NOAH title to be defended at NJPW Destruction in Kobe

Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Junior Heavyweight Championship will be on the line this weekend at an NJPW event.

NJPW star Hiromu Takahashi became the new GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion earlier this month. He’s now set to make his first defense at NJPW Destruction in Kobe this Sunday, where he will face off against Taiji Ishimori. The match was made after Ishimori scored the fall over Takahashi in a six-man tag on NJPW’s Road to Destruction tour.

“The bout represents the first time the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship has been defended in an NJPW ring since April 27, 2004, when then champion Jushin Thunder Liger defended against Kotaro Suzuki in Hiroshima,” NJPW wrote.

“Hiromu already had a first defense scheduled against NOAH’s Eita for the promotion’s October 11 Ryogoku card. Addressing the impromptu title bout, Hiromu said that the winner of himself and Ishimori would be the one to face Eita, yet Ishimori has accepted this title match on the condition that should he win, he will only defend the belt in New Japan. Hiromu’s capturing of the gold was already controversial, and his unilateral actions have drawn sharp criticism from the NOAH roster online.”

Ishimori, a star for NOAH before he joined NJPW, has held the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship three times. His most recent reign took place in 2017.

As far as NJPW’s Junior Heavyweight title is concerned, DOUKI has set his sights on a future match against champion El Desperado. They will meet in 10-man tag team action at Destruction in Kobe.

Destruction in Kobe will stream live on NJPW World starting at 3 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday. Here is the updated card

NJPW Destruction in Kobe (Sunday, September 28) —

  • IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Ren Narita
  • IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Gabe Kidd defends against Shingo Takagi
  • Yota Tsuji vs. David Finlay
  • GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defends against Taiji Ishimori
  • IWGP Tag Team Champions Tomohiro Ishii & Taichi defend against OSKAR & Yuto-Ice
  • NEVER Openweight Champion Oleg Boltin defends against Don Fale
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan
  • El Desperado, YOH, Shota Umino, Yuya Uemura & YOSHI-HASHI vs. DOUKI, SHO, EVIL, SANADA & Dick Togo
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