New Japan Pro-Wrestling continued the Road To Destruction tour on September 17 with a Battle Line Hokkaido event that featured seven matches and drew an announced crowd of 808. The card brought together many of the promotion’s established factions and units, including United Empire, House Of Torture, T.M.D.K. and Unbound Company, while also giving a number of younger wrestlers valuable in-ring opportunities.
United Empire and House Of Torture each came away with two wins on the night. The show also included a competitive multi-man match that ended in a double count-out, as Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano and Togi Makabe were unable to secure a definitive result against Shingo Takagi, OSKAR and Yuto-Ice of Unbound Company.
House Of Torture Open the Night With Two Victories
House Of Torture started the Battle Line Hokkaido card on the winning side when Dick Togo and Shun Skywalker defeated Yushin Hatazawa and Masatora Yasuda. The pairing of Togo and Skywalker earned the opening-match result over the young team of Hatazawa and Yasuda, giving their group an early successful outing on the Road To Destruction schedule.
The unit then added another victory in the next bout. SHO and DOUKI defeated Taisei Nakahara and El Desperado, ensuring House Of Torture completed a two-for-two night in Hokkaido. Desperado’s presence gave Nakahara an experienced partner, but SHO and DOUKI ultimately claimed the decision.
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The two results placed House Of Torture prominently near the start of the event. With Togo and Skywalker winning one match and SHO and DOUKI taking another, the group’s members left the card with momentum in tag-team competition. Neither match was listed with a special stipulation, and both were recorded as standard victories for the House Of Torture sides.
United Empire Take Back-to-Back Matches
United Empire also recorded a pair of wins across the seven-match lineup. In a large eight-man tag, Jakob Austin Young, Jake Lee, Great-O-Khan and HENARE defeated Jado, Master Wato, Oleg Boltin and Shota Umino.
That contest assembled a substantial collection of talent on both sides. Young, Lee, Great-O-Khan and HENARE represented United Empire in a four-man lineup, while Jado joined Wato, Boltin and Umino on the opposing team. United Empire emerged with the win, continuing a strong evening for the faction.
In another tag-team bout, Zane Jay and Callum Newman defeated Unbound Company’s Gedo and Jeff Cobb. The result gave United Empire its second victory of the show and marked a difficult outing for the Gedo and Cobb partnership.
Cobb was involved twice on the Hokkaido card, competing with Gedo in the loss to Jay and Newman while Unbound Company also appeared in several other matches. The promotion’s touring format placed numerous wrestlers in faction-based multi-man and tag action, creating a card where unit pride and partnerships were at the forefront from the first bell through the main event.
Taichi, Uemura and Wolf Defeat T.M.D.K.
Taichi, Yuya Uemura and Aaron Wolf picked up a trios victory over T.M.D.K.’s Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa and Kosei Fujita. The winning trio combined Taichi’s experience with Uemura and Wolf, while their opponents brought together Jackson, Oiwa and Fujita under the T.M.D.K. banner.
The match was one of several six-man and multi-man contests on the card, a familiar structure for a Road To Destruction event. These matches allow wrestlers from different parts of the roster to share the ring while keeping the focus on ongoing unit rivalries and individual pairings. On this occasion, Taichi, Uemura and Wolf secured the victory over the T.M.D.K. representatives.
For Uemura and Wolf, the result added a notable win alongside Taichi. Jackson, Oiwa and Fujita, meanwhile, were unable to reverse the broader trend of the night, which saw multiple faction encounters decided through tag and trios competition rather than singles matches.
Taguchi, Yano and Makabe Draw With Unbound Company
The only bout without a winning side saw Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano and Togi Makabe face Shingo Takagi, OSKAR and Yuto-Ice of Unbound Company. The match ended in a double count-out, leaving neither trio with a victory.
The result was particularly significant within a card otherwise defined by clear decisions. Taguchi, Yano and Makabe were unable to put away the Unbound Company group, and Takagi, OSKAR and Yuto-Ice likewise did not earn the result for their side. A double count-out does not settle the contest in the manner of a pinfall, submission or other decisive finish, meaning the match concluded without one team standing above the other in the official results.
Unbound Company had a busy presence throughout the evening. In addition to Takagi, OSKAR and Yuto-Ice meeting Taguchi, Yano and Makabe, Gedo and Cobb competed against Jay and Newman, while another four-man Unbound Company side appeared in the final match. The group’s night included a loss, a double count-out and a main-event defeat, underlining how heavily it was featured at the Hokkaido stop.
Goto, YOH, YOSHI-HASHI and Matsumoto Win the Main Event
The final match of the evening saw Tatsuya Matsumoto, YOSHI-HASHI, YOH and Hirooki Goto defeat Unbound Company’s Daiki Nagai, Robbie X, Taiji Ishimori and Yota Tsuji. The eight-man tag brought the Road To Destruction show to a close with Matsumoto, YOSHI-HASHI, YOH and Goto earning the victory.
Goto, YOSHI-HASHI and YOH entered the match alongside Matsumoto against a varied Unbound Company lineup featuring Nagai, Robbie X, Ishimori and Tsuji. With four wrestlers on each side, the main event capped a night largely built around team encounters. The victorious side managed to halt Unbound Company after the faction had been represented repeatedly across the card.
For Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, YOH and Matsumoto, the win provided the final positive result of the evening. For Nagai, Robbie X, Ishimori and Tsuji, it completed a challenging show for the group following the earlier loss suffered by Gedo and Cobb and the double count-out involving Takagi, OSKAR and Yuto-Ice.
Full NJPW Road To Destruction Battle Line Hokkaido Results
- Dick Togo and Shun Skywalker of House Of Torture defeated Yushin Hatazawa and Masatora Yasuda.
- SHO and DOUKI of House Of Torture defeated Taisei Nakahara and El Desperado.
- Jakob Austin Young, Jake Lee, Great-O-Khan and HENARE of United Empire defeated Jado, Master Wato, Oleg Boltin and Shota Umino.
- Zane Jay and Callum Newman of United Empire defeated Gedo and Jeff Cobb of Unbound Company.
- Taichi, Yuya Uemura and Aaron Wolf defeated Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa and Kosei Fujita of T.M.D.K.
- Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano and Togi Makabe against Shingo Takagi, OSKAR and Yuto-Ice of Unbound Company ended in a double count-out.
- Tatsuya Matsumoto, YOSHI-HASHI, YOH and Hirooki Goto defeated Daiki Nagai, Robbie X, Taiji Ishimori and Yota Tsuji of Unbound Company.
The September 17 event offered another compact chapter in NJPW’s Road To Destruction tour, with seven matches, an 808-person attendance figure and a card centered on unit competition. House Of Torture and United Empire were the only groups to earn multiple victories, while the closing result went to Matsumoto, YOSHI-HASHI, YOH and Goto over an Unbound Company side that was active throughout the show. With the tour continuing, the Hokkaido event stands as a night defined by faction matchups, multi-man action and a main-event win for Goto’s team.
Darryl Polo
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.