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WEEKLY OVERVIEW – NJPW: Latest updates on live event results, schedule of live events, next big show line-ups, noteworthy social media and YouTube posts, closing commentary

By Chris Maloney, PWTorch contributor

October 11, 2018

Chris Jericho
SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

The following is the latest in a new series of weekly in-depth articles exclusive to PWTorch which will help put in perspective major wrestling promotions with a weekly overview, looking at news and roster developments, results, future line-ups, social media activity, key interviews, plus a timely commentary at the end. We will be featuring similar features on other promotions each week and each will be updated weekly.

•Top Stories of the Week

-Major news from this past Monday’s NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling include KUSHIDA defeating ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll to win the vacant IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship, IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho returning to attack ‘King of Darkness’ EVIL, The Bullet Club OGs officially welcoming ‘Switchblade’ Jay White & Gedo into the group while Los Ingobernables de Japon announced their newest member, former Dragon Gate star Shingo Takagi.

-All eight teams have been announced for the upcoming Road to Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 taking place Tuesday, Oct. 16 through Thursday, Nov. 1 and they are:

  • Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI & Shingo Takagi)
  • Jyushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask
  • KUSHIDA & Chris Sabin
  • ACH & Ryusuke Taguchi
  • Volador Jr. & Soberano Jr.
  • Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)
  • Taiji Ishimori & Robbie Eagles
  • Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado

-Matches announced so far taking place at Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 on Saturday, Nov. 3 include:

  • Match 1: Chris Jericho (c) vs. ‘King of Darkness’ EVIL for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship
  • Match 2: Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Match 3: Taichi (c) vs. Will Ospreay for the NEVER Openweight Championship
  • Match 4: Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay vs. The Golden☆Lovers (‘The Cleaner’ Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi)
  • Match 5: CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Beretta) vs. The Bullet Club OGs (‘Switchblade’ Jay White & Bad Luck Fale)
  • Match 6: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 Tournament Finals

-This past Tuesday, NJPW held a press conference to officially announce the main event at Wrestle Kingdom 13 taking place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan featuring IWGP Heavyweight Championship ‘The Cleaner’ Kenny Omega defending the title against G1 Climax 28 winner Hiroshi Tanahashi.

-This Week in NJPW History saw Brock Lesnar defeat Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono in a Triple Threat match to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on Saturday, October 8th, 2005 in Tokyo, Japan.

•Live Event Results

NJPW King of Pro Wrestling
Monday, Oct. 8, 2018
Tokyo, Japan at Ryogoku Kokugikan
Aired on NJPW World streaming service

(1) Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeat Tiger Mask & Jyushin Thunder Liger by pinfall after Desperado pinned Mask to retain the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

(2) Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe defeat Toa Henare & Juice Robinson by pinfall after Makabe pinned Henare

(3) Bullet Club OGs (Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori & The Guerrillas of Destiny) defeat Bullet Club (‘Hangman’ Adam Page, Chase Owens & The Young Bucks) by pinfall after Tama Tonga pinned Owens

(4) Will Ospreay, Tomohiro Ishii, & Hirooki Goto defeat Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka & Taichi by pinfall after Ospreay pinned Taichi

(5) Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi) defeat CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, SHO & YOH) by pinfall after Takagi pinned SHO

(6) Zack Sabre Jr. (w/Taka Michinoku) & ‘King of Darkness’ EVIL went to a No Contest after IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho attacked EVIL prior to the match

(7) KUSHIDA defeats ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll by pinfall in the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Tournament Finals to become the NEW IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion

(8) Hiroshi Tanahashi defeats ‘Switchblade’ Jay White (w/Gedo) by pinfall to retain the contract to compete for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 13 

(9)Kenny Omega defeats Kota Ibushi & Cody by pinfall after hitting the One Winged Angel on Ibushi to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in a Triple Threat Match

You can read our on-site correspondent’s complete report HERE.

You can check out more in-depth results at ProWrestling.net HERE.

You can check out highlights on YouTube HERE.

