NEVER_(professional_wrestling)
NEVER (professional wrestling)
Professional wrestling pay-per-view event series
NEVER was a series of professional wrestling events held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) between August 2010 and November 2012. On July 12, 2010, NJPW officially announced the NEVER project, which was to highlight younger up-and-coming talent and outside wrestlers not signed to the promotion.[1][2] It was explained that the name of the project was an acronym of the terms "New Blood", "Evolution", "Valiantly", "Eternal" and "Radical".[1] For the events, NJPW recruited several freelancers as well as wrestlers signed to promotions such as DDT Pro-Wrestling and Kaientai Dojo. Some outsiders who became NEVER regulars included Daisuke Sasaki, Kaji Tomato, Madoka, Ryuichi Sekine and Shinobu. Kushida, who entered NEVER as a representative of the Smash promotion in February 2011, signed a NJPW contract the following month and returned to the project the following September, now representing NJPW.[3] Three NJPW trainees; Hiromu Takahashi, Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu, made their professional wrestling debuts at NEVER events. Takahashi, who debuted at NEVER.1, was the only wrestler who wrestled on all thirteen NEVER events.
| NEVER | |
|---|---|
Logo of the NEVER events | |
| Promotions | New Japan Pro-Wrestling |
| First event | NEVER.1 |
| Last event | NEVER: Shodai NEVER Musabetsu Kyu Oza Kettei Tournament Final |
| Event gimmick | Showcase for new and younger talent |
On October 5, 2012, NJPW announced that NEVER was going to get its own championship, the NEVER Openweight Championship.[2][4][5] The title was originally scheduled to be defended exclusively at NEVER events, but this plan was quickly changed and since its foundation, the title has been defended on the undercards of NJPW events.[4][6] NJPW has not held a single NEVER event since the tournament, which crowned the first NEVER Openweight Champion on November 19, 2012.[7] A second NEVER title, the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship, was announced on December 21, 2015, with the first champions crowned on January 4, 2016.[8]
On July 18, 2015, NJPW announced "Lion's Gate", a project with a theme similar to NEVER,[9] which held its first show on February 25, 2016.[10]
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held | Location | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NEVER Openweight Championship | EVIL | 3 | January 20, 2023 | 3+ | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, | [11] |
| NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship | CHAOS | 1 | May 3, 2023 | 74+ | Wrestling Dontaku | [12] |
NEVER.1
| NEVER.1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | August 24, 2010[13] | ||
| City | Tokyo, Japan[13] | ||
| Venue | Shin-Kiba 1st Ring[13] | ||
| Attendance | 300[13] | ||
| NEVER chronology | |||
| |||
The first NEVER event was held on August 24, 2010, in Tokyo at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.[13] The event featured five matches, which involved six outsiders; Taishi Takizawa from Kaientai Dojo, Kazuhiro Tamura from Style-E, Yusuke Kodama from Smash, Shinobu from 666 and freelancers Osamu Namiguchi and Madoka.[13] The opening match of the event featured the professional wrestling debut of Hiromu Takahashi.[13]
| No. | Results[13] | Stipulations | Times[13] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyosuke Mikami defeated Hiromu Takahashi | Singles match | 08:28 |
| 2 | Taishi Takizawa defeated King Fale | Singles match | 11:23 |
| 3 | Ryusuke Taguchi and Taichi defeated Kazuhiro Tamura and Yusuke Kodama | Tag team match | 10:50 |
| 4 | Tomohiro Ishii defeated Osamu Namiguchi | Singles match | 11:01 |
| 5 | No Limit (Tetsuya Naito and Yujiro Takahashi) defeated Madoka and Shinobu | Tag team match | 18:04 |
NEVER.2
| NEVER.2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | September 16, 2010[14] | ||
| City | Osaka, Japan[14] | ||
| Venue | Sekaikan[14] | ||
| Attendance | 200[14] | ||
| NEVER chronology | |||
| |||
The second NEVER event was held on September 16, 2010, in Osaka at the Sekaikan theater.[14] The event featured five matches, which involved five outsiders; Takuya Tomakomai from Dragon Gate, Daisuke Harada and Tadasuke from Osaka Pro Wrestling and freelancers Yohei Nakajima and Yosuke Takii.[14]
| No. | Results[14] | Stipulations | Times[14] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyosuke Mikami defeated Hiromu Takahashi | Singles match | 06:59 |
