War of the Worlds '15 was a two-day

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

supershow co-produced by the American

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was s ...

(ROH) and Japanese

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority sha ...

(NJPW) promotions. The events took place on May 12 and 13, 2015, at the

2300 Arena 2300 Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania used primarily for professional wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, and concert events. Originally known as Viking Hall, the venue has since been named Alhambra Aren ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, U.S. Both nights were released by ROH on

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

(VOD) the following week. War of the Worlds '15 was the second annual

War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...

event co-produced by ROH and NJPW, following

, which took place on May 17, 2014, at the

Hammerstein Ballroom The Hammerstein Ballroom is a ballroom located within the Manhattan Center at 311 West 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The capacity of the ballroom is dependent on the configuration of the room; it seats 2,500 people for theat ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Production

Background

On January 4, 2015, at their

Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, which took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 2015. It was the 24th January 4 Tok ...

show,

(NJPW) announced that it would for the second year in a row co-produce an event with

(ROH) in May. At that point, no specific dates were announced and only the United States was named as a location. However, on February 25, ROH sent out a press release, announcing three co-produced events, as opposed to two shows in 2014, with War of the Worlds '15 taking place on May 13 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

and Global Wars '15 on May 15 and 16 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Canada. On March 7, War of the Worlds '15 was also expanded to a two-day event, taking place at the

over May 12 and 13. This was done due to the May 13 event quickly selling out. Both nights ended up being sold out in advance. ROH began announcing the NJPW wrestlers taking part in the events on April 1, starting with

Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...

. Over the next nine days, ROH announced the remaining NJPW participants;

Kazuchika Okada (born November 8, 1987) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Okada is a five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion where his fourth reign with the championship is the longest in history at 720 days. He also h ...

Jyushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...

Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' faction. Tetsuya Naito began training for a professional wrestling career in 2000, initially under Anim ...

Takaaki Watanabe , better known by his ring name Evil (stylized as EVIL), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). After debuting in NJPW in 2011, Evil competed in the United States on excursion, working for ...

, Kushida,

Gedo Gedo ( so, Gedo, Maay: ''Gethy'', ar, جيذو, it, Ghedo or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. It was created in 1974 and is bordered by the Ogaden in E ...

, and finally

Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, with his fir ...

. On April 16, ROH announced that the

Bullet Club (stylised as BULLET CLUB), sometimes shortened to BC, is a professional wrestling stable primarily appearing in the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In the United States, the group currently appears on NJPW events run by the co ...

trio of A.J. Styles, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson would also be taking part in the War of the Worlds '15 events. The following day, ROH put additional standing room tickets on sale for the two events. On April 20, ROH announced all eight matches for the first night of War of the Worlds '15. All eight matches for the second night were announced the following day. Also announced were pre-show autograph sessions for May 12 and 13, which would be attended by both NJPW and ROH wrestlers taking part in the tour.

Storylines

War of the Worlds '15 featured eight professional wrestling matches each night that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed

villains A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...

, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Due to featuring wrestlers from two different promotions, the events focused less on storyline rivalries and more on interpromotional matchups. However, one storyline introduced between the

and The Kingdom

stables A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

was built across the two promotions. The rivalry between the two stables started on March 1, 2015, at ROH's 13th Anniversary Show, where The Kingdom's

Matt Taven Matthew Marinelli (born March 20, 1985), known by his ring name, Matt Taven, is an American professional wrestler and wrestling trainer, who currently wrestles for All Elite Wrestling. He is best known for his work with Ring of Honor (ROH), ...

and Michael Bennett defeated Bullet Club's

Karl Anderson Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980), better known by the ring name Karl Anderson, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE where he performs on the Raw brand. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), ...

to win a three-way tag team match, after Anderson's stablemate

Doc Gallows Andrew William Hankinson (born December 22, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Luke Gallows. Hankinson began his career in 2005 and participated i ...

was unable to make the event due to travel issues. This led to a match on April 5 at NJPW's Invasion Attack 2015, where Taven and Bennett defeated Anderson and Gallows to capture the

IWGP Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPW live event. The ...

