NJPW: 7 Takeaways from Power Struggle

Naito and Taichi finally got… all that… out of their systems 

It would be remiss of me to say I know exactly where this feud came from, but it got a real foothold at King of Pro Wrestling. What I do know is the sordid history between them — mostly taking every opportunity to get under each other’s skin — and the fact that both of them want a shot at the Intercontinental Championship. Actually, Naito wants both that belt and the Heavyweight belt at the same time. I think Taichi just wants to upset everyone’s plans every chance he gets.

Taichi has been driving Naito further and further into frustration, to the point where Naito isn’t taunting as much as he used to, just going straight into doing damage and not saying much afterwards. He’s been attacking young lions and refs at an alarming frequency, and even going after staff.

The worst thing I can say about their match is that it could have been more feral. As far as energy goes, their team matches on the Road shows quickly became notorious for devolving almost instantly and ending with having done as much destruction as possible. They kind of just wanted to hurt each other — it was fantastic!

The takeaway? As we know, Naito gets to challenge, he’s part of the community vote for Wrestle Kingdom, and Taichi shared a very loaded, but respectful look as he was helped from the ring. As for what this match accomplished for them? I’ll let Taichi explain:

And, of course, Jericho appeared and laid down the challenge to Tanahashi for Wrestle Kingdom 14. 

But, that was obvious, wasn’t it?