Two title bouts, plus kickoff action confirmed for Wintrust Arena
The card continues to shape up for Windy City Riot, with four matches added to an already stacked night April 12 in the Wintrust Arena in Chicago!
Friday April 12 Wintrust Arena TICKETS
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Matt Riddle will defend the NJPW World TV Championship against Zack Sabre Jr. Riddle’s NJPW debut at Battle in the Valley in San Jose was in tag action against old enemy Sabre, and when the King of Bros captured the TV gold from around the waist of Hiroshi Tanahashi he was quick to call out ZSJ backstage in Sapporo. Sabre rejected the nomination, saying that he had moved on from the 15 minute time restrictions of the TV title scene, but instead nominated other TMDK members.
That played out in a pair of challenges at consecutive MLW events, as Riddle first defeated Bad Dude Tito in February’s Intimidation Games, and then Kosei Fujita at War Chamber. After his win over Fujita, Riddle felt he could be denied no longer and called out ZSJ again. This time the title match is on, but who can get the job done in under 15 minutes?
Also on the line in Chicago is the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship, with Stephanie Vaquer defending against AZM. Vaquer captured the STRONG gold in Korakuen Hall earlier in March, ending a dominant eight month reign for outgoing champion Giulia. Vaquer added the STRONG gold to her CMLL World Women’s and World Women’s Tag Championships, making her a triple champion, and hasn’t been beaten via pinfall or submission one on one anywhere in the world since November of 2023. Could the high speed queen AZM be the one to topple Vauqer and stop her title run before it even gets started?
Women’s action continues with the top of two kickoff matches official for Chicago. Tag team action will see Viva Van return to the NJPW ring alongside Mina Shirakawa. Shirakawa just fell short of the IWGP Women’s Championship against Mayu Iwatani back in February but wants to get right back in the mix for gold, and will have the chance to alongside a highly capable partner. Yet with her opposition being the hard hitting Afropunk Trish Adora, and former two year plus RevPro Undisputed Women’s Champion Alex Windsor in her first NJPW match since Royal Quest II, competition will be as stiff as the striking.
The STRONG Survivor concept continues into Windy City Riot. Since earning his way onto kickoff matches last October, Matt Vandagriff has defended his spot against all comers. His latest opposition comes in the form of Zane Jay; the NJPW Academy prospect showed his worth against Bad Dude Tito in the main event of the most recent NJPW Academy Showcase, and could stand to have a regular spot on big cards going forward.
