NEVER 6 Man titles, plus LIJ vs War Dogs in a singles series
It’s a stacked card for the second night of our Korakuen double header on the Road to Dontaku, as the NEVER 6 Man titles are on the line, and a five match singles series between LIJ and the War Dogs headlines the event.
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Main event: Hiromu Takahashi vs David Finlay
Our main event, and the final match of a five bout LIJ/War Dogs series pits Hiromu Takahashi against David Finlay in an openweight battle. The first and former IWGP Global Champion is on a warpath to Yota Tsuji and a route back to championship gold. For Hiromu, a quest alongside BUSHI to wrest IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag gold from Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney is a welcome reset button for a singles 2024 campaign that has been winless in NJPW to date. Can a big victory over Finlay turn the tide?
7th Match: Tetsuya Naito vs Drilla Moloney
Another openweight clash in strictest terms only, former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion tetsuya Naito cannot expect a massive power advantage over the largest of the junior heavyweight division in Drilla Moloney. Moloney’s impactful style is more than a match for El Ingobernable, especially as Naito seeks to recover from the setback of his world title loss back at Windy City Riot, and Naito will have his work cut out for him.
6th Match: Shingo Takagi vs Clark Connors
Another hard hitting clash pits NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi against Clark Connors. With a challenge for the STRONG Openweight Championship in his history, Connors is not one to shy away from NEVER styled competition; though Gabe Kidd is next in line for the NEVER gold, could Connors book himself a future title shot as well?
5th Match: BUSHI vs Gabe Kidd
Gabe Kidd will look to out power BUSHI in their singles contest. Kidd’s furious style and the ever deepening chip on his shoulder makes him a dangerous, mad, man, but BUSHI has been able to upset larger heavyweight competition like Zack Sabre Jr and Bad Luck Fale in the past. Could he stop Kidd tonight?
4th Match: Yota Tsuji vs Gedo
The first of the five singles match series tonight pits Yota Tsuji against Gedo in what could charitably be described as a long shot for Gedo. yet with Bloody Hands constantly in the machinery, might there be unpredictable tricks at play that Tsuji needs to be careful of?
3rd Match: NEVER Openweight 6 man Tag team Championships- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano & Boltin oleg vs HOUSE OF TORTRUE (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano and Young Lion Boltin Oleg pulled off a surprising victory over HOUSE OF TORTURE in Taiwan to lift the NEVER 6 Man Championships, Boltin becoming a notable Young Lion champion just over a year into his professional career. EVIL, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru were quick to appeal for a rematch, and will get it with Yujiro Takahashi in place of SHO, but will there be other H.O.T members waiting in the wings?
2nd Match: Hikuleo, El Phantasmo, El Desperado & Ryusuke Taguchi vs TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste & Kosei Fujita)
Another tag preview of GoD vs Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls for later int he tour, TMDK face Hontai, while presumably El Desperado will still be scvouting for the Desper Invitacional coming on June 10.
1st Match: YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto & Shoma Kato vs BULLET CLUB (KENTA, Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori)
Another preview of Bishamon’s impending IWGP Tag defence against Chase Owens and KENTA, six man action sees them swap out Katsuya Murashima for Shoma Kato tonight. Will the veteran and fresh blood combination be able to topple a well oiled BC machine?
