NJPW New Japan Soul 2025 Preview (7/4/2025)

Full New Japan Soul Match Card

• IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship: Gabe Kidd (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
• NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship: SHO & Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita (c) vs. Toru Yano & YOH & Master Wato
• G1 Climax 35 B-Block Play-in: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Chase Owens
• G1 Climax 35 A-Block Play-in: Satoshi Kojima vs. Ryohei Oiwa
• Six Man Tag Team Match: Boltin Oleg & Yuya Uemura & El Desperado vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita & Hartley Jackson
• Six Man Tag Team Match: Hiromu Takahashi & Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi vs. Jakob Austin Young & Callum Newman & Great O-Khan
• 10 Man Tag Team Match: Tiger Mask & Yuji Nagata & Taichi & Tomohiro Ishii & Shota Umino vs. Dick Togo & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI & Sanada & EVIL
• Kick off match 2: Masatora Yasuda & Shoma Kato vs. Daiki Nagai & Katsuya Murashima
• Kick off match 1: Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Zane Jay

Clash of Generations Between Kojima and Oiwa

The last spot on the A Block for G1 Climax 35 will be contested between two different generations of New Japan. On the one hand is the living legend Satoshi Kojima, who is looking to compete in the tournament for the 17th time. On the other side is Ryohei Oiwa, who is looking to enter it for the first time.

Kojima won the G1 back in 2010, when Oiwa was just about to turn 12 years old. Although Oiwa is the younger wrestler, he will still have to defeat a very motivated Kojima, who has proven that he still has a lot left in the tank by winning titles in NOAH and MLW in the past three years.

YOSHI-HASHI and Chase Owens Meet Again

Both YOSHI-HASHI and Chase Owens were in the qualifying tournament for G1 Climax 34 last year. They faced each other in the first round, and YOSHI-HASHI emerged victorious. This year, they will be fighting again, but in a win-or-go-home situation for the last B Block spot.

YOSHI-HASHI looks to enter the G1 for only the fourth time, something he hasn’t done since 2018. Standing in his way is one of House of Torture’s newest members, who is seeking to make his G1 debut.

NEVER Six-Man Battle

Speaking of House of Torture, they will defend the NEVER Six-Man Tag Team Championship against familiar foes. Toru Yano, YOH, & Master Wato will challenge the champions for their second defense.

This match serves as a prelude to the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship rematch on Sunday between SHO & DOUKI and former champs YOH & Master Wato. DOUKI shocked everyone when he returned from injury at Dominion to join HoT and then win the Jr. tag titles.

Expect HoT to not only focus on defending the Six-Man tag titles, but also to exploit a weakness that can give the Junior Tag Team champions an advantage on Sunday. Meanwhile, Yano is presented with an opportunity for revenge because he was part of the team that lost the titles to HoT. Aside from that, he’s also looking to become a seven-time holder of the Six-Man titles.

The Ace Looks to Add Another Accolade

For the main event, Bullet Club’s Gabe Kidd will defend the Global Championship for the first time against Hiroshi Tanahashi. The challenger has won every IWGP singles title, the NEVER Openweight title, and the TV Championship. The only one left to collect is the Global Championship, which was introduced at Wrestle Kingdom last year.

Gabe Kidd is on a mission to stamp his mark in the cerulean blue ring’s history, and he knows that he has to beat Tanahashi to do that, so he challenged him after beating Yota Tsuji at Dominion. Can the new champion continue to shine in the spotlight, or did the War Dog bite more than he can chew?