Date: October 17h, 2020
Venue: EDION Arena Osaka
Time: 5:00pm JST
Watch Live or OnDemand On NJPWWorld
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IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Double Championship Match
Tetsuya Naito [c] vs. EVIL
IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Power Struggle
- The IWGP Heavyweight Championship has not been defended at Power Struggle since 2013 when Kazuchika Okada defeated Karl Anderson.
IWGP Heavyweight Championship at EDION Arena Osaka
- The IWGP Heavyweight Championship has been defended 32 times in this building and it has changed hands 12 times. That is 37.5% of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship matches here and 15.5% of all IWGP Heavyweight Championship changes. The title most recently changed hands here when Jay White defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi at New Beginning in Osaka 2019.
IWGP Intercontinental Championship at Power Struggle
- The IWGP Intercontinental Championship has been defended at Power struggle every year since 2011. The title has never changed hands at the event.
- The IWGP Intercontinental Championship has change hands in this arena twice. Hirooki Goto defeated Masato Tanaka at New beginning for the title in 2012 and Bad Luck Fale defeated Shinsuke Nakamura for the title at Dominion 2014.
HISTORY IN EDION ARENA OSAKA
- EVIL is 3-5 in singles matches at EDION Arena in Osaka. He won the NEVER Openweight Championship here in 2016 and he lost an IWGP Intercontinental championship match to Chris Jericho at Power struggle 2018.
- Tetsuya Naito is 12-7 in singles matches at EDION Arena in Osaka, but since the building changed its name to EDION Arena in Osaka in 2016, he is 7-1. He defended the NEVER Openweight Championship here in 2013, and he defended the Intercontinental Championship here at Power Struggle 2016 and 2017. His only loss in the building since 2016 was his 2018 G1 Climax loss to Kota Ibushi.
2020 RESULTS
- EVIL’s .722 winning percentage is the second highest in NJPW this year. Only Taiji Ishimori’s .857 is higher. Naito, at .714 sits directly behind EVIL.
- Tetsuya Naito’s 6 hours, 17 minutes and 23 seconds is the second highest singles match length in NJPW this year. EVIL’s 6 hours, 6 minutes and 40 seconds is the third highest.
- EVIL’s 18 singles matches in 2020 are second highest, only behind Kazuchika Okada.
- EVIL’s 13 wins over the last 6 months (180 days) are the highest in NJPW. Tetsuya Naito has only 7 wins in that timeframe.
- Naito’s 26:57 average match length is the highest in NJPW, over 8 minutes longer than Naito’s 2019 average and over 5 minutes longer than the second highest, Hiromu Takahashi’s 21:18.
HEAD TO HEAD HISTORY
- EVIL and Naito’s 37 minute and 59 second Double Championship Match at Dominion was the longest match of both wrestler’s careers. Thier rematch at Summer Struggle in Jingu was the third longest of Naito’s career and the second longest of EVIL’s.
IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Double Championship Right To Challenge Contract Match
Kota Ibushi [h] vs. Jay White
IWGP Heavyweight Right To Challenge Contract
- The IWGP Heavyweight Right To Challenge Contract has been defended 16 times since its introduction in 2012. It has never changed hands.
- The IWGP Heavyweight Right To Challenge Contract has been defended at Power Struggle twice. In 2012 when Kazuchika Okada defended against Hirooki Goto and in 2013 when Tetsuya Naito defended against Masato Takaka.
- Between this year and last year, this will be Kota Ibushi’s third time defending the IWGP Heavyweight Right To Challenge Contract. Hiroshi Tanahashi (2015, 2018), Kazuchika Okada (2012, 2014), and Tetsuya Naito (2013, 2017) have all defended the briefcase an NJPW-high four times in their careers.
2020 RESULTS
- Kota Ibushi enters this match on a four match singles winning streak. Jay White enters this match looking to avenge his loss to Tomohiro Ishii on the last night of G1 Block Competition.
- Jay White and Kota Ibushi’s 8 wins each over the last 90 days are tied for the highest in NJPW along with KENTA.
HISTORY IN EDION ARENA OSAKA
- Jay White has never lost a singles match in EDION Arena Osaka. He is 7-0 including 4 G1 Climax victories, an IWGP Intercontinental Championship defense over Hirooki Goto at last year’s Power Struggle, and his IWGP Heavyweight Championship victory over Hiroshi Tanahashi at New Beginning in Osaka 2018.
