Will the Final Road lead to Destruction?

The NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championships are on the line at the intersection of Road to Destruction and Hiroshi Tanahashi’s Final Road! But will The Ace be able to trump the Clown Prince?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Tatsuya Matsumoto VS Zane Jay; Time Limit Draw.
• Six Man Tag: Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Tiger Mask VS Shoma Kato, Katsuya Murashima & Masatoro Yasuda; Makabe, Honma & Tiger Mask win.
• Six Man Tag; Boltin Oleg, Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura VS EVIL, Dick Togo & Don Fale; Oleg, Shota & Yuya win.
• 8 Man Tag: Shingo Takagi, Yuya Uemura, Hiromu Takahashi & Daiki Nagai VS Bullet Club; Bullet Club wins.
• Six Man Tag: Tomohiro Ishii, Taichi & Taka Michinoku VS Clark Connors, OSKAR & Yuto-Ice; Connors, Oskar & Yuto win.
• 10 Man Tag: TMDK VS House of Torture; House of Torture wins.
• NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championships: Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato VS Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi & El Desperado; Yano, Yoh & Wato win and retain the titles.

PLAY BY PLAY

Six Man Tag: Tomohiro Ishii, Taichi & Taka Michinoku VS Clark Connors, OSKAR & Yuto-Ice!

The Stone Pitbull returns from his extended stay in AEW to stand alongside his friends in Hontai! But will Ishii, Taichi & Taka show the power of experience? Or will 100 Proof and the Knock Out Brothers inject some young blood into the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Division?

The teams sort out and Yuto dares Ishii to step up. Ishii obliges and the fans cheer. The bell rings, Ishii steps up to Yuto and grabs him by the chin! Yuto SLAPS Ishii, Ishii SLAPS back, and it is a SLAP fight already! The fans fire up as the SLAPS keep going back and forth, hard and fast! Ishii gets the edge, but then Yuto ROCKS Ishii with his counter! Yuto KICKS, KICKS, and KICKS! Yuto KICKS Ishii again and again in the corner, but the ref backs Yuto down. Yuto SOBATS Ishii, then says check it, yo! Yuto runs corner to corner and KNEES Ishii down! Connors says, “Icccce~!” and Yuto SLAPS Ishii on the head!

Ishii stands up to ROCK Yuto with a forearm! And CHOP! And CHOP! Ishii CHOPS away in the corner, stops as the ref counts, and he eggs Yuto on. Yuto gets up, bobs ‘n’ weaves to SLAP, SLAP, then he DECKS Ishii! Taichi runs in, but Oskar intercepts to BOOT Taichi! Yuto KICKS Taichi, Oskar CLOBBERS him! Taka runs in but he gets DOUBLE BOOTS! Yuto-Ice fires up, he and Oskar throw up the Too Sweet, then Yuto TOSSES Ishii. Yuto argues with the ref, but that lets Connors send Ishii into railing! Oskar does the same to Taka! Connors goes looking under the ring, and he brings out WHEEL-SAN! The fans cheer as the tire returns!

Connors aims at Ishii, runs up on him, but Ishii dodges! Ishii ROCKS Connors! Ishii fires forearms, but Connors UPPERCUTS! Connors then suplexes, but Ishii blocks! Ishii turns things around, he suplexes Connors, but Connors slips free. Ishii ROCKS Connors, runs up, but Connors drop toeholds him onto Wheel-san! Connors then uses his chain necklace to CHOKE Ishii! Connors gets away with it as Oskar stays in the ref’s way. Connors puts Ishii in, Yuto storms over, and he tags in Oskar. Oskar steps over the top rope, he’s that tall! Oskar whips, Ishii reverses, but then Taka anchors Oskar! Oskar drags Taka in, but Taka pokes him in the eyes!

