New Japan Soul live results: Junior title match, G1 qualifier finals
Today’s New Japan Soul tour finale features a Junior Heavyweight title bout, plus the finals of the G1 qualifier tournament.
In the main event, El Desperado defends the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against DOUKI. It will be the fifth career singles meeting between the two, with Desperado winning each of their first four meetings.
In the G1 qualifier tournament, Taichi will face Boltin Oleg with the winner qualifying for this year’s G1 Climax 34 B Block. YOSHI-HASHI will face Callum Newman with the final spot in A Block on the line.
An all-LIJ six-man will be in today’s semi-main event spot, with Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi taking on Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & Titan.
Ryusuke Taguchi returns from injury on today’s show, teaming with Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma & Tiger Mask against House of Torture’s EVIL, SHO, Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
SANADA, Yuya Uemura & TAKA Michinoku face Great-O-Khan, TJP & Francesco Akira in a trios match.
TMDK’s Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita face KENTA & Gedo in the opener.
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TMDK (Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr.) defeated BULLET CLUB (Gedo & KENTA)
This was fine enough, totally inoffensive filler.
This match opened with Bullet Club stealing momentum by attacking their opponents before the opening bell. This led to a period of isolation for Fujita before ZSJ made the save. The follow-up TMDK rally allowed Fujita to focus Gedo long enough to land Abandon Hope to win the match.
United Empire (Francesco Akira, Great-O-Khan & TJP) defeated Just 5 Guys (SANADA, TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura)
O-Khan and Uemura opened this match with some basic grappling. From here, UE established a lead, cutting Uemura off from his team.
Once SANADA tagged in, J5G regained some footing, but a back-and-forth between teams followed. After a prolonged scramble, Akira was able to pin TAKA, winning the match.
House Of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma & Yuji Nagata
This was an HoT “comedy” match with all the fixings. After fighting on the floor, distractions, false bell rings, low blows, and everything else you’d expect, Honma was hit with a pushup bar, and Everything is Evil to lose the match.
The legacy trio of Tanahashi, Nagata, and Honma almost made this tolerable but ultimately failed. That said, I’ve seen much worse from HoT.
G1 Climax Block A Qualifier Final: Callum Newman defeated YOSHI-HASHI
The match opened with chain wrestling. YH answered by dropping Newman with a tackle, but Newman responded with a boot seconds later.
On the floor, Newman whipped YH into the guardrail. YH bounced back, knocking Newman onto the padding. Back in the ring, YH maintained the pace by dropkicking Newman against the ropes. From here, YH continued to make advances, establishing a strong lead.
After a while on the back foot, Newman landed a stomp, which he used to launch a rally. YH ultimately cut him off with head hunter, setting up another stent of control.
YH continually unloaded on Newman, heading into his finish. With the end in sight, Newman trapped YH in a quick pin to win the match.
Newman advances to the G1 Climax.
G1 Climax Block B Qualifier Final: Oleg Boltin defeated Taichi
I didn’t love this match as a whole, but I loved the finishing stretch. I can not wait for Oleg’s G1.
The match opened with back-and-forth striking. From here, the match worked its way to the floor, where Taichi threw Oleg into the chairs. Back in the ring, Taichi maintained his lead, picking apart Oleg with simple strikes and holds.
After a long time on top, Taichi paused. This allowed Oleg to hit Kamikaze, resetting the match in his favor for the first time. Oleg managed to hit another to further his lead, but a Gedo clutch kept Taichi in the match.
A Dangerous Backdrop scored Taichi a nearfall. Oleg fired back by dumping Taichi on his ribs. Oleg then landed a knee to the ribs, a verdict à la Brock Lesnar, and another Kamikaze to win the match.
Oleg Boltin has qualified for the G1 Climax.
Time Limit Draw: Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, Titan & Yota Tsuji)
This match went an excruciating 30 minutes. I’m sure some people will enjoy it, but it certainly wasn’t for me.
The match opened with a few quick showcases between understandable opponents: Titan and Bushi, Shingo and Tsuji, and Naito and Hiromu. Hiromu took his opportunity, taking Naito to the floor and upping the intensity of the match.
With help from his corner, Hiromu took control over Naito. They worked in unison to isolate the heavyweight champion, gaining a strong lead.
Shingo eventually hit the ring to buy Naito space. This led to a back-and-forth with Tsuji, leaving both men grounded.
Titan and Bushi tagged in next, leading to an acrobatic exchange. Titan hit a tope and a top rope stomp. Bushi responded with a backbreaker, forcing a double tag.
Naito dropped Hiromu with a DDT, but Hiromu responded with a Victory Royal for a nearfall. With the time limit drawing near, Hiromu landed a bomber for another. Naito then tried for Destino, but everyone hit the ring to prevent the finish. After everyone hit something, Naito landed Valencia. With 30 seconds on the clock, Hiromu answered with Timebomb.
Both men were laid out as the clock ticked down. Naito tried for a last-ditch pin, but the time limit expired, leaving no one with the win.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: DOUKI defeated El Desperado (c)
This match was almost all Desperado ahead of the finish. It was built around DOUKI selling his knee, which he did well enough.
The match opened slow, with some basic grappling that gradually escalated. On the floor, Douki hit a DDT to gain the first advantage of the match, but Desperado fired back with an attack on the knee. This led to a prolonged stent of control from the champion.
A sudden dive and DDT from Douki provided a moment of separation for the challenger. He followed up with the Douki-Chokie, which Desperado escaped by finding the ropes. Desperado then locked in the cloverleaf, retaking his lead.
A stray kick from Douki initiated a striking battle. Desperado answered the strikes with a German, and Douki answered the German with a lariat. Douki then hit Suplex de La Luna and won the match.
For the first time in his career, Douki is the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.