Two title matches, two G1 Play-Ins set for Adachi
Watch New Japan Soul LIVE in English on NJPW World!
Tickets available worldwide in English!
A new addition has been made to the card for night eight of New Japan Soul on July 4, as the NEVER Openweight 6 man tag team Championships will be defended.
Ren Narita, SHO and Yujiro Takahashi won the NEVER Openweight titles back on January 30, and have done all they could not to defend the titles since, with only one defence to their record at Sakura Genesis this past April. As HOUSE OF TORTURE continued a campaign of violenc eon Hontai through the early part of the Soul tour however, YOH, Toru Yano and Master Wato finally struck back at Korakuen Hall on June 23. With a trio of weapon shots, the Hontai team fought fire with fire and were disqualified as a result, but made away with the H.O.T hardware. It's been a familiar situation for HOUSE OF TORTURE to steal titles in order to bait champions into a defence, but now the tables have been turned; will we see much needed NEVER 6 Man prestige restored?
With the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship also on the line between Gabe Kidd and Hiroshi Tanahashi, and the final G1 Climax 35 lineup to be determined in a pair of Play-In bouts, it's set to be an unmissable night from Adachi in Tokyo on July 4!
Two title matches, Tiger Mask celebration on Final Road set
Watch New Japan Soul LIVE in English on NJPW World!
Tickets available worldwide in English!
On July 6, Korakuen Hall will see the final night of the New Japan Soul tour, and the final night of action before G1 Climax 35 kicks off in the middle of the month.
It's going to be a fittingly big end to the series, as a pair of championship matches have been confirmed, with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship chief among them. Last month, Kosei Fujita won the Best of the Super Jr. 32 trophy, becoming the youngest ever BOSJ winner. Fujita had the leverage to demand a title match against El Desperado right away, but with Desperado determined to put his title on the line against Jun Kasai at DEATH PAIN Invitacional, the Young Punk would say he was willing to wait in order to have the champion's undivided attention.
Ultimately, June 24 saw a bloody, dangerous and deeply emotive battle between Kasai and Desperado. In the wake of the battle, Fujita would confront Desperado backstage at Korakuen, and ask for his shot, with Desperado's full focus, and at the site of his first challenge to Despe and the title earlier in February. Five months on, can Fujita herald a summer of TMDK in 2025 with a landmark title win, or will a dominant reign that has already seen new horizons reached for IWGP title matches have Desperado continuing to push boundaries?
Also on the line July 6 will be the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag team Championships. At Dominion, DOUKI made a shocking return from injury to align himself with HOUSE OF TORTURE and a former mentor in Yoshinobu Kanemaru, while teaming with SHO to immediately capture the junior tag belts from Master Wato and YOH. Ever since, the dark hearted duo has done their level best to break down the knee of Wato with illegal weapon shots, but on June 23, the Hontai team had enough. Turning the tables, they drew a DQ with steel pipe and wrench shots, and then stole away with the tag belts. Now SHO and DOUKI have to grant a rematch to take their property back, but will their reign end at V0?
Also set for the night is the next match on Hiroshi Tanahashi's Final Road, this time against Tiger Mask. Tanahashi is on a streak on his Final Road, having defeated Yuya Uemura and Tomoaki Honma in recent weeks and on his way to his final career G1 Climax. Tiger Mask meanwhile has his own landmark to commemorate tonight. The tiger and the Ace have faced off one on one once before, back in May of 2006 in the old Wrestle Land NJPW sub brand; this second and final singles contest for the two also comes as Tiger Mask marks an incredible 30 year career.
July of 1995 saw the current Tiger Mask's official debut opposite the Great Sasuke in Korakuen Hall. Now he returns to the Hall three decades on and will have no intention on fallin gto the Ace, especially as Tanahashi could be IWGP Global Champion by the time the bell sounds after his match with Gabe Kidd two days prior.