The fans cheer as Taka fakes the eye poke on Yuto, then kicks him in the shin! Then Taka pokes Yuto in the eyes! Connor KNEES Taka low, fires haymakers, but Taka dodges, to poke Connors in the eyes! Connors still avoids the boot! But Taka avoids the Jeep Flipper! Taka BOOTS Connors down! But then Oskar CLOBBERS Taka! The fans fire up, Oskar runs in at Ishii, but Ishii dodges! Oskar hits buckles, and Ishii waistlocks! Oskar ELBOWS Ishii away, runs up again, but Ishii dodges to SNAP GERMAN! The fans fire up while both men are down! Oskar and Ishii crawl, hot tag to Taichi! The fans fire up as the Holy Emperor fires CHOPS and KICKS!

Oskar swings, Taichi didges, but Oskar blocks the boot to ROCK Taichi! Oskar runs up, Taichi BOOTS Oskar, but then Oskar runs back up! Taichi DUMPS Oskar out! Yuto ROCKS Taichi, Taichi KICKS Yuto, so Yuto returns the KICKS! They KICK each other in the leg again and again, but then Yuto kicks low! Yuto whips, Taichi reverses, wrench and HOOK KICK! Taichi BLASTS Connors off the corner! The fans fire up for Taichi while Oskar rolls back in. Taichi runs up to CHOP in the corner! Oskar grabs Taichi by the neck! Taichi breaks free to URAKEN! Then SAI- NO! Oskar fights the Dangerous Saido and CLUBS Taichi!

Oskar scoops, Taichi slips free, and Taichi SOBATS! Taichi runs, but Oskar scoops again! SLAM! ishii runs up, he blocks a boot and ROCKS Oskar! But Oskar scoops to SLAM! Oskar BLASTS Taka, and he waits on Taichi. Oskar runs corner to corner, but Taichi dodges the boot! But Oskar BOOTS the Ax Bomber! Oskar waistlocks, but Taichi breaks free to PELE! Oskar rebounds to BOOT! Both men are down and the fans rally up again. Oskar tags Yuto, and Yuto waits on Taichi. Taichi rises, Yuto runs, PENALTY- NO! Taichi blocks the kick and he spins Yuto! Taichi BOOTS Yuto, but Yuto KNEES Taichi in return!

Oskar steps in and Yuto says time to finish this! Yuto feeds Taichi to Oskar for the gut wrench, but Ishii CLOBBERS Yuto! Ishii RAMS Oskar, HEADBUTTS him, but Oskar ROCKS Ishii! Ishii SHORYUKENS! Oskar falls, Yuto runs up, and Yuto KICKS Ishii! But then Ishii SWATS the roundhouse, and he ROCKS Yuto! Ishii runs and- NO, Connors trips him up! Connors RAMS Ishii into railing! And more railing! The fans boo but Yuto storms over to Taichi. Yuto whips corner to corner, but Taichi comes back to AX BOMBER! Both men are down and the fans fire up! Taichi crawls, hot tag to Taka! But Connors CLOBBERS him right away!

Connors stands Taka up, fires hands, but Taka winds up! Connors stops the eye poke to UPPERCUT, whip, and SNAP POWERSLAM! Connors aims, runs in, but Taka dodges! Connors bounces off buckles, and into a SHINING WIZARD! Yuto stands, Taka hits the SUPER K! The fans fire up as Taka brings Yuto around, scoops, but Yuto slips free! ROUNDHOUSE! Yuto fires up, and he vows to end this! Yuto sits Taka up, the fans rally as he runs, PENALTY KICK! Cover, Taichi breaks it! Oskar clamps onto Taichi with a SLEEPER! Then he lifts while Yuto runs, ATOMIC LARIAT! Ishii fires forearms, but he gets caught in the SLEEPER!

Oskar chicken wings Ishii so Yuto can SPIT at him! Then DECK him with a haymaker! The fans boo but Oskar just drags Taka up. Gut wrench and K O B DRIVER!! Cover, Bullet Club wins!

Winners: Clark Connors, OSKAR & Yuto-Ice, by pinfall

The Penalty Kick into the tombstone just iced the Blue Playmaker! But will Oskar & Yuto look to add some gold to the mix soon enough?

10 Man Tag: TMDK VS The House of Torture!

On the unaired portions of Road to Destruction, The Front Man led his team to victory against Ren Narita, Sanada, Yujiro Takahashi, Sho & Douki, and now they look to sweep the series completely! But will Zack Sabre Jr, Ryohei Oiwa, Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles be a perfect 3-0? Or will the House find a way to win on the Road to Destruction finale?

ZSJ and Ren get face to face during introductions, both men more than ready for their IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match. But that’s in Kobe in a couple weeks, so for now… Sho gets the mic… Sho says TMDK must stand for “TM Do Ina-Ka-mono,” aka The Mighty Country Hicks. Sho says they’re just a collection of bumpkins, just like the fans here in Korakuen Hall tonight! The fans boo, Sho clearly doesn’t understand this is Tokyo, Japan’s biggest city and perhaps the biggest city in the world. Sho continues to say that TMDK is gonna get beat and humiliated! TMDK’s heard enough, they attack first!

The fans cheer as TMDK TOSSES everyone else out, and Robbie Eagles takes the mic to tell Sho, “URUSAI, BAKA! <SHUT UP, IDIOT!>” The bell rings as Eagles stomps away on Sho, and the fans cheer as Eagles stands on Sho at the ropes! ZSJ bends Ren’s fingers, the other members of TMDK throw around the other House boys, and Robbie gets the fans to join in with, “ROBBIE ROBBIE ROBBIE!” “OI OI OI!” “ROBBIE ROBBIE ROBBIE!” “OI OI OI!” “ROBBIE!” “OI!” “ROBBIE!” “OI!” “ROBBIE ROBBIE ROBBIE!” “OI OI OI!” The fans cheer, but then Sho gets up to pull Robbie’s ear! Red Shoes reprimands, Sho lets go, and Sho insults Robbie.

Robbie blocks the whip, but Sho CLAWS Robbie’s face! The fans boo but Sho whips. Eagles reverses to go up and around and arm-drag! Then things speed up, Robbie hurdles and RANAS! Sho tumbles, Robbie taunts him, and WHEEL KICKS! Eagles kips up but Douki KNEES low! Douki runs, but Kosei Fujita runs in and sweeps the legs! Eagles KICKS Douki, Fujita SENTONS, and Eagles DROPKICKS! Sho is back, but he gets CHOPS! Then the Ichiban Sweet Boys snatch his shirt away so they can CHOP him down! The fans cheer, Douki returns, but into DOUBLE ELBOWS! They split the wishbone then DOUBLE KICK!

The fans cheer, but now Yujiro Takahashi rushes in! The Ichiban Sweet Boys catch him for a double wrench, then they tag Ryohei Oiwa. TMDK mugs Yujiro, and Oiwa calls his shot. Oiwa indeed suplexes Yujiro up and over! Cover, TWO! Oiwa calls Hartley Jackson in, they double whip Tokyo Pimp, and they DOUBLE SHOULDER TACKLE! Oiwa SPLASHES, then Hartley SPLASHES! Cover, TWO! Oiwa drags Yujiro up, but Yujiro CHOPS! And CHOPS! Oiwa swings, but into a dragon sleeper! Oiwa spins that around, but Yujiro BITES Oiwa’s hand! The fans boo, Red Shoes reprimands, but Yujiro whips. Oiwa reverses, but Yujiro grabs the ropes.

Oiwa runs up, but into a FLAPJACK! Sho BLASTS TMDK off the corner, the House attacks, but Yujiro tags Sanada. Sanada drags Oiwa out to send him into railing! Just as the rest of the House does to TMDK! And now things spill out into the crowd! Sanada brings Oiwa around the back of a section, then up to the East sign! Oiwa blocks the bump to SMACK Sanada off the sign instead! The fans cheer, but Sanada hits back! And he SMACKS Oiwa off the sign after all! The fans boo as the House leaves TMDK scattered all over the arena! Sanada brings Oiwa back to ringside, into the ring, and slides in. But Oiwa snatches him to a cradle! TWO!

