Wrestle Ropes One for the Road: January 2017 - RevPro, ICW & wXw/PROGRESS

Happy New Year and welcome to the very first One for the Road, a brand new guide to the month of Brit Wres ahead! We'll be focusing on one show for each week, whilst also showcasing a number of other events to make sure that wherever you are in the country, you know exactly the best places to go for your grap needs! 

This month we'll be starting with Revolution Pro Wrestling at The Cockpit in London on the 8th, before looking at Insane Championship Wrestling's first event of the year as they tape for Fight Club in The Garage, Glasgow on the 15th, before heading back to the capital for the final two weeks of the month, with RevPro holding High Stakes 2017 at the hallowed York Hall, Bethnal Green on 21st and closing up with PROGRESS Wrestling teaming with Germany's Westside Xtreme Wrestling at The Dome in Tufnell Park on the 28th.

We've also picked out other shows from 4FW, Attack! Pro Wrestling, Britannia Wrestling Promotions, CSF Pro Wrestling, HOPE Wrestling, House of Pain Wrestling, IPW:UK, Ironfist Wrestling, PROGRESS, Pro Wrestling Chaos, RevPro and Wrestlezone.

Week One

RevPro are kicking off 2017 in style with a bumper card of action for their twelfth Live at the Cockpit event. Some of the best talent in the country will be on display on Sunday 8th, in what promises to be a varied evening of the grappling arts. 

The main event is a star studded affair, as two makeshift tag teams collide when former British Heavyweight Champion "The Villain" Marty Scurll sides with former British Cruiserweight Champion Pete Dunne to clash with Shane Strickland and "All Day Star" Ryan Smile. You may struggle to find two wrestlers who had better 2016's than "The Villain" and "The Bruiserweight", as they both exploded on the world scene. However, in RevPro, Dunne found wins hard to come by after losing the British Cruiserweight belt to Will Ospreay last July, but he's had some world class competition and on the other hand his partner, Scurll, had a vintage year, picking up big victories over the likes of Jushin Thunder Liger, Ospreay and Martin Kirby. Strickland and Smile will be hoping that their similiar high-flying styles, as well as their clash last October, will help to create an instant chemistry to keep them one step ahead. No matter who kicks off 2017 with a victory, expect this one to be a thrilling clash of styles, that could very well blow the roof of the Cockpit!

One of the most intriguing matches on the card is a collision between the hard hitting Trent Seven and the submission based Zack Gibson. Seven has made quite the impact in RevPro since debuting last May, even challenging Zack Sabre Jr. for the British Heavyweight Championship, just a few months after making his debut. Gibson will be hoping that he'll be able to make a similar impression as he makes "Liverpool's Number One" makes his overdue debut. These kind of styles clashes can often result in fascinating matches and with both looking to find leverage within RevPro, things are evenly poised to create an absolute classic. The result could very well come down to who can withstand the most punishment.

Dave Mastiff will make his first RevPro appearance since October 2014, as he clashes with Tyler Bate, in a match which I have dubbed the "Black Country Battle". Whilst Mastiff returns after suffering a heavy run of defeats to the likes of Doug Williams and Rampage Brown, Bate will be stepping into his first RevPro singles match with a point to prove. Despite Mastiff having an over 100 lbs weight advantage, Bate may be one of the strongest wrestlers pound for pound in the country and should be more than capable of holding his own against his more experienced opponent. Expect this one to be full of intense strikes, deceptive speed and tasty suplexes, as the duo meet for the very first time.

Also on the show, Joel Redman and Charlie Sterling (Charlie Garrett) put their British Tag Team Championship against a returning London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch), Josh Bodom faces "The Pride of Wales" Eddie Dennis in a rematch from November, after losing the British Heavyweight Championship to Katsuyori Shibata, Zack Sabre Jr. looks to get back on track against RJ Singh, The Revolutionsists (James Castle & Sha Samuels) go up against Kurtis Champman & Josh Wall and Dan Magee takes on Rob Lias.

Also This Week

Friday 7th 

Attack! Pro Wrestlng/Fight Club: Pro Wrestle House 2017
Wolverhampton, West Midlands

Week Two

ICW's first show of 2016 see's them hit their regular haunt of The Garage in Glasgow for a taping of their Fight Club television show on the Sunday 15th.

At the last Fight Club taping of 2016, Lionheart interfered in "Local Hero" Joe Hendry's bout with The Wee Man, hitting a superkick that would result in the upset loss. At the first taping of 2017, Hendry has the chance to gain some revenge on the former Zero G Champion as the two go one on one. Hendry is always entertaining with his wacky parody entrances, but he may not be in the mood for japes at The Garage after the embarrassing defeat that Lionheart handed him. Lionheart will be hoping that a victory over Hendry will put him back in the hunt for the Zero G title he lost at Fear and Loathing, but The Local Hero will not only want to get himself back on track but he'll want to dish out some pain. This could be a scrappy affair and may only be the start, but with the intensity levels rising it may be difficult to look away.

Kid Fite has been engaged in a bitter feud with former The 55 stablemate Sha Samuels over the last couple of months, including a Falls Count Anywhere match that ended in a No Contest when Fite bundled Samuels into the boot of a car and drove off. However on the 15th, Fite finds himself against a rather different opponent in the shape of the high-flying Charlie Sterling (Charlie Garrett). Sterling impressed in his debut in Bristol, before gathering more support when making his Garage debut last month and it's clear that the Bristolian has bucket loads of potential. With Fite clearly pre-occupied with his war with Samuels and finding victories few and far between since the split of The 55, this could be the opening that Sterling needs to gain some momentum and perhaps look towards earning a Zero G Championship shot later in the year. 

Chris Renfrew and Stevie Xavier are two ICW staples both looking to get back into the title picture, after both being unable to capitalise on big victories at Fear and Loathing in November. Renfrew suffered a #1 Contenders match loss to Trent Seven at the last set of tapings, whilst Xavier was unable to take the belt from Wolfgang at the same event. With the Square Go just around the corner, both will be looking to start rebuilding their momentum, which may make these two dangerous men, even more determined to pull out the victory and prove to Mark Dallas that they deserve to be in the mix. Add to that the years and years of history between the pair that's seen them align together in the New Age Kliq as well as wage war with various partners, there will certainly be no loved lost when they go toe to toe once more in The Garage! 

Also scheduled for the taping is Davey Blaze taking on DCT, Andy Wild and Lewis Girvan competing in the final of a tournament to crown a #1 Contender to Kenny Williams' Zero G Championship, Tag Team Champion Jackie Polo meeting Iestyn Rees, a Fatal Four-Way between Sammii Jayne, Debbie Sharpe, Kasey and "Session Moth" Martina where the winner will earn a shot at Kay Lee Ray's Women's Championship and "The King of the North" James Scott facing Christopher Saynt.

Also This Week

Friday 13th 

Attack! Pro Wrestling #Club100 THREE

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

House of Pain Wrestling January Special

Nottingham

Saturday 14th

Britannia Wrestling Promotions 

Denbigh

House of Pain Wrestling Debut Day 2 (Jan Special)

Nottingham

Pro Wrestling Chaos The Mysterious City of Chaos 

Bristol

Feat - Wild Boar v Jimmy Havoc

Sunday 15th

PROGRESS Wrestling Chapter 42: Life, the Universe and Wrestling

Birmingham

Week Three 

On Saturday 21st, RevPro host their first show at York Hall of the year, as they present High Stakes 2017. This event sees a number of big name international talent hooking up with some of the countrys top performers, including the return of British Heavyweight Champion, Katsuyori Shibata.

Marty Scurll vs Zack Sabre Jr has been building and building within RevPro for a long time and on 21st at York Hall the pair will finally collide as the Leaders of the New School EXPLODE! The pair had been in a fairly uneasy alliance in 2016, tagging against the likes of Matt Sydal & Ricochet, but that all came crashing down following a loss Los Ingobernables of Japon (SANADA & Tetsuya Naito) in November when Scurll turned on ZSJ. Even when teaming, neither seemed to be able to agree with the others tactics when inside the ring, whilst the two have certain similarities in their will to win, it was clear that each had their own techniques to attaining victory. The two have come face to face in places like wXw, PWG and PROGRESS in the past, but when they come together in RevPro the York Hall may see their most intense masterpiece to date. This will be special.

Shibata v Riddle. Like why should I have to write anymore? It's Katsuyori Shibata v Matt Riddle. British Heavyweight title on the line.

