Death Stranding 2: On the Beach may have been released yesterday (for those of you who shelled out the extra wonga for the Deluxe edition), but while players were exploring Mexico and Australia for the first time, Hideo Kojima was busy watching the graps.
As Death Stranding 2 is getting mass praise from fans, and a Metacritic score high enough to make it the sixth best game of 2025 (technically fourth since first and second are the Zelda Switch 2 ports). However, Kojima previously said positivity towards the game could be "a problem," with the game's co-composer Woodkid saying the script was changed because playtesters liked it too much. So in the face of all of this praise, Kojima must've needed to chill out, and what better way than to watch a "Fluorescent Lighttubes Glass Board Barbed Wire Death Match."
While fans were connecting the Chiral Network for the first time in almost six years, Kojima posted on Twitter, revealing images of him attending New Japan Pro Wrestling's Death Pain Invitational event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. In the main event El Desperado retained the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Pro Wrestling Freedoms' "Crazy Monkey" Jun Kasai – a seasoned hardcore wrestler – in a Death Match.
pic.twitter.com/jdBMKw6lvxJune 24, 2025
🩸“DEATH PAIN” invitacional🩸第5試合IWGPジュニアヘビー級選手権‼️🆚 @ElDesperado5 × @crazymonkey0909#njpwworld で配信中📡PPV購入⏩https://t.co/7N2SFEsHbK視聴料金:3,500円(税込)#njpw #njpwworld #deathpaininvi pic.twitter.com/vOzjS7afhbJune 24, 2025
Kojima may have been more gutted than he was about Death Stranding 2's praise over Kasai's loss, because earlier this year Kojima heavily praised 2021's "Kyo-en the Documentary of a Man Who Shines in Blood," of which Kasai is the subject. He said Kasai "truly is an entertainment artist who uses his body as his medium." Kojima also took the time to retweet Kasai's post-match promo.
In my mind though, now I really want Kojima to make a wrestling game. Considering Suda51's first games were Fire Pro Wrestling releases, with "Super Fire Pro Wrestling Special" having one hell of a storyline, there's nothing to say Kojima couldn't do it. But I'd settle for Kojima casting John Cena in Physint.