Sanada takes a swing, Oiwa ducks to waistlock, but Sanada grabs Red Shoes! But Oiwa avoids the low blow to DECK Sanada, only for Sanada to FALLING LOW BLOW! The fans boo as Sanada gets away with it, claiming it was an “accident.” Sanada goes up, ROUNDING BODY- NO, Sanada has to roll through as Oiwa moves! Oiwa runs up, Sanada gets around, but Oiwa fires elbows. Oiwa then shoves Sanada to the ropes and DROPKICKS him down! The fans cheer, Sanada and Oiwa crawl, hot tags to Ren and ZSJ! The fans fire up as ZSJ BOOTS Ren again and again! Ren rebounds to BOOT back! ZSJ BOOTS again!

Ren avoids the Penalty Kick, then clinches, but ZSJ spins to wrench and PELE the arm! ZSJ HEADBUTTS, snapmares, and NECK TWISTS! Basement DROPKICK! The fans fire up with ZSJ and he runs, but Ren blocks the kick. Ren takes a swing, ZSJ ducks it to slip around and SLEEPER! But Ren slips out to SLEEPER! ZSJ slips out, they switch like that again and again, until ZSJ hooks Ren up into a COBRA TWIST! Ren endures, and he CLAWS at ZSJ’s eyes! Red Shoes reprimands but Ren rolls to have the KNEEBAR! ZSJ fights back by tying Ren’s legs up! They roll, but Ren has the KNEEBAR again!

ZSJ and Ren fight for control, Ren keeps the KNEEBAR, but ZSJ SLAPS Ren again and again! Ren still pulls on the leg! ZSJ endures, the fans rally, and ZSJ rolls over! ZSJ reaches out, ROPEBREAK! The fans cheer while Ren lets go in frustration. Ren kicks ZSJ around, eggs him on, but ZSJ BOOTS back! And BOOTS, only for Ren to block! Ren KICKS the leg, runs, but ZSJ blocks the boot. Ren SMACKS ZSJ first! But ZSJ ROCKS Ren back! And PENALTY KICKS! Both men are down and the fans fire up! ZSJ crawls, hot tag to Hartley! Hartley BLASTS the House! Then he runs to SPLASH Ren! And short arm LARIAT!

Hartley runs to SPLASH Ren! Cover, TWO! Hartley drags Ren right up to SLAM, then runs, but Ren avoids the senton! Douki stomps away on Hartley! Eagles runs in, but Douki HELLSTABS! Then wheelbarrow and- NO, Eagles rolls through! Eagles scoops, Fujita is in, but Sho saves Douki! BODY BLOW for Eagles! But Fujita CHOPS Sho! Fujtia whips, but Sho reverses to wrench and bend the fingers! Sho then CLUBS the arm, runs, but into a waistlock! Sho fights, pries the hold open, and STRATJACKET- NO, Fujita wrenches out! Eagles joins in, but Douki saves Sho! The House block the kicks, but the Ichiban Sweet Boys dodge the haymakers!

Fujita & Eagles return to RANA Sho & Douki outta the ring! Then they fake the Planchas to DOUBLE ASAI MOONSAULT! The fans fire up, and Hartley fireman’s carries Ren! But Ren CLAWS Hartley’s eyes! The fans boo, but Ren gets in Red Shoes’ face! Sanada has his guitar! Oiwa gets in and snatches it! But Yujiro LOW BLOWS Oiwa! Sanada waistlocks, Hartley switches, but Sanada LOW BLOWS! PIMP CANE SHOT!! The fans boo but Ren goes up the corner! HELL’S GUILLOTINE!! Cover, The House wins!

