Tournament to begin at Battle Autumn

Watch the Declaration of Power replay now!

A special announcement at Declaration of Power saw a brand new Championship unveiled by Takami Ohbari of NJPW and Hiroyoki Mihira of TV Asahi. 

Ohbari greeted the crowd back from break stating that a brand new initiative would be unveiled that celebrates New Japan’s partnership with TV Asahi and NJPW World. That initiative would be a new belt and championship. With NJPW and TV Asahi marking 50 years as partners in 2023, the first title holder will be crowned on January 4 2023 at Wrestle Kingdom 17.

The NJPW World Television Championship will, Ohbari stated, represent a bright future in NJPW. Every title match will be contested with a 15 minute time limit, encouraging a rapid style in the ring. Ohbari suggested that he would also like to see the younger wrestlers on the roster compete for the title, with the first contenders for the new title dueling it out in a tournament to start at Battle Autumn. 

Mihira echoed Ohbari’s hopes that with the new challenge and new title, a new star may be born, before promising that matches will also be available for free to watch through the power of NJPW World and social media. That promise will be followed through on with Battle Autumn night one on October 14, which will see the first tournament matches.

The first round will continue October 15, 16 and 26 before second round matchups in Korakuen Hall and Makuhari Messe on October 27 and 30. The semifinals will take place November 5 in Osaka, with the final taking place at Wrestle Kingdom 17!