NJPW Road to Destruction live results: Two title matches
Two titles are on the line today at Korakuen Hall on night two of the NJPW Road to Destruction tour.
Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tomohiro Ishii will try for their second defense of the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship as they defend against Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Togi Makabe, and Tiger Mask.
The second title bout is newly added to the lineup, as Zack Sabre Jr. will defend the NJPW World TV Championship for a second consecutive night. After last night’s bout was changed from Sabre vs. Boltin Oleg to Sabre vs. Ryohei Oiwa due to an injury to Oleg, Sabre challenged Satoshi Kojima for today’s event.
The show’s main event is an elimination match between Los Ingobernables De Japon and United Empire.
The card:
- Elimination match: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI) vs. United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, HENARE & Callum Newman)
- NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii defend vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Togi Makabe & Tiger Mask
- NJPW World TV Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. defends vs. Satoshi Kojima
- SANADA, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. EVIL, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi
- Toru Yano, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs Bad Dude Tito, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls
- Tomoaki Honma, Shota Umino, Master Wato & Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Ren Narita & Yuto Nakashima
- YOH & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku
Our live coverage begins at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.
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YOH & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku
This was a by-the-book opening tag, nothing worth seeking out. After a few back-and-forths, YOH and Taguchi hit TAKA with a tandem double-knee facebreaker.
Tomoaki Honma, Master Wato, Shota Umino, & Yuji Nagata defeated Yuto Nakashima, El Desperado, Ren Narita, & Minoru Suzuki
Fantastic match, this.
This match was all about individual rivals; Suzuki and Nagata spent as much time as possible brawling, Ren and Shota took shots at each other as soon as there was an opportunity, Wato and Desperado were the in-ring focus, and Honma bullied Nakashima because he didn’t have anything better to do.
In the end, young lion Nakashima ate the Shota’s death rider, leaving Shota with a win. Even after the closing bell, the fighting continued, setting up the best-of-seven series starting tomorrow.
Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI, & Hirooki Goto defeated Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste, & Bade Dude Tito
Due to Boltin Oleg’s wrist infection, he and ZSJ were pulled from this match.
TMDK worked a standard heel match here before Yano involved himself. After the Yano silliness, Tito and Goto traded momentum. Ultimately, Goto would win out, hitting Tito with Shoto to secure victory.
SHO, EVIL, & Yujiro Takahashi vs. SANADA, Taichi, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
This opened with a brawl initiated by Just 5 Guys, not allowing H.o.T. to strike. While entering the ring, Kanemaru blew out his knee. After carting off Kanemaru, H.O.T. continued the attack, forcing DOUKI to make the save. The match would then restart with DOUKI taking Kanemaru’s place.
SHO, EVIL, & Yujiro Takahashi defeated SANADA, Taichi, & DOUKI.
This match, even with its unfortunate start, was fun for a H.o.T affair.
DOUKI matched the early energy set by J5G and then some. DOUKI scored a nearfall on EVIL with a DOUKI-chokie, but his follow-up was stopped by a Dick Togo chair shot. EVIL then landed Everything is Evil to win the match.
NJPW World TV Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) defeated Satoshi Kojima
This fill-in match, unsurprisingly, was terrific.
Both men worked a fantastically focused match here, with Kojima’s offense being immediately impactful and ZSJ’s being as slick as ever. The back-and-forth sequence in the last stretch of the match was phenomenal, with Kojima nailing ZSJ with everything in his tank before being caught in a ZSJ triangle. ZSJ won with the hold to retain his belt.
Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Tiger Mask, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, & Togi Makabe
Was this a crisp masterpiece? No. Was it a sloppy hoot that’s totally worth seeking out? Absolutely.
2023 has been the year of hateful Okada, and this match was no exception. Okada’s confidence actually allowed the veteran squad in the door after TM IV landed a massive arm drag from the top rope. A veteran-led exchange followed. Tenzan, whose ability was a focal point throughout this match, allowed the veterans’ control to slip, eventually leading to an extended offensive sequence at his expense.
A late veteran rally helped Tenzan regain footing. With Ishii alone in the ring, TM landed a Tiger Driver, Makabe a King Kong Knee, and Tenzan a headbutt. This scored Tenzan a nearfall. Tenzan then climbed to the top rope, but Okada pulled him down and landed a German suplex to a chorus of boos, re-asserting control for the champions. In the end, Ishii dropped Tenzan with a brainbuster to win the match and retain the belts.
Callum Newman, HENARE, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, Will Ospreay defeated BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takahi, & Tetsuya Naito
This was an elimination match, with eliminations occurring by pin, submission, or over-the-top rope falls.
This match was filled to the brim with action, with a bunch of neat moments spread throughout. It filled the main event role exceptionally well. A great match.
The early portion of this match was focused around Ospreay. After interacting with all of the other LIJ members in the match, Ospreay dropped Hiromu with a boot, signaling for the rest of UE to clear the ring. From here on, UE worked to isolate Hiromu, gaining a significant advantage.
Eventually, Naito tagged in, leading to a showcase for the Naito/Cobb match to come. After that interaction ended, an influx of wrestlers tagged in and out, leading to multiple shifts in momentum.
Shingo scored the first elimination in this match by dropping Newman with a pumping bomber. The next eliminations followed soon after, as O-Khan eliminated Shingo and himself with an eliminator to the apron, which sent both men to the floor. BUSHI was next to score an elimination by throwing HENARE over the top. The fun for BUSHI ended once Ospreay entered the ropes, as a quick hidden blade resulted in a pin.
Ospreay and Tsuji came to blows for an extended period. The pair soon found themselves on the apron, where Tsuji scored an elimination with a curb stomp. This curb stomp also eliminated Tsuji in what was nothing short of a great sequence.
With the rest of his team eliminated, Cobb was left alone with Naito and Hiromu. Cobb was quick to even the score by catching Hiromu and powerbombing him to the floor. Cobb then went to war with Naito, eventually fighting onto the apron. On the edge of the ring, the pair went back and forth before a sudden dropkick sent Naito crashing to the ground. Cobb has won the match for his team heading into Destruction.