Destruction (2023) was a series of

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

events promoted by

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

(NJPW) in 2023: Destruction in Kobe on September 24, and Destruction in Ryōgoku on October 9. These are events twenty-four to twenty-five in the

Destruction Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kind ...

chronology.

Production

Background

After taking a hiatus from 2020 to 2022, Destruction had two events taking place in late September and early October 2023. This was also be the first time since

Destruction '11 Destruction '11 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on October 10, 2011, in Tokyo, at Ryōgoku Kokugikan. The event featured eleven matches (including one dark match ...

that a Destruction event was held at

Ryōgoku Kokugikan , also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The fist ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the lands of the Ekōin temple in Ry ...

Storylines

The two Destruction events featured

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

each that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character as ...

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

Night 1

Event

The first night of the event from September 24 started with two preshow bouts broadcast live on NJPW's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel. In the first one, Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney defeated

Kevin Knight Kevin Knight (born October 22, 1976) is an American former professional association football, soccer player who played as a Defender (association football), defender. Youth Knight attended James Madison University where he played on the men's ...

and Tiger Mask in a non-title match, and in the second one,

Sanada Sanada is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Asami Sanada (born 1977), Japanese voice actress *, Japanese shogi player * Juzo Sanada (1923–1994), Japanese baseball player * Hiroki Sanada (born 1984), Japanese basebal ...

Douki , better known by his ring name Douki (stylised in ''all caps''), is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the '' Just 5 Guys'' stable. Douki was a part of the '' Suzuki-gun'' ...

and

Yoshinobu Kanemaru is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he also works as a backstage producer. Kanemaru is best known for his work in Pro Wrestling Noah, where he holds the records for the most reigns with the GHC ...

picked up a victory over Dick Togo, Evil and Yujiro Takahashi in six-man tag team action. On the first main card confrontation, El Phantasmo, Hikuleo, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Jado outmatched Alex Coughlin, Chase Owens, David Finlay, Gabe Kidd and

Gedo Gedo ( so, Gedo, Maay: ''Gethy'', ar, جيذو, it, Ghedo or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. It was created in 1974 and is bordered by the Ogaden in E ...

in ten-man tag team action. Next up, Lio Rush and Yoh defeated Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi, ahead of Rush's and Takahashi's IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match. Next, Bad Dude Tito and

Zack Sabre Jr. Lucas Eatwell (born 24 July 1987), better known by his ring name Zack Sabre Jr. (Katakana: ザック・セイバーJr, ''Zakku Seibā Jr.''), is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Outside ...

picked up a victory over two thirds of the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions Kazuchika Okada and

Tomohiro Ishii is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He also makes additional appearances for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his work with the independent Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling ( ...

. On the sixth match,

Sho Sho, Shō or SHO may refer to: Music * ''Shō'' (instrument) (笙), a Japanese wind instrument * ''Kane'' (instrument) (鉦), a Japanese percussion instrument * Sho?, a Dubai rock band People * Shō (given name), including ''Sho'' * Shō (sur ...

defeated Taichi to become the Provisional KOPW Champion of 2023.

defected

Just 5 Guys Just 5 Guys (J5G) is a professional wrestling stable, performing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The stable formed in January 2023 as Just 4 Guys (J4G) by Taichi, Taka Michinoku, Douki, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, following the disbandment of th ...

to join House of Torture. Next, Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated Mikey Nicholls and

Shane Haste Shane Veryzer (born 24 September 1985) is an Australian professional wrestler best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Shane Thorne. He is also known for his work in Pro Wrestling Noah under the Shane Haste ring ...

to secure the second consecutive defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championship in that respective reign. Next up, Shingo Takagi defeated Great-O-Khan in singles competition. In the semi main event, Tetsuya Naito defeated Jeff Cobb to retain the Tokyo Dome IWGP World Heavyweight Championship challenge rights certificate. In the main event, Will Ospreay defeated

Yota Tsuji is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Early life Before wrestling, Tsuji had played baseball, American football and had done Taekwondo. In March 2012, he graduated from Yokohama Tateno high-sch ...

to retain the

IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The current champion is Will Ospreay, who is in his first reign. History Backgr ...

for the first time in that respective reign. After the bout concluded, NJPW World Television Champion

joined Ospreay in the ring ahead of their collision at

Royal Quest III Royal Quest III was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on October 14, 2023, at the Copper Box Arena in London, England and featured wrestlers from Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro). It ...