Back Globar Wars UK in November, Pete Dunne suffered defeats to Yuji Nagata and Tomohiro Ishii on consecutive nights. He's also suffered losses to Will Ospreay and Ricochet in the later half of the year. Despite the 23 year old's rise in 2016, perhaps he just wasn't ready to tangle with NJPW's elite roster. Perhaps, things have changed in 2017? We'll find out if Dunne is up to task at High Stakes as he goes up against YOSHI-HASHI. The Bruiserweight will be desperate to prove himself, but YOSHI-HASHI won't exactly be a push over, after a banner year that included a G1 victory over Kenny Omega. The Headhunter will also want to make an impression on his RevPro debut. This may come down to who wants it more, but it'll be bloody fun to watch it all play out.

Elsewhere on the show, Martin Stone returns to RevPro to face NJPW's Jay White, former TNA X Division Champion Trevor Lee collides with Trent Seven and Charlie Sterling & Joel Redman put their British Tag Team Championships on the line against former ROH World Tag Team Champions War Machine (Hanson & Raymond Rowe).

Week Highlights

Friday 20th

4FW Price of Glory 2017

Bristol

Saturday 21st 

4FW New Year Wrestleution 2017

Swindon, Wiltshire.

Ironfist Wrestling TBA 

WrestleZone Summerhill Showdown 2017

Aberdeen

Sunday 22nd 

4FW Adrenaline Rush 2017

Bristol

CSF Pro Wrestling 18th Anniversary Event 

Bath, Somerset.

HOPE Wrestling 

Corby, Northamptonshire.

IPW:UK Supershow 6

Rochester, Kent.

Feat - John Morrison v Marty Scurll

Week Four 

Rounding out January, PROGRESS is bringing Germany's best, Westside Xtreme Wrestling to London for the very first time with a stop of the We Love Wrestling Tour arriving at The Dome in Tufnell Park on 28th, just one day before PROGRESS' own Chapter 43: Tropic Thunderbastard in Camden.

The main event will see one of Britain's finest getting a rematch for the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship, a title he lost on the same night he won it, as "The Villain" Marty Scurll goes up against Axel Dieter Jr. The pair have gone back and forth over the last two years, picking up victories over each other in Oberhausen, Magdeburg and Hamburg, including competing in a brutal "I Quit" match as part of last year's 16 Carat Gold tournament, but when they clash in London with the title in the line, the stakes are higher than ever before. I'd expect the atmosphere inside The Dome to be very different from the pairs clashes in Germany and by the time the two come to the ring the place should be rocking, driving the pair to go that extra step, creating the potential for some real magic. This will be technical, vicious and personal, but most of all it will be wrestling that you just can't take your eyes off. 

16 Carat Gold is one of the most respected tournaments in all of pro wrestlings, that produces some of the best wrestling of the year and has been one by some of the biggest names in Independent wrestling, El Generico, Chris Hero, Zack Sabre Jr, Bad Bones, Tommy End and more. At The Dome, Pete Dunne and Jody Fliesch have been given the opportunity to earn a place in the 2017 edition of the tournament as they clash for the first time ever in a Qualifying match. It's been over ten years since Fleisch wrestled in wXw against the likes of Claudio Castagnoli, PAC and Mike Quackenbush, but he returns looking to show that he can still keep up with one of this generation's hottest talents in Dunne. If The Bruiserweight can stand tall, this may very well be passing of the torch moment.

Two former wXW Unified World Wrestling Champions will get an opportunity to show London what the promotion is all about as WALTER goes up against a man who only lost the belt last month, Jurn Simmons. With WALTER being the tag partner of current champ Axel Dieter Jr as part of Ringkampf, a victory for Simmons will send a real message to the new champion. Perhaps surprisingly the two have never met one on one, however there's plenty of history between the two over the last few years, fueding as part of The AUTsiders and Keel Holding teams in 2014-15, before eventually tagging together successfully in the tail end of last year. The familiarity should only act as catalyst for a hard-hitting fight as both look to prove that 2017 is going to be their year.

Also announced for the evening is PROGRESS Tag Team Champions Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) challenging for the wXw World Tag Team Championships against A4 (Absolute Andy & Marius Al-Ani. 

Week Highlights

Friday 27th

House of Pain Wrestling January Weekender (Show One)

Nottingham

Saturday 28th

4FW Live!

Thatcham, Berkshire.

