Tag: njwtl

New Japan 11/20/23 Results

New Japan kicked off the 2023 World Tag League today, their annual year-end tag team tournament, with Block A action. A new Young Lion also debuted today, beginning what hopefully will be a path to becoming a New Japan superstar.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World FOR FREE! No paid subscription or account required! This was an ABEMA simulcast in Japan.

Click below to watch (available in Japanese and English):
https://watch.njpwworld.com/details/38461?playlist_id=203

The announced paid attendance was 1133.

Pre-show Match: Shoma Kato Debut Match: Oskar Leube beat Shoma Kato.

Match 1: Soberano Jr. & Atlantis Jr. beat TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI. Atlantis pinned TAKA after Atlantida.

Match 2: Alex Zayne, Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki & Yuji Nagata beat Gedo, Taiji Ishimori, Jack Bonza & Bad Luck Fale. Nagata beat Gedo with Nagata Lock 2.

Match 3: Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA beat BUSHI, Zandokan Jr. & Yota Tsuji. Uemura pinned BUSHI with a kannuki suplex hold.

Match 4: Jado, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo beat Yoh, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto. Phantasmo pinned Yoh after CR2.

World Tag League:
Match 5: Shane Haste & Mikey Bicholls beat Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun. Haste pinned Laun after Tank Buster.
Match 6: Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii. EVIL pinned Yano after EVIL.
Match 7: Ryohei Oiwa & Kaito Kiyomiya (Pro Wrestling NOAH) beat Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin by countout. Kidd counted out.
Main Event: Ren Narita & Shota Umino beat HENARE & Great-O-Khan. Umino pinned Khan after Death Rider.

The next event is tomorrow. 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.

In other news, Stardom announced today that STRONG Women’s Champion Giulia will next defend the title on 12/2 in the promotion vs. AZM. 6th defense for Giulia. I would expect the winner to defend at the next US event on 1/13/24.

New Japan News: World Tag League Field Set, More (Updated)

New Japan announced the field for the 2023 World Tag League today. The annual year-end Heavyweight tag team tournament will have 16 teams split into 2 blocks for the round-robin format event with the top 2 teams in each block advancing to the Semifinals.

The full field:
Block A: Shota Umino & Ren Narita, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano, Great-O-Khan & HENARE, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls, Alex Coughlin & Gabriel Kidd, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL, Kaito Kiyomiya & Ryohei Oiwa, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona

Block B: YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto (2-time defending winners), Hikuleo & El Phantasmo, Yuji Nagata & Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji & TBA, Soberano Jr. & Atlantis Jr., Lance Archer & Alex Zayne, Bad Luck Fale & Jack Bonza

TBA for Tsuji’s partner, “a friend he met on excursion who isn’t an X but a Z”, will be revealed at Sunday’s non-televised event. The tournament begins on 11/20 and will end on 12/8.

In other news, 2 more title matches have been added to Tokyo Dome on 1/4: NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi vs. Tama Tonga for the title is now official following Lonestar Shootout, as is NJPW WORLD TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the title.

The World Tag League will also see the debuts of 2 new Young Lions (rookies making their in-ring debuts in NJPW): Shoka Kato & Katsuya Murashima. Kato, 20, from Osaka is 5’8″, about 180 pounds, He has backgrounds in basketball, MMA and grappling and gained attention through “The Spirit”, a reality show produced by Kazuchika Okada that followed trainees in the New Japan Dojo. He will face Oskar Leube in his debut match on 11/20. Murashima, 23, is from Ibaraki and has been an amateur wrestler for 9 years with 2 regional college championships at 86 kg & 92 kg. He will face Yuto Nakashima in his debut match on 11/21.

(Pictured on right: Shoka Kato)
(Pictures on right: Katsuya Murashima)

UPDATE: In a sometimes-rumored move, lead New Japan World English commentator Kevin Kelly has left the promotion. Kelly hinted at such a move earlier this year but still planned to do some events, the plan was to do Tokyo Dome on 1/4 but now can’t make it due to personal reasons. Kelly joined All Elite Wrestling this year as the lead commentator on AEW Collision when the NJPW schedule was announced. Walker Stephens, who debuted recently on live events in the US, is the likely replacement.

New Japan 12/14/22 Results

New Japan wrapped up the Super Jr. Tag League & World Tag League today with their last major event of the year. Both tournament finals were held and likely would set up additional title matches for Tokyo Dome on 1/4.

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

The announced paid attendance was 2031.

Match 1: El Lindaman & Alex Zayne beat Kosei Fujita & Ryohei Oiwa. Lindaman pinned Fujita with a German suplex hold.

