The marquee match of the Power Struggle feature event put the 2,834 fans inside of Edion Arena Osaka #1 on the edge of their seat. It would be the fourth singles match (I, II, III) between Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) leader IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental ‘Double Champion’ Tetsuya Naito and Bullet Club member Evil during 2020 since the latter betrayed his former unit.
Naito would bring a different approach to the match, wrestling a more technical and ground-based style than he has against Evil previously. While he would eventually bring a more impactful offense, that would not come until the later portions of the match.
On the other hand, Evil relied on interference from Bullet Club members his manager, “The Spoiler” Dick Togo, Yujiro, and even “Switchblade” Jay White who attempted to cheat Evil into a Wrestle Kingdom 15 marquee position.
Sanada, who holds a G1 Climax 30 victory over his LIJ unit mate came out to remove Togo and Yujiro from interfering in the match. Yet, it was “Golden Star” Kota Ibushi who chased off Switchblade after their match earlier during Power Struggle.
Despite Bullet Club acting against him, Naito was able to pick up the fall over Evil with his Destino technique at the 33 minutes and 8 seconds mark to cap off a successful V1 defense of the ‘Double Championship.’
After the match, Jay White returned to ringside to declare the ‘Double Championship’ match between he and Naito would take place on January 5th, the second night of Wrestle Kingdom 15. Yet, Ibushi would come out with murder in his eyes, causing Switchblade to retreat to the back.
During his post-match address to the fans, Naito hinted that the next time the full New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) roster would return to Osaka would be in 2021.
Hyping up a return to Osaka is interesting as NJPW commonly runs Edion Arena Oska (#1 & #2) and Osaka Jo Hall. Such a mention could indicate the company intends to run the massive Kyocera Dome Osaka, which holds approximately 55,000 fans.
Such an event would need several months of promotion, yet it could be a possible attraction for NJPW in 2021 as they continue to grow domestically in Japan.
Remember to stay up to date with the latest news on TheOvertimer. Don’t forget to visit Gamestingr for great videos, news, and gameplay!
