DOUKI vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: NJPW DESTRUCTION in KOBE (September 29, 2024)
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00:00I'm the strongest challenger, Taizuka Ushimori, and I'm going to win!
00:09This year, he's beaten all three junior heavyweights, and he's made his way to the top!
00:16The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, DOUKI!
00:21I don't have any more complaints. I'm the strongest junior heavyweight champion.
00:31I'll tell him what I want to tell him.
00:36Hey, don't look at me like that! I'm not looking at your face!
00:42I'm going to be next!
00:46It's time to learn from the champion!
00:51The challenger, Kanemaru YOSHINOBU!
00:55I'll show you what it's like to be a champion.
00:59His history is as thick as the Grand Slam.
01:06If he loses his title, I'll make him lose even more.
01:15I'll show you what it's like to be a champion.
01:20I'll show you what it's like to be a champion.
01:25Are you going to defend? Are you going to win?
01:27Don't say that.
01:29You don't know what's most important, do you?
01:31I know what you don't know.
01:36You don't know what you're doing. You don't know what you're wearing.
01:41You don't know what you're wearing.
01:45You don't know what you're wearing.
01:47You may be a heavyweight champion. I may be a lightweight champion.
01:53But I have a lot of potential.
01:56I'll show you what it's like to be a champion.
02:00You can't beat me in the ring.
02:03This is your challenge match.
02:07I'll show you what it's like to be a champion.
02:10I'll show you what it's like to be a champion.
02:15IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match.
02:19The challenger, Kanemaru Yoshinobu vs. The champion, DOUKI.
02:40Yoshinobu Kanemaru's resume, which is not in question.
02:45This might only be the third time he's ever challenged for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.
02:50But could complete a grand slam of titles in all major promotions in Japan.
03:00One time you could say that he's your favorite wrestler's favorite wrestler.
03:04Kanemaru did for Suzuki-gun.
03:08He didn't part with just five guys.
03:10But he still does for House of Torture.
03:13Yoshinobu Kanemaru has made guys.
03:17Made El Desperado.
03:19And arguably made DOUKI into a hero for junior heavyweight wrestling.
03:23But one's proficient in the dark arts.
03:26But Kanemaru knows a lot of skills that DOUKI does not.
03:29Bullet Club House of Torture.
03:32173cm, 85kg.
03:35Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
03:39It was just about a year ago, Walker, that Kanemaru said,
03:42Well, I'm through making guys.
03:44It's time to make Yoshinobu Kanemaru once more.
03:48And that's why he joined House of Torture.
03:59Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
04:06Just.
04:07Come.
04:08Guys.
04:29Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
04:32Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
04:35Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
04:38Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
04:41Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
04:44Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
04:47Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
04:50Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
04:53Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
04:56Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
04:59Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
05:02Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
05:05Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
05:08Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
05:11Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
05:14Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
05:17Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
05:20Kanemaru Yoshinobu!
05:23Red corner, the 97th IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion,
05:41Just Five Guides, Happo Desu, Delman,
05:45Doki!
05:53Championship defense, this is Doki walking into a defense
05:57against a mentor.
06:00Against a former friend, Chris.
06:02Well, I mean, Kanemaru made it very clear in Sendai,
06:06I've taught you everything that you know,
06:08but I haven't taught you everything that I know.
06:10And Kanemaru's saying, I know what it's like
06:13to really be a champion.
06:15Trying to go to class, kid.
06:17Kanemaru's showing the ultimate disrespect to Doki
06:20Doki walking out of the press conference yesterday,
06:23not even posing for photos
06:25with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.
06:28Joined as well by Hiromi Takahashi over to our right.
06:31I was just going to say, Chris,
06:32how fitting is it for the man who Doki defeated
06:35to kickstart what this rise has become
06:37for the Junior Heavyweight Champion
06:39to be joined at the Japanese Broadcaster.
06:42Doki, his path to being where he is now
06:46to defeat the big three in the same year,
06:50to defeat three men he's never beaten before.
06:53Almost exercising the spirits of defeats past.
