Now that the G1 Climax and the Super J Cup are in the books, New Japan Pro Wrestling enters a big stretch of major shows in the lead up to the annual January 4th show, WrestleKingdom XI. The Month of September brings several shows that will lay the foundations for what we may see in the next few months. LIONS GATE PROJECT3 - NJPW vs NOAH ContinuesOn September the 1st, the 3rd edition of the Lions Gate Project hits NJPWworld. LGP is kind of like the NXT of NJPW, featuring the Young Lions of New Japan facing off against each other, as well as competitors from other organisations. The big talking point of Thursday’s show however is the main event, which is an (almost) rematch of the big 8 man tag from the G1 Climax finals between the New Japan Team of Manabu Nakanishi, Yugi Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Katsuyori Shibata, and the addition of Satoshi Kojima, facing off against the Pro Wrestling NOAH team of Kaito Kiyomiya, Masa Kitamiya, Katshuko Nakajima, Mayback Taniguchi, and Go Shiozaki. The original 4-way took everyone by surprise and brought a lot of intrigue to the possibility of an inter-promotional feud. From the sickening head-butt that Shibata gave to Nakajima (go back and watch it, its awful), to the post match brawl that saw both teams wanting to continue the fight, what was a simple 8-man tag turned into something more violent and meaningful. We now see a second bout between the two teams, and if the first is anything to go by, we could see something pretty interesting on Thursday, as well as over the next few months as this progress. Also on the Lions Gate Project3 card, you will see the likes of David Finlay and Juice Robinson, both of whom look ready to take the next step in their careers. DESTRUCTION IN TOKYO - JUNIORS DO BATTLEOn the 17th of September, we get the first of 3 Destruction shows, the first coming from Tokyo. The main event sees IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA take on BUSHI of Los Ingobernables. KUSHIDA has shown himself to be one of the best all-around competitors in New Japan, defending his title against the likes of Will Osprey, ACH, & Jushin Thunder Liger, as well as winning the recent Super J Cup with victories over Taiji Ishimori, Kenoh, Taichi, and Toshinobu Kanemaru (all NOAH competitors, an important part of this rivalry). However, his Challenger BUSHI has pinned KUSHIDA twice in the past few months, firstly in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, as well as in an 8-man tag on the final night of the G1 Climax. With the focus on the other 3 members of Los Ingobernables de Japon through the G1 Climax, this could be BUSHI’s opportunity to make his own mark and show his worth to the group, in what ultimately will be a great main event to the show. The Co-Main event also features an interesting match up, as the NEVER Open weight title is on the line when Katsuyori Shibata defends against Ring Of Honor TV champion Bobby Fish. Fish hasn’t had the opportunity to have many singles bouts over the last few months, his NJPW appearances normally coming with REDragon teammate Kyle O’Reilly, so this match is a bit of surprising booking. With that said, ROH fans will know what Bobby Fish brings to the ring and will certainly put up a fight against the champion. That champion is Shibata, who is currently riding a wave of popularity from his contests over the course of the past year. The no-nonsense wrestler has defeated many of the veterans of NJPW during his run as NEVER champion, and while he was active in the G1 until the final night of the B Block, will be looking to re-establish his title and put on a strong performance. DESTRUCTION IN HIROSHIMA - UNIFICATIONThe second Destruction show comes from the Sun-Plaza Hall on September the 22nd, and features 4 big matches that could all hold a claim to match of the night honours. G1 Climax Winner Kenny Omega wont get much rest after his heroics in Tokyo, as he will defend his G1 Winners briefcase that contains the title shot at WrestleKingdom against YOSHI-HASHI. YOSHI-HASHI defeated Omega on the first night of the G1 B-Block matches and will be looking to repeat that result against the Cleaner. In a “Special attraction match”, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada will look to avenge one of his loses in the G1 when he takes on the Underboss of the Bullet Club, Bad Luck Fale. Okada laid out the challenge to Fale on the final night of the G1, however without the title on the line this match could go either way. In a ROH title match, Will Ospreay will challenge the Bullet Club’s Adam Cole. Adam Cole recently ended the 14-month reign of Jay Lethal at ROH Death Before Dishonor in a heated contest. He will now come over to New Japan for the first time since 2014 and take on Ospreay, who his riding his own wave of momentum after his stunning performances over the last few months, though some of those have been on the losing end. The last key match on this card is the IWGP tag team title unification bout between Heavyweight champions The Briscoe Brothers, and the Junior champs The Young Bucks’ Both tag divisions have struggled as of late, with the Heavyweight division lacking the star power the likes of Gallows and Anderson brought, while the Junior division doesn’t lack in match quality, it does lack in fresh match ups. The unification of the two divisions will allow for a ton of interesting match ups that should revitalise the division. The match itself should be a good one, The Young Bucks are constant fixtures for NJPW and bring a level of fun and enjoyment that you rarely see anywhere else, while the Briscoe’s have failed to get the crowd response in Japan, they are a formidable team capable of stealing a show. DESTRUCTION IN KOBE - INTERCONTINENTALThe final Destruction show hits NJPWworld on the 25th of September from the Kobe World Memorial Hall. The main event sees IWGP Intercontinental Champion Michael Elgin defend against former IWGP Heavyweight champion Tetsuya Naito. Naito has grown into a true star in NJPW over the last few months, and here he looks to challenge for the only heavyweight title he has yet to hold in the company. Despite great victories in the G1 Climax, he failed to reach the final, falling on the final night of the B Block to eventual winner Kenny Omega, so is out of the IWGP title picture for the foreseeable future, which makes him more dangerous in these matches as LIJ look to control NJPW. Michael Elgin has had some star making matches himself, arguably the MVP of the B Block with victories over former intercontinental champion and eventual G1 Winner Kenny Omega, and Shibata, however his loss to Naito is one he will look to avenge here as Big Mike looks to not only retain his title, but to continue his growth in popularity. Also on the card is a NEVER 6 man title match as champions Matt Sydal, Ricochet, and Satoshi Kojima take on the Bullet Club’s Adam Cole and the Young Bucks’ I don’t think anyone has successfully defended this title more than once this year so many will be expecting another title change, though it should still be a good contest. As with all NJPW events, there will be something for everyone here and should all be entertaining shows. You can catch all of them over at NJPWworld.com for 999Yen, which is around £7 for British viewers.
You can also follow all the action here on the Royal Grumble website, as well as on the Royal Grumble Podcast, released every Sunday via iTunes and wherever you get your podcasts, just click the links over on the right to get the latest episodes.
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