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JUL.28.2020

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Summer Struggle night 4 Preview

Yuji Nagata and Minoru Suzuki finally go one on one when live action returns to NJPW World

 

 

After Wednesday, July 29 sees NJPW’s first non-televised live event in five months take place in Hamamatsu, action returns to NJPW World Friday, July 31 from Korakuen Hall, with a monolithic main event!

Watch Summer Struggle live and on demand with NJPW World!

 

Main event: Yuji Nagata vs Minoru Suzuki

Singles record: 7-4 Nagata

After weeks of intense battles in and out of the ring, Yuji Nagata and Minoru Suzuki will finally meet one on one once more in Korakuen. 

After a seven year singles match cease fire in their long running rivalry, Nagata and Suzuki met one on one in the first round of the New Japan Cup. A hard hitting instant classic matchup, Nagata finally got the pinfall over the King, sending Suzuki crashing out of the Cup at the first hurdle. 

Suzuki is not the type to let a loss of that nature slide, and in subsequent tag team matches got ever more brutal in his attacks on Blue Justice, who only responded in kind. Backstage, Suzuki repeatedly insisted that a singles match be made, and that a place and date be set for ‘Yuji Nagata’s public execution’. 

A time and place is now set, as July 31 and Korakuen Hall will see the 12th singles matchup between these two strong willed veterans; but Nagata is far from willing to accept his ‘execution’. He once again takes aim at the King this Friday, and is determined not to miss. 

5th Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI) vs BULLET CLUB (EVIL & Taiji Ishimori)

In the fifth match at Korakuen Hall this Friday, LIJ and BULLET CLUB trios once again clash, as questions continue to circle around the condition of Hiromu Takahashi’s shoulder. On Sunday at the Summer Struggle opener, Ishimori struck the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion with Bloody Cross before making his championship challenge official. The next night, the Bone Soldier’s vicious offense, combined with the after effects of a brutal war with EVIL Saturday at Sengoku Lord, had Takahashi submitting to the Yes Lock, and screaming in pain, before being taken for evaluation by NJPW trainers. 

While Hiromu’s match with Ishimori is now official for Summer Struggle in Jingu on August 29, NJPW’s medical staff have determined that Takahashi is unable to compete on forthcoming cards, including Friday at Korakuen. That is sure to fill Taiji Ishimori with confidence, as he heads into Jingu with a significant advantage. Meanwhile EVIL and Tetsuya Naito is also confirmed for Jingu Stadium, and Naito is set to turn up his ‘no tranquilo’ aggression for the double IWGP Champion to yet further heights. 

4th Match: CHAOS (SHO & Kazuchika Okada) vs BULLET CLUB (Gedo & Yujiro Takahashi)

SHO and Kazuchika Okada team up once again to face Yujiro Takahashi and Gedo in the third match of the evening. After Okada submitted Takahashi in Nagoya with the Money Clip hold, Takahashi has refused to accept the result, or to let go of his issues with the Rainmaker. Pushing hard for another singles match, he has certainly adopted the BULLET CLUB mantra of ‘by any means necessary’, on Monday night in Korakuen Hall enlisting the aid of Jado and his kendo stick to lead to victory. 

Takahashi will be wholly focused on Okada Friday, but one has to wonder whether the Rainmaker will be wholly focused on the Tokyo Pimp. We are fresh off Okada’s  monumental announcement of the KOPW2020 title, and one has to assume that Okada will want to put himself in the running for the championship of his own creation. Will his mind be elsewhere Friday, and can BULLET CLUB capitalize? 

3rd Match: Yuya Uemura, Master Wato, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi vs Suzuki-Gun (DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, Zack Sabre Junior & Taichi)

Yuji Nagata and Minoru suzuki meet in the main event Friday, but underneath, hontai and Suzuki-Gun are still waging war. Golden☆Ace have been trying to build a case for an IWGP Tag Team Championship rematch with Dangerous Tekkers for weeks now, with little success. Facing constant criticism from ZSJ and Taichi, even Kota Ibushi has called into question the current motivation and ability of his legendary tag team partner. Hiroshi Tanahashi badly needs to turn a corner Friday, while Master Wato seeks to make a similar mark on Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Can he state a strong enough case for a future singles bout?

2nd Match: Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) vs Los Ingobernables De Japon (Shingo Takagi & SANADA)

On Sunday July 26, SANADA and Shingo Takagi formed an impressive combination indeed to defeat YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto. After SANADA’s long held partnership with EVIL came to a vicious end when the King of Darkness defected to BULLET CLUB, a new combination might be found in Cold Skull and the Dragon. They’ll test their mettle against former IWGP Tag Team Champions in GBH tonight. It isn’t just tag competition that’s on Shingo’s mind however. Can he find a new challenger for the NEVER Openweight Championship before Jingu?

1st Match: Gabriel Kidd, Yota Tsuji, Ryusuke Taguchi & Satoshi Kojima  vs CHAOS (YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto)

Eight man tag team action will kick things off from Korakuen Friday night. After missing three nights of action, Yota Tsuji looks to hit the ground running in Korakuen Hall, while Gabriel Kidd will not be one upped!

 

 

 

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