Match 2: Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA. Haste pinned Knight after Tank Buster.

Match 3: Francesco Akira, TJP, Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan beat Gabriel Kidd, Alex Coughlin, Robbie Ragles & Tiger Mask. TJP pinned TM 4.

Match 4: DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki beat Dick Togo, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Suzuki pinned Togo after a Gotch-style piledriver. Afterwards, Suzuki with microphone for a major announcement he promised…he shocked the crowd by announcing his Suzuki-gun faction will disband at the end of the year after over a decade.

Match 5: Titan. BUSHI, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito beat Clark Connors, Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Naito pinned Connors after Destino.

Match 6: Gedo, Taiji Ishimori & Jay White beat Master Wato, Tama Tonfga & Kazuchika Okada. Gedo pinned Wato.

Match 7: NEVER Openweight Champion Karl Anderson beat Hikuleo to retain the title. V2 for Anderson. Next up: Tonga. That match will happen at Tokyo Dome.

Match 8: Super Jr. Tag League Finals: Lio Rush & Yoh beat Ace Austin & Chris Bey to win the tournament. Yoh pinned Austin after Direct Drive. While not definite, this probably means Rush & Yoh will face IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Francesco Akira & TJP for the titles at Tokyo Dome.

Main Event: World Tag League Finals: YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Aussie Open to win the tournament. YOSHI-HASHI pinned Kyle Fletcher after Abyss. It’s the second straight tournament victory for YOSHI-HASHI & Goto and means they will probably face IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions FTR for the titles at Tokyo Dome, assuming All Elite Wresting lets them miss that day’s AEW Dynamite (not guaranteed).

The next event is Road to TOKYO DOME, the year-ending doubleheader, on 12/22 and 12/23 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming of both events on New Japan World will begin each day at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET, and even better you can watch the 12/22 event FOR FREE!

New Japan 12/11/22 Results

New Japan ran the final day of the World Tag League today, with 5 teams still having a chance to make the Finals. Aussie Open was in the lead but not in league action today so they needed help to make it for sure because of tiebreakers.

Today’s event was held at Atelier Himeji in Hyogo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 971, a legit advance sellout.

Match 1: Bad Luck Fale beat Kosei Fujita.

Match 2: Aussie Open beat Oskar Leube & Ryohei Oiwa. Kyle Fletcher pinned Leube after Grimstone.

Match 3: DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado beat Gedo, Ace Austin & Taiji Ishimori. DOUKI beat Gedo with Italian Stretch 32.

Match 4: Titan, BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi beat Clark Connors, Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tomoaki Honma. Takagi pinned Honma after Pumping Bomber.

World Tag League:
Match 5: Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki beat Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin. Archer pinned Coughlin after Blackout.
Match 6: Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan beat Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Henare pinned Yano after Imperial Drop.
Match 7: Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat SANADA & Tetsuya Naito. Takahashi pinned SANADA after Big Juice. As a result, Aussie Open advances to the Finals (they would have lost tiebreaker to SANADA/Naito).
Main Event: Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI beat Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. Goto pinned Nicholls after Shoto. As a result, Goto & YOSHI-HASHI advance to the Finals.

The Final and the tour-ender is Wednesday at Sendai Sun Plaza in Sendai. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

New Japan 12/8/22 Results

New Japan ran the penultimate day of the World Tag League today, with 5 teams still with a chance to make the Finals and one team being able to lock up a spot.

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 942.

Match 1: Bad Luck Fale beat Yuto Nakashima.

Match 2: Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan beat Oskar Leube & Ryohei Oiwa. Henare pinned Leube after Rampage.

Match 3: Kevin Knight, KUSHIDA, Master Wato & Tomoaki Honma beat Gedo, Chris Bey, Ace Austin & Taiji Ishimori. Knight pinned Gedo after a high angle DDT.

Match 4: Titan, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi beat DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado. Takagi beat DOUKI with STF.

World Tag League:
Match 5: YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin. YOSHI-HASHI pinned Kidd after Shoto.
Match 6: Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. EVIL pinned Tanahashi after EVIL.
Match 7: Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Aussie Open. Nicholls pinned Kyle Fletcher after Tank Buster.
Main Event: SANADA & Tetsuya Naito beat Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki. Naito pinned Suzuki after Destino.

