Power Struggle (2015)
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Power Struggle (2015) was a
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...
(PPV) event promoted by
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
(NJPW). The event took place on November 7, 2015, in
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
,
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
, at the
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium is an indoor sporting arena located in Namba, Osaka, Japan. It first opened in 1952 and the current building was constructed in 1987. It is the venue of a professional sumo tournament ( honbasho) held in March every year. The capacity of the ...
and featured nine matches, two of which were contested for
championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
as well as the finals of the 2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament. In addition to airing worldwide through
NJPW World , also referred to as NJPW World and New Japan World, is a subscription-based video streaming service owned by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). On December 1, 2014, NJPW and its minority owner TV Asahi a ...
, the event also aired in Japan as a regular PPV through
SKY PerfecTV! is a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service that provides satellite television, audio programming and interactive television services to households in Japan, owned by parent company SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation. SKY PerfecTV! is also a dire ...
. It was the fifth event under the
Power Struggle A power struggle is situation where two or more people or groups fight to gain dominance over each other. The term is most commonly used in a political context, when parties contend for power or leadership positions, but can also be applied to a ...
name.


Storylines

Power Struggle featured nine
professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...
that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed
villains A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...
,
heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Power Struggle was main evented by
Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former 3-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, with his first rei ...
defending the
IWGP Intercontinental Championship The was a professional wrestling championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was officially announced on January 5, 2011, and the Inaugural Champion MVP wa ...
against
Karl Anderson Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980) known by the ring name Karl Anderson , is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is primarily performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is also known for his time in WWE. Ander ...
. After regaining the title from
Hirooki Goto is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He is also one-half of the tag team Bishamon alongside Yoshi-Hashi. ...
on September 27, 2015, at
Destruction in Kobe Destruction is an annual professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event has been held since 2007 as a pay-per-view (PPV). From 2013 to 2014, the event also aired outside Japan as an internet pay-per-view (iPPV). ...
, Nakamura was immediately confronted and challenged by
IWGP Tag Team Champion The is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPW live event. The ...
Karl Anderson, who noted he had defeated both Nakamura and Goto during the 2015 G1 Climax and therefore deserved a title shot. The challenge was promptly accepted by Nakamura. The following day, it was announced that the match would be taking place at November's Power Struggle. Prior to the title match, NJPW played up Nakamura and Anderson's long history together, which included them training together at NJPW's dojo in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
at the start of their careers. Much like the previous year, the
IWGP Heavyweight Championship The was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the final of an IW ...
was not defended at Power Struggle, giving the IWGP Intercontinental Championship match the main event spot. Nakamura announced that should he get past Anderson, he would next defend the title at January's
Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2016, in Tokyo, Japan, at the Tokyo Dome. It was the 25th January 4 Tokyo Dome Sh ...
in an open challenge. It was teased that the challenger would show up at Power Struggle. Another top match at Power Struggle saw IWGP Heavyweight Champion
Kazuchika Okada (born November 8, 1987) is a Japanese professional wrestler. , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he is a member of the Don Callis Family stable and is the current AEW Continental Champion in his first reign. Known as the , he is b ...
team up with
Kazushi Sakuraba is a Japanese professional wrestler, submission wrestling, submission wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently signed to Pro Wrestling NOAH, Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was formerly one-half of the former GHC Tag Team Championship, G ...
to take on
Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, sports executive and Podcast, podcaster. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he serves as the president and representative director of the promotion, and is also an active wrestler. Widel ...
and
Katsuyori Shibata } is a Japanese professional wrestler, trainer, and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Opps and is one-third of the AEW World Trios Champions with Samoa Joe and Powerhouse Hobbs. ...
. This built up the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome, where Okada would defend his title against Tanahashi. Originally Tanahashi was scheduled to team with
Kota Ibushi is a Japanese professional wrestler and martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his tenure with New Japan-Pro Wrestling (NJPW), Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) and WWE. His career began with the Dramatic Dre ...
, but on November 2 NJPW announced that Ibushi was sidelined indefinitely with a cervical disc herniation, replacing him with Shibata. This put the former teacher–student pairing of Sakuraba and Shibata together in the ring for the first time since their match against each other at July's Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall. That match was won by Shibata. Power Struggle also featured a match for the
NEVER Openweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. NEVER is an acronym of the terms "New Blood", "Evolution", "Valiantly", "Eternal", and "Radical" and was an NJPW-promoted series of events, which ...
with
Tomohiro Ishii is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is currently a double champion: being the Strong Openweight Champion in his first reign, and one-half of the current IWGP Tag Team Champions with Ta ...
defending against
