By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Wrestling Redzone”
April 25, 2026, in Hiroshima, Japan, at Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
The lights were low, and the venue appeared to be a pretty big gym. Walker Stewart provided commentary.
1. “House of Torture” Sho, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Yoh, Toru Yano, and Shota Umino, and Master Wato. Sho spoke on the mic, then the HoT attacked and we’re underway! Wato hit some roundhouse kicks on Sho, then a bulldog. Sho twisted Wato’s knee in the ropes at 1:30, and the HoT worked over Wato in their corner. They ‘wish-boned’ Wato’s legs and Yujiro got a nearfall. Shota got a hot tag and he hit a dropkick on Kanemaru.
Shota hit a fisherman’s suplex on Chase. Chase hit a German Suplex on Shota at 5:00. Shota hit a tornado DDT on Owens. Yano entered and slapped Yujiro on the back of the head. The HoT jumped in and beat up Toru. Kanemaru accidentally sprayed whiskey in the eyes of a teammate. Yano got a rollup for the pin. Passable.
Yoh, Toru Yano, Shota Umino, and Master Wato defeated “House of Torture” Sho, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 7:44.
2. Taichi, Masatora Yasuda, and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. “United Empire” Henare, Francesco Akira, and Great-O-Khan. Taguchi went to start and turned around and saw an angry Henare across from him. He wanted to tag out, but his partners had stepped off the apron! (I hate Taguchi’s low-brow humor, but this was pretty funny how he sold his terror of facing Henare.) Taguchi hit some butt-bumps on Henare. Henare clobbered him with forearm strikes. O-Khan and Taichi brawled into the crowd.
The UE worked over Taguchi in their corner. Akira hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall at 4:00. Henare dragged Taguchi to the floor and hit some chops against the guardrail, then tossed him back in, where O-Khan made a cocky one-footed cover for a nearfall. Taguchi hit a buttbump, and he tagged in Taichi at 6:00. O-Khan hit his Mongolian Chops on Taichi. Akira tagged in at 8:00 and hit a huracanrana on Taichi.
Taichi hit a Mafia Kick, and they were both down. Yasuda entered for the first time and battled Akira, hitting three rolling suplexes for a nearfall. Yasuda hit an assisted Swanton Bomb for a nearfall at 9:30. Henare grabbed Taguchi and Yasuda by their throats, but Taichi broke it up. Akira tied up Yasuda in a move Walker called a “Ground Tarantula,” and Yasuda tapped out. Decent.
“United Empire” Henare, Francesco Akira, and Great-O-Khan defeated Taichi, Masatora Yasuda, and Ryusuke Taguchi at 10:23.
3. “House of Torture” Douki, Ren Narita, Dick Togo, and Don Fale (w/HoT) vs. Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg, and Aaron Wolf. The four House of Torture members from the first match joined them to ringside. Tiger Mask and Togo opened. Of these eight, only Oleg is remotely over right now. Wolf tried to lift Fale but couldn’t, so he hit an elbow drop at 2:00. Oleg and Ren brawled into the crowd — this feud refuses to end. In the ring, Douki tried to untie TM’s mask, but the ref jumped in. The HoT worked over Tiger Mask in their corner.
Narita and Tiger Mask traded chops; it’s clear that TM’s mask is really loose — I expect that to be yanked off before this match is over. Oleg got a hot tag at 5:30, and he cleared the ring. He hit a splash in the corner on Narita. Narita went for a cross-armbreaker. Togi and Togo fought. Oleg hit a belly-to-belly suplex at 7:30. Tiger Mask got back in and traded punches with Douki, with TM hitting a backbreaker over the knee. Douki tried to flee, but Toru Yano appeared and threw Douki back in. Suddenly, all eight were brawling in the ring. The ref finally called for the bell.
“House of Torture” Douki, Ren Narita, Dick Togo, and Don Fale (w/HoT) vs. Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg, and Aaron Wolf went to a no contest at 9:20.
* Douki did indeed steal Tiger Mask’s mask, and Walker Stewart was livid. Douki headed to the back, holding his trophy. (A reminder that Tiger Mask is retiring in about two months.) Tiger Mask got on the mic (with a towel over his head) and yelled at Douki in Japanese.
4. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Ryohei Oiwa and Hartley Jackson vs. Yuya Uemura and Tomoaki Honma. Yuya and Oiwa opened and traded standing switches to open. Yuya hit a deep armdrag and tied up the arm. Oiwa tied up the left leg. (Can this just be a singles match and the others never enter?) Sadly, Hartley and Honma entered, and they missed their signature moves. TMDK hit a team delayed vertical suplex on Honman for a nearfall at 6:00. Hartley hit his massive senton for a nearfall. Honma hit a flying headbutt on Hartley for a nearfall. Honma tried some clotheslines that Hartley no-sold, and Hartley hit a sideslam for a nearfall, then the Jagged Edge (DVD) for the pin.
“The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Ryohei Oiwa and Hartley Jackson defeated Yuya Uemura and Tomoaki Honma at 8:47.
5. “The Unbound Co.” Shingo Takagi, Daiki Nagai, Gedo, and Yota Tsuji vs. “United Empire” Callum Newman, Jake Lee, Zane Jay, and Jakob Austin Young. Jake wore a scary clown mask. Shingo and Callum opened and charged at each other and traded some quick offense. Shingo clotheslined him over the top rope to the floor. Zane and Gedo entered at 2:00, and Gedo hit some jab punches. Callum and Shingo fought on the floor, while Lee was brawling with Yota. Lee tagged in at 4:00, put on a glove, and helped beat up Gedo. Yota got in and traded offense with Jake.
Yota dove through the ropes onto Lee at 7:00. In the ring, Yota hit a series of elbow strikes on Lee. Jake hit a belly-to-belly overhead release suplex on Tsuji. Daiki and Young entered at 9:30 and traded forearm strikes. Daiki hit a basement dropkick for a nearfall, then a dropkick and a spinebuster on Young for a nearfall. Callum and Shingo jumped back in, and they hit stereo clotheslines with neither going down, so they traded forearm strikes. Newman hit the Made In Japan (Shingo’s finisher!) on Nagai! Jakob hit a Hammerlock DDT and pinned Nagai.
“United Empire” Callum Newman, Jake Lee, Zane Jay, and Jakob Austin Young defeated “The Unbound Co.” Shingo Takagi, Daiki Nagai, Gedo, and Yota Tsuji at 12:40.
6. “The Unbound Co.” Robbie X and Taiji Ishimori vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita for the IWGP Jr. Hvt. Tag Team Titles. TMDk attacked at the bell, and Eagles hit a flip dive to the floor, barreling onto both champs. In the ring, TMDK hit a team slam on Ishimori, and Fujita hit a springboard forearm strike. Robbie X hit a dropkick on Fujita for a nearfall at 1:30, then tied him in a bow-and-arrow and snapped Kosei’s arm backward. Ishimori hit a shoulder-breaker over his knee on Kosei as the champs kept Fujita grounded.
Eagles tagged in at 4:00, and he hit a huracanrana. Eagles hit a running Meteora in the corner on Robbie X for a nearfall at 6:00. Eagles hit a jump-up Frankensteiner on X, but Robbie X landed on his feet! Robbie X hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 7:30. Robbie X got a backslide for a nearfall. Robbie X went for a Pele Kick, but Eagles caught the leg and applied the Ron Miller Special (Trailer Hitch leg lock) on the mat! Robbie X reached the ropes at 9:00. The Robbies hit stereo pump kicks, and Robbie X hit a stunner, and they were both down at 10:30.
Ishimori and Fujita tagged in, and they traded forearm strikes. Fujita tied up Ishimori’s legs, but Taiji reached the ropes. Ishimori hit a gutbuster over his knees at 12:00, and they traded rollups. Ishimori hit a 450 Splash for a nearfall, but Fujita made the save. Eagles got a hot tag, but he was selling a sore neck. Ishimori hit some blows to Eagles’ chest, then a rolling DVD at 14:30. TMDK hit a team Bulldog Poweslam for a nearfall on Ishimori. Robbie X hit a Pele Kick on Eagles. Fujita and X traded forearm strikes, and Kosei hit a wheelbarrow German Suplex. Robbie X hit a springboard spin kick.
The Robbies fought in the corner, and Eagles hit a Sliced Bread at 17:30. TMDK hit stereo spin kicks to Ishimori’s head. Ishimori nailed a Lethal Injection! He put Eagles in a Bone Lock on the mat, but Robbie rolled him over for a nearfall, and those two traded rollups. Eagles slammed Ishimori to the mat for a nearfall. Kosei htia springboard flip dive to the floor. In the ring, Eagles hit a 450 Splash onto Ishimori’s knee, and he locked in the Ron Miller Special, and Ishimori tapped out! New champions! The matches between these two teams have been stellar.
