NJPW Road to Destruction live results: NEVER Six-Man title match
NJPW’s trios titles are on the line in the main event of today’s Road to Destruction event at Korakuen Hall.
Toru Yano, Master Wato, and YOH defend the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship in the featured match, facing Hiroshi Tanahashi, El Desperado, and Ryusuke Taguchi.
A 10-man tag featuring faction versus faction is in the semi-main position, with TMDK’s Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, Robbie Eagles, Kosei Fujita, and Hartley Jackson facing House of Torture’s SHO, Yujiro Takahashi, SANADA, DOUKI, and Ren Narita. Narita will challenge Sabre for the IWGP World Heavyweight title at Destruction in Kobe on September 28.
Four more multi-man tag bouts fill out today’s undercard, but Young Lions Tatsuya Matsumoto and Zane Jay will square off in today’s opener. Jay and Matsumoto have faced each other nine times, with each bout ending in a time limit draw.
Today’s show streams live on NJPW World beginning at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.
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- Zane Jay versus Tatsuya Matsumoto ended in a time-limit draw
- Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Tiger Mask defeated Katsuya Murashima, Masatora Yasuda & Shoma Kato
- Oleg Boltin, Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura defeated House Of Torture
- War Dogs defeated Daiki Nagai, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji
- War Dogs defeated Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Tomohiro Ishii
- House Of Torture defeated TMDK
- Master Wato, Toru Yano & YOH (c) defeated El Desperado, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryusuke Taguchi
Main Card
Zane Jay versus Tatsuya Matsumoto ended in a time-limit draw
(Some promise between both men, sell-wise. Jay’s legs and Matsumoto’s left arm made for a bit of drama in this opener. I appreciated El Phantasmo and Chris Charlton mentioning the reason why Young Lions can’t wear elbow or knee pads until graduating and how it affects their in-ring.)
Both Young Lions wrestled to a stalemate. Jay grappled Matsumoto over his shoulder and worked his opponent’s left arm. He then moved onto Matsumoto’s leg for a period before returning to that arm. Matsumoto’s turn earned him a modicum of control over Jay’s leg as he locked in an Achilles’ Hold. A frantic crawl to the ropes broke Jay’s Fujiwara Armbar. Jay wrenched Matsumoto’s arm for a standard Armbar, which he couldn’t maintain. The pair brawled, with Jay’s forearm laying out Matsumoto. Overconfidently talking trash, Jay fell prey to a kneebar. Matsumoto followed this with a dropkick and a single-leg Boston Crab. Time ran out in the match, resulting in a draw.
Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) & Tiger Mask defeated Katsuya Murashima, Masatora Yasuda & Shoma Kato
(Yasuda and Kato show promise, but man, Murashima stands out. Visually, his size gives it away, but the way he moves and delivers upon it is incredibly satisfying.)
Yasuda cornered Tiger Mask, throwing his right forearm to the chest. Tiger Mask kicked him in the midsection, with Honma capitalizing with a series of chest slaps. Kato overwhelmed the veteran with elbows. Tiger Mask clenched his fingers across Kato’s jaw in a fully-engaged Camel Clutch.
Murashima made the hot tag, quickly wore down Honma, and took down his partners. Makabe leaned on the turnbuckle in a daze as Murashima catapulted Kato and Yasuda into him. Honma and Tiger Mask softened Yasuda up for Makabe’s lariat, ultimately lending them the win.
Oleg Boltin, Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura defeated House Of Torture (Dick Togo, Don Fale & EVIL)
(As a big Oleg Boltin fan, this felt more like a Yuya Uemura spectacle once his hot tag came around. He came across as unstoppable. It’s hard to not think of him as the future main character of New Japan Pro Wrestling.)
To no one’s surprise, House of Torture ambushed their opponents. This resulted in Fale initially getting the upper-hand on Boltin, but true to his nature, the Kazakh wrestler quickly gathered momentum. Naturally, interference by Fale’s partner quelled this. EVIL worked Boltin’s left arm, expertly crafting a Hammerlock hold.
Umino dropped EVIL to his knees and dropkicked Togo outside. He unwisely attempted to bodyslam the girthy Fale, but baited him over the top rope instead. EVIL faltered this comeback with an eye rake prior to uniting with Togo to render Umino flat on the mat. The fans rallied behind Uemura’s hot tag, cheering as he picked apart Togo. He transitioned a deep arm drag transitioned into an armbar to tap Togo out.
Post-match: Fale and EVIL bullied Umino and Boltin. A level-headed Umino held Boltin back.
War Dogs (David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, Gedo & Taiji Ishimori) defeated Daiki Nagai, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji
(Almost a nothingburger, yet still fun to watch. I say almost, as the storytelling with Takagi, Takahashi, and Tsuji riding with Nagai quietly continued. The Young Lion had a fiery display that had this underdog charm.)
The War Dogs swarmed the Unafilliated group to the outside, with Finlay and Tsuji starting things off in the ring. Fortunately for Tsuji, Takahashi joined him, allowing himself to be planted on a horizontal Finlay. Ishimori spun Takahashi over his shoulders so swiftly that each man staggered dizzily. Gedo took advantage of Takahashi’s vulnerability, which almost resulted in Takahashi “tagging in” Finlay. Ishimori cut Takahashi from his partners more by laying him out and kicking him down onto the mat.
In a flash, Takahashi recovered, pouncing Ishimori so he could make a tag. Takagi met Kidd in the ring’s center atop the NJPW logo as they traded forearms and chops. Outside the ring, Kidd blasted Takagi with an Orihara Moonsault. Nagai plummetted Kidd with a Spinebuster, following suit with a Boston Crab. Tsuji came ot his aid amid a Finlay interruption, leaving the Young Lion alone with the bald War Dog. Kidd dismantled Nagai with a piledriver and a Drilla Killa, delivering the War Dogs a victory.
War Dogs (Clark Connors, OSKAR & Yuto-Ice) defeated Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Tomohiro Ishii
(As a vehicle to sell the importance of Yuto-Ice and OSKAR’s return to NJPW, this did its job. Their Shawn Michaels/Diesel dynamic immediately helps them fit into the War Dogs.)
Yuto-Ice and OSKAR battered Ishii. Connors grabbed a tire from under the ring. Ishii charged at Connors after momentarily gaining control, only to be lsammed onto it. Further adding agony to the Stone Pitbull, Connors choked him with a chain necklace.
Ishii found the spirit to fire back, suplexing OSKAR for a Taichi tag. Yuto-Ice ignorantly traded kicks with Taichi, with the latter benefitting from the exchange. OSKAR foiled this comeback with a bodyslam; Ishii and Michinoku were equalized by the reach of his kicks. Yuto-Ice and OSKAR ragebaited Taichi. Ishii attempted to save him, but Connors dragged him outside for a beatdown. Taichi began another comeback with a lariat to Yuto-Ice. Michinoku tagged in, suffering the illegal Connors; his knee sent the War Dog rolling to ringside.
Michinoku suffered a Penalty Kick via Yuto-Ice. Taichi had to be choked out. OSKAR held Ishii up for a kick from Yuto-Ice. The pair finished things off with a K.O.B. to Michinoku as Yoto-Ice pressed on him for the pinfall.
House Of Torture (DOUKI, Ren Narita, SANADA, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi) defeated TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.)
(For better or worse, ZSJ and Narita are wrestling soulmates; I think they’ll be doing this as “forever” as possible.)
Narita insulted TMDK and the Tokyo crowd for quite an extended period until Eagles told him to shut up. When the bell rang, Eagles unleashed an agile and spirited front. Fujita allied with him to keep not only Narita at bay, but an interfering Takahashi as well. Oiwa planted Takahashi with a Brainbuster. Jackson joined him for some short-range splashes on the tenderized Takahashi.
