NJPW Power Struggle 2018 Review and Results: Chris Jericho vs EVIL

from njpw1972.com

Wrestle Kingdom season kicked into full gear Saturday morning with NJPW Power Struggle from Osaka. The show featured the finals of Super Jr Tag League, Goto vs Taichi for the NEVER Openweight Championship, Ishii vs Suzuki in a classic strong style brawl for the RPW British Heavyweight Championship, Naito vs ZSJ in a special singles match, and Y2J vs EVIL for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship…

The Undercard

The show began with an 8-man tag between Liger, Tiger Mask, Volador Jr, and Soberano Jr and Taguchi, Sabin, ACH, and Henare. The action was fast paced and fun throughout, effectively setting the tone for the night. ACH and Taguchi hit the X Factor on Soberano for the finish. This was a good way to send off all the Super Jr Tag League part timers.

Then, in the GOD/Eagles vs XXX match, Ishimori attacked KUSHIDA with his crutch towards the end of the match, allowing Tama to hit the Gun Stun and pick up the victory. Turns out the injured ankle was just a work to make the KUSHIDA/Ishimori build more interesting. Creative angle. Great stuff.

Time traveling Ash Ketchum vs Bone Soldier is all but confirmed for the Dome at this point. I’m excited. You’re excited. Everyone’s excited. Two thumbs up.

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Next, in the Okada/Beretta vs White/Fale contest, @TrentyLocks scored a quick roll up victory on the Underboss as the Rainmaker mixed it up with Switchblade and Gedo on the outside.

Post match, Okada and White continued to brawl. After a healthy dose of young lion casualties, Switchblade got on the mic and laid down the challenge for a one on one match- anyplace anytime. Okada wanted an impromptu match, but Jay refused and got out of Dodge. They’ll meet at Wrestle Kingdom.

The Okada/White build is honestly starting to feel somewhat tired at this point. I just don’t know what rising action is left other than the possible addition of a stipulation of some sort. Still, I’m very much looking forward to their Dome match.

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Finally, the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 13 was teased in a tag match between Tanahashi and Finlay and The Golden Lovers in which Ibushi pinned Finlay after the Golden Trigger

I’ve been extremely excited for the Ace vs the Best Bout Machine since the conclusion of the G1, but seeing the pair go back and forth here raised my expectations to another level. Finlay and Ibushi also delivered solid performances.

After the pinfall, the victors celebrated to the back, but Ibushi didn’t seem to be nearly as enthused as his lover. It’s really starting to feel like this reunion isn’t destined to last too much longer. Ibushi’s going to snap, Kenny’s going to get exactly what he deserves, and all of us fans will explode in two.