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NJPW WRESTLING HIZEN NO KUNI REPORT
APRIL 29, 2025
SAGA ARENA
SAGA, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
Walker Stewart was flying solo on commentary to start the night.
(1) HIROSHI TANAHASHI vs. MASATORA YASUDA
If you were hoping this match would finally see New Japan using a veteran on their way out to put over a young talent, you haven’t been paying attention. Tanahashi gave the Young Lion a fair amount of offence before going through his greatest hits before tapping him out with a high-angle cloverleaf.
WINNER: Hiroshi Tanahashi via submission in 7:00. (*1/2)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: Yasuda held out a while in the submission, and created a lot of movement for his boss. The kid has had some injury issues which have left him behind his classmates for development, but he looks to be doing very well.)
(2) TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr & Hartley Jackson & Ryohei Oiwa) vs. TORU YANO & BOLTIN OLEG & KATSUYA MURASHIMA
Oiwa looks cooler and cooler every time he comes to the ring. He still has a dumb finisher with a dumber name though. There was a Young Lion in this match so you knew before it started who would be eating the fall, it was only a matter of what would happen to him. Turns out, The Grip would hit The Grip for the win. Told you it was a silly name.
WINNERS: TMDK via pinfall in 10:00. (**1/4)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: Murashima looked good here, very crisp and physical despite carrying some strapping on his knee. This was pretty good for an undercard tag, partly because Murashima shone in his time on offence.)
(3) LOS INGOBERNABLES DE JAPON (Tetsuya Naito & Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji) vs. SHOTA UMINO & TAKA MICHINOKU & TAICHI & TOMOHIRO ISHII & YUYA UEMURA
Shingo jumped Umino before the bell, much to my surprise. Tsuji and Uemura brawled up the ramp while the action got started in the ring. As those two pairings have singles matches at Wrestling Dontaku, that made sense. Uemura pinned Bushi with the Deadbolt suplex for the win.
WINNERS: Uemura, Ishii, Taichi, Taka, and Umino via pinfall in 8:00. (**1/2)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: The best parts of this match happened outside the ring, including Shingo trying to murder Umino with a chair shot, then launching the chair at his face. Their match on May 3 is being billed as a special singles match, but it’s become a real grudge match. Ishii and Hiromu also scrapped after the bell, which might well lead to a Strong Openweight match at Resurgence.)
-Hartley Jackson joined Walker Stewart on commentary.
(4) HOUSE OF TORTURE (Ren Narita & Sho & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Sanada & Evil) vs. BULLET CLUB WAR DOGS (Gabe Kidd & Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors & Taiji Ishimori & David Finlay)
House of Torture had new music, and it managed to do the impossible – it made me want to see them even less. Finlay and his crew brought a garbage can full of plunder to the ring, despite the match being a regular one. Of course this just turned into an all-out brawl, with weapons. Sanada low-blowed the referee which for some reason resulted in a no contest and not a disqualification.
WINNERS: No contest in 4:00. (Zero stars)
-After the match, Finlay accepted Evil’s challenge to make the Dog Pound cage match a “Loser leaves Bullet Club” match.
(Lansdell’s Analysis: I just need this feud to end so it stops polluting the middle of every card. The cage match will be long and brutal, but hopefully we got some sort of resolution from it. )
(5) UNITED EMPIRE (Callum Newman & Francisco Akira & Jakob Austin Young) vs. HIROOKI GOTO & YOSHI-HASHI & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI
Newman got the privilege of leading his team out with his entrance theme, which must have felt amazing. He really has had a rocket pack strapped to him after Jeff Cobb’s sudden departure, with the tag title win and a world title shot coming up. He not only got his hands on Goto and provided a tantalizing exchange, he also picked up the pin on Taguchi after a leg-trap brainbuster.
During the match, Jackson on commentary said that CTE was a myth…so I would like to think that was his last time doing commentary.
WINNERS: United Empire via pinfall in 10:00. (***)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: A really good, fast-paced preview tag that set things up beautifully for Newman’s title shot. We all know he is highly unlikely to win, but his goal going in should be to impress everyone. On the strength of this match, that will not be hard. Akira continues to look amazing as well, and I hope he has a strong BOSJ run this year.)
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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(6) GREAT-O-KHAN (C) vs. EL PHANTASMO – NJPW World Television championship match
I came into this match curious. O-Khan came out alone, which is unusual for United Empire members. Did that mean anything? Would they hotshot the belt back to ELP so that O-Khan isn’t a double champion?