House of Pain Wrestling January Weekender (Show Two)

Nottingham

Revolution Pro Wrestling Contenders: Revolution Rumble

Porstmouth, Hampshire 

Sunday 29th

4FW Live!

Portishead, Somerset.

HOPE Wrestling Empire

Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

HOPE Wrestling Presents

Derby

PROGRESS Wrestling Chapter 43: Tropic Thunderbastard

London

That wraps up this month's preview of the British wrestling schedule. Of course, there are many more events taking place over the thirty one days! To find out more about the shows we've highlighted here as well as all the others, check us out at www.wrestleropesuk.wordpress.com for the latest show and match announcements, British Wrestling event list, interviews, exclusive columns, reviews, reports and results!

Article: James Marston

Find Us 

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

Facebook - /acrossthepondwrestling

Instagram - @ATPWrestling

Opinion: Cody and BULLET CLUB - Who Could Benefit More From This Partnership?

Bullet Club members are becoming as common as NWO guys were back in the nineties as this weekend we were treated to our (not including associates such as Jeff Jarrett) 17th inductee, ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes. 

The former WWE star was revealed in a wonderful video package at the World Tag League final on Saturday and suddenly the wrestling world is once again humming to the sounds of Cody Rhodes and the Bullet Club. 

Usually I would be weighing up whether this pairing would be a good idea or not. However, this just screams success for both parties and should give both Rhodes and Bullet Club a real jump start heading into the new year. 

But who will have the better of it, will Bullet Club gain more by being associated with Cody’s huge independent name or will Rhodes be better off having paired with New Japan’s notorious faction?

Firstly, let’s look at the Son of a Son of a Plumber, the Star that left them in the Dust, the Dashing one, Cody Rhodes. Back in May he caused a real stir as he departed the rough seas of the number one wrestling company in the world and headed towards calmer, clearer waters of the independent scene, TNA, ROH and now, NJPW. 

I’ve always been a big fan of Cody. He has always had an interesting gimmick and successfully stayed relevant since making his debut in WWE; be it Legacy or Dashing or Masked, hell, even Stardust was entertaining at first. He’s a great worker too but his interesting personas and commitment to each role has always kept him interesting in the eyes of the fans.

This, to me at least, is what Cody has been missing slightly on the independent scene thus far, a solid gimmick that he can run with in order to tell great stories as he is often has in the past. As we know, a fantastic tale can turn a good match into a great match, just look at Ziggler v Miz this year, it’s been unreal stuff.

By joining Bullet Club he can represent them wherever he goes, adding a story to each individual match, more of a meaning to feud with different wrestlers and ultimately giving him a character to express himself within. He will still be the guy who broke the mould and left WWE, and will still be the son of the legendary Dusty Rhodes, but he will also be Bullet Club’s exciting new chapter.

Joining the team built by the man formerly known as Prince Devitt means Cody also arrives in New Japan as a huge deal. Yes, he was already known around the globe from WWE, but throwing him into one of the leading groups makes Japanese fans stand up and pay attention to him; he’s not arriving as another guy who has been in WWE, he’s arriving in one of the hottest heel factions on the planet, giving him instant momentum.

Finally, he will get something for his personal gain too. He faces Juice Robinson at Wrestle Kingdom but then he will surely move onto one of the names on his list, Katsuyori Shibata. These matches should allow Cody to show exactly what he is made of and could be the best fights he has had since he departed the WWE. I for one, am greatly looking forward to him acing these two and more; hopefully we get to see him collide with Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Hiroki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and many, many more during his current New Japan tenure.

So how about BULLET CLUB? What do they, as a faction, gain from adding Cody Rhodes to their ranks?

Well firstly, I feel it is pretty safe to say that Cody is the most exciting of the recent additions to the squad; Adam Cole, Hangman Page and Tanga Roa are all building themselves up slowly under the Bullet Club umbrella but none of their reveals shook up New Japan quite like Rhodes. The video package reveal was something special, the stubbing out of the cigar on the Wrestle Kingdom logo was exciting and Omega telling us they ‘broke the bank’ to get Rhodes presents him as a truly sought after superstar.

Being a former WWE star obviously carries a whole heap of weight behind him already and as a result he feels like he a ready-made main eventer, despite only being in the company 5 minutes. And this is exactly what BULLET CLUB have been missing this year!

