NJPW Battle Line Hokkaido results: Two title matches
The road to NJPW Destruction continues today with the final night of the Battle Line Hokkaido tour featuring two championship matches.
El Desperado defends the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against YOH in today’s main event. YOH has won three out of four against Desperado in their singles encounters, but the one loss was in an IWGP Junior title match back in 2021.
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles are on the line in the semi-main event with House of Torture’s DOUKI and SHO defending against the Ichiban Sweet Boys (Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita).
A Hiroshi Tanahashi singles match kicks off the main card, with Tana taking on Master Wato in singles competition for the first and likely last time in his career.
A series of multi-man tag bouts fills out the remainder of the undercard.
The pre-show match with two teams of Young Lions squaring off begins at 5 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World.
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Results
- Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Master Wato
- Great Bash Heel defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, Shoma Kato & Tiger Mask
- Oleg Boltin, Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura defeated House Of Torture
- Taichi, TAKA Michinoku, & Tomohiro Ishii defeated War Dogs
- War Dogs defeated Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji
- House of Torture (SANADA, Yujiro Takahashi, & Ren Narita) defeated TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr, Hartley Jackson, & Ryohei Oiwa)
- House of Torture (SHO & DOUKI) defeated TMDK (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
- El Desperado (c) defeated YOH for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Main Card
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Master Wato
(Quick and simple. Nothing more than it needed to be, but Wato was in good form there. A brief story of a hungry younger man working to succeed over a legend.)
Tanahashi countered Wato’s hold, driving him down to the mat with a headlock. Soon, Wato targeted Tanahashi’s knee with a dropkick. Tanahashi writhed his way through Wato’s headscissor leglock. A Slingblade and senton freed the Ace from Wato’s momentum.
Sleeper Slam courtesy of Wato halted another Slingblade. He followed this with a springboard European uppercut from the top rope. Tanahashi’s Twist’n’Shout quelled Wato’s control of the match. Wato struggled to unleash a German suplex, but inevitably he dropped Tanahashi with it. This lent him opportunity for a dive, but the Ace countered it with a Slingblade.
Another Slingblade by Tanahashi, giving way to two High Fly Flow for the pinfall.
Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) & Toru Yano defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, Shoma Kato & Tiger Mask
(Sometimes matches like these are great vehicles for Young Lions to show the promise they have, but it didn’t feel like Kato had much of that time. That said, Taguchi’s comedic spots were effective. The spotlight was moreso on Tiger Mask’s impending Summer 2026 retirement, and he had a proper showing.)
Taguchi, Kato, and Tiger Mask blasted off at the ding of the bell to assault their opponents. Kato was fired up during this. Yano prevented Kato from slamming his face into Taguchi’s bottom, as he did the same with Tiger Mask. Yano and then Makabe spanked Taguchi as he moaned uncomfortably and in pain.
Taguchi had enough, as Honma was the last to take advantage of his posterior. Tiger Mask became legal, and he promptly engaged Honma’s left side in an armbar. Honma’s Rocket Kokeshi sent Tiger Mask to the mat. Kato tagged in for a spirited display, dispelling most of what Makabe’s experience could muster. Despite help from Taguchi, Makabe kept the Young Lion grounded in an unforgiving Boston Crab until he tapped out.
Oleg Boltin, Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura defeated House Of Torture (Dick Togo, Don Fale & EVIL)
(I like this alliance of Boltin, Umino, and Uemura. They feel like babyfaces so easy to root for.)
Fale and Boltin collided, with the latter’s raw strength staggering the wall of Fale. He even briefly picked him up! Togo and EVIL worked Boltin’s left arm. Boltin won an exchange of chops, leaving EVIL unable to tag in Fale as Umino approached. Unleashing a torrent of chops and forearms, Umino punished EVIL and Togo expeditiously.
Dragon Screw Legwhip nearly lost EVIL control of the match. But thanks to helpful padding usage by Togo, he was saved while Umino hit the later exposed steel of it. Uemura became legal, leading to he and his partners colliding with an unfortunate Tog oin the corner. EVIL broke up the combined offense to isolate Uemura. He and Fale left Uemura vulnerable to Togo’s Dick-to-Dick Contact. EVIL clutched the referee to give Togo ample time in choking out Uemura with a belt. A hurricanrana via Uemura kept Togo down for the 3-count.