They exchanged strikes in the early going while also taking turns calling to the crowd. ELP put an end to the exchange by applying a Greco-Roman nipple twister. O-Khan…well I uhh…folks, I apologize in advance for saying this but O-Khan appeared to enjoy that manoeuvre a little too much and went into a momentary euphoric state. That’s about the best I can do to explain it.
O-Khan went to the outside and sidestepped ELP’s attempted plancha. Back in the ring O-Khan hit a fireman’s carry takedown, a tomenage, and a hip toss for a two-count. He crumpled ELP with a pair of Mongolian chops before positioning him in the corner and hitting the devastating Sit. Jakob Austin Young showed up at ringside as ELP tried to mount a comeback with some chops. ELP hit a huracanrana and clotheslines O-Khan to the outside. This time his plancha to the floor connected as the crowd, prompted by Jado, got behind him at the five-minute mark. He went back into the ring and flew back to the outside with a hard tope sending O-Khan into the barricade. ELP went to the top rope and hit a moonsault to the floor, rolled O-Khan inside, and hit a top-rope senton into a lionsault for a near fall.
O-Khan turned the tables on ELP with a big German suplex. He hit a reverse STO and tried for the Eliminator. ELP escaped, ducked a clothesline, and jumped right into a claw. ELP backflipped out of a second Eliminator attempt, ran up the corner and leapt into a straight right hand. Eliminator by O-Khan! 1…2…ELP got a foot on the ropes! O-Khan rolled ELP to the outside, then went digging under the ring for a chair. He found two chairs and laid them on the matting on the floor, then went for a powerbomb onto the chairs. ELP countered into a DDT, leaving both men down on the outside in a callback to their last match.
The referee started his count with ELP just starting to stir. He got back in the ring at 11, O-Khan made it in and 19. ELP immediately pounced and hit CR-2 for a near fall as we hit the ten-minute call. He set up for Sudden Death…O-Khan blocked it and went for TTD…ELP escaped and hit a TTD of his own for a one-count. ELP hit Sudden Death but O-Khan absorbed it and called for more. ELP hit a kick to the gut, four superkicks, and a slingshot crossbody. He connected with Thunderkiss ‘86 and regained the TV championship!
WINNER: ELP via pinfall in 11:00 to win the IWGP World Tag Team championship. (***1/2)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: My suspicion was correct, they did in fact want to avoid having a double champion. The match was pretty good, I did enjoy the callback to the countout finish from the last match, but the actual finish to the match was a little weird. O-Khan ate one superkick, then just demanded four more without trying to fight back? The extremely weird nipple spot could have been left out in my mind, but I’m sure some people enjoyed it.)
(7) ICHIBAN SWEET BOYS (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita) (C) vs. YOH & MASTER WATO – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match
I kind of love this bizarre version of Yoh, and that he has dragged Wato down into depravity with him. What I am less enamored with is the reference to their “perverted love” for one another. During their entrance, both men posed in a corner doing a pec pop dance. How do you not love that? ZSJ and Oiwa accompanied their stablemates to the ring.
The crowd was somewhat surprisingly behind Wato as the match began. He and Eagles exchanged arm drags and takedowns before nipping up into a stalemate. Eagles hit a huracanrana and a spinning wheel kick to take the upper hand. He blistered Wato with a couple of chops until Yoh interrupted the proceedings and they hit a tandem Japanese arm drag. Fujita came in and was dropped with a tandem bulldog. TMDK knocked both opponents to the floor, where Fujita hit a beautiful triple-jump cannonball. He rolled Wato back in, where Eagles again hit a stiff chop before tagging in Fujita.
Fujita continued to light up the chest of poor Wato. A scoop slam got a two-count, but Wato escaped a suplex attempt and hit a dropkick at the five-minute mark. He tagged Yoh who came in with a senton to Fujita, then knocked Eagles off the apron. Yoh slammed Fujita, then posed for an uncomfortably long time (OK it was actually only 15 seconds) with his arms out wide before dropping a flash elbow, then a knee, then a splash for a trio of two-counts. That was a fun sequence.
