Tag: New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan wraps up the World Tag League today with the Finals, which we got to in quite dramatic fashion. What will make most foreign fans happy is, for the first time this decade (if you don’t count 2020), Bishamon won’t win as Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI saw their bid for a 4-peat end in their final match. Instead it’ll be Gabriel Kidd & SANADA who bested them facing Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito, who got in because originally it was a 4-way tie in the block after Takahashi/Naito’s last win was a forfeit due to a HENARE injury, meaning HENARE & Great-O-Khan, and Takahashi/Naito were in a 4-way tie. With the current IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions out that meant a 3-way tiebreaker where L-I-J beat Ren Narita & EVIL and (thankfully) Toru Yano & Boltin Oleg to advance. The winner today will get a future tag team title shot, the question is when. And now, depending on the HENARE injury situation, perhaps if. (They will either way but the circumstances may change). Also no updates yet on Callum Newman, who also is out with, like HENARE, a knee injury.

Today’s event will be held at Grand Messe Kumamoto in Kumamoto and can be watched LIVE on New Japan World in Japanese and English. It will also be a live broadcast on ABEMA in Japan. The card has 8 matches with all but the main event having 20-30 minute time limits (no time limit for the main event), which suggests an event that will wind up running about 3 hours, so not quite an all-nighter for those like me on the US west coast but might have me fighting to avoid dozing off at the end.

Today’s lineup:
Tiger Mask vs. Daiki Nagai
Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato vs. Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls
YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto vs. Tome & Stevie Filip
TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI & Taichi vs. Jacob Austin Young, Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
BUSHI, Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi vs. Gedo, Chase Owens & KENTA
Jado, Tomoaki Honma, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita & EVIL
Ryusuke Taguchi, Alex Zayne & Shota Umino vs. Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.
World Tag League Finals: Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Gabriel Kidd & SANADA

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 10 PM PT/1 AM ET.

8:15 PM PT UPDATE You will also be able to watch the first 2 matches FOR FREE on YouTube.

8:35 PM PT UPDATE: While it will be 85 minutes before it actually begins, the live stream on New Japan World has started in pre-show mode. They did show a few seconds at ringside as they tested the video feed.

10 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now.

We are LIVE from Grand Messe Kumamoto in Kumamoto, Japan. Your hosts are someone I’m not familiar with and Milano Collection A.T. No guest on commentary yet. Your English hosts are Walker Stewart & Chris Charlton.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. The venue has multiple configurations (convention hall/center space) and the closest thing to potential capacity I could find was a little over 2100 but it’s probably closer to 3000. It already sounds like a good crowd based on noise during the opening video so for now I’ll start with a guess of around 2500. Not sure if it’s a sellout but from what I could see that wasn’t in the dark it looked mostly full. (Update: Not a sellout, there were some mostly empty sections, but not many) (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 2232)

The matches begin at 10:05 PM PT/1:05 AM ET.

Match 1: Tiger Mask vs. Daiki Nagai. 20 minute time limit
Result: Tiger Mask beat Daiki Nagai

Match 2: Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato vs. Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. 20 minute time limit
Result: Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato. Haste pinned Murashima.

The YouTube broadcast ends here.

Match 3: YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto vs. Tome & Stevie Filip. 20 minute time limit
Result: YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Tome & Stevie Filip. YOSHI-HASHI pinned Stevie Filip after Shoto.

Match 4: TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI & Taichi vs. Jacob Austin Young, Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan. 30 minute time limit
Result: TAKA MIchinoku, DOUKI & Taichi beat Jacob Austin Young, Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan. DOUKI beat Young with Italian Stretch 32. Afterwards, Taichi refused to release a submission hold on Khan and appeared to issue a KOPW 2024 Championship challenge while posing with the belt. With only 3 weeks left in the year there may not be time for another match, but we’ll see.

Match 5: BUSHI, Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi vs. Gedo, Chase Owens & KENTA. 30 minute time limit
Result: BUSHI, Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi beat Gedo, Chase Owens & KENTA. Tsuji pinned Gedo after Pumping Blaster.

Hirooki Goto is now the guest on Japanese commentary.

