The tournament is scheduled to begin on May 14 and conclude on June 7, 2026, at the Korakuen Hall. The winner of the tournament will get a future shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title.
Previously, NJPW had announced that Jakob Austin Young, Francesco Akira, and Robbie Eagles were also scheduled to be part of the BOSJ 33 lineup.
Updated list of NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 33 participants
Here is the updated list of participants for the upcoming NJPW BOSJ 33:
A title change took place on Friday as New Japan Pro Wrestling celebrated its 54th Anniversary.
The Anniversary event in Tokyo saw Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X defeat Ichiban Sweet Boys (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita) to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. At the conclusion of the 15-minute match, Robbie X pinned Fujita to win the belts.
Ishimori and Robbie X are members of the newly formed Unbound Company faction in NJPW. This is the first title Robbie X has held in the promotion, while Ishimori is a multi-time Junior Heavyweight champion as both a singles and tag team wrestler.
It didn’t take long for Ishimori & Robbie X’s first challengers to emerge. Immediately after their title win, they were attacked by Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young, furthering the feud between Unbound Company and United Empire.
A second title match headlined the Anniversary show card with DOUKI defeating Master Wato to remain IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Here are the quick results from the event:
NJPW 54th Anniversary show —
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI defeated Master Wato to retain
Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X defeated Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions
New Japan Cup first-round match: Callum Newman defeated OSKAR
New Japan Cup first-round match: Jake Lee defeated YOSHI-HASHI
NJPW has booked a couple of title bouts for its upcoming Anniversary event.
On March 6, NJPW will celebrate its 54th birthday with an Anniversary show at Ota City Gymnasium in Tokyo. It’s been confirmed that the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles will be on the line. DOUKI is defending his belt against Master Wato, while Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X are challenging Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita for their tag team gold.
This will be the second defense for both DOUKI and Eagles & Fujita during their respective reigns.
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship will be on the line when Master Wato challenges DOUKI. Mere days after HOUSE OF TORTURE rallied around DOUKI to assist him to a first defence of the junior heavyweight title against El Desperado in Korakuen, Wato ensured the H.O.T victory lap was cut short, striking with the Tstenkaku German to pin Japones Del Mal and assert himself as the next number one contender. As the next chapter of HOUSE OF TORTURE with Ren Narita at its helm continues, will the self proclaimed ‘junior heavyweight god’ DOUKI retain by hook and crook again, or on the site of his Best of the Super Jr. tournament victory in 2023, can Wato finally complete his journey to Grand Master status?
Also official for Anniversary is a battle over the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita defending against Robbie X and Taiji Ishimori. The last time NJPW was in Ota for New Year Dash, the Ichiban Sweet Boys Eagles and Fujita won the junior tag gold by defeating Robbie X in a four way bout. When Ishimori scored tag team victory for himself and Hiromu Takahashi at New Beginning in Osaka however, defeating United Empire’s Jakob Austin Young and Francesco Akira, the Unbound Co. name seemed to grow stonger in tag contention. Robbie would provide the assist to prevent a post match assault on Hiromu, and backstage, Ishimori would issue a challenge. These two teams tore the house down in a junior tag title clash in Korakuen last April as well as in the Super Junior Tag League in the autumn to bring them to a 1-1 record. This time, which team will not only bring down the house, but bring home the bacon?
The Anniversary show will air live on NJPW World with English commentary available. Along with these title bouts, the card includes two opening-round matches in New Japan Cup 2026.
NJPW 54th Anniversary Show (Friday, March 6) —
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI defends against Master Wato
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita defend against Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X
New Japan Cup first-round match: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Jake Lee
New Japan Cup first-round match: OSKAR vs. Callum Newman
Five matches are now official for Wrestle Kingdom 20.
A four-way match featuring El Desperado, SHO, Kosei Fujita, and Taiji Ishiimori has been added to the lineup. The winner will earn a future shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, currently held by DOUKI.
