Night two of Road to King of Pro-Wrestling 2025 is tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. JST/5:30 a.m. ET at Korakuen Hall. The show will stream live on NJPW World, headlined by the first of two title matches slated for this year’s tour.
Here are the marquee matchups to look forward to on the card:
Desperado Defends for the Ninth Time vs. DOUKI
Reigning IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champion El Desperado is on his fifth run with the title and has beaten eight challengers so far. His ninth challenger will be the man he won the belt from, DOUKI.
DOUKI lost the title at Wrestle Kingdom 19 back in January after injuring his arm when he went for a dive to the outside of the ring. Desperado did say after the match that he would face him again, and that time has come.
A lot has changed since then, as DOUKI would make his surprise return at Dominion in June, joining House of Torture, which also shocked the fans. He confronted Desperado after his title defense against YOH, calling him a fake champion.
Former allies in Suzuki-gun, now on opposite sides of the ring, fighting to be the best junior heavyweight in the world. How will this rematch go, and who will leave with the gold?
K.O.B. To Wrestle Umino and Uemura in Singles Previews
The new IWGP Tag Team champions, Yuto-Ice and OSKAR, didn’t have to wait for their first challengers, as the team of Shota Umino and Yuya Uemura stepped up right after they beat former champs Taichi and Tomohiro Ishii. The title match is scheduled at King of Pro-Wrestling on October 13, but before that, the two teams will meet tomorrow in two singles matches.
Yuto-Ice will go toe-to-toe against Uemura, while OSKAR will square off with Umino. Aside from the title match, Ice still has a grudge to settle with his debut opponent, Uemura, when their match was cut short due to an elbow injury Ice sustained merely 60 seconds in, causing an eight-month delay to his career.
Here’s the full card for the show:
NJPW Road to King of Pro-Wrestling Night 2 Match Card:
- Main event: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship – El Desperado (c) vs. DOUKI
- 6th match: Yuya Uemura vs. Yuto-Ice
- 5th match: Shota Umino vs. OSKAR
- 4th match: Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, & Titan vs. Gabe Kidd, David Finlay, Taiji Ishimori, & Gedo
- 3rd match: Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano, KUUKAI, & Tiger Mask vs. EVIL, Don Fale, SHO, & Dick Togo
- 2nd match: Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors vs. Sanada & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- 1st match: El Phantasmo & Jado vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuya Murashima
- Kick-off match: Shoma Kato & Tastuya Matsumoto vs Masatora Yasuda & Zane Jay
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