Tag: New Japan

New Japan 11/23/24 Results

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

Today’s event was held at Chichibunomiya Memorial Gym in Kanagawa and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 1403.

Pre-show match: Yasutora Yasuda vs. Daiki Nagai went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 1: Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino beat Shoma Kato, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto. TM 4 beat Kato with a chicken wing.

Match 2: Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Katsuya Murashima, Ryusuke Taguchi & Alex Zayne. Oiwa pinned Murashima after The Grip.

Match 3: Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb. Owens pinned Young after a package piledriver.

Match 4: BUSHI, Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi beat Gedo, SANADA & Gabriel Kidd. BUSHI pinned Gedo after Fable.

World Tag League Block B:
Match 5: Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Tome & Stevie Filip. Haste pinned Tome Filip after Electric Blue.
Match 6: Ren Narita & EVIL beat TAKA Michinoku & Taichi. Narita pinned TAKA after Double Cross.
Match 7: HENARE & Great-O-Khan beat Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi. HENARE beat Jado with Ultima.
Main Event: Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano beat Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsiuya Naito. Yano pinned Naito. UPSET ALERT!!! They gotta give Yano one…
After 2 days Narita/EVIL lead at 2-0, 4 points. Everyone else is 1-1, 2 points except Jado/Tanahashi at 0-2, 0 points.

The next event is tomorrow at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo with Block A. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET. This will also be a live ABEMA broadcast in Japan.

In other news, it’s now official-assuming he is medically cleared and can return in time for it, Kenny Omega vs. Gabriel Kidd has been added to WRESTLE DYNASTY on 1/5 at the Tokyo Dome.

New Japan 11/22/24 Results (Updated)

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

Today’s event was held at Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. This was a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan. (UPDATE: Correction-On demand is currently unavailable due to technical issues. No estimated time of availability)

The announced paid attendance was 667.

Pre-show match: Shoma Kato beat Daiki Nagai.

Match 1: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Taiji Ishimori, Tome & Stevie Filip. Haste pinned Ishimori after Electric Blue.

Match 2: DOUKI, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Dick Togo, Ren Narita & EVIL. DOUKI beat Togo with Italian Stretch 32.

Match 3: Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano beat BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito. Oleg pinned BUSHI after Kamikaze.

Match 4: Jacob Austin Young, HENARE & Great-O-Khan beat Katsuya Murashima, Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi. HENARE pinned Jado after Native Knee.

World Tag League Block A:
Match 5: Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb beat Ryusuke Taguchi & Alex Zayne. Cobb pinned Taguchi after Tour of the Islands.
Match 6: SANADA & Gabriel Kidd beat Chase Owens & KENTA. Kidd pinned Owens after Drill-A-Hole Piledriver. Afterwards, Kidd promo addressed a recorded challenge from Kenny Omega for a potential match that, if Omega is medically cleared to return in time, could happen on 1/5 at WRESTLE DYNASTY at the Tokyo Dome.
Match 7: Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino beat Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. Umino pinned Sabre after Death Rider. 1/4 implications/build.
Main Event: YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi. YOSHI-HASHI pinned Takagi.

After 2 days it’s Bishamon & United Empire (Newman/Cobb) leading at 2-0, 4 points. 4 are tied at 1-1, 2 points while Tauchi/Zayne & Owens/KENTA are 0-2, 0 points.

The next event is tomorrow at Fujisawa City Chichibunomiya Memorial Gym in Kanagawa with the second day of Block B. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET.

New Japan 11/23/24 Results

New Japan ran Day 2 of the World Tag League today, kicking off Block B action.

Today’s event was held at Funabashi Arena in Chiba and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. This was a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.

The announced paid attendance was 565.

Pre-show match: Yasutora Yasuda vs. Daiki Nagai went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 1: Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb beat Katsuya Murashima, Ryusuke Taguchi & Alex Zayne. Newman pinned Murashima after a fisherman buster.

Match 2: Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Gedo, Sanada & Gabriel Kidd. Owens pinned Gedo after C Trigger.

Match 3: BUSHI, Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi beat Shoma Kato, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto. BUSHI pinned Kato.

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

World Tag League Block B:
Match 5: Tome & Stevie Filip beat Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Tome Filip beat Jado with a Figure 4.
Match 6: TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat HENARE & Great-O-Khan. Taichi pinned Khan after Black Mephisto.
Match 7: Ren Narita & EVIL beat Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano. EVIL pinned Yano after Magic Killer.
Main Event: Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. Naito pinned Haste after Destino.

The next event is tomorrow at Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama with Block A. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET. This will also be a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.

New Japan 11/19/24 Results

New Japan began the World Tag League, their annual year-end Heavyweight tag team tournament, today. The opening day featured Block A matches..

Today’s event was held at Ashikaga Municipal Gym in Tochigi and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 573.

Pre-show Match: Shoma Kato beat Yasutora Yasuda.

Match 1: Taiji Ishimori, Tome & Stevie Filip beat Katsuya Murashima, Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Tome Filip pinned Murashima after Mother Of All Bombs.

Match 2: Dick Togo, Ren Narita & EVIL beat Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano. EVIL pinned TM 4 after Magic Killer.

Match 3: DOUKI, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Jacob Austin Young, HENARE & Great-O-Khan. DOUKI beat Young with Italian Stretch 32.

Match 4: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsiuua Naito. Haste pinned BUSHI after Electric Blue.

World Tag League Block A:
Match 5: Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb beat Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino. Cobb pinned Honma after Tour of the Islands.
Match 6: Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi beat Alex Zayne & TBA (mystery partner), revealed at match time to be Ryusuke Taguchi. Tsuji pinned Taguchi after Gene Blaster.
Match 7: YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Chase Owens & KENTA. Goto pinned Owens after Shoto.
Main Event: Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. beat SANADA & Gabriel Kidd. Oiwa pinned Kidd.

The next event is Thursday at Funabashi Arena in Chiba. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET. This will be a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.

HISTORIC X-OVER 2 Results (11/17/24) (Updated x2)

New Japan & Stardom held HISTORIC X-OVER 2, the second crossover event featuring both promotions under the same umbrella, made much easier now that New Japan is the official owner of Stardom. Some matches featured wrestlers from both promotions but actual intergender (male vs. female) wrestling was prohibited with one exception.

Today’s event was held at Osaka Prefectural Gym in Tokyo and can be watched on demand as a PPV on New Japan World and Stardom World. It’s $34.99 on New Japan World and about a dollar more on Stardom World. The PPV viewing window is until next Sunday, after that it may be available on Stardom World for monthly subscribers. You can also watch the pre-show FOR FREE on YouTube.

The paid attendance has not yet been announced. (Stardom is claiming it was over 3500) (UPDATE 2: The announced paid attendance was 3547)

Pre-show match: Aya Sakura & HANAKO beat Sayaka Kurara & Ranna Yagami. HANAKO pinned Kurara after JP Coaster.

Match 1: Saori Anou & Tam Nakano beat Tomoka Inaba & Syuri. Nakano pinned Inaba after Violet Screwdriver.

Match 2: Miyu Amasaki, AZM & Mei Seira beat Rina, Ruaka & Konami. AZM pinned Rina after a diving foot stomp.

Match 3: Francesco Akira, Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb beat Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano. Akira pinned TM 4 after Fireball.

Match 4: Saya Kamitani, Natsuko Tora, Drilla Moloney & Gabriel Kidd beat Saya Iida, Hanan, Ryusuke Taguchi & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Kidd pinned Taguchi aftera piledriver.

Match 5: In a No DQ Hardcore Match, KOPW 2024 Champion Great-O-Khan beat Suzu Suzuki to retain the title. Had Khan lost, he also would have lost his hair (braid & beard).

Match 5: Natsupoi & Taichi beat Thekla & Clark Connors. Natsupoi pinned Thekla after Fairy Real Gift.

Match 7: IWGP Women’s Champion Mayu Iwatani beat Momo Watanabe to retain the title. V8 for Iwatani. Next up: If she gets what she wants, AZM on 1/4 at the Tokyo Dome. (UPDATE: It’s now official)

Main Event: Maika & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Starlight Kid & El Desperado. Maika pinned Kid after Michinoku Driver 2.