The match was announced during a press conference in Tokyo on Sunday, which also confirmed Kazuchika Okada as Hiroshi Tanahashi’s opponent for Tanahashi’s retirement match.
Ishimori pinned SHO in a tag match on Saturday’s show and called out DOUKI after, upset at how DOUKI and SHO had defeated him and Robbie X in the finals of the Super Junior Tag League. DOUKI was later confronted backstage by El Desperado, who was upset that DOUKI cheated to win the title from him last month. Best of the Super Juniors winner Kosei Fujita had also confronted DOUKI backstage last week in Gifu.
DOUKI set up the challengers four-way during his backstage comments on Saturday, making sure his tag team partner SHO was part of the match as well.
“I’m done dealing with this,” DOUKI said. “You guys can run your own contenders match.“
“Desperado, Ishimori, and there was another loud punk, Fujita. Go ahead and have your contenders match, but there’s one condition from the champion, include this guy in the match (putting his hand on SHO). Don’t you think he’s the one who truly deserves to be a challenger?”
The updated lineup for the show is below:
NJPW WrestleKingdom 20 (January 4)
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita vs. IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji in a winner takes all match
Hiroshi Tanahashi retirement match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
EVIL vs. Aaron Wolf for NEVER Openweight title
NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Saya Kamitani vs. IWGP Women’s Champion Syuri in a winner takes all match
El Desperado vs. SHO vs. Kosei Fujita vs. Taiji Ishiimori in an IWGP Junior Heavyweight number one contender match
Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Junior Heavyweight Championship will be on the line this weekend at an NJPW event.
NJPW star Hiromu Takahashi became the new GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion earlier this month. He’s now set to make his first defense at NJPW Destruction in Kobe this Sunday, where he will face off against Taiji Ishimori. The match was made after Ishimori scored the fall over Takahashi in a six-man tag on NJPW’s Road to Destruction tour.
“The bout represents the first time the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship has been defended in an NJPW ring since April 27, 2004, when then champion Jushin Thunder Liger defended against Kotaro Suzuki in Hiroshima,” NJPW wrote.
“Hiromu already had a first defense scheduled against NOAH’s Eita for the promotion’s October 11 Ryogoku card. Addressing the impromptu title bout, Hiromu said that the winner of himself and Ishimori would be the one to face Eita, yet Ishimori has accepted this title match on the condition that should he win, he will only defend the belt in New Japan. Hiromu’s capturing of the gold was already controversial, and his unilateral actions have drawn sharp criticism from the NOAH roster online.”
Ishimori, a star for NOAH before he joined NJPW, has held the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship three times. His most recent reign took place in 2017.
As far as NJPW’s Junior Heavyweight title is concerned, DOUKI has set his sights on a future match against champion El Desperado. They will meet in 10-man tag team action at Destruction in Kobe.
Destruction in Kobe will stream live on NJPW World starting at 3 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday. Here is the updated card
NJPW Destruction in Kobe (Sunday, September 28) —
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Ren Narita
IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Gabe Kidd defends against Shingo Takagi
Yota Tsuji vs. David Finlay
GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defends against Taiji Ishimori
IWGP Tag Team Champions Tomohiro Ishii & Taichi defend against OSKAR & Yuto-Ice
NEVER Openweight Champion Oleg Boltin defends against Don Fale
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan
El Desperado, YOH, Shota Umino, Yuya Uemura & YOSHI-HASHI vs. DOUKI, SHO, EVIL, SANADA & Dick Togo
NJPW has issued an update on the lineup for New Beginning in Nagoya.
On Sunday, the promotion announced the Hikuleo & El Phantasmo vs. KENTA & Chase match scheduled for the show will now be for the Strong Tag Team titles. The announcement follows ELP & Hikuleo successfully defending the titles against Alex Coughlin & Clark Connors on Saturday at Battle in the Valley. The IWGP Tag Team Championships, also held by TJP & Hikuleo, will not be on the line.
