Destruction (2017) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
Date | September 10, 2017 September 16, 2017 September 24, 2017 | ||
City | Fukushima Hiroshima Kobe | ||
Venue | Azuma Gymnasium Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall Kobe World Memorial Hall | ||
Attendance | 2,056 [1] 3,601 [2] 5,482 [3] | ||
Event chronology | |||
| |||
Destruction chronology | |||
| |||
New Japan Pro-Wrestling events chronology | |||
|
Destruction is a series of professional wrestling events promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in 2017; Destruction in Fukushima on September 10, Destruction in Hiroshima on September 16, and Destruction in Kobe on September 24. Together, they were events fifteen to seventeen under the Destruction name.
2017 was the second consecutive year in which NJPW held three events under the Destruction name. From 2007 to 2013, NJPW held one Destruction event per year, expanding to two shows in 2014 and 2015 and to three shows in 2016. [4] [5] [6]
The three shows aired live through NJPW's internet streaming service, NJPW World, [7] with English commentary provided for the Hiroshima and Kobe events. [8]
The Destruction shows featured professional wrestling matches, each of which involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. [9]
Destruction in Fukushima would be headlined by Minoru Suzuki making his third defense of the NEVER Openweight Championship against Michael Elgin. [10] This match stemmed from the 2017 G1 Climax, where Elgin defeated Suzuki, challenging him to a title match afterwards. [10] On September 7, Suzuki and Elgin agreed to turn the match into a lumberjack deathmatch, [11] which was made official the following day. [12] The show would also feature Chaos' Kazuchika Okada, Rocky Romero and Toru Yano challenging Los Ingobernables de Japón's Bushi, Evil and Sanada for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. [13] The match would mark IWGP Heavyweight Champion Okada's first-ever shot at the title and also served as a prelude to Evil challenging him for the Heavyweight title on October 9 at King of Pro-Wrestling. [10]
Destruction in Hiroshima would be headlined by Hiroshi Tanahashi making his second IWGP Intercontinental Championship defense against Zack Sabre Jr. [14] [15] During the 2017 G1 Climax, Sabre put himself in title contention by scoring two submission wins over Tanahashi, first in their opening tournament match on July 17 and again in a non-tournament six-man tag team match on August 13. [14] [16] In the semi-main event, Sabre's Suzuki-gun stablemate El Desperado would challenge Kushida for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in the champion's second title defense. [14] [15] El Desperado defeated Kushida during the 2017 Best of the Super Juniors and on June 27, after Kushida had successfully defended the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Bushi, hit him with a guitar and challenged him to a title match. [14] While Kushida was absent from the G1 Climax tour, El Desperado made repeated challenges towards him. [14] When the two finally met on August 12, El Desperado hit Kushida with his own title belt, which he then proceeded to steal. [14] The show would also feature Suzuki-gun, with Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru challenging Funky Future (Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. [14] In addition, the show would feature Roppongi Vice's final match together as a tag team. [13] [14] After unsuccessfully challenging then IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) for the title on July 2, Roppongi Vice agreed to disband with Rocky Romero giving Beretta his blessing to move to the heavyweight division. [17]
Destruction in Kobe would be headlined by Kenny Omega defending the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship against Juice Robinson. [18] This match also stemmed from the 2017 G1 Climax, where Robinson picked up a win over Omega, [18] asking for a shot at his IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship in a post-match interview. [19] With Omega having won the tournament on July 2 to become the inaugural IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, [20] this match would mark the first-ever defense of the title. [7] Omega was scheduled to participate in the entire tour, but on September 6, it was announced that he had suffered a knee injury and was pulled from shows between September 7 and 22. He was replaced by the debuting Leo Tonga, the youngest brother of Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa. [21] [22] Several matches on the Kobe card were changed following events that took place at the Hiroshima show. [23] [24]
In addition to these title matches, all three shows would also feature a three-way tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship with War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) taking on Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) and Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa). [7] The first two matches would take place under regular three-way rules, while the third match would be contested under tornado tag team match rules. [23] After successfully defending the title against Bullet Club's Cody and Hangman Page on August 13, War Machine were confronted and challenged to a title rematch by Guerrillas of Destiny. However, before they could respond, both teams were attacked by the Killer Elite Squad. [16] This marked a return for K.E.S., who had not been seen together since the previous February, when Archer was sidelined with a lumbar disc herniation. [25]
