wrestling / Columns

Csonka’s NJPW Power Struggle Preview

November 4, 2017 | Posted by Larry Csonka
NJPW Power Struggle 2017

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss and preview the NJPW Power Struggle event. Have fun, and always, thanks for reading. Power Struggle is the last major show (the WTL finals don’t count as a major show), but also falls in the “NJPW dead zone,” and in my opinion, Power Struggle appears to have the same issues going in as King of Pro Wrestling did. We’re in the homestretch to build to WrestleKingdom, and with so much locked in or “extremely likely,”and while we have some great matches on paper the wrestlers will have to work extra hard in order to make fan believe that some wrestlers that will obviously be losing, actually have a chance to win. I felt that it really hurt Okada vs. EVIL at KOPW, while Naito vs. Ishii were able to overcome. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy today’s preview, and feel free to share your thoughts. It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful of other’s opinions and don’t be a dick.” And don’t be afraid of sharing your predictions.

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David Finlay vs. Katsuya Kitamura: David Finlay broke out of Young Lion status last year and even had a run with the six-man titles thanks to Matt Sydal’s marijuana bust. He’s been largely directionless, but as of late has been working well in tag teams with Juice Robinson. Kitamura is one of the new chosen ones; he’s progressing well and getting over with his strongman gimmick and raw charisma. This should be pretty good as they workout a lot in the dojo together, and is here to get Finlay a win on a big show, likely ahead of he and Juice teaming in the WTL. WINNER: David Finlay

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Juice Robinson, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, KUSHIDA & Hirai Kawato vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, El Desperado & Taka Michinoku: This was set up because the Suzuki-gun juniors (Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, El Desperado & Taka Michinoku) were complete assholes to the other juniors, especially Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask, during the junior tag tournament. It’s also going to give us some Juice Robinson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. interaction, two guys who could be in NEVER or IC title contention in 2018. Juice has gotten over huge as a babyface and Sabre has been impressive in the ring, which has gotten him over. They’ll play off of Suzuki-gun trying to steal the masks of the junior dads a lot, but if they can downplay the usual Suzuki-gun shenanigans, this could be good. WINNERS: Juice Robinson, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, KUSHIDA & Hirai Kawato

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Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Cody, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens: Oh hey, look, Cody’s back. Well at least he’s stuck in a tag match, where his damage will be minimal. I still love how hard Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima work, Makabe is Makabe and the over/under on bumps for him is 2.5. I honestly don’t expect much from the match; I’d personally like to see Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima win to get some momentum ahead of the WTL. But I see Bullet Club (likely Cody) picking up the win here. WINNER: Cody, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens

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Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi: The battle of LIJ vs. CHAOS continues as we build to Okada vs. Naito at WrestleKingdom. The LIJ vs. CHAOS matches are always a lot of fun and at the very least good, so this has some potential to deliver. While the main goal is to build to Okada vs. Naito, I also think that this may be used to build to a NEVER Openweight six-man title match, titles which have been stable for a while, but also largely ignored. LIK needs challengers, and who better that CHAOS, who they work so well with (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, & YOSHI-HASHI), who have nothing to do right now. WINNERS: Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo

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Young Bucks vs. Titan & Dragon Lee: This has some great high-end possibility to deliver a great match. Titan & Dragon Lee have been great on the Road to Power Struggle tour, working hard and providing some fresh faces and style. They have been a ton of fun and will be looking to deliver here in a big match. The Bucks have been out of the scene in NJPW, working fewer dates after losing the junior straps and opting out of the Super Jr. Tag Tournament in order to spend time with their families. The Bucks will be refreshed and looking to steal the show, and should have game opponents to make that happen. This should be a ton of fun, and I am definitely looking forward to the match. The Young Bucks will win in their return, setting up something else for later in the evening… WINNER: Young Bucks

Who Is Switchblade?: I’m going Jay White. I’m not sure who he’ll be challenging, but I think it’s him and have for a while so no sense in changing my mind now. Jay White.