NJPW has also announced the rules for the KOPW match at New Beginning in Nagoya. The voting saw Taiji Ishimori’s proposed Ring Fit match beat out Great-O-Khan’s Bullrope Deathmatch rules with 77% of the votes. The match stipulation requires both wrestlers to do 30 seconds of high-intensity circuit training every 3 minutes.
Ishimori will defend his KOPW 2024 belt against Tanahashi in a 10 minute Ishimori Ring Fit Match. Ten minutes will be on the clock, with the last title holder at the end of the time limit the victor. Additionally, at three minute intervals, the two must stop for 30 seconds of high intensity circuit training. Who will have the wind to prevail in this demanding match type?
The event takes place at Dolphin’s Arena in Nagoya on Saturday, January 20.
Here is the full card for NJPW New Beginning in Nagoya:
NEVER Openweight Title: Tama Tonga defends against EVIL
KOPW 2024: Taiji Ishimori defends against Great-O-Khan in a Ring Fit match
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, and BUSHI) vs. Just Five Guys (SANADA, Taichi, Taka Michinoku, DOUKI, and Yuya Uemura)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, and Togi Makabe vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste, and Kosei Fujita
NJPW Strong Tag Team Champions Guerillas of Destiny (Hikuleo and El Phantasmo) defend against Chase Owens & KENTA
El Desperado & Master Wato vs. SHO and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
United Empire (Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP, Henare, & Jeff Cobb) vs. Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay, Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gabe Kidd, and Alex Coughlin)
Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino vs. House of Torture (Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi)
An injury has forced Taiji Ishimori’s run in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament to come to an early end.
NJPW announced on Monday that Ishimori will miss the remainder of Best of the Super Juniors 30 due to a cervical vertebra injury. Ishimori suffered the injury during his match against Hiromu Takahashi on Sunday. Ishimori appeared to get hurt when taking a sit-out powerbomb. He tried to continue with the match, but the referee called for a stoppage after Takahashi hit Ishimori with two lariats. Takahashi was declared the winner of the match.
“After being given an assessment, Ishimori was discharged and is able to recuperate at home,” NJPW wrote. “He is currently comfortable and able to move normally, but does not have a timetable for a return to the ring at this time.”
Ishimori had a 5-3 record in the tournament with 10 points. His final block match was going to be against TJP on Tuesday. The result of that match will be TJP winning by forfeit.
Takahashi, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Lio Rush, and Titan are still in contention to win the A Block. In B Block, Master Wato, YOH, El Desperado, and Robbie Eagles are in contention. The tournament will conclude on Sunday, May 28.
“We apologize to fans who were looking forward to seeing Ishimori wrestle, and appreciate your understanding,” NJPW wrote. “NJPW joins fans in wishing Ishimori a fast, full recovery.”
Two months after departing WWE, KUSHIDA has returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling.
KUSHIDA made his return to NJPW by confronting IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori at Tuesday’s New Japan Road event in Tokyo. Ishimori had defeated Hiromu Takahashi in the main event of the show before being confronted by KUSHIDA.
KUSHIDA announced that he’s signed an NJPW contract and promised to spend the rest of his pro wrestling life in an NJPW ring.
KUSHIDA said that Ishimori may think he has no challengers left, but he’s wrong because KUSHIDA is back. Ishimori told KUSHIDA that he’ll need to prove himself before getting a title shot.
During his first stint with NJPW, KUSHIDA held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship six times.
KUSHIDA left NJPW in January 2019 and officially joined WWE in April of that year. He was part of the NXT roster for three years until departing WWE when his contract expired this April.
KUSHIDA was a one-time NXT Cruiserweight Champion while with WWE.
Both the IWGP Junior and Junior Tag Team titles will be defended during the New Japan Road tour that will take place following Dominion.
The Junior Tag Team titles will be on the line June 20, with champions Ryusuke Taguchi and Master Wato defending against TJP and Franceso Akira of the United Empire. The following day, June 21, Best of the Super Junior 29 winner Hiromu Takahashi will get his Junior Championship match against champion Taiji Ishimori. Both shows will take place at Korakuen Hall.
