NJPW Road to KOPW live results: IWGP Junior title match
NJPW’s Road to King of Pro Wrestling tour continues today with an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match in the main event.
El Desperado will put the IWGP Junior title on the line against DOUKI in today’s Korakuen Hall show-closer. The two have met six times prior with Desperado holding a 5-1 career edge in singles competition.
Yuya Uemura takes on Yuto-Ice in the co-main event position today in without a doubt the highest-profile match of Yuto’s career since his return from excursion. The only time the two met prior was in 2021 when as a Young Lion, Yuto dislocated his elbow in a bout against Uemura.
Shota Umino and OSKAR square off in the other special singles match on today’s Korakuen card.
Four tag team bouts fill out the rest of the main show’s undercard, with another Young Lion tag bout set for the pre-show.
The pre-show kicks off at 5 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World with the main card set for 5:30.
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- Masatora Yasuda & Zane Jay defeated Shoma Kato & Tatsuya Matsumoto
- Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuya Murashima defeated El Phantasmo & Jado
- War Dogs defeated House of Torture
- House of Torture defeated Kuukai, Tiger Mask, Toru Yano, & Oleg Boltin
- Hiromu Takahashi, Titan, Shingo Takagi, & Yota Tsuji defeated War Dogs
- Shota Umino defeated OSKAR
- Yuya Uemura defeated Yuto-Ice
- DOUKI defeated El Desperado (c) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Pre-show
Masatora Yasuda & Zane Jay defeated Shoma Kato & Tatsuya Matsumoto
(Quite a bit of mention to Aaron Wolf during this showcase. With him being an Olympic athlete, the former judoka may well be worth hyping up come time he wrestles his first match at Wrestle Kingdom 20.)
Kato and Yasuda exchanged strikes, whereas Jay instantly found himself tackled and stretched by Kato and Matsumoto, respectively. He finally swung a comeback in a Sunset Flip + Boston Crab combination to Kato. Matsumoto took advantage of Yasuda’s taped up knee as he sunk in a Boston Crab. Yasuda returned the favor, leading to Matsumoto inevitably tapping out.
Post-match: Jay and Kato brawled on the outside, to which Aaron Wolf broke up.
Main Card
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuya Murashima defeated El Phantasmo & Jado
(Murashima’s very energetic and fun. He injected life into this match, and has the right chemistry needed with Tanahashi.)
Phantasmo and Tanahashi battled for the Ace’s famous air guitar. Frustrated, Phantasmo pulled an air drum set from the apron and played it. Jado accompanied him while Murashima got carried away on his own air guitar alongside Tanahashi. The referee had enough of it and made them fight.
Jado’s experience and sturdiness halted any tackles Murashima could muster, allowing the veteran to elbow him to the mat. Phantasmo added further woe to the Young Lion, yet he ultimately escaped with a vertical suplex. Using his body weight, Tanahashi pushed the air out of Phantasmo’s body with leaps from the top rope. Despite Phantasmo targeting Tanahashi’s infamously bad left knee, he managed a Slingblade. Jado pulled out a weak lariat on Tanahashi. Murashima came to his partner’s aid, pouncing on Phantasmo. Murashima’s Powerslam and Tanahashi’s High-Fly Flow to Jado gave the Ace and his Young Lion the victory.
War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) defeated House Of Torture (SANADA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
(The plunder in this match was enjoyable, even comical. Speaking of, I’d be a little turned off by the finish if it weren’t so hilarious seeing SANADA just give up like that.)
In true House of Torture fashion, SANADA and Kanemaru ambushed War Dogs before the bell. Unfortunately for them, Connors and Moloney were prepared. Connors pulled out a tire, an actual tire, but Kanemaru prevented it getting any tread. Kanemaru and SANADA combined their efforts on Connors. SANADA distracted the referee by pointing to Moloney on the other side of the ropes, who didn’t do anything. He would later attack Moloney off the ropes.
