NJPW Power Struggle 2018 – Live Results

Chris Jericho def. EVIL to retain IWGP Intercontinental Championship

I’ll be honest with you, my NJPWWorld feed cut out for half of this match, but I do know that Chris Jericho beat EVIL.

He will now head to Wrestle Kingdom to fight an as yet unknown opponent. Many believe it will be Tetsuya Naito, the man Jericho defeated to win the belt at Dominion in June.

Jericho cuts a promo backstage to say Naito will not get a rematch, but that’s exactly what he would say if Naito was going to get a rematch.

As usual, a very good show, with several top quality matches. Thanks for following us, and don’t forget to SUPPORT WRESTLETALK!

Tetsuya Naito def. Zack Sabre Jr.

I like wrestling a lot, and matches like this make me like wrestling even more.

Watching ZSJ manipulate his own and his opponents’ bodies is pretty much art, and this match was no exception.

You had him on one side, trying to work on the injured legs of Naito, while Naito attempted to use his power and speed to gain the upper hand.

For pretty much all of the match it looked like ZSJ had it won, but the veteran Naito had other plans, hitting Destino on Zack to pick up a huge victory.

It’s the main event up next. Chris Jericho defending his IWGP Intercontinental Championship against EVIL.

Tomohiro Ishii def. Minoru Suzuki to retain RevPro British Heavyweight Championship

If you like forearms and two terrifying humans punching each other for about half an hour, then this is the match for you.

Talk about stiff shots. I’m going to check if Ishii’s head is still attached after a sickening running boot from Suzuki.

It felt like the two men could battle until the end of time, but it was Ishii that finally managed to pick up the win.

Following his 458th forearm of the match, Ishii managed to hit the brain-buster on his opponent to score the pinfall.

An insane match which makes you wonder just how many brain cells each man has left.

Next up is Zack Sabre Jr. vs Tetsuya Naito

Hirooki Goto def. Taichi to win the NEVER Openweight Championship

Who saw that coming 30 seconds into the match?

Goto was seemingly knocked out cold by Taichi before the match got underway, and it looked for a long time as though the ref would have to call the match off.

But a mixture of Taichi’s arrogance and Goto’s spirit allowed him to find a way back into the match. Plenty of very good near-falls followed, but it was Goto who managed to pick-up the title.

He hit Taichi with the Shouten Kai followed by the GTR for the win. Take that, Taichi.

Next we have RevPro British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii defending against Minoru Suzuki

SHO & YOH def. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Shingo Takagi & BUSHI in the Super Junior Tag League finals.

You need to sack your trophy engraver. All it says on the trophy is “VICTORY”, which I found way too funny.

Anyway, Sho and Yoh fought off all the competition to win the Super Juinor Tag League Final.

El Desperado & Kanemaru tried ever heel tactic in the book to put their opponents away, but the dynamic due of Sho and Yoh managed to escape time after time.

Despite a ref bump which looked to be handing Desperado the win, Sho managed to kick out, and so the fightback began. Eventually, a package piledriver was enough to put El Desperado away to give Sho and Yoh the victory.

Really fun match.

Next we have NEVER Openweight Champion Taichi defending against Hirooki Goto

Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi def. Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay 

There we go, some proper wrestling, and surprise surprise, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi and Hiroshi Tanahashi are involved.

David Finlay played his part as well, and not just by eating the pin following the double knee to the face from Omega and Ibushi.

Omega will of course face Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in January, and the two had their own little battle going on throughout the match.

But the Golden Lovers used their experience of working together to get Tanahashi out of the ring, allowing them to team up on Finlay and secure the victory.

Next up is El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. SHO & YOH in the Super Junior Tag League finals.

Kazuchika Okada & Beretta def. Jay White & Bad Luck Fale

Not much of a match this one as it was all about the post-match brawl. Beretta managed to roll up Bad Luck Fale after being dominated, and then the four men started fighting at ringside.

Neither truly managed to get the upper hand, and the brawl ended with Okada inviting Bullet Club leader Jay White into the ring to go on one.

But White’s a heel, so of course he refused. We haven’t seen the end of this feud.

Next up is Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay vs. Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi

Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, & Robbie Eagles def. Makabe, Honma, & KUSHIDA

Again, another short match, but with plenty of good action.

The Bullet Club OG’s are looking as strong as ever, and they used the numbers game on several occasions to overcome their opponents.

The finish came when IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA was hit with a stick from ringside, allowing Tama Tonga to hit him with the cutter for the win.

More Bullet Club fun next, as leader Jay White and Bad Luck Fale take on Kazuchika Okada and Trent Beretta.

Taguchi, ACH, Henare, & Chris Sabin def. Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger, Volador, & Soberano 

In a fun if rather short opening bout, Taguchi pinned El Soberano with the help of ACH.

Not all that much happened other than plenty of use of the rear end as an offensive weapon, and all was well come the final bell, when all the competitors hugged, shook hands and celebrated together.

Lovely stuff.

Good morning/afternoon/evening children, and welcome to our live coverage of NJPW’s Power Struggle PPV.

Not only will we see the final of the Super Junior Tag League Finals, but Chris Jericho will defend his IWGP Intercontinental Championship against EVIL in the main event.

Check out the card below:

– IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho defending against EVIL
– RevPro British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii defending against Minoru Suzuki
– Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
– NEVER Openweight Champion Taichi defending against Hirooki Goto
– Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay vs. Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi
– Kazuchika Okada & Beretta vs. Jay White & Bad Luck Fale
– El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. SHO & YOH in the Super Junior Tag League finals
– Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, & Robbie Eagles vs. Makabe, Honma, & KUSHIDA
– Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger, Volador, & Soberano vs. Taguchi, ACH, Henare, & Chris Sabin

We’ll be bringing you live updates throughout the show, so stick around!

• Power Struggle
• EVIL
• NJPW
• chris jericho

Share this article with friends