By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Road to Destruction”
September 10, 2026, in Tokyo, Japan, at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
Because they were in Tokyo, it meant Chris Charlton provided commentary. He said Henare would join him later.
1. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan, Henare, Jakob Austin Young, and Jake Lee vs. Boltin Oleg, Masatora Yasuda, Master Wato, and Yuya Uemura. Charlton said Yasuda will be leaving on excursion soon. Henare and Yuya opened, and Henare dropped him with a shoulder tackle. Yuya hit some armdrags. Wato entered and targeted Henare’s left arm. Wato hit some roundhouse kicks to the chest at 2:30. Henare sent him flying with a shoulder tackle. On the floor, Jake Lee and Yuya were fighting.
In the ring, Henare hit a bodyslam and a senton on Wato for a nearfall at 4:00. Young entered and hit some kicks on Wato in the corner. Lee hip-tossed Wato and made a cocky, one-footed cover at 5:30. The UE continued to work over Wato and kept him grounded. Wato hit a dropkick on O-Khan. Boltin got the hot tag at 7:30, and he hit a shoulder block on O-Khan. O-Khan hit his Mongolian Chops; Oleg responded with loud chops and a shoulder tackle! Boltin hit a flying splash to the mat for a nearfall.
Young entered, but Boltin flipped him around in his arms and hit his gutwrench suplex. O-Khan tried a Claw on Oleg at 9:30 and shoved him to the mat! Oleg got his feet on the ropes. O-Khan tried a gutwrench suplex on Oleg, but Oleg wound up hitting one on O-Khan. Yasuda tagged back in and hit some forearm strikes on O-Khan, then a dropkick for a nearfall. The UE took turns striking Yasuda in a corner. Yasuda hit another dropkick on O-Khan, but Lee made a blind tag! He nailed the Helluva Kick on Yasuda for the pin.
“United Empire” Great-O-Khan, Henare, Jakob Austin Young, and Jake Lee defeated Boltin Oleg, Masatora Yasuda, Master Wato, and Yuya Uemura at 12:29.
2. “The Unbound Co.” Jeff Cobb and Gedo vs. “United Empire” Zane Jay and Callum Newman. Callum ran the ropes at the bell to pick up speed and hit the Mafia Kick on Cobb. Cobb hit a shoulder tackle to drop Callum. Cobb hit a standing moonsault! He picked up teammate Gedo and slammed him onto Newman for a nearfall at 1:30, but Zane made the save. Zane tagged in and worked over Gedo. Callum entered and choked Gedo. Cobb got a hot tag, and he hit several shoulder thrusts to Zane’s ribs in the corner at 5:00.
Cobb knocked Newman off the ring apron to the floor, and he hit a back-body drop on Zane for a nearfall. Cobb hit a twisting uranage on Zane, and he tagged Gedo back in. Gedo choked Zane on the mat. Gedo hit a superkick for a nearfall at 7:00. Zane hit a Thesz Press and some punches on Gedo, then a fallaway slam for a nearfall. Newman hit a spin kick to Cobb’s ear, then a LOUD running penalty kick on the apron. Meanwhile, Zane hit a bodyslam on Gedo, but he missed a top-rope elbow drop. Gedo went for the Gedo Clutch, but Callum made the save. Callum hit a plancha onto Cobb. Zane hit the top-rope flying elbow drop to the sternum to pin Gedo.
“United Empire” Zane Jay and Callum Newman defeated “The Unbound Co.” Jeff Cobb and Gedo at 9:46.
* Henare joined Charlton here. Chris joked that he’s never had such a “nearly naked” person join him on commentary.
3. “The Unbound Co.” Daiki Nagai, Yuto-Ice, and Oskar vs. Toru Yano, Togi Makabe, and Jado. Yano has dyed his hair blond! They all started brawling; we got a bell at 00:12 to make it official. Yuto-Ice and Makabe brawled into the crowd and up the shorter set of bleachers. In the ring, Yano rammed Oskar’s head into the turnbuckles and kept him grounded. Yuto-Ice and Makabe brawled in the ring, with Yuto-Ice hitting a series of spin kicks. Yano and Oskar brawled up to the landing halfway up the long seating area. The ref was counting! The ref reached the 20-count! A satisfying brawl; it didn’t need to be longer than this.
“The Unbound Co.” Daiki Nagai, Yuto-Ice, and Oskar vs. Toru Yano, Togi Makabe, and Jado ended in a double count-out at 5:09/official time of 4:57.
4. Yoh and Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. “The Unbound Co.” Taiji Ishimori and Robbie Eagles. Ishimori and Yoh opened; Charlton said Yoh is 3-2 all-time against Ishimori in singles matches, but they’ve never met with a title on the line! Ishimori hit a huracanrana. He did a Sabre-style neck snap between his ankles. Robbie and Matsumoto entered at 2:00. Henare noted he fought Robbie X in Rev Pro last week (they were both in a Casino Gauntlet-style match the night before AEW’s All In). Ishimori hit a neckbreaker over his knee at 4:00, and he choked Tatsuya in the ropes.
Matsumoto hit a second-rope diving European Uppercut. Yoh got the hot tag and hit some flying forearms on Ishimori, then a dropkick on Robbie X. Ishimori hit a handspring-back-enzuigiri on Yoh at 6:00. Robbie got back in, but Yoh hit a standing neckbreaker on him, and they were both down. Matsumoto put Robbie in a Boston Crab, but Ishimori made the save at 8:00. Robbie hit a Lethal Injection and got the pin! That wrapped up quickly. Really sharp action from these four.
“The Unbound Co.” Taiji Ishimori and Robbie Eagles defeated Yoh and Tatsuya Matsumoto at 8:31.