. The rivalry continued throughout the next month and came to include Maria Kanellis and

Amber Gallows Kimberly Dawn Davis (born June 22, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Amber O’Neal. She formerly wrestled in Ring of Honor (ROH) in their "Women of Honor" division as well as various promotions on the U. ...

, the wives of Bennett and Gallows, respectively. Anderson and Gallows were absent from War of the Worlds '15, working only the Global Wars '15 events, leaving A.J. Styles and The Young Bucks to enter the rivalry. War of the Worlds '15 marked the in-ring return of the third member of The Kingdom,

Adam Cole Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Adam Cole. He is also known for his tenures with WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH). C ...

, following an injury break. Cole was originally only announced for the second night, but ended up being revealed as Styles' mystery opponent on the first night. The first night featured a three-way non-title match between three sets of tag team champions as Bennett and Taven took on The Young Bucks, the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, and

ROH World Tag Team Champions The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion; it is contested for in their tag team division. The championship was created and debuted on September 21, 2002 ...

The Addiction ''The Addiction'' is a 1995 American vampire horror film directed by Abel Ferrara, starring Lili Taylor, Christopher Walken and Annabella Sciorra. Edie Falco and Kathryn Erbe appear in supporting roles. The film was written by Ferrara's frequ ...

(

Christopher Daniels Daniel Christopher Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and is the Head of Talent Relations. He is best kn ...

and

Frankie Kazarian Frank Benedict Gerdelman (born August 4, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and musician currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), performing under the ring name Frankie Kazarian. In addition, Kazarian also performs for Impact Wrest ...

). The second night featured the only title match of the two events, which saw

Jay Briscoe Jamin "Jay" Pugh (born January 25, 1984) is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Jay Briscoe. He is currently signed with Ring of Honor, where he is the current one-half of ROH World Tag Team Champions with Mark Briscoe ...

defend the

ROH World Championship The ROH World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Ring of Honor (ROH). It is considered the most prestigious title in the promotion. The current champion is Claudio Castagnoli, who is in his second ...

against

Bobby Fish Robert Anthony Fish (born October 27, 1976) is an American professional wrestler currently appearing on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he performed on the NXT brand and was a member of The Undisputed E ...

. Prior to the title match, Briscoe had gone over two years without being pinned or submitted in ROH; the last time he was pinned was on March 2, 2013, when Fish pinned him in a tag team match, where he and

Kyle O'Reilly Kyle Edward Greenwood (born March 1, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs under the ring name Kyle O'Reilly. He is also known for his time in Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2009 to 20 ...

captured the

ROH World Tag Team Championship The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, i ...

from Jay and his brother

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

Reception

Pro Wrestling Dot Net's Zack Zimmerman called

Roderick Strong Christopher Lindsey (born July 26, 1983), better known by his name Roderick Strong, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand, as the leader of Diamond Mine, but is currently inactive due t ...

"the most spectacular wrestler" of the two events, writing that his matches with Kushida and Hiroshi Tanahashi were each night's best match "by a fair margin".

Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has als ...

of the ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...

'' called Strong the ROH MVP of the entire week, writing that both Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura were giving him rave reviews. Pro Wrestling Torch's Sean Radican called the first night a "tremendous show from start to finish", giving it nine points out of ten. He gave the highest rating of four and a half stars out of five to the match between A.J. Styles and Adam Cole, calling it "amazing" and a match of the year contender.

Results

;Night 1 ;Night 2

References

External links

Official War of the Worlds '15 Night 1 pageOfficial War of the Worlds '15 Night 2 pageOfficial New Japan Pro-Wrestling website

Official Ring of Honor website
{{ROHPPV, War of the Worlds 2015 in professional wrestling

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

Events in Philadelphia 2015 in Pennsylvania 2015 in Philadelphia May 2015 events in the United States Professional wrestling in Philadelphia