The penultimate match in Hiroshi Tanahashi’s legendary career takes place on today’s NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome, the go-home show for Wrestle Kingdom 20.
Tanahashi faces Kosei Fujita in the main event singles match today, the last step before his retirement match against Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 20 in Tokyo Dome set for Sunday, January 4.
Today’s show in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo kicks off with an NJPW World TV title defense from El Phantasmo in an open challenge against a mystery opponent.
In between the opener and the main event, five tag bouts comprise the undercard:
- Yota Tsuji, Yuto-Ice, and OSKAR vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, and Hartley Jackson
- Three-way tag: SHO and DOUKI vs. El Desperado and KUUKAI vs. Taiji Ishimori and Daiki Nagai
- Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, and Gedo vs. Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman, and Jakob Austin Young
- Shota Umino, Yuya Uemura, Toru Yano, YOH, and Master Wato vs. EVIL, SANADA, Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and Boltin Oleg vs. Taichi, Satoshi Kojima, and Tiger Mask
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Main Card
El Phantasmo defeated Ryusuke Taguchi for the NJPW World Television Championship
Phantasmo easily found himself on the winning side of the early lock-ups. He casually watched, aloof, as Taguchi ran the ropes before tripping him. They exchanged brutal, sluggishly slow chops, ending in an Atomic Drop from one man to another.
Teasing a plodding Brainbuster, Phantasmo instead found he and Taguchi speeding things up with a series of Three Amigos. A Rolling Cradle across the mat left both men dizzied; Taguchi hit an elevated dropkick on nothing.
Taguchi exposed his rear end for his Funky Weapon moves, obscured effectively, thanks to expert camerawork. Phantasmo won the match, reversing Taguchi’s roll-up for one of his own.
Post-match: Phantasmo declared that his upcoming match for the NJPW World Television Championship would be on the line in an open challenge. Santa Claus emerged, handing Phantasmo a present. In it sat a puppet that signified DDT Pro Wrestling’s Chris Brookes. Surely enough, Brookes slid into the ring, attacking Phantasmo, Santa Claus, and someone dressed as a reindeer. He accepted Phantasmo’s challenge.
(There’s nothing wrong with a little comedy to start the show. My favorite spot was Taguchi running the ropes under Phantasmo’s encouragement.)
Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Oleg Boltin defeated Team 100 (Satoshi Kojima & Taichi) & Tiger Mask
Goto and YOSHI-HASHI dispatched Taichi early, and they aligned with Boltin with a flurry of fists on Tiger Mask’s back. Kojima and Boltin made hot tags, soon leading to a passionate series of rapid-fire chest chops to the Kazakh wrestler. YOSHI-HASHI returned, unleashing his own chops to wear down Kojima. He replied with a Koji-Cutter.
Tiger Mask became too much for his opponents, especially with dropkicks, but was left stunned by a Boltin Shake. Bishamon held Tiger Mask horizontal in the air for a Boltin Splash in coordination with their partner for the pinfall.
Post-match: Tensions came to a boiling point between Kojima and Taichi, but Tomohiro Ishii joined them in the ring, imploring them to see reason. They obliged and shook hands.
(Fun match with some hard-hitters. The boys led an intense trio’s hoss fight. If you like big meaty men slapping meat, this is the match for you.)
House Of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita, SANADA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi) defeated Master Wato, Shota Umino, Toru Yano, YOH & Yuya Uemura
YOH and Yano momentarily halted House of Torture’s predictable ambush after the bell, but an exposed turnbuckle via EVIL agonized YOH after an Irish Whip. Narita also took advantage of the turnbuckle by hurling YOH into it once more. SANADA lay tied up following YOH stealing his Paradise Lock.
Wato briefly dominated Narita, but the House of Torture swarmed him and struck with their Dick-to-Dick Contact, courtesy of Dick Togo. Aaron Wolfe tried coming to their aid, but EVIL annihilated him with the NEVER Openweight Championship. Narita whacked the lifeless Wato with a push-up board and stole the pinfall.
Post-match: Kaisei Takechi of DDT Pro-Wrestling came to Uemura and Umino’s aid, warding off the House of Torture.
United Empire (Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan & Jakob Austin Young) defeated Gedo, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi
United Empire brawled with Gedo, Takahashi, and Takagi on the outside. Khan, in particular, haunted Takagi with a chair as he lay in the rubble of audience chairs. Back in the ring, Newman and Young bullied Gedo. However, Gedo fired back with a Spinning Backfist. Further isolating him from Takagi and Takahashi, United Empire took turns brutalizing him. A Pumping Bomber from Takagi gave Gedo a 2-count over Young. United Empire rebounded in a united front, with Newman maliciously devastating Gedo with David Finlay’s Overkill for the win.
Post-match: Newman kicked at Takagi and Gedo’s bodies and left with a smug grin as Takahashi charged towards him. The lights went dark as Andrade El Idolo appeared in a pre-taped video promo as the first X in the United Empire in their war against the War Dogs.
(A brief beatdown, more than anything else. I was thinking that Newman would be a fantastic leader for the United Empire as he’s grown into his role. However, if Andrade continues to be a player in NJPW, he could very well be the group’s face.)
