New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced a mini-tournament of former IWGP US champions to decide the new 1 contender for Kenny Omega and the IWGP US championship following the Jeff Cobb defense on AEW Dynamite last month.
A major announcement!
4/16 in Philadelphia
Archer vs Juice5/21 in Long Beach
Tanahashi vs Ospreayhttps://t.co/iZXSHF6c1U6/4 in Osaka
Winners face offFour former IWGP US Champions collide for a shot at @KennyOmegamanX's title!https://t.co/UPWNO6KK5C
#njresurgence pic.twitter.com/VKjJmIsiNk— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) April 10, 2023
Lance Archer vs Juice Robinson and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Will Ospreay are the first-round matches in the tournament, both will take place on the upcoming US PPVs (Collision in Philadelphia & Resurgence in Los Angeles). The finals of this tournament have been made official for Dominion on June 4, live from Osaka Jo Hall with the winner earning a shot at Omega.
This will be the 2nd singles match between Lance Archer and Juice Robinson, both men have a history dating back to the NJPW King of Pro Wrestling PPV where the former Suzuki – Gun member bested Juice in a No DQ match for the then vacant IWGP US heavyweight championship (Jon Moxley couldn’t defend the title at the time so the promotion crowned a new champion). Now that Juice Robinson is a member of Bullet Club, he will definitely have the advantage going into this match but both men will be representing All Elite Wrestling during this tournament.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Will Ospreay is finally going to happen as a singles match on May 21in California, it was originally scheduled to happen at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku last year but was called off on short notice. The leader of UNITED EMPIRE, Will Ospreay is coming off a shoulder injury and he will be looking to regain back the title he lost earlier this year to Kenny Omega. This match can realistically go both ways but with Forbidden Door 2 looming on the horizon, the possibility of an Omega/Ospreay singles match this summer is too good to pass up from both New Japan and AEW.
Whoever comes out on top of this mini tournament at Dominion on June 4 will more than likely regain the IWGP US heavyweight championship from a rejuvenated Kenny Omega.
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