SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…
After the conclusion of this yearâ€s G1 Climax, New Japan has been somewhat in hibernation mode. There have been some smaller shows, packed with multi-man tag matches, and some themed shows in partnership with other promotions or produced by some of the wrestlers. This is normal, as the G1 Final is one of the two peaks of their year that sets up multiple stories leading into Wrestle Kingdom.
As fall chills the air, the significance of their shows is starting to pick up. NJPW Destruction takes place on September 28 and features several title matches, and the Road to Destruction tour has seen several stories furthered and three titles defended. Todayâ€s article is intended to catch you up on the few things that have been going on as summer faded away.
The title scenes
IWGP World Title
At Destruction, Zack Sabre Jr will defend the world title against Ren Narita. It is tradition that the champion defends his title against anyone who beat him during the G1, and Narita is the first of those to get a shot. As part of the House of Torture, Narita has been an infuriating talent to watch. When he tries to wrestle clean, he is phenomenal. He matched ZSJ hold-for-hold for much of their match during the G1 before using a low blow to secure the win. Notably though, there were no HoT Shenanigans (TM) during the match. I expect an excellent match, marred by HoT interference, only for TMDK to even the odds
Itâ€s highly unlikely that we see a title change though, as ZSJ is scheduled to defend against G1 winner Konosuke Takeshita in October. That is a marquee match and should be protected at the expense of another young gun failing at his first attempt at the title. Takeshita beat ZSJ in the semifinals of the G1 in a match that was only hurt by a lack of fluidity. I do think Takeshita wins and brings the title to AEW while New Japan goes into Tag Team Mode for the annual World Tag League tournament. The fantasy match for Wrestle Kingdom is Takeshita defending against Kazuchika Okada, but the fact that Takeshita was roundly booed in the G1 Finals against otherwise-concrete heel Evil might make the bookers reconsider. I could see ZSJ retaining, leading to a rubber match between the two at Wrestle Kingdom after Takeshita turns face.
IWGP Global Title
Gabe Kidd will defend the Global title at Destruction against Shingo Takagi in a match that promises to be extremely physical. Kidd can sometimes rely too much on naked headbutts and stiff shots, and Shingo is not shy about that style, so there is a risk the match turns into a slugfest. If Shingo is allowed to drive, the match will be much more enjoyable. I assume Kidd retains, leaving a dearth of likely challengers. Yuya Uemura is one option, though I would much rather see him further up the card.
Never Openweight Title
In a much less appetizing affair, Boltin Oleg will face Don Fale for the Never Openweight title. As much as Oleg has improved, asking him to haul Faleâ€s colossal carcass to a watchable match might be beyond him at this stage. I cannot see a world in which Fale wins, but itâ€s very likely that this match sets up a future defence for Oleg against another HoT member. I would be surprised if Oleg remains champion for a long time, as he seems to be tagged for big things in the promotion, but as it stands there is no obvious person to dethrone him. Perhaps a returning Henare, or Jake Lee, would make sense.
IWGP Tag Team Title
The tag team championship has been something of a hot potato over the past couple of years. The last team with a successful defence was TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste) in October of last year. You have to go back to June of 2023 to find a team with more than one. This is largely due to a total lack of established teams in the promotion; Haste and Nicholls have been MIA, Bishamon was shelved as a team while Hirooki Goto had his world title run, and the injuries to Callum Newman and Henare combined with Jeff Cobbâ€s departure meant there was no United Empire team in the running. The whole division has been sorely neglected, and that was painfully obvious last year when the lineup for World Tag League was announced. Of the 16 teams involved, only six could be considered established teams. The winners, Hiromu Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito, had rarely teamed before and did not last long after winning the titles.
The return of Yuto Nakashima and Oskar Leube, now known as the Knockout Brothers Yuto Ice and Oskar, has breathed some life into the division. However, the new members of Bullet Club War Dogs were immediately given a title shot against Taichi and Tomohiro Ishii. Yuto and Oskar have been a team for a couple of years, spending their whole excursion together, so itâ€s unlikely theyâ€ll be treated as “flavour of the month†challengers. That said, I think it would be a mistake to switch the titles again. Having the Knockout Brothers win WTL and then challenge the champs at Wrestle Kingdom would be the better plan, in my opinion. After all, there are no other viable contenders.
Itâ€s my hope that the announcement of the WTL lineup will give us some visiting teams, or that they use the time before the start of that tournament (which is usually mid-November) to establish some more teams.
IWGP Junior Tag Team Title
On the September 24 Road to Destruction show in Sapporo, Douki and Sho successfully defended the titles against Ichiban Sweet Boys (Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita) in a heck of a match that perfectly demonstrated how House of Torture can be heels without completely unbelievable and ridiculous tactics. They cheated, but without outside interference or resorting to literally holding the referee in place so he canâ€t see the cheating. The match was also a wonderful example of how to do a pure face vs heel match: when the heels were on offence, the pace slowed and the moves were more grindy and less flashy. When the faces gained control, the pace picked up and the action became more breathtaking. Only one team was trying to appeal to the crowd, and the four men in the match were the ones who decided it. By no means was it the best match of the year, but it was a template that I hope New Japan follows for HoT matches going forward.