| 2 | Tama Tonga defeated King Fale | Singles match | 08:12 |
| 3 | Taichi and Tomoaki Honma defeated Takuya Tomakomai and Yohei Nakajima | Tag team match | 12:04 |
| 4 | Hirooki Goto defeated Daisuke Harada | Singles match | 08:28 |
| 5 | No Limit (Tetsuya Naito and Yujiro Takahashi) defeated Tadasuke and Yosuke Takii | Tag team match | 14:24 |
NEVER.3
| NEVER.3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | October 8, 2010[15] | ||
| City | Tokyo, Japan[15] | ||
| Venue | Shin-Kiba 1st Ring[15] | ||
| Attendance | 250[15] | ||
| NEVER chronology | |||
| |||
The third NEVER event was held on October 8, 2010, in Tokyo at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.[15] The event featured six matches, which involved seven outsiders; Keisuke Ishii from DDT Pro-Wrestling, Keita Yano from Battlarts, Shinobu from 666, Tomato Kaji and Taishi Takizawa from Kaientai Dojo and freelancers Daisuke Sasaki and Madoka.[15]
| No. | Results[15] | Stipulations | Times[15] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keisuke Ishii defeated Hiromu Takahashi | Singles match | 06:43 |
| 2 | Tomoaki Honma defeated King Fale | Singles match | 08:12 |
| 3 | Tama Tonga defeated Daisuke Sasaki | Singles match | 11:12 |
| 4 | Tomohiro Ishii defeated Keita Yano | Singles match | 13:29 |
| 5 | Madoka and Shinobu defeated Kyosuke Mikami and Ryusuke Taguchi | Tag team match | 17:39 |
| 6 | No Limit (Tetsuya Naito and Yujiro Takahashi) defeated Tomato Kaji and Taishi Takizawa | Tag team match | 16:47 |
NEVER.4
| NEVER.4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | November 18, 2010[16] | ||
| City | Tokyo, Japan[16] | ||
| Venue | Shin-Kiba 1st Ring[16] | ||
| Attendance | 450[16] | ||
| NEVER chronology | |||
| |||
The fourth NEVER event was held on November 18, 2010, in Tokyo at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.[16][17] The event featured six matches, which involved six outsiders; Keisuke Ishii from DDT Pro-Wrestling, Jun Ogawauchi from Secret Base, Shinobu from 666 and freelancers Antonio Honda, Madoka and Daisuke Sasaki.[16] The event featured Hiroyoshi Tenzan's return match, after being sidelined for fifteen months with a back injury.[16][17]
| No. | Results[16][17] | Stipulations | Times[16] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keisuke Ishii defeated Hiromu Takahashi | Singles match | 07:04 |
| 2 | Tama Tonga defeated King Fale | Singles match | 07:53 |
| 3 | Tomoaki Honma defeated Jun Ogawauchi | Singles match | 10:40 |
| 4 | Tomohiro Ishii defeated Daisuke Sasaki | Singles match | 11:56 |
| 5 | Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Antonio Honda | Singles match | 13:07 |
| 6 | No Limit (Tetsuya Naito and Yujiro Takahashi) defeated Madoka and Shinobu | Tag team match | 16:01 |
NEVER.5
| NEVER.5 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | February 24, 2011[18] | ||
| City | Tokyo, Japan[18] | ||
| Venue | Shin-Kiba 1st Ring[18] | ||
| Attendance | 350[18] | ||
| NEVER chronology | |||
| |||
The fifth NEVER event was held on February 24, 2011, in Tokyo at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.[18] The event featured seven matches, which involved six outsiders; Kazuki Hirata from DDT Pro-Wrestling, Shigehiro Irie from Team Dera, Shinobu from 666, Kushida from Smash and freelancers Daisuke Sasaki and Madoka.[18] In the opening match, Hiromu Takahashi, six months after his debut match, picked up his first professional wrestling win over Hirata.[18]
| No. | Results[18] | Stipulations | Times[18] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hiromu Takahashi defeated Kazuki Hirata | Singles match | 06:48 |
| 2 | King Fale defeated Kyosuke Mikami | Singles match | 09:12 |
| 3 | Tomoaki Honma defeated Shigehiro Irie | Singles match | 09:37 |
| 4 | Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Daisuke Sasaki | Singles match | 13:28 |
| 5 | Yujiro Takahashi defeated Shinobu | Singles match | 09:02 |
| 6 | Madoka defeated Taichi | Singles match | 09:44 |
| 7 | Tetsuya Naito defeated Kushida | Singles match | 17:30 |
NEVER.6: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament
| NEVER.6: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | April 7, 2011[19] April 8, 2011[20] | ||
| City | Tokyo, Japan[19][20] | ||
| Venue | Shin-Kiba 1st Ring[19][20] | ||
| Attendance | (April 7) 250[19] (April 8) 300[20] | ||
| NEVER chronology | |||
| |||