“The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita defeated “The Unbound Co.” Robbie X and Taiji Ishimori to win the IWGP Jr. Hvt. Tag Team Titles at 20:13.
7. “The Knockout Brothers” Oskar and Yuto-Ice vs. “Bishamon” Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto for the IWGP Tag Team Titles. Bishamon won a No. 1 contender’s match earlier in the week to earn this title shot. Goto and Yuto-Ice opened and immediately traded forearm strikes. Goto flipped Yoshi-Hashi onto Yuto-Ice. Y-I and Y-H traded forearm strikes. Oskar got in and beat down Goto, hitting a hard chop and getting a nearfall at 4:00. Yoshi-Hashi tagged in at 6:30 and battled Oskar, hitting a clothesline in the corner.
Oskar slammed Yoshi-Hashi to the mat and kept him grounded. Oskar hit a big bodyslam at 8:30, and Yoshi-Hashi let out a loud ‘F-bomb.’ Goto hit a flying elbow drop on Yuto-Ice for a nearfall at 10:00. Yuto-Ice hit his running knee in the corner on Goto. Goto hit his neckbreaker over his knee. He hit a second one! Bishamon set up for the Shoto team slam at 11:30, but Oskar made the save. Oskar hit a double clothesline, and suddenly everyone was down. Goto hit an Eye of the Hurricane-style inverted DDT on Yuto-Ice at 13:00, then a modified DVD for a nearfall.
Yuto-Ice fired back with a short-arm clothesline, and they were both down. Yuto-Ice hit an assisted powerbomb for a nearfall at 16:30. Yoshi-Hashi hit a shotgun dropkick in the corner on Oskar. Goto hit a leg lariat in the corner to Oskar’s jaw. Goto hit a Doomsday Bulldog, with Yoshi-Hashi getting a nearfall at 18:00. Yoshi-Hashi hit a superkick and a clothesline on Oskar for a nearfall at 19:30. He hit a fisherman’s brainbuster for a believable nearfall. The 20:00 call was late. Bishamon again went for Shoto, but Oskar escaped.
Yoshi-Hashi hit a Blockbuster on Oskar, and Bishamon again tried for a Shoto, and this time they hit it! Yuto-Ice made the save at 22:00, and everyone was down. Goto and Yoshi-Hashi accidentally collided. Yuto-Ice and Goto traded forearm strikes, and Y-Ice hit a spin kick to the head. The champs hit their punt kick-and-Tombstone Piledriver combo on Goto, but were slow to make a cover. They again hit the KOB (punt kick-and-Tombstone Piledriver combo) on Yoshi-Hashi for the pin. Another really strong win for the Knockout Brothers. “I need a breather after that one,” Walker said.
“The Knockout Brothers” Oskar and Yuto-Ice defeated “Bishamon” Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto to retain the IWGP Tag Team Titles at 26:31.
* Yuto-Ice got on the mic and cut a really long promo. No Chris Charlton to provide translation tonight, but I’m assuming he’s boasting about all their successful title defenses.
Final Thoughts: The top two matches delivered. Anyone who has read my reviews knows I begged repeatedly for the Knockout Brothers to return from excursion. They’ve been a true shot-in-the-arm for the tag division, delivering several top-notch matches already this year. (They’ve already had stellar bouts with Sabre/Oiwa and Yuya/Shota, as well as against the Gates of Agony in a U.S. stop.)
And while the juniors division has been in a listless tailspin with Douki, Yoh and Wato on top all year, the two junior tag matches between Robbie X/Ishimori and Eagles/Fujita have been the shining star of the division this year. So yes, the top two matches really delivered tonight.
While the top dozen or so wrestlers on this roster are hot, the rest of the lineup is just filler. Sabre, Desperado, Ishii, Drilla Moloney, and Takeshita are deeply missed. The opening three matches were entirely skippable. House of Torture was never a lot of fun, but without EVIL, they are absolutely directionless, and not a single one of those eight guys is remotely over. Aaron Wolf needs to keep doing these multi-man tag matches, where he can hide his deep deficiencies and poor conditioning.
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