Title bout added to Power Struggle.
NJPW announced Will Ospreay will defend his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against BUSHI at Power Struggle. The match was set-up during the recent Road to Power Struggle Tour.
This is a late addition to the card, with Ospreay’s challenger being a late addition to the Power Struggle tour. Perhaps, had EVIL not suffered an ankle injury bringing BUSHI onto the road, then this match would not be taking place, but he did, and it is. BUSHI proved extremely effective against Suzuki-Gun trios and quartets through the second half of the Road to Power Struggle tour, eventually asking Ospreay for a championship opportunity. Ospreay consented, but, explaining his schedule was a busy one, said that BUSHI would have to wait until after the Super Jr. tag League.
Not one to wait too long, BUSHI decided to bring matters into his own hands. Interfering in Birds of Prey’s match with El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru, BUSHI sprayed mist in the face of Ospreay, leading to the finish of the match and B.O.P’s elimination. Ospreay would grant BUSHI his title shot for Osaka, and may not be thinking straight with only two days to prepare; BUSHI meanwhile will look to balance a 1-2 record with the champion, and some painful memories at Power Struggle; it was, after all, at Power Struggle 2016 that his first IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship reign ended at the hands of KUSHIDA.
Here's a look at the full card for Power Struggle.
IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Jay White (c) vs. Hirooki GotoIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Will Ospreay (c) vs. BUSHINEVER Openweight Championship
KENTA (c) vs. Tomohiro IshiiTetsuya Naito vs. Taichi
Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Kota Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi
Super Junior Tag League Finals
Suzuki-Gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)Los Ingobernables De Japon (Shingo Takagi, SANADA & EVIL) vs. Suzuki-Gun (Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Junior)
CHAOS (Robbie Eagles & Rocky Romero) vs BULLET CLUB (El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori)
Yuya Uemura, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & Jyushin Thunder Liger vs Clark Connors, TJP, Titan & Volador Jr.