Match 6: Jado, Tomoaki Honma, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita & EVIL. 30 minute time limit
Result: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita & EVIL beat Jado, Tomoaki Honma, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi by DQ. Tanahashi DQ’d. Chair use (attempted murder of EVIL with it). Nobody was really complaining though. Afterwards, Tanahashi with microphone. Sounds like a new stip requested for 1/4 at the Tokyo Dome against EVIL, I think he said Lumberjack Match. Will confirm later today if possible. (UPDATE: It’s now official. Lumberjack match)

Match 7: Ryusuke Taguchi, Alex Zayne & Shota Umino vs. Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. 30 minute time limit
Result: Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Ryusuke Taguchi, Alex Zayne & Shota Umino. Oiwa pinned Taguchi after The Grip.

Main Event: World Tag League Finals: Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Gabriel Kidd & SANADA. No time limit
Result: Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat Gabriel Kidd & SANADA to win the tournament. Takahashi pinned SANADA. As a result, Takahashi & Naito will get an IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match in the near future, but when may depend on the status of the injured HENARE. It could wind up being a determination match for the titles if HENARE & Great-O-Khan have to vacate the titles because of the injury.

The next event is STRONG STYLE EVOLVED on 12/15 at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 5 PM PT/8 PM ET. It will also be available live as a PPV on TrillerTV/FITE. (It is not a PPV on New Japan World so monthly paid subscribers can watch without additional fees)

UPDATE: No word on tag title shot for the main event winners, but instead it will be Naito vs. Takahashi on 1/4.

New Japan ran the penultimate day of the World Tag League today, finishing up a shaken-up Block B.

Today’s event was held at Sun Arena Sendai in Kagoshima and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 1128.

There were last-minute changes to the event due to HENARE & Callum Newman being off the event. Knee injuries suffered yesterday. The former had a direct effect on the World Tag League.

Match 1: Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato. Takahashi pinned Kato.

Match 2: Chase Owens, KENTA, SANADA & Gabriel Kidd beat Ryusuke Taguchi, Alex Zayne, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto. KENTA pinned Taguchi. Afterwards, Kenoh (Pro Wrestling NOAH) appeared. He is to face TBA, which he calls “his beloved” and an “anchor of NOAH” on the 1/1 NOAH event at Nippon Budokan. That TBA he called out here is KENTA. Accepted. It’s now official per NOAH. Kenoh vs. KENTA on 1/1.

Match 3: BUSHI, Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi beat Jacob Austin Young, Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb. Takagi pinned Young after MADE IN JAPAN.

Match 4: Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino. Oiwa pinned TM 4 after The Grip.

David Finlay scene where he’s having a phone chat with Gedo. He accepts Brody King’s challenge for a match on 1/5 at the Tokyo Dome.

World Tag League Block B:
Match 5: Tome & Stevie Filip beat TAKA Michinoku & Taichi. Stevie Filip pinned TAKA after Mother Of All Bombs.
Match 6: Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano beat Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. Oleg pinned Haste after Kamikaze.
Match 7: Ren Narita & EVIL beat Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi. EVIL beat Tanahashi with a scorpion deathlock.
Main Event: Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat HENARE & Great-O-Khan by forfeit. HENARE injury.
That meant a 4-way tie for the top spot, but with HENARE/Khan out that left a 3-way tie with no tiebreakers. Which led to…
Impromptu Match: Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano and Ren Narita & EVIL in a 3-way when Naito pinned Oleg. As a result, Takahashi/Naito win Block B and advance to the Finals to face SANADA & Kidd.

The Final is Sunday at Grand Messe Kumamoto in Kumamoto. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin Saturday at 10 PM PT/1 AM ET. This will also be a live ABEMA broadcast in Japan. A pre-event presser & Tanahashi talk show event, which is open to the public, will be held tomorrow.

UPDATE: It’s now official…Finlay-King has been added to 1/5 and, assuming Finlay is still IWGP Global Champion after 1/4, at this time it would presumably be a NON-TITLE match.

New Japan wrapped up Block A of the World Tag League, which would set the first half of the Finals.

Today’s event was held at Athlete Town Nobeoka Arena Sub Arena in Miyazaki and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 611.

Pre-show match: Shoma Kato beat Daiki Nagai.

Match 1: DOUKI, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Gedo, Tome & Stevie Filip. DOUKI beat Gedo with Italian Stretch 32.

Match 2: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano. Nicholls pinned TM 4 after Electric Blue.

Match 3: Dick Togo, Ren Narita & EVIL beat Katsuya Murashima, Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Narita beat Murashima with a kneebar.

Match 4: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat Jacob Austin Young, HENARE & Great-O-Khan by ref stoppage (TKO/injury). HENARE right knee injury.