Aussie Open remains the leaders but their preliminary tournament is done as they were one of the teams to get a free win because of the Fale/Chase Owens withdrawal. The top 2 make the Finals and 4 teams still have a chance, but not all will qualify because two of the teams tied for 2nd, Haste/Nicholls and Goto/YOSHI-HASHI, meet on the final day. Naito/SANADA must beat Yujiro/EVIL to have a chance. If there is a 3-way tie, if head-to-head results determine the final then it gets very messy outside of Aussie Open needing Goto/YOSHI-HASHI to win. Best-case for them is Haste/Nicholls-Goto/YOSHI-HASHI going to a draw, if there is a winner either way it costs Aussie Open a potential tiebreaker (they lost to both).

The final day is Sunday. The next event is tomorrow at Uwajima City Overall Gym in Ehime with the final day of the Super Jr. Tag League. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 12:30 AM PT/3:30 AM ET.

New Japan 12/5/22 Results (Updated)

New Japan ran Day 7 of the World Tag League today, making their first visit to the Karatsu region of Japan in 25 years.

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

The announced paid attendance was 1091.

Match : Bad Luck Fale beat Oskar Leube.

Match 2: SANADA & Tetsuya Naito beat Ryohei Oiwa & Tomoaki Honma. SANADA pinned Oiwa.

Match 3: DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado beat Kosei Fujita, Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi. DOUKI beat Fujita with Italian Stretch 32.

Match 4: Titan. BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi beat Gedo, Chris Bey, Ace Austin & Taiji Ishimori. Takagi pinned Gedo after Pumping Bomber.

World Tag League:
Match 5: Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin beat Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Coughlin pinned Takahashi with Blockbuster Hold.
Match 6: Aussie Open beat Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare. Mark Davis pinned Henare after Corealis.
Match 7: YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki. Goto pinned Suzuki after Shoto.
Main Event: Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. Tanahashi pinned Nicholls after High Fly Flow. Afterwards, Tanahashi did an epic air guitar and much more to send the crowd home happy.

Standings:
1-Aussie Open, 7-1, 14 pts
2-YOSHI-HASHI/Goto, 5-2, 10 pts
3-Haate/Nicholls, 5-2, 10 pts
4-SANADA/Naito, 5-2, 10 pts
5-Yano/Tanahashi, 4-3, 8 pts
6-Khan/Henare, 4-3, 8 pts
7-Archer/Suzuki, 3-4, 6 pts
8-Chase Owens/Fale, 2-7, 4 pts (OUT-WITHDRAWN)
9-Kidd/Coughlin, 1-6, 2 pts (OUT)
10-Takahashi/EVIL, 1-6, 2 pts (OUT)
At this point it’s Aussie Open’s to lose. At worst it would be tiebreakers. Their final match is Haste/Nicholls.

Day 8 is Friday. The next event is Wednesday at Sasebo City General Ground Gym in Nagasaki with the Super Jr. Tag League. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

UPDATE: The attendance was later updated to note it was a legit sellout.

New Japan 12/3/22 Results

New Japan continued the World Tag League today with Day 6 of the tournament, preparing to enter the home stretch as the field of contenders further narrows down.

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

The announced paid attendance was 933. Vocal cheering was allowed today so 50% capacity limit.

Match 1: Bad Luck Fale beat Ryohei Oiwa.

Match 2: Shane Haste & Mikey Nhicolls beat Oskar Leube & Kosei Fujita. Haste pinned Fujita after Dynamic Bomb.

Match 3: DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado beat Gedo, Ace Austin & Taiji Ishimori. Kanemaru pinned Gedo after a moonsault press.

Match 4: Titan, BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi beat Kevin Knight, Master Wato, KUSHIDA & Tomoaki Honma. Takagi pinned Honma after Pumping Bomber.

World Tag League:
Match 5: Aussie Open beat Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin. Mark Davis pinned Kidd after Corealis.
Match 6: YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan. Goto pinned Henare after Shoto.
Match 7: Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki. Takahashi pinned Suzuki.
Main Event: SANADA & Tetsuya Naito beat Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Naito pinned Yano after Destino.

Standings:
1-Aussie Open, 6-1, 12 pts
2-SANADA/Naito, 5-2, 10 pts
3-Haste/Nicholls, 5-2. 10 pts
4-YOSHI-HASHI/Goto, 4-2, 8 pts
5-Khan/Henare, 4-3, 8 pts
6-Suzuki/Archer, 3-3, 6 pts
7-Yano/Tanahashi, 3-3, 6 pts
8-Fale/Chase Owens, 2-7, 4 pts (OUT/WITHDRAWN)
9-Takahashi/EVIL, 1-5, 2 pts (OUT)
10-Kidd/Coughlin, 0-6, 0 pts (OUT)

Day 7 is Monday. The next event is tomorrow at KDDI Ishin Hall in Yamaguchi with the Super Jr. Tag League. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 3 AM ET/midnight PT.

