By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Road to King of Pro Wrestling 2025”
October 9, 2025, in Ishikawa, Japan, at Komatsu General Gymnasium
Streamed live on New Japan World
This show had Japanese-only commentary. This is a large gym, and the crowd was maybe 600-800. The lights are on and it’s easy to see. For whatever reason, we don’t have on-screen graphics, either.
1. Zane Jay and Katsuya Murashima vs. Tatsuya Matsumoto and Shoma Kato. Zane and Shoma opened. Katsuya locked up with Tatsuya, and Murashima tied up the left arm. Shoma got a hot tag and he bodyslammed Jay for a nearfall at 6:00. Zane hit a dropkick. Murashima tagged back in and battled Tatsuya. Tatsuya hit a dropkick at 7:30, and he applied a Boston Crab, but Murashima got to the ropes. Murashima put Matsumoto in the Boston Crab, and he tapped out. Zane and Shoma kept trading chops after the bell.
Zane Jay and Katsuya Murashima defeated Tatsuya Matsumoto and Shoma Kato at 9:35.
2. Yuya Uemura vs. Daiki Nagai. They traded reversals on the mat early on, with Nagai keeping him in a headlock. They got to their feet at 4:30 and traded chops, and Nagai hit a dropkick. Nagai applied a Boston Crab at 6:30. Yuya applied a hammerlock and hit some bodyslams, and he went for a cross-armbreaker. He switched to a Fujiwara Armbar in the center of the ring, and Nagai tapped out. A highly mat-based match.
Yuya Uemura defeated Daiki Nagai at 8:36.
3. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors vs. “House of Torture” Sanada and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. HoT came out first; the BCWD ran to the ring, and they all started brawling. (We had a bell to officially begin, even though no one was in the ring. Please, NJPW, have some consistency on this!) Connors hit some shoulder tackles on Kanemaru in the ring. The HoT ‘wishboned’ Clark’s legs at 3:30. Connors hit a powerslam on Kanemaru, and they were both down.
Moloney got a hot tag and brawled with nemesis Sanada. Sanada hit a low-blow mule kick, and he grabbed a guitar, swung, and missed. Moloney hit a Gore. He set up for the Drilla Killa, but Sanada escaped. Sanada tried the ‘Eddie Spot’, tossing his guitar to Drilla and collapsing. It worked this time! The ref turned around, saw Sanada on the mat and Drilla holding the guitar, and he called for the bell!
Sanada and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors via DQ at 6:01.
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Masatora Yasuda vs. Jado and El Phantasmo. ELP and Tanahashi opened, and Phantasmo hit a second-rope twisting crossbody block. More air guitar from ELP and some comedy around that. Jado and Yasuda locked up at 4:00. Hiroshi hit a somersault senton on ELP for a nearfall at 6:30. ELP hit a plancha to the floor on Tanahashi. Tanahashi hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Phantasmo. Yasuda got back in and brawled with Jado, hitting a bodyslam for a nearfall at 9:00. ELP hit a superkick on Yasuda, then the Thunderkiss 86 (springboard frogsplash) for the pin.
Jado and El Phantasmo defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Masatora Yasuda at 10:03.
5. “House of Torture” EVIL, Douki, Sho, Dick Togo, and Don Fale vs. Kuukai, Boltin Oleg, Tiger Mask, Toru Yano, and El Desperado. HoT came out first; the babyfaces ran to the ring, and they all brawled. Kuukai hit a pop-up dropkick. We had a bell at 1:14 to officially begin (Seriously, no consistency on this rule, even on the same show). Douki whipped Despe into a guardrail. In the ring, Sho whipped Kuukai into an exposed turnbuckle, and Fale bodyslammed Kuukai and stood on his back.
Togo hit some jab punches at 5:00, but Kuukai slammed Togo face-first to the mat. Oleg got a hot tag, and he cleared the ring. He hit a splash to the mat on Togo for a nearfall. He did a Castagnoli-style Giant Swing. Togo hit his knife-edge chop to Tiger Mask’s groin. Tiger Mask got a Crucifix Driver on EVIL for a nearfall. Kuukai dove through the ropes onto Douki at 9:00. Togo choked Tiger Mask with his wire. EVIL and Togo hit a Magic Killer team slam on Tiger Mask, with EVIL scoring the pin. Decent. I really hope Kuukai sticks around beyond this tour.
EVIL, Douki, Sho, Dick Togo, and Don Fale defeated Kuukai, Boltin Oleg, Tiger Mask, Toru Yano, and El Desperado at 9:35/official time of 8:21.
6. Oskar and Yuto-Ice vs. Tomoaki Honma and Shota Umino. Yuto-Ice has really locked down this gangsta rapper look. The champs attacked, and we’re underway! Shota and Oskar traded forearm strikes. Honma and Shota hit a team DDT on Oskar, but Honma missed a Kokeshi at 2:00. Oskar took control and worked over Honma. Shota got in and hit a basement dropkick on Oskar’s knee at 4:30. Oskar hit a big bodyslam on Shota. Shota hit a tornado DDT on Oskar, then a dropkick on Yuto-Ice.
Honma and Yuto-Ice brawled, with Honma hitting a DDT, but he missed a Kokeshi. Shota hit a shotgun dropkick on Oskar. Honma hit a leaping headbutt on Oskar at 10:00. He went for one on Yuto-Ice, but Yuto caught him with a forearm strike. Yuto-Ice hit a running Claymore Kick on Honma for the pin. Decent action.
Oskar and Yuto-Ice defeated Tomoaki Honma and Shota Umino at 10:48.
* Yuya Uemura ran into the ring and helped Shota as they brawled with Oskar and Yuto-Ice.
7. Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Titan, and Hiromu Takahashi vs. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Gabe Kidd, David Finlay, Gedo, and Taiji Ishimori. Gedo and Hiromu opened, and once again, Takahashi tugged on Gedo’s beard, and his team took turns tugging on the beard for some ‘comedy.’ Ishimori finally entered at 4:30 and battled Hiromu. The War Dogs took turns working over Hiromu; this match has so far been devoid of much wrestling at all. Shingo got a hot tag at 7:00 and hit some bodyslams. Titan dove through the ropes onto the Dogs; Finlay was pushed back into the ring, and Shingo got a nearfall.
Yota hit a Stinger Splash on Finlay at 9:00, but he couldn’t hit a stomp to the head. Kidd entered and hit a running boot on Yota, then a bodyslam and a senton for a nearfall. Yota and Kidd collided heads, and both collapsed at 11:00. Gedo got back in and brawled with Titan. Titan hit a springboard crossbody block, then a spin kick to the jaw. Shingo hit a sliding clothesline on Gedo, and Titan hit a springboard dropkick to the chest to pin Gedo. An okay match; the first seven minutes had almost no action, but we had the expected sprint in the last half.
Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Titan, and Hiromu Takahashi defeated Gabe Kidd, David Finlay, Gedo, and Taiji Ishimori at 12:52.
Final Thoughts: Nothing must-see here, but we continue to see the build-ups for Kidd-Yota, Tanahashi-ELP, EVIL-Oleg, Drilla-Sanada, and Yuto-Ice and Oskar vs. Shota/Yuya. So in that sense, the show was successful. Those matches will all take place on Monday, along with the headlining match, with NJPW champion Zack Sabre Jr. defending the IWGP World Title against Konosuke Takeshita.
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