NJPW returns to Taiwan with two title bouts
On April 14, NJPW completes a major international weekend with our return to Taiwan for the first time since 2016. Zepp New Taipei hosts a night where new NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champions will be crowned, the IWGP Tag Team Championships will be on the line, and the fate of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship may shift as well.
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Watch LIVE on NJPW World! (English to follow on demand)
Main event: NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag team Championship Tournament Final
The main event of Wrestling World will see brand new NEBVER Openweight 6 man Tag Team Champions crowned in the final of a one night, four team tournament. Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii had a stunning run with the NEVER 6s through 2023, but the titles were vacated at the end of January when Okada vacated the belts en route to America. Now, four teams will compete on this special event for the right to become the 27th trio to hold the gold.
6th Match: IWGP Tag Team Championships- Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) vs Just Five Guys (Yuya Uemura & SANADA)
Bishamon recaptured the IWGP Tag team Championships to become four time champions at Sakura Genesis, but will not have time to soak in their achievement, as they face their first challenge a mere eight days later in Taiwan. Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI were in the middle of their backstage comments in Ryogoku where they were met by Yuya Uemura, who has been growing in momentum in the wake of his New Japan Cup exit, putting int he work and growing from strength to strength with consecutive multiman wins. That included over YOSHI-HASHI, and Uemura called his shot against the Headhunter this past weekend.
Drawing from the Just Five Guys deck, Uemura’s partner will be SANADA. A three time former IWGP Tag Champion himself alongside his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship credentials, SANADA is an excellent partner for Uemura’s first title challenge in New Japan; will they come through with the gold, or will Bishamon’s undeniable team experience edge see the new champions to V1?
5th Match: DOUKI vs Kosei Fujita
Singles record: 3-0 DOUKI
Singles action pits DOUKI against Kosei Fujita Sunday. In the wake of SHO celebrating YOH’s shoulder injury at Sakura Genesis in digusting form, Kosei Fujita hit the ring to suggest that ‘the worst champion in IWGP Junior Heavyweight history’ be replaced by the youngest. Just as an indignant SHO prepared his response, DOUKI would hit the ring and reminded the champion and the fans that he holds a recent big time singles win over Hiromu Takahashi, and carries the most momentum of anyone in the junior heavyweight division. The result, a number one contender’s match here in Taiwan, though as DOUKI made off with SHO’s title belt, Japones Del Mal has said it’s more a case of SHO ‘having the right to challenge the winner’ of he and the Youngest Punk.
4th Match: Starlight Kid vs HANAKO
Starlight Kid goes from turning heads and winning fans in Philadelphia this past weekend to bringing the eyes of STARDOM fans to Taiwan when she faces HANAKO. While E neXus V leader Mina Shirakawa faces tag team action in Chicago, the group is also represented on the other side of the world in Taiwan by the 181 cm HANAKO, who exploded on the STARDOM scene in 2023 and reached the final of the rookie of STARDOM tournament in December. The tallest woman in Japanese wrestling, HANAKO has a distinct size advantage over the diminutive, but devious SLK. Kid has the decided experience edge though, and a pair of wins over HANAKO in three way matches, but without a third figure to provide a hand or a distraction, can the masked artist slay giant competition?
3rd Match: Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask vs El Desperado & Shoma Kato
Tag action brings Hontai forces opposite one another when veterans Satoshi Kojima and Tiger Mask take on El Desperado and SHoma Kato. Well experienced as both a fan favourite and rule breaker, El Desperado will be a fine teacher for Shoma Kato tonight, the young man having a lot of on the job learning to do against tough competition in his first match outside Japan.
2nd Match: NEVER Openweight 6 man Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round: Los Ingobernables De Japon (BUSHI, Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi) vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (EVIL, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SHO)
Just over one week removed from Shingo Takagi dethroning EVIL as NEVER Openweight singles champion, the Dragon is joined by his LIJ brethren in BUSHI and Yota Tsuji to lock up with EVIL and HOUSE OF TORTURE once again. Both factions have experience with the NEVER 6 Man titles, and despite H.O.T’s dubious tactics, both field teams that have seamless triple team communication. Which side of three will make it to our main event final?
1st Match: NEVER Openweight 6 man Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano & Boltin Oleg vs United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Francesco Akira & Callum Newman)
Hiroshi Tanahashi’s in ring return after having been cleared from an ankle injury sustained in February kicks off our action in Taiwan. The Be-Bop Team of Tanahashi and Yano is joined by the mighty power of Boltin Oleg to face a United Empire side that will look to counter with speed. Callum Newman and Francesco Akira will bring the pace for the UE side while KOPW 2024 Champion Great-O-Khan will bind the elements together as his grass roots attempts to bring eyes on the wrestling world continues. It’s a highly impressive United Empire team on paper, but after shaky Sakura genesis performances led to heated words backstage at Ryogoku, can the group get back on track?
Kickoff- PUZZLE Presents: Touyuu vs Axe Wang
Wrestling World 2024 will be the first event under the banner of the Asia Pacific Wrestling Federation, a working group of promotions across east Asia. In Taiwan the leading promotion is PUZZLE, operating under the ownership of Touyuu. The ‘Battle Fish’ will want to represent in fine style at Wrestling World, but will the inaugural Top of PUZZLE Champion Axe Wang chop Touyuu down to size?