New Japan 12/2/22 Results

New Japan continued the Super Jr. Tag League & World Tag League today with both tournaments running together. There was a change to the World Tag League as Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale have withdrawn from the tournament because Owens had to return home to the USA due to a death in his family. Their remaining opponents get forfeit wins as a result.

Today’s event was held at Osaka Central Gym Sub Arena in Osaka and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 945.

The matches today alternated between both tournaments so the results are grouped together instead of in match order.

Super Jr. Tag League:
DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru beat Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA. Kanemaru pinned Knight after Touch Out.
Dick Togo & Sho beat Lio Rush & Yoh. Sho pinned Yoh after Shock Arrow. This lasted just 18 seconds.
Chris Bey & Ace Austin beat Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask. Austin pinned TM 4 after The Fold.
El Lindaman & Alex Zayne beat Titan & BUSHI. Zayne pinned BUSHI after Taco Driver.
Francesco Akira & TJP beat Clark Connors & Ryusuke Taguchi. TJP pinned Connors after 2/2.

World Tag League:
Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin. Tanahashi pinned Kidd after High Fly Flow.
Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan beat Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Henare pinned Takahashi after Streets Of Rage.
Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki. Nicholls pinned Suzuki. This lasted just 100 seconds.
SANADA & Tetsuya Naito beat Aussie Open. Naito pinned Kyle Fletcher after Destino.
YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale by forfeit (withdrawal).

The Super Jr. Tag League now has 3 tied for the lead at 5-1, 10 pts: Akira/TJP, Austin/Bey. Zayne/Lindaman. The World Tag League has 2 tied for the lead at 5-1, 10 pts: Aussie Open and Haste/Nicholls (both had not faced Owens/Fale yet so they get the free win). Yujiro/EVIL and Kidd/Connors are now OUT assuming the leader at the end wins.

The next event is tomorrow at Kakogawa City Gym in Hyogo with the World Tag League. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET.

BREAKING: World Tag League Team Out (Updated)

Breaking development ahead of tomorrow’s New Japan event: The World Tag League has seen a shakeup…New Japan just announced on their Japanese website that Chase Owens and Bad Luck Fale are now OUT of the tournament. Owens had to return to the US due to a family emergency and will be out the rest of the tournament. Owens & Fale were 2-2 with 4 points so far and still were in contention, but now must forfeit their remaining matches.

Upcoming cards will be changed. Each team that had not faced Owens & Fale in the tournament get a free win and 2 points in the standings.

UPDATE: On their official English Twitter, New Japan just announced Owens is out due to a death in his family. I join in sending my deepest condolences to Owens and his family.

New Japan 11/30/22 Results

New Japan continued the World Tag League today with Day 4 of the heavyweight tag team tournament.

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

The announced paid attendance was 498.

Match 1: Oskar Leube & Yuto Nakashima beat Ryohei Oiwa & Tomoaki Honma. Nakashima pinned Oiwa.

Match 2: DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado beat Kosei Fujita, Clark Connors & Master Wato. Kanemaru beat Fujita with a figure 4.

Match 3: Titan, BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi beat Gedo, Chris Bey, Ace Austin & Taiji Ishimori. Takagi pinned Gedo after Pumping Bomber.

World Tag League:
Match 4: Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale beat Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin. Owens pinned Coughlin after a package piledriver.
Match 5: Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki beat Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan. Archer pinned Henare after Blackout.
Match 6: Aussie Open beat Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Kyle Fletcher pinned Takahashi after Corealis.
Match 7: Shane Haste & Mikey Nocholls beat SANADA & Tetsuya Naito. Nicholls pinned SANADA after Tank Buster.
Main Event: Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto. Tanahashi pinned YOSHI-HASHI after High Fly Flow. Afterwards, Tanahashi & Yano did an air guitar duet to send the crowd home happy.

Standings:
1-Aussie Open, 4-0, 8 pts
2-Archer/Suzuki, 3-1, 6 pts
3-Haste/Nicholls, 3-1, 6 pts
5-Yano/Tanahashi, 2-2, 4 pts
5-YOSHI-HASHI/Goto, 2-2, 4 pts
6-Naito/SANADA, 2-2, 4 pts
7-Khan/Henare, 2-2, 4 pts
8-Fale/Owens, 1-3, 2 pts
9-Coughlin/Kidd, 0-4, 0 pts
10-Takahashi/EVIL, 0-4, 0 pts

The next event is Friday at Osaka Municipal Gym Sub Arena in Osaka with Day 5 of the World Tag League and Day 6 of the Super Jr. Tag League. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET.

Verified by MonsterInsights