NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome results: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiromu Takahashi
The final countdown to both Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement and NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 begins today with Road to Tokyo Dome in Gunma.
Tanahashi takes on Hiromu Takahashi in the main event singles match of today’s show, the first-ever singles meeting between the two. Tanahashi faces El Desperado on Sunday, then Kosei Fujita on Monday as his career winds down. He takes on Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2026 in his final match.
Three trios matches and three eight-man tags make up today’s undercard:
- Yuto-Ice, OSKAR, Taiji Ishimori, and Daiki Nagai vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, Hartley Jackson, and Kosei Fujita
- Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, and Gedo vs. Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman, and Jakob Austin Young
- Shota Umino, Yuya Uemura, Taichi, and Satoshi Kojima vs. EVIL, Ren Narita, SANADA, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- El Desperado, KUUKAI, and Katsuya Murashima vs. DOUKI, SHO, and Yujiro Takahashi
- Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Boltin Oleg, and Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Toru Yano, YOH, Master Wato, and Shoma Kato
- Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, and Masatora Yasuda vs. Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Zane Jay
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Main Card
Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & Zane Jay defeated Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) & Masatora Yasuda
After dancing around each other in headlocks, Jay maintained control over Yasuda’s shoulder, slamming him to the mat. Honma missed a Kokeshi on Taguchi, who landed it successfully. Jay stomped a mudhole in Honma in the corner, capitalizing with a bodyslam. Makabe punished the Young Lion with elbows, but ate a dropkick for his troubles.
Tiger Mask delivered a series of kicks to Makabe’s midsection. He responded in kind with a lariat. Yasuda tortured Tiger Mask with two Snap Suplexes and a Boston Crab before dropkicking an intervening Taguchi. Tiger Mask took the opportunity to engage in a Boston Crab. Honma and Makabe coordinated their efforts on Jay, but were equalized by a dropkick. Tiger Mask submitted Yasuda with a Crossface Chickenwing for the victory.
(Yasuda and Jay had a lot of fun with the limelight here. However, with Tiger Mask’s impending retirement on the horizon, his time tonight made him look like a superhero.)
Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI), Oleg Boltin & Tatsuya Matsumoto defeated Master Wato, Shoma Kato, Toru Yano & YOH
YOSHI-HASHI had no time for Yano’s turnbuckle shenanigans, and fortunately for him, Wato would tag himself in. YOH and Yano fell victim to a flurry of fists to their back from Bishamon, Boltin, and Matsumoto. Kato torqued the left shoulder of Matusmoto. YOSHI-HASHI made the save for Goto, who was suffering from the onslaught of YOH and Wato. A rejuvenated Goto soundly fell YOH with a lariat.
Boltin dizzied the already worn YOH with a Boltin Shake, but snuck in a counter DDT. Kato ducked from the powerhouse Boltin’s tackles to sneak in a hurricanrana. Boltin tapped Kato out with a Boston Crab for the win.
Post-match: Boltin and BIshamon seemed to challenge Yano, YOH, and Wato for a NEVER Openweight 6-Man Championship defense at a later date.
(YOH was an absolute sponge here. That lariat from Goto was my favorite part of his selling. Also, my Boltin stocks are still way up.)
House Of Torture (DOUKI, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi) defeated El Desperado, Katsuya Murashima & Kuukai
Desperado, mildly irritated by a pre-match smack-talk from SHO, lost focus as DOUKI and Takahashi tripped him, pulling by the legs to damage his nether region. Takahashi distracted the referee while DOUKI and SHO assaulted Desperado with a chair. Kuukai swung a comeback for his team via a Spinning Face Crusher on SHO.
Murashima energetically charged in, laying in a couple of sentons on DOUKI. DOUKI retaliated with an Italian Stretch #32, but was met by Kuukai and Desperado. Screaming in agony, Murashima ultimately succumbed to DOUKI’s second Italian Stretch #32 attempt, submitting to the hold.
(Isolated from the rest of House of Torture with a clean win like this proves the interference schtick isn’t necessary. This trio’s match had a compelling story of Desperado fighting for his life and his partners giving their all to help him. DOUKI was in great form here.)
