By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Hiroshi Tanahashi – Final Homecoming”
November 2, 2025, in Gifu, Japan, at Gifu Memorial Center
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton provided commentary. This is a small arena. The lights are low, but it appears the crowd was maybe 3,500 to 5,000.
* Along with Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yota Tsuji, this show features the finals of the Super Junior Tag League, as Douki and Sho take on Robbie X and Taiji Ishimori. Neither team lost a match, as Robbie and Ishimori’s only loss was via forfeit due to illness.
1. Shoma Kato, Boltin Oleg, and Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Zane Jay, Katsuya Murashima, and Masatora Yasuda. Zane and Matsumoto opened. Yasuda chopped Shoma. Matsumoto hit some bodyslams on Yasuda. Oleg entered for the first time at 3:00 and hit some chops on Yasuda. Murashima tagged in at 5:00 for the first time and hit some flying forearms on Shoma. (I must reiterate, if you haven’t seen these five Young Lions — Murashima is just so much thicker and bigger.) Oleg got back in to trade chops with Murashima. Zane jumped in and hit some dropkicks on Oleg, and he put Boltin in a Boston Crab. Oleg hit a splash to the mat on Zane for a nearfall, then an F5 for the pin. Decent.
Shoma Kato, Boltin Oleg, and Tatsuya Matsumoto defeated Zane Jay, Katsuya Murashima, and Masatora Yasuda at 9:18.
2. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles, and Hartley Jackson vs. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Gedo, Daiki Nagai, and HIromu Takahashi. Jackson was set to open against Gedo, but Gedo dropped to his knees and begged Hartley to tag out… and he did! Funny. Kosei got in instead. TMDK took turns tugging on Gedo’s beard as part of their offense. Hiromu finally got a hot tag at 5:00, and he hit a series of crossbody blocks on Eagles and Fujita. Of course, Hartley easily caught him. Eagles hit a flying forearm to the base of Hiromu’s neck.
Hiromu knocked Hartley down on a crossbody block at 7:00. Daiki entered for the first time, but he couldn’t lift the massive Hartley. Daiki hit some dropkicks that only staggered Hartley. Daiki bodyslammed the big man! He put Hartley in a Boston Crab, but the other TMDK guys made the save. Fujita and Robbie hit stereo moonsaults from the apron to the floor. Hartley hit a flying crossbody block on Daiki, then the Jagged Edge (Death Valley Driver) for the pin. Solid match.
Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles, and Hartley Jackson defeated Gedo, Daiki Nagai, and HIromu Takahashi at 9:17.
3. Kushida, Yuki Yoshioka, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Dragon Dia vs. El Desperado, Yamato, Tiger Mask, and Kuukai. Dia and Kuukia opened. Desperado battled Yuki. Yamato dropped Yuki with a shoulder tackle. Yuki hit a suplex on Yamato. Taguchi entered at 5:00 and battled Tiger Mask. Dia and Yuki hit stereo flip dives to the floor at 6:30. Kuukai hit a top-rope moonsault to the floor on several guys. In the ring, Tiger Mask and Taguchi were trading offense, with TM hitting a top-rope double-underhook suplex for a nearfall. However, Taguchi rolled up Tiger Mask for the flash pin! Decent.
Kushida, Yuki Yoshioka, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Dragon Dia defeated El Desperado, Yamato, Tiger Mask, and Kuukai at 7:55.
4. “House of Torture” EVIL, Dick Togo, Ren Narita, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Toru Yano, Shota Umino, Master Wato, Yoh, and Yuya Uemura. The HoT charged and attacked, and we’re underway! Everyone was brawling on the floor. We had a bell at 00:35 when EVIL and Yano got back into the ring. Shota entered at 2:30 and hit a dropkick on EVIL. Shota hit a tornado DDT on Ren. Wato entered and fought Togo, and he locked in Vendeval at 6:00. Wato dropkicked EVIL, who fell backwards into the ref, and the ref was down. Kanemaru sprayed whiskey in Wato’s eyes, and EVIL struck Wato with a title belt. They pulled a prone Togo on top of a prone Wato and got the pin. At least it was short…
EVIL, Dick Togo, Ren Narita, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Toru Yano, Shota Umino, Master Wato, Yoh, and Yuya Uemura at 6:51/official time of 6:16.
* EVIL got on the mic and vowed he would become a double champion. Aaron Wolf, the massive kid who is apparently an Olympian, got in the ring and chased off EVIL. Those two will meet Jan. 4 at Wrestle Kingdom! (NJPW is putting a lot of hope that Wolf will become a great pro wrestler, which, as we know, legit fighters have quite a mixed history of if they turn out as pro wrestlers.)
5. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Yuto-Ice, Oskar, Clark Connors, and Shingo Takagi vs. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman, Templario, and Jakob Austin Young. Good to see O-Khan back! Templario and Connors locked up to open, and Templario hit a Sasuke Special dive to the floor. O-Khan and Yuto-Ice brawled into the crowd and away from the ring. Oskar and Callum brawled up the red carpet on the entrance ramp. O-Khan was jabbing a guardrail link into Yuto-Ice’s throat. In the ring, the UE worked over Connors in their corner for several minutes. Connors hit a Pounce on Callum at 6:00.
Shingo tagged in, backed Callum into a corner, and repeatedly chopped and punched him, then a sliding forearm for a nearfall. Newman fired back with a Pele Kick to the ear. Shingo hit a clothesline, and they were both down at 9:00. Yuto-Ice and Jakob tagged in and traded forearm strikes, and Young hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall. Yuto hit a series of roundhouse kicks to the chest in the corner. Oskar applied a sleeper and slammed Jakob to the mat at 11:00. Templario hit a huracanrana on Oskar. Clark hit a powerslam on Callum. Yuto-Ice hit a running knee to pin Jakob. That was a really good undercard match.
Yuto-Ice, Oskar, Clark Connors, and Shingo Takagi defeated Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman, Templario, and Jakob Austin Young at 12:14.
6. “Bullet Club” Taiji Ishimori and Robbie X vs. “House of Torture” Douki and Sho in the Super Junior Tag League finals. Again, HoT went 5-0 while the BC was 4-1, and their only loss was via forfeit. (Give Gedo some credit at least; we didn’t have a bunch of 3-2 teams with convoluted tiebreakers, like in BoSJ.) The HoT attacked, and we’re underway! They immediately all brawled to the floor and past the guardrails and into the crowd. In the ring, Robbie flipped Ishimori onto Sho for a nearfall at 1:30. The heels crotched both BC around a ring post. Yoh whipped Ishimori into rows of chairs at 3:00, then head-first into the ring post. In the ring, Douki got a nearfall on Taiji. They wish-boned Ishimori’s legs and kept him grounded.
Ishimori finally hit a handspring-back-spin kick. Robbie X got a hot tag at 6:30, and he hit a dropkick on Sho. On the floor, Robbie did a moonsault by launching off the ring post! Nice! In the ring, he hit a forward Finlay Roll and a standing moonsault for a nearfall on Sho at 8:30. Douki struck Ishimori in the back with a chair. Douki put Ishimori in the Darkness Stretch (triangle choke). Ishimori got a foot on the ropes at 11:00, but Sho was distracting the ref, allowing Douki time to move back to the center of the ring. Robbie finally jumped in to break it up.
Robbie hit a double Pele Kick. He hit a spin kick to Douki’s head, then an X Express (Phoenix Splash) for a visual pin at 13:00, but the ref was pulled to the floor. Sho struck Robbie in the back with his wrench. Ishimori put Douki in the Bone Lock (crossface). The ref got bumped again, and this time, Ishimori hit a low blow mule kick on Douki! Robbie hit a top-rope twisting dive on Sho. In the ring, Ishimori reapplied the Bone Lock. Douki sprayed red mist into Ishimori’s eyes, hit a low blow, and got a rollup with a handful of tights for the cheap pin. Good, but certainly not memorable.
Douki and Sho defeated Robbie X and Taiji Ishimori to win the Super Junior Tag League at 15:16.
* Douki and Sho posed with their newly won trophies and their title belts. Douki got on the mic and boasted that there can be no complaints about them because they are the best champions in junior heavyweight wrestling.
7. Yota Tsuji vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Global Title. I’ll reiterate that Tanahashi pinned Tsuji during the G1 Climax just a few months ago. Standing switches to open, then they tied each other up on the mat. Yota applied a leg lock around Tanahashi’s waist at 4:00, and this has been slow early on. Yota switched to a Camel Clutch. Tanahashi hit his second-rope somersault senton for a nearfall at 7:00. Yota hit a Flatliner, and he put Hiroshi in a Boston Crab. He hit a running knee in the corner at 9:00, but he couldn’t hit the Marlowe Crash (top-rope stomp to the head). Tanahashi immediately hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip, and they were both down.
They got up and traded forearm strikes. Tanahashi hit a Twist and Shout neckbreaker, then a Sling Blade clothesline for a nearfall at 12:00. Yota hit a second-rope superplex for a nearfall, and he went back to the Boston Crab. Walker said this is “four years in the making” for Tsuji. Yota hit a release German Suplex at 14:30. Tanahashi hit a basement dropkick on the knee, then a German Suplex for a nearfall. Tsuji hit his own Sling Blade for a nearfall, but he missed a frogsplash. Tanahashi immediately hit a spear that Walker called “The Ace Blaster” at 16:30. (I always get a kick out of wrestlers using each other’s moves.)
