Tour kicks off in Chiba
After a massive night of action at Dominion, New Japan Road will bridge the gap between Osaka Jo Hall and the Scotiabank Arena for Forbidden Door, as well as Korakuen Hall July 4 and 5 for NJPW STRONG’s Independence Day.
Watch New Japan Road live on NJPW World! (English to follow on demand)
Main event: Elimination match- Just 5 Guys (SANADA, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku) vs Los Ingobernables Der Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI)
The main event of the evening will see Just 5 Guys and LIJ’s ongoing issues play out in 5 on 5 elimination tag team action. The bout will see Yota Tsuji join his new LIJ partners for the first time, and his first in ring action since a dominant performance opposite SANADA came unglued with a KO counter to his huge spear, and the Deadfall that followed. Tsuji will be looking to get right back on the horse with the G1 looming, while SANADA, about to enter the tournament of tournaments as champion for the first time, has his own standard to bear.
6th Match: Master Wato, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada vs Tiger Mask, El Desperado, Ren Narita & Shota Umino
Between Pro-Wrestling NOAH’s Kaito Kiyomiya, and Ren Narita and Shota Umino closer to home, Kazuchika Okada has had just about enough of the younger generation nipping at his heels. With all three part of the G1 Climax 33 lineup, he might not be done with them yet, and now, before he heads to Toronto June 25 for Forbidden Door and a likely collision with Bryan Danielson, he’ll be in no mood for fun and games opposite Narita, Umino, and their more experienced partners El Desperado and Tiger Mask.
5th Match: Ryohei Oiwa & Hirooki Goto vs BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Alex Coughlin & Gabriel Kidd)
BULLET CLUB’s numbers grew at Dominion on June 4, when Alex Coughlin and Gabriel Kidd joined the faction’s ranks. A crushing attack to new IWGP and NJPW STRONG Tag Team Champions Bishamon made their intentions very clear, but if there was any doubt in Hirooki Goto’s mind, there’ll no doubt be an emphatic statement made by Coughlin and Kidd tonight.
4th Match: United Empire (Francesco Akira, TJP & Aaron Henare) vs BULLET CLUB (Dan Moloney, Clark Connors & Gedo)
With the bertrayal of Dan Moloney still stinging the United Empire, new IWGP Junior Tag team Champions Catch 2/2 will be heading into this six man preview of a July 4 title clash with redoubled aggression. At the same time, Gedo’s young and aggressive charges will be showing the savagery that got them inducted into the Club in the first place- who wins out tonight?
3rd Match: CHAOS (YOH, Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (Dick Togo, SHO, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL)
Hopes were high that Bishamon’s victory in the tag team three way at Dominion to claim the IWGP and NJPW STRONG Tag Team Championships might finally put the CHAOS and HOUSE OF TORTURE rivalry to rest. While hope springs eternal, hopes may not be met as the persistent H.O.T look to make another statement of force tonight.
2nd Match: Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) vs Boltin Oleg & Oskar Leube
Big Boltin Oleg and the two meter tall Oskar Leube make an imposing tag team combination even if they are Young Lions. Tonight they go up against veteran competition though, and Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma will be looking to teach the Kazakh/German combination a thing or two.
1st match: Yuto Nakashima vs Kosei Fujita
Singles record: 3-2-9 Fujita
As Kosei Fujita’s rapid rise through his Young Lion career is assisted by TMDK to put him in prominent spots, including opposite NOAH’s Legacy and Ridgeway at All Together Again, Yuto Nakashima will be fighting to put ‘Ichiban Sweet Boy’ in his place tonight in our opener.
Also on June 10, we find out how the 32 entrants of G1 Climax 33 will fit into their blocks, and the match cards to come over the tournament of tournaments! What incredible fights will be ‘Born in the Ring’ over the next month?
