NJPW Golden Fight Series - April 18-28, 2022

[Chris]

Championship Action Set for Hiroshima April 25!​

Two titles on the line in Sun Plaza Hall

Watch Golden Fight Series LIVE or in English on demand on NJPW World!

April 25 sees the Golden Fight series head to Hiroshima, where two big title matches headline an action packed card.

In the main event, Taichi will go head to head with Shingo Takagi over Taichi’s freshly won KOPW 2022 trophy. After Taichi defeated Toru Yano in a No-Rope Ring-Out match, he was quick to declare a new direction for the previously comedic trophy, and followed through by immediately nominating a former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion in Shingo Takagi to be his first challenger. Quite what rules either man will propose is unclear, but it seems certain that a KOPW match unlike any other in the title’s history is in store for Hiroshima.

The NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championships will be on the line in Hiroshima when HOUSE OF TORTURE defend against Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Hiroshi Tanahashi. At Hyper Battle, Guerrillas of Destiny and Tanahashi finally struck a blow to the members of BULLET CLUB, as Jado made Gedo submit to the Crossface of Jado. In the moments that followed, Hiroshi Tanahashi finally officially welcomed G.o.D into Hontai, and now joins the seven time IWGP Tag Team Champions in challenging H.O.T. Can winning prove contagious for the Ace and the Guerrillas, and can they follow through with a NEVER 6 man victory?

Also in Hiroshima, one of the last major stops before Dontaku in the Pay Pay Dome May 1 will see one final preview for Kazuchika Okada opposite Tetsuya Naito before their IWGP World Heavyweight Championship clash. This CHAOS vs LIJ six man is impossible to overlook.

Meanwhile Bishamon will take on the BULLET CLUB side of Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens. With both of these teams set to challenge Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan at Dontaku, this is an intriguing preview indeed, and with plenty more action, it’s a stacked card in Hiroshima!​

 

[Chris]

Golden Fight Series Night 1 (April 18) preview​

Next tour gets underway in Nagoya

The next tour on the 50th Anniversary NJPW calendar is the Golden Fight Series, a throwback to some of the earliest tours in NJPW history. The tour will kick off on April 18 in Nagoya, with an event that had originally scheduled to take place in late January and now sees a live card on NJPW World to thank the fans for their patience during the postponement.
Watch Golden Fight Series LIVE or in English on demand on NJPW World!

Main event: CHAOS (YOH & Tetsuya Naito) vs Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi)

Our main event sees a preview of May 1 and Wrestling Dontaku, where Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada will do battle for the third time in 2022 and with the IWGP World heavyweight Championship at stake. Naito has stated that there are few things in the world he likes more than locking up with the Rainmaker, and he gets a chance to do so here, as well as to feel Okada out before the huge Paypay Dome main event. Heading into their 13th singles contest against one another, both athletes know one another inside and out even before 2022’s encounters. Will we see a new step and a new set of wrinkles to their rivalry in Nagoya? Meanwhile, as time ticks down toward Best of the Super Jr. in May, 2021’s finalists Hiromu Takahashi and YOH are sure to set a high pace as we preview this year’s tournament.

6th Match: Suzuki-Gun (TAKA Michinoku & Taichi) vs Los Ingobernables De Japon (Shingo Takagi & BUSHI)
April 25 will see the Golden Fight Series head to Hiroshima, where a landmark main event will see the first KOPW 2022 match, (indeed the first KOPW match in all) that does not have Toru Yano involved. When Taichi defeated Yano to lift the KOPW 2022 trophy on April 9 at Hyper Battle, he promised a new direction, one that will lift the KOPW prize to main event status. As such, he immediately called out former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi as his first challenger. Far from being a can kicking match, Shingo has promised some demanding rules for Taichi to compete under, and the Holy Emperor is sure to have his own stipulations in mind. Might we see a taste of both men’s rules tonight in Nagoya?

5th Match: Jado, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (Dick Togo, SHO, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL)
After Hiroshi Tanahashi first stood alongside the Guerrillas of Destiny during the New Japan Cup, a series of frustrating results ensued until Hyper Battle. There Jado finally submitted Gedo to strike a blow against BULLET CLUB, and after the match, Tanahashi had a surprise for G.o.D. With Lion Mark T-shirts passed to Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Jado, the Ace finally officially accepted the trio into Hontai. In short order, the combination of Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga and Tanahashi were signed into a NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Championship bout April 25 in Hiroshima against HOUSE OF TORTURE, and we see a preview of that title bout tonight in Nagoya. Can the hontai side continue building steam, or will the worst elements of BULLET CLUB put a stop to them?

