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From Korakuen Hall, Tokyo Japan:
1 - Hiromu Takahashi and SANADA vs. Yuji Nagata and Ryusuke Taguchi
SANADA pins Nagata with a roll up and bridge.
Fine opener. Hiromu and Taguchi will probably be in the Best of Super Juniors Tournament so getting them ring time would be important.
2 - Master Wato, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto vs. Dick Togo, SHO, Yujiro Takahashi and EVIL
The baby faces attack again before the bell. Everyone goes to the floor. Camera cannot pick up all the action. YOSHI-HASHI gets SHO in the ring and hits a neckbreaker. Goto and Ishii join their partner in beating down SHO who betrayed CHAOS. They take turns hitting lariats, shoulder tackles and kicks. Yujiro tries for the save but they beat him like a drum. EVIL tries to attack but changes his mind and he retreats outside the ring. Togo attacks YOSHI-HASHI from behind. Wato hits a Frankensteiner on Togo and sends him flying to the floor. EVIL tries to attack Wato but Wato hits him with a spin kick in the face. SHO hits a lariat on Wato. YOSHI-HASHI quickly beats down on SHO again, hammering him with chops. Ishii tags in and hits chops on SHO right in his throat. Ishii goes for a brainbuster, but SHO grabs his fingers and tries to break them. SHO hyperextends Ishii's arm and sends him into the corner. EVIL rips off the turnbuckle pad and Ishii hits the metal bolt. Everyone goes to fight on the floor. Yujiro and Togo beat down Ishii. EVIL hits YOSHI-HASHI in the gut with a chair. Bullet Club keeps Ishii in their corner and they beat him down and focus on snapping his fingers. Ishii reverses EVIL's attack and sends him into the metal bolt. Ishii hits a German suplex on EVIL and makes the hot tag to Goto. Goto with spin kick to EVIL's face, and then hits a bulldog. Goto with a lariat. Goto bounces off the ropes for another attack but Togo trips him up. EVIL hits a fisherman buster. Yujiro tags in. Yujiro hits a Yakuza Kick on Goto. He misses a second one and Goto drops him with a lariat. Goto tags Wato. Wato hits a flying uppercut and then a combination of strikes on Yujiro. Yujiro stuns Wato with a Hot Shot. House of Torture hits the ring and knocks CHAOS from the ring apron. They try to attack Wato but Wato fights them off. Wato with a big elbow to SHO, knocking him to the floor. YOSHI-HASHI jumps in the ring and superkicks EVIL. YOSHI-HASHI flattens Yujiro with a lariat. Wato and Yujiro are the legal men in the ring. Wato hits Recientemente on Yujiro, who kicks out at two. Wato goes to the top rope to hit an RPP. SHO pushes him off the top rope. Togo jumps in the ring with his choke wire. Referee scolds Togo. Yujiro hits Wato with his Pimp Stick. Yujiro hits Wato with Pimp Juice.
Yujiro pins Wato.
After the match, SHO continues to attack Ishii, raking at his eyes and stomping on his neck. EVIL chokes out YOSHI-HASHI with a shirt. Ishii is angry, grabs a chair and wants to kill SHO. House of Torture pose in the ring with the NEVER Openweight 6-man belts and tells CHAOS to come and get them. SHO and EVIL are trash talking and they say too much. Another brawl in the ring. EVIL low blows Goto and Ishii.
3 - Tomoaki Honma and Toru Yano vs. Great O-Khan and Aaron Henare
United Empire went after Yano immediately trying to beat him down. Yano and Honma fight back against Henare. Honma with brainbuster on Henare and gets a two count. Henare comes back with a high knee to Honma's face, then a double boot from United Empire. Two count. Henare hits a headbutt to Honma's chin. He picks up Honma and hits Streets of Rage.
Henare pins Honma.
O-Khan throws Yano into the ring, but Yano rolls out of the ring and runs back to the locker room. O-Khan takes down a young lion and screams at Yano. Yano screams back and exits the arena.
There is a pattern here. Early in the year, O-Khan and Jeff Cobb were teaming up. Cobb would get a majority of the pinfall wins, which built him up as a monster. This led to his strong performance in the G1 Climax. O-Khan is doing same here with Henare. At Power Struggle, the match is O-Khan vs. Yano, but Henare is made to look strong in these tag matches. I am not saying Aaron Henare will be in the G1 next year, but New Japan is doing great at developing and building young talent.