Takahashi defeated El Desperado in the Best of the Super Junior tournament to win his fourth trophy and his third in a row. Also at the Best of the Super Junior finals, the United Empire picked up the win over Taguchi and Wato. The team motioned they wanted the next shot at the Tag Team titles.
The New Japan Road tour starts on June 15 in Tochigi and ends on July 5 at Korakuen Hall.
A change has been made to NJPW’s next IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match.
Champions Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask will now defend their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles in a four-way match at NJPW’s New Year’s Golden Series show this Saturday (February 19). It will be Eagles & Tiger Mask vs. Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
The match was originally set to be Eagles & Tiger Mask defending against Ishimori & Phantasmo, but the other two teams were added after challenges that were issued at Sunday’s New Year’s Golden Series show.
Eagles & Tiger Mask have been IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions since winning the titles from Desperado & Kanemaru last October.
Saturday’s New Year’s Golden Series event is the second-to-last stop on the tour. The tour will conclude with shows in Sapporo on both Saturday and Sunday. Both shows are airing live on NJPW World.
Here’s the updated lineup for Saturday’s event:
IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi defends against SANADA
IWGP Tag Team Champions Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defend against EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi
Four-way match: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask defend against Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato, and El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Kazuchika Okada, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI
Tomoaki Honma vs. The Great-O-Khan
Tomohiro Ishii & YOH vs. Dick Togo & SHO
Toru Yano & Ryohei Oiwa vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi
Togi Makabe & Kosei Fujita vs. TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI
New Japan Pro Wrestling announced this morning new changes to their Golden Series tour due to COVID-19 protocols and injuries.
NJPW announced that Jeff Cobb is currently recovering from a left patellar tendon tear and a muscle strain in his left leg following his match against Tetsuya Naito on January 5. As a result, he will not be on the Golden Series tour. Young Lion Yuto Nakashima is also out of action after suffering a blow to the head on February 7 and will be out up to February 13. Additionally, YOSHI-HASHI and Taiji Ishimori have been pulled from the February 11 event in Sendai due to COVID protocols.
Cobb was originally set to team with Great-O-Khan on February 11 against Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Instead, Great-O-Khan will face Kojima in a singles match and will continue to wrestle in singles matches for the rest of the tour, including the February 13 event in Osaka where he will face Togi Makabe.
Nakashima was originally set to team in the kickoff match on February 13. That match has been changed to Ryohei Oiwa, Kojima, and Tenzan facing Kosei Fujita, Tomoaki Honma, and Yuji Nagata.
A six-man tag that YOSHI-HASHI was scheduled to be in will now have Hiroyoshi Tenzan take his place as he teams with Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii to face EVIL, Dick Togo, and Yujiro Takahashi. Gedo will replace Ishimori in a singles match against Tiger Mask.
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship is on the line on night one of NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo.
Champion El Desperado will defend the title against Taiji Ishimori. Desperado has made one successful title defense since winning the vacant title at Castle Attack in February. The title was vacated after Hiromu Takahashi suffered a pectoral injury.
A change to the card was made after Kota Ibushi was pulled from the show due to suffering side effects from a COVID-19 vaccination. Ibushi was set to team with Master Wato against Yuya Uemura and Yota Tsuji. Wato will now face Uemura in a singles match in the show opener.
A series of tag matches make up the rest of the undercard:
Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
Kazuchika Okada & SHO vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. KENTA, Yujiro Takahashi & El Phantasmo
Tomohiro Ishii & YOH vs. EVIL & Dick Togo
Our live coverage begins at 5 a.m. Eastern time.
*********
Master Wato defeated Yuya Uemura (9:09)
A solid opener that told a simple story. Uemura had the technical edge, but Wato displayed superior striking.