Tomoaki Honma is a Japanese people, Japanese professional wrestler primarily working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In NJPW, he is a former List of IWGP Tag Team Champions, one-time IWGP Tag Team Championship, IWGP Tag Team Champion and a two-time G1 Ta ...
. After regaining the title from
Togi Makabe , better known by his ring name is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trained by and performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former one-time IWGP Heavyweight Championship, IWGP Heavyweight Champion, L ...
on October 12 at King of Pro-Wrestling, Ishii was quickly challenged by Honma, leading to his first title defense. The two previously wrestled for the then vacant NEVER Openweight Championship on February 14, 2015, at
The New Beginning in Sendai The New Beginning in Sendai was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on February 14, 2015, in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Miyagi at the Sendai Sun Plaza, Sendai Sun Plaza Hall and featured ...
, where Ishii was victorious. They also met during the 2015 G1 Climax, where Honma picked up his only win of the tournament over Ishii. The win culminated a two-year storyline, where Honma wrestled 17 G1 Climax matches, before finally picking up his first ever win. Ishii welcomed Honma's challenge, considering the previous loss against him a "disgrace". Prior to King of Pro-Wrestling,
Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his 20-year run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he served as the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japon'' stable, and was a multi-time world champion. ...
had announced that he would be bringing in a ''pareja'' (partner) to witness his match against Hiroshi Tanahashi on October 12, contested for the right to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 10. Naito had recently joined the ''
Los Ingobernables ''Los Ingobernables'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "The Ungovernables") is a ''lucha libre'' (Mexican professional wrestling) Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable based in the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) Professional ...
''
stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...
in the
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...
(CMLL) promotion and the announcement led to speculation that he was bringing in one of his partners from the Mexican promotion. Instead of being any of Naito's CMLL partners, the ''pareja'' was instead revealed as
Takaaki Watanabe is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) under the ring name Evil (stylized in all caps as EVIL), where he is the leader of House of Torture and a former member of Bullet Club. After debuting in NJPW ...
, who made a surprise return to NJPW following a two-year learning excursion in the United States, but his attack on Tanahashi was stopped by Katsuyori Shibata, who had feuded with Naito over the past months, and his tag team partner Hirooki Goto. After Naito had been defeated by Tanahashi, Watanabe attacked Goto, laying him out. In a post-match interview, Naito renamed Watanabe "King of Darkness" Evil. The following day, NJPW announced that Watanabe, as "Evil", would be wrestling his first match since his return at Power Struggle against Goto. NJPW also announced that Naito would miss the entire "Road to Power Struggle" tour as well as Power Struggle itself. Naito was sidelined due to an earlobe injury he had suffered in the match against Tanahashi, and on October 23 returned to CMLL, working alongside his ''Los Ingobernables'' stablemates in a non-wrestling role. Power Struggle was also set to feature the finals of the 2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament. The finalists of the eight-team
single-elimination tournament A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...
were determined between October 24 and November 1.
Matt Sydal Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by the ring name Matt Sydal, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his tenure with WWE from 2008 to 2014 under the ring nam ...
and
Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...
advanced to the finals with wins over Time Splitters (
Alex Shelley Patrick Kenneth Martin (born May 23, 1983), better known by the ring name Alex Shelley, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. He is widely known for his tenure ...
and Kushida) and
The Young Bucks The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Matthew Massie and Nicholas Massie, who perform under the ring names Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson. , they are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), whe ...
(Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson), while
Roppongi Vice Roppongi Vice (sometimes stylized as RPG Vice) are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where they are a sub-group of the Don Callis Family. They have also ...
(
Beretta Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapons Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for various civilian, law enforcement, and military p ...
and
Rocky Romero John Raymond Rivera (born October 28, 1982), better known by his ring name Rocky Romero (ロッキー・ロメロ, ''Rokkī Romero''), is a Cuban-American professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and All Elite Wrest ...
) advanced with wins over
Bullet Club , stylized as BULLET CLUB and sometimes shortened to BC, is a professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#stable, stable primarily appearing in the Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling ...
(
Chase Owens Steven Owens, better known by the ring name Chase Owens (チェーズ・オーエンズ ''Chēzu Ōenzu'', born March 7, 1990) is an American professional wrestler signed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of House of Tor ...
and
Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name , is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW International Champion in his first reign. He also works as an ...
) and reigning
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on August 8, 1998, at an NJPW live event. The IWGP Junior ...
reDRagon reDRagon was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly, formed in 2012, and lasting until September 1, 2022 when Fish quietly left All Elite Wrestling (AEW). They are also known for their work in Ring of Honor ...
(
Bobby Fish Robert Anthony Fish (born October 27, 1976) is an American professional wrestler performing for Major League Wrestling (MLW). He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand and was a member of The Undisputed Era. ...
and
Kyle O'Reilly Kyle Richard Thomas Greenwood (born March 1, 1987), better known by his ring name Kyle O'Reilly, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Paragon (professio ...
). The other four tag teams in the tournament were put in an eight-man tag team match. This match also served as a build-up to a future
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world junior heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may hold ...
match between champion Kenny Omega and challenger Kushida.