Winner: The House of Torture, by pinfall

It took a lot of tricks to bring down big bad Hartley Jackson, but then ZSJ BOOTS Ren! ZSJ wants after his weasel of a challenger! They brawl into the crowd, and then up into the orange seats! The fans cheer as ZSJ has Ren’s arm twisted up! Ren endures, but ZSJ CLAWS his face! The Young Lions stop ZSJ and Ren slips away, but ZSJ dares Ren to come back for more! Ren SPITS in ZSJ’s eyes! Ren fights the Young Lions off and now he brings ZSJ back down to ringside! Speaking of, Sho stands Eagles up for Douki, DEATH PIPE ATTACK! The fans boo, but Fujita gets in there! But Douki CHOKES him, and Sho uses the TORTURE TOOL!

Ren stands on ZSJ’s leg, then puts him in the ring! Ren grabs his pushup bar! The House keeps the Young Lions out so Ren can CLOBBER ZSJ with the bar! The fans boo even more, but Ren holds up the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship as he stands over ZSJ. Will the House bring the most stacked deck they can build to Kobe? Or will ZSJ prove The Mighty Don’t Kneel?

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championships: Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato VS Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi & El Desperado!

The integration of Chaos into the Hontai “main unit” has made for unique combinations many never expected, such as The Producer, Direct Drive & The Way of the Grandmaster becoming a trio that took these titles from The House of Torture. But likewise, it is surprising that The Ace, The Funky Weapon & The Rogue Luchador are looking to take those titles from their Hontai allies. Will President Tanahashi still have gold for his Final Road? Or will this just be his Final Road to Destruction?

Taguchi and Tanahashi try to get Despy to join in on a Taguchi Japan classic, but he refuses. Despy throws his shirt at the fans, free souvenir! That doesn’t bode well for the teamwork… But the introductions are made, the NEVER titles are raised, and we see what happens when rubber meets the road!

The teams sort out and Yoh starts against Despy. The fans rally with the bell, and it is a 70-30 “DE-SU-PE!” to “YO-OH!” ratio. The two circle, feel things out, and Despy shoots in for a leg. Then he goes for an arm, and he wrenches to a wristlock. Yoh endures, rolls, and trips Despy to have a toehold. Despy has a chinbar, then headscissors, into the armbar, but Yoh clasps hands. Yoh pushes to a stack but Despy lets the arm go so he can move around. Despy wrenches again, then headlocks for the takeover. Yoh headscissors, Despy kips free, and the fans applaud the standoff. Despy and Yoh reset and circle again.

Yoh and Despy tie up, Despy headlocks again, but Yoh fires body shots. Yoh powers up and out, drops down, then bypasses. Yoh drop toeholds, then runs, but Despy avoids the dropkick! Despy rolls to get the leg, but Yoh fights off the Stretch Muffler. Yoh hurries up but Despy kicks low. Despy whips but Yoh KICKS back! And then Yoh turns Despy for the NECKBREAKER! The fans applaud, Yoh tags Yano, and Yano dares Tanahashi to get in here! The fans applaud that, and Tanahashi calls to Despy. Despy says Yano asked for this, and he tags Tanahashi in. Yano and Tanahashi circle, tie up, and Tanahashi puts Yano on the ropes.

Yano shouts for a clean break, and Tanahashi obliges. They go again, Yano puts Tanahashi on the ropes, and Tanahashi calls for a clean break. Yano says he does what he wants! Yano fires as forearm! Tanahashi fires back and the two throw shots back and forth! Tanahashi eggs Yano on, Yano fires more forearms, but Tanahashi fires off his strike combo! Tanahashi kicks and whips, but Yano reverses! Yano runs in, but Tanahashi ELBOWS him! Tanahashi goes up, CROSSBODY! The fans cheer while Tanahashi air guitars. Tag to Taguchi, then both he and Despy BLAST Yoh & Wato! The fans rally as Taguchi calls out the play.

