NJPW Destruction in Kobe live results: Sabre vs. Narita IWGP title match
The IWGP World Heavyweight title is on the line in the main event of NJPW Destruction in Kobe today.
Zack Sabre Jr. defends the title against Ren Narita by way of Narita defeating Sabre in a non-title match in this year’s G1 Climax 35 tournament. Narita also holds a victory over Sabre from the 2024 New Japan Cup, and is 2-1 overall in singles matches against the champion.
Shingo Takagi challenges Gabe Kidd for the IWGP Global Championship in the semi-main event today. David Finlay and Yota Tsuji square off in a special singles match second from the top, their third singles meeting of 2025, each holding a victory over the other.
Hiromu Takahashi will defend the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship against Taiji Ishimori, Taichi and Tomohiro Ishii defend the IWGP Tag titles against Oskar and Yuto-Ice, plus Boltin Oleg defends the NEVER Openweight title against Don Fale in the night’s other championship matches.
Hiroshi Tanahashi wrestles Great-O-Khan for perhaps the final time in a special singles match second on today’s card.
The show opens with Shota Umino, YOSHI-HASHI, and Yuya Uemura taking on EVIL, SANADA, and Dick Togo in a trios bout.
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- El Desperado, Shota Umino, YOH, YOSHI-HASHI & Yuya Uemura defeated House Of Torture
- Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Great-O-Khan
- Oleg Boltin (c) defeated Don Fale for the NEVER Openweight Championship
- OSKAR & Yuto-Ice defeated Taichi & Tomohiro Ishii (c) for the IWGP Tag Team Championship
- Hiromu Takahashi (c) defeated Taiji Ishimori for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship
- Yota Tsuji defeated David Finlay
- Gabe Kidd (c) defeated Shingo Takagi for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship
- Zack Sabre Jr. (c) defeated Ren Narita for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Main Card
El Desperado, Shota Umino, YOH, YOSHI-HASHI & Yuya Uemura defeated House Of Torture (Dick Togo, DOUKI, EVIL, SANADA & SHO)
(Couldn’t have asked for a more exciting opener for tonight. I think there might be some magic in an alliance between Uemura and Umino.)
Narita joined DOUKI in assaulting Desperado that resulted in the latter two brawling outside. YOSHI-HASHI and YOH did the same to SHO; the former’s legs collided with the ring post courtesy of DOUKI and SHO. Chaos erupted, but Umino distinguished it, scoring a comeback with athleticism. SANADA hampered this with a dropkick to Umino and a low blow to Uemura.
EVIL rescued Togo after a failed Dick-to-Dick Contact, only to receive a double-dropkick by Uemura and Umino for his troubles. Uemura snapped Togo in for a hurricanrana, capturing him for a pinfall.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Great-O-Khan
(Condensed just right in a way believable to both Tanahashi and Khan’s strengths.)
Tanahashi confidently handled the opening lock-up, but Khan’s strength threatened this momentum. Targeting Tanahashi’s knees, Khan applied pressure for focused agony before slamming them to the mat. Mongolian chops softened the Ace’s shoulders.
A series of left and right hooks left Khan clutching his midsection. Tanahashi took advantage of this with a Slingblade and a failed High Fly Flow. Khan stole two Slingblades and held the Ace’s face in his Iron Claw. Tanahashi reversed this into a Fall in Love victory roll to snatch the victory.
Post-match: Kaito Kiyomiya from Pro Wrestling NOAH congratulated the Ace. He beckoned Tanahashi to visit NOAH on October 10 in Ryogoku at Wrestle Odyssey.
Oleg Boltin (c) defeated Don Fale for the NEVER Openweight Championship
(A tad bit unnecessary.)
Fale immediately and repeatedly threw Boltin down, even tumbling him out of the ring. Back on his feet, Boltin charged Fale, going so far ast to stagger him, before ultimately toppling him. A vertical suplex further gave Boltin momentum. Dick-to-Dick Contact from Fale, EVIL, and Dick Togo tormented Boltin. However, he saved himself with a Kamikaze for the 3-count pinfall.
Post-match: Togo wrapped Boltin’s neck in a choker. EVIL planted the retaining champ with Everything is Evil. He essentially demanded a match with Boltin in the future and demanded the production truck play his music.
Knockout Brothers (OSKAR & Yuto-Ice) defeated Taichi & Tomohiro Ishii (c) for the IWGP Tag Team Championship
(Kobe came alive for this match. Best match of the night so far. Heartbreaking loss for Taichi and Ishii, but a huge sign of endorsement for the recently returned Knockout Brothers.)
