NJPW after their recent “DESTRUCTION” tour have their eyes set for London, England for the “Royal Quest III” show. Following that, they are jumping back into the action shortly after in Japan with there “Power Struggle” Tour. Now we have had the first few marquee matches revealed.
First, on the Road to Destruction in September was initially slated to begin with a championship opportunity for Boltin Oleg. After triumphing in the Young Lion Hat Trick Challenge during the G1 Climax semifinals in August, part of Boltin’s reward was a shot at Zack Sabre Jr.’s TV title. Unfortunately, a last-minute wrist infection forced the match to be postponed, leading to ZSJ’s defense against Ryohei Oiwa.
However, on October 24, Boltin will finally have his chance at the World TV title. Sabre has been able to successfully defended the title 14 times, making him the most successful champion in the modern era of NJPW. Will he move closer to his goal of achieving a record-breaking 20th victory by year’s end, or will the Kazakh amateur great pull off a surprising win against the Brit?
The next matches are for the upcoming Power Struggle event on November 4. This event will feature the defense of two championships so far and offer a captivating preview of what’s in store for Wrestle Kingdom. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship is up for grabs as Hiromu Takahashi prepares to defend his title against Taiji Ishimori. Following Hiromu’s successful championship defense in a chaotic three-way match at Destruction in Ryogoku, he found himself unexpectedly attacked by Ishimori, who had returned after a neck injury sustained during a match with Hiromu in the Best of the Super Juniors. Ishimori is determined to seek revenge and put an end to Hiromu’s championship reign.
The other title match will see Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tomohiro Ishii defend their NEVER Openweight 6-Man Championships against the formidable team of Zack Sabre Jr., Shane Haste, and Mikey Nicholls from TMDK. The challenge emerged after Ishii, who had been pinned twice by Sabre during the tour, issued a direct challenge to the TMDK trio. Now, the question is whether the TMDK trio can seize the opportunity and claim the championship gold.
While the 3rd match confirmed for this show is not a title match, there will still be a lot of excitment as Tetsuya Naito and Yota Tsuji will join forces to square off against SANADA and Yuya Uemura. While this matchup serves as an exciting preview for SANADA and Naito as they approach their Tokyo Dome main event on January 4, it also offers an intriguing opportunity to see the dynamics at play between Uemura and Tsuji. Once fierce rivals during their time as Young Lions, the question arises: who will prove superior now that both have graduated?
Also at the same time, the SUPER Jr. TAG LEAGUE 2023 will be running along side on the Power Struggle tour on the Road to shows with the finals of the tournament also taking place on the “POWER STRUGGLE” ~ SUPER Jr. TAG LEAGUE 2023 FINAL ~ show on November 4 from Osaka, Japan.
The confrimd matches so far:
SUPER Jr. TAG LEAGUE 2023 ~ Road to POWER STRUGGLE ~ October 21:
- SUPER Jr. TAG LEAGUE 2023 Kicks off
SUPER Jr. TAG LEAGUE 2023 ~ Road to POWER STRUGGLE ~ October 24:
- NJPW World TV Championship Match: Boltin Oleg vs Zack Sabre Jr (C)
“POWER STRUGGLE” ~ SUPER Jr. TAG LEAGUE 2023 FINAL ~ November 4:
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiromu Takahashi (C) vs Taiji Ishimori
- NEVER Openweight 6-Man Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii (C) vs Zack Sabre Jr, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls (TMDK)
- Tag Team Match: SANADA & Yuya Uemura (J5G) vs Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji (LIJ)
- SUPER Jr. TAG LEAGUE 2023 FINAL
You can watch “Power Struggle” LIVE in English on NJPW World!