NJPW Destruction in Kagoshima 2019 preview

Monday sees the second of three major stops on the NJPW Destruction tour as they head to Kagoshima. The show will be highlighted by a match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship “Right to Challenge” contract held by Kota Ibushi as he puts the contract on the line against KENTA.

Live on NJPW World featuring both English commentary and the full camera setup, Destruction in Kagoshima is scheduled to air Monday, September 16, from the Kagoshima Arena. The tour will see its second pair of six total title matches as both the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Championships and IWGP Heavyweight Championship “Right to Challenge” contract are on the line.

First up will be an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Championship match between champions, Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo, and challengers, Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay and Robbie Eagles). The IWGP Heavyweight Championship “Right to Challenge” contract will be defended for the first time this year as Kota Ibushi looks to keep his Wrestle Kingdom hopes alive against KENTA.

Event: NJPW Destruction in Kagoshima 2019
Date: Monday, September 16, 2019
Venue: Kagoshima Arena — Kagoshima
Start time: 5:00 a.m. Eastern/2:00 a.m. Pacific
Watch live: NJPW World

Young Lion Cup Tournament Match
Clark Connors vs. Yuya Uemura

Two of the more technically sound members of the current dojo class, Clark Connors and Yuya Uemura are scheduled to kick off Destruction in Kagoshima. Both guys are high prospects coming out of their respective dojos and have already gone on to prove themselves in the early stages of the tournament. Head of the L.A. Dojo, Katsuyori Shibata, has praised Uemura’s presence compared to the rest of the Tokyo-based class.

Young Lion Cup Tournament Match
Ren Narita vs. Michael Richards

Gaining experience on one another throughout the preliminary tag matches leading up to their singles match, Ren Narita and Michael Richards will finally have a chance to square off one-on-one. Richards comes from the Fale Dojo, headed by Bullet Club’s Bad Luck Fale, while Narita is from the Tokyo-based dojo. Narita gained a ton of helpful experience earlier this year when he subbed into the Best of the Super Juniors for Flip Gordon, giving him an advantage over Richards who is on his debut tour for the company.

Yuji Nagata, Ryusuke Taguchi, Shota Umino & Yota Tsuji vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Toa Henare, Karl Fredericks & Alex Coughlin

More of the trainees teaming up with the legends as they take on their Young Lion Cup adversaries in tag team action. The young lions will be able to add onto their exchanges from their singles matches from the night before.

Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Roppongi 3K vs. Guerrillas of Destiny, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens

Fallout from the IWGP Tag Team Championship match from the night prior. Either the Guerrillas of Destiny will be able to get their revenge on the new tag team champions, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI, or they’ll have the chance to add salt to their wounds.

Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger

We’ll see more fallout from the previous night’s main event between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Zack Sabre Jr. for the British Heavyweight Championship but the focus of the match will be Minoru Suzuki and Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger. These two began feuding earlier this year and it’s picked back up as they work our way to Wrestle Kingdom 14. Liger has stated he plans to retire at Wrestle Kingdom and Suzuki has made it clear he’s out to make Liger retire before then.

Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto & Rocky Romero vs. SANADA, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI

For the second time this year, Kazuchika Okada and SANADA are set up for an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match. That match isn’t scheduled to take place until the next tour but we’ll see a preview of what’s in store here. The immediate story is the one between Hirooki Goto and Shingo Takagi. These two have a singles match set to take place on the tour’s finale.

Goto and Shingo met on the final day of B-Block action during this year’s G1. Still officially listed as a junior heavyweight, Shingo was able to pin the long-time gatekeeper of NJPW. Now an official heavyweight, Shingo wants to prove that his win over Goto wasn’t a fluke. That match won’t take place for another week but we’ll get to see a glimpse of what’s to come.

Tetsuya Naito & EVIL vs. Jay White & Yujiro Takahashi

After winning the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at Wrestle Kingdom back in January, Tetsuya Naito made it known he wants to be the first person to hold both the IC and Heavyweight titles simultaneously. He was well on his way to earning that opportunity by winning the G1 Climax until he fell to Jay White on the final night of B-Block which sent White to the final instead. White was unable to capitalize in the final, losing to eventual winner Kota Ibushi, but has now turned his attention to Naito’s IC title.

Having lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Kazuchika Okada at G1 Supercard in April, White has demanded a rematch. The match never came so he turned his focus to earning the title challenge by winning the G1 Climax. That plan fell through but by defeating Naito along the way, he’s now won a claim for the IC title. To add insult to Naito’s dream of becoming double champion, White has now gone on record with the same goal, saying it’s his “Destino.”

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (c) vs. Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles)

A rivalry that began in May has only grown to become more personal. Making his debut at Dontaku, not only did El Phantasmo win, he tea bagged Will Ospreay with an ice pack after the match. ELP then went on to beat Ospreay during the Best of the Super Juniors but later on in the tournament we learned his goal wasn’t strictly for his personal success, it went deeper. Not satisfied with his own win over Ospreay, ELP aided Robbie Eagles into a win as well. Eagles, not wanting the help, became conflicted with how he picked up a win over his rival.

Since the book reads that Eagles pinned the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, he received a chance to win the title of Ospreay in his home country of Australia. Once again, ELP interfered at the request of no one, this time causing Eagles to take the loss. The actions of ELP resulted in Eagles leaving Bullet Club and joining with Ospreay in CHAOS. Eagles and ELP would then end up scheduled to face off in the first round of the Super J-Cup, a match won by ELP who in turn also wound up defeating Will Ospreay on his way to winning the entire tournament.

The rivalry runs even deeper between Ospreay and ELP but they’ll have their story highlighted in an upcoming singles match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship next month.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship “Right to Challenge” Contract
Kota Ibushi (c) vs. KENTA

Although he won the G1 Climax, Kota Ibushi will be tasked to defend his championship contract against those who defeated him over the course of the tournament. Ibushi has gone on record to state that the reason he lost to KENTA was due to the ankle injury he sustained early on in the match. He claims to have changed his style since their match and is confident he’ll retain the contract. His plan is to take the contract into Wrestle Kingdom, win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and challenger for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship the following day.

Now a member of Bullet Club, KENTA has the opportunity to walk into the Wrestle Kingdom main event as the challenger. KENTA made his debut for NJPW during the G1 Climax and was adamant to receive handshakes after his matches as a sign of respect. Ibushi has expressed confusion as to KENTA’s goal if he was only planning to join Bullet Club after the tournament. With KENTA’s goals in question there’s an aura of unpredictability if he were to find a way to win the contract.