Moloney tagged in, whalloping SANADA’s chest and thwarting a guitar shot with a low-blow. Having had enough of this, SANADA climbed into the stands, allowing the 20-count to expire. War Dogs took the victory, much to Moloney’s annoyance.
House Of Torture (Dick Togo, Don Fale, EVIL & SHO) defeated Kuukai, Oleg Boltin, Tiger Mask & Toru Yano
(Kuukai was the star here, despite House of Torture dramatics ahead of King of Pro-Wrestling. I’ve seen enough; give Kuukai all the Junior Heavyweight gold.)
Boltin chopped furiously at EVIL and delivered a belly-to-belly suplex. Togo and SHO attempted interception, instead suffering a double-suplex. Yano undressed the turnbuckle pad, only to see Fale tagged in, to his horror. Fale, displeased by Yano slapping the top of his head, charged through him. He followed this by pressing his weight on the comic relief. SHO hurled Yano into the exposed turnbuckle.
Kuukai tagged in, quickly earning applause with an overwhelming mixture of Japanese offense and lucha libre athleticism. Tiger Mask stretched SHO. Boltin worsened things for him with a Boltin Shake. Togo rescued SHO, yet Tiger Mask and Kuukai sent him into the crowd. Fale attacked Tiger Mask, lending SHO ample opportunity for a Shock Arrow, resulting in a pinfall.
Post-match: House of Torture haunted Tiger Mask’s limbs and kept Boltin grounded, forcing him to watch. Forcing a towel in his hand, they used Boltin’s unconscious hand to “polish” the belt for his upcoming match with EVIL on October 13.
Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, Titan, & Yota Tsuji defeated War Dogs (David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, Gedo & Taiji Ishimori)
(Takahashi’s been on a tear, recently. His matches have been a stark improvement on the previous year or two of work despite his struggling knees and he shone in particular here.)
Tsuji and Kidd wrestled to a stalemate, with the former getting the upper hand. However, Kidd’s knees suppressed a Gene Blaster. Takagi met Finlay, proving too indomitable and tenacious in his power. Titan laid out Gedo and Ishimori with a Tope Con Hilo.
Gedo swung Takahashi in circles, using the black and red flowing hair. Takahashi got his revenge, swinging Gedo by his beard hairs. As his allies kept the War Dogs leashed outside, Takahashi obliterated Gedo with a knee to finish the match.
Post-match: Kidd and Tsuji brawled near the crowd, eventually traversing outside.
Shota Umino defeated OSKAR
(OSKAR’s presentation and performance added dramatic flair in this David versus Goliath epic. Though he lost, he’s every bit as intimidating as when he walked into this match.
After much back and forth with little leeway, OSKAR slammed Umino into the mat. Taking the abuse to ringside, OSKAR tormented Umino with chops. Camel Clutch engaged, OSKAR’s dominance continued. Seeing Umino crawl for a rope break, OSKAR denied him as he relented for a stomp. Umino broke this momentum with a bodyslam.
OSKAR fired back with a massive leg drop, leaving Umino winded on the mat. Weathering the full brunt of OSKAR’s pressed leg in the corner, Umino returned fire; each man unleashed cruel chops. Adrenaline ran thin for Umino, as he collapsed during the chop exchange. A second wind followed, with a DDT and ending with a Strike Knee. The towering OSKAR nearly choked the life out of Umino, leading to a frustrated slam.
Umino evaded a powerbomb with an unsuccessful Victory Roll. He fought out of OSKAR’s second sleeper hold to unleash a full force lariat. With a Second Chapter, Umino toppled the giant OSKAR, closing the book with a pinfall.
Yuya Uemura defeated Yuto-Ice
(The Knockout Brothers may have each lost on this night, but they’ve made star performances. Yuto-Ice nearly transformed into a babyface, becoming less of a brawler and more of a survivor. Uemura displayed an edge not seen much in his work, and it made for such a gripping watch.)