Sure you have Kenny Omega, who may be the most successful leader of them all given his G1 victory and his incoming Tokyo Dome headline spot versus Kazuchika Okada. But this year they lost AJ Styles and Karl Anderson who were both previous leaders, Bad Luck Fale is far from the force he once was in the land of Japan and they added the frankly laughable Bone Soldier (formerly Captain New Japan) just a few weeks back.

Rhodes can arrive, instantly raise the prestige of the faction again and easily establish himself as a co-leader, similarly to how Anderson acted under Styles and Devitt. This position has been unsuccessfully fulfilled since January following Omega’s promotion and, whilst Tama Tonga has stepped up another gear this autumn and Cole has been bought in, Rhodes truly feels like a higher level than those two; whether he will remain at this level remains to be seen but I’m confident in the man, the faction and the booking.

Last of all, being a heavyweight, he’s another guy who can represent BULLET CLUB at the highest level in NJPW and I wouldn’t be surprise if he adds to the notoriety of the group by competing in the New Japan Cup and even the G1 Climax in 2017. Furthermore, based on his list, he will likely come face-to-face with the aforementioned Shibata sometime soon, maybe even taking the fan favourite’s NEVER Openweight title back to the ever growing BULLET CLUB trophy case.

So, whilst Cody will gain a lot of bonuses to his independent career by joining the mighty BULLET CLUB I feel that, despite both being big winners, the club themselves are to gain the most fruits from this relationship. Other than obviously freshening up a stable that many fans think may be growing increasingly stale, BULLET CLUB will benefit massively by having a former WWE Tag Team and Intercontinental Champion in their ranks. He will bring leadership, he will bring drama and he will likely bring titles too; all of this, I’m sure you’ll agree, can only be considered a good thing. 

I am so, so excited to see Cody break the Japanese scene in half and you too can follow the goodness, starting with Wrestle Kingdom 11 which takes place from the world-famous Tokyo Dome on January 4th 2017 on New Japan World. You’d be mad to miss it!

Words and Images - Thomas Brady

Editing - James Marston 

Find Us 

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

Facebook - /acrossthepondwrestling

Instagram - @ATPWrestling

Opinion: Power Struggle, The World Tag League and the Final Steps Towards Wrestle Kingdom 11

We’re approaching the end of 2016 and things are really hotting up in the world of New Japan Pro Wrestling, feuds are being firmly set in motion, wrestlers are scrambling for their desired belts and matches are being penciled in for the massive Tokyo Dome show on January 4th. Within this piece I am hoping to get those less familiar with the Japanese product hyped for the biggest show in New Japan’s calendar so before I go into anything else, here’s how the well-known ‘Road to Wrestlemania’ lines up with the New Japan shows.

G1 Climax (August) = Royal Rumble. We began setting our sights on Wrestle Kingdom 11 way back in August when Kenny Omega overcame all opposition in the round robin tournament and in doing so became the first foreign winner of the G1 in its current incarnation. Now you may be wondering how in the world this relates to the Royal Rumble, well, the prize for winning such a tournament is a guaranteed place in the main event of the Wrestle Kingdom. However, since this is a few months before WK, much like in WWE, there are a couple of hurdles along the way.

Power Struggle/The World Tag League (October/November) = Roadblock/Fastlane. You could also throw NJPW’s Kings of Pro Wrestling event into the mix here but I don’t want to boggle the mind too much so we will focus on these 2 today. Again as occurs in WWE, usually at these PPV’s we see the other, non-main event feuds pan out and not a lot of title changes happen, but that’s not to say they aren’t worth your time, especially given that Power Struggle (which will be talked about in depth further down the page) was fantastic this year.

Wrestle Kingdom (January) = WrestleMania. This is the big one. The showcase of the immortals. The show of all shows. Just like Mania, Wrestle Kingdom is the largest show in the Japanese version of the sport and fans flock from across the globe in order to see it in person at the famous Tokyo Dome. If you haven’t seen them already I would recommend checking out the highly acclaimed Wrestle Kingdom 9 and 10 events, they both have insane matches that can be enjoyed even without storyline context and way after their broadcast date. I think AJ Styles v Shinsuke Nakamura from 10 might be my most watched match this year so please treat yourself if you haven’t already.

