Penultimate night of series hits Kagawa
As Burning Spirit heads toward its September 25 conclusion in Kobe, action in Kagawa on September 23 will see an elimination preview of two of the night’s biggest matches in the headline spot.
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Main event: Elimination Tag- David Finlay, Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato & The DKC vs United Empire (Will Ospreay, TJP, Francesco Akira & Aaron Henare)
A double preview match headlines tonight in Kagawa. Just two days later on September 25, Will Ospreay will defend the IWGP United States Championship in the main event of the evening against David Finlay, while Team Six or Nine will be gunning for the IWGP Jr. Tag Championships against Francesco Akira and TJP. After a shock win over champion Ospreay during the G1, Finlay has certainly shown that the champion should ‘expect him’; now he has a chance to drive that point home. meanwhile The DKC, in on the tour due to Alex Coughlin’s injury, gets a momentous opportunity as part of his first main event. Popular though he has proven, few ‘expect’ the LA Dojo member, but can he make a mark with some significant eliminations?
7th Match: NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Championship Tornado Dog Cage Survival Match- CHAOS (YOH, Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii) vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (EVIL, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi)
The semi main event will see the NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag team Championships decided as the CHAOS side of YOH, Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI defend against HOUSE OF TORTURE’s EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi and SHO.
CHAOS won the titles back in July thanks to Toru Yano shutting the interfering H.O.T members in a dog cage, a scene that has led to repercussions as EVIL’s crew have been trying to get revenge all the way through the Burning Spirit tour.
With a regular tag match clearly not satisfying either team, the decision has been made to conduct the title bout under Tornado Dog Cage Survival rules. For the first time ever, this unique bout will see tornado rules apply- there will be no tags, and submissions and pinfalls can count by anyone on anyone. Additionally, in each of the four sides of the ring at ringside will be a dog cage. Teams can opt to lock an opponent inside one of the four cages to eliminate them from the match. Should all three members of a team be shut in a cage, the match will end.
Who will come out on top in this unique environment?
6th Match: Jado, KUSHIDA, Toru Yano, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tama Tonga vs BULLET CLUB (Jay White, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Taiji Ishimori & Gedo)
More preview action for Sunday in Kobe sees Hiroshi Tanahashi prepare for his NEVER Openweight title match with Karl Anderson in Kobe, as well as Toru Yano and Doc Gallows squaring off ahead of their singles encounter on the Burning Spirit closer. With Jay White and Tama Tonga set to meet for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Declaration of Power on October 10, both will be looking to make their own declarations of intent in this 10 man tag.
5th Match: Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe & Kazuchika Okada vs TMDK (Bad Dude Tito, Shane Haste & JONAH)
Kazuchika Okada and JONAH continue on their path to Ryogoku on October 10 in six man action tonight. The Rainmaker and GBH have traded wins with TMDK through the tour so far, but will the Top Dog and his crew be able to make a big statement at the G1 winner’s expense?
4th Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito) vs Suzuki-Gun (TAKA Michinoku, Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.)
Six man action sees SANADA and Tetsuya Naito continue to prod and provoke against Dangerous Tekkers ahead of their tag team clash Sunday in Kobe. One has to wonder whether the antagonism between Naito and ZSJ is such that a tag team match is enough to satisfy them, but at any rate, before any talk of one on one can be entered into, first is two on two Sunday, and before that three on three here tonight.
3rd Match：Los Ingobernables De Japon (BUSHI & Shingo Takagi) vs BULLET CLUB (El Phantasmo & KENTA)
Shingo Takagi and El Phantasmo’s bitter feud continues in the third match of the evening. After blows and insults traded across continents and over social media, ELP will look to once again push the Dragon’s buttons, while Takagi will want to fire back in the face of his self proclaimed ‘daddy’.
2nd Match: United Empire (Gideon Grey, Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) vs BULLET CLUB (Hikuleo, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens)
Gideon Grey might be the master orchestrator behind the United Empire, but his in ring efforts have seen him get rather short shrift through the Burning Spirit tour, specifically at the mighty hands of Hikuleo. While Japanese fans may be endeared by Grey’s (very subjective) ‘cuteness’, will he be able to pull up to the pay window for a more material reward for a United Empire victory tonight against tough competition?
1st Match: Kosei Fujita vs Ryohei Oiwa
Singles record 2-1-11 Fujita
Singles action will kick us off as Ryohei Oiwa and Kosei Fujita do Young Lion battle. After their young careers started with a streak of 11 time limit draws, Fujita and Oiwa are 2-1 in Fujita’s favour in 2022 thus far. With Fujita having mounted wins in their last two meetings now, will Oiwa draw level, or can the youngest Noge Dojo representative pull further ahead?
