New Japan returned to Taiwan today for the first time in over 7 1/2 years for a special standalone event, featuring a tournament to crown new NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Champions.
Today’s event was held at Zepp New Taipei in Taipei, Taiwan and can be watched on demand on New Japan World OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY. This was a live TV Asahi broadcast in Japan.
The announced paid attendance was 800, a full house/near sellout. New Japan’s English website says a legit sellout.
Pre-show Match: Puzzle Provided Match: Touyuu beat Axe Wang.
Match 1: NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Title Tournament: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano & Boltin Oleg beat Great-O-Khan, Francesco Akira & Callum Newman. Yano pinned Newman.
Match 2: NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Title Tournament: Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuhji & BUSHI. Sho pinned BUSHI after Shock Arrow.
Match 3: Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask beat El Desperado & Shoma Kato. TM 4 pinned Kato after a tiger driver.
Match 4: Starlight Kid (Stardom) beat HANAKO (Stardom).
Match 5: DOUKI beat Kosei Fujita. As a result, DOUKI will face Sho for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at a later date.
Match 6: IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI beat Yuya Uemura & SANADA to retain the titles. Goto pinned Uemora after Goh. V1 for the champs.
Main Event: NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Title Tournament: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano & Boltin Oleg beat Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL to win the tournament and the titles. Tanahashi, Yano & Oleg become the 27th NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Champions. Tanahashi pinned Sho after High Fly Flow. Really cool to see a Young Lion (Oleg) win a title, although I personally am less than thrilled that it includes Yano. Sorry all but I am not a Yano fan.
The next event is the Road To WRESTLING DONTAKU Tour opener Saturday at Machida Gym in Tokyo. There will be no live or on demand broadcast. Most of the tour will be non-televised with just 3 broadcasts scheduled among 9 events, plus Wrestling Satsuma No Kuni on 4/29 which will be on New Japan World.
