| King of Pro-Wrestling (2014) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Promotional poster for the event, featuring various NJPW wrestlers | |||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | October 13, 2014[1] | ||
| City | Tokyo,Japan[1] | ||
| Venue | Ryōgoku Kokugikan[1] | ||
| Attendance | 9,100[1] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| King of Pro-Wrestling chronology | |||
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| New Japan Pro-Wrestling events chronology | |||
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King of Pro-Wrestling (2014) was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) event promoted byNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on October 13, 2014, inTokyo atRyōgoku Kokugikan and featured ten matches, six of which were contested forchampionships.[1][2][3] It was the third event under theKing of Pro-Wrestling name.
King of Pro-Wrestling featured tenprofessional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds andstorylines. Wrestlers portrayedvillains,heroes, orless distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[4]
The entire card for the event was revealed on September 24, 2014, the day afterDestruction in Okayama.[5][6][7][8] The event featured two matches involving championships from theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA). In the first, the debutingChase Owens was set to defend theNWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship againstBushi. Owens' debut was announced in a vignette at Destruction in Okyama, after which he was instantly challenged by Bushi.[5] The second would feature the NJPW tag teamTencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan andSatoshi Kojima) making their fifth defense of theNWA World Tag Team Championship against previous championsK.E.S. (Davey Boy Smith Jr. andLance Archer).[5] At Destruction in Okayama, theTime Splitters (Alex Shelley andKushida) successfully defended theirIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship againstEl Desperado andTaichi, after which they were challenged by bothForever Hooligans (Alex Koslov andRocky Romero) andThe Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson), leading to King of Pro-Wrestling, where the three teams would face off in a three-way match for the title.[5] Meanwhile, El Desperado, who had attackedIWGP Junior Heavyweight ChampionRyusuke Taguchi atDestruction in Kobe,[9] was set to challenge Taguchi for the junior heavyweight singles title.[5] Also at Destruction in Okayama,Bullet Club'sYujiro Takahashi successfully defended theNEVER Openweight Championship againstChaos'Yoshi-Hashi, after which he was confronted by Yoshi-Hashi's stablemate, the previous NEVER Openweight ChampionTomohiro Ishii. At King of Pro-Wrestling Takahashi and Ishii were set to face off in another title match, a rematch from June 29 and the Kizuna Road 2014 event.[5][10]
In the semi-main event,Kazuchika Okada was booked to defend his certificate for anIWGP Heavyweight Championship match atWrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome, which he had obtained by winning the2014 G1 Climax, againstTetsuya Naito. During G1 Climax, Okada had been defeated by Naito, which resulted in him nominating Naito as his next challenger for the certificate.[5] In the main event, Bullet Club'sA.J. Styles would make his third defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship againstHiroshi Tanahashi. After failing to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Okada at the 2013King of Pro-Wrestling, Tanahashi announced that he was leaving the title picture. However, after defeatingKatsuyori Shibata at Destruction in Kobe, Tanahashi announced he was back and looking for a shot at A.J. Styles.[11] Tanahashi and Styles previously faced off in Ryōgoku Kokugikan on February 17, 2008, and more recently met in a special non-tournament singles match during the final day of the 2014 G1 Climax. Tanahashi won the match, but was afterwards attacked by Bullet Club's newest member,Jeff Jarrett.[5][12] Jarrett did not make another appearance for NJPW for two months, but was working behind the scenes on getting Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome broadcast on the American PPV market.[13] On September 29, Jarrett announced he was returning to NJPW at King of Pro-Wrestling.[14]
In the second match of the event, the debuting Chase Owens successfully defended the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship against Bushi. After the match, NWA president Bruce Tharpe, who had accompanied Owens to the ring, nominated NJPW wrestlerJyushin Thunder Liger as the next challenger for Owens' title.[1][15] In the following match, Tencozy's six-month reign as the NWA World Tag Team Champions came to an end as they were defeated by K.E.S. in their fifth title defense. Post-match, Kojima and Tenzan began arguing with each other, setting up a potential break-up storyline.[1][16] In the third title match of the event, Time Splitters made their third successful defense of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, defeating Forever Hooligans and The Young Bucks in a three-way match.[1] This was followed by Ryusuke Taguchi also successfully defending the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against El Desperado, despite a pre-match attack by El Desperado'sSuzuki-gun stablematesTaichi andTaka Michinoku. Following the match, Taichi and Michinoku attacked Taguchi once more.[1] In the fifth title match,Tomohiro Ishii became the first ever two-time NEVER Openweight Champion by defeating Yujiro Takahashi in his second title defense.[1][17] The event also featured a tag team match, whereHirooki Goto andKatsuyori Shibata defeatedShinsuke Nakamura and Yoshi-Hashi, with Shibata pinning Yoshi-Hashi for the win. After the match, Nakamura nominated Shibata as his next challenger for theIWGP Intercontinental Championship.[1][18]
In the semi-main event, 2014 G1 Climax winner Kazuchika Okada defeated 2013 G1 Climax winner Tetsuya Naito to retain his status as the number one contender to the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at theTokyo Dome.[1] Finally, in the main event, A.J. Styles, accompanied by Jeff Jarrett, defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi. Towards the end of the match, as Jarrett went to interfere in the match,Yoshitatsu made his return to NJPW after a seven-year stint inWWE and stopped his attempt.[19] This was followed by Tanahashi hitting Styles with theHigh Fly Flow to win the match and become the IWGP Heavyweight Champion for the record-breaking seventh time.[1][20][21] The event concluded with Tanahashi having a staredown with Kazuchika Okada, setting up the main event for Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome.[1]
Dave Meltzer of theWrestling Observer Newsletter called the show "excellent", giving the highest rating of four and a half stars out of five to the NEVER Openweight Championship match, calling it "the best singles match with Takahashi that [he had] ever seen". Meltzer gave the lowest rating of two stars to the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship match, writing that the debuting Chase Owens "seemed out of his league here, both in look and work". Overall, Meltzer called King of Pro-Wrestling "excellent show by most standards", while also noting that NJPW had produced better shows earlier in the year, calling the matches before the intermission (matches 1–6) "so-so".[22] In reviewing the show for thePro Wrestling Torch, Sean Radican gave the highest rating of four and a half stars out of five to both the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match and the match between Okada and Naito. Overall, Radican called the show "amazing".[23]