The sixth NEVER event, subtitled "Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament", was held over two days on April 7 and 8, 2011, in Tokyo at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.[19][20] During the events, NJPW held two single-elimination tournaments, with both winners earning spots in the 2011 Best of the Super Juniors tournament.[19][20] Both events featured eight matches and thirteen outsiders; Kazuki Hirata, Keisuke Ishii, Ken Ohka and Shinichiro Tominaga from DDT Pro-Wrestling / Union Pro Wrestling, Kaji Tomato, Marines Mask and Ryuichi Sekine from Kaientai Dojo, Shinobu from 666, Kazuhiro Tamura from Style-E and freelancers Daisuke Sasaki, Madoka, Osamu Namiguchi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi.[19][20]
- April 7
| No. | Results[19][21] | Stipulations | Times[19] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keisuke Ishii defeated Hiromu Takahashi | Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B | 08:18 |
| 2 | Ryuichi Sekine defeated Kyosuke Mikami | Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A | 08:56 |
| 3 | Shinobu defeated Kaji Tomato | Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B | 08:32 |
| 4 | Madoka defeated Kazuki Hirata | Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B | 08:53 |
| 5 | Kazuhiro Tamura defeated Marines Mask | Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A | 04:21 |
| 6 | Daisuke Sasaki defeated Shinichiro Tominaga | Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A | 10:08 |
| 7 | Tsuyoshi Kikuchi defeated Ken Ohka | Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A | 08:18 |
| 8 | Taichi defeated Osamu Namiguchi | Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B | 08:48 |
- April 8
| No. | Results[20][22] | Stipulations | Times[20] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daisuke Sasaki defeated Ryuichi Sekine | Singles match; semifinals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A | 05:52 |
| 2 | Tsuyoshi Kikuchi defeated Kazuhiro Tamura | Singles match; semifinals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A | 07:14 |
| 3 | Taichi defeated Keisuke Ishii | Singles match; semifinals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B | 04:15 |
| 4 | Madoka defeated Shinobu | Singles match; semifinals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B | 09:13 |
| 5 | Hiromu Takahashi and Kyosuke Mikami defeated Kazuki Hirata and Shinichiro Tominaga | Tag team match | 10:11 |
| 6 | Chaos (Gedo, Jado, Tetsuya Naito and Yujiro Takahashi) defeated Kaji Tomato, Ken Ohka, Marines Mask and Osamu Namiguchi | Eight-man tag team match | 15:50 |
| 7 | Daisuke Sasaki defeated Tsuyoshi Kikuchi | Singles match; finals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A | 14:26 |
| 8 | Taichi defeated Madoka | Singles match; finals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B | 17:45 |
- Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A
| First round | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Kyosuke Mikami | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Ryuichi Sekine | 08:56[19] | |||||||||||||
| Ryuichi Sekine | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Daisuke Sasaki | 05:52[20] | |||||||||||||
| Daisuke Sasaki | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Shinichiro Tominaga | 10:08[19] | |||||||||||||
| Daisuke Sasaki | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Tsuyoshi Kikuchi | 14:26[20] | |||||||||||||
| Tsuyoshi Kikuchi | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Ken Ohka | 08:18[19] | |||||||||||||
| Tsuyoshi Kikuchi | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Kazuhiro Tamura | 07:14[20] | |||||||||||||
| Kazuhiro Tamura | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Marines Mask | 04:21[19] | |||||||||||||
- Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B
| First round | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Hiromu Takahashi | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Keisuke Ishii | 08:18[19] | |||||||||||||
| Keisuke Ishii | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Taichi | 04:15[20] | |||||||||||||
| Taichi | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Osamu Namiguchi | 08:48[19] | |||||||||||||
| Taichi | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Madoka | 17:45[20] | |||||||||||||
| Madoka | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Kazuki Hirata | 08:53[19] | |||||||||||||
