NJPW Road to Destruction live results: TV title match
NJPW’s Road to Destruction tour kicks off today with an NJPW World TV Championship match.
In the show’s co-main event, Zack Sabre Jr. will defend the NJPW World TV title against Boltin Oleg. As with all TV title bouts, the match will have a 15 minute time limit.
In the other half of the main event, SANADA & Taichi of Just Five Guys will team against EVIL & SHO of Bullet Club’s House of Torture.
The full card:
- SANADA & Taichi vs. EVIL & SHO
- NJPW World TV Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Boltin Oleg
- Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, HENARE & Callum Newman
- Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Yuto Nakashima vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe & Tiger Mask
- Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano vs. Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito
- Yuji Nagata, Shota Umino, Master Wato & Oskar Leube vs. Minoru Suzuki, Ren Narita, El Desperado & Tomoaki Honma
- Ryusuke Taguchi & YOH vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
Our live coverage begins at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.
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DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated YOH & Ryusuke Taguchi
This was just a silly tag to kick off the tour.
Taguchi paid tribute to Funk by attempting a spinning toe hold, but Kanemaru reversed into a pin. Taguchi kicked out, but followed up with another cross-leg pin to snag the win.
Minoru Suzuki, Ren Narita, El Desperado, Tomoaki Honma defeated Shota Umino, Master Wato, Oskar Leube, & Yugi Nagata
This fantastic tag excited me for the rest of the tour. Nagata and Suzuki together will never get old, and Ren and Umino are one of my favorite pairings in the company.
After an intense staredown before the opening bell, Nagata and Suzuki traded blows; even after tagging out, the pair continued to brawl. Ren and Umnio also engaged in passionate attacks when the opportunity was presented.
Leube locking in a Boston crab initiated both teams hitting the ring, clearing the stage for the finish. After missing a leg drop, Leube ate a suplex from Ren before submitting to the cobra twist.
Bad Dude Tito, Shane Haste, & Mikey Nicholls defeated Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI, & Hirooki Goto
This was a fine-at-best six-man.
There was quite a bit of unimpactful action, with a couple of Yano segments intermixed. The match finished when Haste and Nicholls hit Yano with an assisted fireman’s carry into a double suplex.
No Contest: Yuto Nakashima, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Kazuchika Okada vs. Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
This match, given its lineup, over-delivered. The veteran quartet played their role exceptionally well, while the dream team (plus Nakashima) were great as always. It’s not a great match, but a fun one.
It opened with a brawl, leaving Tenzan and Ishii alone to trade strikes. Okada and Kojima also exchanged licks in the ring before giving Nakashima a chance to shine. There were some sloppy exchanges, especially after the late match breakdown, but everyone, even TM IV, looked good in this match at some point.
The match ended as the late brawl failed to resolve, even with the referee’s interference, resulting in a no-contest. The fight continued after the ruling, with Tenzan and Ishii as the main focal points.
Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, & Tetsuya Naito defeated Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, HENARE, & Callum Newman
This was a by-the-book early tour showcase tag, but Newman was given the opportunity to shine.
It didn’t take long for the match to spill outside of the ring, with the teams fighting in the crowd. Back in the ropes, newcomer Newman showed off his speed against Hiromu. The match eventually broke down again, with both teams hitting the ring until only Newman and Tsuji were left alone. Tsuji caught Newman with one of the prettiest spears I’ve ever seen to win the match.
NJPW World TV Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) defeated Ryohei Oiwa
Oleg Boltin was pulled from this match due to an infection. Oiwa, with Kaito Kiyomiya in his corner, was his replacement.
Oiwa opened the match by whipping ZSJ into the barricades, gaining an early lead. ZSJ gained advantage by securing the arm and whipping it into the barricade himself. From here on, ZSJ maintained this game plan, focusing the arm. After minutes of ZSJ control, Oiwa attempted a rally, only for ZSJ to catch his arm and force a submission.
After the match, Kaito and ZSJ had a brief staredown.
This win leaves ZSJ as the winningest champion in modern history, with 13 defences.
EVIL & SHO defeated SANADA & Taichi
This was an awful main event.
EVIL and SHO came to the ring with the IWGP World and KOPW belts, which they stole from Taichi and SANADA. EVIL also has new merch celebrating his reign as the 8th IWGP World champion, ignoring the statement’s falsehood.
The match opened with SHO fleeing to the floor. On the outside, Taichi whipped SHO into the barricade before returning to the ring. From here, the typical H.o.T.isms filled the match. Padless turnbuckles, eye rakes, and environmental offense were the focus.
With a downed referee, EVIL dropped Taichi with a low blow. SHO followed up with a wrench shot. EVIL then hit SANADA with the IWGP belt and Everything is Evil to win the match.
After the match, the attack continued. DOUKI and Kanemaru made the save. EVIL and SHO left with their stolen belts.