Buckle up NJPW fans, because we’ve got a massive news update to drop on you. New Japan Pro Wrestling has revealed their lineup for the annual Destruction tour this September, culminating in nine championship matches spread across three major shows. We also have Kenny Omega’s first defense of the IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Championship, the next opponent set to challenge Okada’s historic reign, a major name heading to the United States, Naito defending the G1 briefcase – and that’s just for starters!
Destruction in Fukushima
September 10, 2017
– Hanson & Raymond Row (War Machine) will defend the IWGP Tag Team titles against Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (Guerrillas of Destiny) and the team of Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. (Killer Elite Squad) in a triple threat match.
– EVIL, BUSHI & SANADA (Los Ingobernables de Japon) will defend the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team titles against Kazuchika Okada, Rocky Romero & Toru Yano.
– Minoru Suzuki will defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Michael Elgin in the main event.
Destruction in Hiroshima
September 16, 2017
– Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta will team for Roppongi Vice’s final match, taking on Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi. The split was announced earlier this summer at the G1 specials in Long Beach. Trent will be moving up to the heavyweight division, but will still be a member of CHAOS.
– Ricochet & Ryusuke Taguchi will defend their newly won IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team titles against Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-Gun) in their first defense.
– There will be a rematch of the triple threat tag team championship match. Whoever has the belts following the 9/10 Fukushima show will defend.
– KUSHIDA defends the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship against El Desperado of Suzuki-Gun.
– Hiroshi Tanahashi defends the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Zack Sabre Jr. after the British technical wizard forced him to submit on two separate occasions during the G1 tour.
ROH Death Before Dishonor
September 22-23, 2017
– NJPW has announced that Minoru Suzuki will be traveling to the United States to take place in the upcoming ROH Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view and the ROH Television tapings the following day. This will be Minoru’s first match in the U.S. in over 25 years.
– KUSHIDA will also be working the Death Before Dishonor tour, likely defending the ROH World TV Championship. Both wrestlers will leave Japan shortly after the 9/16 Destruction in Hiroshima show, and obviously will not work the final night on 9/24.
Destruction in Kobe
September 24, 2017
– Kenny Omega will defend the IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Championship against Juice Robinson in the main event. This will be Omega’s first defense of the title.
– There will be a second rematch of the tag team title triple threat match. Whoever holds the belts after the 9/16 event in Hiroshima will defend.
– It looks like Kota Ibushi is sticking around NJPW for at least a little while longer, as he is scheduled for tag team matches throughout the entire Destruction tour this September.
King of Pro Wrestling
October 9, 2017
– Kazuchika Okada will defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against EVIL in the main event. The Los Ingobernables star was only one of two men to defeat Okada during this year’s G1 tournament (the other being Kenny Omega), earning him a shot at the title in what will likely be the final defense of 2017. Should the champion retain his title, he will go on to surpass Shinya Hashimoto’s all-time record for longest reign on October 23rd.
– As is customary, Tetsuya Naito will defend his G1 Climax briefcase and the rights to the Wrestle Kingdom main event against Tomohiro Ishii.
