By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Soul – Night 8”
July 4, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan, at Tokyo Budokan
Streamed live on New Japan World
Chris Charlton provided solo commentary as the show began. The venue is a very small arena, with nearly all the fans seated on the floor; two sides of the upper deck were filled, and the other two sides were empty. The attendance was maybe 1,200-1,500.
* This show features qualifying matches for the final two G1 Climax slots. I would truly be shocked if we had an upset in either match.
** NJPW held a “TV special” in Japan last week; it has not been released yet. In a shocker, Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Hirooki Goto to win the IWGP World Title! Also, in that match, Goto sustained an elbow injury, and he’s not here. Dragon Gate’s Shun Skywalker wrestled in a six-man tag, and he indicated he’ll be back in NJPW soon. In other NJPW news, El Desperado wrestled in a deathmatch since the last NJPW show, and that was heavily discussed here as he heads into his next title defense.
1. “House of Torture” EVIL, Sanada, Douki, Dick Togo, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Tomohiri Ishii, Shota Umino, Tiger Mask, Yuji Nagata, and Taichi. The announcer was only halfway through announcing Ishii’s team when the HoT attacked, and we’re underway! Charlton talked about how, one by one, Taichi’s friends have abandoned him to join the HoT. (Foreshadowing?) Taichi stomped on Douki in the corner. It settled down with just Tiger Mask vs. Douki in the ring. Togo tucked on TM’s mask and tried to remove it. The HoT kept Tiger Mask in their corner.
Yuji got a hot tag at 5:00 and hit some roundhouse kicks on EVIL at 5:00, then an Exploder for a nearfall. Shota tagged in, and he targeted Togo’s knee. (Charlton was talking about who is in the G1, and which Block they are in.) Suddenly, everyone jumped in, and Ishii hit a back suplex. Tiger Mask dove through the ropes onto Kanemaru at 7:30. Shota tied Togo in an STF and cranked back on the head, and Dick submitted. Solid match.
Tomohiri Ishii, Shota Umino, Tiger Mas, Yuji Nagata, and Taichi defeated EVIL, Sanada. Douki, Dick Togo, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 7:49.
2. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman, and Jakob Austin Young vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, and Yota Tsuji. Charlton reiterated that “LIJ is on an indefinite hiatus,” even though they are all still competing together. (Why not just keep calling themselves LIJ without Naito and Bushi?) Yota and Callum opened; Charlton noted that Callum had the fewest points of anyone in last year’s G1 Climax – he was 2-7 with a shocker win over Shingo – so he needed to qualify to make it in this year. Hiromu got in; Callum hit a doublestomp on him. The UE tied up Hiromu and worked him over for several minutes.
Charlton again talked extensively about which guys in this match are in the G1, and which Block. Shingo got a hot tag at 6:30, backed O-Khan into a corner, and hit some jabs. O-Khan tried some Mongolian Chops, but Shingo blocked them and hit his own Mongolian Chops! Young tried to hit a Sliced Bread, but Shingo blocked it, and Shingo hit a Death Valley Driver, then a Pumping Bomber clothesline on Jakob. Shingo then nailed the Made In Japan (pumphandle powerbomb) for the clean pin. Good action.
Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, and Yota Tsuji defeated Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman, and Jakob Austin Young at 10:07.
3. Yuya Uemura, El Desperado, and Boltin Oleg vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Kosei Fujita, and Hartley Jackson. Despe and Oleg wore their respective title belts to the ring. Desperado and Fujita opened and immediately traded overhand chops, as Charlton talked about their singles match coming on Sunday. Hartley tagged in at 2:00 and splashed onto Desperado for a nearfall. Despe hit a Spinebuster. Sabre and Oleg tagged in at 3:30, and Boltin hit some chops and a Stinger Splash, then a powerslam. (He is so strong!) Boltin went for a splash to the mat, but Sabre got his knees up to block it, and Zack tied him in a Triangle Choke.
