Bishamon will be in action when New Japan Pro-Wrestling joins Taichi for his special event on October 17 at Taichi’s former middle school. Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI have been added to the card for a tag team match against Kumagoro Hokkai and a mystery partner.

The addition places one of NJPW’s most recognizable established pairings on a show that is continuing to take shape through a series of distinctive match announcements. While Goto and YOSHI-HASHI enter with the advantage of long-term familiarity as a team, Hokkai’s partner has not yet been revealed, giving their opponents an immediate strategic unknown heading into the event.

Hokkai represents Hokuto Pro Wrestling, adding another promotion to a card already built around unusual combinations, open spots, and matches that do not follow a standard NJPW touring-event format. The setting itself is central to the presentation: the show is being held at Taichi’s old middle school, making it a personal occasion for the NJPW wrestler in addition to a wrestling card.

Bishamon Bring Established Chemistry To The Card

Goto and YOSHI-HASHI have spent years developing their identity as Bishamon, and that shared experience is likely to be an important factor against a team with one participant still to be named. A mystery partner can create uncertainty for the opposition, particularly when there is limited opportunity to prepare for a particular style or set of combinations. At the same time, it puts pressure on the newly formed side to establish cohesion once the match begins.

For more background on this topic, read Shun Skywalker Considers Relinquishing NJPW World TV Title and Leaving New Japan.

Bishamon’s addition also gives the October 17 event a major tag team attraction without requiring a conventional championship scenario. The announced bout is not listed as a title match, but it provides Goto and YOSHI-HASHI with a chance to demonstrate the teamwork that has made the pairing a significant fixture in NJPW’s tag division.

For Hokkai, the match represents a high-profile opportunity opposite two veteran NJPW competitors. His mystery partner will play a major role in determining the dynamic of the contest. The eventual reveal could alter the balance of experience, size, pace, or familiarity between the two teams. Until that announcement arrives, Bishamon know who they are facing in one corner but not the complete challenge that awaits them.

The use of an unannounced partner is not the only unknown on the event. Several matches currently include open positions, making the full card a developing story as October 17 approaches.

Taichi And Marufuji Lead A Card With Open Questions

Taichi is scheduled to compete in the event’s listed tag team main attraction, teaming with a partner yet to be announced against Naomichi Marufuji and another unnamed wrestler. The pairing of Taichi and Marufuji gives the show a notable focal point, while the two vacant partner positions leave room for further announcements.

Marufuji’s presence adds another major name to an event framed around Taichi’s connection to his former school. With both sides currently incomplete, the match has several potential directions depending on who joins Taichi and Marufuji. The identities of those wrestlers have not been disclosed, and the card does not yet clarify whether there will be any wider issue connecting the four participants.

That uncertainty is a defining characteristic of the show at this stage. Rather than presenting a finalized lineup far in advance, the card features established matchups alongside invitations for further reveals. Bishamon versus Hokkai and a mystery partner is now part of that format, ensuring that the tag bout will have its own unanswered question even after Goto and YOSHI-HASHI’s inclusion was confirmed.

Taichi’s event is therefore shaping up as a card with personal significance, inter-promotional representation, and multiple matches whose final composition remains unknown. The announced names establish a foundation, but several of the most important details are still to come.

Taguchi Defends The DDT Universal Championship

Another centerpiece of the October 17 lineup will see Ryusuke Taguchi defend the DDT Universal Championship against Dick Togo. Taguchi is listed as the reigning champion, while Togo arrives as the challenger in a match that brings the title to Taichi’s special show.

The championship bout stands apart from the multi-person and mystery-partner elements elsewhere on the card because its participants and stakes are already clearly defined. Taguchi will put the DDT Universal Championship on the line against Togo, giving the event a singles title contest amid a lineup heavily shaped by tag team wrestling.

Taguchi’s championship defense is one of several indications that the show will draw on talent and concepts beyond a narrowly defined NJPW card. Hokkai’s Hokuto Pro Wrestling affiliation is another. The announced matches instead present a varied collection of wrestlers, promotions, and match structures for the October 17 gathering.

As with every championship match, the central question is whether the champion can leave with the title still in hand. Taguchi’s status as champion is clear entering the bout, and Togo has a direct opportunity to change the outcome of the DDT Universal Championship picture on a card built around Taichi’s homecoming setting.

Uemura, Yano, Desperado And Unbound Co. Also Announced

Yuya Uemura is scheduled for singles action against another opponent who has not yet been announced. The open slot gives Uemura a match on the card while leaving the identity and preparation demands of his opponent unresolved. Like the Bishamon match, it is a bout that will take on a more defined shape once the remaining participant is confirmed.

Toru Yano and El Desperado will also join forces to face Unbound Co., the team of Yuto-Ice and Gedo. That contest brings together a distinctive pairing in Yano and Desperado against a fully identified opposing side. Unlike the matches with mystery participants, both teams for this tag bout are already known, allowing the focus to rest on how those two duos match up in the ring.

The combination of Yano and Desperado is among the card’s more unusual announced pairings. Their opponents, Yuto-Ice and Gedo, are listed under the Unbound Co. name. With the participants established, the match offers one of the clearer tag team scenarios on a lineup that otherwise includes a number of pending reveals.

Between that match, Bishamon’s contest, and Taichi’s own tag bout, team wrestling will have a substantial presence at the event. Each match has a different structure: one presents a long-established unit in Bishamon against an incomplete opposing team, one has all four wrestlers named, and one still has two partner spots unfilled. The range gives the card several distinct stories without changing its central connection to Taichi.

Updated October 17 Card

The current announced lineup for the NJPW and Taichi joint event at Taichi’s former middle school is as follows:

  • Taichi and a mystery partner vs. Naomichi Marufuji and a mystery partner
  • DDT Universal Championship: Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Dick Togo
  • Yuya Uemura vs. a mystery opponent
  • Toru Yano and El Desperado vs. Unbound Co. (Yuto-Ice and Gedo)
  • Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Kumagoro Hokkai and a mystery partner

The October 17 event now has five announced matches, though it remains incomplete due to the several unannounced participants. Bishamon’s involvement adds further depth to the card and gives Hokkai a marquee tag team challenge alongside whichever wrestler ultimately joins him.

More announcements will be needed to complete the lineup, particularly regarding the partners for Taichi, Marufuji, and Hokkai, as well as Uemura’s singles opponent. For now, the confirmed card offers a blend of title action, cross-promotional participation, established NJPW names, and mystery opponents appropriate to a special event centered on Taichi’s return to a meaningful location from his past.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.