Tag: New Japan

Hiroyoshi Tenzan may be a bull in New Japan only in the headgear he wears for his entrances, but he’s still been going occasionally in the ring. Yesterday it didn’t go well as New Japan announced he was injured. Right knee. Out tomorrow. Not sure how this affected the card tomorrow but my guess now is he’a replaced by either Jado or Shota Umino. It’s not yet known how long Tenzan may be out.

UPDATE: Now out the rest of the current tour, which means at least another week. Status for DESTRUCTION and beyond remains uncertain.

New Japan began the second half of the Road To DESTRUCTION Tour today, which will take place in Hokkaido the rest of the way.

Today’s event was held at Noboribetsu City General Gym in Hokkaido and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 1255, a legit advance sellout.

Match 1: Kazushi Sakuraba (Pro Wrestling NOAH) & Toru Yano beat Daiki Nagai & Yasutora Yasuda. Sakuraba beat Yasuda with an Achilles hold.

Match 2: Shota Umino won a 20 man battle royal, last eliminating Zack Sabre Jr. Staggered/timed entry with over the top rope rules. Former New Japan wrestler Takashi Iizuka was a special participant in the match. CRAZY KOUZU!!!

Match 3: Gedo, Gabriel Kidd & David Finlay beat Tomohiro Ishii, Hitooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI. Kidd pinned Goto after Drill-a-Hole piledriver.

Match 4: Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman, HENARE, Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan beat BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. HENARE beat BUSHI with Ultima.

Main Event: NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Champions Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL to retain the titles. Yano pinned Togo after Demon Slayer. V1 for the champs. Obviously this result sent the crowd home happy.

The next event is Monday at Kitami Sports Center in Hokkaido. There will be no live or on demand broadcasts. In fact, today was the last broadcast of the tour, no more video the rest of the way (2 weeks).

New Japan has announced the first official matches for Royal Quest 4, their return to England on 10/20:
The first match is Zack Sabre Jr. vs. SANADA, which as of now is a NON-TITLE match. That could change is Sabre wins the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at DESTRUCTION later this month. Right now it’s a “special single match”, meaning 1 Hour time limit.
The second match is fallout from CAPITAL COLLISION 2024, where Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii earned the next STRONG Tag Team Championship match against Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. That match will happen on 10/20.

Broadcast plans are TBA for the event, which will start that day at 5:30 PM England time (1:30 PM PT/10:30 AM PT).

Since jumping from Pro Wrestling NOAH to New Japan, Jake Lee joined Bullet Club and formed a team apparently called UGLY BASTARDS with Gabriel Kidd. It hasn’t started well as Lee was injured in his match yesterday. Right foot. Out indefinitely including Saturday. He was to have teamed with Kidd, Gedo & David Finlay to face YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma & Tomohiro Ishii. Honma is now off and it will be a 6-man tag. It’s not yet known how long Lee will be out.

More as it becomes available.

New Japan finished up the first part of the Road To DESTRUCTION Tour today in Sendai.

Today’s event was held at Sendai Sun Plaza in Sendai and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 1126.

Pre-show match: Yasutora Yasuda vs. Daiki Nagai went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Before the matches began, a 10 Bell Salute was held for former wrestler & New Japan Dojo head Kuniaki Kobayashi, who died earlier this week.

Match 1: Tiger Mask & Tomoaki Honma beat Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato. TM 4 pinned Kato with a tiger suplex hold.

Match 2: Francesco Akira beat TAKA Michinoku.

Match 3: Taichi & SANADA beat Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. SANADA pinned Sabre after Deadfall. Between this and post-match comments, if Sabre wins the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship later this month (not waiting until Tokyo Dome for his G1 CLIMAX 34 prize use), this could set up a title match at Royal Quest 4.

Match 4: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Dick Togo, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Ryusuke Taguchi, Boltin Oleg, Shota Umino, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Togo pinned Taguchi after Magic Killer.

Match 5: Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI beat Jake Lee, Gabriel Kidd & David Finlay. Goto pinned Kidd after a brainbuster.

Match 6: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tauji, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito beat Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman, HENARE, Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan. Naito pinned Young after Pluma Blanca.

Main Event: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI beat Taiji Ishimori to retain the title. V1 for DOUKI. Next up: Possibly Kanemaru.

The next event is Saturday at Noboribetsu City General Gym in Hokkaido to begin the second part of the tour, with all remaining events in Hokkaido. Former New Japan wrestler Takashi Iizuka will participate as will Kazushi Sakuraba, and there will also be a NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Championship match. The event is a legit advance sellout. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET. This is the last broadcast for the tour (the rest after this will have no live or on demand video).

This may not be unpopular given he’s part of the hated House Of Torture, but New Japan has announced Ren Narita was injured at yesterday’s event. Right arm. Out tomorrow, status uncertain beyond that. He was to have teamed with Yoshinobu Kanemaru to face Shota Umino & Jado. That match is now off. Umino & Kanemaru have been added to what was match 5, which is now match 4 and will be a 10-man tag instead of 8-man tag and the event will have only 7 matches instead of 8. Jado is now off the event.