Taguchi whips Yano corner to corner, then sends Tanahashi in! Tanahashi hits the forearm SMASH! Taguchi sends Despy in for a LARIAT! Taguchi says go again, so Tanahashi runs to SPLASH! Despy kicks Taguchi to then send him in! Taguchi reverses, Despy LARIATS Yano! And again, Taguchi has them keep going! Tanahashi hits another SPLASH, Despy hits another LARIAT, and repeat! The fans applaud Coach Taguchi, and he gives another signal. Taguchi sets up on the corner, Tanahashi brings Yano around, but Yano turns things around! Tanahashi is sent into the Funky Weapon! Taguchi doesn’t realize it, so he pulls his tights down to power up!

And then he grabs Tanahashi for the FUNKY ATTACK! Taguchi keeps smacking Tanahashi off his red undies, but then he sees Yano and Yoh on the outside! Taguchi slows down as it sinks in, and he looks to see Tanahashi and Wato! Taguchi lets Tanahashi go, and Wato stomps Taguchi down! Wato whips Taguchi corner to corner, then runs in, but Taguchi BOOTS him away! Taguchi runs as best he can with his tights down, but Wato dodges and the HIP ATTACK hits Tanahashi! Taguchi panics, Wato rolls him up, TWO! Taguchi sits up, ducks the buzzsaw, then shoves to dropkick the legs out! And then OH MY GAH ANKLE!

Yano whips but Tanahashi sends Yano into railing! Taguchi keeps on the hold as Wato crawls, ROPEBREAK! Red Shoes counts, Taguchi lets go at 4, and Despy drags Wato out to send him into railing! Tanahashi brings Wato up and Taguchi finally brings his tights back up. Tanahashi puts Wato in for Taguchi, Taguchi covers, TWO! Tag to Despy, and he brings Wato around to SMASH Wato’s knee! Then he drops KNEES on the knee! Despy drags Wato up, bumps him off buckles, and he tags Tanahashi. Despy stomps Wato, Tanahashi brings Wato up, and Tanahashi wraps the leg around the ropes!

Red Shoes reprimands as Tanahashi pulls on the leg. Tanahashi stops at 4, apologizes to Red Shoes, but then DROPKICKS Wato’s leg anyway! Tanahashi brings Wato around, drops an ELBOW on the leg, then pulls the legs into a DEATHLOCK! Despy plays defense while Wato endures. The fans rally, Wato flails, and he grits his teeth as he sits up. Wato CHOPS Tanahashi, CHOPS again, but Tanahashi puts on the pressure! Taguchi stands on Wato’s arm, Red Shoes reprimands, and Taguchi steps away. Taguchi then tags in and Tanahashi lets Wato go. Taguchi pulls Wato’s hair to throw him back down! Then he HIP DROPS the bad leg!

Taguchi stands over Wato, and toys with his old tag partner. Taguchi has both legs, but then just drops a leg on the knee! HEEL HOOK! Wato endures, the fans rally, and Wato reaches over to the ROPEBREAK! Despy has Red Shoes watch Yoh, but this lets Taguchi and Tanahashi put the bad leg on the ropes. They’re playing rough with Wato now, and Taguchi HIP DROPS the leg again. Taguchi has a cover but Red Shoes knows there were shenanigans. Taguchi stands Wato up, bumps him off buckles, and he tags Despy. Tanahashi steps in at the same time, but Wato fires CHOPS on everyone! Despy KNEES low, and the top dogs mug Wato!

Red Shoes reprimands, Tanahashi’s team lets off, and Despy taunts Yoh. The fans rally, Despy drag Wato up and slaps him around. Wato CHOPS, but there’s not much there. Wato fires more CHOPS, Despy KNEES low, then Despy ducks a roundhouse! Despy kicks a leg, grabs it, but Wato fights with elbows. Wato blocks Despy’s kick, spins him around, ZIGZAG! Both men are down and the fans rally up! Wato crawls, reaches out, hot tag to Yoh! The fans cheer as Yoh DROPKICKS Despy, DROPKICKS Taguchi, then DROPKICKS Tanahashi! Despy kicks and whips, Yoh reverses, and Yoh DROPKICKS Despy again!

