By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Road to Destruction”
September 24, 2025, in Hokkaido, Japan, at Kitagas Arena Sapporo 46
Streamed live on New Japan World
The venue is a large gym with almost everyone seated on the floor, and this is a good-sized crowd of maybe 1,200. The lights were on. Walker Stewart provided commentary.
1. Zane Jay and Masatora Yasuda vs. Tatsuya Matsumoto and Katsuya Murashima. I’ll reiterate that Jay is no longer bald; he’s grown short brown hair and it has totally changed his look; he opened against Matsumoto, who has worked the fewest matches of these four Young Lions. Murashima entered and hit a bodyslam on Zane at 2:00, and his team worked over Jay. Yasuda got the hot tag and hit a huracanrana on Murashima, then a dropkick for a nearfall at 5:30. Matsumoto hit a series of bodyslams on Yasuda for a nearfall, and he applied a Boston Crab, but Zane made the save. Yasuda put Matsumoto in a Boston Crab, and Tatsuya tapped out!
Zane Jay and Masatora Yasuda defeated Tatsuya Matsumoto and Katsuya Murashima at 8:43.
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Master Wato. I can’t stress how much I love that Tanahashi is having singles matches with everybody on the roster, as we’re now less than four months from his retirement. An intense lockup to open as Stewart confirmed this is a first-time-ever singles match. Wato hit some basement dropkicks on the knee, then one to the back for a nearfall at 3:30, and he kept Tanahashi grounded. Tanahashi hit his second-rope somersault senton for a nearfall at 6:00. Wato hit a plancha to the floor.
Back in the ring, Wato hit a springboard flying back elbow for a nearfall. Tanahashi hit a twist-and-shout spinning neckbreaker. Wato hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 8:30. Tanahashi hit a Sling Blade clothesline for a nearfall. He hit a top-rope crossbody block, then the High Fly Flow frogsplash for the pin. Good action.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Master Wato at 10:17.
3. Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Shoma Kato vs. Toru Yano, Tomoaki Honma, and Togi Makabe. Shoma is clearly in this one to eat the pin. Everyone brawled at the bell. What is the average age of the other five guys? 47? Yano and Taguchi brawled. They did some ‘humor’ with Taguchi’s teammates being pushed into Taguchi’s butt. Taguchi hit a Kokeshi on Honma at 3:30. Shoma and Togi entered at 5:00 and brawled, with Kato hitting a dropkick. Togi hit a clothesline, and he put Kato in a Boston Crab, and Shoma tapped out. A dull match.
Toru Yano, Tomoaki Honma, and Togi Makabe defeated Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Shoma Kato at 6:53.
4. “House of Torture” EVIL, Don Fale, and Dick Togo vs. Boltin Oleg, Yuya Uemura, and Shota Umino. Fale and Oleg opened and brawled. The HoT worked over Oleg in their corner. Shota tagged in at 3:30 and hit a fisherman’s suplex on EVIL, then a Dragonscrew Legwhip. Uemura entered, but the HoT quickly worked him over, with Togo hitting his knife-edge chop to the groin for a nearfall at 7:00. EVIL got pushed into Fale. Yuya hit a huracanrana and rolled up Togo for the flash pin. Meh.
Boltin Oleg, Yuya Uemura, and Shota Umino defeated EVIL, Don Fale, and Dick Togo at 7:44.
5. Taichi and Taka Michinoku and Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yuto-Ice and Oskar and Gedo. All six began brawling, and it immediately spilled to the floor. Yuto-Ice whipped Ishii into the rows of chairs at ringside. In the ring, Yuto-Ice and Oskar worked over Taka. Taka and Gedo traded eye pokes. Ishii entered and battled Yuto-Ice. Ishii hit a German Suplex on Oskar at 6:00. Taichi tagged in and hit a series of Kawada Kicks on Oskar, then some spin kicks to the thigh. Oskar hit a vicious bodyslam at 8:00. Gedo got back in, but Taichi superkicked him and got the pin.
Taichi, Taka Michinoku, and Tomohiro Ishii defeated Yuto-Ice, Oskar, and Gedo at 8:32.
6. Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, and Yota Tsuji vs. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Gabe Kidd, David Finlay, and Taiji Ishimori. Kidd and Shingo shoved each other before the bell. Hiromu and Ishimori opened, and they immediately traded forearm strikes. Finlay stomped on Yota in the corner, and the BCWD kept Tsuji grounded. Yota hit a backbreaker over his knee on Kidd at 5:00. Shingo tagged in and hit a bodyslam on Ishimori. He clotheslined Finlay over the top rope to the floor, then he dropped Kidd with a clothesline for a nearfall.
Kidd hit a headbutt; Shingo hit some jab punches, and they were both down at 7:00. Ishimori hit a shoulder-breaker over his knee on Hiromu. Hiromu fired back with a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 8:30. Yota hit a backbreaker over his knee on Finlay, then stomped on his head. The ref got bumped! Ishimori immediately hit a low-blow mule kick and pinned Hiromu. Good action and easily the best of the preview tags.
Gabe Kidd, David Finlay, and Taiji Ishimori defeated Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, and Yota Tsuji at 9:57.
7. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Hartley Jackson, and Ryohei Oiwa vs. “House of Torture” Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, and Sanada. Sabre and Ren opened, but Narita tagged out to Yujiro before they locked up. Oiwa entered and tied up Yujiro on the mat. The HoT beat up Oiwa on the floor and shoved him back into the ring. Sabre got a hot tag at 7:00 and hit some pump kicks to Ren’s chest, then a suplex for a nearfall. He applied a mid-ring Octopus Stretch, but Ren escaped. Ren did the neck-snap between his ankles, so Sabre did the move on Ren, and they were both down.
Hartley and Sanada tagged in at 9:00, with Hartley hitting a splash for a nearfall. He set up for his Death Valley Driver, but Yujiro made the save. So, Hartley hit a vertical suplex on Yujiro. Sanada went for a low blow kick, but Hartley avoided it. Hartley hit a running crossbody block at 10:30. Sanada got a guitar, tossed it to Hartley, and collapsed on the mat. The ref turned around, saw the guitar in Hartley’s hands, and he called for the bell. The ‘Eddie Spot’ worked for once! Ren continued to beat up Sabre after the bell, and he hit the Hell’s Guillotine (top-rope flying knee to the throat).
Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, and Sanada defeated Zack Sabre Jr., Hartley Jackson, and Ryohei Oiwa via DQ at 11:12.
8. “House of Torture” Sho and Douki vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita for the IWGP Junior Tag Team Titles. The HoT attacked; TMDK hit stereo planchas to the floor. They got into the ring and we got a bell to officially begin at 00:28. TMDK applied submission holds on Sho, with Eagles getting a nearfall at 2:30. The heels worked over Kosei for several minutes. Eagles got a hot tag at 7:30 and hit a flying kick to Douki’s chest. He hit a 619 move, then running knees to Douki’s face in the corner for a nearfall, but he missed a 450 Splash.
Sho entered and hit a suplex on Eagles for a nearfall at 9:30. He hit the Shock Arrow (cross-arm piledriver) for a nearfall. Robbie went for a front guillotine choke, and he switched to the Ron Miller Special (Trailer Hitch leg lock) at 11:00. Fujita also tied up Douki so he couldn’t break up the hold. Sho eventually reached the ropes. Sho hit a spear on Eagles at 12:30. Eagles hit a mid-ring, double Sliced Bread. Kosei tagged back in and hit a head-scissors takedown on Douki, then a springboard dropkick for a nearfall at 14:00. He tied Douki in the Jungle Boy-style Snare Trap and cranked back on Douki’s head. Sho hit a Buckle Bomb on Fujita.
Douki hit a Sunset Bomb on Fujita for a nearfall, and he tied Fujita in the Douki Chokey (Triangle Choke) at 15:30. Douki got his metal staff but Eagles kicked it away. Eagles hit a flip dive through the ropes and barreled onto both heels. Kosei hit a top-rope somersault dive onto everyone at 17:00. Kosei hit a running stunner for a nearfall. Kosei hit a German Suplex with a high bridge on Douki for a nearfall at 18:30. Douki grabbed the ref to escape a hold. Sho got a metal sheet and struck Fujita with it. Douki and Fujita traded forearm strikes, and Kosei hit his pop-up stunner. However, Douki rolled up Kosei with a handful of tights for the tainted pin.
Sho and Douki defeated Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita to retain the IWGP Junior Tag Team Titles at 20:10/official time of 19:42.
9. El Desperado vs. Yoh for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title. Standing reversals early on, and they traded reversals on the mat. Despe got frustrated and slapped him in the face at 3:00. Yoh hit a plancha to the floor. In the ring, Yoh applied a leg lock around Despe’s neck, but Desperado got his feet on the ropes at 5:00. Yoh hit a Sabre-style neck-snap between his ankles. Desperado tied him in a Figure Four and kept him grounded, but Yoh reached the ropes at 10:00. Desperado switched to a half-crab at 13:30. Yoh hit a tornado DDT, then a neckbreaker over his knee at 15:30.
Desperado went for a Stretch Muffler but couldn’t keep it locked in. Desperado hit a spinebuster, then a back suplex at 18:30, then a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Yoh applied an Anaconda Vice on the mat. He got up and hit a clothesline at 21:30 and was fired up. He hit a Kamigoye running knee strike for a believable nearfall; Yoh started to celebrate, but the ref told him that Despe had kicked out. Despe hit Pinche Loco (Angel’s Wings), but Yoh immediately kicked out. Desperado hit a Jay Driller, then another Pinche Loco for the pin. A very good match.
El Desperado defeated Yoh to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title at 24:49.
* Douki immediately came to the ring and spoke to Desperado, calling him a “fake champion.” Desperado accepted the challenge, and Douki returned to the back with no punches thrown. The confetti cannons went off to cover Desperado with streamers as the show came to a close.
Final Thoughts: A good back-and-forth mat-based main event. I’m glad that Desperado won and retained; the reality is that Desperado, Hiromu and Ishimori are the top tier of the junior class, and anyone else (Yoh, Douki, Wato) is just making a pit stop trying to push into that elite group. I’ll reiterate that I really love what Tanahashi is doing on his retirement tour, taking on all comers and working a high number of singles matches.
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