Ishii impatiently chopped Yuto-Ice and OSKAR. Taichi chopped down Yuto-Ice and kicked wildly at him. The Knockout Brothers coordinated their offense to wear Taichi down further. In the corner, Ishii endured Yuto-Ice’s onslaught of kicks and a bombaclat. Ishii commanded control with a German suplex, providing ample time for Taichi to grapple with the towering OSKAR.
Dazed after failing to charge Taichi, OSKAR collapsed following a kick to the head. A Dangerous Backdrop lent the War Dog enough passage to tag Yuto-Ice in. There, his fellow partner dropped to Ishii’s headbutt. OSKAR retaliated with a Big Boot, only for Taichi to throw himself in the line of fire. The Knockout Brothers reconvened to destroy Ishii with what Chris Charlton referred to as The Rumbling. Yuto-Ice capitalized with a kick to the sitting Ishii’s chest.
Taichi saved Ishii with an Axe Bomber to Yuto-Ice and Dangerous Backdrop to OSKAR. Ishii planted Yuto-Ice with a piledriver, to no avail. OSKAR threatened the champions’ comeback, and a well-timed kick from both quelled his usurping. Ishii lay crumpled by OSKAR and Yuto-Ice’s KOB, thus earning Knockout Brothers the championship.
Post-match: Shota Umino and Yuya Uemura stood at the entrance and strutted to the ring. On behalf of Uemura, Umino challenged the new champions for a future match.
Hiromu Takahashi (c) defeated Taiji Ishimori for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship
(Takahashi was in great form here, probably the best I’ve seen him in years. Ishimori continues to be an underrated part of the NJPW junior heavyweight division.)
Champion and challenger entered with a sprint, each transitioning from Tombstone Piledriver to Tombstone Piledriver. They spilled outside, and Ishimori planted Takahashi with a Spaceman Plancha. Concentrating his efforts on Takahashi’s shoulder, the Bone Soldier sent the champion into the barricade and into an exposed turnbuckle. Ever-swift, Ishimori overwhelmed Takahashi until a plant-out left the challenger prone on the mat.
For equal measure, Takahashi followed with a Falcon Arrow. Having caught Ishimori’s low-blow earlier, Takahashi inevitably fell victim to it but survived a Gedo Clutch. Worn, Ishimori landed a 450 Splash on Takahashi that seemed to harm him more than his target. Timebomb 1.5 flattened Ishimori. Bone Lock cinched in, Ishimori applied excrutiating pressure, stopped by a rope break. The damaged ribs from the failed 450 continued to bog down Ishimori as Takahashi hit him with the Time Bomb 2. The original, standard Time Bomb at last put away the Bone Soldier; Takahashi retained the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Post-match: Ishimori clutched the belt from the referee en-route to Takahashi and handed it over himself. Celebrating, Takahashi didn’t notice the creeping Eita. The NOAH challenger shocked him with a superkick. Eita challenged Takahashi for the title at October 11’s Wrestle Odyssey.
Yota Tsuji defeated David Finlay
(A nice and physical match. Tsuji and Finlay have had better matches, but by no means was this a stinker. Far from it. Finlay’s knee provided a compelling narrative, as did his wavering confidence in some of his moves.)
Finlay wasted no time, unloading fists on Tsuji. The opponents took their war to the outside, battling alongside the barricade and across the entrance ramp. Northern Irish Curse left Tsuji flat on the ramp while devastating Finlay’s knee. Driven by the desire to punish, Finlay’s dominance saw him flipped back into the corner. Finlay grasped the top rope, sensing Tsuji’s Frankensteiner incoming; try as he might to stop it, his neck and spine gave in for a disastrous landing.
Tussling back and forth, Finlay finally swung a comeback with a lariat. Exposing a turnbuckle, Finlay’s hubris came to bite him as he accidentally tackled the exposed blue steel. Tsuji dove between the ropes to drive the War Dog into the hard, unforgiving cobalt barricade onto production desks nearby. Finlay sent Tsuji flying into the exposed turnbuckle and sent him to the mat with a powerbomb to no avail. Tsuji’s fire rose with a German suplex in particular rattling Finlay.
Consecutive knees tenderized Tsuji, leading to a weak Overkill. Hoping for a fuller, stronger Overkill, Finlay instead lay dazed following his opponent’s Gene Blaster. Perching Finlay on the top rope, Tsuji hit him with the Guerrero Special, punctuated with one last Gene Blaster for the pinfall.
Gabe Kidd (c) defeated Shingo Takagi for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship
(Brutal, pretty much what fans would want from a hard-hitting NJPW match. The wreckage of the tables, Desperado saving Takagi by grabbing the barricade, and the blood flowing from Kidd’s head and Takagi’s arm. If you’re looking for carnage, this is the match for you.)