House Of Torture (DOUKI & SHO) defeated El Desperado & Kuukai and Daiki Nagai & Taiji Ishimori
All four of House of Torture’s opponents had had enough of SHO’s pre-match smack-talking preamble, teaming up on him and DOUKI. Kuukai almost had DOUKI in a modified Bow and Arrow, but Ishimori and Nagai intercepted. Nagai and Ishimori disputed with Desperado and Kuukai when both teams learned that House of Torture was attempting to escape.
Following a skirmish outside, Kuukai and Ishimori competed with top rope moonsaults outside. Desperado hoped for a tope suicida, only for Nagai to thwart him with a Spinebuster. Ishimori tackled DOUKI in the corner before hurling him at Nagai for another Spinebuster. Outside, Ishimori played equalizer as Nagai dragged DOUKI to the middle of the ring for a Boston Crab. Panicking, DOUKI pulled the match’s referee in so he couldn’t tap. SHO struck Nagai with a sheet pan, handing the pinfall to DOUKI.
(This was the type of pulse-pounding, high-octane thriller that only the junior heavyweights of this caliber can pull off. I was on the edge of my seat.)
Knockout Brothers (OSKAR & Yuto-Ice) & Yota Tsuji defeated TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.)
Yuto-Ice and Sabre threatened to compromise the match with their heated rivalry intensifying. OSKAR and Oiwa started the match in highly physical action. Elsewhere, Yuto-Ice and Sabre brawled at ringside. Tsuji whipped Jackson into the blue steel barricade. Tsuji chopped Oiwa so hard that he collapsed to the mat. Yuto-Ice rocked Oiwa with a Bomboclat and knocked Sabre off the ring apron.
Despite OSKAR’s size and strength, Sabre was ready with strikes. OSKAR failed a leg drop—to painful effect—resulting in a Penalty Kick. OSKAR caught a second Penalty Kick, which he countered into a powerslam. Jackson refused Tsuji’s advances to pick him up, instead toppling him with a lariat. A senton backfired on Jackson, as Tsuji’s raised knees took the brunt of his mack.
Oiwa and Sabre intercepted OSKAR, rotating his arms and shoulders, for naught, as the tall German clotheslined both of them. Jackson rerouted Tsuji’s Gene Blaster with a piledriver. Tsuji attempted another Gene Blaster, which proved a successful gambit. He pinned Jackson for the 3-count.
Post-match: The Knockout Brothers, unsatisfied with their win, beat up Sabre and Oiwa before kicking one of their trophies from the ring apron, breaking it.
(The vibes between ZSJ and Oiwa against the Knock-Out Brothers were so volatile that their matches led to some physical and nasty confrontations on the Road to Tokyo Dome shows. This contrasted nicely with the more focused mentalities of Tsuji and Jackson, who didn’t share the intense feelings as everyone else but had a gripping last stretch of the match.)
Main Event
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kosei Fujita
Fujita gained an early advantage with a dive to Tanahashi outside. He continued his dominion over The Ace by pressing his legs into him in the corner. Tanahashi slammed a comeback after a top-rope senton. Following a prolonged period of dominance from Fujita courtesy of a Springboard Dropkick and a nasty hold, Tanahashi fought back, eventually sinking in a deep Texas Cloverleaf.
Keeping his momentum, Tanahashi hurled Fujita about with a Twist and Shout and a Slingblade before missing a High-Fly Flow. Fujita drew on this for a bridging suplex. Another Slingblade from the Ace moved into a suplex attempt, to which Tanahashi had to modify into a Straightjacket Suplex. Two High-Fly Flows later, and Tanahashi secured the pinfall over Fujita.
Post-match: Tanahashi thanked Fujita for the match, who left Korakuen Hall in low spirits. The Ace proceeded to thank the crowd and instructed El Phantasmo (who was on English commentary with Chris Charlton) to lead the wave across the arena. Sending the crowd home happy with his signature air guitar spot, he noticed the litany of posters in fans’ hands that had his face and name on them and tearfully thanked the fans in attendance.
(Tanahashi’s previous three matches, including this one, were so distinct from one another. The Hiromu Takahashi match felt like a contemporary homage to the 2010s, whereas the El Desperado hearkened to the more terrifying bouts with monster heels and ruthless killers in his career. What sets Kosei Fujita apart for me was his underdog performance in tonight’s bout. While the torch wasn’t passed, Fujita came out of this with some star power in pushing Tanahashi to his limit.)
Final Thoughts
The Andrade El Idolo surprise was a shocker but a welcome one. I’d have expected him to join The Unaffiliated, but since Andrade was previously associated with AEW’s Don Callis Family, perhaps that tie with Kyle Fletcher lent itself to United Empire? There’s quite a bit to untangle there, honestly.
The Chris Brookes angle was nice, too. I’m looking forward to that one. DDT Pro Wrestling is getting some love with the representation they’re getting at Wrestle Kingdom. Other than that, the only feuds heading into Wrestle Kingdom that I’d say were capitalized well on were EVIL and Aaron Wolfe’s bout, in addition to Yuto-Ice’s ongoing war with Zack Sabre Jr.
