NJPW issued the following:
Great-O-Khan and HENARE take IWGP gold
The first of Powewr Struggle’s four championship matchups on
Watch the replay!
The match kicked off with Great-O-Khan and Shane Haste squaring off, with O-Khan demonstrating his impressive grappling and submission skills. Soon, he brought in HENARE, adding his hard-hitting strikes to the mix.
Still carrying tension from their past encounter in the G1, Mikey Nicholls and HENARE reignited their rivalry, trading brutal strikes. But Nicholls made a costly mistake by breaking the golden rule: never headbutt an Islander. The impact left Nicholls busted open, blood streaming down his forehead, and finding himself on the receiving end of a Berserker Bomb. Yet, Nicholls responded instantly, refusing to back down.
With both fresh tag partners reentering the ring, the match reverted to its initial pace, with O-Khan taking charge through his expert submission tactics, targeting Haste’s arm to control the tempo. However, O-Khan allowed Haste enough time to regroup, and TMDK soon countered with fierce tandem offense, putting United Empire on the back foot.
Just as the momentum seemed to favor TMDK, HENARE made a timely return to the ring, shifting the narrative. In a decisive moment, he secured victory for United Empire with the Imperial Drop, capturing the belts and entering Tag Team League season as champions.