06:58And now, in a sense, having to exercise
07:01some very real demons in Yoshinobu Kanemaru,
07:05the man who taught him how to fight dirty.
07:07In Yoshinobu Kanemaru,
07:08the man who taught him how to fight dirty.
07:10Chris, the win over the big three
07:12is going to have to turn into a win over the fourth,
07:14essentially.
07:15He has never defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru
07:17in singles action.
07:18Oh, and one record, that one going to Kanemaru.
07:22There's something to be said about that for Doki,
07:24willing to take on all these new challengers,
07:26push himself harder and harder.
07:28It's how he became champion,
07:30and it's how he intends to remain champion as well.
07:33Doki hobbled a little bit.
07:34Obviously, Kanemaru's going to be targeting
07:36the left knee.
07:37I think that's very, very clear.
07:39Good.
07:40Doki springboarding that elbow.
07:42Not safe on the floor is Kanemaru.
07:44Here we go.
07:45Doki picking up the speed and a head charge.
07:48Baseball slide right out.
07:50Takes in Kanemaru.
07:52I think one thing that Kanemaru has to be careful of
07:56is that Kanemaru thinks that he's taught Doki all he knows.
08:01But there's a lot in Doki's life experience,
08:04there's a lot that Doki has done
08:06that Kanemaru isn't privy to.
08:08All that we've talked about with Doki is time in Mexico.
08:12I mean, Kanemaru has had his appearances in Mexico, sure,
08:14but wrestling on those dirt floors,
08:16you're learning something different.
08:17It's a different type of grit than Kanemaru might have taught.
08:19Yeah, and a grit in the sense that
08:21he wasn't walking on the nice guy side of the fence.
08:25He was definitely a rudo.
08:26You have to be a rudo if you're foreign
08:28and you're working in Mexico.
08:30And he did that to survive.
08:32It's a fight for survival tonight.
08:34Look out, look out.
08:35Doki.
08:36No, no, no.
08:37Caught by Kanemaru.
08:38It's going to be a kneebreaker on the outside.
08:41That padding is not to protect our athletes.
08:44It is to protect the floor from our ring.
08:51There's no protection for Doki here.
08:53No amount of knee pad is going to be able to protect you
08:56from these shots to the knees from Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
09:00Greatest junior heavyweight in wrestling.
09:02Many say to never win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.
09:07Multiple time over.
09:08Six-time junior heavyweight tag team champion short.
09:15And even as he gets up there,
09:18in terms of age, in terms of career,
09:20yeah, you can say four-nine singles record
09:23over the last 365 days,
09:26but he can beat anyone on any given night.
09:29Three.
09:30Four.
09:32Two and two, in fact, singles right here in this town of Kobe.
09:35This is his first singles match here since 2012.
09:42Chris, you mentioned the age and the experience of Kanemaru
09:45as the attack continues directly on that knee.
09:49It is going to be a long road for Doki going forward,
09:51but I got to ask you, a lot of people, they get older in age,
09:54they turn to wind down their careers,
09:57they go into the twilight and move forward.
09:59Kanemaru, I think that on a different side of this level,
10:02he kind of fires up the older that he gets
10:04because he knows, hey, that IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
10:07is still missing off the resume.
10:09Well, I mean, yeah, and you think about
10:11the career that Kanemaru has had.
10:13You think about the classic, that great match he had
10:15with Kenta Becky, the Tokyo Dome 2005.
10:18Yeah, I mean, that's getting on for 20 years going now,
10:21and, you know, Kanemaru,
10:23approaching 30 years in this business,
10:25someone that we might point and laugh at House of Torture at times,
10:29but he puts in the work, he's in the gym constantly,
10:32he's in absolute incredible physical shape constantly,
10:37and he has probably the sharpest mind in professional wrestling.
10:40And that's amazing considering the amount of drinks spoken.
10:44Well, I'll consider it this, Yoshinobu Kanemaru,
10:46if there is a true foundation to the House of House of Torture,
10:49it is that man, it is the mind that he holds for our sport.
10:52Yeah, no doubt.
10:53I think when House of Torture made that recruitment call
10:56on the road to destruction this time last year,
10:59it was probably the best thing that can happen to that faction.