For New Japan, the next event is the World Tag League, their annual year-end Heavyweight tag team tournament, starting Tuesday at Ashikaga Municipal Gym in Tochigi. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

For Stardom, the next event is Wednesday at Aomori Budokan in Aomori. There will be no live broadcast.

New Japan 11/12/24 Results

Apparently Taiji Ishimori thinks he’s superhuman and thus will do reckless things. That was the theme and title of his special New Japan event today, Superhuman Taiji Ishimori Does Reckless Things.

Today’s event was held at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo and can be watched on demand as a PPV on New Japan World.

The paid attendance has not been announced but it was a legit advance sellout.

There were late changes to the card because Dragon Kid, who was scheduled to face Ishimori in the main event, was pulled due to a neck injury. Dragon Gate provided an update today-thankfully it is not serious and Kid will not need surgery, just rest and once the pain subsides he can return. Dragon Dia was the replacement.

Pre-show match: Taiji Ishimori beat Daiki Nagai.

Match 1: Kagetora (Dragon Gate) & Taiji Ishimori beat Brahmans Ryusuke (Ryusuke Taguchi) & Shu by DQ in 21 seconds. Shu DQ’d. Which led to…
Match 1 (again): In a No DQ, No Countouts handicap match, Kagetora & Taiji Ishimori beat Brahmans Shu, Kei & Ryusuke. Ishimori pinned Kei.

Match 2: Taiji Ishimori vs. TBA, revealed at match time to be Kosei Fujita, went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 3: Shun Skywalker (Dragon Gate), Sho & Taiji Ishimori vs. Shuji Ishikawa, Daisuke Sekimoto (Big Japan) & Jeff Cobb went to a double countout. Which led to…
Match 3 (again): Shuji Ishikawa, Daisuke Sekimoto (Big Japan) & Jeff Cobb beat Shun Skywalker (Dragon Gate), Sho & Taiji Ishimori. Cobb pinned Ishimori.

Match 4: Jun Kasai won a (at least) 10 man battle royal, last eliminating Taiji Ishimori.

Main Event: Taiji Ishimori beat Dragon Dia (Dragon Gate). Afterwards, Ishimori announced next time he’ll face Kid, or possibly at an upcoming Korakuen Hall event.

The next event is HISTORIC X-OVER 2, a New Japan/Stardom joint event, Sunday at Osaka Prefectural Gym in Osaka. Live streaming on New Japan World and Stardom World as a PPV will begin Saturday at 11 PM PT/2 AM ET. The PPV is $34.99 in the US and the on demand window is expected to be for one week after the event.

In other news, it has been announced that STRONG STYLE EVOLVED, the next US event on 12/15 in Long Beach, CA, will be available live & on demand on New Japan World for all monthly paid subscribers (no PPV). The scheduled start time is 5 PM PT/8 PM ET. (Update: It will also be available as a PPV on TrillerTV/FITE for $19.99)

New Japan 11/9/24 Results

New Japan ran their annual NEW JAPAN ROAD event today which, in the few years it’s been held, was a Kazuchika Okada hometown event. No Okada this year because he’s gone to AEW, so they had Stardom send Tam Nakano to be the hometown rep instead.

Today’s event was held at Tosho Arena Anjo in Aichi. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 1239.

Match 1: Jacob Austin Young beat Yasutora Yasuda.

Match 2: Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato beat Daiki Nagai & Tomoaki Honma. Murashima pinned Nagai.

Match 3: Yoh, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Ryusuke Taguchi, Yuji Nagata & Hiroyoshi Tenzan. YOSHI-HASHI pinned Tenzan after Shoto.

Match 4: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Sho beat Tiger Mask & Master Wato. Sho pinned TM 4.

Match 5: Stardom Provided Match: Tam Nakano beat Aya Sakura.

