By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Soul – Night 9”
July 6, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan, at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
Chris Charlton and Francesco Akira provided commentary. Korakuen Hall was sold out, and it always feels like the wrestlers bring the energy to another level in this venue.
** The big news of the past 24 hours is that Hirooki Goto’s elbow injury has knocked him out of the G1 Climax. I read that he’s appeared in every G1 since 2008! With Goto out, it means we have a four-way match here between the guys who LOST qualifying matches. My heart says Tomohiro Ishii, but my mind says Taichi takes the final slot. I truly do not believe there is any chance Chase Owens or Satoshi Kojima win the four-way.
1. “House of Torture” EVIL, Sanada, Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (w/Dick Togo) vs. Shota Umino, Boltin Oleg, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma, and Yuya Ueumura. Of course, the HoT attacked as the ring introductions were concluding, and we had the bell a second later. Ren and Shota brawled. Taguchi hit a buttbump on Narita. The HoT ‘wish-boned’ Taguchi’s legs at 3:00 and worked him over. Yujiro hit an inverted DDT on Yua at 4:30. Sanada hit a low blow on Taguchi; Taguchi hit a low blow on Sanada. Oleg got a hot tag, and he cleared the ring. Oleg got two guys on his back and hit a double Samoan Drop at 6:00.
Oleg flipped Sanada around in his arms and hit a gut-wrench suplex. Oleg hit a double Shotgun Dropkick. Honma tagged in, and Shota got in, too. The babyfaces took turns striking EVIL in a corner. Taguchi and Honma each hit a Kokeshi falling headbutt on EVIL at 8:00. Togo tripped Honma. Honma hit a flying headbutt on EVIL for a nearfall. Ren struck Honma in the back with his push-up bar. EVIL hit the Everything is Evil (uranage) for the pin on Honma. Basic but fine. Not enough Shota or Yuya.
EVIL, Sanada, Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Shota Umino, Boltin Oleg, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma, and Yuya Ueumura at 8:49.
2. Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, and Hiromu Takahashi vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, and Hartley Jackson. Again, “LIJ” is no more, even though they continue to team together. (Maybe they just choose a new team name if they are sticking together in this post-Naito era?) Sabre and Shingo opened, and they both avoided each other’s big moves early on. Hiromu entered at 1:30, and he called for Hartley to tag in! They locked up, but of course, the massive bull knocked Hiromu to the mat. Hiromu tried some shoulder blocks that Hartley no-sold. Hartley caught him and hit a fallaway slam. Hartley splashed onto him for a nearfall at 3:00.
TMDK took turns working over Hiromu. Oiwa hit a senton, Sabre hit one, then Hartley hit the big senton for a nearfall at 4:30. Hiromu hit a huracanrana on Oiwa. Yota tagged in and battled Oiwa and stomped on Ryhei’s back. Tsuji hit a baseball slide dropkick on Sabre, then a Flatliner on Oiwa for a nearfall at 7:00. Oiwa hit a DDT, then a back suplex and they were both down. Hartley tagged back in and hit a running splash in the corner on Yota and a clothesline for a nearfall. Akira said Hartley should have been in a G1 qualifier. Shingo and Hartley traded clotheslines. Shingo suplexed the big man at 9:00. Shingo hit a Pumping Bomber clothesline on Hartley, then Tsuji hit the Gene Blaster (spear) on Hartley for the pin. That was energetic.
Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, and Hiromu Takahashi defeated Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, and Hartley Jackson at 9:49.
* The former LIJ squad rolled out of the ring. Young Lion Daiki Nagai confronted them, and he peeled off his shirt. He apparently wants to be in their faction. The LIJ guys shook his hand! The four of them headed to the back together! They might not have a team name now, but it looks like they got a new member!
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tiger Mask. Charlton said Hiroshi’s all-time singles record in Korakuen Hall is 51-28-2. Charlton noted that Tanashi will have more singles matches this year by the end of the G1 than any year since 2006!! He added that their only prior singles match was in 2008. Tanahashi immediately targeted the left leg and hit some elbow drops on the knee. TM flew through the ropes and barreled onto Tanahashi at 3:30. In the ring, Tiger Mask hit a top-rope armdrag to the mat, then he hit a Tiger Driver at 5:30.
