Five titles will be up for grabs Sunday in Kobe.
A match for the IWGP World Heavyweight title will headline the show, with Tetsuya Naito defending the title against The Great-O-Khan, who defeated Naito during the G1 Climax tournament. Whoever wins this match will likely go on to face the G1 Climax winner Zack Sabre Jr., who has chosen to have his IWGP World title match at NJPW King of Pro Wrestling on October 14.
Other title matches will see David Finlay defend the IWGP Global title against YOSHI-HASHI, Henare defend the NEVER title against Shingo Takagi, and DOUKI defend the IWGP Junior title against Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Oleg Boltin, Toru Yano, and Hiroshi Tanahashi will also defend the NEVER Six-Man Tag Team titles against EVIL, Yujro Takahashi, and SHO.
Zack Sabre Jr. will be in trios action. He, Kosei Fujita, and a mystery partner will take on SANADA, Taichi, and Taka Michinoku. A special singles match between Hirooki Goto and Gabe Kidd will also take place.
Join us for live coverage starting at 3 am ET.
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Shota Umino, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Dragon Dia defeated Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma, and Tiger Mask
Taguchi started this match, being put in his paces by each opposing team member, fighting out of it with a hip attack on Tiger Mask (after multiple attempts gone wrong). He later uses this hip attack to help Umino shift the momentum until at last being halted by Honma’s Kokeshi.
With Nagata and Tiger Mask dispatched outside, Umino weakened Honma. After an impressive dropkick, Umino sealed a victory for his team after a Death Rider on Honma for the 3-count pinfall.
I wish Dragon Dia had more to do with this match—it felt like he wasn’t given much. However, Taguchi throwing more enthusiasm into his hip attacks after a few tries was admittedly funny. Umino being the one to gain the pinfall shows how much the company believes in him. Not quite on the levels of Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura for my tastes yet, but it’s easy to see why he has the support that he does.
Los Ingobernables de Japón (Yota Tsuji, BUSHI, and Hiromu Takahashi) defeated United Empire (Jeff Cobb, Callum Newman, and Francesco Akira)
To set the stage for each tonight’s main event, this six-man started with Tsuji and Cobb running back their running story from the Road To tour with BUSHI failing to run interception. Newman handled BUSHIfrom there until Takahashi scouted his moves, save for an enzuigiri, leaving Akira to take it from there. Cobb and Tsuji were immense boons to their respective teams, but would later help the deciding factor.
Newman meanwhile held Bushi from breaking up Akira’s scuffle with Takahashi. The Time Bomb swiftly found the upper hand against Akira, and locked in Figure Four to submit the United Empire member despite Cobb’s desperate attempt to break the hold.
Taking the time to keep the rivalry between Tsuji and Cobb’s NJPW World TV Championship left me salivating for more. Their matchups during the Road To tour were a highlight for me. Give me more. I’ve been a staunch defender of Callum Newman, and I still see a lot of potential in him, but I must concede he should do more to set himself apart—a great talent with much potential.
Hirooki Goto defeated Gabe Kidd
Kidd entered through the curtain, grabbing a cameraman as he dragged them to Goto’s prone body in the back. Hauling Goto out for all to see, the pair brawled across the ground floor of the arena before Kidd choked Goto out, with the referee declaring the match over.
Kidd disputed this, calling for a restart. Kidd introduced a chair, only to kick it once he got even the slightest hint that Goto was about to send him through it. Throughout the match, Kidd berates Goto for causing an injury to Jake Lee during the Road To tour. Reintroducing the table once again, Kidd sat it in the ring, only for Goto to throw it out alongside a sharp object that Kidd brought into the ring. Hoping for a running knee, Kidd instead had been flattened by Goto’s running clothesline. Though he was still feeling the effects of the blindsided assault backstage, Goto found victory after following up a Shouten Kai with a GTR to get the win over the War Dog.
Great match. This felt like a real fight with the theatrics of pro wrestling behind it. I don’t think we’re fully scratching the surface as to how important Kidd could be for NJPW. His character is uncomfortable yet compelling and his thuggish, brutish wrestling style more than compliments that.
TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Kosei Fujita and Ryohei Oiwa) defeated Just 5 Guys (SANADA, Taichi and Taka Michinoku)
— Fujita and Sabre revealed Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Ryohei Oiwa as their newest member to raucous applause.