Match 6: Gedo, Taiji Ishimori & SANADA beat TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI & Taichi. SANADA beat TAKA with Skull End. And yes, Just 5 Guys are now Just 4 Guys again. Technically Just 3 Guys with Yuya Uemura out due to injury.

Match 7: Francesco Akira, Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan beat BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito. Khan beat BUSHI with Subaru Sheep Killer.

Main Event: In an elimination match, Jado, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita & EVIL. Tanahashi was the lone winner, last eliminating EVIL.

The next event is “Superhuman Taiji Ishimori Does Reckless Things”, a Taiji Ishimori produced special event, Tuesday at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo. It will feature at least 4 matches with Ishimori in every match, but one planned match will be changed because he was to have faced Dragon Kid (Dragon Gate) in one match but Kid is now off due to a neck injury. Replacement TBA. Live streaming on New Japan World as a PPV will begin at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET.

New Japan Pro Wrestling “Fighting Spirit Unleashed” LIVE Results (11/8/24)

New Japan is back in the US today for their monthly, or close to it, international event, Fighting Spirit Unleashed. This installment is the first time in 5 years they’re back in the northeast US as the last visit was before the pandemic began. It’s a loaded 11 match card with 3 title matches and more: The first title match will be for the STRONG Tag Team Championship as Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls, fresh off losing the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in Japan, try to retain these titles against James Drake & Zack Gibson aka former WWE team Grizzled Young Veterans. In the second title match, the All Elite Wrestling International Championship is on the line as Konosuke Takeshita defends against TJP. In the main event, Kosei Fujita will try to build on his Super Junior Tag League victory earlier this week when he faces Gabriel Kidd for the STRONG Openweight Championship. There also is a 4-way for the next STRONG Women’s Championship shot at Mercedes Mone which seems to be between AEW’s Anna Jay and Trish Adora, with Stardom sending Hacuki & Koguma to participate too.

Today’s event will be held at Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, MA and can be watched LIVE on New Japan World in Japanese and English. The event will also be available as a PPV on TrillerTV/FITE for $19.99. There will also be a FREE 30-minute pre-show on these outlets and YouTube. One match has no time limit but everything else is 30 minutes so despite the number of matches I expect this to be a “standard length” US PPV event with, including the pre-show, a total running time of about 3 1/2 hours.

Today’s lineup:
Pre-show:
Matt Vandagriff vs. Seabass Finn

PPV/main show:
Kevin Knight vs. David Finlay
STRONG Tag Team Champions Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls vs. James Drake & Zack Gibson for the titles
Lio Rush vs. Mustafa Ali
Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor vs. Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaavs in a 2/3 Falls Match. Fall 1 is a Tables Match. Fall 2 is a Submission Match (win only by submission). If needed, Fall 3 is a Last Man Standing Strap Match (win only by KO/TKO, unable to answer 10 count when down)
Anna Jay vs. Trish Adora, Hazuki & Koguma in a 4-way for a STRONG Women’s Championship shot
Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi vs. Matt Taven & Mike Bennett
Ryohei Oiwa vs. KENTA
Zack Sabre Jr. & Bad Dude Tito vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Shota Umino
AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita vs. TJP for the title
STRONG Openweight Champion Gabriel Kidd vs. Kosei Fujita for the title

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET.

3:30 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now.

We are LIVE from Lowell Municipal Auditorium in Lowell, MA. Your hosts are Haruo Murata, Milano Collection A.T. & El Desperado. If you’re watching on New Japan World it’s Japanese only right now..If you’re on Triller/FITE, your hosts are Walker Stewart & Veda Scott. We also don’t have our usual US ring announcer (Tak I think his name is).

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. The venue’s maximum capacity is 2800 but it’s a smaller setup and the crowd is still filing in. I’m thinking based on advance sales it’ll be closer to 2000. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 1022. Apparently a much smaller setup than ticket maps led me to believe)

Pre-show:
Match 1: Matt Vandagriff vs. Seabass Finn. 20 minute time limit
Result: Matt Vandagriff beat Seabass Finn. Borderline glorified squash. Afterwards, Vandagriff with microphone. Buries his oddly named opponent and more in English. Interrupted by Zane Jay who throws down a rematch challenge. Accepted which leads to a Vandagriff beatdown.