Team 100 (Satoshi Kojima & Taichi), Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura versus House Of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita, SANADA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) ended in disqualification
House of Torture immediately went to work on their opposition, clobbering all but Taichi on the outside. Taichi, still in his entrance gear, laid out Kanemaru with a Big Boot. Uemura, spry as ever, overwhelmed the still-legal Kanemaru. The House of Torture came to Kanemaru’s aid, exposing the turnbuckle’s steel while the referee was distracted. EVIL choked Uemura with a T-shirt while Kanemaru kept the referee’s attention.
Much to EVIL’s annoyance, multiple pin attempts on Uemura were unsuccessful. An arm drag and elevated dropkick gave the weary Uemura momentary respite against Narita’s onslaught. Umino entered the fray, tenderizing Narita’s chest with chops and a Fisherman’s Suplex. He then toppled SANADA with a Tornado-DDT and Narita with a dropkick. Kojima chopped the chests of Kanemaru and SANADA to painful effect. Taichi rattled SANADA with an Axe Bomber. Kojima followed suit with a cutter. Emulating Eddie Guerrero’s chair spot with his guitar, SANADA smoothly fooled the referee, disqualifying Taichi and his teammates.
Post-match: House of Torture assaulted their defeated opponents and an interrupting Aaron Wolfe. Taichi seemingly helped Kojima to his feet, but the two veterans shoved each other. Uemura and Umino separated them as they bickered.
(This was rife with House of Torture shenanigans. The babyfaces did well, but my favorite part was Taichi beginning the match wrestling in his entrance gear.)
Gedo, Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji versus United Empire (Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan & Jakob Austin Young) ended in disqualification.
The bell had yet to ring as United Empire brawled with their opponents into the crowd. Khan plunged Takagi deep into the wreckage of chairs. Tsuji flung Newman into the barricade and back into the ring, superceding his speed with a hurricanrana. Gedo and Tsuji took turns with right-hand strikes on Newman.
Newman recovered enough to abuse Gedo in the corner. Young took advantage of Gedo’s agonized state by bending his fingers in uncomfortable directions. Khan pressed his full weight on Gedo on the top rope and attached his Iron Claw to Gedo’s face. Gedo powered out of this with a prolonged eye poke. Takagi devastated Khan with a Brainbuster, but not enough to secure a pinfall.
Despite the referee’s protests, Khan bit Takagi’s skull. Takagi rebounded with a Pumping Bomber to Young. Tsuji prevented a rescue from Khan courtesy of a tope suicida. Newman returned to the ring, flinging a steel chair at Takagi’s face, ending the match in disqualification.
Post-match: Newman continued his assault on Takagi with satisfaction etched on his face. Gedo, Tsuji, and a band of young lions came to Takagi’s defense.
(This mean streak from United Empire’s added an interesting wrinkle to Newman and Young. I almost felt bad for all the punishment Gedo took. However, two DQ finishes in one night doesn’t sit right with me.)
TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.) defeated War Dogs (OSKAR, Taiji Ishimori & Yuto-Ice) & Daiki Nagai
Both members of each time watched as Yuto-Ice and Sabre shoved each other around. Ishimori and Fujita started the match, wrestling to near-standstills until the latter poked the Bone Soldier’s eyes and chopped him flat. At ringside and in the crowd, the War Dogs and Nagai brawled with TMDK while Jackson threw his weight against Ishimori in a senton. Sabre stomped on Ishimori’s shoulder, baiting Yuto-Ice in for another brawl, this time in the ring.
Oiwa ragdolled Ishimori around, unrelenting on his left arm. OSKAR endured Oiwa’s offense, recovering with a slam. Yuto-Ice’s now-legal brawl with Sabre was interrupted by assists from Fujita and OSKAR, respectively. Thanks to a kick from Ishimori, Nagai miraculously crushed Jackson with a Spinebuster. Jackson mockingly absorbed Nagai’s offense before rebounding with a lariat. Jackson finished off Nagai with a Death Valley Driver.
Post-match: TMDK and the War Dogs + Nagai brawled en route to backstage.
(Sabre and Yuto-Ice’s beef made this bout entertaining, coupled with the buildup to the ultimate in-ring clash in this match. Nagai’s spinebuster on Jackson popped me.)
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.