5. “House of Torture” Douki, Sho, and Shu Skywalker (w/Dick Togo) vs. El Desperado, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Shota Umino. Taguchi again wore a leisure suit he found in 1978, and Charlton wondered if he “has disco fever.” Sho got on the mic and berated the crowd, then the HoT attacked. We got a bell at 00:16. Desperado and Douki opened, with Despe knocking him down with a shoulder tackle. On the floor, Douki jabbed Desperado with his staff. Togo attacked Taguchi.
Shun (who just joined the NJPW roster) pulled on Desperado’s mask, as the HoT kept Desperado in their corner. Despe finally hit a back suplex on Douki at 5:00. Shota got the hot tag, and he hit some back elbows on Douki, then a dropkick on Shun. Charlton said that Umino’s injury against Sabre in Chicago was just a re-aggravation of an injury from a match against Gabe Kidd leading up to the G1 Climax.
Douki hit a step-up kick to the back of Umino’s head at 7:00. Shun got back in and hit a swinging DDT on Umino. Taguchi entered and hit a flying buttbump on Shun, then he applied an ankle lock at 9:00. Togo jumped in the ring and choked Taguchi with his chain. Shun hit a leaping, twisting neckbreaker called “Skyfall” to pin Taguchi. Solid.
“House of Torture” Douki, Sho, and Shu Skywalker defeated El Desperado, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Shota Umino at 9:44/official time 9:28.
6. “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi vs. “The Unbound Co.” Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji. This should be the main event. Yota and Goto opened with standing switches and a feeling-out process. Goto flipped Yoshi-Hashi onto Yota at 1:30. Shingo hit a splash in the corner on Yoshi-Hashi. They brawled to the floor, where Shingo whipped Yoshi-Hashi head-first into the ring post at 4:30. In the ring, Shingo hit a suplex for a nearfall.
Goto and Yota traded offense, with Hirooki hitting a hard clothesline at 8:00, and they were both down. Shingo and Yota continued to work over Yoshi-Hashi. Shingo hit a blow to the back, and they hit a team back suplex on Yoshi-Hashi for a nearfall at 11:30. Shingo hit a top-rope superplex and they were both down. Shingo hit a DVD for a nearfall at 13:00. Yoshi-Hashi got a Crucifix Driver for a nearfall! Goto entered and hit a neckbreaker over his knee on Tsuji, who rolled to the floor. Shingo pushed Bishamon together, but they hit stereo superkicks.
Goto hit a clothesline to the back of Shingo’s head, and Yoshi-Hashi got a rollup for a nearfall. Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee. (Charlton misheard the 15-minute time call and said we’re 10 minutes deep.) Yota dove through the ropes. Shingo and Yoshi-Hashi traded clotheslines. Yota hit a Stomp on the back of Yoshi-Hashi’s head. They hit a Pumping Bomber and Gene Blaster spear combo for a nearfall, but Goto made the save. Shingo nailed the Pumping Bomber clothesline on Yoshi-Hashi for a nearfall at 17:30! Shingo nailed “Made In Japan” (pumphandle powerbomb) and pinned Yoshi-Hashi. Awesome match.
“The Unbound Co.” Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji defeated “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi at 18:04.
7. Aaron Wolf and Taichi vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Kosei Fujita and Ryohei Oiwa. Fujita and Wolf started fighting on the floor! They were briefly separated, everyone got in the ring, and we got a bell at 1:06, with those two continuing to brawl! Taichi entered and hit a stiff kick to Kosei’s spine at 3:00, then he applied a half-crab. Wolf hit a snap suplex on Fujita for a nearfall at 4:30. Oiwa entered, and he hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Taichi and put him in a Figure Four at 8:30.
Fujita hit a springboard dropkick on Taichi while Oiwa was also hitting a German Suplex on Taichi! Nice! Taichi put Oiwa in a Stretch Plum submission hold at 12:30. Meanwhile, Wolf applied a rear-naked choke on Fujita! Oiwa reached the ropes. Taichi and Oiwa traded clotheslines while holding onto each other’s wrists. Oiwa hit a Doctor Bomb on Taichi for a nearfall. Taichi got a rollup for a believable nearfall. Taichi hit a headbutt and a Saito Suplex at 17:00, and they were both down. This crowd was hot! Wolf and Fujita both tagged in, and they traded forearm strikes, then open-handed slaps to the face.
Fujita hit a springboard dropkick for a nearfall. Kosei tried a German Suplex, but Wolf blocked it. Wolf hit a powerslam move, and they were both down. Wolf hit a twisting uranage, and he tied up Fujita on the mat and turned it into an Anaconda Vice at 20:00! Fujita nearly tapped, but he got his feet on the ropes. Fujita hit a spin kick to Wolf’s head, and Oiwa hit a back suplex on Wolf. Fujita hit a headbutt and finally got the German Suplex with a high bridge to pin Wolf! “Unbelievable!” Charlton shouted.
“The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Kosei Fujita and Ryohei Oiwa defeated Aaron Wolf and Taichi at 22:12/official time 21:06.
Final Thoughts: Looking at the card before the show, I was perplexed that Bishamon vs. Shingo and Tsuji wasn’t the main event. It definitely deserved to go on last, and it was the better match, too. The feud between Wolf and Fujita is intriguing, as NJPW really doesn’t do a lot of feuds between heavyweights and juniors. That main event was built around Fujita trying to hit a German Suplex, and he was finally able to hit it for the pin. So, a pretty good top two matches.
No real complaints. I’ve never been a big fan of Togi Makabe, but a feud with Yuto-Ice is perfect for both of them — they can just trade clubbing blows and stick to that. Cobb’s return and the debut of Shun Skywalker were jolts to the roster. Good show.
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