New Japan Pro Wrestling recently broadcast the first three nights of the Road To Power Struggle tour on NJPWWorld and Samurai TV. The first night was notable for the return of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt, taking the place of the G1 Climax Winner’s IWGP Challenge Certificate.
Night two of the Road To Power Struggle was notable for Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada teaming up in 10-man elimination tag action to defeat Bullet Club. Despite the loss, and all of the shenanigans during the G1, Bullet Club and it’s sub-faction House of Torture appear to be on the same page.
The biggest new coming out of the trio of events was IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Robbie Eagles becoming a double champion, winning the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship from El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Eagles sent a strong message to his Power Struggle opponent, El Desperado, as he submitted Kanemaru with the Ron Miller Special.
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Road to POWER STRUGGLE (10/26)を公開‼️
＼IWGPジュニアタッグ級選手権試合‼️
両タッグ序盤からフルスロットル?
果たして勝つのは⁉️? @RobbieEagles_ & タイガーマスク × @ElDesperado5 & @kmaru0923
? #njpwworld で配信中??登録＆視聴⏩https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP#njpw #njpst pic.twitter.com/SjFmB7ybB6
— njpwworld (@njpwworld) October 26, 2021
Wearing the colors of his Filipino heritage, Eagles became double champion ahead of not only Power Struggle but also the Best of Super Juniors tournament. It is no small feat, and with Robbie Eagles so often in the “also ran” section of the Jr. Division, the Aussie is a breath of fresh air to a division that had become a little flat.
Robbie’s partner Tiger Mask was emotional over the victory. With original Tiger Mask Satoru Sayama in fragile health, the fourth incarnation of Tiger Mask was grateful to Eagles for helping him win his first title in NJPW since 2012.
One of the subplots of the past few shows has been Great-O-Khan’s upcoming KOPW 2021 match against Toru Yano. Yano has suggested an amateur wrestling rules match, while Great-O-Khan is asking for a “Kiss My Feet” Match. Khan was reunited with United Empire’s Aaron Henare to carve a path of destruction through Yano and a series of tag partners. Victory was not enough for Great-O-Khan, who demanded a preview of Nov. 6th’s possible outcome, trying to make his fallen foes kiss his feet.
Here are the full results:
10/24
NJPW Road To Power Struggle: Night 1
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato def. Robbie Eagles, Tiger Mask & Ryohei Oiwa by submission. (8:15)
Master Wato submitted Ryohei Oiwa via Boston Crab. - House of Torture (EVIL, Dick Togo, SHO, & Yujiro Takahashi) def. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Kosei Fujita by referee stoppage. (8:22)
SHO had Kosei Fujita locked in a modified triangle choke to force the stoppage. - United Empire (Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan) def. Toru Yano & Satoshi Kojima by pinfall. (11:07)
Great-O-Khan pinned Satoshi Kojima via Eliminator. - Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata def. Bullet Club (KENTA & Gedo) by submission. (10:14)
Hiroshi Tanahashi submitted KENTA via Texas Cloverleaf. - Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado) def. Kazuchika Okada, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma by pinfall. (11:32)
Tama Tonga pinned Tomoaki Honma via Gun Stun. - Elimination Match: Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, SANADA, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi) (24:09)
Zack Sabre Jr. last eliminated BUSHI by submission via YES! I AM A LONG WAY FROM HOME!
10/25
NJPW Road To Power Struggle: Night 2
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- SHO def. Ryohei Oiwa by ref stoppage via modified triangle choke. (7:08)
- Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI) def. Ryusuke Taguchi & Kosei Fujita by submission. (10:27)
BUSHI submitted Kosei Fujita via Boston Crab. - United Empire (Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan) def. Most Violent Players (Toru Yano & Togi Makabe) by pinfall. (10:23)
Aaron Henare pinned Togi Makabe via Streets of Rage. - Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi & SANADA) def. Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma by submission. (11:33)
SANADA submitted Tomoaki Honma via Skull End. - Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr., DOUKI, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. Master Wato, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tiger Mask & Robbie Eagles by submission. (14:11)
Zack Sabre Jr. submitted Hiroyoshi Tenzan via Octopus Hold. - Elimination Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI def. Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, KENTA, EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi) (19:31)
Hiroshi Tanahashi last eliminated KENTA by throwing him over the top rope.
10/26
NJPW Road To Power Struggle: Night 3
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA & Hiromu Takahashi) def. Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata by pinfall. (9:58)
SANADA pinned Yuji Nagata via O’Connor Roll. - House of Torture (EVIL, SHO, Dick Togo & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Master Wato by pinfall. (11:27)
Yujiro Takahashi pinned Master Wato via Pimp Juice. - United Empire (Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan) def. Toru Yano & Tomoaki Honma by pinfall. (10:51)
Aaron Henare pinned Tomoaki Honma via Streets of Rage. - Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe def. Bullet Club (KENTA & Gedo) by disqualification. (9:20)
- Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado) def. Kazuchika Okada, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima by pinfall. (11:34)
Tanga Loa pinned Hiroyoshi Tenzan via Apeshit. - Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) by pinfall. (11:28)
Zack Sabre Jr. pinned BUSHI via Zack Driver. - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask def. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (c) by submission. (20:30)
Robbie Eagles submitted Yoshinobu Kanemaru via Ron Miller Special.
NJPW will return on Nov. 6th at 4am ET for NJPW Power Struggle on NJPWWorld.com
