On March 28, 2022, in a pre-taped vignette, Will Ospreay teased a new member for the United Empire for NJPW's junior heavyweight division as his protègè under the mysterious person dubbed "Bruciare" (Italian for "Burning"). On April 9 at Hyper Battle, Francesco Akira made his debut in New Japan Pro Wrestling, being revealed as the mysterious Ospreay's protègè, "Bruciare", who had been teased for the past month, before announcing his participation in the 2022 Best of the Super Juniors. Following the tournament, Akira and TJP formed a team as part of the United Empire's junior heavyweight divison.
Tag Team (2022-Present)[]
On June 3, Akira and TJP defeated reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team ChampionsSix or Nine (Master Wato and Ryusuke Taguchi) in a non-title match. Afterwards, both challenged Wato and Taguchi to a title match. In a rematch on June 20, Akira and TJP defeated Master Wato and Ryusuke Taguchi to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Shortly after, they named their team "Catch 2/2". Akira and TJP then defeated Wato and Taguchi in a rematch on September 25 to make their first sucessful title defense.
On October 10 at Declaration of Power, a mystery wrestler helped Los Ingobernables de Japón defeat United Empire, after Akira and TJP tried to unmask BUSHI. Following the match, the mystery wrestler was revealed to Titán, who joined L.I.J. This led to Catch 2/2 making their second sucessful title defense against BUSHI and Titán on November 5. From November 21 until December 11, Akira and TJP took part in the 2022 Super Jr. Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record six wins and three losses, but were left behind them in the final standings due to losing to the Bullet Club's Ace Austin and Chris Bey on the final day.
After Yoh and Lio Rush won the 2022 Super Jr. Tag League, Akira and TJP confronted Yoh and Rush shortly after. This led to a title match on January 4, at Wrestle Kingdom 17, where Akira and TJP defeated Yoh and Rush to make third sucessful title defense.
On January 5, 2023, Catch 2/2 and Will Ospreay faced Taichi, DOUKI and Yoshinobu Kanemaru facing in a losing effort. Following the match, Akira and TJP were challenged by DOUKI and Kanemaru to a title match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, before a brawl broke out between both sides. On February 4, at The New Beginning in Sapporo, Akira and TJP defeated DOUKI and Kanemaru to make fourth sucessful title defense.
On April 2, in a pre-taped vingette, KUSHIDA and Kevin Knight challenged Akira and TJP for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Two days later, in a pre-taped vingette, Akira and TJP answered KUSHIDA and Knight's challenge by mocking the them, before accepting their challenge. On April 27, Akira and TJP lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to Kevin Knight and KUSHIDA in their fifth title defense, ending their reign at 311 days. In May, Akira and TJP took part in the 2023 Best of the Super Juniors, wrestling in seperate blocks. Both men finished the tournament with a record of four wins and five losses, failling to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. During the tournament, Akira and Akira secured a direct victory over Knight and KUSHIDA, leading them to receive a rematch for the titles.
On June 4 at Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall, Akira and TJP defeated KUSHIDA and Knight in a rematch to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. After the match, they were confronted by Clark Connors, who teased a challenge alongside a mystery partner, before their United Empire stablemate, Dan Moloney, was revealed to be Connors' partner, after Moloney turned on them to join Bullet Club. On July 4 at NJPW Strong Independence Day, Akira and TJP lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney. From October 21 to November 2, Akira and TJP took part in the 2023 Super Jr. Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record six wins and three losses, advancing to the finals. On November 4 at Power Struggle, Akira and TJP defeated Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru in the finals to win the 2023 Super Jr. Tag League.
During the December 21 Korakuen show, the War Dogs mockingly brought a wooden coffin to ringside claiming "Catch 2/2 is dead". TJP then challenged both of them ahead of their match in January to a coffin match the next day. TJP and Akira lost the match after TJP was locked inside the coffin. On January 4, 2024, at Wrestle Kingdom 18, TJP returned as "The Aswang", a direct reference to the creature of Filipino folklore, emerging from the same coffin he was locked in back in December, debuting a new attire and a monstrous mask, also adding the red mist to his arsenal. Afterwards, he and Akira defeated Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the third time, only to lose it back to them a month later. In May, TJP and Akira took part in the 2024 Best of the Super Juniors with TJP wrestling in block A and Akira in block B. On May 22, it was announced that Akira would be pulled out of the tournament, after suffering an injury on his left knee in a block match against Drilla Moloney. As a result, he finished the tournament with a record of two wins and three losses, with the remaining of his matches being forfeited. Meanwhile, TJP advanced to the semifinals of the tournament, with a record of five wins and four losses. From October 24 to November 2, Akira and TJP took part in the 2024 Super Jr. Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record three wins and two losses, advancing to the finals. On November 4 at Power Struggle, Akira and TJP were defeated by Kosei Fujita and Robbie Eagles in the finals.
