NJPW Destruction in Kobe - September 29, 2024

[Chris]

World Heavyweight, Global titles on the line September 29 in Kobe!​

Two title matches official

Two championship matches have been made official for Destruction in Kobve on September 29, as our annual stop at Kobe World Hall heats up.

Watch live in English on NJPW World!

The IWGP World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line when Tetsuya Naito defends against Great-O-Khan. Though falling short of the G1 at the playoff stage, O-Khan did hold a final league night victory over Naito, and reasserted his championship claim in performances in Ryogoku Sumo Hall on closing weekend. O-Khan has said that his true vision as KOPW Champion, and as someone ‘to surpass Antonio Inoki’ wiill be solidifed when he becomes IWGP World Heavyweight Champion- will this be the night the Dominator takes over the world?

Also in Kobe, the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship is on the line when David Finlay faces YOSHI-HASHI. After elimination from the G1 at the hands of Yota Tsuji on August 17, David Finlay was set to hit the ground running the very next night. Yet it was YOSHI-HASHI who scored a shock pin over the Rebel with Itadakikari, proving indeed that everything can change in an instant. A former 6 man and IWGP Tag Team Champion, YOSHI-HASHI has never held singles gold, but will that too change in an instant in Kobe?

Stay tuned for more card announcements on the Destruction tour to come!​

 

[Roy Mustang]

Yoshi-Hashi is a shock choice to take on Finlay but Finlay has improved so might be a good match

 

[Chris]

Yoshi-Hashi is a shock choice to take on Finlay but Finlay has improved so might be a good match

Match should be fine but I'm baffled bc Goto was right there and had a win against Finlay in the G1 which Yoshi didn't even qualify. Unless this is all build for Goto/Finlay later as a bigger match, which would be awesome but I don't think I have that faith

 

[Roy Mustang]

Match should be fine but I'm baffled bc Goto was right there and had a win against Finlay in the G1 which Yoshi didn't even qualify. Unless this is all build for Goto/Finlay later as a bigger match, which would be awesome but I don't think I have that faith

Honestly that's where I think they are going. It would make sense but maybe I am optimistic cause I got Sabre winning the G1

 

[Chris]

Honestly that's where I think they are going. It would make sense but maybe I am optimistic cause I got Sabre winning the G1

Goto beat him in the G1 too, plus they have the New Japan Cup angle from this year too. I believe they want Finlay to get his win back but I'm surprised they've managed to make that into a bigger match (if they still capitalize like we're thinking)

 

[Apoho Creed]

So if you want me to watch these Shows leading to the big one they better give me more than this. Wait didn't Finlay vs Yoshi Hashi face each other in a great Match in the New Japan Cup a few Years ago when Finlay was still a Face?

 

[Chris]

Championship action to run through Road to Destruction!​

Title matchups and more made across four live broadcasts

September means the Road to Destruction in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Running from Korakuen Hall, through Sendai to a special tour of Hokkaido before a final stop in Kobe World Hall, there’s lots of action to get excited about on the road to Kobe, and some stunning cards on the horizon.
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September 8 Korakuen Hall- NJPW World TV Championship!​

At the end of the G1 Climax 34 B Block, Yota Tsuji defeated NJPW World TV Champion Jeff Cobb to advance out of his block, and eventually make it to the final. There he fell at the last hurdle to Zack Sabre Jr, a man Cobb defeated in May to win the NJPW World TV Championship. Cobb confronted Tsuji backstage as a result and said that if he had been in Tsuji’s final spot, he would have been the G1 winner. That confrontation has led to Tsuji and Cobb being made official in the main event of September 8’s card LIVE in English on NJPW World!
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September 9 Korakuen Hall- NEVER Openweight Championship!​

Hiromu Takahashi’s pinfall victory over HENARE at the end of the G1 Climax 34 tour granted the opportunity for a rare junior heavyweight challenge to the NEVER Openweight Championship. Hiromu has in mind a singles meeting with Tetsuya Naito with both men holding gold, but that’s a big ask when it requires taking down the fierce and prideful Maori Warrior in Korakuen Hall. The card is LIVE in English on NJPW World!
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September 11 Sendai- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship!​

A card with tons of intrigue in Sendai will see Zack Sabre Jr. and Kosei Fujita tagging against Taichi and SANADA in a match that will draw eyes, while LIJ and United Empire go head to head In the main event though, it’s DOUKI facing Taiji Ishimori. DOUKI’s sensational IWGP Junior Heavyweight title win came after recent career defining victories over two of NJPW’s ‘big three’ in the junior heavyweight space. Yet while Japones Del Mal can claim victory over El Desperado and Hiromu Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori remains a box unchecked. Will it stay that way, or can DOUKI get to V1? Find out LIVE in Japanese, with English to follow on NJPW World!
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September 14 Noboribetsu- NEVER 6 Man titles and a Noboribetsu special!​

Noboribetsu sightseeing ambassador Toru Yano will be all over the card on September 14! He, Boltin Oleg and Hiroshi Tanahashi will headline as they defend the NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag titles against HOUSE OF TORTURE. Can they finally administer justice once and for all to H.O.T?

Yano will have double duty though, as he’ll be kicking off the night as well. Young Lions Masatora Yasuda and Daiki Nagai will team up to face Yano, and his partner- drinking buddy and legendary Gracie Hunter Kazushi Sakuraba! What happens in Sakuraba’s first match on an NJPW event since January 2022? Plus local hero Tomoya will be hosting a special Noboribetsu Ranbo on a card not to be missed LIVE in Japanese with English to follow on NJPW World!

