By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Soul – Night 5”
June 23, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan, at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
Chris Charlton provided English commentary, and he announced that NJPW has signed Aaron Wolf, a judo champion. However, Wolf won’t debut until January. It certainly appears to be a sellout.
* This show features two qualifying matches for spots in this year’s G1 Climax tournament.
1. Toru Yano, Yoh, Master Wato, Shoma Kato, and Katsuya Murashima vs. “House of Torture” Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, Douki, Ren Narita, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Charlton noted that the HoT haven’t defended the six-man tag belts since February. Like the other recent HoT matches, Sho spoke on the mic, then they all started brawling. Wato and Douki fought in the ring. Murashima whipped Kanemaru into the guardrail. Douki put Wato’s leg on the guardrail at 2:30 and kicked it. In the ring, Kanemaru hit a basement dropkick on Wato’s knee, and he targeted it.
Wato and Sho traded forearm strikes, but Sho applied a half-crab at 5:00. Yoh entered and began hitting Dragonscrew Legwhips on each of the heels, and he was fired up. Douki got his pipe, and he struck one of the Young Lions. The HoT tossed their weapons to the babyfaces, thinking they could trick the ref. However, the babyfaces all hit the Hot with their own weapons, causing a DQ. “That felt damn good in the moment,” Charlton said. Yano, Yoh, and Wato stole the six-man tag belts!
Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, Douki, Ren Narita, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Toru Yano, Yoh, Master Wato, Shoma Kato, and Katsuya Murashima at 7:59.
2. “House of Torture” Don Fale, Chase Owens, EVIL, and Sanada vs. Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, and Yoshi-Hashi. Again, the HoT attacked before the bell. Sanada immediately tied Honma in a Paradise Lock, but Honma is the first man to ever escape it! Togi hit a double clothesline. They all brawled to the floor. In the ring, Fale stood on Tiger Mask’s back at 3:30. Chase and Y-H fought. Y-H tripped Fale, who fell with all his weight on Chase at 5:30.
The babyfaces worked over EVIL, taking turns striking him in a corner. Honma hit a Kokeshi falling headbutt for a nearfall. Tiger Mask dove through the ropes and barreled onto Fale. Honma hit a flying headbutt on EVIL at 8:00. Dick Togo hopped in the ring and threw powder into Honma’s eyes. EVIL hit the Everything is Evil uranage and got the tainted pin. What you’d expect. Chase attacked Yoshi-Hashi after the bell; those two will fight for a final spot in the G1 on July 4.
Don Fale, Chase Owens, EVIL, and Sanada defeated Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, and Yoshi-Hashi at 8:50.
3. Yuya Ueumura and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. “United Empire” Jakob Austin Young and Great-O-Khan. Taguchi and O-Khan opened, and Taguchi hit a flying buttbump. O-Khan hit his Mongolian Chops. Uemura finally tagged in and hit some armdrags and a dropkick on O-Khan at 4:00. He hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Jakob entered and hit a tornado DDT on Yuya for a nearfall at 6:00. Yuya hit his twisting uranage for a believable nearfall on Young; I thought that was it. Yuya then hit a top-rope crossbody block to pin Young.
Yuya Ueumura and Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Jakob Austin Young and Great-O-Khan at 7:37.
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jado vs. Gabe Kidd and Taiji Ishimori. Our first time seeing Ishimori this tour. Tanahashi and Kidd locked up to open; they will have a singles match on July 4, and Kidd hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip. Charlton talked about Kidd’s (very public) mental health issues during the pandemic. Tanahashi hit a crossbody block and hit his own Dragonscrew Legwhip at 3:00, and they traded chops. Kidd hit a suplex, and they were both down. Jado and Ishimori got in and locked up on the mat. Ishimori applied the Bone Lock, and Jado tapped out. That wrapped up quickly.
Gabe Kidd and Taiji Ishimori defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jado at 5:22.
5. Hirooki Goto, Boltin Oleg, and Shota Umino vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, and Hartley Jackson. Oleg and Oiwa opened, and Oiwa hit a dropkick, but Boltin dropped him with a shoulder block. Boltin flipped Oiwa around in his arms, but it was Oiwa who hit a gut-wrench suplex! Hartley tagged in at 2:00, and TMDK took turns striking Oleg in a corner. Oleg hit a loud chop on Sabre at 4:00. Sabre hopped on his back and applied a rear-naked choke, but Oleg shrugged him off, and Boltin hit a shotgun dropkick. Goto got in and suplexed Sabre onto Oiwa.