Oiwa traded elbows for Taichi’s kicks before immediately gaining control over his right arm. Sabre, hoping to put SANADA in his paces, found the two in an intense technical grappling battle for control, which neither fully gained. Fujita fared no better with Michinoku and Taichi bullying him.
Oiwa took over, strong-arming Michinoku before crumpling the legend with a discus lariat. Just like that, the newest member of TMDK proved a wise investment in securing the victory for the team.
TMDK is the best current faction running in NJPW, and I stand by that completely. Oiwa is an impressive specimen. Presented in this debut, he feels like a much-needed shot in the arm for the company. With the young acts in the Reiwa Three Musketeers, War Dogs, United Empire, and Yuya Uemura, the future looks astonishingly bright.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, and Boltin Oleg (c) defeated House of Torture (EVIL, SHO, and Yujiro Takahashi) (with Dick Togo) for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
All three challenging members ganged up on Tanahashi, but Yano promptly circumvented this in a hot tag that saw him send EVIL into the exposed turnbuckle. Togo stunted this momentum with a quick chair shot. Once again, the House of Torture surrounded him with offense.
Oleg made the dramatic yet vital tag to even the playing field, dispatching the House of Torture easily. Tanahashi found the courage and spirit to contend with Takahashi until he was outnumbered. The champions replicated the House of Torture’s Dick-to-Dick Contact spot to the crowd’s delight on Togo.
Ren Narita interfered to stop Tanahashi, only for a returning El Phantasmo (sporting a new hairstyle) to turn the tide for The Ace. Tanahashi unleashed a High-Fly Flow for a successful pin, thus retaining the titles.
— Tanahashi shook hands with Phantasmo and the accompanying Jado, saying “Welcome home.” This new alliance parted ways with the audience with a pose and Tanahashi strumming his belt like it were an electric guitar.
The babyfaces coming out wearing black jackets much to House of Torture’s confusion was incredibly hilarious. What stopped this match from being great were the House of Torture run-ins. But otherwise, this was fun. Yano combined comedy with hoss-like energy. As always, the standout to me is Oleg.
DOUKI (c) defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru (with Yujiro Takahashi and Dick Togo) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
The House of Torture’s residential squatters yet again took up occupancy tonight, but the ever-so-speedy DOUKI remained resilient. Considering Kanemaru spent much of the time targeting his knee, maintaining that spirit proved to be crucial. Nowhere was this more evident than a prolonged turnbuckle spot where Kanemaru applied pressure to DOUKI’s knees. Locking his legs, Kanemaru mockingly posed as the champion desperately crawled to the ropes to break it, screaming in agony.
Sending Kanemaru out of the ring and flying onto him over the top rope, DOUKI found new life. Kanemaru nearly circumvented this with a Jackknife to a near-fall. This knee problem nearly caused DOUKI the belt, as he was a millisecond away from the 20-count. He even failed the Northern Lights Suplex pin, with his knee trembling and buckling beneath him. With adrenaline flowing like a mad river in his veins, DOUKI attempted variations of the inside cradle and the DOUKI-CHOKEY to incapacitate Kanemaru. SHO distracted the referee from making the call to end the match with a bell as Kanemaru spat whiskey in the eyes of an equally distracted DOUKI.
The champion found the will to persevere, escaping Kanemaru’s attempt to use the referee as a projectile and eliminating House of Torture’s involvement out of the picture. At last, with a Suplex de la Luna, DOUKI reached the 3-count, retaining his Junior Heavyweight gold.
— Post-match, SHO threatened to break DOUKI’s belt if he weren’t granted a title opportunity. DOUKI obliged, but SHO beat him up regardless.
DOUKI and Kanemaru got me to suspend my disbelief, as I was on the edge of my seat with the knee spots. There were a few spots where I felt DOUKI hadn’t sold it enough. Even still, this match was enjoyable and they had the crowd firmly in the palms of their hands.
Shingo Takagi defeated Henare (c) for the NEVER Openweight Championship
These two brutes were evenly matched in the beginning, but Henare briskly gained momentum after a few barricade spots and a gnarly submission hold. Takagi found the will to survive as he fought out of it, with a shoulder tackle to flatten the champion. Rallying up the crowd, Takagi charged at a downed Henare, who subdued him, going so far as to survive a Takagi Driver.