| Madoka | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Shinobu | 09:13[20] | |||||||||||||
| Shinobu | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Kaji Tomato | 08:32[19] | |||||||||||||
NEVER.7: Go to the Next Level
| NEVER.7: Go to the Next Level | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | September 21, 2011[23] | ||
| City | Osaka, Japan[23] | ||
| Venue | Sekaikan[23] | ||
| Attendance | 200[23] | ||
| NEVER chronology | |||
| |||
The seventh NEVER event, subtitled "Go to the Next Level", was held on September 21, 2011, in Osaka at the Sekaikan theater.[23] The event featured six matches and for the first time included no outsiders.[23]
| No. | Results[23] | Stipulations | Times[23] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Takaaki Watanabe | Singles match | 10:26 |
| 2 | Yujiro Takahashi defeated Kyosuke Mikami | Singles match | 08:37 |
| 3 | Hideo Saito defeated King Fale | Singles match | 08:19 |
| 4 | Toru Yano defeated Hiromu Takahashi | Singles match | 08:53 |
| 5 | Hirooki Goto defeated Tama Tonga | Singles match | 10:32 |
| 6 | Tetsuya Naito defeated Kushida | Singles match | 12:35 |
NEVER.8: Go to the Next Level
| NEVER.8: Go to the Next Level | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | February 10, 2012[24] | ||
| City | Osaka, Japan[24] | ||
| Venue | Sekaikan[24] | ||
| Attendance | 220[24] | ||
| NEVER chronology | |||
| |||
The eighth NEVER event, also subtitled "Go to the Next Level", was held on February 10, 2012, in Osaka at the Sekaikan theater.[24] The event featured seven matches, which involved one outsider; freelancer Shoichi Uchida.[24] The event featured King Fale's farewell match, before going on an overseas learning excursion.[24]
| No. | Results[24] | Stipulations | Times[24] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kushida defeated Shoichi Uchida | Singles match | 08:32 |
| 2 | Yoshi-Hashi defeated Takaaki Watanabe | Singles match | 08:08 |
| 3 | Captain New Japan defeated Gedo | Singles match | 07:46 |
| 4 | Toru Yano defeated Hiromu Takahashi | Singles match | 06:54 |
| 5 | Karl Anderson defeated Tama Tonga | Singles match | 09:59 |
| 6 | Yuji Nagata defeated King Fale | Singles match | 08:14 |
| 7 | Yujiro Takahashi defeated Tomoaki Honma | Singles match | 11:48 |
NEVER.9: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament 1st.
| NEVER.9: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament 1st. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | April 13, 2012[25] | ||
| City | Tokyo, Japan[25] | ||
| Venue | Shin-Kiba 1st Ring[25] | ||
| Attendance | 250[25] | ||
| NEVER chronology | |||
| |||
NEVER.9: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament 1st. was held on April 13, 2012, in Tokyo at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.[25] The event saw the start of a single-elimination tournament, where the winner would earn a spot in the 2012 Best of the Super Juniors tournament.[25] The event featured six matches, which involved six outsiders; Hiro Tonai, Kaji Tomato and Ryuichi Sekine from Kaientai Dojo, Yusuke Kodama from Wrestling New Classic (WNC) and freelancers Black Tiger and Madoka.[25]
| No. | Results[25] | Stipulations | Times[25] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryuichi Sekine defeated Takaaki Watanabe | Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament | 07:45 |
| 2 | Black Tiger defeated Yusuke Kodama | Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament | 08:23 |
| 3 | Hiro Tonai defeated Hiromu Takahashi | Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament | 07:48 |
| 4 | Madoka defeated Kaji Tomato | Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament | 09:38 |
| 5 | Suzuki-gun (Taichi and Taka Michinoku) defeated Gedo and Jado | Tag team match | 12:50 |
| 6 | Chaos (Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano) defeated Captain New Japan and Tetsuya Naito | Tag team match | 09:29 |
NEVER.9: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament Final
| NEVER.9: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | April 15, 2012[26] | ||
| City | Tokyo, Japan[26] | ||
| Venue | Shin-Kiba 1st Ring[26] | ||
| Attendance | 250[26] | ||
| NEVER chronology | |||
| |||
NEVER.9: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament Final was held on April 15, 2012, in Tokyo at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.[26] The event featured the semifinals and finals of a single-elimination tournament, where the winner would earn a spot in the 2012 Best of the Super Juniors tournament.[26] The event featured six matches, which involved six outsiders; Hiro Tonai, Kaji Tomato and Ryuichi Sekine from Kaientai Dojo, Yusuke Kodama from Wrestling New Classic (WNC) and freelancers Black Tiger and Madoka.[26] The winner of the tournament, Black Tiger, never entered the 2012 Best of the Super Juniors, as on May 25 NJPW publicly fired the character's performer Kazushige Nosawa, a day after he had been arrested under suspicion of smuggling cannabis.[27]
| No. | Results[26] | Stipulations | Times[26] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madoka defeated Hiro Tonai | Singles match; semifinals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament | 08:49 |
| 2 | Black Tiger defeated Ryuichi Sekine | Singles match; semifinals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament | 06:29 |
| 3 | Yoshi-Hashi defeated Takaaki Watanabe | Singles match | 09:05 |
| 4 | Chaos (Gedo, Jado and Tomohiro Ishii) defeated Captain New Japan, Kaji Tomato and Yusuke Kodama | Six-man tag team match | 15:02 |
| 5 | Suzuki-gun (Taichi and Taka Michinoku) defeated Hiromu Takahashi and Kushida | Tag team match | 14:08 |
| 6 | Black Tiger defeated Madoka | Singles match; finals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament | 09:56 |
- Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament
| First round | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Hiromu Takahashi | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Hiro Tonai | 07:48[25] | |||||||||||||
| Hiro Tonai | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Madoka | 08:49[26] | |||||||||||||
| Madoka | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Kaji Tomato | 09:38[25] | |||||||||||||
| Madoka | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Black Tiger | 09:56[26] | |||||||||||||
| Takaaki Watanabe | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Ryuichi Sekine | 07:45[25] | |||||||||||||
| Ryuichi Sekine | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Black Tiger | 06:29[26] | |||||||||||||
| Yusuke Kodama | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Black Tiger | 08:23[25] | |||||||||||||
NEVER: Inaugural NEVER Openweight Championship Tournament 1st Round
| NEVER: Inaugural NEVER Openweight Championship Tournament 1st Round | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | November 15, 2012[28] | ||
| City | Tokyo, Japan[28] | ||
| Venue | Shibuya-AX[28] | ||
| Attendance | 250[28] | ||
| NEVER chronology | |||
| |||
NEVER: Inaugural NEVER Openweight Championship Tournament 1st Round was held on November 15, 2012, in Tokyo at Shibuya-AX.[28][29] The event featured the start of a tournament to determine the inaugural NEVER Openweight Champion.[28] The event featured nine matches, which involved six outsiders; Hiro Tonai, Kengo Mashimo, Ryuichi Sekine, Shiori Asahi and Taishi Takizawa from Kaientai Dojo and freelancer Daisuke Sasaki.[28] Technically, Masato Tanaka was an outsider, being signed to Pro Wrestling Zero1, but due to having been a regular for NJPW for several years, he was co-billed as a representative of the NJPW stable Chaos.[30] The opening match of the event saw the professional wrestling debut of Sho Tanaka.[30]
| No. | Results[28][29] | Stipulations | Times[28] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Takaaki Watanabe defeated Sho Tanaka | Singles match | 04:53 |
| 2 | Shiori Asahi defeated Hiromu Takahashi | Singles match; first round in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 06:14 |
| 3 | Yoshi-Hashi defeated Ryuichi Sekine | Singles match; first round in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 07:14 |
| 4 | Taishi Takizawa defeated Captain New Japan | Singles match; first round in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 07:22 |
| 5 | Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Hiro Tonai | Singles match; first round in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 08:19 |
| 6 | Tomohiro Ishii defeated Daisuke Sasaki | Singles match; first round in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 08:39 |
| 7 | Kengo Mashimo defeated Bushi | Singles match; first round in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 08:02 |
| 8 | Karl Anderson defeated Yujiro Takahashi | Singles match; first round in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 11:12 |
| 9 | Masato Tanaka defeated Kushida | Singles match; first round in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 13:02 |
NEVER: Inaugural NEVER Openweight Championship Tournament Final
| NEVER: Inaugural NEVER Openweight Championship Tournament Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | November 19, 2012[30] | ||
| City | Tokyo, Japan[30] | ||
| Venue | Shibuya-AX[30] | ||
| Attendance | 300[30] | ||
| NEVER chronology | |||
| |||
NEVER: Inaugural NEVER Openweight Championship Tournament Final was held on November 19, 2012, in Tokyo at Shibuya-AX.[30][31] The event featured the second round, semifinals and finals of a tournament to determine the inaugural NEVER Openweight Champion.[30] The event featured ten matches, involving the same wrestlers who had taken part in the "1st Round" event four days earlier.[30] The opening match of the event saw the professional wrestling debut of Yohei Komatsu.[30] In the main event of the show, Masato Tanaka defeated Karl Anderson to win the tournament and become the first NEVER Openweight Champion.[30][32][33] NJPW has not held a single NEVER event since.[7]
| No. | Results[30][31] | Stipulations | Times[30] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Takaaki Watanabe defeated Yohei Komatsu | Singles match | 06:48 |
| 2 | Kengo Mashimo defeated Ryusuke Taguchi | Singles match; second round in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 07:54 |
| 3 | Karl Anderson defeated Shiori Asahi | Singles match; second round in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 03:59 |
| 4 | Masato Tanaka defeated Taishi Takizawa | Singles match; second round in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 04:28 |
| 5 | Tomohiro Ishii defeated Yoshi-Hashi | Singles match; second round in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 06:57 |
| 6 | Karl Anderson defeated Kengo Mashimo | Singles match; semifinals in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 06:14 |
| 7 | Masato Tanaka defeated Tomohiro Ishii | Singles match; semifinals in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 10:47 |
| 8 | Yujiro Takahashi defeated Captain New Japan | Singles match | 05:55 |
| 9 | Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi and Kushida defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Hiro Tonai and Ryuichi Sekine | Six-man tag team match | 11:12 |
| 10 | Masato Tanaka defeated Karl Anderson | Singles match; finals in the NEVER Openweight Championship tournament | 14:11 |
- NEVER Openweight Championship tournament
| First round | Second round | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Karl Anderson | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Yujiro Takahashi | 11:12[28] | ||||||||||||||
| Karl Anderson | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Shiori Asahi | 03:59[30] | ||||||||||||||
| Hiromu Takahashi | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Shiori Asahi | 06:14[28] | ||||||||||||||
| Karl Anderson | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Kengo Mashimo | 06:14[30] | ||||||||||||||
| Ryusuke Taguchi | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Hiro Tonai | 08:19[28] | ||||||||||||||
| Ryusuke Taguchi | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Kengo Mashimo | 07:54[30] | ||||||||||||||
| Bushi | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Kengo Mashimo | 08:02[28] | ||||||||||||||
| Karl Anderson | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Masato Tanaka | 15:12[30] | ||||||||||||||
| Kushida | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Masato Tanaka | 13:02[28] | ||||||||||||||
| Masato Tanaka | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Taishi Takizawa | 04:28[30] | ||||||||||||||
| Captain New Japan | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Taishi Takizawa | 07:22[28] | ||||||||||||||
| Masato Tanaka | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Tomohiro Ishii | 10:47[30] | ||||||||||||||
| Tomohiro Ishii | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Daisuke Sasaki | 08:39[28] | ||||||||||||||
| Tomohiro Ishii | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Yoshi-Hashi | 06:57[30] | ||||||||||||||
| Yoshi-Hashi | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Ryuichi Sekine | 07:14[28] | ||||||||||||||
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- 天山がどん底から1年3カ月ぶりに復帰！ファンの大声援を受けて男泣きした天山だが、次なる標的に小島聡を指名！. Battle News (in Japanese). November 18, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
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