Post-match: The House of Torture brawled with this babyface alliance. Boltin chased them off, boasting his NEVER Openweight Championship.
Taichi, TAKA Michinoku, & Tomohiro Ishii defeated War Dogs (Gedo, OSKAR, & Yuto-Ice)
(OSKAR and Yuto-Ice were presented as threats, giving particular shine to Taichi who has had many a great performance this year.)
OSKAR & Yuto-Ice sent Taichi and Ishii into the crowd, opening Gedo to bully Michinoku. Yuto-Ice succeeded this with knees to Michinoku’s midsection and a Bomboclat. A double-eye poke incapacitated Michinoku and Gedo.
Ishii was undeterred by Yuto-Ice’s confident dominion. He even survived OSKAR’s Knockout Bomb for a Taichi-assisted German suplex. Measuring close to OSKAR’s height, Taichi delivered a series of Kawada Kicks. Despite OSKAR’s size and youth, Taichi drove him down with more kicks. OSKAR extinguished Taichi’s fiery comeback with a powerslam. However, Taichi got the win over Gedo courtesy of a superkick.
Post-match: The War Dogs assaulted the winners, leaving them prone and defenseless. Taichi leveled the field to stand tall.
War Dogs (Gabe Kidd, Taiji Ishimori, & David Finlay) defeated Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji
(A lot of fun, this was. Ishimori and Tsuji were the MVPs of this match. Even so, this match excellently sold Sunday’s IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship match between Kidd and Takagi.)
Ishimori began things with Takahashi with a strike exchange that transitioned to a fast-paced spot. A hurricanrana go the better of Takahashi. Finlay had less luck with Tsuji with help from Takagi, yet Kidd buffered this.
Kidd and Takagi brawled into the crowd behind the Japanese broadcast booth as the crowd dispersed that area. Ishimori lent a tenderized Tsuji to Finlay for some kicks. Kidd took his turn on Tsuji, but a Quebradora con Giro (Tilt-a-Whirl Backbreaker) took the wind out of his sails. Takagi fared less beneficial, but eventually swung a comeback with a lariat.
Ishimori held Takahashi at bay with a Death Valley Bomb and a shoulderbreaker. Takahashi countered a Bone Lock with a Falcon Arrow. Finlay attempted to join the fray, but Tuji curb stomped him. Takagi, Takahashi, and Tsuji united for an all-out front on Ishimori. War Dogs interfered. Ishimori struck Takahashi with a low blow and a Gedo Clutch to secure victory for the War Dogs.
Post-match: Takahashi challenged to defend his GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship against Ishimori at Destruction. Whoever wins that match defends the title against challenger Eita at an upcoming Pro Wrestling NOAH event.
House Of Torture (Ren Narita, SANADA & Yujiro Takahashi) defeated TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.)
(A bit of a slog to get through with all the interferences, and the finisher left nothing as far as NJPW standards go. That said, Oiwa and SANADA were the stars of this match.)
Oiwa gained the upper hand with subsequent dropkicks to Takahashi. Jackson added his weight to the mix. Oiwa and Sabre proceeded to work Takahashi’s left arm, with the latter continually winding it up. Jackson used that work to reel Takahashi in for a suplex. Takahashi found reprieve through biting Oiwa’s hand.
Narita and SANADA brought Jackson and Sabre into the crowd; Takahashi slammed Oiwa’s face into a steel chair’s hard seat. Narita softened Oiwa on the outside for SANADA. Sabre caught Narita and unleashed suplexes, unable to clutch a Zack Driver. Sabre kept calm as Narita pulled him in for a rear-naked choke. Both men pulled out moves from Sabre’s catalogs of techniques.
Jackson bowled over House of Torture members to set up a Jagged Edge on SANADA. TMDK and House of Torture members traded finisher and techniques, soon leaving Jackson and SANADA where they left off. Jackson splashed SANADA with a Flying Crossbody. Narita distracted the referee with a stick, while SANADA snuck in his guitar, knocked on it, tossed it to Jackson, and threw himself on the mat for a distraction.
