Power Struggle (2016) | ||||
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Promotional poster for the event, featuring various NJPW wrestlers
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Information | ||||
Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | |||
Sponsor(s) | Sengoku Enbu –Kizna– | |||
Date | November 5, 2016 | |||
Attendance | 5,050 | |||
Venue | Edion Arena Osaka | |||
City | Osaka, Japan | |||
Event chronology | ||||
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Power Struggle chronology | ||||
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Power Struggle (2016) was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on November 5, 2016, in Osaka, Osaka, at the Edion Arena Osaka. It was the sixth event under the Power Struggle name and featured ten matches, main evented by Tetsuya Naito defending the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Jay Lethal.
Power Struggle featured ten professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.
Power Struggle was headlined by a four match series involving members of the villainous Los Ingobernables de Japon (L.I.J.) stable taking on representatives of NJPW. In the main event, L.I.J. leader Tetsuya Naito was originally scheduled to make his first defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Michael Elgin. This would have been a rematch from the September 25 Destruction in Kobe event, where Naito defeated Elgin to become the new IWGP Intercontinental Champion. Following the win, Naito began disrespecting the title belt, stating he did not want it, throwing it in the air and stepping on it, drawing the ire of Elgin. On October 10 at King of Pro-Wrestling, Elgin pinned Naito in an eight-man tag team match and afterwards stated he was getting the IWGP Intercontinental Championship back. The match was officially announced the following day. However, that same day, it was also reported that Elgin had suffered a broken left eye socket taking a dropkick from Naito in the King of Pro-Wrestling match. On October 12, Elgin confirmed he would need surgery on the eye. The following day, NJPW officially pulled Elgin from the Power Struggle main event and replaced him with Ring of Honor (ROH) wrestler Jay Lethal. Lethal had joined L.I.J. during a show co-produced by NJPW and ROH on February 20, 2016, however, the alliance ended on August 20, when he had a falling out with Naito. Afterwards, Lethal aligned himself with Elgin and the rest of the NJPW wrestlers not affiliated with any particular stable. On September 30 at ROH's All Star Extravaganza VIII event, Lethal defeated Naito in a non-title match, setting himself up for a future shot at the Intercontinental Championship, which was now granted due to Elgin's injury.