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APR.17.2022

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Golden Fight Series Night 1 (April 18) preview

Next tour gets underway in Nagoya

 

 

 

The next tour on the 50th Anniversary NJPW calendar is the Golden Fight Series, a throwback to some of the earliest tours in NJPW history. The tour will kick off on April 18 in Nagoya, with an event that had originally scheduled to take place in late January and now sees a live card on NJPW World to thank the fans for their patience during the postponement. 

Watch Golden Fight Series LIVE or in English on demand on NJPW World!

Main event: CHAOS (YOH & Tetsuya Naito) vs Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi)

Our main event sees a preview of May 1 and Wrestling Dontaku, where Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada will do battle for the third time in 2022 and with the IWGP World heavyweight Championship at stake. Naito has stated that there are few things in the world he likes more than locking up with the Rainmaker, and he gets a chance to do so here, as well as to feel Okada out before the huge Paypay Dome main event. Heading into their 13th singles contest against one another, both athletes know one another inside and out even before 2022’s encounters. Will we see a new step and a new set of wrinkles to their rivalry in Nagoya? Meanwhile, as time ticks down toward Best of the Super Jr. in May, 2021’s finalists Hiromu Takahashi and YOH are sure to set a high pace as we preview this year’s tournament. 

6th Match: Suzuki-Gun (TAKA Michinoku & Taichi) vs Los Ingobernables De Japon (Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) 

 

April 25 will see the Golden Fight Series head to Hiroshima, where a landmark main event will see the first KOPW 2022 match, (indeed the first KOPW match in all) that does not have Toru Yano involved. When Taichi defeated Yano to lift the KOPW 2022 trophy on April 9 at Hyper Battle, he promised a new direction, one that will lift the KOPW prize to main event status. As such, he immediately called out former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi as his first challenger. Far from being a can kicking match, Shingo has promised some demanding rules for Taichi to compete under, and the Holy Emperor is sure to have his own stipulations in mind. Might we see a taste of both men’s rules tonight in Nagoya?

5th Match: Jado, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (Dick Togo, SHO, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL)

 

After Hiroshi Tanahashi first stood alongside the Guerrillas of Destiny during the New Japan Cup, a series of frustrating results ensued until Hyper Battle. There Jado finally submitted Gedo to strike a blow against BULLET CLUB, and after the match, Tanahashi had a surprise for G.o.D. With Lion Mark T-shirts passed to Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Jado, the Ace finally officially accepted the trio into Hontai. In short order, the combination of Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga and Tanahashi were signed into a NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Championship bout April 25 in Hiroshima against HOUSE OF TORTURE, and we see a preview of that title bout tonight in Nagoya. Can the hontai side continue building steam, or will the worst elements of BULLET CLUB put a stop to them?

4th Match: Tiger Mask, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto vs BULLET CLUB (Gedo, Taiji Ishimori, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens)

 

April 9 saw the IWGP tag team Championship reign of Bishamon come to an end at the hands of Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan of the United Empire. Opening the door to any challengers, and to rematches from the former champions, Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens stepped up, while Bishamon wanted revenge. Meanwhile, on a fast turnaround, the new champions took their titles with them to the US to compete on NJPW STRONG and at Windy City Riot as a three way match was made for May 1 at Dontaku. 

With the champions in absentia, their two challengers for Fukuoka face off in preview action tonight in Nagoya. With other combustible elements joining them, this will be an intriguing eight man battle. 

3rd Match: Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Suzuki-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI)

 

The third match of the evening sees another preview of future Dontaku tag title action. After a backstage assault in Ryogoku, Six or Nine will be challenged by Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI on May 1, and Taguchi will face Japones Del Mal tonight in Nagoya as both men seek to send a message before facing off for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight tag Team Championships. 

2nd Match: Yuto Nakashima & Master Wato vs Suzuki-Gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado)

 

A second IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag team Championship preview puts Master Wato with Yuto Nakashima against El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Opposite former IWGP Jr. champions, and with the current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight singles champion, Wato will have an uphill climb next to his Young Lion partner Nakashima, but will heart and drive force an upset?

1st Match: Ryohei Oiwa vs Kosei Fujita

Singles record: 0-0-11

The night will start with Young Lions Ryohei Oiwa and Kosei Fujita in singles action. Since their August 24 debuts opposite one another, Oiwa and Fujita have had nothing but time limit draws, but now their ten minute time limit matches see a growth to 15. Will the extra five minutes prove the difference needed for one or the other to get their hands definitively raised? We find out when action kicks off April 18. 

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