Naito versus Sabre Jr. in addition to Takagi versus Oiwa at Ryōgoku.
Closing out NJPW Destruction in Kobe was the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match between Great-O-Khan and the champion Tetsuya Naito.
It was Naito’s first defense since defeating Jon Moxley at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door to win the title back. Naito was successful in his defense over O-Khan. With that victory, it was made official that at King of Pro-Wrestling on October 14th, Naito will put the belt on the line against G1 Climax 34 winner Zack Sabre Jr.
If Sabre Jr. is to win, he’ll take the belt to his home country of England to defend against SANADA at NJPW Royal Quest IV. Sabre Jr. made his way out to the ring to talk to the current champion. As he was doing so, newly crowned NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi joined the mix to inquire about challenging for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title. In early September, Naito agreed to give Shingo a shot at the belt.
Entering the picture was the newest member of TMDK, Ryohei Oiwa. He called out Shingo for a NEVER Title match at King of Pro-Wrestling and the challenge was accepted.
Circling over to Naito for his show closing comments, he pondered who’ll be the challenger to the IWGP World Heavyweight Title if he is to best Sabre Jr. Both Takagi and Hiromu Takahashi were nearby when he said that and he looked at both Los Ingobernables de Japon members.
Here’s the updated King of Pro-Wrestling lineup:
- IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
- Místico vs. Hiromu Takahashi
- NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Ryohei Oiwa
