Pantoja’s NPW Hiroshi Tanahashi – Final Homecoming Review

NJPW Hiroshi Tanahashi – Final Homecoming

November 2^nd, 2025 | Gifu Memorial Center in Gifu, Japan | Attendance: 3,742

It’s Hiroshi Tanahashi’s last show in his hometown and we’ve got some notable matches lined up as well.

Boltin Oleg, Shoma Kato and Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Katsuya Murashima, Masatora Yasuda and Zane Jay

It’s Young Lions action! Well, Boltin Oleg is in there too but still. I’m unfamiliar with a lot of these guys so I’m mostly going in blind. I’m also not totally sure which Young Lion is which. Regardless, this was what we’ve come to expect from every Young Lion class. Lots of energy and guys going right at each other but nothing too fancy, which is expected given their status. I do usually like these though because I appreciate guys giving their all in an effort to impress. Boltin got to do a little bit, including lighting up dudes with some loud chops. I liked that Murashima and Yasuda worked together to get Boltin down, setting up a Zane Boston Crab. Boltin got through that and beat Jay with the F5 in 8:58. Exactly what it should’ve been. [**½]

Daiki Nagai, Gedo and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Hartley Jackson and Ichiban Sweet Boys

Ichiban Sweet Boys are the best team in the division, so of course they’re not in the tournament finals but a House of Torture team is. Genius booker, that Gedo. We got comedic aspects early on here, with Gedo wanting to face Hartley only to then beg off due to the size difference. Understandably, this was something of a night off for these guys after working tournament matches consistently. Gedo got isolated until the mild tag went to Hiromu but Hartley was able to stop his momentum. In fact, Hartley was the highlight here as the one big man in a match full of juniors. Daiki put in a good fight against him but Hartley bested him with a DVD in 9:17. Decent enough fun. [**¼]

El Desperado, Kuukai, Tiger Mask IV & YAMATO vs. Funky Carat, KUSHIDA and Yuki Yoshioka

An eight-man tag involving four teams from the Super Jr. Tag League. For those unaware, Funky Carat consists of Ryusuke Taguchi and Dragon Dia. Due to that, this was very much an exhibition where the teams got to strut their stuff and have a fun, back and forth tag with plenty of moving parts. Guys like Dragon Dia, Kuukai, and Yoshioka made sure they were the focal points as they were out to prove something. The more established New Japan talents could chill and let them take center stage. Kuukai had a nice moonsault onto a pile outside that was the high point of the match. Taguchi rolled up Tiger Mask in awkward fashion to win in 7:55. They kept it short and packed a solid amount of action in there, even if the finish was lame. [***]

Dick Togo, EVIL, Ren Narita, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Master Wato, Shota Umino, Toru Yano, YOH and Yuya Uemura

You guys know the drill at this point. If the House of Torture will continue to put in no effort, then they’ll get none from me. This was their usual barrage of BS. Cheating, cheap tactics outside, you know the drill. They’re the worst stable in wrestling history and it’s not even remotely close. Wato got hit with a title, allowing Togo to pin him in 6:18. It’s incredible how bad this stable is and how much Gedo insists on doing the same thing over and over. Garbage. [DUD]

After the match, the House of Torture’s attack was cut short by the arrival of Aaron Wolf, who will face EVIL in the Tokyo Dome. He tossed EVIL around and chased him off.