Kick upon kick, Henare started to wear down the challenger, and he sensed it. Locking in the Dragon with a standing full-nelson lock, Henare nearly had Takagi faded. Following a MADE IN JAPAN, Takagi followed suit with a Pumping Bomber, but Henare regained control with a headbutt. Takagi slowly but surely regained the fighting spirit to recover with a Dragon Suplex. Trading headbutts and lariats, Takagi deployed Pumping Bomber after Pumping Bomber. Using his signature the Last of the Dragon, Takagi got the pin over Henare, becoming the new NEVER Openweight Champion.
What a hoss fight. I almost got a headache just watching them trade headbutts. Their craniums are going to hurt in the morning. I wish Henare had more title defenses, but I’m always down to see Takagi with gold.
David Finlay (c) (with Gedo) defeated Yoshi-Hashi for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship
Finlay and Yoshi-Hashi began with natural vigor, but the Bullet Club leader’s dirty tactics put him ahead. Clutching at the nose, smack-talking, and mockingly doing push-ups, he was in full control. Aiming for a suplex on the red entrance ramp, Finlay’s aspirations were immediately dashed as Yoshi-Hashi reversed it into a suplex of his own. Finlay caused great damage to Yoshi-Hashi by slamming him onto the turnbuckle post outside, and minutes later, Yoshi-Hashi did the same to him in the ring.
After grappling for any semblance of control, Finlay landed two Backbreakers but Yoshi-Hashi grasped momentum with a hold. Gedo sneakily handed Finlay a shillelagh, but Yoshi-Hashi kept him from using it. Goto strong-armed Gedo from causing any further support to Finlay. Yoshi-Hashi stood tall in a colliding lariat spot, but Finlay ended it with a Pop-Up Powerbomb and ultimately retained the title with an Overkill.
— Post-match, Goto confronted Finlay, hinting at a future challenge for the championship.
While not being the match of the night, this penultimate bout had an excellent pace to it. The crowd was fully invested in it and the spots were earned. Though I’m not impressed by either man, they made the most of it, extending some hype to an already warmly anticipated main event.
Tetsuya Naito (c) defeated Great-O-Khan for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
After competing to see who could take their clothes off the slowest it was off to the races. Interestingly, the pace halted as the pair engaged in holds and grapples, keeping the audience waiting in bated breath. Naito’s strategy had the match in his favor, but all Khan needed was an opportunity to strike and apply pressure to his notoriously weak knees. Combined with Khan’s penchant for using the full force of his weight, the champion wallowed in misery under his flesh.
Naito reached his recompense when he toppled Khan with a dropkick to the knee, but the formidable challenger continued to wear him down. Both men spent, Naito mustered enough power to send Khan out of the ring via a Tornado DDT. Recovering from a neck breaker on the ramp, Khan rolled to the ring when Naito trapped him in a Puma Blanca to no avail. Naito later dropped Khan with a Destino and again to no success, but the Kobe crowd was left frothing in a frenzy. With one last Destino, Naito regained his championship, thus remaining the champion, setting forth the path to his defense against Zack Sabre Jr at King of Pro Wrestling in Ryōgoku Kokugikan.
— Post-match, Zack Sabre Jr., Shingo Takagi, and Ryohei Oiwa addressed Sabre and Naito’s upcoming match at King of Pro Wrestling while Oiwa challenged new NEVER Openweight Champion Takagi at the same event.
While certainly not a bad main event, I struggled with this one. I’m a fan of Khan and I know Naito has more great performances left in the tank, but a few stretches of holds and submissions felt a little too long. However, the action superseded all of that, with flashes of what Naito used to be, mixed with how effective Khan is with his in-ring style, made for exciting spots. That said, I feel they had better matches on the tour.
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Final thoughts
Destruction made for a fun show, but there was not much to write home about, save for Ryohei Oiwa’s TMDK surprise, El Phantasmo’s return, the NEVER Openweight changing hands, and Gabe Kidd vs. Hirooki Goto. My recommendations would be the matches featuring the younger talents as well as the NEVER Openweight and IWGP World Heavyweight Championship matches.