11:07You think about Kanemaru can definitely,
11:10he can't lay claim to having been IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion,
11:14but you can say without Kanemaru,
11:16Desperado would never have been champion,
11:18and Doki would not have been champion.
11:20I think that is without doubt.
11:23We're keeping this one on the outside,
11:25halfway in, halfway out.
11:29Finger four in those legs,
11:31all around the ring post here,
11:33and this is continued pressure added to the knee, Chris.
11:43So much up and down the resume of Yoshinobu Kanemaru,
11:46the greatest GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion ever,
11:49pro-wrestling NOAH, seven times over.
11:52Former All Japan World Junior Champion,
11:55but never once IWGP,
11:57never once the creme de la creme Soichi Universe.
12:05Made his debut in 1996.
12:10Probably even your parents were probably still in high school
12:13when Yoshinobu Kanemaru was cutting it up.
12:19Kanemaru, continuing that attack.
12:21Left knee, single leg takedown.
12:25Oh, no.
12:26Wait, wait, wait. Oh, come on.
12:28It's a wishbone I wouldn't want to be on the other side of.
12:32Swedish referee in the sport, Kenta Sato.
12:35I feel pretty sour for Doki there,
12:37some sour grain spots.
12:40Kanemaru.
12:41Kanemaru.
12:42Kanemaru.
12:43Kanemaru.
12:44Kanemaru.
12:45Kanemaru.
12:46I feel pretty sour for Doki there,
12:47some sour grain spots.
12:49Kanemaru taking control.
12:51Four IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship title changes
12:55right here in Kobe over the years.
12:58Not one since 2014.
13:01Kanemaru looking for a fifth.
13:1164 days as champion and counting for Doki.
13:14One defense back in Sendai over Taiji Ishimori,
13:17the final of the big three.
13:23You know, you and I have had a lot of conversations recently
13:25regarding the recently retired Yoshinori Ogawa.
13:28Would you consider Kanemaru to be on an Ogawa level
13:32in terms of the way people perceive him in the sport?
13:34Yeah, I think you're right.
13:35I mean, I think in terms of,
13:37maybe in terms of the way he goes about his business a little bit,
13:42different is Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
13:44But yeah, certainly in terms of the status that he has,
13:50the level of respect that he has.
13:52It's very difficult when you talk about a member of House of Torture
13:56and respect, that doesn't, they don't really,
13:59seems like an oxymoron, right?
14:01But Kanemaru, it doesn't matter where he goes,
14:05he earns the respect.
14:07And you have to say that even though he's part of the House of Torture,
14:10he hasn't really changed the way he's wrestled
14:12since becoming part of that group.
14:13He might be one of the only few to not do so.
14:18That's Kanemaru.
14:19Wow, big chop right down.
14:21Takes Kanemaru off his feet.
14:25When we talk about Kanemaru being your favorite wrestler's favorite wrestler,
14:29it's not because of his demeanor.
14:30It's not because of the way he presents himself.
14:32It's purely technique that we're referring to at that point.
14:35Yeah, purely technique and mindset and a psychology.
14:38And it's not just a matter of what you do, but when you do it and where.
14:42You know, that's something that, you know,
14:44when El Desperado openly admitted to,
14:46well, I was just throwing a bunch of crap at the wall and seeing what stuck.
14:50And Kanemaru was able to put those pieces together.
14:52Same for Doki, who says, you know,
14:54always had faith in what he can do.
14:57Just like that, doing something spectacular.
15:00And we're seeing it here tonight in Kobe.
15:03Big punch into the outside.
15:06Showing what he can do.
15:07But Kanemaru teaching him where to put it.
15:09Might have put it in the wrong place right there, though.
15:11The knee buckled on that plancha as he took that hip connection there.
15:20Try and bring some circulation to that left knee.
15:24Will he have enough spring, Walker?
15:26Yeah, gonna need to spring up and out.
15:28I was saying moonsault to the outside.
15:31It's not just that moonsault that Doki is gonna need the spring for.