The Junior Tag division has been almost the diametric opposite of the heavyweight one, with multiple successful teams at the top. That might be about to change as we have not seen TJP in a while, Kevin Knight is in AEW with his partner missing in action, and Clark Connors†partner Drilla Moloney is now competing at heavyweight. Junior Tag League is the next tournament series, starting in October, so we will see where the land lies very soon.
IWGP Junior Title
On the same show, El Desperado held off the challenge of Yoh in another match that should be used as a template. It was not a high-flying match, nor was it a technical masterpiece. It just told a story of a challenger who had never made it to the top of the division, who knew he did not have many chances left, and who was desperate to make this one count. El Desperado is far from my favourite wrestler, but he has this way of making sure that everyone he wrestles looks like a million bucks.
Sadly for Yoh, who has been doing the best character work of his career recently, the immediate aftermath of that match saw Douki challenge Desperado. Everyone knew that was coming, since Desperado won the title in a match with Douki due to an injury and referee stoppage. With Hiromu and Taiji Ishimori focused elsewhere, these are the two biggest names in the division. Itâ€s in good shape though, with Francesco Akira and Kosei Fujita both waiting in the wings.
Never Six-Man Title
As in AEW, this title is an afterthought that is treated as something of a joke even by the talent. The most recent defence saw Toru Yano, Yoh, and Master Wato hold off the thrown-together team of Hiroshi Tanahashi, El Desperado and Ryusuke Taguchi. During the match, El Phantasmo was on English commentary with Walker Stewart and repeatedly joked about not knowing who the current champions were. If the promotion cares that little, itâ€s hard to justify giving the title any more attention than a passing mention. There is no division to speak of, and seemingly no pattern in challengers and champions.
What else is happening?
The current crop of Young Lions is progressing extremely well. Masatora Yasuda and Zane Jay are ahead of the curve, although Jay came in with a good deal of experience in the LA Dojo. Katsuya Murashima seems to have plateaued, but with Daiki Nagai and Shoma Kato likely to be heading off on excursion soon we might see Murashima step up as the senior Young Lion…if that makes sense.
Tanahashiâ€s Final Road is still trucking along to Wrestle Kingdom. Heâ€s been losing a fair amount, beating his contemporaries, and playing the role of peak babyface at each stop. I was somewhat surprised to see him face Master Wato, since neither result of that match would have been productive. Junior heavyweights almost never beat heavyweights, but at the same time Wato is in a weird place right now and could have used a big win. Heâ€s very talented, but just hasnâ€t found the gear that would elevate him to the level of Desperado and Douki. Tanahashi gave him a lot, and it was a good match, just a bit baffling. Then again, this is the same Tanahashi that randomly showed up for an AEW cage match and then had an elimination trios match against Great Bash Heel. Heâ€s set to face Great-O-Khan on September 28, a match he absolutely should lose.
Shota Umino may just be turning the corner in terms of fan reaction. Heâ€s been hovering around the top of the midcard, having good matches and not seeming unbeatable. Heâ€s been teaming up with Yuya Uemura in multi-man tags, and they recently made a show of shaking hands on the entrance ramp after a win. I would not be surprised to see them make a run in the World Tag League. From there we can either pull the trigger on the expected Umino heel turn and faction, or we can have them win and continue to team up. I am hesitant to say it out loud in case they jump the gun and try to rocket him to the top again, but if they stay the course they might be able to turn him into the new ace that they want him to be.
I canâ€t explain why, but I get a kick out of the mini-feud between Gedo and Taka Michinoku. Just two older, grumpy, former big names who plain donâ€t like each other and will take every opportunity to throw down. Itâ€s never taken seriously and itâ€s always in the undercard, and thatâ€s what makes it so much fun.
Hiromu, Shingo, and Yota Tsuji are still associated, calling themselves Unaffiliated (despite being affiliated with each other) and bringing in Daiki Nagai as their personal Young Lion. I understand that the Los Ingobernables name needed to change with Naito gone, but the solution thus far has been inelegant to say the least. It still feels like thereâ€s another shoe to drop in this story.
I think Kosei Fujita might be the most underappreciated name on the roster right now. He has as much charisma and presence as Tsuji, is just as good in the ring as Uemura, and is younger than all the other new stars. As heâ€s a junior heavyweight though, he isnâ€t given the press that Umino, Uemura, and Tsuji have received. New Japan has been fronted by juniors before – Jushin Thunder Liger, Prince Devitt, Tiger Mask, and Tatsumi Fujinami were all bona fide superstars at one point. Fujita is a long way from that rarified air, but he has the tools to get there.
Finally, I have some hope that House of Torture is starting to evolve. They are still firmly the main antagonists, but over the last couple of shows they have kept their usual shenanigans to the undercard tag matches. Heels who cheat are one of the foundations of wrestling, and that does extend to interference within reason. What HoT had been doing was far beyond that, and was almost a given in every match. I hesitate to say that they have found the balance until after the September 28 show, but at least there has been some movement.
I will be back with results from the September 28 show as soon as possible, and I am working on a couple of other things to keep you all informed with the New Japan happenings. Until then, thanks for stopping by!
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