Hartley got back in and dropped Oleg with a clothesline at 5:30. Yuya tagged in for the first time; he hit an armdrag and a dropkick on the massive Jackson. Kosei hit a senton; Hartley hit a much bigger senton to flatten Yuya to get a nearfall at 7:00. Hartley hit a Death Valley Driver on Oleg! Yuya tried to get the Deadbolt Suplex on Hartley, but Hartley is too big to go over. So, Yuya hit a huracanrana out of nowhere on Hartley for the flash pin! That was really entertaining; a top-tier preview tag match. Sabre and Oleg shoved each other a few times after the match concluded! The Young Lions had to separate them.
Yuya Uemura, El Desperado, and Boltin Oleg defeated Zack Sabre Jr., Kosei Fujita, and Hartley Jackson at 8:28.
* Hartley Jackson joined Charlton on commentary. I’ve noted this before; Hartley sounds just like he looks, with a deep, gruff voice and a thick Aussie accent.
4. Ryohei Oiwa vs. Satoshi Kojima in a G1 Climax qualifying match. Kojima is replacing Don Fale, who had a family emergency and bowed out. Charlton noted that Kojima is in the MLW Opera Cup; he said if Kojima wins here, Oiwa would take Kojima’s place in the MLW tournament. Oiwa immediately targeted the right arm. They went to the floor, where Oiwa kicked at the arm as it was tied in the guardrail. Charlton noted that Goto is still scheduled to be in the G1 Climax, but an update will be provided in the next day or two.
They got back in the ring, where Kojima hit his rapid-fired chops at 4:30, then a second-rope elbow drop for a nearfall, then a DDT. Oiwa hit a senton for a nearfall. He hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 7:00. Satoshi hit a clothesline, then the Koji Cutter (stunner) and a brainbuster for a nearfall. Oiwa hit a Doctor Bomb, and he applied a sleeper at 9:00, but Kojima hit a discus clothesline for a nearfall. Oiwa hit a discus clothesline for the pin. Shorter than expected, but I think that was the right length. Again, there was no reason to believe Kojima was actually winning here. Oiwa joins the A Block!
Ryohei Oiwa defeated Satoshi Kojima at 9:45 to qualify for the G1 Climax.
5. Chase Owens vs. Yoshi-Hashi in a Q1 Climax qualifying match. Like the prior match, the winner here feels fairly obvious. (Regardless of if you like their in-ring styles, Chase and Kojima have barely been in NJPW in 2025, so ‘kayfabe’ why would they even get a chance to qualify?) Chase had some spurs on his boot; he tried to strike Yoshi-Hashi with it, but Yoshi-Hashi ducked it. We had a bell to officially begin at 00:17, and Yoshi-Hashi hit a snap suplex on the thin mat at ringside. In the ring, Chase took control and hit some chops. Chase hit a Cactus Elbow from the apron to the floor at 3:00. Yoshi-Hashi pushed Chase off the apron to the floor, and he whipped Owens into the guardrails at 4:30.
In the ring, Yoshi-Hashi hit a top-rope Blockbuster for a nearfall. Chase hit a clothesline and a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall at 7:30. The crowd was not into this one at all. Yoshi-Hashi hit a Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall, then a buzzsaw kick to the cheek. Chase hit a C-Trigger running knee to the back of the head at 9:30, and they were both down. Chase hit a piledriver for a nearfall. He hit another knee strike to the jaw, but he couldn’t hit the package piledriver! Y-H hit a Lungblower to the chest, and they were both down at 11:00, and the crowd was now alive! They got up and traded forearm strikes. Yoshi-Hashi hit a superkick and a clothesline, then the Kharma (pumphandle powerbomb) for the pin. Charlton pointed out that Chase went out and fought this alone with no help from his faction.
Yoshi-Hashi defeated Chase Owens at 12:21/official time of 12:04 to qualify for the G1 Climax.
6. “House of Torture” Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, and Ren Narita vs. Master Wato, Yoh, and Toru Yano for the NEVER Six-Man Tag Titles. Yoh’s team came out of the curtain and were immediately attacked; I started the stopwatch at first contact. They fought to ringside and into the ring. We had a bell at 00:58 to officially begin. Yoh and Sho traded quick offense. Charlton noted that the HoT won these belts back in January! They all fought back to the floor and into the crowd. Back in the ring, Ren kept Yoh grounded. Ren hit a brainbuster for a nearfall at 6:00. Yoh hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Sho at 8:30.
