New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) began the Road to TOKYO DOME tour ahead of the two-night Wrestle Kingdom 15 event on January 4th and January 5th at the legendary Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The festivities began at the Fujisan Messe venue in Shizuoka, Japan in front of 436 fans. The crowd size was reduced due to the ongoing COVID-19 (Coronavirus, 2019) pandemic.
The non-streamed event began with the Suzuki-Gun team of former IWGP Intercontinental Champion, two-time NEVER Openweight Champion, and Suzuki-Gun leader Minoru Suzuki, and the reigning two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeat former two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion “Funky Weapon” Ryusuke Taguchi, “Way to the Grand Master” Master Wato, and NJPW Noge Dojo Young Lion Yota Tsuji in 10 minutes and 6 seconds when Suzuki gained the submission fall over Tsuji with a Half Crab.
The second match saw the Bullet Club team of former IWGP Intercontinental Champion “Rogue General” Bad Luck Fale, former NEVER Openweight Champion Yujiro, and “Crown Jewel” Chase Owens defeated reigning KOPW (presumably King of Pro Wrestling) titleholder Toru Yano and former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe/Tomoaki Honma) [G.B.H.] when Owens gained the fall over Honma with his Package Piledriver technique at the 9 minutes and 20 seconds mark.
The third match saw the Suzuki-Gun trio of reigning IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr/Taichi) and Douki defeat the Bullet Club team of upcoming IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Challengers and six-time Champions Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga/Tanga Loa) [GOD] and Jado when Taichi gained the fall over Jado at the 10 minutes and 1 seconds mark with his Seitei Jujiro technique.
The fourth match saw the Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) trio of reigning two-time NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi, Sanada, and upcoming IWGP Junior Heavyweight Challenger and former three-time Champion “Time Bomb” Hiromu Takahashi defeat the Bullet Club trio of former IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental ‘Double Champion’ Evil, reigning two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion “Bone Soldier” Taji Ishimori, and “The Spoiler” Dick Togo at the 12 minutes and 37 seconds mark when Shingo gained the fall over Togo with his Pumping Bomber technique.
The headline match saw the Empire team of reigning Undisputed Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) British Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay, upcoming NEVER Openweight Challenger and former Champion Jeff Cobb, and Great-O-Khan defeat former five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and CHAOS member “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada, former eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Toa Henare when Cobb gained the fall over Henare in 11 minutes and 57 seconds after using his Tour of the Islands technique.
The marquee match saw former IWGP Intercontinental Champion “Golden Star” Kota Ibushi and former four-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Sho defeat LIJ members reigning IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental ‘Double Champion’ Testuya Naito and former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Bushi in 10 minutes and 53 seconds when Ibushi used his Kamigoye technique.
Remember to stay up to date with the latest news on TheOvertimer. Don’t forget to visit Gamestingr for great videos, news, and gameplay!