Did you digest of that? I certainly hope so because now you’ve had your appetiser I’m about to head into the main course of this article; a review of the most important matches from Power Struggle and an overview and prediction for the World Tag League tournament and don’t worry, there will be a desert too!

Power Struggle Review

On 5th November, NJPW treated us to their annual Power Struggle event and before we go any further let me say this was a truly enjoyable show. Usually this event can suffer from being right before Wrestle Kingdom meaning nothing too important happens but the company pulled out something really special for us viewers, especially given the injury to scheduled main eventer, Michael Elgin. So here are my views on the most important matches from the night, 4 of which feature members of the Los Ingobernables De Japon group which I talked about at length last month, right here: 

http://www.acrossthepondwrestling.co.uk/2016/10/opinion-njpw-power-struggle-2016-aka.html

Match #1 – IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Title - Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa (Donny Marlow)) (C) versus CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI)

Tonga and Loa, A.K.A The Guerrillas of Destiny have engaged in a number of simply terrible matches this year. Their tangles with The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) over the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Titles were muting fans and leaving everyone wondering whether the newly introduced Loa was the worst member to every join the highly-saturated Bullet Club.

Their pathway looked bleak and many groaned when they regained their straps but lo and behold, they had a very good match with Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI! Wrestling Jesus must have been smiling down on them because the match was very slick and the sequences between Tonga and YOSHI-HASHI were both especially impressive, including the mesmerising finish which saw Tonga reverse a pump handle slam into his cutter.

The pace slowed massively whenever Loa hit the ring but he is clearly improving and if the pair can get a few more solid matches under their wings during the Tag League they can perhaps soar higher and bring much needed prestige back to the floundering Heavyweight tag belts.

Match #2 – Super Junior Tag Team Tournament Final - Roppongi Vice (Berreta (Trent Barreta) and Rocky Romero) versus ACH and Taiji Ishimori

Roppongi Vice took on ACH and Ishimori in the final match of the Super Juniors Tag Tournament with the winner gaining, you guessed it, a shot at the Junior Heavyweight straps versus The Young Bucks at Wrestle Kingdom in January. Overall the tournament has been very fun this year with the action being fast paced and exciting from the first round to the last.

This finale was the best collision in the entire bracket too. Growing tension between Beretta and Romero was showcased, but the twosome overcame their differences and managed to achieve the win with a whole host of impressive tag team manoeuvres that played into the fact that Romero is the most experienced of the foursome. The tale of wise veterans versus young up-and-coming being perfectly displayed ad in the end the right team won; ACH and Ishimori will have their time but the biggest Junior Tag match available is Young Bucks versus Roppongi Vice.

Move of the match was undoubtedly ACH hitting a Shooting Star Press from standing on the mat, over the top rope, to the outside – I was stunned. If we see this match again down the road I would be all for it though, everyone knew what the crowd wanted and played to it wonderfully. All in all, a great end to an enjoyable tourney.

Match #3 – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title - BUSHI (C) versus KUSHIDA

The first match involving an LIJ member was this one, as BUSHI and KUSHIDA faced off once again for the Junior Heavyweight Championship, this time though, it was personal. BUSHI had essentially stolen the belt from KUSHIDA and the former champ was gunning for revenge from the off. He charged his foe and nailed him with strikes before heading to the outside for a horrible looking piledriver to the floor. It was nasty stuff from the babyface.

With a start like this the match was clearly going to be of different taste to their previous affairs and that thankfully continued as we saw many more submission based attacks being thrown in the mix alongside their usual supplement of suicide dives, (they look so much more vicious in Japan) top rope moves and finisher attempts.

After hitting 2 codebreakers and his MX, BUSHI was somehow unable to put his challenger away and in retaliation we saw another heelish move from KUSHIDA as he tore at the mask of BUSHI; will there be a hair v mask match down the line? I would be all over that! Following the tear KUSHIDA managed to lock in his hoverboard lock for what seemed like an eternity – BUSHI was forced to tap of have his arm broken and thus he relinquished his belt.

The result was certainly a shock and the whole contest was tremendous viewing; the chemistry between the two is off the charts. As KUSHIDA celebrated though, the New Japan time bomb counter hit zero and bursting from the shade in a quite insane jacket was Kamatitachi who had been over in CMLL and ROH on learning excursions. I don’t think too many could have predicted the bomb would have been him but the bout is now set for WK as KUSHIDA will be forced to defend his belt against the returning man in a match that could well steal the show at the Dome.

