Will Ospreay vs. Shota Umino for the IWGP US/UK Heavyweight Championship headlines NJPW Power Struggle today in Osaka.
Ospreay will be looking for his third successful defense of the US/UK title, while Umino will aim for his first title victory in NJPW.
Two more title matches, the Super Junior Tag League Finals, plus a special Jon Moxley singles match are also set for the show.
Hiromu Takahashi will defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Taiji Ishimori in the semi-main event, and Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii will defend the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles against TMDK’s Zack Sabre Jr, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls.
In the Super Jr. Tag League finals, TJP & Francesco Akira face SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
Jon Moxley takes on United Empire’s Great-O-Khan in singles competition, while Tanga Loa faces David Finlay in another special singles bout., SANADA & Yuya Uemura take on Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji in a tag team bout.
Tama Tonga, KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight face Shingo Takagi, BUSHI & Titan in trios action.
It will be El Desperado & Master Wato vs. YOH & MUSASHI vs. Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney vs. Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita in a four-way tag team bout.
Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman vs. Yuto Nakashima & Oskar Leube kicks off the main card.
Ryusuke Taguchi, Boltin Oleg & The DKC vs. Strong Machine J, Yoshiki Kato & Mochizuki Jr. in a Frontier Zone match is the 3:30 a.m. Eastern time pre-show bout.
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Ryusuke Taguchi, Boltin Oleg & The DKC (NJPW) defeated Strong Machine J, Yoshiki Kato & Mochizuki Jr. (Dragongate)
Oleg opened the match, gaining an advantage over Machine J and the rest of the Dragongate trio. Eventually, the match broke down, giving the Dragongate trio a chance to bounce back. The breakdown ended with a Taguchi ankle lock, resulting in a New Japan win.
Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman (United Empire) defeated Oskar Leube & Yuto Nakashima
This was a simple, effective tag match, and a good way to open the show.
Newman and Nakashima opened the match with a decent exchange, allowing the U.E. pair to gain an early lead. The Young Lion team fired back by isolating Cobb, but the strength of Cobb enabled him to buck off both men. Newman landed a tope, setting Cobb up for a match-ending Tour of the Islands on Leube.
El Desperado & Master Wato defeated YOH & MUSASHI, Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles, Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors
This match had its moments, but it was far too busy for me to enjoy.
This match opened with the War Dogs rushing their opponents, gaining a brief upper hand. A match breakdown followed, but again, the War Dogs emerged from the fog with a lead. Wato avoided a hit and run, allowing YOH and MUSASHI to hit the ring, clearing out the War Dogs for the first time.
YOH and MUSASHI were interrupted by TMDK, who gained control of the ring. While Eagles was working on MUSASHI, Desperado rolled up Fujita to score a sudden win.
Tama Tonga, KUSHIDA, Kevin Knight defeated Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, & Titan
The match opened with an athletic exchange between Titan and Knight. The pace was maintained after KUSHIDA tagged in, leading to everyone else in the match getting involved.
Shingo wore down KUSHIDA, opening Tama up for a hot tag. Tama hit the ring, taking a solid lead over Shingo. Shingo fired back with a strike exchange and a suplex before tagging out to BUSHI.
BUSHI took on Knight and KUSHIDA before hitting Tama with a tope. Back in the ring, Tama fired back with an uppercut, prompting Shingo to interrupt. This led to a match breakdown with all six men involved. Once the ring was cleared, Tama dropped BUSHI with a gun stun to win the match.
Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji defeated SANADA & Yuya Uemura
Yuya and Tsuji started slow before SANADA tagged in. Tsuji then worked with Naito to isolate SANADA, establishing a strong lead. After prolonged LIJ control, Yuya received a hot tag, resetting the match.
Yuya and Tsuji worked a steady back-and-forth match for some time, selling the effects from the rest of the match. Yuya landed three suplexes, putting Tsuji on the backfoot. Naito answered Yuya’s advance by hitting the ring, prompting SANADA to follow. Naito was able to fight off SANADA but not Yuya, but his distraction was enough. Tsuji hit Yuya with a Gene Blast and pinned him to win the match.
David Finlay defeated Tanga Loa
Finlay opened the match by attacking Loa on the outside. This led to an extended brawl centered around environmental offense. After having a heaping pile of furniture placed on him, Loa beat the count and returned to the ring.
