Junior heavyweight wrestling is polarizing from a Western perspective. Juniors are often seen as a level below heavyweights, but junior wrestling is beautiful. The junior style of wrestling that has birthed some of the greatest wrestlers of all time and some of the most hyped junior matches are car crash action-like matches. Those are great, but I am a big fan of those pro wrestlers that make you think. Wrestlers who adapt to any style and usually improve the matches they’re involved in with their IQ. As someone who is adamant that Yoshinobu Kanemaru is the best pro wrestler in New Japan Pro Wrestling, it shouldn’t shock anyone that my pick for the best junior in the world isn’t one of the usual suspects. Allow me to introduce you to the best junior heavyweight wrestler you probably don’t know about, Yasutaka Oosera.
Who Is Yasutaka Oosera?
Yasutaka Oosera is a wrestler who is affiliated with Michinoku Pro Wrestling and has belonged there since he debuted back in 2017. He also has the honor of being one of the many proteges of one of the greatest, if not the greatest, wrestling mind of all time in Dick Togo. That is very much apparent if you watch Oosera wrestle. He has those glimpses of Togoism, such as the way he applies and gets into the Crossface, how he lays out his matches depending on the role he’s in, and many other small things you can catch with the eye test. He is also an active member of Osaka Pro Wrestling’s heel unit, Rogue Nation, along with his duties serving as a member of the Hanazono Gundam.
Why Is Oosera The Best Junior In The World?
My fandom of Oosera is still relatively fresh, as I have become a fan of him this year. From the first match that I saw of Oosera, he clicked with me. He was someone that I had to seek out more and more of, and when I did? There was a debate internally within me on whether Oosera was simply the best male wrestler alive today. He’s so dynamic as a performer that he barely alters how he works as a heel and a face. When you watch an Oosera heel performance and then an Oosera face performance, they feel like two very different styles. If you pay attention, they are often structurally the same matches, just tweaked to fit the story and opponent. His face work helps showcase how explosive of a move-for-move performer he can be at the apex of a match. However, I think his heel matches help you truly appreciate and realize how great he is.
His challenge for Osaka Pro’s Light Heavyweight Title versus Ryuya Matsufusa back in June is, for me, his masterclass. Matsufusa has captured the hearts of Osaka Pro and Western wrestling fans this past year, and rightfully so. Matsufusa’s an ideal prototype for a modern junior heavyweight, but this was the first time he was being tested by a real heel. Matsufusa was getting to live his dream, while Oosera wanted nothing more than to crush that dream and become a champion. Oosera masterfully manipulated the flow of the match and forced Matsufusa to step up in a way he hadn’t had to yet.
I think a glaring issue when you try to decipher who is the best junior heavyweight in the world is the wrestler’s strengths and weaknesses. For example, Hiromu Takahashi is one of the best juniors alive, but he’s undoubtedly a better underdog than the ace that wrestlers have to overcome. For me, Oosera doesn’t have that weakness. He is a better heel, but I don’t think there is a quality drop or heavy increase like with Hiromu. I’m not discrediting Hiromu by any means whatsoever – I’m simply using him to help everyone see my thinking a bit. Everyone is going to have their pick for the best junior in the world, and that’s the beauty of wrestling. Everyone views things differently and forms their own opinions based on how they see things. If you like wrestlers who paint their matches like a piece of art? Go on WRESTLE UNIVERSE and seek out Yasutaka Oosera in both Michinoku Pro and Osaka Pro (they also upload a lot of content on their YouTube), and form your own opinions on the wrestler that I believe is the best junior in the world.