| Invasion Attack 2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster for the event, featuringTetsuya Naito,Kazuchika Okada,Hiroshi Tanahashi andShinsuke Nakamura | |||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | April 6, 2014[1] | ||
| City | Tokyo,Japan[1] | ||
| Venue | Ryōgoku Kokugikan[1] | ||
| Attendance | 8,500[1] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Invasion Attack/Sakura Genesis chronology | |||
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| New Japan Pro-Wrestling events chronology | |||
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Invasion Attack 2014 was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) event promoted byNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on April 6, 2014, inTokyo atRyōgoku Kokugikan. The event featured nine matches, five of which were contested forchampionships.[1][2][3] It was the second event under theInvasion Attack name.
Invasion Attack 2014 featured nineprofessional 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]
In the first title match,The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) defended theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship againstEl Desperado andKota Ibushi.[1] El Desperado and Ibushi had faced off in anIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match at February'sThe New Beginning in Osaka, where, following Ibushi's win, he was challenged by Nick Jackson.[5] This led to a singles title match between the two for April 3, where Ibushi was victorious,[6][7] and a tag team title match three days later, where The Young Bucks made their third successful title defense.[1] In the second title match,Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan andSatoshi Kojima) won theNWA World Tag Team Championship for the first time, defeating the returningNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) teamThe IronGodz (Jax Dane andRob Conway).[1]
The midcard of the event featured a major storyline development involving theBullet Clubstable. One year after the break-up ofApollo 55, Bullet Club leaderPrince Devitt andRyusuke Taguchi faced off in a singles grudge match, during which The Young Bucks turned on Devitt, after he told them not to interfere in the match. After Taguchi had won the match, he and Devitt shook hands and ended theirstoryline rivalry with each other.[8] After the following match,A.J. Styles debuted as the newest member of Bullet Club, attackingIWGP Heavyweight ChampionKazuchika Okada.[9]
The third title match sawTomohiro Ishii defend theNEVER Openweight Championship againstTetsuya Naito.[1] Following The New Beginning in Osaka, where Ishii defeated Naito to win the title,[5][10] Naito had avenged the loss by defeating Ishii in both the first round of the2014 New Japan Cup and a six-man tag team match, which set up the title rematch,[11][12] where Ishii made his first successful defense.[1] Following his win, Ishii was challenged byKushida.[13] The semi-main event featured Bullet Club representativesDoc Gallows andKarl Anderson defending theIWGP Tag Team Championship againstHirooki Goto andKatsuyori Shibata.[1] The two teams previously faced off in a non-title match on March 5 at NJPW's 42nd anniversary event, where Goto and Shibata were victorious.[14] In addition, Goto and Shibata eliminated both Gallows and Anderson from the2014 New Japan Cup in their first round matches.[15] Anderson and Gallows, however, were victorious in the title match, making their second successful defense.[1] Finally, in the main event,Hiroshi Tanahashi defended theIWGP Intercontinental Championship against previous championShinsuke Nakamura in a rematch of both January'sWrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome and February'sThe New Beginning in Hiroshima.[12] Nakamura had earned the right to challenge for either the IWGP Intercontinental or the IWGP Heavyweight Championship after winning the 2014 New Japan Cup, but opted to try to end his two-match losing streak against Tanahashi.[12][16] In the end, Nakamura was victorious, winning the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the third time.[1] Post-match, Nakamura was challenged byDaniel andRolles Gracie, whileKazushi Sakuraba offered to form a tag team with him.[1]
The day after Invasion Attack 2014, NJPW announced Prince Devitt's resignation from the promotion,[17] while also naming Ryusuke Taguchi and A.J. Styles the number one contenders to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight and Heavyweight Championships, respectively.[18][19]