After Match 4, a Brody King promo was shown. Challenge issued to David Finlay for a match on 1/5 at the Tokyo Dome.

World Tag League Block A:
Match 5: Ryusuke Taguchi & Alex Zayne beat Chase Owens & KENTA. Taguchi pinned KENTA.
Match 6: Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa beat Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb by ref stoppage (TKO/injury). Newman knee injury.
Match 7: Shota Unino & Tomoaki Honma beat Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi. Unino pinned Tauji with Death Slider.
Main Event: Gabriel Kidd & SANADA beat YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto. SANADA pinned YOSHI-HASHI after Deadfall. As a result, Kidd & SANADA win Block A and advance to the Finals. The Bishamon 4-peat bid is over. New champions of the tournament for the first time since 2021.

More on the HENARE injury when/if it becomes available because that has main event and tournament implications for Block B.

The last day of Block B is tomorrow at Sub Arena Sendai in Kagoshima. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

UPDATE: It’s now official-King vs. Finlay has been added to 1/5. If Finlay is still the IWGP Global Champion it will be for the title (Finlay is scheduled to defend against Yota Tsuji on 1/4).

UPDATE 2: HENARE & Newman are now both off tomorrow. For the former, that means Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi will win their World Tag League match against HENARE & Great-O-Khan by forfeit and get 2 free points. That also means LIJ will advance to the finals if Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano lose their last match tomorrow (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls). If Oleg/Yano win AND Ren Narita & EVIL lose (Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi), Oleg/Yano advance. If both Oleg/Yano AND Narita/EVIL win, there will be a 3-way match as the tiebreaker.
Takahashi/Naito will now face Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato in the first match.

New Japan continued the World Tag League today with the penultimate day of Block B.

Today’s event was held at Karatsu City Gym in Saga and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 1004

The scheduled pre-show Young Lions match was cancelled due to a Maaatora Yasuda injury. Before the event began, a special collaboration project ceremony was held with an appearance by Hall of Fame wrestler Jushin Thunder Liger

Match 1: Chase Owens & KENTA beat Katsuya Murashima & Alex Zayne. KENTA beat Murashima with GAME OVER.

Match 2: Gedo, SANADA & Gabriel Kidd beat Shoma Kato, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto. Kidd pinned Kato after Drill-A-Hole Piledriver.

Match 3: BUSHI, Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi beat Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino. Tsuji pinned TM 4 after Gene Blaster.

Match 4: Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb. Oiwa pinned Young after The Grip.

World Tag League Block B:
Match 5: Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat TAKA Michinoku & Taichi. Nicholls pinned TAKA after Electric Blue.
Match 6: HENARE & Great-O-Khan beat Tome & Stevie Filip. Khan pinned Tome Filip after Imperial Drop.
Match 7: Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano beat Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Yano pinned Jado.
Main Event: Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat Ren Narita & EVIL. Naito pinned Narita after Destino.
With one day left HENARE/Khan lead at 5-1, 10 points with LIJ, H.O.T. and Oleg/Yano tied for 2nd at 4-2, 8 points. In case of toes, HENARE/Khan have all tiebreakers except LIJ, which is their last match. Only the winner advances to the Finals. That means H.O.T. is technically eliminated because they lose all tiebreakers so the HENARE/Khan-LIJ winner advances. Yano/Oleg also mathematically have a chance but their only tiebreaker win is LIJ so both they and LIJ must win. In Block A, it’s a 3-way tie but Bishamon have all tiebreakers. Whoever wins between them and Kidd/SANADA advances unless both Kidd/SANADA and Tsuji/Takagi both win, then LIJ has the tiebreaker. If Bishamon/Bullet Club is a draw, LIJ advances with a win, otherwise it’s Bishamon.

The final day of Block A is tomorrow at Athlete Town Nobeoka Arena Sub Arena in Miyazaki. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

New Japan continued the World Tag League today with the penultimate day of Block A.

Today’s event was held at Kochi Prefectural Gym in Kochi and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 941.

Pre-show match: Shoma Kato beat Daiki Nagai.

Match 1; Jacob Austin Young, HENARE & Great-O-Khan beat Gedo, Tome & Stevie Filip. HENARE beat Gedo with Ultima.

Match 2: DOUKI, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. TAKA pinned NIcholls after Heavy Killer 1.

Match 3: Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano beat Katsuya Murashima, Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Oleg pinned Murashima after Kamikaze.

