On Tuesday, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) held a lengthy press conference after their Power Struggle headline event on November 3rd. A card which saw Roppongi 3k (Sho & Yoh) defeat Suzuki-Gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desparado) to win their third straight Super Junior Tag League, Chris Jericho challenge Hiroshi Tanahashi to a match on January 5th, the second day of Wrestle Kingdom 14.
NEVER Openweight Champion KENTA was able to defeat Tomohiro Ishii in his v2 defense of the championship known for its hard-hitting bouts. Later in the night after IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay had a successful v3 defense of his title, Hiromu Takahashi made his long-awaited return after suffering a neck injury in June of last year.
Finally, in the headline match of the evening, Jay White had a successful v1 defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Hirooki Goto with help from Bullet Club stablemate Gedo and KENTA. After the match, the Double Gold Dash Tournament for the IWGP Intercontinental and IWGP Heavyweight Championships was teased; with Jay White (IWGP Intercontinental Champion) v Tetsuya Naito (IWGP Intercontinental #1 Contender) and Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Heavyweight Champion) v Kota Ibushi (2019 G1 Tournament Winner) in the other; with the winners of the first matches meeting on January 5th in a double title match.
The events of Power Struggle set the stage for the press conference where IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Bullet Club (El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori) had a press portion along with their Wrestle Kingdom challengers, Roppongi 3k. After Sho & Yoh’s victory at Power Struggle, the Bullet Club tandem stole their tournament trophies.
A transcript provided by NJPW details Yoh’s feelings concerning the theft, “It was our dream, our goal to win 3 Jr. Tag Leagues in a row. They stole our trophies and broke our dreams. I’m mad about that. More than just a title match, we will head to the biggest stage and create the best of endings by taking our trophies back and winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. Leave it to us to send new vibes through the Tokyo Dome.”
El Phantasmo had several unflattering words for his Wrestle Kingdom opponents:
Look at the graphic here. I’ve been saying we need to have our faces all over the posters and here it is. Look how good we look. Then there’s SHO and YOH. SHO is a guy that stares at the wall 90% of his day, and YOH puts a garbage bag on thinking it’s a sweater and calls himself a fashion icon. He likes toilets, poo, all that weird stuff, and that’s exactly what I think about the talents Roppongi 3K possesses. Liger isn’t the only one retiring at Wrestle Kingdom, because we’re going to embarrass them so bad that they’ll be embarrassed to show their faces again.
The reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay and his returning challenger Hiromu Takahashi took the stage next. The two showed a great deal of admiration and respect for one another, yet Ospreay added an interesting twist to an already heavily anticipated match:
But on a serious note. When I first heard about the doubleheader in the Tokyo Dome, I thought they would need something big. Every year the main event is the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Two nights in the Tokyo Dome, they need something big! Then, around the New Japan Cup, Naito started talking about wanting two belts. And I guessed it, in March! I said ‘I bet there’ll be the Intercontinental and Heavyweight Championships one night and a double title match on the other. In Osaka, the fans didn’t make noise for a double title match. What if the fans hadn’t voted for a double title match? Somebody said Tanahashi and Chris Jericho should main event night two.
Stop right there. Tanahashi is a legend, Jericho is a legend. But why should it be that and not us? When (Hiromu) came out, it sounded like an earthquake hit. Are we being ignored again? I’ve been leaned on this year more than anyone else. I’ve done all the work. Opened the Tokyo Dome, main evented the Anniversary Show, went against Phantasmo, entered the New Japan Cup, was MVP in Best of the Super Junior and had match of the year. Australia, the G1, Super J-Cup, Destruction, junior tag league, nobody worked harder than me this year. This, this match is what people want to see. You need to have a sit-down and think about what is going to happen when Hiromu Takahashi comes back and has a match with the wrestler of the year. Me.
I’m a dumb arse. I shouldn’t be on social media for hell, but I stepped up. When people left or asked for time off, I stepped in. Are we going to pretend the junior heavyweights don’t exist?
Hiromu added his feelings on the matter, “He isn’t wrong. that was excellent. Too excellent. Perfect! You are clearly the one to carry this division. I have nothing else to say. It makes me so happy that while I’ve been gone somebody has been here to say this kind of thing. I’ve said I wanted the junior heavyweights to main event, but couldn’t make it happen. I want the junior heavyweights to be above the heavyweights. So you, I love you.”
The last Wrestle Kingdom match to receive a showcase during the press conference was Jay White and Tetsuya Naito. Throughout most of the proceedings, Naito was quiet, while White mocked and pestered him with barbs. White would make the following remark during the exchange:
He’s upset because in two years I’ve taken everything he wants to get but he can’t get there. I’m 27, and even before then I was a triple crown, US Heavyweight, Intercontinental champion. Went to the G1 by beating him! I read once that there was a vote and he was supposed to be in the main event. Maybe he’s worried he’ll have his dream taken from him again. All this was his idea and I’m going to take it, I’m going to take it all from him, and that’ll be fun.
Naito would later answer a question from a member of the press related to the fan vote which decided the Double Gold Dash would take place, “All this was my idea, my ambition in the first place. It has nothing to do with what fans think, but I’m happy that it’s happening. It’s all a sign that Naito’s resurgence will take place.”
Many matches for both Wrestle Kingdom nights will be announced in the upcoming weeks, as many openings remain on both cards.