4th Match: Tiger Mask, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto vs BULLET CLUB (Gedo, Taiji Ishimori, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens)
April 9 saw the IWGP tag team Championship reign of Bishamon come to an end at the hands of Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan of the United Empire. Opening the door to any challengers, and to rematches from the former champions, Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens stepped up, while Bishamon wanted revenge. Meanwhile, on a fast turnaround, the new champions took their titles with them to the US to compete on NJPW STRONG and at Windy City Riot as a three way match was made for May 1 at Dontaku.

With the champions in absentia, their two challengers for Fukuoka face off in preview action tonight in Nagoya. With other combustible elements joining them, this will be an intriguing eight man battle.

3rd Match: Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Suzuki-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI)
The third match of the evening sees another preview of future Dontaku tag title action. After a backstage assault in Ryogoku, Six or Nine will be challenged by Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI on May 1, and Taguchi will face Japones Del Mal tonight in Nagoya as both men seek to send a message before facing off for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight tag Team Championships.

2nd Match: Yuto Nakashima & Master Wato vs Suzuki-Gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado)
A second IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag team Championship preview puts Master Wato with Yuto Nakashima against El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Opposite former IWGP Jr. champions, and with the current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight singles champion, Wato will have an uphill climb next to his Young Lion partner Nakashima, but will heart and drive force an upset?

1st Match: Ryohei Oiwa vs Kosei Fujita
Singles record: 0-0-11
The night will start with Young Lions Ryohei Oiwa and Kosei Fujita in singles action. Since their August 24 debuts opposite one another, Oiwa and Fujita have had nothing but time limit draws, but now their ten minute time limit matches see a growth to 15. Will the extra five minutes prove the difference needed for one or the other to get their hands definitively raised? We find out when action kicks off April 18.​

 

[Chris]

Just read results of D1, Oiwa finally got a win I'll probably watch if English commentary is recorded

 

[Kairi HoHo]

This 18th Show has been a snooze fest for me till the Tag Match involving Taichi and Shingo has come up. When those two meet one on one it's going to be a classic. Taichi already trying to get in the head of Shingo that is the last guy you want to do that to.

 

[Chris]

Taichi and Shingo Takagi present KOPW 2022 Rules!​

Unique match type is guaranteed Monday in Hiroshima

Monday April 25 will see a new evolution of the KOPW concept, as new holder Taichi faces Shingo Takagi in the main event, the first KOPW match not to feature Toru Yano, and with a very different vision for the trophy.

The concept behind KOPW remains to have holder and challenger present rule ideas to be voted on by the public. After a lot of speculation about just what rules both men would bring, Takagi and Taichi have reached their decisions, and have proposed rulesets that will see endurance and conviction pushed hard no matter the poll outcome.
Taichi has suggested a 30 Count Match. In this match, multiple falls will see a cumulative count from the referee. The winner is the wrestler who can get a combined 30 count on their opponent. Strategy and stamina will come to the fore in this punishing match style.

Takagi meanwhile has brought his own spin on a multiple falls match, suggesting a Takagi Style Three Falls Match. In this match, the first to three falls is the winner, but rather than being best three out of five, a competitor must get first a one count, then a two count, and then three. This will likely see a hard pace being set in the opening as both men vie to get the early one counts, before will to win really comes to the fore for the third fall.
Which match do you want to see? Voting will be on Twitter until Saturday April 23 at 10PM JST. Cast your vote now!

 

[Chris]

I went for the 30 count

 

[Chris]

Oh shit finally got English commentary for the first night of this tour and Oiwa got the win

 

[Kairi HoHo]

Yeah I went with Taichi's Rules as well. I'm about to watch the 19th Show and if I don't fall asleep just might knock out the 20th Show as well. No matter the Rules Taichi vs Shingo is going to be a MOTY Nominee.

 

[Chris]

Rules set for KOPW 2022 in Hiroshima​

30 count match decided for Monday’s bout

After the closest vote in KOPW history, the stipulations have been determined for April 25 and the first KOPW 2022 defence for Taichi opposite Shingo Takagi.

Votes cast 40,963

Taichi: 30 Count Match
21,194 votes 51.7%

Shingo Takagi: Takagi style 3 falls match
19,769 votes 48.3%

Taichi and Shingo will now officially face off in a 30 count rules match. A cumulative count will apply to both wrestlers in the match, and whoever can pin the other for a combined total of 30 will walk away with the trophy. What will happen in Hiroshima? Find out live on NJPW World!

 

[Kairi HoHo]

Man let me tell you it's been like I've been spinning my Wheels with the Shows so far in the Golden Fight Series but Monday's War makes it all better.

 

[Chris]

Shingo is the new KOPW champion

 

[Kairi HoHo]

Why can't Taichi have anything in New Japan. Dude has the KOPW Title mere Weeks and then he loses to Shingo. I need a run back of that Matchup again.