With the trifecta of Destruction shows well and truly in the can (look out for our slightly-delayed match recommendation post for Destruction in Kobe soon), New Japan Pro Wrestling announced the rest of the slate for the 2017 edition of the last of their "big four" standalone shows of the year, King of Pro-Wrestling, set for October 9.
Moving from the top of the card on down, KUSHIDA will defend his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against a familiar foe in the form of Will "Mr. Whiskers" Ospreay, but the fun doesn't end there, because Funky Future (Ricochet & Ryusuke Taguchi) will defend their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship against Rocky Romero's secret new team, Roppongi 3K. And, for some reason, Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer) will defend their IWGP Tag Team Championship in yet another three-way with War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe) and Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa). To be fair, they HAVE added the twist of this one being an elimination match, but I can't help but wish we had gotten something even more different.
Outside of the title matches, NJPW have added the requisite field of undercard tags, with Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe vs. Juice Robinson & Kota Ibushi and a Bullet Club vs. Chaos trios match pitting Beretta, Jado, YOSHI-HASHI against a team that I'm sure will put stars in a lot of folks' eyes, Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, & Marty Scurll as the two obvious standouts.
These matches, largely set up by challenges during those Destruction shows, join the previously announced double main event of Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against the man who ended his unbeaten streak in the G1 Climax, EVIL, and Tetsuya Naito defending the contract he won for a shot at said title at Wrestle Kingdom 12 against Okada's Chaos stablemate Tomohiro Ishii.
NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling 2017 (October 9, 1AM Pacific / 4AM Eastern)
- Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Leo Tonga, & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, & SANADA)
- Chaos (Hirooki Goto & Toru Yano) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre, Jr.)
- Funky Future (Ricochet & Ryusuke Taguchi) (c) vs. Roppongi 3K (??? & ???) (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship)
- Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer) (c) vs. War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe) (IWGP Tag Team Championship Elimination Match)
- Bullet Club (Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, & Marty Scurll) vs. Chaos (Beretta, Jado, & YOSHI-HASHI)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe vs. Juice Robinson & Kota Ibushi
- KUSHIDA (c) vs. Will Ospreay (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)
- Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (G1 Climax Championship Contract)
- EVIL vs. Kazuchika Okada (c) (IWGP Heavyweight Championship)
There you have it, folks
Excited to wake up at butt o'clock for this one, Cagesiders?