It didn’t take long for Loa to take the action back outside, where he utilized similar tactics to put Finlay on the backfoot. Finlay survived, leading to a back-and-forth strike exchange. Finlay held on again, this time landing a powerbomb to reset the match.
Finlay attempted to hit Loa with his shillelagh, but Loa avoided the attack. Loa followed up with a bossman slam for a nearfall, but Finlay bumped the referee to stop any further advance. Finlay then hit Loa with his shillelagh and Oblivion to win the match.
Jon Moxley defeated Great-O-Khan
This was a hoot.
As the match began, O-Khan threw Moxley to the floor and launched an attack on the outside. Moxley and O-Khan brawled outside long enough for the referee’s count to reach twenty.
After the double count out, Moxley grabbed a microphone and challenged O-Khan to a falls count anywhere match. O-Khan agreed by hitting Moxley with a barricade.
The fight immediately worked its way down the aisle, where O-Khan suplexed Moxley through a barricade. O-Khan followed up by placing Moxley on a cart and driving him through a sea of fans. O-Khan then wrapped Moxley up with a mat and slammed him with a stack of barricades.
Moxley, now pouring blood, fought back, throwing O-Khan into a section of empty chairs. Then, on the ramp, Moxley attempted a Death Rider, but O-Khan reversed into one of his own. O-Khan then locked in a choke, re-establishing his lead.
O-Khan attempted an eliminator off the ramp, but Moxley reversed, shoving him onto the floor. Moxley then revealed a pair of scissors that he used to cut off O-Khan’s signature braid. O-Khan, now enraged, leaped on Moxley, leading to a back-and-forth submission sequence on the floor.
Once both men returned to their feet, they engaged in a strike exchange that looked more like a Shoot Boxing tribute than a modern piece of puro. After connecting with a barrage of elbows, Moxley hit O-Khan with a lariat, leading to a more traditional pro wrestling back-and-forth. O-Khan won out and drove Moxley into the floor for a nearfall.
Moxley retreated to the top of the bleachers from where he shoved O-Khan, sending him toppling back to the floor. Back at the bottom, Moxley landed a Death Rider and locked in a choke, leading to the end of the match.
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, & Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) defeated Zack Sabre Jr., Shane Haste, & Mikey Nicholls (TMDK)
No surprise here; this was great.
ZSJ and Ishii started with a slick back-and-forth, with neither man gaining a lead, forcing a double tag. Nicholls and Tanahashi then entered the ring, and with Haste’s help, TMDK took control of the match.
After a long period of isolation, Tanahashi tagged out to Okada, who ran through all of TMDK, taking complete control of the match. Eventually, TMDK rushed Okada in tandem to keep him from running away further. This tactic forced Okada to tag out, leading to another Ishii/ZSJ encounter.
ZSJ hit Ishii with a suplex, but Ishii answered with a lariat. ZSJ tried taking the match to the floor over and over, but Ishii responded with stiff strikes. It didn’t take long for both men to be knocked to the mat.
Tanahashi tagged in, gaining a quick lead on ZSJ. The rest of TMDK hit the ring, leading to a chaotic period of back-and-forths. ZSJ eventually dragged Tanahashi to the floor, where he locked in a hold that forced Ishii to interfere. This caused another match breakdown, even more chaotic than the last.
After a prolonged back-and-forth, ZSJ floored Tanahashi with a penalty kick; Tanahashi kicked out. ZSJ then attempted a Zack Driver, but Tanahashi reversed into a sudden pin, resulting in another successful dream team defense.
After the match, the lights cut off for a Bryan Danielson video package. Danielson challenged Okada to a one-on-one match, January 4th, Tokyo Dome. Okada answered with a “yes”, setting up the rematch at the biggest show of the year.
Super Junior Tag Leauge Final: TJP & Francesco Akira (Catch 2/2) defeated SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (House of Torture)
Before the match could begin, HoT attacked Catch 2/2. Catch 2/2 held on, gaining a short lead as the match officially began. After the opening bell, HoT retook the lead by bringing the fight to the floor, using the barricades and concrete.
Back in the ring, HoT maintained their lead by any means necessary. After isolating TJP for some time, Akira hit the ring, leading a quick sequence to retake the lead, but it didn’t take long for HoT to steal the advantage back.