Match #4 – NEVER Openweight Title - Katsuyori Shibata (C) versus EVIL (Takaaki Watanabe)

Shocking moments from the night didn’t end at the Junior match either as the second Los Ingobernables de Japon member to compete was EVIL who against all odds and predictions defeated the fan favourite Katsuyori Shibata and took home the NEVER Openweight Championship!

This was easily the stiffest contest of the PPV as EVIL and Shibata beat the crap out of each other throughout. Watch this one and listen for the sounds of the elbows and kicks, they are truly disgusting; combine those noises with the sight of Shibata’s sleeper suplex and EVIL’s targeting of the champion’s injured shoulder with chair shots and you’ve got a match that makes you wince and entraps you within its grasp. Seriously, the stiffness is so intense that you cannot possibly look away.

EVIL’s victory was one via cheating, obviously. He chucked the ref out of the ring before nailing Katsuyori with the belt, a chair and finished off with a brainbsuter onto the chair and his STO finisher to get the win in a shocking finish. Shibata however has recaptured the belt in the main event of the recent New Japan event in Singapore, so it looks like he will still be going to the Tokyo Dome with the title, which many fans will likely be very happy to see.

Match #5 – Hiroshi Tanahashi versus SANADA (Seiya Sanada)

Ever since the G1, NJPW’s top man, Hiroshi Tanahashi, has been struggling to regain momentum as he has hit a roadblock in the form of LIJ and most notably, SANADA, who got the better of Tanahashi on the first night of said tournament. Clearly then this contest has been a long time coming and the animosity between them finally boiled over at Power Struggle.

Their first meeting at the G1 was marvelous and this one followed suit; both took big risks and little reward was forthcoming as they each missed top rope moves which allowed their foe to get back into the contest. Standout moves were surely Tana’s slingblade on the apron, Hi Fly Flo from the top to the outside and SANADA’s missed moonsault which blew out his knee.

SANADA attempted his dragon sleeper submission a ton of times but he could not get past NJPW’s A+ player. Having managed to avoid the move that destroyed him previously Tanahashi rose to the top as he has done many a time in his career and nailed SANADA with a couple of Hi Fly Flos, finally seeing off the man who has caused him such misery within the year. Both wrestlers had what I believed to be their best match since they last met and I hope they both go on to better things in the next few months as they as incredible competitors – with Tanahashi especially moving forward faster than you might think…

Match #6 – IWGP Intercontinental Title - Tetsuya Naito (C) versus Jay Lethal

Jay Lethal was ushered into the main event for Power Struggle as the mighty Michael Elgin suffered an eye injury in a tag match meaning that he was unable to attempt to win back the Intercontinental Championship from the Ingobernables leader. This would be the first main event match of Lethal’s NJPW tenure and after this strong performance maybe he will find himself in this position again sometime in 2017.

Naito kicked Lethal out of LIJ on an ROH show earlier this year and as former partners they clearly know one another very well, a factor which played heavily into the bout as they continuously countered each other’s offence. The challenger hit a number of lovely moves including a combo of back suplexes and later, Elgin’s classic bucklebomb and Elginbomb, but he couldn’t put away Naito who battled back with a beautiful set of corner dropkicks, a tornado DDT from the Lethal Injection before finally finishing Lethal with a Destino from another Lethal Injection attempt.

It wasn’t anywhere close to the Elgin/Naito amazingness we got treated to previously but it was still really fun to watch and a worthy main event of a wonderful Power Struggle card. The crowd were super into Naito and hung on every move in the match and every word of his very interesting promo that followed his victory.

During the promo a challenger arrived upon the ramp, and of course, it was TANAHASHI! Almost all NJPW fans have been predicting and wanting this match for months and it we will get to witness it at the Tokyo Dome this year. I’m excited and you should be too as when Naito and Tanahashi meet at last for the IC belt it will surely be one of the finest matches of the year. Do not miss it people!

World Tag League Preview

So that was the most interesting stuff that Power Struggle had to offer and it was truly wonderful watching material; now we have just one stop left before Wrestle Kingdom and that will be the World Tag League whereby the winners will be granted a title match on the January card, likely against current champions Guerrillas of Destiny . It seems fitting then that I have a quick bullet point look at the tag teams taking part and let you know how I think each will perform, so lets go!

