Josh Barnett Says He Plans to Show House of Torture What Real Torture is at NJPW Blue Justice XVIII

By: Ian McCord

On June 20th, Josh Barnett returns to a New Japan Pro Wrestling ring, teaming with NEVER Openweight Champion Aaron Wolf and Yuji Nagata to take on House of Torture’s Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru at Yuji Nagata’s Blue Justice XVIII.

Barnett finds himself back inside a New Japan ring for the first time since appearing at Wrestle Kingdom 19, where he competed in the pre-show Rambo to crown a #1 Contender for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title. Two nights later at NJPW New Year Dash !! 2025, he took on Boltin Oleg in a 5 minute exhibition match.

Back in April, Barnett faced off against Yuji Nagata over Wrestlemania weekend at his Bloodsport XV event for GCW, where he defeated Nagata by referee’s decision. Three months later, Barnett finds himself on the same team as Nagata, aiding Gold Medalist Aaron Wolf in his battle with House of Torture.

In a recent interview with Tokyo Sports, The Warmaster complimented the technique of Wolf and stated that he feels that he and Nagata can help the NEVER Openweight Champion deliver a strong performance in the main event of Blue Justice XVIII.

From Josh Barnett:

“I think Aaron Wolf is also the type of athlete who has incredible techniques that can’t be compared to anyone else’s. I think Nagata and I will be able to help him deliver a smooth, strong performance.”

Barnett wrapped up the interview stating that House of Torture may think they know everything about torture, but he plans to show the heel stable the “real torture” that he learned from the legendary trainers he’s had throughout his career.

From Josh Barnett:

“Those guys might think they know everything about torture, but I’ve trained with Inoki, Bill Robinson, and Karl Gotch—I’ll show them what ‘real torture’ is.”

(Quotes courtesy of Tokyo Sports, English Translation via DeepL)

Barnett’s brand of torture will be on display at NJPW’s Blue Justice XVIII at Kimitsu Citizen Gymnasium in Chiba on June 20th, and will be streaming live on NJPW World.

Here is the full card for NJPW Blue Justice XVIII courtesy of purolove.com:

• Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Satoshi Kojima, Hiroshi Yamato & Taisei Nakahara
• Master Wato & Masatora Yasuda vs. SHO & DOUKI
• Shota Umino & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jake Lee & Zane Jay
• Ryohei Oiwa, Hartley Jackson & Kosei Fujita vs. Great-O-Khan, HENARE & Jakob Austin Young
• Taichi, Yuya Uemura & El Desperado vs. Yuto-Ice, OSKAR & Daiki Nagai
• Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & YOH vs. Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Gedo
• Blue Justice Special Six Man Tag Match: Yuji Nagata, Aaron Wolf & Josh Barnett vs. Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru