wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling 2025 Review
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW King of Pro Wrestling
October 13th, 2025 | Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 5,372
I haven’t followed much New Japan in recent months (or years) since I haven’t enjoyed it all that much on a day-to-day but I do still check in for major shows and the G1. King of Pro Wrestling is a notable card with some big matches, so I’m here to cover it.
IWGP Women’s Championship: Sareee [c] vs. Syuri
Syuri dropped this title to Sareee earlier this year (****½) and since then, Sareee has been a total villain in STARDOM, talking down on the promotion as an outsider. This started a bit slow with a feeling out process but soon, these two were out to kick each other’s ass. They were throwing hard forearms, headbutts, and kicks that rivaled anything else on the card. They felt evenly matched in a way that you don’t see very often. The crowd wasn’t seemingly as into this as other stuff on the show but that’s to be expected when you only throw out a random women’s match from time to time and give this one a few days’ notice. That meant it lacked the atmosphere of most Sareee matches. Syuri got going late with a big armbar but her leg gave out on her next move and Sareee powerbombed her. I loved that Sareee just pounded on her instead of going for the cover, really wanting to prove that she’s the better, harder hitter. Somehow, Syuri kicked out of three uranages in a row and ultimately survived a fourth before reeling off some kicks and winning the title with Syu-sekai in 14:56. That was very good but needed a better crowd and it felt a bit rushed at points. [***¾]
Clark Connors, David Finlay and Taiji Ishimori vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi and Titán
It’s insane that Gedo has never moved Hiromu out of the junior heavyweight division so now he’s just replaced IWGP with GHC for his Jr. Title. So the former LIJ guys are now the “Unaffiliated.” Even though they’re affiliated with each other. This was your standard New Japan multi-man tag. Solid back and forth action that will keep you engaged but nothing you’ll remember even five minutes after it ends. That’s even with some notable names in there and LIJ, I mean Unaffiliated, being good in this kind of thing. All I remember if that Ishimori had a Hulk Hogan level tan going on. If anyone was the standout here, it was Titán. He was flying all over the place whenever he got the chance. Unfortunately, he had to eat the fall, losing to Finlay’s Overkill in 7:58. [***]
Riot In Ryogoku Match: Drilla Moloney vs. SANADA
The stipulation basically just means No DQ and No Countout. SANADA did this weird entrance gimmick where there were seemingly several other people dressed as him. The match itself was more violent than we typically get in New Japan. SANADA was gushing in the first few minutes and the intensity level was high. This was right up Drilla’s alley but SANADA did well in the format. In fact, it was the most I’ve enjoyed him in a while. Drilla got busted open as well and they used weapons like chairs, a fork, and SANADA’s trademark guitar. They did a ref bump which was weird because it’s a No DQ match. That allowed the House of Torture to do a run-in after a Drilla Killa. Even with their help, Drilla kicked out and got help from Clark Connors, who brought a tire in as a weapon. Ok. Drilla broke a guitar over SANADA’s head and won with a second Drilla Killa in 13:37. A solid match that was better than I expected. [***]
Bishamon and YOH vs. Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita and Ryohei Oiwa
Good to see Goto back in action after his injury. Commentary talked a fair bit about his role in the upcoming Street Fighter movie. You know this wasn’t a match you needed to pay too much attention to because YOH pulled a Naito and kept his shirt on throughout. It was relatively fine with decent moving parts. Jackson continues to bring something different and welcome to the table, YOH and Fujita had solid back and forth, Bishamon looked like their old selves together, and Oiwa again was a standout. Oiwa is one of the guys in New Japan who feels like a key part of any success they may have going forward. There was a fun little sumo bit between YOH and Jackson that I enjoyed. Otherwise, this was pretty standard and wrapped when Bishamon hit their finisher on Jackson in 7:55. Perfectly acceptable tag and there’s the added intrigue of Goto wanting a shot at ZSJ if he retains later. [**½]
NJPW Television Championship: El Phantasmo [c] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
I’m all for my Ace winning a title he’s never held before he retires but this belt is so ugly that I don’t want him anywhere near it. I respect that even though we’re nearing the end of Tanahashi’s career, he still goes all in. Watching him do a somersault off the apron to the outside is impressive. ELP was not to be outdone, trying a springboard dive into the crowd, though he missed. He banged up his knee on the spot, giving Tanahashi a target and we know how much Tanahashi likes working the leg. It was time for Dragon Screws and a Texas Cloverleaf. Tanahashi blocked a top rope rana and ELP took a nasty spill to the mat because of it. Down the stretch, ELP rallied and Tanahashi used flash pins for near falls. ELP locked in his own Texas Cloverleaf, only for time to expire at the 15:00 mark. That was good stuff. I guess these two will be partners in World Tag League also. Nothing special but solid pro wrestling. [***¼]
NEVER Openweight Championship: Boltin Oleg [c] vs. EVIL
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m not giving my energy to House of Torture matches that are riddled with shenanigans. That was the case again here because we can’t have nice things with Gedo booking. EVIL had Boltin’s title coming into this. We got brawling, interference from everyone from Yujiro Takahashi to Dick Togo to Toru Yano. At no point did Boltin come off looking well, making everything messy. DOUKI used a pipe as a weapon on Boltin before Everything is Evil put him away in 11:40. That sucked, as always with these guys. [DUD]
Gold medalist Aaron Wolf hit the ring and started throwing House of Torture members around. EVIL spoke on the microphone and this was here to set up Wolf’s in-ring debut at Wrestle Kingdom, which will be against EVIL. That’s a choice for someone’s first match. Also a shame to see Boltin used just to set up another guy.
IWGP Tag Team Championship: The Knockout Brothers [c] vs. Shota Umino and Yuya Uemura
The Knockout Brothers are OSKAR and Yuto-Ice, two guys who I remember seeing as Young Lions a couple of years ago. Shota is not ready to be a top singles guy so a tag run isn’t a bad idea and Yuya rules, so I like it. These four went at it right from the opening bell, throwing stiff forearms and kicks. Yuto-Ice has a good look and was kicking ass, while OSKAR feels different from a lot of what we get in New Japan. Yuya and Yoto going at it was the highlight of the match for me. It’s early but both guys feel like they have something special. Shota, who I’ve never been sold on, looked pretty good in there. In shorter bursts, he’s work so much better. But yeah, seeing Yuya and Yuto trade headbutts before OSKAR saved his buddy by trapping Yuya in a sleeper was cool. Shota came in with a hot run but got taken out, leaving Yuya to fall to a Tombstone/running kick combo in 14:40. Yeah, that ruled. I need more stuff like that in New Japan and I’d be back. Hard hitting, not overly long, and fresh talents involved. [****]
IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship: Gabe Kidd [c] vs. Yota Tsuji
This is their third meeting of the year. The first ended in a double KO (****¾) and the second saw Kidd win the title (***¾). As is always the case with Gabe matches, this was intense. He punctuated an early dropkick with a “FUCK YOU” before the fight spilled outside. Parts of this was fantastic, with the two showing the chemistry that wowed me back in February. However, there were moments where they didn’t keep things at the same level and harkened back to the somewhat disappointing rematch they had at Dominion. At no point was this bad, it just wasn’t as consistently engaging as some MOTY candidates. Down the stretch, they were back at the high level I want from them, throwing bombs and kicking out of the best the other guy had to offer. I like matches where the usual stuff isn’t working, so people have to bring out new shit, like Yota busting out a Destroyer. The spot where Gabe cut off the Gene Blaster with a piledriver was really dope. They teased the double knockout spot from February but both men made it to their feet. Yota only got one on a Gene Blaster so he hit a second and went to the Boston Crab, with Gabe submitting in 24:13. I do think some of this stuff is a bit formulaic. Maybe I just watch too much wrestling but the big match style in WWE and NJPW all kind of just run together for me with a few exceptions. That said, this was great and is something you should totally see but they’ve just failed to hit that incredible level of their first meeting. [****]
Post-match, the two embraced in a show of respect.
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. [c] vs. Konosuke Takeshita
Another third meeting of the year, with two G1 outings (****¼ and (****½). Takeshita is the outsider who won the G1 while ZSJ has stuck with New Japan for years. I thought they did a really good job with the early stages here. It was a feeling out process as neither man wanted to make the first mistake and it played off their prior encounters. It was also very engaging, which is something far too many wrestlers struggle with. The crux here was ZSJ going after the elbow and Takeshita responding with big bursts of explosive offense. Sabre picked apart the right arm and though he was still able to hit some big offense, Takeshita did a good job of selling the damage throughout. As this passed the 15 minute mark, Takeshita hit a German suplex and absolutely rocked ZSJ with a forearm. It was brutal. They kept up counters, like ZSJ rolling through a knee strike and into a Rings of Saturn like move. It was one of my favorite sports in a long time. Takeshita made it to the ropes, triggering an intense final third. Sunset flip bombs, the Raging Fire, the Zack Driver, and even Takeshita applying a Crossface Chicken Wing as if he was the submission master. Down the stretch, they traded shots and Takeshita removed his elbow pad to hit a big forearm. He avoided an armbar and hit a German before adding a poison rana and two Power Drives to become the new champion in 31:16. Just tremendous pro wrestling. ZSJ remains one of the best and Takeshita continues to be one of the best currently going. This was the right call and they delivered an epic main event that was my favorite of their trilogy. [****½]