•Upcoming Major Show Line-up

NJPW Road to Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 – Night 1
Oct. 16, 2018
Tokyo, Japan in Korakuen Hall
Airs 5:30 a.m. ET on NJPW World

  • Ren Narita, Shota Umino & Toa Henare vs. Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji & Ayato Yoshida
  • Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi & Kota Ibushi
  • CHAOS (Chuckie T, Beretta, Toru Yano & Kazuchika Okada) vs. Bullet Club OGs (Bad Luck Fale, ‘Switchblade’ Jay White & The Guerrillas of Destiny)
  • Tiger Mask & Jyushin Thunder Liger vs. Robbie Eagles & Taiji Ishimori in a Super Jr. Tag League 2018 Tournament Match
  • ACH & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr. in a Super Jr. Tag League 2018 Tournament Match
  • Chris Sabin & KUSHIDA vs. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) in a Super Jr. Tag League 2018 Tournament Match
  • Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) in a Super Jr. Tag League 2018 Tournament Match

•Other Upcoming Events:

10.16.2018: NJPW Road to Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 – Night 1 in Tokyo, Japan

10.17.2018: NJPW Road to Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 – Night 2 in Tokyo, Japan

10.19.2018: NJPW Road to Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 – Night 3 in Hiroshima, Japan

10.20.2018: NJPW Road to Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 – Night 4 in Ehime, Japan

10.22.2018: NJPW Road to Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 – Night 5 in Shimane, Japan

10.23.2018: NJPW Road to Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 – Night 6 in Tottori, Japan

10.26.2018: NJPW Road to Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 – Night 7 in Tokyo, Japan

10.27.2018: Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea – Day 1 in Miami, Florida

10.27.2018: NJPW Road to Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 – Night 8 in Tokyo, Japan

10.28.2018: Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea – Day 2 at Sea

10.28.2018: NJPW Road to Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 – Night 9 in Fukushima, Japan

10.29.2018: Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea – Day 3 in Nassau, Bahamas

10.29.2018: NJPW Road to Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 – Night 10 in Miyagi, Japan

10.30.2018: Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea – Day 4 at Sea

10.31.2018: Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea – Day 5 in Miami, Florida

10.31.2018: NJPW Road to Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 – Night 11 in Nagano, Japan

11.01.2018: NJPW Road to Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 – Night 12 in Shizuoka, Japan

11.03.2018: NJPW Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018 in Osaka, Japan

11.07.2018: NJPW/ROH Global Wars Tour: Lewiston in Lewiston, Maine

11.08.2018: NJPW/ROH Global Wars Tour: Lowell in Lowell, Massachusetts

11.09.2018: NJPW/ROH Global Wars Tour: Buffalo in Buffalo, New York

11.11.2018: NJPW/ROH Global Wars Tour: Toronto in Toronto, Ontario

11.17.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 1 in Kanagawa, Japan

11.18.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 2 in Tokyo, Japan

11.20.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 3 in Toyama, Japan

11.21.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 4 in Niigata, Japan

11.23.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 5 in Kanagawa, Japan

11.24.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 6 in Saitama, Japan

11.25.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 7 in Aichi, Japan

11.26.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 8 in Ishikawa, Japan

11.28.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 9 in Ibaraki, Japan

11.29.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 10 in Tokyo, Japan

11.30.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 11 in Tokyo, Japan

12.02.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 12 in Osaka, Japan

12.03.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 13 in Kochi, Japan

12.04.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 14 in Hyogo, Japan

12.06.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 15 in Yamagata, Japan

12.07.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 16 in Akita, Japan

12.09.2018: NJPW World Tag League 2018 – Night 17 in Iwate, Japan

12.14.2018: NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome – Night 1 in Tokyo, Japan

12.15.2018: NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome – Night 2 in Tokyo, Japan

01.04.2019: NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 in Tokyo, Japan

01.05.2019: NJPW New Year Dash in Tokyo, Japan

04.06.2019: NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard in New York, New York

•Latest TV Highlights: NJPW on AXS (Oct, 5, 2018)

NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed
Sunday, September 30th, 2018
Long Beach, California at the Walter Pyramid
Originally aired on NJPW World

(1) ACH, Ryusuke Taguchi & Jyushin Thunder Liger defeat ACH vs. Rocky Romero & Roppongi 3K (SHO, YOH & Rocky Romero) by pinfall after Taguchi pinned Romero

