NJPW News: Major title change takes place at Kizuna Road
What's the story?
At tonight's NJPW: Kizuna Road show, another major title change took place, as the Bullet Club duo of El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships from Roppongi 3K.
In case you didn't know...
Roppongi 3K initially made their debut on 9th October 2017 at the King of Pro Wrestling event when CHAOS member Rocky Romero introduced Soh and Yoh as the newest Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team of CHAOS and brought them back to NJPW in the process as well.
Shortly within their debut, Roppongi 3K won the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Titles from Funky Future (Ricochet and Rysuke Taguchi) but weren't able to keep hold of the titles for too long. At this year's Wrestle Kingdom 13 show, Shingo Takagi and Bushi won the titles and following their first successful defense against former champions El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, the LIJ duo was challenged to another title match by RPG 3K.
At NJPW's 47th Anniversary show, Roppongi 3K won back the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships for the third time, as they defeated the team of Shingo Takagi and Bushi.
The heart of the matter
At the recently concluded Best of the Super Juniors 26 finals, the Bullet Club Jr. trio of El Phantasmo, Robbie Eagles, and Taiji Ishimori defeated the trio of Roppongi 3K and Ryusuke Taguchi when Phantasmo pinned Sho after stealing the pin from Eagles.
After the match, Phantasmo grabbed the IWGP Jr. Tag Titles and celebrated with Ishimori, as the duo earned themselves a shot at the belts. Fast forward to tonight's Kizuna Road show, Phantasmo and Ishimori once again came out victorious in the main event, as ELP pinned Yoh after hitting the CR II, following a Bloody Cross from Ishimori.
This victory also marks Phantasmo's first title win NJPW, making him a current double champion in the process and with the win, the Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles are now also back in the Bullet Club for the first time since the days of The Young Bucks.
What's next?
The Bullet Club is now in possession of both the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight and the IWGP Tag Team Titles, as well. The faction will now shift their focus on the remaining Kizuna Road shows and will also keep an eye out for the upcoming Southern ShowDown tour in Australia.