Night 2

Event

The night started with the

ten-man tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder ma ...

confrontation between NJPW natives Yoshi-Hashi, Toru Yano, Yoh, Tiger Mask and Ryusuke Taguchi, and DDT Pro-Wrestling's Takeshi Masada and Kazuma Sumi, Kengo and

Pro Wrestling Freedoms often stylized in capital letters as FREEDOMS is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Chigasaki, Kanagawa. Founded by Takashi Sasaki in 2009, the promotion lets wrestlers choose their own fighting style, having the "freedom" of ch ...

' Takahiro Katori and Jun Masaoka. The NJPW natives team picked up the victory after Taguchi pinned Katori. Due to Masada being the time's

Ironman Heavymetalweight Champion The is a professional wrestling professional wrestling championship, championship created and promoted by the Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion CyberFight in its DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) brand. Open to anyone, regardless of gend ...

, Yano and Taguchi tried to pin him multiple times but were unsuccessful as Masada held on to his title because otherwise he would have got fired by DDT. In the first main card bout,

presented Yuya Uemura as their newest member after he concluded his foreign excursion. He alongside new stablemates Taichi and

defeated Yujiro Takahashi,

and

. Next up, Tanga Loa defeated Chase Owens in singles competition. Next up, Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi,

and Bushi defeated Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, Henare and Callum Newman in eight-man tag team action. Next up, Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney defeated

and

Kushida is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, better known by his mononymous ring name Kushida. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as Impact Wrestl ...

to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the second time consecutively in that respective reign. Next up,

Master Wato is a Japanese professional wrestler, signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) under the ring name Master Wato (マスター・ワト ''Masutā Wato''). He was previously on an international learning excursion, working for NJPW's Mexican partner ...

Shota Umino is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Early life Umino was born on April 13, 1997, in the special ward of Setagaya in Tokyo, Japan. He is the son of NJPW referee Hiroyuki Umino (also known un ...

and

Yuji Nagata is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). A two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, World Heavyweight Champion and a GHC Heavyweight Champion, making him a four-time world champion in major professional ...

defeated Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado and

Ren Narita Ren Narita (成田蓮 ''Narita Ren'', born November 29, 1997) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Early life Narita has played several sports before becoming a wrestler, including baseball and ...

in six-man tag team action. Next up, Hikuleo and El Phantasmo defeated Gabe Kidd and Alex Coughlin to win the

Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned and promoted by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. The title is exclusively featured on NJPW's United States based television program ''NJPW Strong'', essentially making it a ...

, ending the champions' reign on their very first defense. In the eighth bout, Kazuchika Okada and

) and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated

Impact World Champion The Impact World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Impact Wrestling. It is the promotion's principal championship. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won via the result ...

Alex Shelley Patrick Kenneth Martin (born May 23, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and physical therapy clinician, better known by the ring name, Alex Shelley, makes appearances with Impact Wrestling (formerly known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestl ...

, Impact X Division Champion

Chris Sabin Joshua Harter (born February 4, 1982), better known by his ring name Chris Sabin, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, and is also known for his work in Ring of Honor. After being trained by Scott D ...

and Josh Alexander to retain the

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. The title was announced on December 21, 2015, with the first champions crowned on January 4, 2016. Through NJPW's relationship with Ring of Honor ...

for the third time consecutively in that respective reign. Next up, Tama Tonga defeated David Finlay to win the

NEVER Openweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. NEVER is an acronym of the terms "New Blood", "Evolution", "Valiantly", "Eternal", and "Radical" and was an NJPW-promoted series of events, which ...

in a match which continued both of the wrestler's feud at the time. In the semi main event, Hiromu Takahashi defeated Yoh and Mike Bailey to secure the sixth consecutive defense of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in that respective reign. After the bout concluded, Taiji Ishimori returned from an injury and laid a title challenge for Takahashi. In the main event,

defeated Evil to secure the fourth consecutive defense of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in that respective reign. After the bout concluded, G1 Climax 33 winner Tetsuya Naito stepped up to remind Sanada of their scheduled match for Wrestle Kingdom 18.

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{New Japan Pro Wrestling events, Resurgence 2023 in professional wrestling New Japan Pro-Wrestling shows September 2023 events in Japan NJPW Destruction Professional wrestling shows in Tokyo