Bryan Rose of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter wrote that Destruction in Fukushima was "one of the weaker cards New Japan has put out this year, topped by a main event that was one of the worst New Japan main events in I don't know how long". [26] Larry Csonka of 411Mania had similar sentiments, calling the show "extremely disappointing" and "possibly the laziest, most lifeless show the promotion has put on all year". He rated the main event a "dud", calling it "an embarrassment". [27] Dave Meltzer, also of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, wrote that fan response to the show had been "very negative, by far the worst of any major show for the company this year". [28]
The show was better received than its predecessor. Larry Csonka of 411Mania wrote that Destruction in Hiroshima "wasn't a great show, but it was closer to the company getting back to form" after the Fukushima show. [29] Bryan Rose of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter wrote that the Hiroshima show exceeded the Fukushima show "pretty much in every way". [30]
Bryan Rose of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter called the show "just there", deeming everything but the two title matches and the match between Beretta and Yujiro Takahashi "skippable". Rose praised the main event of the show as "fantastic". [31] Larry Csonka of 411Mania rated the show "good". While being down on the first three matches, he praised the main event as a "must see". [32]
No. | Results [30] [34] | Stipulations | Times [2] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Jado and Yoshi-Hashi) defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jyushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask | Six-man tag team match | 07:20 | ||
2 | Taguchi Japan (David Finlay and Juice Robinson) defeated Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale and Leo Tonga) | Tag team match | 04:32 | ||
3 | Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero) defeated Bullet Club (Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi) (with Pieter) | Tag team match | 06:55 | ||
4 | Kota Ibushi, Michael Elgin and Togi Makabe defeated Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Taka Michinoku and Takashi Iizuka) | Six-man tag team match | 08:09 | ||
5 | Funky Future (Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi) (c) defeated Suzuki-gun (Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) | Tag team match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship | 15:41 | ||
6 | War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) (c) defeated Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) and Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) | Three-way tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship | 11:05 | ||
7 | Los Ingobernables de Japón (Bushi, Evil, Hiromu Takahashi, Sanada and Tetsuya Naito) defeated Chaos (Gedo, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Will Ospreay) | Ten-man tag team match | 12:17 | ||
8 | Kushida (c) defeated El Desperado (with Taka Michinoku) | Singles match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship | 16:56 | ||
9 | Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (with Taka Michinoku) | Singles match for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship | 30:13 | ||
|
No. | Results [31] | Stipulations | Times [3] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hirai Kawato and Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Monster Rage (Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka) | Tag team match | 05:42 | ||
2 | Jyushin Thunder Liger, Ricochet, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask and Togi Makabe defeated Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Taichi, Taka Michinoku, Takashi Iizuka and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) | Ten-man tag team match | 07:17 | ||
3 | Chaos (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) defeated Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens) | Tag team match | 05:41 | ||
4 | Beretta defeated Yujiro Takahashi (with Pieter) | Singles match | 13:21 | ||
5 | Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) defeated War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) (c) and Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) | Three-way tornado tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship | 13:34 | ||
6 | Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin defeated David Finlay and Kota Ibushi | Tag team match | 12:01 | ||
7 | Chaos (Rocky Romero, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japón (Bushi, Sanada and Tetsuya Naito) | Six-man tag team match | 11:56 | ||
8 | Chaos (Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay) (with Gedo) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japón (Evil and Hiromu Takahashi) | Tag team match | 12:39 | ||
9 | Kenny Omega (c) defeated Juice Robinson | Singles match for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship | 32:55 | ||
|
Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, sports executive and 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, being one third of the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions alongside Toru Yano and Oleg Boltin.
Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the leader of the Los Ingobernables de Japón stable.
Bullet Club, stylized as BULLET CLUB and sometimes shortened to BC, is a professional wrestling stable primarily appearing in the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In the United States, the group currently appears on events run by the company's U.S. subsidiary, New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America, as well as U.S. partner promotions Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The group additionally appears on events promoted by Tamashii, NJPW's Australasian affiliate, as well as on events of other Australasian independent promotions.