Tiger Mask grapevined the leg and kept Tanahashi grounded, but Hiroshi reached the ropes. TM switched to a Figure Four. They got up and TM hit some spin kicks to the thighs. Tanahashi hit a Twist-and-Shout neckbreaker at 8:30, then a Sling Blade for a nearfall. He hit the High Fly Flow frogsplash for the pin. Solid match. They shook hands and hugged.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Tiger Mask at 9:37.
4. Taichi vs. Chase Owens vs. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Satoshi Kojima in a last-chance G1 Climax qualifying match. We started with just Chase vs. Kojima. (I guess I didn’t understand that this was a gauntlet! I thought it was a traditional four-way.) But this was thrown together at the last minute!
4a. Chase Owens vs. Satoshi Kojima. They brawled to the floor at 1:30. Kojima hit a DDT onto the ring apron. In the ring, Kojima hit a second-rope elbow drop, then another DDT at 4:30. Satoshi hit the Koji Cutter. Chase hit a jumping knee to the chin, then a C-Trigger running knee for a nearfall, then a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall. Kojima dropped him with a clothesline. Chase hit a low blow punt kick, then the “Last Testament” (package piledriver for the pin.
Chase Owens defeated Satoshi Kojima at 6:49.
4b. Chase Owens vs. Taichi. As Taichi walked to the ring, Sanada attacked him from behind! “We cannot have nice things in this business!” Charlton said. Sanada tossed Taichi into the ring, we got a bell, and Chase hit a running knee for a believable nearfall! Owens set up for the package piledriver, but Taichi escaped. Chase pushed Taichi into the ref, and the ref was down. Sanada immediately jumped in and helped beat up Taichi. Ishii made the save, and he hit a suplex on Sanada! Chase again set up for a package piledriver, but Taichi got a jackknife cover for the pin! Chase hit some punches after the bell and left.
Taichi defeated Chase Owens at 4:45.
4c. Taichi vs. Tomohiro Ishii. The ref gave Taichi a few seconds to recover before the bell. Ishii was impatient but stayed in the opposite corner. We got a bell and we’re underway! Ishii hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. Taichi hit a roundhouse kick; Ishii hit a chop that dropped Taichi. Taichi hit some stiff kicks to the spine, a roundhouse kick to the chest, then an enzuigiri that dropped Taichi at 5:00. Ishii hit a clothesline that dropped Taichi. Ishii hit a second-rope delayed vertical suplex for a nearfall at 6:30.
Taichi hit another enzuigiri; Ishii hit a thudding headbutt, and they both went down. Ishii hit a standing powerbomb for a believable nearfall. He hit a sliding clothesline for a nearfall. Taichi nailed a high back suplex, with Ishii landing high on his neck at 9:00, and they were both down. Taichi hit a clothesline and a standing powerbomb for a nearfall. (He mirrored what Ishii just did to him!) Taichi hit a clothesline; Ishii hit an enzuigiri, and they were both down at 11:30. Akira noted the crowd was evenly split. Taichi hit another back suplex, then an enzuigiri and another back suplex for a believable nearfall; Akira and I thought that.
Taichi set up for an Air Raid Crash, but Ishii escaped and hit a piledriver. Taichi nailed a discus forearm strike that leveled Ishii. This was intense! “This is every bit what G1 Climax is all about!” Charlton shouted. Ishii hit his own Air Raid Crash!! Ishii hit a running clothesline for a believable nearfall. Taichi got a Gedo Clutch rollup for a believable nearfall. Ishii hit a flying headbutt or spear for a nearfall (camera angle makes it hard to call that one.) Taichi hit an Emerald Flosion swinging sideslam for a nearfall. They hit stereo clotheslines. Taichi hit a superkick, then the Black Mephisto (Air Raid Crash) for the pin. As I expected, Taichi is in the G1 after all!
Taichi defeated Tomohiro Ishii at 17:46 to qualify for the G1 Climax.
