NJPW Burning Spirit notes: Hikuelo, IWGP United States Championship

Some notes from Sunday morning’s NJPW Burning Spirit event in Kobe.

Hikuelo turned on Jay White during Sunday’s show, aligning himself with his brother Tama Tonga. Meanwhile, a match between Zack Sabre Jr. and Tetsuya Naito was set for NJPW Royal Quest, where the winner will face Will Ospreay for the IWGP United States Championship.

After Ospreay successfully defended the IWGP United States title against David Finaly, Naito came out and issued a challenge to Ospreay. Before Ospreay could answer, Sabre came out and mentioned that it was him who defeated Ospreay during the New Japan Cup tournament this year, and therefore he should be champion. Eventually, Sabre figured out a plan without consulting Ospreay where he and Naito would face off at NJPW Royal Quest in London, and the winner would be next to face Ospreay. Ospreay didn’t have a chance to reply as both of his future potential opponents left before he could get a word in.

Earlier in the show, Karl Anderson successfully defended the NEVER Openweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi. After the match, Jay White and Doc Gallows jumped Tanahashi. Tama Tonga came to the ring, and soon did his brother, Hikuleo. After Hikuleo saw both Tonga and White in the ring, he chose to help his brother, throwing White into Tonga who delivered a gun stun. The segment ended with Tonga posing with the IWGP World Heavyweight title, while Hikuelo posed with the NEVER Openweight title.