Kidd and Takagi brawled before the bell even rung. They traded chair shots as though they were sword-fighting. Eventually they got into the ring to start the match.
Their war spread unto the emerald floor of the greater Kobe crowd. Blood flecked the face of Kidd beneath his right eye. The two traded chops, forearms, and lariats until Takagi lay defenseless on the apron. He endured a senton and a vertical suplex; El Desperado pulled the barricade back from the commentary desk to prevent Takagi’s landing on it.
Takagi flung Kidd over his shoulder, as the wrestlers dropped to the floor. Takagi told the referee his arm might be damaged. Returning to the ring, Takagi let loose a series of elbows to Kidd’s bosom. The lacerated wound of Tagkagi was on full display. Southpaw lariat kept Kidd laying on the mat. A back-and-forth exchange of Exploder Suplexes left each man reeling on the cerulean mat. Hurricanrana from the ropes and a Southpaw Lariat gifted Kidd with hope and control of the match.
Kidd, who set up a couple of tables outside, fell victim to a Made in Japan through those same small wooden structures. So devastated was Kidd’s carcass that he barely avoided the 20-count by one second. Takagi greeted him with a powerbomb. A Burning Dragon left Kidd lifeless momentarily; he rose to stop a Pumping Bomber with a piledriver. Takagi hit a poisonrana on Kidd, who answered with a lariat. Kidd finally won this hard-fought bout with a Drill-A-Hole Piledriver.
Post-match: Kidd and Takagi showed each other respect as Yota Tsuji strutted to the ring. He challenged Kidd for the Global Heavyweight Championship at King of Pro-Wrestling on October 13.
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) defeated Ren Narita for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
(In what I’m sure will be a hot take, I feel the House of Torture interference added to the match. Sabre’s knee and pride put him through so much woe. Technical wrestling is already a highly involved aspect of pro wrestling, so telling a layered story about a hero on top of that made this a mad chess game. Narita’s technical proficiency added to the proceedings, showing sides of who he was when he first took on Sabre at Wrestle Kingdom 17.)
Naturally technical wrestlers, Sabre and Narita danced delicately with holds and submissions. A rope break gave the champion reprieve, but they went back at it. Narita kicked Sabre’s knee, tearing the bandage wrapping it, exposing the flesh. Sabre hit a suplex for the cover as the announcer echoed a reminder of the 60-minute time limit.
Following some ringside action, Sabre draped himself on the ropes as his legs clutched Narita’s arm. The challenger used this to his advantage by dropping Sabre to the apron. Once more centering on Sabre’s weak knee, he pulled it into the barricade. Distracting Referee Red Shoes Umino with one chair, he struck the champion’s softened knee with a second chair into the barricade. Sabre yanked Narita’s face as pressure was applied to his knee on the turnbuckle.
Narita hoped to trounce the champion with a slam, but fell to a DDT. A European Uppercut returned Narita to the mat again. The challenger had brief momentum, soon losing it due to a dropkick. Sabre exposed Narita’s flesh, removing his black shirt. Bridging a suplex, Narita later lay in a hellish STF.
Yujiro Takahashi came to ringsid,e distracting the referee so Narita could use his signature House of Torture bar weapon to terrorize Sabre’s limbs. Leglock initiated, Narita teetered with the champion who desperately searched for a way out, any way out. Despite his unwillingness to do so, Sabre eventually reached a rope break. Narita walked the referee to the corner so Takahashi could haunt Sabre. This didn’t work as Sabre took him out quickly.
Miraculously grabbing a comeback, Sabre pulled Narita’s arms back with his legs, wrapping his hands across the chin. Before the referee could check on Narita’s status, SANADA pulled him out. Sabre ducked from Takahashi’s incoming stick and freed himself from captor SANADA. Thus, the House of Torture goons accidentally took themselves out of the equation. Young Lions escorted the intruders to the back. Narita struck Sabre with a low blow,, landing a Double Cross; no referee was available to call a pinfall. With a Zack Driver following a prolonged tussle, Sabre at last retained his championship.
Post-match: Sabre addressed his upcoming match with Konosuke Takeshita at King of Pro-Wrestling and everyone who had doubted him.
Final thoughts
The championship matches delivered, as did the Tsuji/Finlay match. Promoting NOAH’s Wrestle Odyssey added to the extracurricular factor. While I wish Takeshita were present to address Sabre, it’s understandable as he’s embroiled in Don Callis Family action in AEW.
The biggest takeaways will be the Uemura/Umino alliance, Knockout Brothers becoming the tag team champions, and Gabe Kidd closing his trilogy with Yota Tsuji at King of Pro-Wrestling.
