The Road to Power Struggle continued after the tour opener on October 23, 2020. With New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) moving towards Wrestle Kingdom 15 on January 4th and 5th of next year, the importance of title matches are even higher.
The Road to Power Struggle will lay the foundation for what will happen at the Power Struggle feature event on November 7th.
October 24th Road to Power Struggle Results
The event was held in front of a COVID-19 (Coronavirus, 2019) reduced crowd of 825 at the Gymnasium of Tokorozawa in Saitama, Japan. The marquee match saw the Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) team of reigning IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental ‘Double Champion’ Tetsuya Naito and Sanada face the Bullet Club tandem of former ‘Double Champion’ Evil and “The Spoiler” Dick Togo.
Naito defends the ‘Double Championship’ against Evil during Power Struggle on November 7th, and the two square off in numerous tag team matches before the title match in Osaka.
Sanada is riding a bit of momentum after nearly defeating “Golden Star” Kota Ibushi during the G1 Climax 30 Finals. He was able to get the submission fall over Togo at the 12 minutes and 51 seconds mark.
The headline match saw the former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Golden Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi/Kota Ibushi) tandem team with Tomoaki Honma against the Bullet Club team of “Switchblade” Jay White, Kenta, and Gedo.
Tanahashi makes a challenge for Kenta’s IWGP United States Heavyweight challenge opportunity during Power Struggle. Kenta won the right by winning New Japan Cup USA 2020 while competing for the New Japan of America (NJoA) brand.
NJPW Power Struggle: Road To Power Struggle October 24th Results
Tanahashi would gain the submission fall over Gedo at the 11 minutes and 52 seconds mark with the Texas Cloverhold to start building momentum going into his match against Kenta.
The fourth match of the event previewed two separate championship matches taking place during the Power Struggle tour as the LIJ team of Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, and Bushi took on the Suzuki-Gun team of reigning NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki and the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
Hiromu and Bushi challenge for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on November 1st at Korakuen Hall, while Shingo makes the V1 challenge of Suzuki’s 2nd reign with the NEVER Openweight Championship on November 7th at Power Struggle.
Shingo would gain the fall for his team at the 12 minutes and 16 seconds mark after hitting Kanemaru with his Made in Japan technique to send a message to Suzuki.
The third match of the event saw the newly formed Empire faction of reigning Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay and The Great O-Khan take on “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada and NJPW Noge Dojo Young Lion Yuya Uemura.
O-Khan cost Okada his opportunity at advancing to the G1 Climax 30 Finals and was chiefly responsible for Okada’s loss to Ospreay. The two will face one another at Power Struggle.
O-Khan gained the fall for his team at the 9 minutes and 59 seconds mark after hitting Uemura with his Eliminator technique.
The second match of the event say the CHAOS team of two-thirds of the current NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions Hirooki Goto/Yoshi-Hashi team with current KOPW (presumably King of Pro Wrestling) Provisional Champion Toru Yano against the Suzuki-Gun team of IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr/Taichi) and Douki.
Yano would gain the fall for the CHAOS team over Douki with a Vertical Cradle at the 13 minutes and 23 seconds mark.
The opening match of the event saw NJPW Los Angeles (LA) Dojo Young Lion Gabriel Kidd defeat NJPW Noge Dojo Young Lion Yota Tsuji in 8 minutes and 22 seconds with a Stalling Double Arm Suplex technique.
Remember to stay up to date with the latest news on TheOvertimer. Don’t forget to visit YouTube and Gamestingr for great videos, news, and gameplay!
