Liam Fitzpatrick

<p>I wish I knew of this place to post along the journey but now I’ve found I’d love to share my final show of TEW 2016: NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15.</p><p> </p><p> Two years in game time booking every tour including gruelling Best of the Super Juniors and G1 tournaments as well as the grind of 'Road to' shows at Korakuen comes down to this: Wrestle Kingdom 15 at the Tokyo Dome.</p><p> </p><p> Some notes from the last two years:</p><p> </p><p> I started this game with a February 2019 RW mod.</p><p> </p><p> Tetsuya Naito won the 2019 G1 Climax defeating Kota Ibushi in the final before going on to dethrone Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 14.</p><p> </p><p> Also at WK14 Jay White defeated Kota Ibushi to retain the IWGP Intercontinental title he won from Naito at Dominion and claim Ibushi's NEVER title.</p><p> </p><p> White would lose the IC title to Will Ospreay at Sakura Genesis 2020 but remains NEVER champion.</p><p> </p><p> Shnsuke Nakamura returned to NJPW as a shock entrant in the 30th G1 Climax and finished with 11 points( a time limit draw with Okada on the final night of A Block matches seeing him finish with an uneven number).</p><p> </p><p> KENTA made his NJPW debut at the 2020 G1 Climax finals attacking Nakamura after a tag team match between CHAOS and BULLET Club, nailing his colours to the black and white mast.</p><p> </p><p> After losing to Naito at the Dome, Kazuchika Okada was attacked by Chris Jericho at New Years Dash, setting up a match at Dominion which Okada won. In between NYD and Dominion the Rainmaker would lose to EVIL at New Beginning in Osaka but get his win back on the Wrestling Dontaku tour. Okada would then win the G1 Climax setting up a rematch with Naito on 1.5.2021.</p><p> </p><p> Naito would make successful defences against Hiroshi Tanahashi(New Beginning) , Kota Ibushi( NJC 2020 winner at Sakura Genesis) and Minoru Suzuki(Wrestling Dontaku) before being challenged by a returning Kenny Omega for a match at Dominion. Naito would retain but take a loss to Omega during the G1. Omega would lose to Okada in the finals and then fall to Naito in a rubber match at King of Pro Wrestling.</p><p> </p><p> Post G1 NJPW held a major show in Melbourne headlined by Naito retaining over Goto.</p><p> </p><p> Okada would avenge G1 defeats to Ishii(on the tournaments opening night in London) and Shingo while Naito would get his wins back on Goto and Omega from the summer of strong style to set up their rematch.</p><p> </p><p> Minoru Suzuki defeated Jeff Cobb at June's 'G1 Special in Los Angeles' to become the first Japanese IWGP US Heavyweight champion. After a disappointing G1 he avenged several defeats from the tournament. Except one. His stablemate Zack Sabre Jr scored a rollup win over the the King during the G1 and has now challenged Suzuki to 'friendly' match for the title at Wrestle Kingdom.</p><p> </p><p> Hiroshi Tanahashi missed the G1 due to filming a movie and was written out by a vicious attack from Jay White at Dominion. Tana will return at Power Struggle to cost Jay his NEVER title match with Goto and set up a special singles bout on January 4th.</p><p> </p><p> The card:</p><p> </p><p> Tetsuya Naito© vs Kazuchika Okada(G1 Climax 30 Winner) for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship - One final battle. For the fourth time it's Okada vs Naito at Wrestle Kingdom. Tetsuya Naito has reigned for exactly 365 days and a second win over Okada will see him become the new ace. Can Okada regain his title and reestablish himself as the dominant force in New Japan Pro Wrestling?</p><p> </p><p> Jay White vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - Since The Ace prevailed against The Switchblade on this stage three years ago Jay White has had Hiroshi Tanahashi's number. After a six man tag team match at Dominion 2020, White would brutally assault Tana, ruling him out of the G1 and leaving him on the shelf for four months. The Ace would gain a measure of retribution at Power Struggle, taking out Bullet Club members at ringside to allow Hirooki Goto to capture the NEVER Openweight Championship. At Wrestle Kingdom they meet in a de facto #1 contenders match with White looking to put Tanahashi down for good.</p><p> </p><p> Will Ospreay© vs Shingo Takagi for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship - 2020 was the year Will Ospreay became a main event player. A win over Jay White en route to the New Japan Cup semi finals earned him a shot at the Intercontinental Championship. He converted this into gold and hasn't looked back. However one thorn in his side has been 'the Dragon' Shingo Takagi, a man who handed him defeat in both the New Japan Cup and G1 Climax. Will third time be the charm at Wrestle Kingdom?</p><p> </p><p> Marty Scurll© vs Hiromu Takahashi vs Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Championship - Marty Scurll participated in both the 2019 and 2020 Best of the Super Junior tournaments, with middling performances on both occasions. When Kenny Omega needed a partner for undercard tag team matches during the 30th G1 Climax Scurll stepped up, scoring pinfall after pinfall throughout the tournament. On Night 16 it was Omega and Scurll against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito and Jr Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi. Scurll would pin Hiromu and go on to win the title at King of Pro Wrestling. He now faces Takhashi and Taiji Ishimori in a Wrestle Kingdom three way dance.</p><p> </p><p> Hirooki Goto© vs Tomohiro Ishii vs Taichi for the NEVER Openweight Championship. After Goto defeated Jay White for the title at Power Struggle he was confronted by Taichi and Ishii, the latter of whom with which he held tag team gold earlier in the year. Ever the warrior, Goto agreed to face both at the same time.</p><p> </p><p> EVIL and SANADA© vs Golden Lovers(World Tag League 2020 winners) for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships - 2020 has not been Kota Ibushi's year in terms of singles competition. However the return of his Golden Lover opened up an opportunity. After Omega was vanquished by Tetsuya Naito, ending his quest to regain the heavyweight title, the pair entered World Tag League and won, earning the opportunity to become heavyweight tag team champions for the first time. EVIL and SANADA defeated Bullet Club's Anderson and Gallows at Destruction in Kobe to become four time champions.</p><p> </p><p> Minoru Suzuki© vs Zack Sabre Jr for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. A supposedly 'friendly' match to see who is the true 'Submission Master' of New Japan Pro Wrestling. However recent interactions have seen some speculate that January 4th could be the start of a coup. Sabre-gun ichiban???</p><p> </p><p> Shinsuke Nakamura vs KENTA - Strong Style meets the Kings Road. Two men who recently arrived in NJPW meet after KENTA debuted by attacking Nakmaura. Tensions escalated after KENTA got involved in Nakamura's unsuccessful bid to win back the IC title he made famous from CHAOS stablemate Will Ospreay at Power Struggle.</p><p> </p><p> Gauntlet Match for the NEVER Openweight Six Man Championships: Participants TBA.</p><p> </p><p> Roppongi 3K© vs MexaBlood(Bandido and Flamita) for the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Championships - These belts have bounced around multiple teams over the course of the year and are currently once again by Roppongi 3K after they won the titles in a three way over El Phantasmo and Taiji and BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi at Destruction in Melbourne. Bandido and Flamita are an exciting new addition to the mix and will look to win the titles in their first match together in New Japan.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> If you’d like to see the show when I book it tomorrow(currently booking the two Korakuen Hall ‘Road to Tokyo Dome’ shows in December) let me know. If you’re interested I can post major shoes from the last two years and tournament brackets and results. I put a hell of a lot of effort into this save.</p>