EVIL, SHO & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI VS. HIROOKI GOTO, YOSHI-HASHI & YOH
The NEVER 6-Man Tag Titles are on the line as the champions EVIL, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi look to defend their titles and get a modicum of revenge. EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi are looking to get back at Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI, who defeated the House of Torture tandem to win 2021’s World Tag League in December.
SHO on the other hand, is looking to make up for two embarrassments at the hands of YOH. First YOH eliminated SHO from the Best of Super Junior tournament, then at Night 1 of Wrestle Kingdom YOH got another win over SHO. YOH knows SHO through and through, even with a new coat of paint, and it drives SHO crazy. Whether this crazy helps or hurts House of Torture has yet to be seen.
SANADA vs. GREAT-O-KHAN
Finesse vs. Brutality. Beauty vs. The Beast. The clean, crisp moves of SANADA vs. The rough offense of The Great-O-Khan. Great-O-Khan is looking for a statement win on Wednesday. Not just for himself, but for The United Empire.
A faction that has found its footing in the latter half of 2021. Ironically at a time when leader Will Ospreay was stuck in Europe and North America, running his mouth and recruiting. Alongside Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare, promising rookie Great-O-Khan has grown into his own since his return from excursion in 2020. While he’s yet to win a title or a tournament, he’s been a breakout presence on the roster, and is looking to put his foot in SANADA’s face to get to the top.
SANADA has been stuck in neutral since losing the G1 Climax Finals in 2020. He had a brief run with the IWGP Tag Team Championship, but that felt like regression for the former tag star. Now he’s lost the G1, he’s lost World Tag League, and he’ll desperately need this win over O-Khan to maintain any semblance of relevance in the main event scene.
JEFF COBB vs. TETSUYA NAITO
Jeff Cobb is a freak athlete. Quick as a cruiserweight and strong as a titan, he’s a once-in-a-century talent for New Japan Pro Wrestling, and like his partner Great-O-Khan, he’s finally started to put the pieces together alongside the United Empire. A standout of both the NEVER Division and all of NJPW’s heavyweight tournament. A lone NEVER Openweight Title reign is his only band of gold so far in his NJPW tenure, and a win against Tetsuya Naito could get him that much closer.
Naito just keeps being Naito however. Taunting Cobb all throughout the Road To Tokyo Dome, Naito is not afraid of the scariest athlete in New Japan’s roster, because quite frankly Naito isn’t scared of anything. The man is eyeing 40, and has been talking about a promise he made to himself that he’d hang it up when he turns 40. His 40th birthday is in May. Will Cobb batter Naito to the point where he has no choice but to fulfill his promise, or will Naito get a win that can help him better understand his place in wrestling as he nears 40.
NEXT PAGE: The Main Events