Match 4: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat Dick Togo, Ren Narita & EVIL. Takahashi beat Togo with Maxiimum The Holding 3rd Form.

World Tag League Block A:
Match 5: Chase Owens & KENTA beat Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino. Owens pinned Honda after a package piledriver.
Match 6: SANADA & Gabriel Kidd beat Ryusuke Taguchi & Alex Zayne. SANADA pinned Taguchi after Deadfall.
Match 7: Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI beat Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb. YOSHI-HASHI pinned Newman after Shoto.
Math Event: Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi beat Ryohei Oiwa & Zack abre Jr. Tsuji pinned Oiwa after Pumping Blaster.

With one match left, there are now 3 tied for first at 4-2, 8 points-Kidd/SANADA, Tsuji/Takagi and, to many foreign fans’ dismay, Bishamon (the 4-peat bid remains alive). The other teams are eliminated (Owens/KENTA and Newman/Cobb mathematically have chances but lose all tiebreakers). The top 2 advance to the Semifinals. The final day’s matches set up like this: Bishamon-Kidd/SANADA means the winner (if there is one) advances, If it’s a draw, then if Takagi/Tsuji lose both advance. Takagi/Tsuji have Honma/Umino and would also advance with a win. In a 3-way tiebreaker between the top 3, it would most likely be Bishamon & Tsuji/Takagi advancing.

The next event is Wednesday at Karatsu City Gym in Saga with the penultimate day of Block B. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

New Japan continued the World Tag League today with the 5th fay of Block B.

Today’s event was held at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. This was a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.

The announced paid attendance was 951, a legit sellout.

The pre-show Young Lions match was cancelled due to a Masatora Yasuda injury. There was also a change to Match 3 due to a Shota Umino injury. He was to have teamed with Tiger Mask. Tomoaki Honma was the replacement.

Match 1: Gedo, SANADA & Gabriel Kidd beat Katsuya Murashima, Ryusuke Taguchi & Alex Zayne. SANADA beat Murashima with Skull End.

Match 2: Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb beat Shoma Kato, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto. Young pinned Kato after Jacobs Ladder.

Match 3: Chase Owens & KENTA beat Tiger Mask & Tomoaki Honma. KENTA pinned TM 4.

Match 4: Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. beat BUSHI, Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi. Oiwa pinned BUSHI after The Grip.

World Tag League Block B:
Match 5: Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano beat TAKA MIchinoku & Taichi. Oleg pinned TAKA after Kamikaze.
Match 6: Ren Narita & EVIL beat Tome & Stevie Filip. Narita pinned Stevie Filip after Double Cross.
Match 7: Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito. Tanahashi pinned Takahashi after High Fly Flow.
Main Event: HENARE & Great-O-Khan beat Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. HENARE pinned Haste after Imperial Drop.

With 2 matches left it’s now HENARE/Khan & Narita/EVIL tied in the lead at 4-2, 8 points. Naito/Takahashi & Oleg/Yano are at 3-3, 6 points.

The next event is tomorrow at Kochi Prefectural Gym in Kochi with Block A. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

New Japan continued the World Tag League today with the 5th day of Block A, starting the second half.

Today’s event was held at Twin Messe Shizuoka North Building in Shizuoka and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 569.

Pre-show match: Shoma Kato beat Daiki Nagai.

Match 1: DOUKI, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano. DOUKI beat TM 4 with Italian Stretch 32.

Match 2: Dick Togo, Ren Narita & EVIL beat Gedo, Tome & Stevie Filip. Narita beat Gedo with a jumping armbar.

Match 3: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Jacob Austin Young, HENARE & Great-O-Khan. FIjuta pinned Young after Abandon Hope.

Match 4; BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat Katsuya Murashima, Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Takahashi pinned Murashima.

World Tag League Block A:
Match 5; Ryusuke Taguchi & Alex Zayne beat YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto. Taguchi beat YOSHI-HASHI with Kid Clutch.
Match 6: SANADA & Gabriel Kidd beat Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino. SANADA beat Honma with Skull End.
Match 7: Chase Owens & KENTA beat Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. KENTA pinned Oiwa after GO 2 SLEEP.
Main Event: Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi beat Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb. Takagi pinned Newman after Pumping Blaster.

Standings-wise, there are now 4 tied for the lead at 3-2, 6 points and the other 4 are tied at 2-3, 4 points. The top 2 advance to the Semifinals so mathematically everyone is still in it.

The next event is Sunday at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 with Block B. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET. This will also be a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.