The Road to Wrestle Kingdom hots up 9in year’s penultimate event
Tuesday December 22 sees the second of NJPW’s 2020 closing triple header in Korakuen Hall. In six more matches, NJPW’s best continue to jockey for position with a lot at stake for the Tokyo Dome on January 4 & 5.
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Main event: Kota Ubushi, Juice Robinson & SHO vs BULLET CLUB (Jay White, KENTA & Gedo)
2020 records
Ibushi: 37-29 (9-6 singles) Juice: 25-16 (4-6) SHO: 35-27 (7-6)
White: 23-24 (12-4) KENTA: 21-24 (11-6) Gedo: 8-26 (0-1)
Kota Ibushi, Juice Robinson and SHO are back in Korakuen for tonight’s main event as they take on Jay White, KENTA and Gedo. For Ibushi and White, a potential January 5 main event, and the first meeting of the two since Power Struggle. Then it was White with his feet on the ropes, becoming the very first to relive the G1 winner of his Right to Challenge briefcase before the Tokyo Dome. Ibushi will undoubtedly be on the warpath tonight, and will be a dangerous force, but will the Switchblade stay true to form, and through the emoptional Golden Star off his game plan?
Meanwhile Juice Robinson will want his own revenge from KENTA. On the verge of going back to back with World Tag League wins on December 11, KENTA levelled Robinson with his US Right to Challenge briefcase, granting the victory to the Guerrillas of Destiny. After an emotionally turbulent 2020 saw him without the accomplishments he had been planning for, Robinson will look to continue building from Monday night and leave his mark on the US No.1 contender.
5th Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) vs THE EMPIRE (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan)
2020 records:
Takagi: 63-23 (9-7) BUSHI: 38-38 (5-7)
O-Khan: 22-5 (0-1) Cobb: 26-15 (12-7)
For the second year in a row, Shingo Takagi takes the position as the winningest wrestler in NJPW, and in the top flight of most matches wrestled at 85. The NEVER Openweight Champion is a fighting one indeed, but is Jeff Cobb a fight too far? The NEVER challenger on January 5 certainly has Takagi’s number, and The Dragon’s first fight of 2021 might be his toughest. Meanwhile, O-Khan will be sending a loud and clear message to Hiroshi Tanahashi for January 4 as a generational battle is set for night one at the Dome.
4th Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (SANADA, Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi) vs BULLET CLUB (EVIL, Dick Togo & Taiji Ishimori)
2020 records:
Tetsuya Naito: 54-24-1 (11-4) SANADA: 61-23-1 (10-7) Hiromu: 49-22 (13-5)
EVIL: 42-41 (13-6) Dick Togo: 5-16 (n/a) Ishimori: 36-16 (13-3)
Hiromu Takahashi started his 2020 in perfect form at the Tokyo Dome, winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and then retiring Jyushin Thunder Liger across a hugely successful weekend. His 2020 ended in fine form too, with an emotionally rousing victory over El Desperado to win his second Best of the Super Jr. trophy; but how will his 2021 begin?
A win on night one over Super J-Cup victor El Phantasmo is certainly a task that’s easier said than done, and should Hiromu emerge into night two and be able to challenge Ishimori, a fresh Bone Soldier will be tough opposition against a weakened Hiromu, as their Summer Struggle in Jingu match proved.
Then there’s EVIL and SANADA colliding before their own January 5 match. Who gains the upper hand with time running out before the Tokyo Dome?
3rd Match: Suzuki-Gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI) vs BULLET CLUB (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Yujiro Takahashi)
2020 records
Taichi: 39-43 (6-7) ZSJ:36-41 (7-6) DOUKI: 15-52 (2-8)
Tonga: 18-19 (3-1) Loa: 16-20 (0-1) Yujiro:17-46 (2-11)
In the third match of the evening, another tag team preview for January 4 in the Dome as Dangerous Tekkers and G.o.D go head to head. When these two teams met in World Tag League, a huge brawl eventually came down to which team could cheat most effectively, a battle G.o.D won. With Yujiro more than capable of bending the rules to his advantage, will he be the difference maker? Or will the devious DOUKI help his Suzuki-Gun comrades to victory?
2nd Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
2020 records
Tenzan: 22-14 (0-1) Taguchi: 28-35 (6-6) Wato: 19-21 (5-6)
Suzuki:31-36 (5-9) Desperado: 42-29 (8-5) Kanemaru: 32-36(2-1)
In a rematch from Monday’s six man tag bout, Suzuki-Gun go up against Master Wato, Taguchi and Tenzan. Will Wato and Taguchi be able to state their case for a junior tag title shot at the Dome? Will Suzuki create a violent night in his last match before Christmas? Time will tell.
1st Match: Toru Yano & Tomoaki Honma vs BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens)
2020 records
Yano: 42-32 (6-8) Honma: 31-33 (0-1)
Fale: 10-11 (n/a) Owens: 17-20 (3-1)
The night will kick off with a preview of Wednesday’s final KOPW 2020 defence for Toru Yano. His trophy broken several times, but his spirit unbowed, Yano has been consistently campaigning for his choice of rules for the KOPW 2020 matchup- a bodyslam or last cornerpad removed match. Fale is looking to have a straight bodyslam match that will benefit him, but losing heavily in the polls, he may be out of luck by the time the results are announced at noon on this day. Who will make the strongest statement before someone is crowned the King of Professional Wrestling for the year 2020?
