Power Struggle & Super Jr. Tag League 2018: WrestleFile Historical Verdict

Taguchi Japan's Ryusuke Taguchi, Chris Sabin, ACH and Toa Henare defeated Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Volador Jr. and Soberano Jr. in 6:10 at the 2018 Power Struggle event. The brief eight-man opener combined New Japan regulars with visiting CMLL junior wrestlers before the Super Junior Tag League final later on the card. The result is a Taguchi Japan team victory, not a junior singles championship transfer or a Tag League final win. With only six minutes recorded, there is little basis to pretend the match developed an extended series of high-stakes reversals. The C rating reflects the roster variety and fast undercard role while keeping the outcome distinct from the subsequent title defenses and tournament final.

Bullet Club's Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Robbie Eagles defeated KUSHIDA, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma in 7:39 in the second match at Power Struggle 2018. Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa were established heavyweight tag teammates, while Eagles and KUSHIDA came from the junior division. Their mixed six-man placement helped connect heavyweight faction programs and junior rivalries without itself deciding either division's championships. The result should not be confused with the tournament final later in the show: Robbie Eagles' involvement here did not make this match the Super Junior Tag League final. Its short runtime and lack of a listed title change support the C grade. Crediting a specific pinning wrestler or move without a verified full finish account would add detail the underlying card record does not establish.

Kazuchika Okada and Beretta of CHAOS defeated Jay White and Bad Luck Fale in 4:32 at Power Struggle 2018. White's Bullet Club alliance made this pairing more than an anonymous early-card tag, but its brevity limits any claim that the four wrestlers settled their longer faction dispute here. Okada was not wrestling for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in this match, and the victory did not decide the Super Junior Tag League tournament. The C grade reflects a short and clearly recorded outcome with recognizable names but almost no time for the escalation associated with the subsequent title bouts. The historical value is seeing Okada and White on opposing sides before their larger singles rivalry, without attributing a later finish or championship to this 2018 tag.

Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi, competing as the Golden Lovers, beat Hiroshi Tanahashi and David Finlay in 9:47. This four-man contest positioned Omega and Tanahashi on opposite teams while their heavyweight championship story was developing, but it was not itself an IWGP title defense. The Golden Lovers' established chemistry and Tanahashi's participation gave the mid-card tag recognizable character within the show's larger promotion calendar. David Finlay teamed with Tanahashi, not Omega, and no junior Tag League point was awarded by this result. A C+ grade recognizes meaningful personnel and the recorded winning side without exaggerating what a sub-ten-minute tag established. The tag also sat immediately before the official Super Junior Tag League three-team final, which had separate competitors and stakes.

Roppongi 3K, SHO and YOH, won the 2018 Super Junior Tag League final against two opposing teams: El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru of Suzuki-gun and BUSHI and Shingo Takagi of Los Ingobernables de Japón. The 15:55 final was a three-team competition, not a conventional one-on-one tag rematch or an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship change that night. The outcome secured Roppongi 3K the tournament distinction after the league rather than merely adding another preliminary-round win. The B- score recognizes the multi-team stakes and the depth of the junior division while retaining a clear line between the tournament result and a later championship opportunity. The record supports SHO and YOH as winners; a particular fall or illegal interference spot requires specific additional sourced evidence.

Hirooki Goto defeated Taichi in 15:02 to regain the NEVER Openweight Championship. Unlike the preceding three-team junior Tag League final, this singles match actually transferred a title: Taichi entered as champion, and Goto left holding the NEVER belt. The championship was not the IWGP Intercontinental title, which Chris Jericho successfully defended against EVIL in the main event. Taichi's short reign and Goto's established connection to the NEVER division make the title switch a specific historical result rather than a generic mid-card success. The B- judgment recognizes a meaningful title outcome and a quarter-hour match without inventing the decisive finishing move. With several important title or tournament decisions on the same show, identifying which belts changed hands is essential to an accurate Power Struggle review.

Tomohiro Ishii retained the British Heavyweight Championship against Minoru Suzuki in 19:21. The belt being defended was the RevPro British Heavyweight title, not the IWGP Heavyweight or NEVER Openweight championships; Goto's NEVER title win occurred in the preceding match. Ishii and Suzuki's forceful heavyweight styles offered a longer singles feature after the fast-paced junior tournament final and the Taichi-Goto title switch. The B assessment reflects nearly twenty minutes of championship competition and the reputation of the challenger's physical approach, while the recorded outcome is still a successful Ishii defense. The match did not make Suzuki the new champion or determine the later Jericho-EVIL result. A reader following the event's title lineage needs that distinction more than a recycled promise of high stakes.

Tetsuya Naito defeated Zack Sabre Jr. in 20:12 in Power Struggle 2018's penultimate singles match. Sabre's submission-oriented approach put an established New Japan heavyweight contender opposite one of the promotion's most recognizable singles stars, but the result did not change a championship. Hirooki Goto had already taken the NEVER Openweight title from Taichi, and Chris Jericho still held the IWGP Intercontinental belt entering the final EVIL match. Naito's win gave him forward momentum without treating the bout as a Tag League elimination or championship defense. The B- rating reflects a substantial twenty-minute singles contest and the participants' complementary approaches, balanced against its non-title status. The archival result establishes winner and time; additional moves or near-falls should not be invented without a contemporaneous match report.

Chris Jericho retained the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against EVIL in 21:40 in the final match at Power Struggle 2018. Jericho was the defending titleholder, so this was a successful defense rather than EVIL's championship victory. The bout came after Naito defeated Zack Sabre Jr. and after the show had already crowned new NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto and Super Junior Tag League winners SHO and YOH. The Intercontinental championship was separate from both those outcomes and from Ishii's successful British title defense over Minoru Suzuki. Jericho's defense carried clear headline stakes and the longest recorded runtime among the closing singles attractions, supporting its B+ evaluation. The historical record supports the retention and timing without requiring an embellished account of every exchange.