Power Struggle 2020: WrestleFile Historical Verdict

Toru Yano retained the provisional KOPW 2020 trophy against Zack Sabre Jr. in the no-corner-pads opening match by count-out at 12:11. The exposed turnbuckles created the unusual stipulation, but the decisive turn came outside: while Sabre worked on Yano's leg around the ringside guardrail, Yano tied Sabre's shoelaces together so he could not return before the referee's count. Yano got back into the ring and kept the provisional prize without pinning or submitting the challenger. This was a comic, stipulation-specific retention, not a NEVER Openweight title match. Shingo Takagi would win that separate championship from Minoru Suzuki immediately afterward. The B- grade recognizes the finish's ingenuity and its distinct tone, although viewers seeking conventional technical wrestling will find more of that in KENTA-Tanahashi or the two later title-rights matches.

Shingo Takagi defeated Minoru Suzuki with Last of the Dragon in 18:56 to win the NEVER Openweight Championship at Power Struggle 2020. Unlike most of the later matches on the card, this was an actual championship change, not a successful defense or a victory for a challenger-rights certificate. Suzuki entered as NEVER champion; Shingo left with that title. The match followed Toru Yano's special KOPW count-out win over Zack Sabre Jr., making the change an early substantive event result before the longer Tokyo Dome qualification stories. A B score recognizes a physical singles title contest and an unequivocal finish, with Suzuki's loss documented through the pin rather than a submission. The championship outcome should not be confused with Tetsuya Naito's simultaneous IWGP heavyweight and Intercontinental title defense in the Osaka main event.

Kazuchika Okada defeated Great-O-Khan by referee stoppage in 12:58 after applying the Money Clip. The result was a non-title singles encounter in Osaka, not an IWGP Heavyweight Championship defense; Tetsuya Naito held that championship alongside the Intercontinental belt and defended both against EVIL later on this show. A stoppage is neither a routine pinfall nor proof that Great-O-Khan submitted, so the finish deserves its own designation. Great-O-Khan's return to New Japan was an important development leading into Wrestle Kingdom 15, but this individual match did not award a Tokyo Dome challenge certificate either. The C+ assessment recognizes the showcase and clear official result while preserving the difference between the established veteran and the newly returned challenger.

KENTA retained his right to challenge for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship by submitting Hiroshi Tanahashi with the Game Over in 19:57. This was a defense of a future championship opportunity, not of the U.S. title itself: the title and the challenge-rights certificate are different things. KENTA's victory kept him in control of that opportunity heading toward Wrestle Kingdom 15, while Tanahashi failed to take it from him. This match followed Okada's stoppage victory over Great-O-Khan and preceded Jay White versus Kota Ibushi, another contest for future Tokyo Dome title rights. The B grade reflects a long, consequential singles meeting without falsely awarding a belt to either man on this evening. The specific Game Over submission also distinguishes KENTA's result from the pinfall in the next contest.

Jay White pinned Kota Ibushi with a backslide in 18:47 to take the Tokyo Dome challenge-rights certificate for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships. Ibushi had won the G1 Climax 30 and carried that certificate into Power Struggle, making this an unusually consequential loss for a tournament winner. White's victory transferred the right to challenge, not the two championship belts; Naito was still champion and defended both against EVIL in the main event. It was a pinfall rather than the submission used by KENTA against Tanahashi in the preceding U.S. title-rights contest. The B grade reflects the high stakes of White overtaking Ibushi on the road to Wrestle Kingdom 15 without erasing Ibushi's earlier tournament win or prematurely declaring White the IWGP champion.

Tetsuya Naito defeated EVIL in 33:08 with Destino to retain both the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Those were two distinct championships defended together, not a newly merged title or a singles match in which EVIL won either belt. The Osaka main event closed a six-match event with three notable different results beforehand: Shingo Takagi had taken the NEVER Openweight title from Minoru Suzuki, KENTA had preserved his U.S. championship challenge-rights certificate, and Jay White had won Ibushi's Tokyo Dome double-title challenge opportunity. Naito's retention therefore fixed the champion for the next stage even as the identity of the Tokyo Dome challenger shifted earlier in the night. The B+ score recognizes the length and title stakes without treating rights-certificate matches as completed championship switches.