8 man action in Korakuen main event
After a long twenty days, live action returns to NJPW World this Monday in Korakuen Hall. With the shock announcement that Will Ospreay is vacating the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship due to injury, the field in NJPW is now wide open as power plays are made before Dominion June 6.
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Main event: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi)
Our main event sees the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship trio of YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto join forces with Hiroshi Tanahashi to take on Los Ingobernables De Japon. Eyes have to be on Shingo Takagi in this eight man clash. After Will Ospreay was injured during his championship clash with Shingo on May 4, he was forced to relinquish the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, and with the title laying vacant at present, Takagi has to have a valid claim.
If that were the case however, then Hiroshi Tanahashi would have an equally valid claim to the vacant gold, having defeated Takagi for the NEVER Openweight Championship back in January. Tanahashi may be without the NEVER title thanks to the best efforts of Gedo and Jay White, but could he stake a claim to the World Heavyweight Championship in its stead? Indeed, any one of these eight men could make a play for IWGP gold, while any trio combination of LIJ could also make a move for the NEVER 6-Man titles. With so many moving parts, this is a main event you won’t want to miss.
4th Match: Master Wato & Kota Ibushi vs United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb)
An intriguing tag team mix in our semi main event sees Kota Ibushi and Master Wato team up against Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb. Wato has been public about his admiration and fandom of Kota Ibushi as he made his rise in professional wrestling, and in return, Ibushi has coached Wato on and off over the past several months. Now they are put to the test as a tag team, but it’s a formidable test that awaits them.
Jeff Cobb, having accepted Kota Ibushi’s challenge to a future singles encounter, will be hungry to show Ibushi what awaits him one on one, while he and O-Khan both are seeking to solidify the United Empire’s presence in the absence of its founder Will Ospreay. This is certainly a tag encounter to keep eyes on.
3rd Match: Tomoaki Honma & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
Non title action in our third bout of the evening sees Guerrillas of Destiny take on veterans Tomoaki Honma and Hiroyoshi Tenzan. As partner Satoshi Kojima makes waves over in the US on IMPACT in the coming weeks, Tenzan wants to hold the TenCozy fort in Japan, but he and Honma have stiff competition tonight in the IWGP Tag Team Champions.
As Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa count down to what has to be a soon coming title defence against Dangerous Tekkers, Zack Sabre Jr. earning his team a shot by defeating Loa at Dontaku, G.o.D will be out to make a violent statement in Korakuen Hall.
2nd Match: Suzuki-Gun (DOUKI & Zack Sabre Jr.) vs BULLET CLUB (Gedo & Chase Owens)
As G.o.D seek to make a violent statement in the third match to send a message to future challengers Dangerous Tekkers, so too will Zack Sabre Jr. be looking to show up BULLET CLUB in advance of he and Taichi’s future title bout. Tonight, ZSJ will team up with DOUKI to make a junior/heavy combination to take on Gedo and Chase Owens. Will the Suzuki-Gun side come out on top, or will Gedo and Chase be on the case?
1st Match: Yota Tsuji vsYujiro Takahashi
Kicking off the night will be Yota Tsuji going one on one with Yujiro Takahashi. After facing YOSHI-HASHI on the opening night of the tour in Nagoya, Tsuji will face a string of singles matches against Yujiro tonight, before Chase Owens Tuesday and then Shingo Takagi. A big gauntlet for the Yokohama native Young Lion could create big future opportunities; how will he fare against Yujiro?