Callum Newman, The Great-O-Khan, Jakob Austin Young and Templario vs. Clark Connors, The Knockout Brothers and Shingo Takagi

I promise you, there has NEVER been a reason to be excited about New Japan’s tag division since I started watching in 2015 but the Knockout Brothers are about as interesting as it gets. They’re really good and if Gedo can start to care about this division, they could be onto something. I missed a lot of the Tag League but has Connors been working in jeans for a while or is this a one-off? A lot of the focus here was on the Knockout Brothers battling Newman and O-Khan. I’m assuming the United Empire boys will be a World Tag League tandem. When this fight spilled outside and into the crowd, I was intrigued because it was some good fighting rather than just House of Torture stuff. The heavyweight duos were laying into each other. Even Shingo fighting with Templario was intriguing. Things didn’t slow down once we got back to the ring either. The closing stretch with the champions and the heavyweights was dope and the most I’ve enjoyed Callum. Yuto-Ice put him down with a running knee in 10:58. That was a really good undercard tag. Give me more stuff like that. [***¼]

Super Jr. Tag League Finals: DOUKI and SHO vs. Robbie X and Taiji Ishimori

Damn, DOUKI and SHO were two of my favorite juniors at different times. How they’ve massacred my boys. The champions, DOUKI and SHO, went undefeated in block play and a win here means nothing is really set up going forward and would make the tournament rather moot. The teams brawled outside and into the crowd almost immediately. And we’re back to boring fighting on the outside. Sigh. Once back in the ring, Taiji got isolated and had to play the de facto face in peril. I haven’t seen Taiji work face since his NOAH days I think. It’s weird. That did allow Robbie X to get something of a hot tag, so he was able to really show off his skills. If someone stood out in this match, it was him. As is often the case in tags these days, things broke down late but the action never really picked up like you’d expect or want. The Bullet Club boys had it won but then the House of Torture cheated with low blows, weapons, and mist, leading to DOUKI winning with a handful of tights on a rollup in 15:01. Mediocre match. DUD booking. [**]

IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship: Yota Tsuji [c] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

My Ace. Commentary hyped this as likely Tanahashi’s final shot at a singles title. That gave it a bigger feel than it otherwise would’ve have. They went through a feeling out process while commentary discussed their history outside of the ring. Yota was hitting harder, was faster, and was more athletic, so Tanahashi had to use his veteran wits. He found openings to do Dragon Screws and slow Yota down, leveling the playing field. Yota busted out the Boston Crab, calling back to his days as a Young Lion when he was learning from Tanahashi. Tanahashi survived and busted out his own Gene Blaster, dubbed the Ace Blaster by commentary. Of course, it wasn’t enough to keep Yota down. Even his final High Fly Flows weren’t enough but I absolutely bit when he countered the Gene Blaster into an inside cradle. That would’ve been a very Tanahashi way to win. Yota got his knees up on High Fly Flow and hit the Gene Blaster to retain in 20:05. You will see so many matches this year that are faster and more explosive but this one told a clear story that made sense and that shit works for me. The Ace is the Ace and Yota is next. [****]

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Konosuke Takeshita [c] vs. Hirooki Goto

Goto’s slowed down theme during his entrance hit so hard. Commentary sold the story here well, as Takeshita remains the outsider and Goto is the longtime favorite who the fans want to see bring the title back home. Similar to the previous match, a lot of this saw Takeshita as the more explosive wrestler while Goto had to use his veteran knowhow. Goto can go more consistently than Tanahashi though, so they didn’t beat that drum too much, especially since Goto was able to bust out his own explosive offense throughout. Takeshita targeted Goto’s injured arm, though they didn’t focus too much on that, which surprised me. The crowd was a bit help here, popping for everything and really treating Goto as the ultimate hero. They believed in every near fall he picked up. Both guys threw their best shots at the other and it wasn’t enough. The GTR got Goto closest to winning and things really got going after that, with a poison rana and Last Ride from Takeshita. When Goto survived that, the crowd was totally into it. A swinging slam got Goto one last close call and then Takeshita put him down with Raging Fire in 24:20. A great main event that hammered home how much Goto still has it and how great Takeshita is. [****¼]

Post-match, we got a face off between Yota Tsuji and Konosuke Takeshita. They set the stage for a double title match at Wrestle Kingdom, which is a pretty big deal.

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

Some of the undercard tags are fun but the House of Torture just drags this card down like an anchor. Thankfully, it ends with two bangers (classic New Japan) and make it something worth checking out.