They opened with some tentative kicks. Uemura got the best of a mat wrestling sequence. Frustrated, Wato took to striking and established the advantage. He threw in a kimura on the mat, but Uemura forced a rope break.
Uemura came back with a flying forearm for a near fall. Uemura used a half crab. Wato blocked a double overhook suplex, but Uemura hit a deep arm drag. Uemura hit a beautiful bridging German for a two count.
Wato again blocked the overhook suplex. He hit recientemente, then used the RPP for the pin.
EVIL & Dick Togo defeated Tomohiro Ishii & YOH (11:37)
This was a formulaic Bullet Club brawl and not a particularly inspired one.
Ishii attacked EVIL before the opening bell and they brawled around ringside. Togo and YOH began as the legal men. EVIL exposed a buckle, then Togo whipped YOH into the buckle for the heat.
EVIL and Togo traded tags in working YOH over. They again sent him into the exposed buckle. YOH found an opening against Togo and tagged Ishii. EVIL tagged in and sent Ishii into the exposed buckle. Ishii hit a backdrop suplex into a double down.
Ishii tagged YOH. YOH ran wild and hit a nice half hatch suplex for a two count. Togo tried to choke YOH with a ligature, but Ishii saved. YOH hit a falcon arrow on EVIL for a near fall.
YOH tried for Direct Drive, but EVIL blocked and hit a lariat for a two count. While Togo held Ishii at bay with a crossface, EVIL used a scorpion deathlock to submit YOH.
Togo and EVIL stomped Ishii down after the match as they continue to tease an EVIL vs. Ishii singles match.
There was some good comedy here in the first few minutes, then some good wrestling once Tanahashi got in for the closing stretch.
Tana wanted to start with KENTA. KENTA teased starting off, but immediately tagged out to ELP. Tana tagged out to Taguchi.
Taguchi and ELP did some comedy with their t-shirts. ELP choked out Taguchi with a shirt. Taguchi was cut off and worked over in comedic fashion for quite a while.
Romero got a hot tag and had a nice sequence with ELP. KENTA and Tana tagged in. Tana hit a dragon screw. They had a lengthy striking sequence. KENTA blocked a slingblade attempt with a kitchen sink and tagged out to Yujiro.
Yujiro and ELP doubled up on Tana. Yujiro hit a fisherman buster. Taguchi saved for Tana. Yujiro hit a lariat and an Angle slam for another near fall.
Tana blocked Pimp Juice, blocked a thrust kick, then blocked Miami Shine. Tana hit a twist and shout and a slingblade. Romero and Taguchi hit stereo planchas to KENTA and ELP.
Tana then used High Fly Flow to pin Yujiro.
KENTA ran back in after the match and attacked Tanahashi as he posed for the fans, so expect KENTA vs. Tana to be a singles match soon.
***** Intermission *****
Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan defeated Kazuchika Okada & SHO (11:41)
This was fun. There were lots of cool spots with SHO and Cobb trying to hit their trademark power moves on one another.
O-Khan and SHO began. They teased a striking battle, but neither threw anything of significance. SHO tried to take O-Khan’s arm after locking up, but O-Khan blocked. O-Khan gouged SHO’s face and ears. SHO made a brief comeback off a misdirection spot. Okada hopped in for a double team spot on Cobb.
O-Khan cut SHO off with a series of throws. Cobb was in briefly, but O-Khan did the bulk of the heavy lifting in working SHO over. SHO came back with a spear and tagged Okada.
Okada hit a series of signature spots on O-Khan. He hit a back elbow and a DDT. O-Khan blocked an air raid crash neckbreaker and hit a judo throw. Cobb tagged in for a series of uppercuts. He then hit Okada with a spin cycle for a near fall.
Okada slapped on a Money Clip, but Cobb broke the hold. Okada answered with an air raid crash neckbreaker to Cobb. Okada tagged out to SHO.
SHO hit a series of kicks to Cobb and got a near fall. He went for a suplex, but Cobb blocked. Cobb hit a back suplex, then O-Khan jumped in for a double team. Okada saved for SHO. O-Khan and Okada brawled to the floor.