Event

The third match of the event, Evil's first NJPW match in two years, ended in a disqualification, when Tetsuya Naito made a surprise appearance and attacked Goto. Following the match, Katsuyori Shibata ran in to save Goto, continuing the rivalry between the two teams. In the finals of the 2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament, Matt Sydal and Ricochet emerged victorious over Roppongi Vice. After the match, Sydal and Ricochet made a challenge for reDRagon's IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, but were interrupted by Roppongi Vice, who claimed they had also earned a title shot by defeating reDRagon in the semifinals of the tournament. This led to The Young Bucks coming out and stating that as former champions, they also wanted a shot at the title, setting up a future four-way title program. In the first title match of the event, Tomohiro Ishii made his first successful defense of the NEVER Openweight Championship against crowd favorite Tomoaki Honma. In the semi-main event, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata defeated IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and Kazushi Sakuraba with Shibata pinning his former partner Sakuraba for the win. After the match, Okada and Tanahashi brawled with each other. In the main event, Shinsuke Nakamura made his first successful defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Karl Anderson, despite outside interference from Anderson's Bullet Club stablemates. After the match, A.J. Styles, who had accompanied Anderson to the match, entered the ring and challenged Nakamura to a title match. Nakamura closed the show by accepting the challenge for
Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium (whose former site is now occupied by the Tokyo Dome Hotel and a plaza for this stadium). In Japan, it is often us ...
.


Reception

Sean Radican of ''Pro Wrestling Torch'' gave the event an overall score of 8.0, stating that "although this wasn't a blow the doors off show, it was really good". He praised the NEVER Openweight Championship match, calling it "an absolute must-see match" and giving it a rating of four and three quarter stars out of five.
Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and historian who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter' ...
of the ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
'' called Power Struggle "a textbook PPV to lead into the big show of the year, as when it was over, you knew all the big matches and they gave the impression they'd be great, plus this was a great show even without the angles". He too named the NEVER Openweight Championship the "highlight of the show", calling it a match of the year candidate "with reservations", adding " d Honma won, as the crowd was hoping, it could have been the match of the year, but they once again held that off". He gave the match four and three quarter stars out of five.


Aftermath

Two days after Power Struggle, NJPW announced three more title matches for Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome; Shinsuke Nakamura defending the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against A.J. Styles, Kenny Omega defending the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Kushida and reDRagon defending the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in a four-way match with Matt Sydal and Ricochet, Roppongi Vice and The Young Bucks.


Results


References


External links


The official New Japan Pro-Wrestling website
{{New Japan Pro Wrestling events, Power Struggle
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
2015 in professional wrestling November 2015 in Japan Professional wrestling shows in Osaka Events in Osaka