Finlay crashes the party.
The main event of NJPW Power Struggle featured Will Ospreay versus Shota Umino for the IWGP U.S. (U.K.) Heavyweight Championship. There was a point in the match when Ospreay was beating Umino down and Jon Moxley made his way to the ringside area to cheer Shota on. Moxley brawled with Great-O-Khan earlier in the show.
Despite the support from Moxley, Ospreay went on to defeat Umino to retain the titles. Ospreay then invited Moxley to the ring and put the IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Title in front of him. As the two were face-to-face, BULLET CLUB War Dogs’ David Finlay ambushed them both.
Finlay got on a microphone and picked up the U.S. belt and said when he’s in America, people say he’s Irish and then picked up the U.K. belt and said when he’s in the U.K., people say he’s American. Finlay then pulled out a mallet and destroyed both titles.
According to NJPW commentator Chris Charlton, Gedo stated that for Finlay’s ‘rebel era’, they’re going to make a new championship.
Ospreay gave comments on what occurred during his backstage interview. He said he was going to challenge Moxley for Wrestle Kingdom but with David Finlay involved, he now wants a three-way and said if they can’t bring back the IWGP Intercontinental Title, then it’ll be for a new belt.
Following that string of events, here’s the promoted lineup for Wrestle Kingdom 18:
- IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: SANADA (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
- Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) (c) vs. Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira & TJP)
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. El Desperado
- Three-Way for new NJPW Championship Belt: Will Ospreay vs. Jon Moxley vs. David Finlay (w/ Gedo)
