New Japan Pro Wrestling held its finaly of its DESTRUCTION Tour with the “DESTRUCTION in RYOGOKU” show on October 9. The card was stacked and was set for a great night of pro wrestling action. Some of the major talkig points on the night was first the idenity of “X” the new member of Just 5 Guy, which ended up being the returning young lion now dubbed “HEAT STORM” Yuya Uemura. As togther with Taichi and Douki got the win over the House of Torture trio in ^ man tag team action.
Bullet Club War Dogs Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney successfully defended the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (V2) against KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight at today’s NJPW “DESTRUCTION in RYOGOKU”, when Moloney pinned KUSHIDA (13:28) with their tag team finisher the Full Clip to retain the titles.
The Best of Seven seriers that took place during the duration of the tour between Shota Umino, Master Wato & Yuji Nagata vs Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Ren Narita had theri final match with the Umino team one loss behind they had to win to draw this seriers otherwise they would be on the overall losing end. Umino Pickedu p the victory for his team ending up the seriers with a record of 3 wins, 3 loses and 1 draw. After wards rivalrs shook hands the most surprising was the handshake between Suzuki and Nagata who before the handshake and fist bump took a few open hand palm stikes at heach other.
The NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Championships where on the line as champions Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada managed to defend against the trio sent by IMPACT wresling of Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin & Josh Alexander when Tanahashi pinned the IMPACT World Champion Alex Shelley (15:40) with the High Fly Flow for the win. Backstage following the match, Ishii nominated Zack Sabre Jr.’s TMDK as their next opponents for the 6-man titles. While Tanahashi expressed his desire to settle the score with IMPACT World Champion Alex Shelley in one more singles confrontation after previously being unsucceful in a title challange.
Next, Tama Tonga once again became the NEVER Openweight Champion after defeating David Finlay for the title when pinning the Bullet Club leader (19:39) with the DSD following a Styles Clash to regain the belt. After the match, Tama named Shingo Takagi as his next challenger for the NEVER Title, as they have unfinished business from their recent G1 Climax match that ended in a 20-minute time-limit draw.
In the Semi Main, Hiromu Takahashi showcased his prowess by successfully defending his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship (V6). The electrifying 3-way match featured YOH and “Speedball” Mike Bailey as challengers. Hiromu sealed the victory by pinning (17:53) YOH after executing the TIME BOMB II, following a Hiromu-chan Bomber, thereby retaining his tite. The Shocker came after the match when Bullet Club’s Taiji Ishimori, who had been out of action with a cervical spine injury since May, made his return and attacked the champion and then challenged Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title next.
In the Main Event SANADA accomplished a monumental feat by reclaiming the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship from his former L.I.J tag partner, EVIL who helf the belt hostage. This thrilling victory came in the midst of a chaotic Lumberjack Match, where the ring was surrounded by members of Just 5 Guys and HOUSE OF TORTURE. SANADA secured the win by pinning the ‘King of Darkness’ (28:01), utilizing the Deadfall following a powerful Shining Wizard, successfully defending his title (V4).
To add to the excitement of the evening, the winner of G1 Climax 33, Tetsuya Naito, made a surprise appearance in the ring. He announced his intention to challenge SANADA for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at “WRESTLE KINGDOM 18 in Tokyo Dome” scheduled for January 4, 2024, setting the stage for what promises to be an epic showdown.
You can find the rest of the results below.
NJPW “DESTRUCTION in RYOGOKU” Full Results (October 9)
- Pre Show Match: YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano, Oskar Leube, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask def. Takeshi Masada, Kazumi Sumi, Kengo, Jyun Masaoka & Takahiro Katori
- 6 Man Tag: Taichi, DOUKI & Yuya Uemura (Just Five Guys) def. SHO, Yujiro Takahashi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (HOUSE OF TORTURE)
- Tanga Loa def. Chase Owens
- Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, Yota Tsuji & BUSHI (Los Ingobernables De Japon) def. Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, HENARE & Callum Newman (United Empire)
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag team Championships: Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney (BULLET CLUB War Dogs) (c) def. Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA (Intergalactic Jet Setters)
- Best of Seven Series: Shota Umino, Master Wato & Yuji Nagata def. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Ren Narita (Strong Style) Both teams shook hands. The series ended 3-3-1.
- NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships: Hikuleo & El Phantasmo (Guerrillas of Destiny) def. Gabe Kidd & Alex Coughlin (BULLET CLUB War Dogs) (c) to win the titles.
- NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Championships: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada (c) def. Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin & Josh Alexander
- NEVER Openweight Championship: Tama Tonga def. David Finlay (c) to win the title.
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) def. Mike Bailey and YOH
- Main Event IWGP World Heavyweight Championship – Lumberjack Death match: SANADA (c) def. EVIL