4 - Togi Makabe and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA and Gedo
KENTA and Gedo attacked Makabe tried to keep him from tagging Tanahashi. Makabe fought back against them and tagged in Tanahashi. Tanahashi hit a Dragon screw on KENTA, then one on Gedo. Tanahashi went for the Texas Cloverhold on KENTA. KENTA gouged him in the eyes. KENTA with a side Russian leg sweep. KENTA picked up Tanahashi for the Go To Sleep. Tanahashi raked KENTA in the eyes. KENTA kneed Tanahashi in the gut and tagged Gedo. Gedo hit a superkick in Tanahashi's face. Gedo went for his brass knuckles. The referee stopped Gedo. KENTA got a chair and tried to hit Tanahashi. Makabe jumped in the ring for the save. KENTA tried to hit Makabe with the chair, but he ducked and kicked KENTA. Gedo pushed the referee aside and tried to punch Makabe. Makabe ducked and punched Gedo. KENTA hit Makabe from behind. He and Gedo whipped Makabe into the ropes, but Makabe dropped them with a double lariat. Tanahashi and Gedo are the legal men in the ring. Tanahashi goes for a Slingblade, but Gedo rolls him into a small package. Two count. Gedo pokes Tanahashi in the eye and rolls him up with a school boy. Two count. Tanahashi with a Dragon screw on Gedo. Tanahashi goes for the Texas Cloverhold, but KENTA rakes his eyes again. Tanahashi knocks KENTA with a wicked open hand slap. Tanahashi with a Slingblade on Gedo. Tanahashi puts Gedo in the Texas Cloverhold. KENTA grabs the IWGP U.S. Heavyweight belt and smashes Tanahashi in the head. He hits Makabe in the head with the belt.
KENTA and Gedo are disqualified.
After the match, KENTA punches Tanahashi in the head. Three young lions come into the ring to help. KENTA punches all three of them and kicks them to the ring floor. KENTA poses with the belt over the fallen Tanahashi. KENTA steals the belt again and he and Gedo leave ringside.
5 - Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Kazuchika Okada vs. Jado, Tanga Loa and Tama Tonga
The babyfaces attacked Bullet Club before the bell. They fought on the floor. Bullet Club threw their opponents into the guardrails to get the advantage. Back and forth match. Tama Tonga hit a Tonga Twist on Kojima. Tanga Loa picked up Kojima and hit Apeshit.
Tanga Loa pinned Kojima
6 - BUSHI and Shingo Takagi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. and DOUKI
Takagi and ZSJ started the match. Takagi tried for his striking attacks while avoiding the submissions from ZSJ. It seemed to be a stalemate. DOUKI and BUSHI tagged in. ZSJ kicked Takagi off the ring apron. Suzuki-Gun double teamed BUSHI. BUSHI fought back and hit a double Frankensteiner on ZSJ and DOUKI. Takagi tagged in. ZSJ attacked arms of Takagi, trying for a submission. Takagi was favoring his arms but was able to tag to BUSHI. LIJ double teamed ZSJ and hit a double back cracker. BUSHI goes for the pin. ZSJ kicks out at two. ZSJ wraps BUSHI in a reverses Indian Deathlock. Takagi drops elbows on ZSJ and punches him in the face. BUSHI gets free. DOUKI attacks Takagi. DOUKI throws Takagi to the floor and hits a Asai Moonsault. In the ring, ZSJ kicks BUSHI in the chest and hits a Zack Driver.
ZSJ pins BUSHI.
After the match, Champion and Challenger have heated words with each other. Next time they meet it will be in the main event of Power Struggle.
