WWE News: WWE Japan To Be Stacked With Major, Intriguing Matches
“Card subject to change” has forever been and will forever be WWE’s built-in footnote in the event of an injury or a failed angle. So when the company heads to Japan for their two annual shows in Tokyo, the scheduled card as it stands now will, of course, be subject to change. If things stand in July as they do now, we’re looking at some very intriguing match-ups for two shows that may or may not be broadcast on the WWE Network. Here’s a look at the two cards for July 1 and 2 for WWE Japan, as reported by the Daily Wrestling News.
July 1st
- AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens vs. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
- John Cena vs. Chris Jericho
- Bray Wyatt vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
- Natalya vs. WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte
- The Usos vs. The Vaudevillains vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day
- Becky Lynch vs. WWE NXT Women’s Champion Asuka
- Titus O’Neil vs. Baron Corbin
July 2nd
- AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho vs. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
- John Cena vs. Kevin Owens
- Bray Wyatt vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
- Becky Lynch vs. WWE Women’s Champion Charlotte
- The Vaudevillains vs. WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day
- Natalya vs. NXT Women’s Champion Asuka
- The Usos vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
- Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin
As noted, it’s yet to be confirmed whether these shows will be made available to subscribers of the WWE Network. Given how special they look on paper, it’d be hard to imagine at least one wouldn’t be, especially considering last year’s Network special Beast in the East was the highest-rated Network event outside of the regularly-scheduled pay-per-views. On the other hand, that Beast represented Brock Lesnar, one of the company’s top draws, who does not appear on either of this year’s cards.
The main events in Japan this year will feature two triple threat matches, with Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho swapping spots for a singles match with John Cena. The superstar is supposed to face Shinsuke Nakamura in Hawaii, which the Inquisitr reported will not be aired on the WWE Network and will also not feature Lesnar. It had originally been reported that Jericho and Nakamura would wrestle one another, but those plans seem to have been scrapped. Outside of the compelling main events, the most anticipated match between both cards would have to be Bray Wyatt vs. Nakamura, who will wrestle each other on both shows.
This will be the first time the two have squared off (at least on WWE television), and WWE had been planning on a face-turn for the Eater of Worlds. Face vs. face matches haven’t been an issue for WWE, but Nakamura will almost certainly be a good guy on the main roster, so it will be interesting to track Wyatt’s path when he returns from injury.
The NXT Women’s Champion Asuka will also return to her home country and get the opportunity to face off with two main-roster women, Natalya and Becky Lynch. Those two will also swap spots with Charlotte waiting in the wings. It’s somewhat interesting to note that Roman Reigns, Charlotte, and The New Day are all advertised as being champions when WWE invades Japan. That might indicate they’ll all be retaining through July, or it may mean nothing. Again, the card is always subject to change.
It’ll definitely be worth keeping an eye on the reaction that Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson receive as well, as their most memorable work to date came in Japan as members of The Bullet Club in NJPW. The Club will compete in a fatal four-way tag team match on day one, followed by a straight-up tag match with their current rivals The Usos the following day. Both shows will emanate from the legendary Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
[Image via WWE]