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). Since 2015, the event has aired worldwide on NJPW's internet streaming site, NJPW World. Destruction is currently held in late September as the first major event after the conclusion of the G1 Climax, with several matches at the event often stemming from previous matches in the G1 Climax. Destruction also continues the road to the January 4 Dome Show, which starts at the G1 Climax.
Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on July 5, 2015, in Osaka, Osaka, at the Osaka-jō Hall. The event featured ten matches with all six of NJPW's championships on the line, main evented by an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match between champion A.J. Styles and challenger Kazuchika Okada.
Destruction in Kobe (2015) was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on September 27, 2015, in Kobe, Hyōgo at the Kobe World Memorial Hall. The event featured nine matches, two of which were contested for championships. It was the eleventh event under the Destruction name.
Destruction in Okayama (2015) was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on September 23, 2015, in Okayama, Okayama at the Momotaro Arena. The event featured nine matches, four of which were contested for championships. It was the tenth event under the Destruction name.
King of Pro-Wrestling (2015) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on October 12, 2015, in Tokyo at Ryōgoku Kokugikan. The main event saw Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against A.J. Styles. All in all, the event featured nine matches, four of which were contested for championships.
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 Show. The event featured ten matches and was main evented by Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Los Ingobernables de Japón, also shortened to L.I.J. or Los Ingos, is a Japanese professional wrestling stable, based in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion and led by Tetsuya Naito. An offshoot of the Mexican stable Los Ingobernables from the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion, the group was formed in November 2015 by Naito, Bushi and Evil, but came to also include Sanada, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, Titán and Yota Tsuji. Through NJPW's working relationship with other companies, they have also appeared in CMLL and in the American Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion.
The Guerrillas of Destiny, sometimes shortened to G.O.D., is a professional wrestling stable currently performing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and WWE. The New Japan Pro Wrestling side consists of Hikuleo, El Phantasmo and their manager Jado, but originally featured Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa, who are now signed with the WWE performing on the SmackDown brand as a sub-unit of The Bloodline. Tonga and Loa originally began wrestling together in 2008 under the team name Sons of Tonga, a reference to their father, professional wrestler Tonga Fifita. After a seven-year break, the team reunited in March 2016, when Loa joined Tonga in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where they are a record seven-time IWGP Tag Team Champions.
King of Pro-Wrestling (2016) was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), which took place on October 10, 2016, in Tokyo at Ryōgoku Kokugikan. It was the fifth event under the King of Pro-Wrestling name.
Destruction (2016) was a series of three professional wrestling events promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in 2016; Destruction in Tokyo on September 17, Destruction in Hiroshima on September 22, and Destruction in Kobe on September 25.
Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2017, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 26th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show.
Wrestling Dontaku 2017 was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on May 3, 2017, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka at Fukuoka Kokusai Center and featured ten matches, three of which were contested for championships. The show was headlined by Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Bad Luck Fale. This was the fourteenth event under the Wrestling Dontaku name.
Taguchi Japan is a professional wrestling stable in the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The group was formed the night after Wrestle Kingdom 11 on January 5, 2017. Starting out as a trio, the stable named Ryusuke Taguchi as their leader, and have gone on to primarily feud with Los Ingobernables de Japón over the IWGP Intercontinental, IWGP Junior Heavyweight, and NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships.
G1 Special in USA was a two-day professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The two shows took place on July 1 and 2, 2017, in Long Beach, California, United States at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. These were the first NJPW shows that the promotion had produced independently in the U.S.
King of Pro-Wrestling (2017) was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), which took place on October 9, 2017, in Tokyo at Ryōgoku Kokugikan. This was the sixth event under the King of Pro-Wrestling branding.
Power Struggle (2017) was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on November 5, 2017, in Osaka, Osaka, at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium. It was the seventh event under the Power Struggle name. The event featured ten matches, headlined by Hiroshi Tanahashi defending the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Kota Ibushi.
Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2018, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 27th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show.