| House of Torture | |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Leader | Ren Narita(II) |
| Members | See below |
| Name | House of Torture |
| Former members | Jack Perry Evil (I) |
| Debut | September 4, 2021 |
| Years active | 2021–present |
House of Torture (HoT) is avillainousprofessional wrestlingstable primarily appearing in the JapanesepromotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The stable consists of second leaderRen Narita,Chase Owens,Dick Togo,Don Fale,Douki,Sanada,Sho,Yoshinobu Kanemaru, andYujiro Takahashi.
The stable was initially formed byEvil on September 4, 2021 as a sub-group ofBullet Club, before being kicked out after losing aDog Pound match to Bullet Club War Dogs atWrestling Dontaku on May 3, 2025.
The House of Torture was conceived byNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in mid 2021, by NJPW bookerDick Togo, who came up with the idea of continuing Evil's long term push as a top star by surrounding him with an entourage, which would lead to an eventual split from theBullet Club, after he had filled in as the temporary top representative member, due toJay White's travel restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with White still serving as the recognized official leader.Sho, who became one of the founding members of the stable, was eager to work a singles career alongsideYoh, both were pushing for a split ofRoppongi 3K. Their disbanding was debated internally, with NJPW bookerGedo being initially opposed, due to a variety of reasons including merchandise sales. However, Togo pitched Sho to be part of the stable and was responsible for booking the storyline of the Roppongi 3K split.[citation needed]
After Evil won the2020 New Japan Cup, in part due to outside interference byBullet Club, he defected to the stable, after turning onLos Ingobernables de Japón leaderTetsuya Naito.[1] Evil went on to win theIWGP Heavyweight andIWGP Intercontinental Championships and enlisted a new stablemate,Dick Togo, as his manager and spokesperson. He also temporarily took over as the top representative member of Bullet Club inJay White's absence due to the restrictions imposed by theCOVID-19 pandemic, with White still serving as the recognized official leader.[2] As Evil was still NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion with Bushi and Takagi despite his betrayal, he became the first triple champion in the history of New Japan Pro-Wrestling.[3][4] Meanwhile,Sho began pursuing his singles career, following his partnerYoh's injury. After a losing streak in August 2021, Sho turned on Yoh, disbandingRoppongi 3K.
Their rivalry culminated into a match on September 4 atWrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, where Sho defeated his former teammate. Afterwards, Sho was accepted into Bullet Club by Togo, Evil andYujiro Takahashi.[5] In the aftermath of Sho's addition, he, Togo, Evil and Takahashi formed their own subgroup within the stable, called "House of Torture". The following day, Evil unsuccessfully challengedShingo Takagi for theIWGP World Heavyweight Championship.[6]
On January 5, 2023, atNew Year Dash!!, House of Torture (Evil, Togo and Takahashi) attackedRen Narita, beforeMinoru Suzuki and his formerSuzuki-gun stablemateEl Desperado came out for the save. Afterwards, in a post-match interview, Desperado, Suzuki and Narita challenged Evil, Takahashi and Sho for theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship atThe New Beginning in Osaka on February 11.[7] At the event, Evil, Takahashi and Sho lost the titles to Strong Style (Suzuki, Narita and Desperado).[8] Both trios continued feuding with each other over the following months, culminating in a No Countouts match on April 3 during the Road to Sakura Genesis tour, where Evil, Takahashi and Sho failed to regain the titles. The following month, Sho took part in the2023 Best of the Super Juniors, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins and five losses, failing to advance to the semifinals. From July 16 to August 8, Evil took part in the2023 G1 Climax, where he finished the tournament with a record of five wins and two losses, advancing to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, on August 10, Evil defeated reigning IWGP World Heavyweight ChampionSanada to advance to the semifinals.[9] In the semifinals, on August 12, Evil was eliminated from the tournament byKazuchika Okada.[10] Following the tournament, on August 13, House of Torture embarked on a feud withJust 5 Guys. After a match between the two sides, Evil attacked Sanada with the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship belt, before hanging him by his injured bicep. Meanwhile, Sho attackedTaichi with theProvisional KOPW Championship, declaring that he would take it from its rightful holder, after pinning him in an eight-man tag team match on the final night of the G1 Climax 33, setting up two title matches atDestruction. On September 24 atDestruction in Kobe, Sho defeated Taichi to become the new Provisional KOPW Champion, afterYoshinobu Kanemaru turned on Taichi and the Just 5 Guys stable and jumped to House of Torture, becoming the stable's fifth member.[11] On October 9 atDestruction in Ryogoku, Evil unsuccessfully challenged Sanada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.[12] Five days later, in the final round robin match of theWorld Tag League,Ren Narita turned on his partnerShota Umino to join the House of Torture, becoming the stable's sixth member.
