NJPW Resurgence 2024 is scheduled to take place on May 11th, 2024, at the Toyota Arena in Toronto, California. The main card is scheduled to start at 10:00 pm EST, right after AEW Collision stops airing. This card will feature multiple matches that could have huge implications for NJPW in the future, especially Forbidden Door.
Multiple championships will be on the line, including Jon Moxley defending his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Jeff Cobb will also be defending his newly won NJPW World Television Championship, hoping to make a successful first defense. Here is a preview of some of the marquee matches on this card, including the main event.
Non-Title Matches
Tetsuya Naito and Yota Tsuji of LIJ will take on David Finlay and Kenta of Bullet Club in a tag team match that will continue the faction vs faction feud. This feud has been going on since the Wrestling Dontaku tour shows began, so it’s not surprising to see this tag team match on the card.
It would also not be shocking to see the two leaders of the factions, Naito and Finlay, have a 1 on 1 match before an eventual blowoff between the two groups. If that match were to happen, Finlay would likely put his recently claimed IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship on the line.
Hiroshi Tanahashi will take on Zack Sabre Jr in a standard singles match. These two faced off at Wrestle Kingdom for the NJPW Television title in which Tanahashi became the new champion. Sabre eventually won it back, from Matt Riddle, before dropping it to Jeff Cobb at Dontaku. It would be interesting to see ZSJ get revenge by claiming a win over Tanahashi.
Championship Matches
Jeff Cobb will defend his newly won NJPW World Television Championship against AEW’s Lance Archer. This is a match that would have a shocking result if Archer won the title, but it’s safe to say that will not be the case here and that Cobb will make a successful defense out of his championship.
LIJ’s Shingo Takagi will defend his NEVER Openweight Championship against Just 5 Guys faction member Yuya Uemura. The two factions have been feeding on-off ever since March 2023, when Sanada left LIJ to join J5G. Yuya joined the faction in late 2023 and even faced off against LIJ member Yota Tsuji at his first-ever Wrestle Kingdom. This is an unpredictable match that could very easily see either man winning.
Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston will take on Gabe Kidd in a No Ropes Last Man Standing match. This is a feud that has gotten personal over the past few months and with a stipulation like this, it could very well be the blowoff.
Gabe Kidd first challenged for the titles at Battle in the Valley in January, in a losing effort. This could very well be his moment, as it seems like they want to turn the young star into a legitimate singles competitor, and giving him the Strong title will certainly do that.
NJPW Resurgence: Main Event
The main event of Resurgence will see Jon Moxley defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Shota Umino. Moxley has been Shota’s mentor ever since he competed in the 2019 G1 Climax. They have teamed together at multiple events, whether that be AEW or NJPW. This time, it’s teacher vs student, where the world title will be on the line.
Moxley won the title at Windy City Riot after defeating former champion Tetsuya Naito in the main event of that PPV. He has become the main attraction for NJPW, especially regarding shows in the United States. It would be very interesting to see the direction New Japan takes for this, considering that Forbidden Door is around the corner.
If Shota wins, it would be his first-ever singles championship during his time with the company. It would also bring the IWGP title back “home”, as Moxley is not an NJPW wrestler and doesn’t compete at touring shows, something that was probably done deliberately.
If Moxley retains the championship, he will likely head into Forbidden Door with the title. It would be interesting to see if they put Moxley up against an AEW wrestler, considering he has a NJPW title. However, they could also go the other route, as although Mox has the title, he is still signed to AEW. A successful defense here will probably be the case, as it leads to a bigger potential story down the line.
About The Author
Shayan Malik has always been an avid fan of sports. He is currently studying sports communication, hoping to take his sports knowledge to the next level. He enjoys writing about combat sports and basketball.
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