Robbie Eagles is ready for more gold.
At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19, Robbie Eagles seeks his second IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship reign. To achieve that, however, he and Kosei Fujita must first outmaneuver three other teams in a Tokyo Terror ladder match.
WrestleZone’s Ella Jay caught up with Eagles ahead of Wrestle Kingdom to discuss the field of opponents that lay in front of him, including Catch 2/2 (TJP & Francesco Akira) and the Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney). The Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kevin Knight & Kushida) will also be involved, as they aim to defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. Eagles became especially familiar with Kushida in 2024, having defeated him on three separate occasions across singles and tag competition.
“I’d like to think I have Kushida’s number,” Eagles said. “He came to Ballarat to be a part of OPW’s Australian Stampede. It looked kind of bleak for me during that match, but I was able to pull it out. I was like oh okay, hometown advantage. Then when we rematched in Best of the Super Juniors this year and I beat him just outside of Tokyo, I was like Kushida, maybe he’s throwing down, the age is catching up to him finally.
“But I think the thing that’s present is I’ve obviously watched Kushida a long time. He hasn’t watched me as much, so I’m able to have a better mindset around what he’s capable of and there’s an air of unexpected technique and skill from me when it comes to scouting me.”
Temporary Alliances At Wrestle Kingdom?
Despite his recent success over Kushida, and having previously tapped out Kevin Knight, Eagles knows that there are two other teams to factor into this Wrestle Kingdom fight. Luckily, Eagles foresees a common enemy temporarily uniting three of them.
“The good thing is I think between Catch 2/2, the Jet Setters and Ichiban Sweet Boys, we all feel the same way about the War Dogs. There is almost zero respect for those blokes. So if we need to turf them first and foremost, I think we can work all six of us together.”
When asked to provide a final message to his Wrestle Kingdom opponents, Eagles instead offered up a premonition.
“Good luck, enjoy your holidays, enjoy New Years, come up with a resolution. And I hope your resolution is chasing us for the IWGP Junior Tag Team Championships because the Ichiban Sweet Boys, we are Ichiban, The Mighty Don’t Kneel, and we will be the mighty champions at the Tokyo Dome. It’s more of a premonition rather than a message, so good luck and do your best.”
Watch our full interview with Robbie Eagles below:
