Invasion Attack 2016

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**Invasion Attack 2016** was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on April 10, 2016, in Tokyo at Ryōgoku Kokugikan, and featured nine matches, six of which were contested for championships. The main event saw the winner of the 2016 New Japan Cup, Tetsuya Naito defeat Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The event aired worldwide on New Japan Pro Wrestling World and featured English commentary, provided by Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino. In addition, the event also aired in Japan as a PPV through SKY PerfecTV!. Invasion Attack 2016 was the fourth and last event under the Invasion Attack name, before the event was renamed Sakura Genesis in 2017.

## Production

### Storylines

Invasion Attack 2016 featured nine professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

On February 22, 2016, NJPW announced the 2016 New Japan Cup, stating that the winner of the tournament would get to choose whether to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (held by Kazuchika Okada), the IWGP Intercontinental Championship (held by Kenny Omega) or the NEVER Openweight Championship (held by Katsuyori Shibata) at Invasion Attack 2016. On March 12, Tetsuya Naito won the tournament, defeating Hirooki Goto in the finals, and afterwards announced he was challenging Okada for his title. Though he initially stated that he would not cash in his shot at Invasion Attack 2016, Naito changed his mind after a request from Okada. The match was officially confirmed by NJPW two days later. In an interview following his New Japan Cup win, Naito stated that his true opponent at Invasion Attack 2016 was not Okada, but NJPW owner Takaaki Kidani and booker Gedo. This would mark Naito's first shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship since Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome in January 2014, where he unsuccessfully challenged Okada for the title. Prior to Invasion Attack 2016, Okada and Naito had faced off in six singles match with both having won three of them. The match marked Okada's fourth title defense and a chance for Naito to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the first time.

On January 30, 2016, it was reported that British wrestler Will Ospreay had signed with NJPW and would debut at Invasion Attack 2016. On March 3, Ospreay was announced as the newest member of the CHAOS stable. Appearing in a video, he proceeded to challenge KUSHIDA to a match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, vowing to become the first British holder of the title. The match was officially announced on March 14.

On February 14 at The New Beginning in Niigata, G.B.H. (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma) made their first successful defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championship against previous champions, Bullet Club's Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson. After the match, Anderson and Gallows' stablemate Tama Tonga entered the ring and challenged Makabe and Honma, announcing that his partner would be a new member of Bullet Club. The challenge was accepted by the champions. On March 3, Tonga scored the biggest win of his career by defeating Makabe in the first round of the 2016 New Japan Cup. On March 12, Tonga also pinned Honma in a six-man tag team match and then revealed that his partner would be his real-life brother Tevita Fifita. On March 14, NJPW officially announced the match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship between G.B.H. and the "Guerrillas of Destiny" team of Tonga and the newly renamed Tanga Roa. The match would mark the NJPW debut of the brother team, who had previously wrestled together as the "Sons of Tonga". Roa made his surprise debut on March 27, attacking Makabe during his match with Tonga, which led to him being added to matches on the last three "Road to Invasion Attack 2016" events.

On March 14, NJPW announced that at Invasion Attack 2016 Matt Sydal and Ricochet would make their first defense of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship against former champions Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero). Prior to the event, it was reported that Ricochet was WWE bound and that behind the scenes NJPW was looking for a new partner for Sydal.

The rest of the matches were announced on March 22. Two title matches were added to the event, contested for the NEVER championships. First, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson), representing Bullet Club and its sub-group The Elite, were set to defend the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin and Yoshitatsu. Tanahashi and Elgin previously challenged The Elite for the title on March 20, teaming with Juice Robinson, but were defeated when Robinson was pinned. This match would mark Yoshitatsu's first NJPW match since November 2014, when he was sidelined with a broken neck, suffered in a match with then Bullet Club leader A.J. Styles. Yoshitatsu, who had dubbed himself the "Bullet Club Hunter" prior to his injury, stated that his goal of taking down Bullet Club had not changed. In the other match, Katsuyori Shibata was set to defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Hiroyoshi Tenzan. On February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka, NJPW veterans Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata came together and proclaimed their intention of showing that they, the so-called "third generation", could still perform at a top level. As part of the new movement, Kojima announced his intention of challenging Katsuyori Shibata for the NEVER Openweight Championship. The match took place on March 19 and saw Shibata retain his title. Afterwards, Tenzan entered the ring and challenged Shibata to a title match, which was made official for Invasion Attack 2016 three days later. The match would mark Tenzan's first shot at a singles NJPW title since October 2006.

Also added was a tag team match in the rivalry between the Chaos and *Los Ingobernables de Japón* (L.I.J.) stables, which would see the former's Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii take on the latter's BUSHI and EVIL. On February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka, Goto unsuccessfully challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, setting a new NJPW record with his eighth loss in as many shots at the title. After the match Okada praised Goto and offered him a spot in his Chaos stable, essentially as a replacement for former leader Shinsuke Nakamura, who had recently left NJPW. Over the next month, Okada made several invitations to Goto, but was turned down each time with Goto stating that it would not make sense for him to form a partnership with Okada as he would again challenge him for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship if he were able to win the New Japan Cup. After losing to Tetsuya Naito in the tournament's finals on March 12, Goto was attacked by Naito and his L.I.J. stable, which led to Okada running out and chasing them away. Afterwards, Goto finally shook Okada's hand and accepted his invitation, becoming the newest member of Chaos. With Okada and Naito set to main event Invasion Attack 2016, Chaos and L.I.J. continued their rivalry during the Road to Invasion Attack 2016 tour, which also featured Goto's first match as a member of Chaos and Tomohiro Ishii successfully defending the ROH World Television Championship against EVIL.

## Event

In the first title match of the event, Roppongi Vice defeated Matt Sydal and Ricochet to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. The win marked the second title reign for Roppongi Vice and a record-tying sixth reign for Rocky Romero. In the next match, Kushida made his third successful defense of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against the debuting Will Ospreay. After the match, Kushida accepted a challenge from Jushin Thunder Liger, who stated his intention of becoming a 12-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. In the third title match, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin and Yoshitatsu defeated Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson, with Elgin pinning Nick, to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. During the match, Nick Jackson dove from one of the arena's balconies with a swanton bomb onto a group of six wrestlers, which included Cody Hall, who had accompanied his Bullet Club stablemates to the ring. Afterwards, Hall was carried out on a stretcher after suffering what was believed to be a stinger. After the match, Elgin had a confrontation with Omega, seemingly setting up a match for Omega's IWGP Intercontinental Championship between the two. After the other participants had left the ringside area, Tanahashi was attacked by Bullet Club member Bad Luck Fale. In the other NEVER title match, Katsuyori Shibata made his third successful defense of the NEVER Openweight Championship against Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Following the win, Shibata kicked Yuji Nagata, who had accompanied Tenzan to the ring, setting up his next challenger. In the semi-main event, the Guerrillas of Destiny defeated G.B.H. to bring the IWGP Tag Team Championship back to Bullet Club.

The main event featured Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Tetsuya Naito. After referee Red Shoes Unno was knocked out of the match, Naito's L.I.J. stablemates Bushi and Evil entered the ring and attacked Okada, but were eventually taken out by the champion. Then a man in a mask entered the ring and attacked Okada, before unmasking himself as Seiya Sanada. Okada managed to avoid Naito's finishing maneuver, the *Destino*, and looked for his own finishing maneuver, the *Rainmaker*, but Naito countered that into a *Destino* to win the match and become the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion. After the match, L.I.J. continued attacking Okada until they were sent out of the ring by Okada's Chaos stablemates Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii. Before leaving the ring and allowing NJPW to present Naito with his title, Ishii had a staredown with the new champion. After being given the title belt, Naito attacked Red Shoes Unno, thanked the fans in attendance for their support and stated that L.I.J., now made up of himself, Bushi, Evil and Sanada, had taken over NJPW. Naito then threw the belt down and left the ring without it to close the show.

## Reception

In his review of the event, Dave Meltzer of the *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* gave the highest rating of four and a half stars out of five to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match, calling it a "fantastic debut for Ospreay", adding that even though the NJPW crowd was not familiar with Ospreay, they "immediately realized he was something special". He gave his second highest rating of four and a quarter stars to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship matches. Meltzer also noted how the NJPW crowd was firmly behind the heel Naito in the main event, after rejecting him in 2013 when he was a face and was being groomed to main event Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome. He added that in turning Naito heel by having him copy the successful *Los Ingobernables* concept from the Mexican CMLL promotion, NJPW had given WWE the "blueprint" on its "Roman Reigns fan reaction issue". Overall, Meltzer praised the booking of the show, stating that "every single result made sense".

Sean Radican of *Pro Wrestling Torch* gave the show an overall score of 8.5, praising in particular the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team, IWGP Junior Heavyweight and IWGP Heavyweight Championship matches, giving the latter two his highest match ratings of the show, four and a quarter stars out of five.

Larry Csonka of *411Mania* gave the show an overall score of 9, stating that it was "a big show that came off as an important show", calling the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team and Heavyweight Championship matches "great" and the match between Kushida and Ospreay a "match of the year contender". He, however, also called the IWGP Tag Team Championship match "a failure on every level", stating that Roa "failed on the big stage, just as he failed on the smaller stage in TNA", adding that he "pulled Tonga down to his level".

## References

1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `InvasionAttack2016`
2. ↑ Caldwell, James 2016-01-04. New Japan announces 2016 Schedule . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-03-02.
3. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2016-01-03. Wrestle Kingdom 10 live results: Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-03-02.
4. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (March 28, 2016). "March 28, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Hogan wins Gawker lawsuit, MMA legalized in NY, Wrestlemania weekend preview, more". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 31. ISSN 1083-9593.
5. ↑ ja:新日本プロレス 16.4.10 両国大会 (in Japanese). *SKY PerfecTV!*. Archived from the original on 2016-04-09. Retrieved on 2016-04-09.
6. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. How Pro Wrestling Works . *HowStuffWorks, Inc.*. Discovery Communications. Retrieved on 2016-03-02.
7. ↑ ja:『New Japan Cup』1回戦、3.3大田区全カード決定！棚橋vsファレ、石井vsEvil、内藤vsYoshi、永田vs後藤！小島vs本間！ (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-02-22). Archived from the original on 2016-02-22. Retrieved on 2016-03-02.
8. ↑ Caldwell, James 2016-02-22. New Japan Cup announced – ROH star included, tourney details, first round . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-03-02.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Rose, Bryan 2016-03-12. New Japan Cup Finals results: Cup winner crowned; build to Invasion Attack . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-03-12.
10. ↑ *ja:【新日ＮＪＣ】内藤哲也が初制覇　４・１０両国でＩＷＧＰ挑戦へ* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-03-13). Retrieved on 2016-03-12.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 ja:【4.10両国・主要カード決定！】オカダvs内藤のIWGPヘビー戦がついに実現！ タマ・トンガが兄弟タッグ結成！ Kushidavsオスプレイ！リコシェ＆サイダルが防衛戦！ (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-03-14). Archived from the original on 2016-03-14. Retrieved on 2016-03-14.
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13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 *ja:【IV16】「両国はメインで大丈夫？」「一番の敵はオカダじゃなく木谷オーナー」『NJC 』覇者”内藤哲也が、またもや“制御不能”発言連発！【3.15記者会見】* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-03-14). Retrieved on 2016-03-22.
14. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (March 21, 2016). "March 21, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: UFC 196 breaks records, New Japan Cup, WWE Road Block". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 10. ISSN 1083-9593.
15. ↑ *ja:プロレス　オカダ「ボクが新日本守る」* (in Japanese). *Daily Sports Online*. Kobe Shimbun (2016-04-08). Retrieved on 2016-04-08.
16. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2016-01-30. NJPW-bound Will Ospreay loses planned TNA push - Updated . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-03-02.
17. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2016-03-03. NJPW New Japan Cup results: Big announcements, first round of matches . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-03-03.
18. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2016-02-13. NJPW New Beginnings: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kenny Omega for the IWGP IC Title . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-03-12.
19. ↑ *ja:＜ＩＷＧＰタッグ＞真壁、本間組が初防衛* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-02-15). Retrieved on 2016-03-12.
20. ↑ Macklin, Matthew 2016-03-03. 3/3 New Japan Cup first round report . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2016-03-12.
21. ↑ New Japan Cup 2016  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-03-12.
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 New Japan sets big title matches for “Invasion Attack” tour, including ROH TV Title match . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2016-03-15). Retrieved on 2016-03-15.
23. ↑ *ja:【IA16】“渦中の男”タマ・トンガにインタビュー！「俺にとって最大のチャンス！ Bullet Clubの“穴”は俺たちが埋めるしかない！」ウワサの“弟”タンガ・ロアとは？* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-03-26). Retrieved on 2016-03-26.
24. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2016-03-27. NJPW Road to Invasion Attack results: New Japan vs. Bullet Club best of 5 series . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-03-28.
25. ↑ *ja:【IA16】タマ・トンガの“弟”タンガ・ロアが、4月1日（金）後楽園大会、4月2日（土）蓮田大会、4月5日（火）みなかみ大会に緊急参戦！一部カードが変更！* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-03-28). Retrieved on 2016-03-28.
26. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (April 11, 2016). "April 11, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: A look at a historic Wrestlemania weekend, NXT Takeover". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 65. ISSN 1083-9593.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 27.6 ja:【IA16】4月10日（日）両国大会・全カード！柴田vs天山がNEVER王座戦で激突！“電撃復帰”ヨシタツが棚橋＆エルガンと、ケニー＆ヤングバックスの6人タッグ王座に挑戦！ (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-03-22). Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved on 2016-03-22.
28. ↑ Caldwell, James 2016-03-22. New Japan – Yoshi Tatsu cleared to wrestle again, big return match announced, plus six title matches on April 10 show . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved on 2016-03-22.
29. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2016-03-21. New Japan Road to Invasion Attack results: ROH TV Champion Ishii vs. Evil . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-03-22.
30. ↑ Caldwell, James 2014-11-24. NJPW news: Yoshitatsu injury update - could be out one year . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-03-22.
31. ↑ *ja:ケニー　復帰ヨシタツの再破壊予告* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-03-25). Retrieved on 2016-03-25.
32. ↑ *ja:新日４・１０両国でヨシタツ復帰* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-03-23). Retrieved on 2016-03-23.
33. ↑ The New Beginning in Osaka  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-03-22.
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35. ↑ *ja:Ｖ２柴田がＮＥＶＥＲ王座の改名を予告* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-03-20). Retrieved on 2016-03-22.
36. ↑ *ja:ＮＥＶＥＲ王座挑戦の天山が必勝を誓うワケ* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-03-26). Retrieved on 2016-03-26.
37. ↑ *ja:ＩＷＧＰ戦８連敗ショック…後藤洋央紀まさかの引退危機* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-02-22). Retrieved on 2016-03-22.
38. ↑ 2/11 New Japan "New Beginning in Osaka" Results – Okada defends IWGP World Title, two big title changes . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2016-02-11). Retrieved on 2016-03-22.
39. ↑ *ja:オカダ完勝Ｖ３！後藤を返り討ち* (in Japanese). *Daily Sports Online*. Kobe Shimbun (2016-02-12). Retrieved on 2016-03-22.
40. ↑ *ja:洋央紀 オカダからの「Chaos」勧誘を一刀両断New Japan Cup 2016* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-03-10). Retrieved on 2016-03-22.
41. ↑ *ja:【新日ＮＪＣ】２年連続準Ｖの後藤　失意の中「Chaos」入り決断* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-03-13). Retrieved on 2016-03-22.
42. ↑ *ja:Chaosで初陣 洋央紀「後藤ワールド作る」* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-03-20). Retrieved on 2016-03-22.
43. ↑ *ja:石井がEvil返り討ち!ROH世界TV王座3度目の防衛* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-03-21). Retrieved on 2016-03-22.
44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 44.3 44.4 44.5 44.6 44.7 Meltzer, Dave 2016-04-09. NJPW Invasion Attack live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Championship . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-04-10.
45. ↑ *ja:【新日・両国】ＩＷＧＰジュニアタッグ ロメロ、バレッタ組が王座返り咲き* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-04-11). Retrieved on 2016-04-11.
46. ↑ Jr. Heavy tag weight class  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-04-10.
47. ↑ *ja:【新日・両国】IWGPジュニアV3のKushidaがライガーの挑戦を快諾* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-04-11). Retrieved on 2016-04-11.
48. ↑ *ja:【新日・両国】首負傷から約１年半ぶり復帰 ヨシタツが６人タッグ王者に* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-04-11). Retrieved on 2016-04-11.
49. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2016-04-10. Cody Hall believed to be OK after scare at Invasion Attack . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-04-10.
50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 50.2 50.3 Caldwell, James 2016-04-10. 4/10 NJPW “Invasion Attack 2016” PPV Report – Okada vs. Naito, Ospreay’s debut, more big title matches . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-04-10.
51. ↑ *ja:【新日・両国】柴田がＮＥＶＥＲ王座Ｖ３！天山をＰＫ葬* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-04-11). Retrieved on 2016-04-11.
52. ↑ *ja:【新日・両国】ＩＷＧＰタッグはトンガ＆ロア兄弟が新王者* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-04-11). Retrieved on 2016-04-11.
53. ↑ *ja:【新日・両国】ＩＷＧＰ初戴冠の内藤を復活へ導いた魔法の言葉とは* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-04-11). Retrieved on 2016-04-11.
54. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (April 18, 2016). "April 18, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Blackjack Mulligan and Balls Mahoney pass away, NJPW Invasion Attack". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 13–18. ISSN 1083-9593.
55. ↑ Radican, Sean 2016-04-23. Radican's New Japan “Invasion Attack 2016” PPV Blog – Naito wins IWGP World Title, even more title changes, Ospreay debuts; Overall Reax . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-04-24.
56. ↑ Csonka, Larry 2016-04-10. Csonka’s NJPW Invasion Attack Review 4.10.16 . *411Mania*. Retrieved on 2016-05-30.
57. ↑ Tees, David 2016-04-10. Complete New Japan Invasion Attack live coverage . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2016-04-10.