After hitting a superplex and a powerbreaker, Kanemaru locked Akira in a Boston crab. TJP made the save with a splash. TJP’s rally was shortlived as referee bump allowed the rest of HoT to hit the ring. Jeff Cobb ran to the aid of Catch 2/2, carrying HoT to the back after laying them out.
Back in the ring, Akira dropped SHO and Kanemaru with a pair of superkicks. Without the threat of interference, TJP and Akira were able to land their tandem knee, winning the match and Tag League.
After the match, the junior champions hit the ring, laid out Catch 2/2, and cut a promo over their bodies. Before the War Dogs could inflict more punishment, United Empire hit the ring, sending the champs running.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) defeated Taiji Ishimori
The match opened with both men attempting quick pins before spilling to the outside. On the outside, Hiromu drove Ishimori into the barricade with a dropkick. Ishimori answered by dropping Hiromu on the barricade, resulting in a near countout.
Back in the ring, Ishimori began to pick apart Hiromu. Hiromu sped the match up, using a DVD to put Ishimori on the backfoot. Hiromu followed up with a Timebomb 1.5. Hiromu attempted Victory Royal, but Ishimori reversed into a LeBell lock.
After escaping, Hiromu landed a lariat, but Ishimori responded by putting Hiromu in a bone lock. After a prolonged struggle, Hiromu reached the bottom rope. A brief back-and-forth followed, ending after Hiromu trapped Ishimori in a Hiromu roll to win the match and retain his belt.
After the match, Desperado came out to challenge Hiromu for his belt.
IWGP UK Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) defeated Shota Umino
This match opened with a standard feeling-out process that favored Ospreay. The pair soon worked their way to the floor, where Ospreay set up a table. Umino avoided being driven through the table and returned to the ring.
Back in the ring, Ospreay maintained his lead. Ospreay was more than commanding, spitting on Umino before kicking him in the nose, drawing a stream of blood. The blood woke Umino up, prompting him to attack Ospreay before driving him into the apron. Umino took Ospreay to the floor himself, kicking him into a barricade before throwing him into a sea of chairs.
Umino hit Ospreay with a table before attempting a Death Rider. Ospreay avoided the DDT, saving the match. Back in the ring, Ospreay caught Umino with a powerbomb. Ospreay then attempted an OsCutter, but Umino answered with a dropkick. Umino followed up with a pair of cutters for a nearfall.
Ospreay hit a Spanish fly to reset the match. A follow-up boot and dive yielded Ospreay a nearfall. Umino tried escaping on the apron, but Ospreay pursued him. Ospreay lifted Umino on the apron, landing a Tiger Driver through two tables. Back in the ring, Ospreay hit an OsCutter; Umino kicked out. Ospreay hit a hidden blade; Umino kicked out.
Umino made his way to his feet, leading to a brief strike exchange. Ospreay dodged a punch, sending Umino to the floor. Umino stood up again, prompting Ospreay to kick him repeatedly. Once Umino fell, Ospreay hammered him with strikes on the ground. Instead of kicking out, Umino spit in his face.
With Umino on the edge of defeat, Jon Moxley came to the ring, encouraging him to hold on. Umino kicked Ospreay off and dropped him with a lariat. With Ospreay on the ground, Umino locked in an STF. Once Ospreay escaped, he attempted Storm Breaker, but Umino reversed into a DDT for a nearfall.
Another DDT kept Umino ahead of Ospreay late in the match. A spinning Death Rider scored Umino a nearfall. Umino then hoisted Ospreay to the top rope and landed a massive avalanche Death Rider; Ospreay kicked out.
Umino mounted Ospreay and clubbed him across the face. When Ospreay failed to defend himself, the referee initiated a standing ten count that Ospreay beat at nine. Umino hit him with another Death Rider, but Ospreay bounced back with an immediate hidden blade.
With both men grounded, they began trading headbutts. The pair worked their way to their feet, trading punches all the way up. Ospreay tried for a Storm Breaker, but Umino reversed into a flipping powerbomb. Ospreay hit another hidden blade, but Umino kicked out at one. Ospreay didn’t waste time, landing a death rider of his own, followed by a storm driver; Umino kicked out. To close, Ospreay landed another hidden blade and a Storm Breaker just past the 40 minute mark.
After the match, Ospreay and Moxley squared off, but they were interrupted by David Finlay. After Finlay laid them out, he cut a promo saying their belts were meaningless. He then took a large mallet and destroyed both the IWGP UK and US belts.