Grizzled Young Veterans promo.

TJP promo. In multiple languages.

Quick rundown of the rest of the card.

End pre-show.

Updates will resume when the PPV/main show begins.

Main show/PPV:
Match 1: Kevin Knight vs. David Finlay. 30 minute time limit
Result: David Finlay beat Kevin Knight

Match 2: STRONG Tag Team Champions Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls vs. James Drake & Zack Gibson for the titles. 30 minute time limit
Result: James Drake & Zack Gibson beat STRONG Tag Team Champions Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls to win the titles. Drake & Gibson become the 10th STRONG Tag Team Champions. Gibson pinned Nicholls.

Match 3: Lio Rush vs. Mustafa Ali. 30 minute time limit
Result: Lio Rush beat Mustafa Ali

Match 5: Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor vs. Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaavs in a 2/3 Falls Match. Fall 1 is a Tables Match. Fall 2 is a Submission Match (win only by submission). If needed, Fall 3 is a Last Man Standing Strap Match (win only by KO/TKO, unable to answer 10 count when down)
Fall 1: Rosser/Lawlor win when Lawlor puts Nelson through a table.
Fall 2: Nelson/Isaacs win when Isaacs beat Rosser with a rear naked choke.
Fall 3: Nelson/Isaacs win when Rosser can’t answer 10 count.
Result: Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs beat Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor 2-1. Afterwards, they call out Grizzled Young Veterans and demand a STRONG Tag Team Championship match, or tried to but the first microphone cut out on Nelson. They want the title match on 12/15 in Long Beach, CA at the next US event.

Quick break for ring cleaning.

Mercedes Mone promo. The winner of the next match gets to face her for the STRONG Women’s Championship on 12/15.

Match 5: Anna Jay vs. Trish Adora, Hazuki & Koguma in a 4-way for a STRONG Women’s Championship shot. 30 minute time limit
Result: Hazuki beat Anna Jay, Trish Adora & Koguma in a 4-way by pinning Adora. As a result, Hazuki will face STRONG Women’s Champion Mercedes Mone for the title on 12/15. WHAT?!? UPSET ALERT!!! Mone came out immediately afterwards. With microphone. Brief promo before Hazuki cut her off and said in English “This belt will be mine”. Mone responded with a direct shot both on the microphone and physically, getting the better of the exchange and laying out Hazuki.

Match 6: Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi vs. Matt Taven & Mike Bennett/ 30 minute time limit
Result: Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi beat Matt Taven & Mike Bennett. Tsuji pinned Bennett after Gene Blast (and a Takagi Pumping Bomber right before that). Afterwards the lights went out and a mysterious promo was shown. When the lights came back on, Jack Perry appeared at ringside and attacked Tsuji then laid him out in the ring. Perry with microphone. In English, he challenged Tsuji to a match on 1/5 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. Perry then set up for another running knee strike but Takagi made the save.

Match 7: Ryohei Oiwa vs. KENTA. 30 minute time limit
Result: Ryohei Oiwa beat KENTA. KENTA protested afterwards as it was a reversal of a rollup for 3.

Match 8: Zack Sabre Jr. & Bad Dude Tito vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Shota Umino. 30 minute time limit
Result: Tomohiro Ishii & Shota Umino beat Zack Sabre Jr. & Bad Dude Tito. Umino pinned Tito after Death Rider.

Jon Moxley promo. This aired after the match and is directed at Umino. Sounds like he’s picking someone to face Umino on 1/5. Afterwards, Umino with microphone. Challenge accepted in English to bring any of his factionmakes, even dropping a couple of clever f-bombs. Especially the finish-F**K YOU JON MOXLEY! Good stuff.

Match 9: AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita vs. TJP for the title. 30 minute time limit
Result: AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita beat TJP to retian the title. Afterwards, Takeshita with microphone. He said he would defend the title at Tokyo Dome then called out challengers. Nobosy came out. Until he thought nobody was going to then Takagi emerged. Challenge thrown down for 1/4, and possibly a double title match also for the NEVER Openweight Championship. But before they were done posing in the ring, Tomohiro Ishii came out. He pointed to both then walked back out.