Yoh hit a few chops on Fujita, prompting Eagles to come in and break it up. They took down both Wato and Yoh with a rapid-fire flurry of moves, leaving Fujita in control to lay in yet more chops. Eagles tagged in and called to the crowd, taunting Yoh in the process. As it usually does, this ended with Eagles being punished for his hubris, albeit temporarily as Eagles absorbed Yoh’s comeback attempt and ended it with a single chop. He hit running double knees in the corner, then a second one for a near fall. Yoh fought off the Ron Miller Special, but after a series of escapes Eagles was able to apply the hold. Wato attempted to break it up but Fujita tripped him and tried to lock in his own submission. Wato pushed Fujita off and into Eagles to break both holds.
Fujita and Wato went to the outside, where Fujita hit a resounding chop. In the ring, Eagles kicked a hole through Yoh’s chest and tagged in Fujita. They hit a double chop and went for the T-bomb, but Yoh countered with a double DDT to leave all three men down. The crowd encouraged Yoh as he tagged Wato. He hit a pair of tilt-a-whirl backbreakers, one on each opponent, and a springboard back elbow to send Fujita to the outside. Wato landed a tope con giro to both opponents on the floor, unfortunately without much reaction from the fans. Back inside Wato went for Recientemente, Fujita escaped but Wato hit a back suplex for a two-count. Wato missed a basement dropkick and got kicked in the spine. He hit a flurry of strikes but Fujita ducked under an attack and hit a dropkick to leave both men down.
Both men made tags, Yoh and Eagles coming in firing right hands. Eagles felled Yoh but ate a jumping knee strike and a roaring elbow. Yoh measured Eagles, Eagles caught the superkick and went for the Turbo Backpack, but Yoh countered into an ushigoroshi. Anaconda vise applied by Yoh! Eagles managed to get to his feet but Yoh maintained the hold. Wato came in, hit an enzuigiri on Eagles for fun, then knocked Fujita off the apron. Yoh, maintaining the submission still, took Eagles down in the middle of the ring. Eagles teased a tapout but again got to his feet. He escaped the hold, Yoh went for a Future Shock DDT, but Eagles countered into a shiranui.
At the 15-minute mark Fujita tagged in, knocked Wato of the apron, slingshotted himself onto the apron, and hit a moonsault to the floor…almost smacking his head on the apron (which is The Hardest Part of the Ring, don’t forget) in the process. That could have been nasty. He hit a springboard dropkick to Yoh back in the ring, then Eagles joined him to hit a T-bomb on Yoh. 1…2…no! They went for the Tankbuster, but Wato returned to break it up. They hit tandem head kicks on Wato, then turned their attention to Yoh. Again Yoh avoided the Tankbuster, he pushed Eagles into Fujita, and then exchanged a swift succession of kicks and dodges. Eagles caught Yoh with a snap back suplex, then Eagles launched Fujita up and into a DDT on Yoh. Innovative, for sure. Wato broke up the pin at the count of two.
Eagles sent Wato back to the outside, and followed with a tope. Fujita went for Abandon Hope, Yoh caught him with a small package! 1…2…no! Fujita went for it again, Yoh slipped out the back and tried to roll up Fujita, but got caught in a bow and arrow stretch. Fujita released the hold and went for a different one, but Yoh bit the bottom rope, as in with his teeth, to force a break. Wato returned to the ring and broke up an attempted tandem move by kicking Eagles off the top rope. Poetry in Motion by Yoh and Wato! Yoh hit a Falcon Arrow, Wato came off the top and…hit a missile basement dropkick? Eagles broke up the cover. I think it was meant to be a double stomp but he undershot it.
At the 20-minute mark Eagles hit a springboard dropkick to Yoh’s knee, but turned around into a Wato superkick. Poison rana by Yoh on Fujita! They went for a double superkick. Fujita ducked and took both men down. He hit a German suplex on Yoh, sending him to the floor, then connected with a bridging German on Wato for a near fall. He went for Abandon Hope but was cut off by Yoh. Double superkick to Fujita! Eagles tried to springboard in and ate a double superkick! Total Elimination! 1…2…Fujita kicked out! Yoh and Wato hit a combination ushigoroshi/round kick to Fujita! 1…2…3!
WINNERS: Yoh and Master Wato via pinfall in 22:00 to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag team championship. (***3/4)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: A couple of moments that were a little scary, but a thrilling encounter that was really only missing crowd engagement for it to be top tier. I’m not sure if there is more to the title change than just getting ready for BOSJ, but I thought Eagles and Fujita were doing a great job as a team. That said, this is the best gimmick Wato has had so I don’t mind giving him something to prop up that change. Is Fujita going deep in the tournament? That is something long overdue I think. Yoh and Wato as champions will be fun, at the very least.)
