Tomoaki Honma Announces Plan To Retire In 2027 As NJPW ROAD TO G1 CLIMAX Tour Continues In Yamagata

By: Lewis Carlan

The New Japan Pro-Wrestling ROAD TO G1 CLIMAX tour continued at the Yamagata Big Wing with 1,210 fans in attendance for the event.

The event kicked off with a surprise announcement as twenty-nine year pro-wrestling veteran Tomoaki Honma announced to his hometown crowd that will plans on retiring from in-ring competition in 2027.

Photo Credit: NJPW

Honma suffered a serious spinal injury in 2017 that left him temporarily paralysed and he came to the decision after more concerns were raised about his neck following recent physical exams he underwent.  Honma will work in hopes of his condition improving enough for him to participate in a retirement bout in his hometown of Yamagata in 2027.

In the ROAD TO G1 CLIMAX main event, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & YOH defeated Jake Lee, Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young after Tsuji connected with his patented Gene Blaster finisher against Kanemaru.

Photo Credit: NJPW

Here are the full results of NJPW ROAD TO CLIMAX courtesy of purolove.com:

• Dick Togo & Dick Togo II defeated Tiger Mask & Taisei Nakahara (6:40) after a Crippler Crossface of Togo II against Nakahara.
• Togi Makabe & Toru Yano defeat Ryusuke Taguchi & Masatora Yasuda (6:25) after a crab hold from Makabe against Yasuda.
• Yuya Uemura & El Desperado defeat Great-O-Khan & Zane Jay (11:29) after Uemura’s Lion Shiner against Jay.
• Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, Hartley Jackson & Kosei Fujita defeat El Phantasmo, Taichi, Satoshi Kojima & Jado (11:52) after a cross armbreaker by Sabre against Kojima.
• Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & YOH defeat Jake Lee, Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young (11:44) when YOSHI-HASHI pinned Young after the Shoto.
• Yota Tsuji, Yuto-Ice, OSKAR, Taiji Ishimori & Daiki Nagai defeat Ren Narita, SANADA, Yujiro Takahashi, DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (15:02) after Tsuji’s gene blaster against Kanemaru.