On January 22, 2024 atThe New Beginning in Nagoya, Evil defeatedTama Tonga to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for the third time.[13] On February 23 atThe New Beginning in Sapporo: Night 1, Sho defeated Desperado to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.[14] On March 6 at NJPW's 52nd Anniversary Show,All Elite Wrestling'sJack Perry joined the stable,[15] but silently left the group on May 11 atResurgence.[16] On April 6 atSakura Genesis, Evil lost the NEVER Openweight Championship back to Shingo Takagi.[17] On June 16 at New Japan Soul: Night 1, Sho lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship back to Desperado in aSteel Cage match.[18] In August, the relationship between House of Torture and Bullet Club War Dogs started to deteriorate, leading to various conflicts between both stable's members in their head-to-head match in the2024 G1 Climax. This led to Bullet Club leaderDavid Finlay, who had previously excommunicated the other sub-groups in the past, expelling House of Torture from Bullet Club on September 26, with the stable becoming an independent entity separated from Bullet Club. On October 14 atKing of Pro-Wrestling, Narita won theNJPW World Television Championship by defeatingJeff Cobb andYota Tsuji in athree-way match.[19]
On January 4, 2025 atWrestle Kingdom 19, Narita lost the NJPW World Television Championship toEl Phantasmo in a four-way match also involving Cobb andRyohei Oiwa.[20] On January 30, during the Road to the New Beginning tour, Narita, Sho and Yujiro Takahashi defeatedHiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg to win theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[21] On April 5 atSakura Genesis,Sanada turned on the War Dogs and joined House of Torture.[22] In a post-match interview, Finlay alongside the War Dogs (Kidd, Moloney, Connors and Ishimori) challenged House of Torture (Evil, Narita, Sho, Kanemaru and Sanada) to aDog Pound match, which was later made official for May 3 atWrestling Dontaku: Night 1. Finlay later added the stipulation that the losers must leave Bullet Club. At the event, the War Dogs defeated House of Torture, thus HoT were forced to leave Bullet Club.[23] AtDominion 6.15 in Osaka-jo Hall on June 15, 2025,Don Fale,Chase Owens andDouki joined the stable, while Douki and Sho won theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship that same night, and Evil defeated Finlay in aDog CollarDeathmatch to end the feud with the War Dogs.[24] On July 4, during the New Japan Soul tour, Narita, Sho and Takahashi lost the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship to Wato, Yoh andToru Yano.[25] From July 19 until August 17, Evil, Narita and Sanada participated inG1 Climax 35 (A, B, and A Block respectively); Narita and Sanada failed to advance out of their blocks[26][27] while Evil made it to the finals[28][29] but lost toKonosuke Takeshita.[30] AtKing of Pro-Wrestling on October 13, Evil defeated Boltin Oleg to win his fourth NEVER Openweight Championship.[31] On October 6 atRoad to King of Pro Wrestling: Night 2, Douki defeated El Desperado to win his second IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.[32] From October 21 till November 2, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions (Douki and Sho) participated in the2025 Super Junior Tag League in Block A, finishing with a perfect 5—0 record[33] and won the turnament when they defeated Ishimori andRobbie X, becoming the first team to win the trophy while also being champions.[34]
AtWrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4, 2026, Sho failed to win afour-way match to determine the #1 contender to Douki's IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, while Evil lost the NEVER Openweight Championship toAaron Wolf.[35] AtNew Year Dash the following night, Douki and Sho lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in afour-way tag team match toIchiban Sweet Boys (Robbie Eagles andKosei Fujita).[36]
On January 25, NJPW announced that Evil would not be renewing his contract and would be leaving the promotion.[37] Shortly after, in an interview forTokyo Sports, Narita declared he had taken over House of Torture, becoming the new leader,[38] who defeated Wolf on February 11, 2026 to win the NEVER Openweight Championship.[39]
| * | Founding member |
|---|---|
| I-II | Leader(s) |
| M | Manager |
| Member | Joined | Left | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evil | *I | September 4, 2021 | January 25, 2026 |
| Jack Perry | March 6, 2024 | November 5, 2024 | |
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