Shun Skywalker is the new NJPW World Television Champion following a controversial title change at New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Destruction in Kobe event on September 27, 2026.
Konosuke Takeshita entered the show as champion and put the title on the line against Skywalker in the first championship match of the night. Takeshita had held the NJPW World Television Championship since February 2026, and the bout against Skywalker represented his sixth successful title defense attempt. That run ended in Kobe, where HOUSE OF TORTURE became a decisive factor in the finish.
Ren Narita and Dick Togo appeared during the match to assist Skywalker. Their involvement created an opening when the referee was distracted, allowing Skywalker to throw powder into Takeshita’s face. With Takeshita compromised and HOUSE OF TORTURE continuing to influence the action, Skywalker capitalized to score the victory and take the championship.
The win marks a major singles accomplishment for Skywalker in New Japan and immediately places the World Television title in the orbit of HOUSE OF TORTURE. The group did not stop after the decision, either. The entire faction came to the ring after Skywalker’s victory and attacked Takeshita, turning the title match aftermath into a larger statement of intent.
For more background on this topic, read El Desperado and Toru Yano Set to Face Yuto-Ice and Gedo at Taichi’s October 17 NJPW Event.
Toru Yano made the save for Takeshita, preventing the post-match assault from continuing unchecked. While Yano was able to clear the ring and provide some relief for the former champion, the scene left no doubt about the circumstances surrounding Skywalker’s title victory—or about the hostility now directed at Takeshita.
Sixth defense ends Takeshita’s reign
Takeshita’s reign had been defined by the fact that he consistently put the NJPW World Television Championship on the line. By reaching a sixth defense, he had established an active run with the title after winning it in February. Destruction in Kobe presented another opportunity to extend that reign, but Skywalker and his allies ensured that the champion was not allowed to compete on even terms down the stretch.
There is an important distinction between simply losing a title match and being deprived of a fair conclusion. Takeshita was blinded by powder after Narita and Togo diverted the referee’s attention. The involvement from HOUSE OF TORTURE altered the conditions of the contest at the key moment, giving Skywalker the chance he needed to secure the pinfall.
That finish is certain to cast a shadow over Skywalker’s first moments as champion. At the same time, it is precisely the kind of outcome that can rapidly reshape a championship picture. Skywalker now holds the title, and the official result stands: Takeshita’s six-defense reign is over, while Skywalker has the NJPW World Television Championship in his possession.
For Takeshita, the immediate issue is not only the championship loss but also the numbers game that followed it. Narita and Togo’s appearance during the match was only the beginning. With the full HOUSE OF TORTURE unit joining the post-match attack, Takeshita was facing an organized group determined to make sure Skywalker’s win was followed by a public display of dominance.
HOUSE OF TORTURE makes its presence felt
HOUSE OF TORTURE’s role was central from the moment Narita and Togo entered the situation. Their referee distraction opened the door for Skywalker’s powder shot, a tactic that left Takeshita at an immediate disadvantage. The sequence demonstrated that Skywalker was not operating alone in a high-stakes title match, even before the wider faction arrived after the bell.
The post-match attack reinforced the message. Rather than allowing Skywalker to celebrate a hard-fought championship victory on his own, HOUSE OF TORTURE surrounded the former champion and escalated the situation. The faction’s collective appearance made the title change feel larger than an individual rivalry between Skywalker and Takeshita. It positioned the new champion alongside a group willing to intervene whenever an opportunity presents itself.
That association could become an unavoidable part of Skywalker’s reign. A new champion is generally judged by how he handles the challengers who line up for the title. In Skywalker’s case, however, opponents will also have to account for Narita, Togo, and the broader HOUSE OF TORTURE presence. The events in Kobe showed that such concerns are not theoretical.
Skywalker’s championship victory also gives HOUSE OF TORTURE another reason to claim momentum. The faction left Destruction in Kobe having helped engineer a title change and having attempted to further damage the displaced champion afterward. Even with Yano’s intervention, the group successfully turned the opening title bout into a major statement.
Toru Yano steps in for the former champion
Toru Yano’s save was the crucial response to the attack. Once the entire HOUSE OF TORTURE group came down to target Takeshita, the former champion was in danger of being overwhelmed. Yano’s arrival stopped the assault and gave Takeshita support after a match in which he had already been put at a serious disadvantage.
The save also adds another notable element to the immediate fallout. Yano did not arrive until after Skywalker had won the title, so he could not prevent the controversial finish or restore the championship to Takeshita. What he did accomplish was preventing HOUSE OF TORTURE from having complete control of the post-match scene.
That matters because Takeshita’s next move is now an obvious question following the end of his reign. He has reason to be angry with Skywalker, Narita, Togo, and every member of the faction who joined the attack. Yano, meanwhile, has inserted himself into the conflict by making the save. No future match was established during the reported events, but the confrontation created clear tension between Takeshita’s side and HOUSE OF TORTURE.
The visual of Yano standing up to the group is especially significant in the context of their attempted beatdown. HOUSE OF TORTURE sought to turn the title change into an emphatic closing image for the match. Yano denied them a completely uncontested ending, even though Skywalker departed with the championship.
A new chapter for the World Television Championship
The NJPW World Television Championship now moves from Takeshita’s six-defense reign to Skywalker’s newly launched tenure. The belt changed hands in contentious fashion, but it has nevertheless entered a different chapter. Skywalker has a championship to defend and an immediate spotlight that comes with defeating a champion who had held the title since February.
How Skywalker approaches that responsibility will be closely watched. The new champion’s first defense, whenever it is announced, will carry the backdrop of what happened in Kobe. Any challenger can point to the powder and the interference as evidence that Skywalker’s victory was aided by circumstances beyond the two competitors in the ring.
Takeshita also has a strong argument for wanting another opportunity. He was not defeated in a clean, isolated contest; he was caught in an environment shaped by HOUSE OF TORTURE’s tactics. The attack after the match only sharpened the sense that the group was intent on removing him from the picture as forcefully as possible.
For now, though, Skywalker is the man holding the NJPW World Television Championship. Destruction in Kobe delivered the first title match of the night, a sixth defense for Takeshita, interference from Narita and Togo, a powder-assisted turning point, and a faction attack stopped by Toru Yano. The final result was a championship change that immediately left unfinished business behind it.
Result: Shun Skywalker defeated Konosuke Takeshita to win the NJPW World Television Championship at Destruction in Kobe.
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.