15:34But God forbid we see the daybreak DDT here tonight.
15:38You're gonna need something to launch off of.
15:40You're gonna need a base to deliver the bridge on suplex de la luna.
15:44Oh, absolutely.
15:45The old saying of the one-legged man in the ass-kicking contest.
15:49That's the situation that we have here.
15:54And it might be a master of psychology in Kanemaru
15:57who's saying, well, I'm gonna have to take a little bit of a beating
16:00on the front end just like this now.
16:02But I'm doing work even in taking the offensive Doki.
16:06Wearing that knee down even while it's being beaten up.
16:11High ankle suplex there for Doki.
16:13Cover here, hook of the leg, and it's two.
16:16A lot of shots from Kanemaru could put this one down in an instant.
16:20And we're looking at one potentially from Doki.
16:27Wait, wait, low cut, low cut.
16:29They're twisting it up.
16:30No.
16:31Jackknife.
16:32Cover here for Kanemaru.
16:33Near the knee.
16:34And it's two.
16:35And it's two.
16:36And it's two.
16:37And it's two.
16:38And it's two.
16:39And it's two.
16:40And it's two.
16:41And it's two.
16:42And it's two.
16:43And it's two.
16:44Kanemaru, nearly a new champion.
16:50Definitely Doki a step slow walker.
16:53Kanemaru, let's see.
16:55To the outside, wants that daybreak TDT.
16:57If he can find it here.
16:59Up and down.
17:00Kanemaru caught him.
17:01And that's Kanemaru being yet again another step ahead of his former mentee.
17:07Perfect call.
17:08You called it before you even saw it.
17:14Doki.
17:17Oh no.
17:19Oh no.
17:20To the outside.
17:23Man, I was preparing.
17:25The old cliche of the hardest part of the ring.
17:28And he went somewhere even harder, Walker.
17:31I mean, people love when we talk about where steel and wood collide.
17:34But there's no steel or wood on the outside here.
17:36It's pure and it's unadulterated.
17:38As you mentioned earlier, the illusion of protection on cement.
17:44One.
17:46I'll be honest here, Chris.
17:47I think that that shot from Kanemaru might have thrown Doki for a loop.
17:50I don't think he knew he was coming off the apron until Kanemaru pulled him.
17:53Well, he came off the apron, he did.
17:55And Kanemaru might wait out of the count.
17:57You remember, the IWGP, all of our titles in New Japan Pro Wrestling
18:01can change hands on a count out.
18:03El Desperado experienced that.
18:05That's how Sho became champion earlier this year.
18:10Count of 14.
18:12Doki's going to need to engage this lower base here
18:14and find some will to get back inside that ring.
18:16No, no, no, no.
18:17You've got to go.
18:1818.
18:19Count of 18.
18:20Doki with a junior title.
18:23And Kanemaru, more than willing to take that count out win,
18:26does not get to.
18:30No, no.
18:32You are risking long-term damage.
18:34Long-term damage right now, Chris.
18:36Right into that figure four.
18:38But you know, Walker, even if he's thinking of being able to walk tomorrow,
18:43you want to tap, you should tap.
18:49But that IWGP junior heavyweight championship he's worked so hard to earn
18:54is on the line.
18:57Everything Doki has worked for comes down to this matchup.
19:00And Kanemaru, once again, like he's done before,
19:03can steal it all away tonight.
19:05Doki, Doki, Doki.
19:07Doki is going to have to get that bottom rope to force the break, and he does.
19:13And look again, the master of psychology.
19:16Oh, my God.
19:17Well, he's got five seconds.
19:19And Kenta, the referee, instead forcibly breaking that hold.
19:23Now he'll go to the second.
19:26We could be seeing it here from Kanemaru.
19:28He's thinking deep impact.
19:30Potentially so, that diving DDT.
19:33Could come swiftly.
19:35Doki on his feet.
19:36Deep.
19:37No, no, no.
19:40Oh, again, that knee nearly buckled.
19:43Look out, look out.
19:46And a northern light.
19:47It's beautiful, beautiful, but he can't bridge the bridge.
