Power Struggle (2016)

Power Struggle (2016) is an upcoming professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The event is scheduled to take place on November 5, 2016, in Osaka, Osaka, at the Edion Arena Osaka. It will be the sixth event under the Power Struggle name, main evented by Tetsuya Naito defending the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Michael Elgin. So far, six matches have been announced for the event.

Storylines
Power Struggle will feature professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.

Power Struggle will be headlined by a four match series involving members of the villainous Los Ingobernables de Japon (L.I.J.) stable taking on representatives of NJPW. In the main event, L.I.J. leader Tetsuya Naito is scheduled to defend the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Michael Elgin. This is a rematch from the September 25 Destruction in Kobe event, where Naito defeated Elgin to become the new IWGP Intercontinental Champion. Following the win, Naito began disrespecting the title belt, stating he did not want it, throwing it in the air and stepping on it, drawing the ire of Elgin. On October 10 at King of Pro-Wrestling, Elgin pinned Naito in an eight-man tag team match and afterwards stated he was getting the IWGP Intercontinental Championship back. The match was officially announced the following day. However, that same day, it was also reported that Elgin had suffered a broken left eye socket taking a dropkick from Naito in the King of Pro-Wrestling match. It has not yet been determined whether he needs a surgery, which would force a change in the Power Struggle main event. The Power Struggle match would be the third match between Naito and Elgin with Naito having won both of the previous matches.

Another title match will see Katsuyori Shibata defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against L.I.J. member EVIL. After successfully defending the title against Kyle O'Reilly at King of Pro-Wrestling, Shibata was confronted by Pro Wrestling Noah representative Go Shiozaki, seemingly setting him up as the next title challenger. However, after Shiozaki had left the ring, Shibata was attacked by Evil, who laid him out and then posed with the NEVER Openweight Championship belt. The following day, NJPW announced that Evil would get the title shot at Power Struggle, while Shiozaki would get Shibata in a non-title match at Noah's October 23 event. Shibata and Evil previously met during August's G1 Climax, where Evil was victorious, ending Shibata's hopes of advancing to the finals of the tournament.

The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship will also be defended at Power Struggle with defending champion, L.I.J. member BUSHI, taking on challenger Kushida. This is a rematch from the September 17 Destruction in Tokyo event, where Bushi defeated Kushida to capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Afterwards, Bushi publicly complained about NJPW's policy of automatic rematches, indicating he did not want to face Kushida in a rematch. However, after laying out Kushida following an eight-man tag team match at King of Pro-Wrestling, Bushi nominated Kushida as his next challenger as Kushida was being stretchered out of the arena. NJPW stated that Kushida would miss all events on the Power Struggle tour, excluding the Power Struggle event itself, with a neck injury.

The fourth match in the L.I.J. versus NJPW series will see Hiroshi Tanahashi taking on L.I.J. member SANADA. The two previously faced off during the 2016 G1 Climax, where Sanada scored an upset win over Tanahashi, submitting him with the Skull End finishing hold on the opening day. On October 8, Tanahashi pinned Sanada in an eight-man tag team match and afterwards stated he wanted another singles match with him.

Power Struggle's fourth title match will see the Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa) defend the IWGP Tag Team Championship against CHAOS members Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi. On October 10 at King of Pro-Wrestling, Tonga and Roa defeated The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) to recapture the IWGP Tag Team Championship. Following the match, Tonga and Roa, along with their Bullet Club stablemates The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson), continued attacking the previous champions. This led to Tomohiro Ishii, whose Chaos stable had previously partnered with the Briscoes, trying to make the save, but was stopped by Tonga and Roa hitting him with their double-team finishing maneuver, the Guerrilla Warfare. Afterwards, Ishii recruited Chaos stablemate Yoshi-Hashi as his partner to try to capture the IWGP Tag Team Championship from Tonga and Roa.

Power Struggle will also feature the finals of the fifth annual Super Jr. Tag Tournament. The first round of the tournament takes place on October 21 and the semifinals on October 30.