(8) EL DESPERADO (C) vs. TEMPLARIO – IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match
This was my first time seeing Templario, who came into the match as the CMLL World Middleweight champion. Desperado’s back still looked like he went five rounds with a pack of angry kittens.
They started with a handshake, and went right into the mat work. They traded headlocks and headscissors, reached a stalemate, then went through a high-paced succession of escapes into another stalemate faceoff. They traded chops mid-ring, with Templario getting the better of it. They did it again, with Desperado getting the upper hand. The third exchange was much shorter and ended with a ridiculous display of balance from Templario who hit a triple jump dropkick to send Desperado to the floor. He followed up with a tope to send Desperado into the barricade.
On the outside, Templario slammed the gate in the barricade on Desperado’s shoulder. He wrapped it around the barricade, then rammed him shoulder-first into the cornerpost. Once more he slammed that barricade gate on Desperado’s shoulder, then rolled him back into the ring. Templario continued attacking the arm, dropping his weight on it and then wrapping it around the top rope. He hit a pair of aimed kicks to the elbow, but got caught with a spinebuster to leave both men down. Desperado hit a kneebreaker, dragged Templario to the floor, but had his attempted whip to the barricade reversed. Desperado returned the favour, countering a move into a stun gun on the apron that was millimeters away from exploding Templario’s face like Joey Mercury meeting a ladder. Desperado rolled into the ring, only to come back outside at speed with a tope at the ten-minute mark.
Both men got to their feet on the apron, and traded blows. Templario lifted Desperado for a suplex and dropped him face-first on the apron, then nailed a Sasuke Special to the outside. With both men down on the outside, the referee started his count. At the count of 11 Templario rolled Desperado back inside, went to the top rope, walked along them…and jumped into a spear. Desperado went to the top, which is not his usual perch, and was promptly intercepted. Templario hit a huracanrana off the top rope, and crawled over for a near fall. He hit a succession of kicks and lifted Desperado in a fireman’s carry, but Desperado slipped free and hit a grounded dragon screw. He quickly locked in the stretch muffler, looking to get Numero Dos. As we hit the 15-minute mark, Templario got to the ropes.
Templario escaped a doctor bomb and went for an armbar. Desperado fought it off, so Templario changed plans to a ZSJ-style multi-point submission hold. Desperado tried to free a limb and crawl to the ropes, but Templario grabbed the free arm and leaned backwards onto it. Desperado did manage to make the ropes, but then ate a fireman’s gutbuster for a near fall. Templario thought about going after Desperado’s mask, which didn’t make much sense in the context of the match, but changed his mind and just kneed him in the jaw. He followed up with a beautiful wheelbarrow suplex for another near fall. Templario went for a powerbomb, but Desperado countered…Pinche Loco connected! 1…2…no! Pinche Driver by Desperado! He held on to the underhook, Templario struggled but succumbed to the Pinche Loco for the pinfall.
WINNER: El Desperado via pinfall in 20:00 to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight championship. (***3/4)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: I was very impressed with Templario here. He managed to show off some good lucha things without making it look too contrived, which is my normal issue with that style. He has a great combo of speed, power, and mat wrestling that really fits in Japan. Desperado continues to show why he is a great person to have as champion: he can work with anyone and make it look good. There was some stuff here that was weird, and a couple of scary moments, but overall this was a fitting main event with an unsurprising result.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: My overwhelming takeaway from this event is that the junior heavyweights are genuinely all so good right now. Akira has gone from strength to strength, Fujita looks ready to ascend, Yoh has found a niche for himself and continues to be excellent, Wato has shed some of his awkwardness and now feels more natural in the ring, and Robbie Eagles is one of the most underrated talents in the division. BOSJ is going to be special this year, I can feel it. The ELP title win makes some amount of sense, given that they are likely in full scramble mode right now. With Dontaku right around the corner, the company just needs to get through that one weekend and then they can take the time to figure out who to elevate to the top of the card while BOSJ is ongoing. The promotion is in a tight spot, but I actually think they can make this one work.
Keep your eyes and ears open for the VIP-exclusive “7-Star Podcast” and “Radican Worldwide” on PWTorch VIP to hear more of my thoughts on the road forward from here and the upcoming BOSJ tournament. Thanks for joining us!
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