SHO reversed a Tour of the Islands into a cradle for a near fall. Okada hopped back in and hit Cobb with a dropkick. SHO tried a deadlift German but Cobb blocked.
SHO hit the ropes, but ran right into a Tour of the Islands for the pin.
Cobb and Okada stared each other down after the match, so I expect Okada vs. Cobb to be announced any day now.
This was very good. All action. I fully expect Naito, SANADA, Taichi and Sabre to have a great match in the main event tomorrow. They have excellent chemistry.
LIJ attacked before the opening bell and cut Taichi off. SANADA and Naito doubled up on Taichi. SANADA and Taichi ended up the legal men. SANADA went for the paradise lock, but Sabre saved and turned the tide in Suzuki-gun’s favor.
Suzuki-gun went to work on SANADA’s left arm. Kanemaru hit a slam. DOUKI used a snapmare and a cradle. Sabre continued to work on the arm. SANADA came back with a dropkick to Kanemaru and a rana on DOUKI.
Naito tagged in and hit a neckbreaker to Taichi. Kanemaru was still legal. Naito tagged BUSHI and they hit tandem offense to Kanemaru. BUSHI hit a missile dropkick to Kanemaru. Kanemaru hit his own dropkick and tagged out.
DOUKI hit a double stomp to BUSHI for a near fall. Suzuki-gun cleared the LIJ apron and went 3-on-1 against BUSHI. DOUKI hit a patriot missile, then used a triangle. BUSHI forced a rope break. BUSHI blocked Suplex de la Luna and hit a dropkick for a double down.
Shingo tagged in for his first action of the match. DOUKI hit an enzuigiri. Shingo answered with a pop-up DVD. Taichi jumped in and hit a lariat to Shingo. SANADA took out Taichi. Sabre used a head scissors on SANADA. Naito tried to save, but Sabre caught him in a submission while maintaining the hold on SANADA. Shingo slammed Kanemaru onto Sabre to break both holds.
DOUKI cradled Shingo for a near fall. Shingo then hit the Pumping Bomber and pinned DOUKI.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado defeated Taiji Ishimori to retain the title (28:54)
This was a great main event. Really good psychology. Both picked a body part and worked it over and worked it over for the entire length of the match.
Desperado broke cleanly after locking up. A chain wrestling sequence ended with Desperado escaping a Yes Lock before Ishimori could apply it. Ishimori then went after Desperado’s left arm, looking to soften him up for the Yes Lock.
Ishimori worked Desperado’s arm over the barricade. Ishimor posted the left arm and hit it with a chair. Ishimori exposed a buckle as Desperado sold his arm on the floor. Back in, Ishimori used a neck crank for a near fall.
Ishimori sent Desperado’s arm and shoulder into the exposed buckle. Ishimori posted the left shoulder, then hit a shoulder breaker. Desperado reversed a whip, then blocked a handspring kick. Desperado hit a knee breaker and a dragon screw to Ishimori’s left leg.
Desperado sent Ishimori into the barricade, then posted Ishimori’s left leg. Red Shoes tried to intercept a chair from Desperado. Desperado threw the referee down on the floor, then used the chair on Ishimori’s left leg. Back in, Desperado continued to hammer away at Ishimori’s left leg.
Ishimori caught Desperado in a cradle for a near fall, then used a sliding German. On the outside, Ishimori hit a Bloody Cross over the barricade. Back in, Ishimori hit a springboard 450. Desperado fought off a Bone Lock and made the ropes.
Ishimori went back after the left arm. Desperado ducked a lariat and hit an Angle slam. Ishimori blocked Guitarra de Angel and sent the referee into the exposed buckle for a ref bump.
With the referee down, both hit low blows at the 20 minute call. They traded strikes as Red Shoes was revived. Desperado hit a spinebuster for a near fall, then used the pinning position to set up Numero Dos. Ishimori reversed into a cradle for a near fall.