Yuto-Ice sent Uemura into the crowd early, throwing him across rows of chairs. Pushing the referee away, Yuto-Ice flung a wooden table at Uemura. Propping Uemura on said table, Yuto-Ice blasted his opponent’s head through it with a Bomboclat Knee. With blood trickling his elbow, Uemura climbed into the ring to break a 20-count.
A surge of energy burst through Uemura, as he fought back with a forearm and Slingblade. Unrelenting, Uemura rained an onslaught of chops to Yuto-Ice. Enraged, Yuto-Ice whittled down his opponent’s health with a series of kicks before adding pressure with the full brunt of his leg in the corner. Uemura absorbed Yuto-Ice’s chops, revealing a darker side to Uemura as he brutally elbowed and headbutted him. Sending Yuto-Ice down, Uemura maltreated him with an armbar; an eye poke broke the hold.
Korakuen Hall came alive as the pair traded forearms. Uemura lost the exchange but survived a Penalty Kick. Catching Yuto-Ice off-guard, Uemura cranked back on his arm, shifting his foe’s shoulder doing so. Yuto-Ice spat at Uemura, warranting a vicious arm hold. Unable to withstand any longer, Yuto-Ice tapped out.
Main Event
DOUKI defeated El Desperado (c) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
(I guess the only logical reason to end such a great Junior Heavyweight Championship regin would be to end it in the most controversial and displeasing way possible. That said, good for DOUKI. He put on an incredible performance. His chemistry with Desperado is off the charts. Given his aptitude for quality performances, House of Torture or not, it’s great to see him continue his reign after so long away from injury.)
Referee Red Shoes banished SHO from ringside before the match even began. Young Lions barricaded the doors in the hopes to prevent any House of Torture interference.
DOUKI wrestled Desperado with headlocks and slammed his face into the ring apron. Red Shoes pled with Desperado to stop slamming DOUKI into the ring posts, even yanking the ring bell’s hammer from his hands. DOUKI took advantage of this distracting to strike Desperado with the bell itself.
A few Swinging Neckbreakers rocked Desperado, who endured DOUKI’s stick tenderizing his jaw. The champion planted his challenger with a suplex to recuperate his jaw and neck. Despite his faulty left knee and Desperado’s quick reflexes, DOUKI hit him with a Daybreak DDT. This enabled him to lock in the DOUKI Chokey, which he kept firmly in the center of the ring. Swinging his free leg beneath the ropes, Desperado was at last free.
A modicum of control empowered Desperado with a Suplex de la Luna. DOUKI sought an enzuigiri, but his weak knee gave out. SHO burst from the Young lions with a wrench, stopping Desperado. Kuukai came to the champion’s aid, giving Desperado the chance to evict SHO. Desperado used the wrench on DOUKI, and he followed with a Pinche Loco. Red Shoes, caught earlier in the chaos, slowly crawled to the ring. SHO pulled him away. Striking Desperado with a wrench and a sheet pan, SHO rolled Red Shoes back to the mat.
Desperado fell unconscious to a weak DOUKI Chokey, leading to Red Shoes counting a knockout victory for the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.
Post-match: As fans flocked out of the arena and English commentary vented their frustrations, SHO held DOUKI up and told the rest of the fans to go home.
Final thoughts
The early matches were come and go. Not bad. It’s the last three that bear watching. The prominence of Aaron Wolf earlier in the broadcast during the Young Lion tag match is refreshing; they’re warming him up ahead of Wrestle Kingdom 20 as they should. Kuukai impressed me in his multi-man tag, as did the Knockout Brothers in their singles matches. Desperado and DOUKI was a fantastic main event. I agreed with the winner, but disagreed with the finish. That’s what you get with a House of Torture win, though.
Corey Michaels covers the play-by-play action of events hosted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Referenced by content creators and Wikipedia articles, he adds his prosaic voice with authority to the F4W/WON audience.
A content writer and wrestling fan, Corey has woven the stories of our great sport into literature. He cuts to the emotional core of characters, rivalries, and angles.