Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
12/22/23 Result from New Japan's Road to Tokyo Dome - From Korakuen Hall, Tokyo Japan:
Masked Horse (Ryusuke Taguchi) and El Desperado came out to give merchandise to the fans.
1- Togi Makabe and Shoma Kato vs. Satoshi Kojima and Katsuya Murashima
Kato and Murashima are new young lions debuting in their first televised match.
Togi forces Murashima to tap out to a Boston Crab.
2 - Masked Horse (Rysuke Taguchi) and Masked Boltin (Boltin Oleg) vs. Toru Yano and YOH
YOH pins Masked Horse with the Kido Clutch.
3 - Tomohiro Ishii vs. Callum Newman
Good competitive match. Crowd was chanting for Newman.
Newman hit an Oscutter and got a two count. Newman missed a Phoenix Splash and they exchanged blows. Ishii hit a lariat. Two count. Newman blocked a brainbuster and rolled up Ishii into a crade. Newman with a high knee. Ishii with a Sliding Lariat. Two count.
Ishii hits a brainbuster and gets a pin.
Crowd give Newman a loud ovation despite the loss.
This is the match I wanted for Callum Newman for months. He never got a chance to have a serious singles match and was taking a lot of pinfalls in preview tag matches. For him to go toe to toe against Tomohiro Ishii, in front of Korakuen Hall, was very cool. This showcase was to show off his skills, not necessarily replace Will Ospreay as leader in United Empire, but to establish him as a credible wrestler in front of the New Japan fans. Ishii is a tough "final exam" for Newman, but he got a massive wave of support from the Korakuen crowd.
4 - YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto vs. Oskar Leube and Yuto Nakashima
YOSHI-HASHI pins Nakashima after a Shoto.
After the match, Oskar and a young lion jumped into the ring to help Nakashima. The young lion rolled into Goto's left knee, who then buckled and fell to the match. Goto was clutching his knee in pain. This may be a storyline going into Wrestle Kingdom.
5 - Master Wato and El Desperado vs. BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi
Wato pins BUSHI with a cradle and bridge.
6 - Coffin Match: Francesco Akira and TJP vs. Drilla Moloney and Clark Conners
Wild match with lots of gimmicks with a coffin and dog collars.
War Dogs hit a Full Clip on TJP. They throw TJP in the coffin and shut the lid.
War Dogs win the match.
This was not a title match. Both teams will meet again at Wrestle Kingdom.
7 - Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada vs. Kosei Fujita and Zack Sabre Jr.
Okada pins Fujita with a cradle.
8 - Yuya Uemura, Taichi and SANADA vs. Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito
Uemura pins Tsuji with a crucifix
After the match, Tsuji challenges Uemura to a one on one match. Tsuji begs the New Japan officials for the opening match at Wrestle Kingdom.
Looks like that will be a done deal.
Naito grabs the mic to address the crowd to a big pop. SANADA asks politely for Naito to leave the ring because Just 5 Guys are the winners.
Taichi puts over SANADA. SANADA tells everyone that DOUKI's birthday is coming up. Everyone sings Happy Birthday to DOUKI. TAKA Michinoku gets the mic and says they would change everything. They are Just 5 Guys.
They go into the crowd to celebrate with the fans.
This is the final show of 2023 for New Japan.
Wrestle Kingdom 18 is on January 4, 2024. New Year's Dash is on January 5, 2024. Both shows are on New Japan World.
Stay tuned for a Wrestle Kingdom 18 preview soon.
Happy 20th Anniversary to PWInsider.com and to all the Elites.
Thank you to Dave Scherer and Mike Johnson for their leadership, reporting and fun.
Thank you everyone for reading. Happy Holidays!
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