Sabre applied a Triangle Choke on Goto, then a cross-armbreaker; Goto rolled him over for a believable nearfall. Sabre got an O’Connor Roll for a believable nearfall. Shota tagged in for the first time at 6:30, but Hartley dropped him with a flying crossbody block. Shota hit a tornado DDT on Boltin. Oiwa hit a high back suplex on Umino, then a senton. Sabre hit his senton, and that led to Hartley’s senton for a nearfall. Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee on Sabre. Hartley hit a double clothesline. He dropped Shota with a clothesline, then a Death Valley Driver for a believable nearfall on Umino at 8:30. Shota dropped Hartley with a clothesline, then a Snow Plow Driver for the pin.
Hirooki Goto, Boltin Oleg, and Shota Umino defeated Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, and Hartley Jackson at 9:13.
6. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Drilla Moloney in a G1 Climax qualifier match. Ishii didn’t qualify last year. They avoided each other’s big spots, and we had a standoff. Charlton noted that this was the third time they’ve faced off this year. They started trading chops at 1:00. Moloney hit a baseball slide dropkick to the floor. In the ring, Moloney hit a stiff kick to the spine and kept Ishii grounded. Ishii hit a delayed vertical suplex at 4:00. Ishii backed him into a corner and hit a series of chops. Ishii hit a Pounce, and they were both down. He hit a superplex for a nearfall at 6:30.
They got up and traded slaps to the face, and Ishii went down. Moloney nailed a spinebuster, then a Gore for a nearfall at 8:30. Moloney hit a second-rope Cradle Shock for a nearfall at 10:00. He hit a piledriver, but Ishii popped to his feet! Ishii hit a German Suplex, and they were both down. Moloney hit an enzuigiri, then a pumphandle powerbomb move for a believable nearfall at 12:00. This has been every bit as good as anticipated. Ishii hit a piledriver along his back, and they were both down.
Ishii hit a Dragon Suplex, but Moloney popped to his feet, so Ishii hit a clothesline to drop him, then a sliding clothesline for a nearfall at 13:30. He hit another clothesline for a nearfall. (The 10-minute call was a bit late, the 15-minute call was a bit early.) Moloney hit a suplex for a nearfall. This crowd was HOT. Ishii hit a leaping headbutt to the jaw, then a diving headbutt for a nearfall at 16:30. Moloney hit a Gore, then a second one! He nailed the Drilla Killa (swinging piledriver), then a second one for good measure to get the pin. An excellent match.
Drilla Moloney defeated Tomohiro Ishii to qualify for the G1 Climax at 17:09
7. Callum Newman vs. Taichi in a Q1 Climax qualifier match. Callum qualified last year — he had a massive upset over Shingo Takagi early in the tournament — while Taichi didn’t get in, and it’s been a storyline for all year that he’s been upset about not qualifying. They immediately traded boots to the head, then forearm strikes. Newman hit a stiff kick to the spine. Taichi hit a roundhouse kick to the chest, then an enzuigiri at 4:00 that dropped Newman. Callum hit a doublestomp to the back and a series of forearm strikes in the corner. Callum hit a dropkick that sent Taichi falling from the corner to the floor at 7:00.
They fought on the ring apron. Callum went for an OsCutter, but Taichi caught him with a kick, sending Callum to the floor. Callum dove into the ring at the 19-count at 9:30, but Taichi immediately attacked him. Taichi hit some Yes Kicks as Callum locked his own hands behind his back and allowed the kicks to land. However, he caught Taichi’s leg on one attempt, stood up, and hit a spin kick that dropped Taichi, and they were both down at 13:30. Callum hit a top-rope doublestomp, and they were both down. Callum hit a suplex for a nearfall at 15:00; Charlton reiterated that we have no time limit on a qualifying match.
Callum went for an OsCutter, but Taichi blocked it and hit a back suplex. They traded forearm strikes, and Taichi dropped him with a clothesline. He hit another back suplex for a nearfall at 17:00. Callum hit a running knee to the head against the ropes. He hit another top-rope doublestomp to the back, then one to the chest for a nearfall at 19:00. Taichi went for a superplex, but Callum backflipped and landed on his feet. Callum hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall at 21:00. Callum hit a spinning brainbuster for a nearfall. Taichi got a jackknife cover for a believable nearfall! I thought that was it! He hit an enzuigiri. Callum hit a Poison Rana, then a jumping knee to the chin, then a brainbuster for the pin! Another very good match.
Callum Newman defeated Taichi to qualify for the G1 Climax at 23:32.
Final Thoughts: I have a man-crush on Ishii and always look forward to watching him wrestle. It was really a great match, but I fully expected him to lose. I’m hopeful it means he’s back in AEW for much of this summer, rather than appearing in G1 undercard matches. Meanwhile, I expected Taichi to win after his year-long determination to get back into the field, so I was surprised by Newman’s win. I really wish both Callum and Taichi had qualified for Q1.
The last three matches were really good. The first four didn’t do much for me, but the Kidd-Tanahashi exchange was good stuff. Charlton does an adequate job on solo commentary, but I can’t help but be disappointed that Chase Owens or some other English speaker didn’t join him for the final matches.
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