Tanahashi hit a High Fly Flow to Yota’s back! He went back to the top rope and hit a crossbody block on a standing Yota. Tanahashi missed a High Fly Flow to the chest, and Yota hit the Gene Blaster (spear), and they were both down. Yota dropped him with a headbutt! Tanahashi again went for a High Fly Flow, but Yota got his knees up to block it. Yota once again hit the Gene Blaster and this time got the spear. The crowd was hot and into it. Yota finally got his victory over Tanahashi.
Yota Tsuji defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the IWGP Global Title at 20:04.
* Yota put his title belt over his shoulder and spoke on the mic. He said, “I’ve always been chasing after you.” He told Tanahashi to “leave New Japan Pro Wrestling to me. It’s okay.” Yota handed the mic to Tanahashi to let him address the crowd. “The ball is in your court now,” Tanahashi told Yota. Yuto-Ice strolled down to the ring! Walker was disgusted that he would ruin this moment. Yuto-Ice challenged Tanahashi to a match… next Saturday.
8. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Hirooki Goto for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Goto just returned from injury. An intense lockup to open, and they traded forearm strikes. Goto beat Takeshita in the G1 Climax in 2024 in their only prior singles match, and the commentators talked about that. Goto’s feet were on the apron, and Takeshita hit a DDT to the thin mat at ringside at 3:30. He whipped Goto into the guardrail and hit a running boot. They got back into the ring with Takeshita in charge. Goto fired up and hit some chops at 6:30, but Takeshita hit a Divorce Court armbreaker on the left elbow, and he targeted that arm.
Goto hit a hard clothesline, and they were both down at 8:00. Goto hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Takeshita hit an Exploder Suplex at 9:30, and he kicked Goto off the apron to the floor, then he nailed a flip dive to the floor on him. Takeshita shook a leg, hinting it was sore from the landing. In the ring, Takeshita hit his flying clothesline at 11:30. Goto hit a suplex. Takeshita hit a Helluva Kick and a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 13:00. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Goto tried a German Sulex, but Takeshita rotated and landed on his feet.
Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee at 14:30, and they were both down. Goto hit a hard clothesline. Takeshita applied a sleeper and rolled back on the mat to slow down Goto. They fought on the ropes in the corner. Goto hit a top-rope Code Red for a nearfall at 18:30. Goto hit a slam for a nearfall. Tashita hit his piledriver and a wheelbarrow German Suplex. Goto popped up, and they hit stereo clotheslines. Takeshita hit another clothesline for a nearfall as the 20:00 call was spot-on. Goto hit the GTR neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall.
Takeshita hit a Poison Rana and a running knee for a nearfall, then a Last Ride-style standing powerbomb for a nearfall at 22:00. This crowd was going nuts! Takeshita went for a running knee, but Goto blocked it. Goto hit a clothesline, then an End of Days-style swinging sideslam for a believable nearfall; I really thought that could have been it. Goto hit a headbutt. Takeshita caught him with a knee to the chin, then the Raging Fire (twisting Falcon Arrow) for the pin. That was exhilarating.
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Hirooki Goto to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at 24:20.
* Takeshita got on the mic and asked Goto to return to ringside. He said he may have learned some things from the Goto revolution, and he thanked him. Goto left. Takeshita then wondered who had the courage to face him for the title at Wrestle Kingdom. Out of the back came Yota Tsuji, already showered and in a nice suit and jacket, and he has his Global Title over his shoulder. Yota said he’ll do whatever it takes to face Takeshita for that belt. Takeshita told Yota to put his title on the line as well! Yota agreed! They both held their respective title belts above their heads as they glared at each other, then Yota left.
Final Thoughts: As expected, a really strong main event. Goto has simply had an inspired 2025, even with the time off due to injury. Again, I truly didn’t rule out a title change late in that match, but I’m glad to see Takeshita retain.
Tanahashi-Yota had the crowd throughout. The match was a bit slow, at Tanahashi’s current speed, but the crowd heat made it entertaining. The Super Junior Tag League match was fine, but Robbie and Ishimori really didn’t generate much babyface reaction, which is entirely expected. And no one really wanted to see Sho and Douki win, especially with more HoT cheating tactics. That eight-man tag of Unaffiliated Bullet Club vs. United Empire was really sharp.
Chris Vetter, I know that Japan is different…. But Hiroshi has had so many matches this year… he has worked more in his retirement.