Block A

• Hiroshi Tanahashi and Juice Robinson: Tanahashi already has a match set for Wrestle Kingdom so there’s no way these two will be winning. But I like the pairing, Robinson will surely benefit from working with a seasoned pro and be able to take pins for Tanahashi.

• TenKoji (Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan): TenCozy have been in the business for longer than I have been alive and have done it all, now they are winding down and Kojima has other commitments with Ricochet and David Finlay. Might make the final in a happy moment for the fans.

• BULLET CLUB (Yujiro Takahashi and Hangman Page (Adam Page)): 2 Bullet Club whipping boys with zero chance of doing anything of note.

• Manabu Nakanishi and Henare: Another combination of a young lion with a longtime wrestler, Nakanishi will hopefully be able to tutor Henare along and let the upstart show off too. No threat to the title though.

• War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe): War Machine are the only ROH team taking part and will surely follow Michael Elgin’s suit in getting over fast in NJPW as they are powerful gaijins. Given the weakness of the block they might well make the final and are a dark horse to be the ones competing at Wrestle Kingdom.

• Leland Race (Jason Jones) and Brian Breaker: I have no idea who these guys are and won’t pretend to – they might be good, or they might do very little, most likely the latter.

• Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa): The Bullet Club boys are already the champions so they almost certainly will not be winning the block but will likely come in a close second to keep them strong as champions. As mentioned, I hope they manage to put together a few decent matches.

• Tetsuya Naito and A Mystery Partner: Naito said he would be bringing something special for the Tag League and hopefully his mystery man is someone interesting. A partner from the UK indie scene much like CHAOS’ Will Ospreay would be awesome, Marty Scurll anyone?!

Block B

• Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma): GBH won last year’s Tag League and won the belts from BULLET CLUB's Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson at Wrestle Kingdom 10. Since then they have been pretty anonymous and another league win would be surprising but beneficial for them. I don’t see it happening though.

• Katsuyori Shibata and Yuji Nagata: I actually had to re-write this part after Shibata won his NEVER Openweight title back from EVIL, before that I thought these two could go very far but instead they will likely just have solid matches and come up short of the finals.

• CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI): Hashi has massively improved this year and pairing him with Okada again may be unwise as he needs more protection than he did in 2015. No way they will win, watch their matches though, they will be entertaining.

• CHAOS (Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii): This pair is my pick to win. Both are already big names in NJPW and can easily be the ones to bring prestige to the Heavyweight tag titles by having great matches each and every month. Plus, neither have anything set for WK yet and there’s no chance they won’t be appearing on the card.

• Yoshitatsu (Naofumi Yamamoto) and Billy Gunn: Tatsu and Gunn? Yea, I don’t understand it either. They will probably be there for comedy purposes. No hope.

• Kenny Omega and Chase Owens: Owens will likely be taking a bunch of pins for the team as they won’t be winning the block. Omega is ready for the main event at the Dome and nothing else.

• BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale and BONE SOLDIER (Captain New Japan)) : Fale and Boner, are you having a laugh?! Fale might win a couple of matches to keep him strong, other than that, they’ll be losing a lot.

• Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA and EVIL): In my opinion, these are the only guys who might top Goto and Ishii, especially since EVIL doesn’t have his NEVER Openweight title. Both LIJ have been in high profile matches towards the end of the year and I wouldn’t be shocked to see the twosome advance to the Dome. 1^st or 2^nd place inbound.

So the winners of the Tag League will almost certainly come from Block B with Goto/Ishii or SANADA/EVIL the pairings most likely to gain victory over all others and win the straps at Wrestle Kingdom. I would say Ishii and Goto have the best chance also because they would be babyface challengers to the heel Guerrillas of Destiny.

And that’s it done, Power Struggle was a blast, the Tag League should be a fun watch and we have 4 matches already set for the mighty Wrestle Kingdom 11 show on January 4^th. So go and check out New Japan Pro Wrestling and get yourself ready for what might well be the finest PPV of 2017 – let us know what you think will happen and what you think of the current New Japan product, we would love to have your views.

Words - Thomas Brady 

Images - Thomas Brady & James Marston

Editor - James Marston 

Find Us 

Twitter - @ATPWrestling 

Facebook - /acrossthepondwrestling

Instagram - @ATPWrestling