Despy tumbles out, Yoh goes to the ropes, PLANCHA! The fans fire up with Yoh and he puts Despy in the ring. Yoh underhooks, HALF HATCH PLEX! Bridging cover, TWO! Despy is still in this but Yoh stays no him. The fans rally up as Yoh reels Despy in and suplexes. Despy fights that, wrenches, but Yoh fires a forearm! Yoh runs but Despy ELBOWS him! Despy runs, but Yoh ELBOWS him! Yoh whips, Despy reverses, and Despy hits a BIG back suplex! Both men are down and the fans rally up again! Yoh goes to a corner, Despy runs in, but Yoh dodges! Yoh reels Despy in, Despy powers free, and Despy hits a SHIN BREAKER!

Despy dropkicks the legs out and both men down again! Despy grabs Yoh’s leg, but Yoh kicks him away! Yoh suplexes, Despy slips free to hit another BIG back suplex! Despy fires up, he brings Yoh up to underhook, but Yoh wrenches free! FALCON ARROW! Both men are down and the fans fire back up! Yoh and Despy crawl, hot tag to Yano! Yano unties the buckle pad in the open corner! Yano then brings Despy up, whips him, but Despy reverses! Yano stops from hitting buckles, then dodges Despy! Despy stops from hitting buckles, then he dodges Yano! Yano hits buckles and falls down! Hot tag to Tanahashi!

The fans fire up as Tanahashi runs, FLYING FOREARM! Then he BLASTS Wato off the corner! Tanahashi stomps Yano to the drop zone, goes up, and SUNSET SENTONS! Cover, TWO! Yano is still in this but Tanahashi just fires up! Tanahashi runs, but Yano slips around and pulls Tanahashi’s hair! But Tanahashi pulls Yano’s hair! Red Shoes reprimands, but only Tanahashi lets go! Tanahashi ROCKS Yano, but Yano trips Tanahashi! CATAPULT into the bare buckles! Tanahashi staggers, Yano runs, REAR TACKLE! Cover, TWO! Tanahashi is still in this but Yano brings him up. ONIGO- NO, Tanahash fights free!

Yano CLAWS Tanahashi’s eyes, then runs, but into a SLINGBLADE! Both men are down again, but they crawl to hot tag Taguchi and Wato! Wato avoids Taguchi’s slide to SOBAT! Wato whips, runs in, and ELBOWS Taguchi! Wato shoves Taguchi to then BULLDOG! The fans fire up with Wato and he watches Taguchi rise. Wato KICKS, but Taguchi blocks! Wato ROCKS Taguchi, runs, but he counters the hip attack to an ATOMIC DROP! Wato runs, but Taguchi somersaults! RISING HIP ATTACK! The fans fire up as Wato flounders to the ropes. Taguchi gives Wato some stink face against the ropes, then runs side to side to HIP ATTACK!

Taguchi keeps moving, and he basement DROPKICKS the bad legs! Cover, TWO! Wato is still in this, but now he’s in OH MY GAH ANKLE!! Wato endures, reaches out, and the fans rally! But Taguchi reels Wato in for chicken wings! Wato fights that, switches, but Taguchi switches to slip underneath, wristlock takeover! Cover, TWO! Ghost pin, TWO! Both men hurry to their feet, and Wato fires a strike fest! Wato winds up, but Taguchi ENZIGIRIS first! Wato wobbles, Taguchi chicken wings, but Wato fights the lift!

Wato RAMS Taguchi into buckles, then sets up for Yoh! POETRY IN MOTION! DOUBLE SUPLEX! Cover, Despy breaks it! Yoh CLUBS Despy, then he and Wato mug Despy. They double whip him to the bare corner! Despy writhes, Wato sends Yoh in, but Despy dodges! Yoh hits bare buckles and Despy SPEARS Wato! Then he dropkicks Yoh’s legs out! The fans rally up as Despy calls to Taguchi. Despy drags Wato up, he and Taguchi reel him in, but Yano SLAPS them both on the back! But Tanahashi stops the double low blows! Despy & Taguchi DOUBLE SUPLEX Wato! Then Despy gives Yano a LOCO MANO! Tanahashi adds the DRAGON PALM!

