Preview: NJPW – Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night Two (1.5.2021)

Wrestle Kingdom for the second year in a row will consist of two nights of action. With the conclusion of the IWGP Double Title Match, the IWGP Junior Championship on the line as Taiji Ishimori faces off against either Hiromu Takahashi or El Phantasmo, a feud months in the making with SANADA facing EVIL. NJPW brings everything in for the second night of WRESTLE KINGDOM 15.

Full Card. 

• KOPW Fatal Four-Way: X vs. X vs. X vs. Toru Yano
• IWGP Junior Tag Championship: El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato
• NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Jeff Cobb
• Special Singles Match: SANADA vs. EVIL
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Taiji Ishimori  (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi or El Phantasmo
• IWGP Double Titles: Tetsuya Naito or Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Jay White

IWGP Junior Tag Championships: El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato

The IWGP Junior Tag Title match is the second match of the show and features Suzuki-Gun going against Taguchi Japan. Suzuki-Gun has been feuding with Taguchi-Gun since the return of Master Wato. In September, these two teams took part in the  IWGP Junior Tag Team Tournament to crown new champions. Suzuki-Gun won the tournament and have been champions since then. Taguchi & Wato beat Suzuki-Gun in the opening round of the tournament and now have a chance to win the titles. If Taguchi wins, it will be the first junior tag title he’s held since 2017. With it also being the first time Master Wato has held a New Japan Title.

NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Jeff Cobb

Shingo Takagi regained his NEVER Openweight Championship by defeating Minoru Suzuki at Power Struggle, due to the timing of that match, a new challenger would be revealed in World Tag League. In this tournament, Shingo Takagi and SANADA would face off against The Great O-Khan and Jeff Cobb. In that match, Jeff Cobb got the win over Shingo Takagi. On the final night of World Tag League, Jeff Cobb would establish himself as the next challenger for the NEVER Opewneight Championship.

Jeff Cobb and Shingo Takagi have had one match previously, in the G1 Climax Tournament last year, with Shingo Takagi picking up the victory. But this is not the same Jeff Cobb. This Jeff Cobb is dirtier, with being under the finger of the new Empire faction. This match also seems to be a heavy favorite for the show in terms of pure action with strength vs. might. These could easily be one of the best matches of the show.

Special Singles Match: SANADA vs. EVIL.

When New Japan Pro Wrestling returned from Pandemic, the New Japan Cup was the first tour of shows. In one of the semi-finals matches of that tournament, Evil defeated SANADA. EVIL won the New Japan Cup, turned on Tetsuya Naito, and won the IWGP Double Titles in one of the biggest upsets of 2020. Since then, the main story with EVIL has seen him facing off against LIJ (Los Ingobernables De Japon) members. It started a long feud with Tetsuya Naito and even included a match against Hiromu Takahashi. But the one feud that was in the background was against SANADA, EVIL’s former tag partner. Until the G1 Climax came along, SANADA defeated EVIL to head to the B-Block Final, eliminating EVIL in the process.

That was not to be the blow-off however, during the final IWGP Double Title Match at Power Struggle, SANADA helped Naito by interfering in his match against EVIL. During the final WTL/BOSJ show, SANADA erupted against EVIL and started to brawl with him. With nothing on the line in terms of titles, more than anything in SANADA’s mind it’s about revenge for the betrayal of his former tag partner. This bout will be heavily emotional, especially with the story of this bout. These “Special Singles Matches” could also lead to potential challengers down the line for the IWGP Double Titles as SANADA has defeated Tetsuya Naito before. The winner of this match could be a heavy part of New Japan’s 2021.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. El Phantasmo or Hiromu Takahashi

This preview will now have two scenarios. This match totally depends on the winner of the first match of Wrestle Kingdom Night One, with the battle of El Phantasmo vs. Hiromu Takahashi. Super J-Cup Winner vs. BOSJ Winner. The first scenario is El Phantasmo vs. Taiji Ishimori. El Phantasmo won the  Super J-Cup in America by defeating ACH in the finals. El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori do have a history, most notably being a tag team in 2019, even winning the IWGP Junior Tag Team Championships. Yet they do not have a history in terms of singles matches. Which makes that a very unlikely outcome.

Hiromu Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori have had a history since 2018, most notably being the 2018 Finalists of the Best ff Super Junior Tournament. After this match, Hiromu would get injured and return in 2020 and win back his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. At Summer Struggle In Jingu, Taiji Ishimori would defeat Hiromu Takahashi. After winning the belt, these two would have another encounter at BOSJ, with Hiromu being victorious. The current record is 2-1 in Takahashi’s favor. What match will happen? It’s truly unknown. Hiromu’s ambition to get back his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship is unmistakable while El Phantasmo is trying to win however he can. What will be the fate of this match?

IWGP Double Titles: Tetsuya Naito or Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Jay White

Once again, we are covering two scenarios. But first, some background. Jay White would make his NJPW return during the 2020 Edition of the G1 Climax Tournament, in this tournament. Jay White would defeat the eventual winner of the tournament, Kota Ibushi. Jay White would challenge Kota Ibushi at Power Struggle in a G1 Briefcase match, Jay White would defeat Kota Ibushi and took the G1 right to challenge briefcase. One of the things to note that in this feud, Jay White has seemed to be an afterthought to both Kota & Naito. As he was almost completely ignored during the staredown. However, all three men have a history all on their own.

The first scenario is Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White. In the series of matches, these two have had. It is currently 2-2. While the history of Tetsuya Naito & Jay White was a feud that defined 2019 New Japan. Most notably being in a feud for the Intercontinental title that was a precursor to the IWGP Double Titles. The current match record for both is Jay White having two victories, with Naito only having one victory. Tetsuya Naito could get an even record here or either Jay White or Kota Ibushi could have their rubber match. All of this will be known on the biggest show of the year with WRESTLE KINGDOM 15 in The Tokyo Dome!