the full list will come below!

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A BLOCK

DOUKI (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion at time of writing. 7th entry, first in two years. Career PB: 2024 Semifinalist) 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, and self proclaimed deity DOUKI faces his first Best of the Super Jr. tournament in two years. Consistent year on year improvement had been the theme for DOUKI in consecutive BOSJ appearances up to his semifinal run in 2024. A fateful injury in the Tokyo Dome put paid to his 2025 appearance though, and when Japones Del Mal returned at Dominion, it was as part of the reviled HOUSE OF TORTURE. Whether still in possession of the junior title or not by tournament start, DOUKI’s very nature will make him a marked man by many in BOSJ 33.

Kosei Fujita (3rd entry, 3rd consecutive. 2025 winner)

Last year’s winner looks to go back to back in 2026, as Kosei Fujita is among our first announcements. 

With a stunning victory over YOH in Ota, Fujita became the youngest ever to win a Best of the Super Jr. tournament in 2025. Ever since, his focus on becoming the centerpiece of the junior heavyweight division at large has seen him take the spotlight wherever he can, even if it means stepping up to the likes of IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji of late. Yet an uncomfortable truth for the Japanese Young Punk is that he was unable to convert BOSJ trophy success to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title last year. Can Fujita go back to back in Ota, and this time finish the IWGP job? 

Master Wato (6th entry, 2nd consecutive. 2023 winner)

After winning the BOSJ in 2023, Master Wato suffered disappointment the following year as he had to miss the tournament due to injury. During that time away, rival DOUKI would enjoy his first reign as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, a title the HOUSE OF TORTURE ‘junior god’ is now holding for a second time. After a recent challenge at Anniversary came up short thanks to copious House interference, Wato will be taking aim at HOT through this tournament, and will be making a bid to claim his second trophy and the title that lies beyond.

Ryusuke Taguchi (22nd entry, 2nd consecutive. 2012 winner)

The elder statesman of BOSJ competition, Ryusuke Taguchi’s 22nd entry puts him alongside Jyushin Thunder Liger with the most appearances in tournament history. The winner back in 2012, ‘big match Tagooch’ is more than capable of pulling a rabbit (or something less family friendly for that matter) from the hat, and while Kosei Fujita last year took the record for the youngest ever BOSJ winner, might Taguchi eye Koji Kanemoto’s mark as the oldest ever tournament victor this year? 

Robbie X (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion at time of writing. 2nd entry, 2nd consecutive. Career PB: 4-5 (2025))

Determined to show that he was no mere substitute but a legitimate threat in his own right in 2025, Robbie X shook up the field in Best of the Super Jr. 32, and delivered four high quality wins. As X continued to make the most of any opportunity in the ring, he and Taiji Ishimori would make the finals of Super Jr. tag league later in the autumn, and then won junior tag gold at Anniversary. Now X’s entry was never going to be in doubt, and the sky is the limit for how ‘Extreme’ BOSJ 33 can become. 

Titan (7th entry, 5th consecutive. Career PB: 2023 finalist)

In his fifth consecutive year, Titan has become a staple in the BOSJ lineup. A staple of BOSJ has been stunning performances in the tournament as well, and fans have come to expect his name being in the upper ranks by the time the league phase approaches the wire. A finalist in 2023, could 2026 see El Inmortal take the trophy?

Francesco Akira (5th entry, 5th consecutive. Career PB: 5-4 (2025))

In the midst of a career best campaign in Best of the Super Jr. 32, Francesco Akira was on track for a berth in the semifinals, until a snap in temperament and a furious attack on Clark Connors saw a DQ loss. On that night, Akira’s buttons were pressed by Connors, but it saw a sign of the more aggressive and harder to control Akira that resurfaced from injury back in January. Vocal about not wanting to settle into a position of safety on the roster, Akira is determined to make sure he gets to the top of the division by any means necessary; that will likely make for hard work for both his opponents and his referees on this tour.

Nick Wayne (2nd entry, 2nd consecutive. Career PB: 4-5 (2025)) 

ROH’s World TV Champion Nick Wayne got off to a hot start in his debut BOSJ last year, but a mid campaign collapse would see him to eight points overall. The quality of his wins though, over SHO, Ryusuke Taguchi, Robbie Eagles and El Desperado are not in doubt, and with one more in ring year under his belt, the more experienced Wayne could still stand to usurp Kosei Fujita’s record of youngest ever BOSJ winner.

Valiente Jr. (Debut entry)

Making his first ever appearance in Best of the Super Jr. competition is CMLL representative Valiente Jr. Fantasticamania saw Valiente make his NJPW debut, and alongside Futuro, stunned crowds across Japan with his spectacular athleticism. Could the luchador stun more fans with a surprise run at the trophy in his first attempt?

Jun Kasai (Debut entry)

A massive surprise as the final announced name, hardcore legend Jun Kasai makes his Best of the Super Jr. debut. The deathmatch icon even stepping in an NJPW ring at all seemed like a far fetched prospect not too long ago, but after a terrifyingly unique blood soaked IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship challenge to El Desperado last year he now earns his BOSJ stripes. How will Kasai fare outside of his hardcore wheelhouse in the Super Junior field?