Despy drags Wato up, he and Taguchi double whip him to the corner, and Taguchi BACK BODY BLOCKS! Tanahashi SPLASHES! Feed to Despy’s SPINEBUSTER! Then Despy sets Wato up for the KETSUYE!! Cover, TWO!! Wato survives and the fans fire up! Despy sets Yoh & Yano up for Tanahashi’s PLANCHA! The fans are thunderous as Taguchi now chicken wings Wato! DODON- VICTORY- NO, Taguchi stuffs the counter to a cover, TWO! Wato has it, Taguchi rolls it again, TWO! Wato waistlocks, TSUTENKAKU GERMAN!! Bridging cover, TWO!?!? Taguchi survives and Wato is shocked! But now Wato fires up and the fans are with him!

Wato brings Taguchi up, hooks him up, RECIENTEMENTE 2!! Cover, Wato’s team wins!!

Winners: Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato, by pinfall (still NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions)

The eccentric challengers could not dethrone the eccentric champions! And even though the match is over, tensions are still high as Yano and Tanahashi brawl some more! It even spills out to the crowd! Yano uses his shirt to CHOKE Tanahashi! Yano even fights off Young Lions and whips Tanahashi into railing! And he uses his signature red chair to SMACK Tanahashi! And he sends Tanahashi into chairs! Fans hurry to move aside, but Yano CHOKES Tanahashi again! All of this, just because Yano is reuniting with the Great Bash Heels on the 15th?! Even Despy doesn’t know what to make of this as Yano drags Tanahashi to the back!

Red Shoes still raises the hands of Yoh and Wato in victory while Despy makes sure Taguchi is alright. Despy stares down his friendly rivals, and he knows Yoh is coming for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on September 24th. Will Despy prove he is still the Best of the Super Juniors? As for Yoh & Wato, Wato has Yoh hold Yano’s belt so Wato can hold the mic. “I’m a bit nervous now that I’ve got the mic for the first time in awhile. But we were able to defend our Six Man Tag Team Championships!” The fans applaud, and Wato says that just like we’ve seen, everyone has a different approach and they will all celebrate in their own way.

Wato notes his next match is in Sapporo against Tanahashi 1v1, and on that same night, Yoh main events against Despy for the Junior Heavyweight title. Wato wishes Yoh luck in closing out the show on the 24th. The fans applaud, and Wato says to everyone, even as Tanahashi prepares for retirement next year, Wato knows he and the rest will bring their very best to NJPW until the very end. And as such, “I will be The Grandmaster!” The fans cheer, Wato & Yoh fist bump, and Wato gets to hold up Yano’s belt for him. Will Wato, Yoh & Yano NEVER give up?

My Thoughts:

A great night for NJPW, though NJPW kinda showed for themselves that this was the night that mattered, as the previous nights of Road to Destruction were not televised/recorded. But even then, I didn’t expect the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championships to change hands so the status quo was still kept. In the end, it felt more like a bigger way to hype up the “Battleline: Hokkaido” portion of this Road to Destruction series. That said, great bit of Yano unleashing that old Heel side to end the show, with Wato helping plug more of the Hokkaido matches.

And good stuff even in the non-title matches. House of Torture of course cheated to finally get a win on TMDK, helping Ren have some momentum going into the title match. And good win for Connors & the Knock Out Bros to lead into the Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match. I would be really surprised if Oskar & Yuto were to win the titles so soon, but it would make sense on some level if they did. Ishii’s going back and forth with NJPW and AEW so freeing him of the tag titles would mean he can spend more time in AEW, but also, Oskar & Yuto are already really solid as characters as well as in the ring. And this would really shake things up going into World Tag League in late November.

My Score: 8.7/10