Zack Sabre Jr. has won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for a second time.
He defeated Hirooki Goto by referee stoppage at Sunday’s Tanahashi Jam event in Nagoya.
The show, produced by NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi, was a television special that aired on TV Asahi in Japan and is not currently available for streaming on the New Japan World service.
The event drew 4,570 fans to the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
The co-main event saw Sabre target Goto’s arm from the outset, using an armbar over the ropes and submissions in the ring to wear down the champion. Goto rallied with signature offense including an Ushigoroshi, and paid tribute to his friend Katsuyori Shibata with a corner dropkick and sleeper hold.
In the closing minutes, a GTR from Goto was not enough to secure the win. Sabre weathered the storm, hit a Sabre Driver and the You’ve Been Tangoed Edition for a nearfall. He then trapped Goto in a final, decisive armbar, forcing the referee to stop the contest.
The title change ends Goto’s reign at 138 days, during which he made seven successful defenses.
Two other championships were defended on the card.
El Phantasmo retained the NJPW World TV Championship over his former partner Taiji Ishimori in their first singles match since Ishimori’s betrayal two years prior.
ELP used his opponent’s own moves, including the Bloody Cross and Bone Lock, before securing a cradle pinfall for his second title defense. After the match, Phantasmo rejected a handshake and delivered a low blow to Ishimori.
Elsewhere, Oleg Boltin made his first defense of the NEVER Openweight Championship against his mentor, Yuji Nagata. Nagata controlled parts of the match with leg kicks and submission attempts, but Oleg fought back and won with the Kamikaze.
The main event of the show saw Hiroshi Tanahashi team with Naomichi Marufuji to defeat Kaito Kiyomiya & Ryohei Oiwa.
Tanahashi, who is in his retirement year, wrestled twice on the show.
Tanahashi Jam results, Sunday, June 29, 2025
- Dark Match: Katsuya Murashima vs. Daiki Odashima — 10-minute time-limit draw.
- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shota Umino & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Tatsumi Fujinami, Hiromu Takahashi & LEONA
- EVIL, Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens def. Yuya Uemura, Tomohiro Ishii, Taichi & YOSHI-HASHI
- NEVER Openweight Championship: Oleg Boltin (c) def. Yuji Nagata
- Dragon Kid, El Desperado, YOH & Master Wato def. SANADA, SHO, DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- NJPW World TV Championship: El Phantasmo (c) def. Taiji Ishimori
- Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji & Shun Skywalker def. Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman & Jacob Austin Young
- IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. def. Hirooki Goto (c)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi & Naomichi Marufuji def. Kaito Kiyomiya & Ryohei Oiwa
As the event was not available outside Japan, match details and results were compiled from reports by NJPW1972.com and purolove.com.