Ishimori tried La Mistica, but Desperado reversed into Guitarra de Angel for a near fall. Ishimori blocked Pinche Loco and sent Desperado into the exposed buckle. Ishimori used La Mistica to set up the Yes Lock. Desperado reversed into Numero Dos. ELP ran in and pulled the ref out of the ring for another ref bump.
ELP hit Sudden Death to Desperado. Kanemaru ran in and hit a dropkick to ELP, then dragged him to the back. Desperado hit a back suplex. Ishimori reversed Pinche Loco into a hurricanrana for a near fall. Ishimori hit Cipher Utaki for a two count.
Desperado reversed a loody Cross attempt into El Es Culero for a near fall. Ishimori reversed Pinche Loco into the Bone Lock. Ishimori rolled through into a Bloody Cross attempt, but Desperado blocked. Ishimori hit a series of strikes.
Desperado reversed a whip into the exposed buckle. Desperado hit a right hand and two Pinche Locos for the pin.
**********
Before Desperado coould cut his post-match promo, a Robbie Eagles promo played on the video wall. Eagles said that the junior heavyweight division has become more like a committee of vultures than anything else. Eagles said he needs to push past the vultures and make a declaration. Eagles said he was declaring himself the next challenger for Desperado.
Desperado cut a short promo after the match. He pointed out Hiromu Takahashi on commentary and told him to get back soon.
Desperado said he won the match, but can only talk like he lost. He said he might have dislocated his shoulder, but he just beat Ishimori.
Today’s NJPW Kizuna Road event at Korakuen Hall saw a title change.
Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo defeated SHO and YOH in 26:43 to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships in the main event of the show.
The finish of the match came after SHO and Ishimori brawled to the floor. With El Phantasmo and YOH the legal men, Phantasmo stomped on YOH’s foot with a loaded boot. Phantasmo then followed with his Sudden Death superkick with the loaded boot and pinned YOH to win the titles.
This marks the third reign with the IWGP Junior Tag titles for Ishimori and ELP. Their first reign also began at a Kizuna Road event in June with a win over Roppongi 3K, that coming in June 2019.
Ishimori and ELP’s second reign began with a win over El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru at a Road to the New Beginning show in January 2021. They would drop the titles back to Desperado and Kanemaru a month later at a Road to Castle Attack event in February.
Ishimori is also next in line to challenge Desperado for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. No date has been announced for that match as of yet.
SHO and YOH’s fifth IWGP Jr. Tag title reign ends after one successful defense.
A NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team title match is set for NJPW’s Road to Wrestling Dontaku 2021 tour.
In the main event of NJPW’s Road to Wrestling Dontaku event at Korakuen Hall on Tuesday, April 20, CHAOS’ Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI will put their NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles on the line against Bullet Club’s KENTA, Yujiro Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori. The show will air live on NJPW World starting at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Goto, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI have been NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions since winning the titles in a tournament last August. Goto, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated their CHAOS stablemates Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & SHO in the tournament finals. The titles had been declared vacant after EVIL left Los Ingobernables de Japon and joined Bullet Club.
Leading into the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team title match, YOSHI-HASHI vs. KENTA, Goto vs. Ishimori, and Ishii vs. Takahashi will take place at NJPW’s Road to Wrestling Dontaku event at Korakuen Hall on Monday, April 19.
The Road to Wrestling Dontaku tour will begin on Saturday, April 10 and will end on Saturday, May 1. The Monday, April 26 show that’s taking place at Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall will feature Tetsuya Naito vs. The Great-O-Khan and SANADA vs. Aaron Henare. Henare is the newest member of the United Empire with Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, and Jeff Cobb.
Wrestling Dontaku 2021 is a two-night event that’s being held at the Fukuoka Convention Center on Monday, May 3 and Tuesday, May 4. NJPW also has Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni taking place at the Kagoshima Arena over two nights on Wednesday, April 28 and Thursday, April 29.
