IWGP Junior Heavyweight title match set for NJPW Destruction in Ryogoku
“Speedball” Mike Bailey and Lio Rush are getting their IWGP Junior Heavyweight title shots in a three-way match.
NJPW has announced that Hiromu Takahashi will put his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on the line against Bailey and Rush at Destruction in Ryogoku. The show is taking place on Monday, October 9 and will air live on NJPW World.
Bailey and Rush were both set up as the next challengers for Takahashi at NJPW’s events in Philadelphia this past weekend. At All Star Junior Festival USA, Bailey won a one-night tournament and then called out Takahashi for a title match.
Takahashi & Bailey then teamed together in a loss to Rush & Trey Miguel at NJPW x Impact Multiverse United. Rush pinned Takahashi after hitting a low blow. With the win, Rush also declared that he wanted a shot at Takahashi’s championship.
Bailey has a victory over Takahashi from when they faced off in NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament earlier this year.
Rush is the current Impact Wrestling X-Division Champion.
An IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team title match with KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight challenging Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney has also been added to Destruction in Ryogoku. Plus, there will be a singles match between Tanga Loa and Chase Owens.
Here’s the updated card:
- IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA defends against EVIL
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defends against Mike Bailey and Lio Rush in a three-way match
- NEVER Openweight Champion David Finlay defends against Tama Tonga
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney defend against KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight
- Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions Gabe Kidd & Alex Coughlin defend against El Phantasmo & Hikuleo
- Tanga Loa vs. Chase Owens
- Best-of-seven series finale: Shota Umino, Master Wato & Yuji Nagata vs. Ren Narita, El Desperado & Minoru Suzuki (if necessary)
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.