Main Event: STRONG Openweight Champion Gabriel Kidd vs. Kosei Fujita for the title. 30 minute time limit
Result: STRONG Openweight Champion Gabriel Kidd beat Kosei Fujita to retain the title. V3 for Kidd. Next up: Oiwa, who made the challenge after making the save following a Kidd & KENTA beatdown on Fujita post-match.

End Show.

The next event is NEW JAPAN ROAD tomorrow at Tosho Arena Anjo in Aichi. This was traditionally the annual Kazuchika Okada hometown event but not so much now with Okada in AEW so Tam Nakano is coming from Stardom to fill the void. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.

In other news, a change to Tuesday’s Taiji Ishimori Produced event was announced-Dragon Kid is now off the event. Neck injury. He was to have faced Ishimori. Replacement TBA.

New Japan News: World Tag League Field Announced

New Japan announced the field for the World Tag League today, the annual year-end Heavyweight tag team tournament. This year there will be 16 teams divided into 2 blocks of 8, with the winner of each block advancing to the Finals and the winners getting an IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship shot, unless current champs HENARE & Great-O-Khan win. It will be a standard round-robin format event. Here is the field:

Block A:
Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI (3-time defending champions)
Chase Owens & KENTA
Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma
Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman
Alex Zayne & TBA
Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji
Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa
Gabriel Kidd & SANADA

Block B:
HEANRE & Great-O-Khan (IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions)
TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls
Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Jado*
Tome & Stevie Phillip (TAMASHII)
Toru Yano & Boltin Oleg
Ren Narita & EVIL
*-This was to have been Tanahashi & El Phantasmo but Phantasmo is out indefinitely due to being diagnosed with cancer recently

The tournament starts on 11:19 and ends on 13/8. There is no guarantee the winners get their title shot at Tokyo Dome on 1/4.

New Japan News: Tokyo Dome Presser Notes

New Japan held a press conference today regarding the Tokyo Dome doubleheader on 1/4 & 1/5. Here are some notes coming out of it-the presser can be watched on demand FOR FREE on YouTube and New Japan World.

First, President Hiroshi Tanahashi announced some more fallout from POWER STRUGGLE Monday: Gabriel Kidd has been fined an undisclosed amount for attacking Kenny Omega backstage after Omega’s appearance. This was not shown on the live broadcast. Tanahashi also apologized to All Elite Wrestling, Omega’s current promotion. Omega hopes to compete on 1/5 at WRESTLE DYNASTY but this is mot guaranteed as he recovers from surgery for diverticulitis.

The 1/4 main event is now official-IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr vs. (to the internet’s dismay) Shota Umino for the title. Also official for 1/4: IWGP Global Champion David Finlay vs. Yota Tsuji for the title and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI vs. El Desperado for the title. Additionally confirmed: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA vs. Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles, Francesco Akira & TJP and Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors in a 4-way for the titles plus NJPW WORLD TV Champion Ren Narita vs. Jeff Cobb & Ryohei Oiwa in a 3-way for the title. Both are first to score pinfall/submission wins and not elimination matches. Not yet official is an IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match, expect that after the World Tag League which starts next week and goes into early December. The only other match confirmed so far is Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL.

The first official match for 1/5 is Sabre vs. Ricochet. At this time it is a NON-TITLE match assuming Sabre is still IWGP World Heavyweight Champion at the time.

Chairman Naoki Sugabayshi also announced broadcast plans for both events: They will both be live on New Japan World. The good news for 1/5: No PPV. 1/4 will begin tentatively at midnight PT/3 AM ET with 1/5 beginning on 1/4 at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET. 1/4 will also be a live & exclusive TV Asahi broadcast in Japan with a replay that night (meaning the Nee Japan World version will be available OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY) while 1/5 will be a New Japan World 10th Anniversary celebration event and available to all monthly paid subscribers worldwide, so you can essentially watch both for as low as $9.99.