House of Torture dragged the TMDK members across Korakuen Hall, isolating them for their own specific beatdowns. Sabre engaged in a technical display against Narita, each man speedily countering the other. Narita escaped a Cobra Twist by fingering Sabre’s eyes. The IWGP World Heavyweight Champion’s slaps weren’t enough to break a leg hold, leading to him humbly yet bitterly reaching for a rope break. Jackson, now legal, charged inwith the full force of his indomitable body.
DOUKI incapacitated Jackson before handing the baton to SHO before they both fell victim to the energetic Eagles and Fujita. Oiwa cancelled SANADA’s guitar shot and paid the price with a cane to the back by Takahashi. Narita chopped him down like a tree with a Hell’s Guillotine for the victory.
Post-match: Narita and Sabre brawled across Korakuen Hall’s arena. In whole, House of Torture assaulted all of TMDK, leaving no survivors.
Main Event
Master Wato, Toru Yano & YOH (c) defeated El Desperado, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryusuke Taguchi for the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship
(Taguchi brought all the levity that Yano otherwise would’ve shared. He brought his comedic A-game, from the mortified look at Desperado’s back to accidentally slamming Tanahashi’s face into his bottom in repetition for a gut-bustingly long time. Yano’s crash out was surreal to watch, and it reflected in the crowd’s unsettled reaction. Outside of all that, this trios match was a blast to witness. Watch for the action and the storyline threads coming out of it.)
During the challengers’ entrance, Taguchi appeared hilariously appalled by the horrifying visage of Desperado’s heavily scarred back.
Desperado tangled with YOH, with the former getting the better of each exchange. YOH scrambled away from Desperado’s clutches and escaped with a Neckbreaker to his masked opponent. Yano, annoyed, met Tanahashi in a stalemate. The Ace and his partners overwhelmed Yano. Taguchi mistakenly hit Tanahashi with his Funky Weapon, exposing his underwear doing so, thinking he was attacking Yano. YOH wound up a haymaker during this, but Taguchi did this for so long that he just gave up and watched.
Taguchi ran the ropes with his pants around his knees, somehow managing to down YOH and clutch him for an Ankle Lock. At last, he pulled his pants up. Tanahashi wrapped his legs around Wato’s, leaving him writhing into a rope break. Taguchi teased an attack to Wato’s nether regions, but instead tied him into a figure four leglock. Tanahashi further weakened Wato’s knee on the rope. All three challengers ganged up on Wato’s prone body.
(Tonight’s Road to Destruction show did all it needed to for a Road To show. The matches were concise, fully aware of what they needed to be.)
YOH fired back with dropkicks to everyone on the opposing team. His plancha left Desperado reeling outside. Desperado swung a comeback for his team with some knees and a side suplex, but YOH’s Falcon Arrow spun the match back in his favor. Removing the pad, Yano sent Tanahashi into an exposed turnbuckle, yet failed to powerbomb the Ace. Tanahashi earned a moment of respite with a Slingblade. Taguchi gave trouble to Wato with hip attacks, but YOH collaborated with Wato for a combined suplex. Yano stopped a double Canadian Destroyer via Taguchi and Desperado.
The challengers charged at Wato in the corner. Taguchi struck him iwth a Bomaye while Tanahashi flew over the top to the champions on the outside. Wato survived a series of rolleups for a bridged suplex pin that bore no fruit. An exhausted and anguished Wato devastated Taguchi with a Recientemente for the pinfall.
Post-match: Yano assaulted Tanahashi. He dragged him to the outside, slamming him into the barricade, battering him with chairs. The crowd grew silent and still as they parted from their seats amid the carnage. The Ace was dragged to the outside. Desperado, YOH, and Wato watched awkwardly as Taguchi lay still, probably unsure of what just happened. YOH and Desperado shared a staredown, teasing their match on September 24.