19:50Oh, it gave way.
19:51It gave way.
19:52That leg gave way, Walker.
19:55This is what happens.
19:56Kanemaru focuses on the pillars of Doki, and they come crumbling down one by one.
20:03Doki, Doki, Doki, Doki.
20:10A hell of a carpenter, as they call him, is Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
20:15Building the house that tortures us all every single night.
20:19And trying to destroy the same.
20:21Oh, that's the way to get around it.
20:23This is it right here.
20:24Dota on Bob Judson.
20:27Cover.
20:29Great work, and now...
20:32It's the Doki Choki locked in.
20:35Italian stretch over 32.
20:39That was a great little mental twist from Doki.
20:42Realized he couldn't lift Kanemaru on his bum knee into Dota on Bob Judson.
20:48Found a creative way, and now he'll try and maximize the referee's patience there.
20:59Again.
21:06Doki trying to get this crowd on side here.
21:13Here we go.
21:15This is what he needs to hear, Walker.
21:21Doki's got the base.
21:22Oh, the strength. The strength isn't there.
21:24And Kanemaru, another shot, single leg down.
21:26Wait, wait, wait, it's on.
21:27And it's in.
21:30Again, gotta go for it.
21:31This is a fix down. Cover, Doki.
21:34And again.
21:35Right back in. This is exactly what he needed.
21:37Caught him by surprise, the Doki Choki.
21:42You see here, Doki, the more this match goes on, the smarter he's wrestling.
21:48When you give him limitations, something he has to work around,
21:51that's where Doki's becoming more creative, becoming more dangerous.
21:55Mounted! Mounted! No!
22:02Kanemaru's passing out. He's gone, he's gone, he's gone.
22:06And this has led to stoppages due, best of Super Junior sets, I might call it.
22:10They could do it here tonight, Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
22:13The eyes are open, but the lights may not be on.
22:15Yeah, it's only one hand, one. God damn it.
22:21You rat bastard.
22:23From the moment you hope for human decency, show comes up.
22:35That wrench behind the back of Sho, meanwhile, Doki...
22:42Wait a minute.
22:43Doki has had his eyes on Sho this entire time, and here's...
22:47You never know. You never can tell what Kanemaru's thinking.
22:54We've got to get Sho the hell out of here.
23:01He's taken a swig.
23:02Whiskey into the eyes of Doki, the only part revealed by the mask.
23:08Scooped out, Kanemaru wants it.
23:10Kanemaru going to put him away.
23:12Moonsault connects, cover here, new champion.
23:15No.
23:19Nearly for the first time in his career, becoming IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion,
23:23Kanemaru's got a long road to go ahead of him.
23:27And to shorten it here, it could be, touch out, no.
23:31And a German suplex from Doki.
23:33Look, floats all the way over.
23:37Beautiful transition, if he can get him up.
23:40No, back down to the knee, back to that figure five, damn it.
23:43Right back into the figure four right back here.
23:46And you know why Sho is here, you know if Kanemaru's winning, Sho's going to get next.
23:59After Kanemaru fell to Desperado earlier in the year,
24:03that junior title was gifted on a plate to Sho.
24:08Doki, Doki!
24:10And Kobe World Memorial Hall comes alive tonight with a chance of Doki.
24:14Doki has to make it back to that bottom rope.
24:16He's been there before, and he returns again tonight.
24:28Still that knee throbbing, writhing in pain.
24:34Kanemaru didn't work out for him earlier.
24:38But if we can see a DDT, deep impact, spiked down Doki.
24:46Oh man, I can't believe that.
24:48That was right on top of the dome of Doki.
24:51I don't think Kanemaru can believe it.
24:53Only touch out left walker.
24:55Yeah, that touch out's going to come swift, twisting, and no, Doki out.
25:01And again, oh, the knee brought up.
25:04The right knee still worked.
25:08And Doki's going to have to slip his way out of this.
25:12And by God, it might come here tonight.
25:14No, Ketasato in the way.
25:17Lariat takes down Kanemaru.