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Super Jr. Tag Tournament Finals: Super 69 vs. Roppongi 3k: Taguchi lost the junior titles with Ricochet, but found a new partner in ACH. The new team of Super 69 has been a lot of fun as ACHG H plays into Taguchi’s comedy really well, but he’s also been working really hard, looking to gain a regular spot with NJPW. Roppongi 3k have been great since their return/debut, breathing new life into the division. They should not lose here. Normally these tournaments are used to set up a challenger, by having the champions lose to their next challengers. Roppongi 3k beat Taguchi & Ricochet for the titles, and I don’t think they should go to ACH & Taguchi for a title match as it would feel too similar. I think that this year’s Super Jr Tag tournament should be used to legitimize Roppongi 3k, and feel they should win. After the win, I think Romero challenges the Young Bucks for WrestleKingdom 12, looking for revenge as the Bucks basically ended Roppongi Vice, and also looking to prove that Roppongi 3k is the future of the division by beating the best at the biggest show of the year. WINNERS: Roppongi 3k

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IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Champion Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll: Will Ospreay finally got the monkey off of his back, defeating KUSHIDA to win the title. More important than winning the title, Ospreay finally stopped being KUSHIDA’s man bitch, scoring the big win. Ospreay needed the win to get off the treadmill he was on, and it freshens up the division as well. Moving to Scurll as his first defense is a smart move due to their history of working well together. This match is just a stop on the way to WrestleKingdom, and to get Ospreay a win ahead of the event. At the very least they should have a very good, and possibly great match with Ospreay retaining, I can see KUSHIDA & Hiromu Takahashi making challenges post match to set up a triple threat at WrestleKingdom. WINNER: Will Ospreay

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IWGP NEVER Openweight Title Bull Rope Match: Champion Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano: On night 18 of the G1 27, Toru Yano defeated Minoru Suzuki. That match has led to a series of incredibly shitty and repetitive matches that have taken years off of my life. The feud with Yano has always felt like a way to give Suzuki something to do until WrestleKingdom, where he should get a proper opponent and hopefully drop the title to them. There are lots of guys without a dance partner right now (Juice, EVIL, Elgin, SANADA, Goto, Sabre, Switchblade) that could be used for this, but if I am honest, I am not sure where they go. As for the match, I’d be lying if I said I was looking forward to it, I’m just hoping that it doesn’t completely suck. WINNER: Minoru Suzuki

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IWGP US Title Match: Champion Kenny Omega vs. Baretta: This was set up on the 10.29.17 Road to Show. YOSHI-HASHI, Baretta, & Will Ospreay defeated Kenny Omega, Chase Owens, & Marty Scurll leading to Baretta making the challenge. No I don’t think that there is anyone that really thinks Baretta is going to win here it’d be a hell of a story, but Omega not re-matching Okada, the feeling for months has been the long awaited match with Ibushi. I don’t see Ibushi beating Tanahashi right now, but Omega vs. Ibushi is going to be one of the top matches at WrestleKingdom so it should be for the US Title. But while Baretta has approximately zero chances of winning, this is far from a losing situation for him. He’s been great in the ring in 2017, and got the big promotion to heavyweight. NJPW sees a lot in him, and a great performance against Omega here could be a big vote of confidence for him heading into 2017. I dare say that Omega will be more motivated and serious about this match as opposed to his match with CHAOS’ bitch, YOSHI-HASHI. Add into the equation the fact that Baretta will be working harder than ever before in the biggest opportunity of his career and this could be great. WINNER: Kenny Omega

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IWGP IC Title match: Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi: On night 11 of the G1 27, Kota Ibushi defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in a great match, top 12 for the tournament. That win is why we are here, as Ibushi had earned a tile shot, but it was Tanahashi, who after defeating Zack Sabre Jr (who also beat Tanahashi at the G1) that put out the challenge to Ibushi. While their first outing was great, it felt like it wasn’t quite their best effort, and that will change here. Ibushi has been great since the G1 and their interactions in the build to this match have also been really good. I feel that this will steal the show, as big match Tanahashi will be working to show that he’s still Hiroshi FUCKING Tanahashi, and that he’s not done yet, despite some wrongly feeling that he is. Like in the NEVER title ranks, here are lots of guys without a dance partner right now (Juice, EVIL, Sabre, Elgin, SANADA, Goto, Switchblade) that could be used for a Tanahashi challenger at Wrestlekingdom, but whoever it is, I see Tanahashi retaining at WrestleKingdom because I can’t see Tanahashi losing for a third WrestleKingdom in a row after putting over Okada & Naito at back to back big shows. Who ever he faces at WrestleKingdom will likely be the start of a longer program leading to him dropping the title in early 2018. WINNER: Hiroshi Tanahashi

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

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“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

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