7 - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Tiger Mask and Robbie Eagles vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado
Tiger Mask and Eagles get the better of the Champs early on. They hit multiple kicks to the back and chest of Kanemaru. They hit a double dropkick to Desperado. Challengers look sharp. Suzuki-Gun takes the match to the floor and the tide turns. Eagles and Tiger Mask bounce off the guardrails. Kanemaru attacks the leg of Tiger Mask. Kanemaru tries to whip Tiger Mask into the ropes but he falls to the mat. Desperado tags in and rakes the eyes of Tiger Mask. He trash talks Eagles which brings him in the ring. Suzuki-Gun continue to double team Tiger Mask. Tiger Mask is able to dropkick Kanemaru and make the hot tag. Eagles fights both Kanemaru and Desperado. Kanemaru goes to the floor. Desperado hits a Spinebuster and goes for a pin. Eagles kicks out, and Desperado locks in Numero Dos. Tiger Mask kicks Desperado and makes the save. Kanemaru takes Tiger Mask to the floor. Desperado and Eagles exchange chops and elbows. Desperado hits a right hand to the jaw. Eagles with a high kick to the head. Both men go down. Tiger Mask and Kanemaru take their fight into the ring. Tiger Mask hits a tombstone on Kanemaru. Two count. Tiger Mask applies an arm submission. Kanemaru is about to tap when Desperado makes the save. Kanemaru dropkicks Tiger Mask in the leg. Kanemaru applies the figure four leg lock. Tiger Mask gets to the ropes. Kanemaru hits a moonsault. Two count. Tiger Mask hits a Tiger Driver. But he is not able to make the cover. Eagles tags in. Eagles dropkicks Kanemaru in the leg and kicks him in the chest. Eagles goes for a Turbo Backpack but Kanemaru rakes his eyes. Eagles hits a superkick. Kanemaru is whipped into the corner and Eagles and Tiger Mask hit a double knee and high kick. Eagles with Sliced Bread #2. Eagles hits the Turbo Backpack. Desperado breaks the count. Tiger Mask takes Desperado to the floor. Eagles hits a 450 Splash on Kanemaru's leg. Eagles goes for the Ron Miller Special but Kanemaru reverses into a small package. Two count. Eagles hits a super kick. Eagles applies the Ron Miller Special.
Kanemaru taps out.
Tiger Mask and Robbie Eagles are the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Robbie Eagles is now a double champion.
Good match. All four men looked great in the match. After a month of the G1 Climax, the Jr. Division and the Best of Super Juniors can now be highlighted.
There was an announcement on NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING that Kota Ibushi would be sidelined for about two months due to the dislocation of his shoulder, which he suffered at the G1 Climax Finals.
There will be seven more New Japan events prior to Power Struggle, however those will not be shown on New Japan World. The next live event will be Power Struggle on 11/6/21 from Osaka, Japan.
There will be nine matches on the card, which means the event could be 3 - 4 hours long.
The top matches are:
1. NEVER Openweight 6-man Tag Championship Match: YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto vs. SHO, Yujiro Takahashi and EVIL
Prediction: It could be time for the longest 6-man title reign to come to an end. I see the House of Torture winning this match. EVIL has tried with different partners. He would look weak if he cannot win again.
2. Provisional KOPW 2021 Match - EITHER an Amateur Wrestling Match or Kiss My Feet Match: Toru Yano vs. Great O-Khan
Prediction: Voting is happening on Twitter now. More than likely, this will be an Amateur Rules Match. Most voters go with what Yano wants. Yano will win this match. Hopefully, O-Khan and United Empire is not hurt by the comedy of this match.
3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match: Robbie Eagles vs. El Desperado
Prediction: I do not think one wrestler should hold multiple belts. If Eagles gets injured, New Japan will have to rewrite storylines. This is what happened to Hiromu Takahashi. He wanted to hold both Jr. titles and then he got injured. Desperado should win here.
4. IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
Prediction: In my opinion, this title is about expansion into the United States. The champion should be defending this title in Japan and the U.S. Tanahashi is still the face of New Japan. Can he commit to such a travel schedule? KENTA has spent time in Los Angles in New Japan Strong. I will go with KENTA in this one.
5. IWGP World Heavyweight Right to Challenge in Tokyo Dome Contract: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tama Tonga
Prediction: This should be a great match and as entertaining as their G1 match was. Okada will win this match. With Kota Ibushi's health status up in the air, the Rainmaker will be needed in the top spot at Wrestle Kingdom.
6. IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Shingo Takagi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Prediction: A part of me would like to see Zack Sabre Jr. win, because it would be something different. Also, you could have a submission machine who beat Takagi and Ibushi by submission in the G1, face Okada at Wrestle Kingdom. However, I believe Shingo Takagi will win. He will avenge his loss to Zack Sabre Jr. from the G1, and the storyline will be IWGP World Heavyweight Champion facing the wrestler who is holding the former IWGP Heavyweight Title belt. Also, Zack Sabre Jr. holds the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles with Taichi. With World Tag League coming up, Dangerous Tekkers will have work to do. Zack Sabre Jr. should not be holding both the top single and tag belts.
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