5. “House of Torture” Sho and Douki vs. Yoh and Master Wato for the IWGP junior heavyweight Tag Titles. Yoh tied Douki in the Paradise Lock, then he tied up Sho, too. Sho wrapped Wato’s leg around the ring post. Sho whipped Yoh into rows of chairs at ringside. In the ring, Sho slammed Wato’s knee into the mat. Douki applied a half-crab on the floor on Wato. The HoT kept Wato grounded. Wato hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee at 4:30. Yoh got a hot tag, and he hit a dropkick, then a plancha to the floor, and he was fired up. The ref was pushed into the middle, allowing Sho to hit a back suplex on Yoh. Yoh hit a spear, and they were both down at 7:30.
Douki and Wato got back in. Douki grabbed his metal pipe and struck the back of Wato’s knee with it! Douki tied him in a modified Figure Four, but Watoo reached the ropes at 10:00; the time check was spot-on. Wato hit a top-rope doublestomp to Douki’s chest for a nearfall, but Sho made the save. Wato hooked both arms and hit his mousetrap slam. The ref was bumped and immediately Yujiro Takahashi and Dick Togo ran in. Toru Yano made the save. The babyfaces hit stereo superkicks on Douki, and Wato hit a modified TKO stunner for a nearfall on Douki. Sho jumped in the ring and hit the babyfaces with a thin, metal sheet. Douki immediately hit his Dragon Suplex with a high bridge on Wato for the tainted pin. Okay match.
Sho and Douki defeated Yoh and Master Wato to retain the IWGP junior heavyweight Tag Titles at 14:00 even.
6. El Desperado vs. Kosei Fujita for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title. Kosei hit a shotgun dropkick at the bell. Charlton and Akira talked about Desperado’s recent deathmatch against Jun Kasai. Fujita hit a flip dive to the floor and grazed Desperado before crashing. In the ring, he went for the Jungle Boy Snare Trap, but Despe scrambled to the ropes at 1:30. Despe hit a baseball slide dropkick, and they fought to the floor, where Despe slammed Fujita’s knee onto the thin mat at ringside at 4:30. Fujita rolled back in at the 18-count, but Desperado kept the leg tied up on the mat.
Despe hit a back suplex at 9:00, then switched to a half-crab, but Kosei reached the ropes. Kosei hit a spinning kick to the chest, and they were both down. Kosei hit a springboard dropkick, and he went back to the Snare Trap leglock. Desperado applied the Stretch Muffler at 13:00, but Kosei reached the ropes. Desperado hit a brainbuster for a nearfall. They got up and traded chops. Charlton noted that Kosei will turn 23 next week!
Despe slammed him to the mat and reapplied the Stretch Muffler at 16:00, but Fujita escaped and applied a cross-armbreaker. Kosei got a rollup for a believable nearfall! Kosei applied the Snare Trap and pulled back on Despe’s head, but Despe escaped and went back to the Stretch Muffler. He hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip at 18:30, then went back to the Stretch Muffler. Kosei held on for maybe a minute before submitting. A very good match. Charlton said Desperado has proven to be one of the best wrestlers in the world right now, not just the best junior.
El Desperado defeated Kosei Fujita to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title at 19:32.
* Desperado got on the mic and thanked Fujita for the fight and put him over. He said someone needs to step up next. He was covered in streamers, so I guess no one is coming out to challenge him tonight.
Final Thoughts: Ishii-Taichi was stellar and easily the match of the show. I really do hate gauntlets. While I’m glad we had a one-on-one match between these two, I would have rather had a mini-tournament. They could have opened the show with the two first-round matches, then had Ishii-Taichi later on the show. I’m still hopeful that Ishii reappears in AEW in the next week or so and is in the U.S. all summer. Despe-Kosei was really good, but it was worked at a slower pace than I would prefer. Kosei’s time will come, but I’m glad Desperado retained.
The way Daiki Nagai was invited into the former LIJ makes me think of how Sabre brought Fujita into TMDK. I’m glad it appears they will carry on as a faction, even without the same name. This was the final show until the G1 Climax begins on July 19!
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