Finals of NEVER 6-Man tournament, Jingu previews and more

The full card has been revealed for tonight’s final of four consecutive Korakuen Hall events, with new NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Champions guaranteed in our main event of the evening. 

Main event: CHAOS (SHO, Toru Yano & Kazuchika Okada) vs CHAOS (YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto)

The NEVER 6-Man tournament has proved to retain the unpredictable nature of the trios titles, but one thing is certain about our main event this evening; the championships are coming to CHAOS. After Toru Yano stole victory last night by tying BUSHI’s mask to the guardrail and stealing a countout, he SHO and Okada made it to the finals, putting Kazuchika Okada in his second NEVER 6-Man Championship match, and one win away from the first championship in his career that isn’t the IWGP Heavyweight title. 

On the other side of the ring, a man seeking his first championship ever, after 12 years in the game. YOSHI-HASHI’s never say die heart and determination has been backed up by impressive teamwork with Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii throughout the tournament, and last night Karma on Master Wato after a spectacular battle earned he and his team this championship bout. Can the Headhunter deliver on his promise of a 12 year dream come true tonight?

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

With LIJ now out of the NEVER 6-Man running, BUSHI is now able to team with Tetsya Naito again this evening to take on Taiji Ishimori and EVIL. Two nights ago, LIJ was finally able to put a stop to BULLET CLUB’s recent winning streak ever since EVIL seized double IWGP gold. Naito and BUSHI will look to build on that momentum, while EVIL and Ishimori will look to show Friday’s result was a flash in the pan. Ishimori in particular, with his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship opponent for August 29 Hiromu Takahashi absent, will look to prove that he is in championship form while the champion himself is out with shoulder issues. 

4th Match: Master Wato, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Kota Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Suzuki-Gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi)

The result may not have been what he had wanted, but Hiroshi Tanahashi showed a positive attitude and tempo to his wrestling that we hadn’t seen in weeks Saturday night in Korakuen Hall. Perhaps this was a result of Kota Ibushi redoubling his commitment to teaming with the Ace, but it could equally be down to the absence of his tormentors of late; the IWGP Tag Team Champions, Dangerous Tekkers. Now Ibushi and Tanahashi once again stand opposite Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr., can Golden☆Ace finally pick themselves up and show themselves to be in contendership form, or will they continue to struggle?

Viewers should also look out for El Desperado’s interactions with Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Last night in Korakuen, Tenzan’s partner Satoshi Kojima unilaterally declared himself part of KOPW2020, met by Desperado who mocked Kojima’s legacy before suggesting they have a ‘finishers only’ match where the Lariat or Pinche Loco would be the only ways to end the bout. Desperado will be eager to prove the efficacy of his finisher tonight. 

 3rd Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (SANADA & Shingo Takagi) vs Suzuki-Gun (DOUKI & Minoru Suzuki)

They might not be NEVER 6-Man champs, but SANADA and Shingo Takagi have proven themselves to be an effective duo in their own right. That’s a good thing as they have to face a tall test in Suzuki-Gun tonight. That’s a test The Dragon will more than relish, as his NEVER Openweight Championship match with Minoru Suzuki is all but official for Jingu August 29. It will all make for a brutal tag team encounter in the third match of the card. 

2nd Match: Yota Tsuji, Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe vs Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata

The second match of the evening sees Yota Tsuji teaming with Dojo mentors in GBH against Honma and Makabe’s partner in the NEVER 6-Man tournament, Ryusuke Taguchi, along with Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata. The aforementioned forthcoming KOPW2020 match for Kojima against Desperado should present ample motivation for Kojima to prove the strength of his right arm and that lariat; or perhaps he’ll be proposing his own rules for when Summer Struggle returns to Korakuen? 

1st Match: Gabriel Kidd & Yuya Uemura vs BULLET CLUB (Gedo & Yujiro Takahashi)

The last two nights of tag team action have proven that Gabriel Kidd doesn’t exactly gel with Yota Tsuji, especially when it comes to backstage comments. Now he changes his partner out for Yuya Uemura opposite Yujiro and Gedo, who will likely be looking to continue their gameplan from Saturday; that being to demonstrate how dangerous they can be with leather belts ahead of Yujiro’s proposed lumberjack belt match against Kazuchika Okada in KOPW2020.