25:19It's a very long, full of pages, is that little black book of dirty tactics of Kanemaru's
25:28and he's running through all of them.
25:29Wait a minute, wait a minute.
25:30Doki Suicida to the outside.
25:38It's going to take every single thing Doki has in the bag from the things he learned under Kanemaru
25:43to the things he learned on the dirt floors in Mexico to still remain junior heavyweight champion.
25:53He's lived through hell.
25:54He's dragged himself through hell.
25:58But the sun might shine on the other side.
26:00Daybreak.
26:07Doki, Daybreak, DDT, the cover, and still no.
26:13You have to, you have to take your hat off to Kanemaru, despite the fact there's no live show being out here.
26:20The toughness of the challenger, but the grit, the fire, the determination of our champion.
26:32Doki with the lift.
26:34The knee does not give.
26:36No, victory roll.
26:37Oh, saps it, saps it.
26:41Oh.
26:44What did that lariat Doki underneath?
26:46Beats one with his own.
26:48Oh, Kanemaru turned inside and out and then some.
26:53They call that a knockout in other sports, not New Japan Pro Wrestling.
26:56We're going to fight to a finish.
26:58Call this a knockout in any language.
27:00Lace the fingers.
27:01Got it, Walker.
27:02Suplex de la luna.
27:04Yes.
27:0720 minutes, 8 seconds.
27:09Doki wins.
27:36So many crowning victories in the year of 2024 for Doki.
27:46Becoming IWGP junior heavyweight champion by defeating El Desperado.
27:50We talked about the big three at length.
27:52This is yet another big moment, another milestone for the junior champion.
28:02Doki beat all of those guys he'd never beaten before.
28:05Hiromu, Desperado, Ishimori, now Kanemaru.
28:13Now it's time that we stop thinking about Doki as the underdog in any situation.
28:18He's the rightful champion.
28:20He's the deserving.
28:21God damn that.
28:22Oh, no.
28:23What?
28:24What the?
28:25Oh, come on.
28:26What?
28:36Now Sho's saying he doesn't deserve to be worrying.
28:42Comparing him to the losers here in Kobe.
28:51And Sho believing once again that he's seen this pattern before.
29:05Sho has declared he's the next challenger for the IWGP junior heavyweight champion.
29:12No, no.
29:13Come on.
29:15If Doki doesn't accept, he's going to smash the belt.
29:35IWGP! IWGP! IWGP!
29:40Get out of here.
29:50Everybody here agrees.
29:56You're getting ideas way above your station.
29:59You're the one who's undermining the value of the IWGP title.
30:09However, the result may be a cowardly move, but you've lost twice.
30:21But, that said, I have lost twice to you.
30:29So, I'll take care of business real quick.
30:38And I will accept your challenge.
30:51Well, since you've accepted my challenge, I'll return this to you, says Sho.
31:03No, no, no, no, no, no. Walker.
31:05Oh, what the hell?
31:10Sho got what he wanted in Morso and still feels the need to do this.
31:20Oh, no. Well, thank God.
31:23Taichi's out here.
31:27It's not just Taichi. That's a loaded Taichi with a steel chair.
31:32Sho running for the hills.
31:35They can damn well remain there for all I care.
31:41A match challenged for and accepted.
31:44Doki now very well may be facing Sho for the IWGP junior heavyweight championship.
31:49The question remains, when and where?
31:51Yeah, well, I mean, Doki said it.
31:53There is no way that Sho deserves an IWGP junior heavyweight championship match
32:00after all the BS he pulled to win the title in the first place and hold it earlier this year.
32:05But, we talked about the people Doki has never beat.
32:10He's never beat Sho Walker.
32:12You're right.
32:19Wrestling fans, we are going to rock forward our eighth match of the evening.
32:29A special one at that.
32:31You've seen it before and you have loved it every single time.
32:34Tonight will be no different.
32:36Shingo Takagi challenges for the never openweight championship.
32:40Hanare seeks out his first defense against Shingo.
32:46Second defense overall against Hanare and Shingo Takagi.
32:49One on one, the never openweight title on the line.
32:51Coming up right now.