NJPW announces fan voting for Best of the Super Juniors awards
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that fans will have the chance to vote for three different awards to be presented to participants in this year’s Best of the Super Juniors 33 tournament.
A press conference was held in Tokyo on May 13 announcing the news, with NJPW president Hiroshi Tanahashi revealing that following the conclusion of the round-robin portion of the tournament, fans will vote for the following three awards.
The Outstanding Performance Award will go to the wrestler fans feel “best exhibited their full potential and ability in the ring throughout the league.”
The Fighting Spirit Award will go to the wrestler fans feel exhibited a “never say die attitude in the face of overwhelming odds.”
The Technique Award will be given to the wrestler who best shows “creative offensive flair within their matches.”
Similar to the format proposed for John Cena’s John Cena Classic, voting for these awards will be open to wrestlers regardless of their win-loss record in the tournament.
This year’s tournament kicks off on Thursday at Korakuen Hall.
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 33 lineups
The lineups for each block are below.
Block A:
- DOUKI
- Francesco Akira
- Robbie X
- Nick Wayne
- Titan
- Valiente Jr.
- Kosei Fujita
- Jun Kasai
- Ryusuke Taguchi
- Master Wato
Block B:
- El Desperado
- YOH
- Daisuke Sasaki
- KUSHIDA
- Robbie Eagles
- Jakob Austin Young
- Taiji Ishimori
- Hyo
- SHO
- Yoshinobu Kanemaru
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 33 Schedule
The schedule for the tournament is below:
- May 14: Kosei Fujita vs. Francesco Akira
- May 16: El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori
- May 17: Robbie Eagles vs. El Desperado
- May 20: Robbie X vs. Kosei Fujita
- May 23: YOH vs. Robbie Eagles
- May 24: Jun Kasai vs. Nick Wayne
- May 27: Francesco Akira vs. Jun Kasai
- May 29: Valiente Jr. vs. Kosei Fujita
- May 30: SHO vs. Taiji Ishimori
- June 2: El Desperado vs. YOH
- June 3: Taiji Ishimori vs. KUSHIDA
- June 5: Semifinals
- June 7: Finals
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.