House Of Torture (DOUKI & SHO) (c) defeated Ichiban Sweet Boys (Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
(SHO and DOUKI are too good to be in the House of Torture, much less engage in their shenanigans.)
Eagles and Fujita withstood a House of Torture ambush as the bell rang, with the latter landing a moonsault on SHO at ringside. They took off two of SHO’s shirts (he laughed at the first one being removed). Fujita held SHO in a Camel Clutch, setting Eagles up for a dropkick.
DOUKI and SHO drove Eagles into the ring post and assaulted Fujita. Despite DOUKI’s best efforts, he couldn’t keep Fujita down. SHO restrategized, targeting Fujita’s already compromised midsection from earlier in the match. Though worn and weary, Fujita flew with a kick to flatten DOUKI.
Eagles burst in with the comeback, toppling DOUKI and SHO with kicks. He missed a Warp 4.5, as SHO sent him into the turnbuckle and suplexed him back to the center. SHO hit Eagles with a Piledriver. SHO pulled the referee in to stop Eagles’s motion, leading a united front with DOUKI on the TMDK member. Tilt-a-whirl courtesy of Fujita hurled DOUKI. Fujita followed this with a springboard dropkick.
SHO blasted Eagles with a steel chair and assisted DOUKI in a powerbomb. A DOUKI-chokey had to be applied twice to no avail. Eagles returned to action with a tope, positioning the opponents for Fujita to mow them over with a dive. Eagles saved Fujita from a sheet pan strike from SHO. Abandon Hope and Thrillride promised to put DOUKI away, but a roll-up and a tights-grab from DOUKI signified title retention for the House of Torture.
Main Event
El Desperado (c) defeated YOH for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
(YOH had been a very hard sell for me for a while, but this match singlehandedly changed that. Desperado at this point in his career seems mythical, with his iconic mask and litany of scars adorning his body. But YOH’s timing was on point, and that 1-count made him feel all the more dangerous to Desperado’s insane run.)
Desperado held an early advantage with some strong holds, but ultimately relinquished it after a rope break. A side headlock from Desperado soon transitioned to YOH. The Hokkaido audience rallied behind a tope from YOH. Desperado grew annoyed by YOH tauntingly striking him softly. YOH flailed about once Desperado ground his knee upon his.
Desperado agonized YOH with a leglock, only relenting a few seconds into a rope break. YOH escaped his torment with a DDT to Desperado. Overconfident, YOH almost fell prey to a Numero DOs, saved only by a rope break. He crawled again from a single-leg Boston Crab. YOH prevented a Desperado comeback with a backbreaker that devastated masked opponent’s head and his own knee. Hokkaido was fully behind YOH here. Desperado attempted another Numero Dos, but his neck caved.
The champion crushed YOH with a spinebuster and Guitarra de Angel, yet YOH persisted. YOH asked for more punishment, and Desperado obliged with forearms to his neck. The pair danced through hold transitions, the final step being YOH’s Anaconda Vice locked firmly. YOH flung his body into a lariat with a disastrous thud to the champion. Spearing his challenger, Desperado hit a Pinche Loco, to which YOH kicked out at the 1-count. He wore YOH down some more for one last Pinche Loco, and it made all the difference as Desperado retained his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Post-match: A cloaked DOUKI greeted Desperado on the ring apron, flanked by House of Torture members. Challenging for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, DOUKI was met with Desperado mocking the need to be joined by his stable. He accused Desperado of wasting the relevancy of the Junior Heavyweight belt. Desperado retorted that with every match he put on, he’s since elevated the title. DOUKI implied Desperado wasn’t a real champion for not accepting the challenge, and that he and SHO have elevated the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship anyway.
Final Thoughts
Desperado’s title defense is the big thing to come out of tonight. That said, Hiromu Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori’s match for the GHC title on Sunday is interesting on its own. Most of the multi-man tags were fun, aside from House of Torture matches. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match did have quite a few high spots, but ultimately left a bad taste in my mouth.