Master Wato tagged in and hit a backbreaker over his knee on Sho for a nearfall. He applied the Vendeval submission hold around the neck on Sho and the bell rang at 10:14, but of course, it was a ruse by the HoT. It worked because Wato let go of the hold. Sho hit a spear on Wato. Yano got a hot tag at 11:30; he saw Douki at ringside, holding a weapon. Yujiro hit a falling headbutt to Yano’s groin for a nearfall. Wato and Yoh hit superkicks, then planchas. Kanemaru ran to ringside and hit a low blow on Yano. Yano hit low blows on Yujiro and Kanemaru. Yano put a bag of Yujiro’s head, rolled him up, and got the pin. New champions! An ugly match, honestly.
Master Wato, Yoh, and Toru Yano defeated Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, and Ren Narita to win the NEVER Six-Man Tag Titles at 13:01/official time of 12:03.
7. Gabe Kidd vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Global Title. A feeling-out process early on and standing switches. Charlton noted that Tanahashi has had a title shot for this belt once before, losing to then-champ Nic Nemeth. They fought mostly on the mat and there was virtually no action worth describing, as Kidd kept Hiroshi on the mat. Tanahashi hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip at 10:00, then a second-rope somersault senton for a nearfall. Tanahashi hit a Twist-and-Shout neckbreaker.
They traded blows in the corner, and Kidd fell to the floor. Tanahashi nailed a top-rope flying crossbody block onto Kidd on the floor at 13:00. (The camera angle really made it look like Hiroshi got great height on that dive!) He whipped Kidd into the guardrails, then he hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip across the guardrail! In the ring, he went for a Texas Cloverleaf, but Kidd broke free, and Gabe hit a series of chops. Gabe hit a brainbuster for a nearfall at 16:30. Gabe hit his own Sling Blade! But he missed a High Fly Flow. (The crowd certainly reacted to Gabe trying out Hiroshi’s signature moves.)
Hiroshi hit a basement dropkick on the knee, and he now applied the Texas Cloverleaf, but Kidd eventually reached the ropes at 19:00. Hiroshi hit a straitjacket German Suplex for a nearfall, then the High Fly Flow frogsplash for a nearfall. However, he missed a second one, and they were both down at 21:00. Kidd hit a running knee for a nearfall, then a Rebound Lariat for a nearfall, and he was astonished he didn’t win there. Another running knee, then a piledriver, but Tanahashi again kicked out.
They got to their feet, and Kidd hit several open-hand slaps to the face. Kidd hit a back suplex; Hiroshi popped up and hit a Dragon Suplex, then a Sling Blade. “Do you believe in miracles?” Charlton shouted. Hiroshi dove off the top rope, but Kidd caught him with a forearm strike. Kidd then hit another piledriver for the clean pin. That sure started slowly, but the last few minutes were great.
Gabe Kidd defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the IWGP Global Title at 23:58.
* Gabe got on the mic and spoke in Japanese and talked about his mental health struggles. He legit broke down and cried as he talked about how Hiroshi would FaceTime with him and try to keep his spirits up. He switched to English and said he might not be alive without Hiroshi’s care. (It’s nothing that us fans haven’t heard before, but it still was powerful to hear.) Gabe fired up. Hiroshi started crying, too.
Final Thoughts: A good main event. That said, you could jump in eight minutes into the match and feel like you didn’t miss a thing. Kidd remains hot and over with these Japanese crowds. Again, Chase and Kojima were never going to win their matches and be in the G1. Both have been fairly inactive in NJPW this year, and no one wants to see a 2025 version of Kojima compete in nine singles matches over 3-4 weeks. I thought that six-man tag match was just dull. Having both Yujiro and Yano in the same match is a recipe for disaster.
We have one more show, on Sunday in Korakuen Hall, before the G1 kicks off on July 19!
Be the first to comment