(2) The Addiction (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) defeat The Bullet Club (Chase Owens & ‘Hangman’ Adam Page) by pinfall after Daniels pinned Owens

(3) Flip Gordon, Chris Sabin & Jeff Cobb defeat CHAOS (Chuckie T, Beretta & Hirooki Goto) by pinfall after Cobb hit Chuckie T with the Tour of the Islands

(4) K.E.S. (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) & Zack Sabre Jr. defeat Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA, ‘King of Darkness’ EVIL & Tetsuya Naito) by pinfall after ZSJ pinned EVIL

(5) Gedo & ‘Switchblade’ Jay White defeat KUSHIDA & Hiroshi Tanahashi by pinfall after White pinned Tanahashi

(6) “The Villain” Marty Scurll defeats Will Ospreay by pinfall in the Semi Finals of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Tournament

(7) The Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa w/Haku) defeat The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) by pinfall after Tonga pinned Matt Jackson to become the NEW IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions

(8) “The American Nightmare” Cody (w/Brandi Rhodes) defeats Juice Robinson by submission to become the NEW IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion

(9) The Golden Lovers (Kota Ibushi & “The Cleaner” Kenny Omega) defeat CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada) by pinfall after Ibushi pinned Ishii

•NJPW in the Media

-Super-Sized JRR with NJPW’s Kevin Kelly (10.03.2018)

JR & Kelly shared their thoughts on NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed, Wrestle Kingdom 13, “Switchblade” Jay White, the rebirth of Hiroshi Tanahashi and much more: LISTEN HERE

-KING OF PRO WRESTLING (October 8) – Post-match Interview [1st match]

-KING OF PRO WRESTLING (October 8) – Post-match Interview [2nd match]

-KING OF PRO WRESTLING (October 8) – Post-match Interview [3rd match]

-KING OF PRO WRESTLING (October 8) – Post-match Interview [4th match]

-KING OF PRO WRESTLING (October 8) – Post-match Interview [5th match]

-KING OF PRO WRESTLING (October 8) – Post-match Interview [6th match]

-KING OF PRO WRESTLING (October 8) – Post-match Interview [7th match]

-KING OF PRO WRESTLING (October 8) – Post-match Interview [8th match]

-KING OF PRO WRESTLING (October 8) – Post-match Interview [9th match]

-“Back Pocket” – Being The Elite Ep. 120 (10.08.2018)

-Kenny Omega throws down in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition (10.09.2018)

Kenny has a fractured rib (10.10.2018)

WATCH HERE

•Social Media Scene

•Closing Commentary

-HUGE week for New Japan Pro-Wrestling!

With the contracts of The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Cody, and Hangman Page expiring in the very near future, it’ll be interesting to see how NJPW books all the way through to Wrestle Kingdom 13. KUSHIDA winning the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship and The Guerillas of Destiny capturing the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship is a smart move by NJPW. Even with those championships changing hands, the biggest moment of the week has to go to Los Ingobernables de Japon introducing longtime Dragon Gate star Shingo Takagi to New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Picking up the win for LIJ at King of Pro-Wrestling and adding him to the Super Jr. Tag League 2018 tournament alongside BUSHI solidifies Takagi as a major player for NJPW.

-FINALLY… #AlphaClub.

It’s 2018 and Chris Jericho continues to make waves in the wrestling business. If Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea wasn’t enough for the month of October, his attack on EVIL at King of Pro-Wrestling created a buzz and was very reminiscent of his attack on IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega at ALL IN. No matter how you look at it, Jericho continues to make noise. If you need confirmation, simply check out social media anytime he’s made a recent appearance and you can see how much he still means to the wrestling business. It’s been almost thirty years since he made his pro debut and his contribution to NJPW right now is unparalled.

-Jericho defends the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against EVIL on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Power Struggle: Super Jr. Tag League 2018. As a fellow Canadian, unfortunately my pick for the winner that night can only be summed up with one hashtag…

#AndNEW

NOW CHECK OUT OUR PREVIOUS IN-DEPTH WEEKLY OVERVIEWS ON IMPACT, ROH, WWE, NXT, and NJPW HERE: PWTORCH WEEKLY PROMOTIONAL OVERVIEW LISTING

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