Remember WWE’s tour of Japan last year, when Hulk Hogan presented Hideo Itami with a WWE contract? Unfortunately, Itami is now on the shelf with a shoulder injury, so it looks like he won’t see any in-ring action when WWE returns to his home country this July. But Japanese fans shouldn’t fret just yet because they’ll get to see the return of a different star: Finn Bálor. The WWE Japan website has announced the wrestlers who will be on this summer’s mini-tour, and Bálor will be joining the likes of John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, the Bella Twins, Neville, the Lucha Dragons, and fellow NXT standout Kevin Owens. Additionally, they announced Bálor’s match for the July 4 show, and it looks like he’ll be taking on Chris Jericho.
Bálor is an Irishman, but he became a star in New Japan Pro Wrestling as Prince Devitt. During his time with NJPW, he was a three-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and a two-time winner of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. If I’m reading the translation of WWE Japan’s announcement correctly, it looks like both confirmed shows are taking place at the legendary Ryōgoku Sumo Hall, which is probably a very welcome homecoming for Bálor. If you’ve seen his documentary Smack ‘Em Up, produced by Irish television channel RTE and detailing Bálor’s final tour with NJPW, you may remember just how much he enjoys performing at Ryōgoku. And if you haven’t seen it… well, I’m not going to post any links myself, but do a little digging online and you’ll find it. Trust me, it’s excellent. In any case, I’m just sad we won’t get to see the match with Jericho because I can’t think of a better in-their-prime junior heavyweight dream match. Maybe they’ll put it on the WWE Network if we all ask nicely. It’s a good thing Bálor left certain elements of his character in Japan because he has Jericho beaten in the light-up jacket game by a mile.
