This morning NJPW held their Best of the Super Juniors finals event from Nippon Budokan, which saw Hiromu Takahashi win the prestigious tournament for the third-year in a row.
That wasn’t all that happened. IMPACT X-Division champion Ace Austin, who competed in the tournament but was eliminated earlier this week, officially joined the promotion’s top faction Bullet Club, and helped them pick up a marquee win over the United Empire.
Bullet Club leader Jay White teased one more surprise before the night would end. That would be the return of KENTA, who has been out of action since January’s WrestleKingdom loss to Hiroshi Tanahashi. NJPW has since issued a full recap of these events on their website, which you can check out below.
BULLET CLUB would come into the Best of the Super Jr. 29 finals on June 3 with their numbers hindered thanks to a COVID positive for Karl Anderson and a sudden bout of appendicitis for Juice Robinson. Yet as they started the night down two, they would be back even by the end of the evening as ‘catalyst of pro-wrestling’ Jay White continued to mastermind the group’s global conquest.
First to be added to BULLET CLUB’s number on the evening was Ace Austin. The second match of the night had seen the IMPACT X Division Champion team with “bestie” Alex Zayne in an impressive eight man winning effort. Yet a potential future tag team would quickly be torn asunder when Austin assisted BULLET CLUB to victory over the United Empire.
Just as Aaron Henare was setting up El Phantasmo for the Streets of Rage, Austin came to ringside and onto the apron. Henare took a swing at the X Division Champion, but would be met with Sudden Death and the CRII. Post match, Austin would dig into his sleeve for a special BULLET CLUB playing card, making his membership official.
Backstage, Ace was welcomed to the Club by Jay White, and when Zayne confronted his friend was brutally attacked. Zayne stated that ‘the best are in BULLET CLUB, so when the offer came to join, how could I refuse,’ declaring that his joining was ‘inevitable’. Austin’s membership adds more gold to the stable, which already houses the IWGP Tag Team, Junior Heavyweight and US Champions, as well as the NEVER Openweight 6 Man tag title holders.
The group was not done though, as Jay White would take to the microphone before the semi main event. Conceding that their show of force was not complete without Anderson and Robinson, White made reference to Austin’s entry, before saying there was one more surprise. KENTA would walk the aisle, having recovered from injuries sustained at the hands of Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom, and seconded the BULLET CLUB side through their eight man tag bout. Though Tama Tonga picked up the win on the night with a Gunstun, KENTA’s presence and betrayal of the man who recruited him to BULLET CLUB in the first place, will linger in Tama’s mind as he prepares to face Anderson June 12 at Dominion.