New Japan continued the Road To DESTRUCTION Tour today with another event in Tokyo.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. This was a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.

The announced paid attendance was 1190.

Pre-show match: Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata beat Combatants N & Y. Taguchi beat N with Oh My & Gar Ankle. This was a collaboration match with a stage/theater show starting this week in Japan that El Desperado is part of.

Match 1; Jacob Austin Young beat Shoma Kato.

Match 2; Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Katsuya Murashima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Fujita beat Murashima with Clarky Cat.

Match 3; Sho & Ren Narita beat Jado & Shota Umino. Sho beat Jado with a kneebar.

Match 4: Jake Lee & Gabriel Kidd beat Tomoaki Honma & Tomohiro Ishii. Kidd pinned Honma after O-KNEE.

Match 5: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Kanemaru beat TM 4 with a Figure 4.

Match 6: TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI beat Gedo & Taiji Ishimori. TAKA beat Gedo with Just Facelock.

Match 7: Francesco Akira, Callum Newman, Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan beat BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji & Tetsuya Naito. Khan pinned BUSHI after Eliminator.

Main Event: NEVER Openweight Champion HENARE beat Hiromu Takahashi to retain the title. V1 for HENARE. Next up: Takagi. That match will likely happen on 9/29 at DESTRUCTION. Not official yet.

The tour-ender for this portion of the tour is Wednesday at Sendai Sun Plaze in Sendai with an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship main event. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET. After this event the rest of the tour will be in Hokkaido with only the first event being broadcast (the rest are non-televised events) so unless plans change, no New Japan World for 2 weeks.

UPDATE: A 10 bell salute will be held before Wednesday’s event in memory of Kuniaki Kobayashi, who died today at 68. He was the manager of the New Japan Dojo and wrestled for New Japan and All-Japan from 1972 until 2000. He was a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and All-Japan World Junior Heavyweight Champion.

New Japan continued the Road To DESTRUCTION Tour today in Tokyo.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. It also aired live on ABEMA in Japan.

The announced paid attendance was 1384.

Pre-show match: Yasutora Yasuda vs. Daiki Nagai went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 1: Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan beat Katsuya Murashima, Shoma Kato & Tiger Mask. Young pinned Kato after Jacobs Ladder.

Match 2: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Ren Narita beat Jado & Shota Umino. Narita beat Jado with a modified kneebar.

Match 3: Jake Lee & Gabriel Kidd beat Tomoaki Honma & Tomohiro Ishii. Lee pinned Honma after D4C.

Match 4: Sho, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Ryusuke Taguchi, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Sho pinned Taguchi.

Match 5: Gedo & Taiji Ishimori beat TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI. Ishimori beat TAKA with Bone Lock.

Match 6: Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. beat BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito. Sabre beat BUSHI with a variant back STF.

Match 7: Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi beat Francesco Akira & HENARE. Takagi pinned Akira after MADE IN JAPAN.

Main Event: NJPW WORLD TV Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Yota Tsuji went to a 15 minute time limit draw. As a result, Cobb retains the title. V3 for Cobb. Next up: Possibly Narita.

The next event is tomorrow with NEVER Openweight Champion HENARE vs. Hiromu Takahashi for the title in the main event. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET. This will be a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.

New Japan held a special Shingo Takagi 20th Anniversary event today, recognizing the man who started out as an unusual big man in Dragon Gate then became “The Dragon” after joining New Japan.

Today’s event was held at Aimesse Yamanashi in Yamanashi and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 1672, a legit sellout.

Pre-show match: Masatora Yasuda vs. Daiki Nagai went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Before the main card began, a ceremony was held where Shingo Takagi was recognized as an ambassador in his hometown of Chuo City.

Match 1: Francesco Akira & Callum Newman beat Shoma Kato & Riiita (Dragon Gate). Akira pinned Kato after Fireball.

Match 2: HENARE & Jeff Cobb beat Katsuya Murashima & Ryusuke Taguchi. HENARE pinned Murashima after Native.

Match 3: Sho & Ren Narita beat Jado & Shota Umino. Sho pinned Jado.

Match 4: Jake Lee & Gabriel Kidd beat Tomoaki Honma & Tomohiro Ishii. Kidd pinned Honma after O-KNEE/

Match 5: TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI beat Gedo & Taiji Ishimori. DOUKI beat Gedo with Italian Stretch 32.

Match 6: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Kanemaru pinned TM 4 with Samson Clutch.

Match 7: Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Jacob Austin Young & Great-O-Khan. Sabre pinned Young.

Main Event: Shingo Takagi 20th Anniversary Match: YAMATO (Dragon Gate), BUSHI & Shingo Takagi vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji & Tetsuya Naito went to a 30 minute time limit draw.

The next event is tomorrow at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET. This will be an ABEMA simulcast in Japan.