Makuhari Messe sees last tournament quarterfinals
Sunday October 30 sees Battle Autumn roll on to Makuhari Messe. With less than a week to go before the tour closer in Osaka, we see the last two quarterfinals of the NJPW World Television Championship tournament and much more.
Watch Battle Autumn LIVE or in English on demand on NJPW World!
Main event: NJPW World Television Championship Tournament quarterfinal: SANADA vs KENTA
Singles record: 2-0 SANADA
SANADA and KENTA collide in the main event of Makuhari for a space in November 5’s TV title semifinals. The two have collided twice before, and in both the 2019 and 2020 G1 Climaxes, SANADA emerged on top. Will this be third time lucky for KENTA, or a hattrick for SANADA? In Nagaoka last week, KENTA brought the violence to get past Goto, the use of a chair seeing him bloody but victorious with Go2Sleep. SANADA meanwhile only just got past Taichi with three seconds left on the clock. Who makes the final four tonight?
7th Match: NJPW World TV Championship Tournament quarterfinal- Ren Narita vs Toru Yano
After defeating Tomohiro Ishii in the main event in Korakuen Hall on October 26, Ren Narita declared a ‘changing of the guard’ in NJPW, but for that plan to continue, he has to get past Toru Yano tonight in Makuhari. Yano presents a very different skill set and a very different type of match to Ishii; can Narita adapt? The Son of Strong Style would see a lot of compairsons to his mentor in Katsuyori Shibata when doing battel with Ishii, and avenging Shibata’s 2013 G1 loss to the Stone Pitbull, but The Wrestler couldn’t beast Yano in two successive G1s in 2014 and 2015. Can Narita right those wrongs Sunday?
6th Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Titan, BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito) vs United Empire (Gideon Grey, Francesco Akira, TJP & Aaron Henare)
Just six days before BUSHI and Titan challenge for IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship gold in Osaka, one of our last preview matches see LIJ once again try to one up the United Empire. A strong record through the tour so far has also buoyed Tetsuya Naito in Will Ospreay’s absence, but how will El Ingobernable act just days before his showdown with the Commonwealth Kingpin?
5th Match: Suzuki-Gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs BULLET CLUB (Taiji Ishimori & Gedo)
A junior heavyweight tag team clash sees El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru face Taiji Ihsimori and Gedo. With Ishimori and Desperado’s positions in the Wrestle Kingdom 17 IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship four way assured, it’s quite possible neither of these teams will be part of Super Junior Tag League next month, but with both part of the Incredible Tag Match on November 5, it is quite possible that champion and challenger will be unwilling partners Saturday.
4th Match: Alex Zayne, Tiger Mask & David Finlay vs Suzuki-Gun (Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Zack Sabre Jr.)
This was the scene on Wednesday night when Alex Zayne, Tiger Mask and David Finlay were victorious over Suzuki-Gun. On Sunday night, Finlay and ZSJ will be facing off after their Korakuen NJPW World TV tournament quarterfinal, and the fallout is sure to be intense days before our Osaka semifinal matchups.
3rd Match: Master Wato & Hikuleo vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (Dick Togo & EVIL)
Hikuleo has rampaged through HOUSE OF TORTURE this week, frustrated after a NEVER 6 Man Championship loss, in Aomori, and determined to face the absent Karl Anderson for the NEVER singles gold wherever he may be. Tonight, he recruits junior heavyweight Master Wato in a bid to overcome the forces of EVIL.
2nd Match: Ryohei Oiwa & Yuto Nakashima vs United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan)
After great-O-Khan was misted out of the NJPW World TV title tournament by the Great Muta, revenge is firmly on the minds of United Empire heading into Historic X-Over on November 20. Yet before that is Battle Autumn in Osaka, and the arrival in Japan of IWGP Tag Team Champions FTR. O-Khan and Cobb were never pinned for the titles they lost at Forbidden Door, and will be making a case for an Osaka title match.
1st Match: Kosei Fujita vs DOUKI
After missing two nights in Korakuen Hall due to a fever, DOUKI is back in NJPW World action Sunday, and hungry to feast on Young Lion Kosei Fujita. Can Fujita avoid the ‘DOUKI Chokey’ in Makuhari?