  B BLOCK

El Desperado (10th entry, 7th consecutive. 2024 winner)

Winner of the 2024 tournament, and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion going into the 2025 iteration, El Desperado has been the man to gun for during the last two BOSJs. After a sensational run with the junior gold was put to a stop by DOUKI last October, and a challenge in Korakuen Hall in February proved fruitless, Desperado has been relatively quiet in 2026. Yet BOSJ is always the time for this dark rose to blossom, and with the extra violent inspiration from Death Vegas Invitacional in April driving him, he must not be overlooked. 

KUSHIDA (13th entry, 4th consecutive. 2015, 2017 winner)

KUSHIDA’s well traveled experience, veteran skillset and work with the future stars of the wrestling business may lead to forgiveness for thinking that the Timesplitter’s peak years are behind him. Yet the two time winner, humbled by a poor record on his return to BOSJ competition from a mid career excursion in 2023, has been a force to be reckoned with in the last two tournaments. Nine years since he last took the trophy, could KUSHIDA go back to the future in BOSJ 33? 

Taiji Ishimori (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion at time of writing. 10th entry, 9th consecutive. Career PB: 2018, 2024 finalist)

Three times an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, and in the midst of his fourth reign as an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, Taiji Ishimori has long been touted as one of the ‘big three’ of a generation in junior heavyweight wrestling. Yet despite two finals appearances, contemporaries El Desperado and Hiromu Takahashi achieved something Ishimori never has, that being the Best of the Super Jr. trophy. As BOSJ’s historic winngest wrestler Hiromu is out of the picture in 2026, the age of the ‘big three’ is officially over; can Ishimori prove that his time can still come to pass?

YOH (8th entry, 2nd consecutive. Career PB: 2021, 2025 finalist)

Last year’s finalist in Best of the Super Jr. 32 plans to enter BOSJ 33 as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, set to challenge DOUKI on April 2. 

Should he do so, it would be long overdue for the enigmatic artist. Though a vastly accomplished tag team wrestler, five prior challenges to the junior title and a pair of BOSJ finals have never been converted. So often the bridesmaid, will YOH finally become the bride either during BOSJ 33 or before? 

Yoshinobu Kanemaru (9th entry, 6th consecutive. Career PB: 4-3 (2017))

The ultimate trap game in Best of the Super Jr. competition, Yoshinobu Kanemaru rarely comes out of the league phase with a winning record, but always with significant wins over high quality competition, and usually having busted somebody’s chances of glory. Kanemaru goes into his ninth G1 just as likely as ever to beat anybody on any given night of the tour. 

SHO (9th entry, 9th consecutive. Career PB: 6-3 (2020))

A consistent center of the pack player in Best of the Super Jr. entries, SHO has recorded 4-5 in the last three BOSJs straight. It’s a scoreline that reflects the role he plays for HOUSE OF TORTURE at large; SHO’s designs are less on winning the tournament than they are ensuring the deck is sufficiently stacked for enemies of the House. This year that role may be all the more evident if he’s in the same block as his master DOUKI, or just perhaps the competitive urge that resides in the Murder Machine may finally be reawakened?

Robbie Eagles (8th entry, 8th consecutive. Career PB: 5-4 (2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024))

Consistency has been the name of the game for Robbie Eagles in Best of the Super Jr. to date. Consistency of presence has seen him, even during pandemic years, participating year in and year out, now set for his eighth consecutive entry, making him the most tenured non Japanese participant in tournament history. 

Consistency has also been the message in his results through the years, with six of his seven prior entries giving a positive win-loss ratio. Yet it’s a double edged sword for Eagles, who has been consistently good, but not break out great enough to advance past the block stage. This year, the former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion is looking to bring that singles form into the tournament and to finally break through to the top flight.

Daisuke Sasaki (3rd entry, first in 14 years. Career PB: 2-6 (2012))

DDT’s embodiment of charisma Daisuke Sasaki makes a return to the cerulean blue that’s a long time in the making. 14 years in fact, with his last appearance being during the tournament that would crown the first NEVER Openweight Champion, and in the wake of Best of the Super Jr. 19. 

Sasaki makes history as a result, bridging the longest gap in history between BOSJ appearances. Six KO-D Championships and three DDT Universal titles are among the many accomplishments he has amassed since going 2-6 in 2012, and this surprise entrant could make a surprise impact in 2026. 

Jakob Austin Young (Debut entry)

Having built up respect and results on the independent scene before coming into NJPW a couple of years ago, Jakob Austin Young has long held the resume required to be in the Best of the Super Jr. lineup. When certain figures exited the New Japan landscape in 2025, it seemed as if Young was a shoo-in to take their place; instead his omission from the tournament roster acted as a slap in the face, and afire lit underneath Dangerous JAY. Ever since, Young has wrestled with increased aggression and a drive to be in BOSJ 33 that is now acknowledged. Could we be acknowledging Young as a dark horse winner as well?

Hyo (debut entry)

Dragongate’s leopard Hyo makes his Best of the Super Junior debut in BOSJ 33. Four times Open the Triangle Gate, twice Open the Brave Gate and a former Open the Twin gate Champion, Hyo is also wrestling for NJPW proper for the first time, having previously been part of Taiji Ishimori’s Ridiculous card last year in Korakuen Hall. Despite never having wrestled on the cerulean blue before, Hyo does carry the distinction of having won an NJPW tournament of sorts; he was voted the winner of the Concurso body building contest at the end of 2025. Will Best Body become Best of the Super Jr?