 

[Chris]

Just finished today's show, Tsuji and Cobb ruled. Weird change of pace having TV title main event with that time limit so we knew it wasn't going your usual main event time, but I liked it. And then Narita has to ruin it

 

[Chris]

Damn I really thought Hiromu was gonna do it great match

 

[Chris]

Ishii needs some backup against Kidd and Lee hmmm

 

[Chris]

"Boltin Oleg is slinging Dick"

 

[Chris]

 

[Chris]

Road to Destruction night 4 (September 11) Preview​

Sendai sees title action

On a week full of championship action, Sendai Sun Plaza Hall will see the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship defended as the road to Destruction in Kobe on September 29 continues.

Watch live on NJPW World! (English to follow on demand)
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Main event: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship- DOUKI vs Taiji Ishimori​

Singles record: 4–0 Ishimori

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI puts his title on the line for the first time against Taiji Ishimori in the main event tonight. After DOUKI shocked the world by defeating El Desperado in June, he took to the mic and declaratively stated ‘if anyone has an issue with me holding this belt, then they should step up’. At the end of the G1, Taiji Ishimori did just that.

After all, Ishimori had started his Best of the Super Jr. campaign earlier this year with a win over DOUKI; his fourth over the course of their respective careers. Over the course of 2024, DOUKI has had career breakthrough victories before, getting his first wins over the likes of Robbie Eagles, Hiromu Takahashi, and of course El Desperado to capture the belt he now holds. Yet Ishimori remains a box left unchecked, and it’s a very hard box to fill.

While nobody can take away that DOUKI has captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, the first defence is always the hardest, and it’s critical for Japones Del Mal to pick up that V1 to cement his reign. Not only that, but his quest will be to crack the ‘big three’ of junior heavyweight wrestling; Desperado, Takahashi and Ishimori have long been considered the top flight of the junior division of NJPW, and the Bone Soldier is the last member of that group DOUKI hasn’t beaten yet. Will DOUKI truly destroy the previous status quo, or will it be Ishimori that begins a fourth title reign?
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6th Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) vs United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, HENARE, Callum Newman & Jakob Austin Young)​

Los Ingobernables De Japon and United Empire clash once again in Sendai. A week started with Yota Tsuji and Jeff Cobb facing off Sunday for NJPW World TV gold, and HENARE and Hiromu Takahashi facing one another for NEVER gold on Monday continues with ten man action tonight. As Great-O-Khan and Tetsuya Naito have eyes on September 29 and their showdown in Kobe for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, what will happen in this heated affair?
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5th Match: CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) vs BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Jake Lee, Gabe Kidd & David Finlay)​

Trios action sees YOSHI-HASHI and David Finlay tied up before they meet for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship September 29. Kobe is a town with bad memories for YOSHI-HASHI, but one where he could vanquish all sorts of demons at the end of the month, and come away with his first singles championship in the process; the exorcism, he hopes, begins tonight. Meanwhile, the Mad Bastards team of Jake Lee and Gabe Kidd have been tangling with Tomohiro Ishii and Tomoaki Honma this tour, and now Ishii is joined by former World Tag League hat trick winners. That makes for a prime target for a new team with desires to hold Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls’ IWGP gold before long.
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4th Match: Shota Umino, Ryusuke Taguchi, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (Yoshinobu Kanemaru, SHO, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL)​

It’s the last preview for NEVER Openweight 6 Man Champions Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano and Hiroshi Tanahashi against their Noboribetsu opponents in HOUSE OF TORTURE tonight. On Saturday, the two teams will face off for the six man titles, after Hontai, and President Tanahashi in particular has made public and vocal claims about dealing with the scourge of the House. Will H.O.T have their own perverse justice to mete out?
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3rd Match: TMDK (Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr.) vs Just Five Guys (SANADA & Taichi)​

For a match fourth on the card in Sendai, there’s an awful lot to get into with this tag team contest. SANADA has maintained a low profile ever since crashing out of contention in the G1 this summer, even after a stunning last effort in defeat to eventual winner Zack Sabre Jr. SANADA and ZSJ will be locking horns again tonight with both seemingly taking vastly different trajectories.

Sabre has long been effusive in his praise of SANADA, and with Taichi he shares another special relationship. A bout with the former Dangerous Tekkers partners is rarer than hen’s teeth in the modern era, and this first bout between the two since All Together back in May is sure to raise eyebrows, especially as Taichi seeks to put himself back on the map after being taken out of G1 contention in the qualifying tournament. In a competitive triangle, Kosei Fujita is not one to be left out of any conversation, and he’ll be looking to impress himself on this bout as well.
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2nd Match: TAKA Michinoku vs Francesco Akira​

In a first time ever singles matchup, TAKA Michinoku will be taking on Francesco Akira. Though the legendary TAKA will be pulling for Just Five Guys teammate DOUKI in the main event, but he will aklsi be working to show the world he belongs back in the junior top flight. Akira meanwhile has been the most active NJPW junior heavyweight even through the G1 Climax season, and will have a very close eye on the main event when he gets to the back after this one.
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1st match: Tiger Mask & Tomoaki Honma vs Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato​

Young Lions face veterans in our opening tag team contest. Can Shoma Kato and Katsuya Murashima work like the well oiled machine they need to be against their salty opposition tonight?
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Kickoff Match: Masatora Yasuda vs Daiki Nagai​

Singles record: 0–0–7 (at time of writing)

Destined to be generational rivals forever, Masatora Yasuda and Daiki Nagai will start the night opposite one another in their eighth singles contest, and fourth in a one weeks pan. Will one find the upper hand with ten minutes on the clock?​

 

[Chris]

Damn this show is the one without English commentary live and so far it's the only one with a consequential undercard lol Sanada just beat Zack in a tag and challenged him for Royal Quest which further solidifies to me Zack is winning the title

 

[Comrade Khan]

From what I read , unfortunately another injury on this card. Jake apparently knee injury