After nearly seven years without facing one another in singles competition, Yuji Nagata and Minoru Suzuki will square off for the second time in approximately six weeks following their 2020 first-round New Japan Cup match.
Currently, Nagata leads their overall series 6-5 after two straight victories over Suzuki. Despite Nagata not having been featured in the marquee scene in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) for several years, many NJPW fans in the west are excited about the upcoming match that takes place at on July 31st at 5:30 AM EST.
Since their match on June 17th, Nagata and Suzuki have been aggressive towards one another, to the point where many believed this match would take place during the Summer Struggle in Jingu featured event on August 29th.
With the upcoming KOPW (likely King of Pro Wrestling) Title tournament, Suzuki could earn his place by defeating Nagata. Suzuki has been dubbed “The King of Pro Wrestling” over the past several years, presenting solid marketing potential for Summer Struggle in Jingu, even if Suzuki doesn’t end up winning the tournament.
Nagata could pick up another victory if there are plans for him to come out of his G1 Climax retirement, due to travel restrictions imposed during COVID-19 (Coronavirus, 2019).
The headline match of the event sees Bullet Club members IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental ‘Double Champion’ Evil and current v2 IWGP Junior Heavyweight Challenger Taiji Ishimori against Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) members current v2 IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Challenger Tetsuya Naito and Bushi.
The event also features CHAOS members Kazuchika Okada and Sho against Bullet Club members Yujiro Takahashi and Gedo.