- Kota Ibushi is 10-3 at EDION Arena Osaka and he is currently on a 4 match winning streak. His victories include three IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship matches and four G1 Climax matches.
HEAD TO HEAD HISTORY
- Kota Ibushi hasn’t defeated Jay White in a singles match since the 2019 G1 Climax final. He lost to White in the Double Gold Dash Consolation Match and then he lost to White on the second night of G1 Climax A Block Competition.
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Right To Challenge Match
KENTA [h] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
2020 RESULTS
- KENTA’s 8 singles victories over the last 90 days tie him with Jay White and Kota Ibushi for the highest in NJPW over that timeframe, of course 4 of those occurred on NJPW Strong during the New Japan Cup USA.
HEAD TO HEAD HISTORY
HISTORY IN EDION ARENA OSAKA
- KENTA is historically 8-7 at EDION Arena Osaka, his wins include a GHC Junior Heavyweight title victory, a GHC Heavyweight Title victory, and his NEVER Openweight Championship victory over Tomohiro Ishii at last year’s Power Struggle.
- Hiroshi Tanahashi is 30-16 all time in this building. He has won 5 IWGP Heavyweight Championship matches and an Intercontinental Championship Match here.
- Tanahashi is currently on a three match losing streak in this building, dating back to his IWGP Heavyweight Championship loss to Jay White at New beginning in Osaka 2019.
Special Singles Match
Kazuchika Okada vs. Great-O-Khan
2020 RESULTS
- Kazuchika Okada’s 6 hours, 59 minutes, and 4 seconds of Total Match Length, 14 victories and 20 singles matches are all highest in NJPW in 2020.
- Kazuchika Okada’s 14 singles victories in 2020 are the most in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
- This will be Great-O-Khan’s first singles match in NJPW. He is 11-0 overall with 10 winning falls since returning to NJPW.
HEAD TO HEAD HISTORY
- This will be Kazuchika Okada and Great-O-Khan’s first singles match against each other. They have faced off 11 times in multi-person matches since O-Khan returned from excursion. Great-O-Khan, along with Will Ospreay have dominated while Okada has been paired with Young Lions and SHO.
HISTORY IN EDION ARENA OSAKA
- Kazuchika Okada is 11-13 all time in EDION Arena Osaka and 11-8 since returning from excursion in 2012. His first victory in this building was The Rainmaker Shock, Okada’s first IWGP Heavyweight Championship victory over Hiroshi Tanahashi at The New Beginning in Osaka 2012.
NEVER Openweight Championship Match
Minoru Suzuki [c] vs. Shingo Takagi
NEVER Openweight EDION Arena Osaka
- The NEVER Openweight Championship has been defended 10 times at EDION Arena Osaka, including the last 7 Power Struggle events.
- The Title has changed hands here three times: at New Beginning in Osaka 2014 when Tomohiro Ishii won the title, at Power Struggle 206 when EVIL defeated Katsuyori Shibata for the title, and at Power Struggle 2018 when Hirooki Goto defeated Taichi for the title.
2020 RESULTS
HEAD TO HEAD HISTORY
HISTORY IN EDION ARENA OSAKA
- Shingo Takagi is 11-7 in singles matches in EDION Arena Osaka. He has yet to win a NJPW singles match in this arena though, losing his last three singles matches here to Tetsuya Naito, Jay White, and Kazuchika Okada. His victories here do include three Open The Dream Gate Title match victories with Dragon Gate. That is their highest championship.
- Minoru Suzuki is 18-14 all time in singles matches in EDION Arena Osaka. His wins in this building include a NEVER Openweight Title Bullrope Death Match against Toru Yano, and two GHC Heavyweight Championship victory with Pro Wrestling NOAH. That is their highest championship.
Provisional KOPW 2020 – No Turnbuckle Pads Match
Toru Yano [c] vs. Zack Sabre Jr
2020 RESULTS
HEAD TO HEAD HISTORY
HISTORY IN EDION ARENA OSAKA
- Zack Sabre Jr is 3-3 in singles matches at EDION Arena Osaka with two straight victories.
- Toru Yano is 11-18 at EDION Arena Osaka. He has lost a NEVER Openweight Championship match, an Intercontinental Championship Match, and an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match in this building. One has to wonder if his KOPW 2020 is his next championship loss in this building.