Championship main event, singles action with Tokyo Dome implications in Korakuen
The Kizuna Road series comes to a close on Friday July 2 with the NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Championships defended for the second time in a two week span in the main event, and intriguing singles encounters to open.
Watch nights 10 and 11 of Kizuna Road FREE, with NO sign-up required on NJPW World!
Main Event: CHAOS (YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto) vs Third Generation (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata)
Tonight’s main event sees the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships defended for the second time on the series, as the CHAOS combination of Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI seek an incredible seventh defence against Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan.
Through uncertain times in the wake of the pandemic and states of emergency affecting events in Tokyo, one guarantee has been that when the NEVER 6 titles are on top of a Korakuen card, the result is a phenomenal main event. Goto, Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI have fought tooth and nail to keep hold of the trios titles and have earned a lot of respect in the process. Yet when it comes to respect, the Third Generation veterans are entitled to the most of all.
Nagata hit the ring immediately after CHAOS’ defence against BULLET CLUB last week, and made a challenge on behalf of he, Tenzan and Kojima. Both in Japan and the US, the Third Generation have made an incredible impression in 2021. But can they secure their first NJPW sanctioned championships in four years?
4th Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI) vs Suzuki-Gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI)
One week before they meet for the IWGP Tag team Championships in the main event of Summer Struggle in Sapporo July 11, Tetsuya Naito and SANADA meet Dangerous Tekkers in six man action. With DOUKI joining the champions tonight, our lineup matches that of Dominion earlier in June where Naito and SANADA made a strong claim to the gold after SANADA pinned ZSJ. Will history repeat tonight?
3rd Match: Suzuki-Gun (El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Minoru Suzuki) vs BULLET CLUB (Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Jado)
Another preview of Sapporo championship action will see July 10 IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship opponents face off. Taiji Ishimori is gunning for singles gold to add to his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight tag Team Championships in Sapporo, while he and El Phantasmo are always eager to fight Despe and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. ELP remains one to watch in particular for this clash however; Ishimori swooped in and challenged Desperado at Summer Struggle just moments before Phantasmo was preparing to do the same. Will he be looking to get the next shot after July 10, and will that mean he has more than a mere watching brief when Despe and Ishimori are in-ring?
2nd Match: Yuya Uemura vs Shingo Takagi
A tremendous opportunity for Yuya Uemura in the second match of the night sees him in non-title action against IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi. On June 23, Uemura brought the fight in an intense bout against Takagi’s July 25 Tokyo Dome challenger Kota Ibushi. Now he seeks to do even better against the Dragon. Meanwhile, after watching tape of Ibushi and Uemura, Shingo will be looking to send a lous and clear message ahead of the Wrestle Grand Slam main event.
1st Match: Yota Tsuji vs Kota Ibushi
Kicking off tonight will be Yota Tsuji against Kota Ibushi. Tsuji’s five match singles gauntlet on the Kizuna Road tour saw a lot of growth undertaken and a lot of lessons learned by the Young Lion. Now it’s time to put those lessons into practice against Ibushi, in a match where there will be a lot of comparisons made between his performance and that of Uemura on June 23. Meanwhile, with Takagi taking on Uemura in match number two, Ibushi wants to send a clearer message for Wrestle Grand Slam in the Tokyo Dome July 25 than his main event opponent can.
