By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League 2023”
November 20, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
World Tag League is a 16-show tournament spread over just 21 days, featuring 16 tag teams. They are split into two blocks of eight teams. It is a round-robin tournament, so each team will have seven matches. The top TWO teams from each Block will make the playoffs, as the Block A winner will face the Block B runner-up, while the Block B winner will face the Block A runner-up. The finals will be Dec. 10.
All 16 teams are in action, between tournament matches and the four undercard matches. Chris Charlton provided solo commentary as the show began. I read that Alex Zayne will join him later on.
1. Atlantis Jr. and Soberano Jr. defeated “Just 5 Guys” Taka Michinoku and Douki at 7:06. Douki and Soberano Jr. opened, and Soberano Jr. has a significant height advantage. Soberano Jr. hit a spinning corkscrew press in the first minute. Douki hit a doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall at 3:00. Atlantis Jr. tagged in and Charlton pointed out the tape on his left shoulder, saying he’s been nursing an injury. Atlantis Jr. hit several backbreakers over his knee.
Taka tagged in at 5:30 and hit a Mafia Kick for a nearfall. He cranked back on Atlantis Jr.’s head. Atlantis Jr. hit a powerslam. Soberano Jr. hit a Fosbury Flop to the floor and that popped the crowd. Atlantis Jr. put Taka in a Torture Rack, dropped to his knees, and Taka tapped out. This lucha team will be fun to watch in the tournament, but they will be under-sized in most of their matches, and that could be a factor.
2. Alex Zayne, Lance Archer, Yuji Nagata, and Minoru Suzuki defeated Jack Bonza, Bad Luck Fale, Gedo, and Taiji Ishimori at 7:11. Fale and Archer glared at each other as they are familiar opponents, and were in the same Block of G1 Climax last year. Ishimori and Suzuki opened. My first time seeing Bonza; I read a description that he’s like Erick Redbeard but shorter and that’s fairly accurate, as he’s bald with reddish beard that is turning white at the tip. Suzuki and Gedo brawled. Fale entered at 3:00 and stood on Minoru’s stomach. In a funny spot, Suzuki ignored teammate Nagata to tag in long-time partner Lance Archer. (The Yuji-Minoru dynamic should be so much fun in this tournament.)
Bonza is quite muscular and he took off Zayne’s head with a clothesline. Zayne hit a tornado DDT at 5:00. Archer tried to bodyslam Fale but he couldn’t; Fale grabbed him and hit a Samoan Drop. Nagata entered and hit some roundhouse kicks to Gedo’s chest. Suzuki applied a sleeper on Ishimori. Nagata tied Gedo in a crossface on the mat, and Gedo tapped out. That wrapped up quickly but was a fun preview of what’s to come.
3. “Just 5 Guys” Yuya Uemura, Taichi, and Sanada defeated “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Bushi, Yota Tsuji, and Zandokan Jr. at 9:58. Charlton said Naito is out after a recent surgery. My first time seeing Zandokan Jr., who is dressed like a pirate with a patch over his eye and a bandana on his head. (Paul Burchill wants his costume back!) He is quite muscular. Yota and Yuya opened. Zandokan Jr. entered and faced Taichi, with Zandokan Jr. hitting a shoulder tackle at 2:30. Sanada entered and hit dropkicks on Yota and Bushi at 5:00, then planchas to the floor. Sanada tied Yota in the Paradise Lock. Uemura tagged in and chopped Tsuji. Tsuji stomped on his head at 8:30. Sanada hit a dropkick. Yuya hit a top-rope crossbody block on Bushi, then his double-arm Northern Lights suplex with a bridge to pin Bushi. Good match.
4. Hikuleo, El Phantasmo, and Jado defeated Yoh and “Bishamon” Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto at 10:12. Yoshi-Hashi has dyed his hair a shade of blue. The teams traded T-shirts and put them on as a sign they are all babyfaces. Goto and ELP opened, as Charlton talked about how Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa aren’t in the tournament this year. Goto hit a shoulder tackle that dropped Phantasmo. ELP hit a dropkick. Hikuleo hit a double clothesline on Bishamon at 2:30. Hikuleo hit a chop on Yoshi-Hashi, and Hikuleo’s team worked Y-H over in their corner. Goto made the hot tag at 5:30 and hit shoulder tackles on Hikuleo, who wouldn’t go down.
Goto hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Hikuleo blocked a bulldog and hit a modified Blue Thunder Bomb. Yoh entered and traded quick reversals with ELP. Yoh hit his Vader Bomb-style elbow drop for a nearfall at 7:30. Phantasmo hit a Lionsault for a nearfall. Yoh hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 9:30, but he couldn’t hit Direct Drive. ELP hit his modified Styles Clash to pin Yoh. Good match; all four preview matches topped expectations.
* Alex Zayne did join Charlton on commentary here.
5. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls (w/Kosei Fujita) (2) defeated “Gates of Agony” Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun (0) in a Block A tournament match at 10:49. Kaun and Haste opened, as Zayne and Charton talked about the new format this year with four playoff teams. Kaun hit a senton. Liona entered and hit a headbutt on Haste for a nearfall at 2:00. Nicholls whipped Kaun into the guardrail and shoved him back into the ring, where Haste got a nearfall, and TMDK worked him over. Liona entered at 6:00 and hit some Forever Clotheslines, then a Samoan Drop for a nearfall on Haste. Liona ran into the corner but his head hit the ring post at 8:00. Kaun hit a top-rope superplex on Haste for a nearfall at 10:00. Haste hit a Tankbuster leaping team DDT out of nowhere for the pin.
6. “House of Torture” EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi (w/Dick Togo) (2) defeated Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii (0) in a Block A tournament match at 9:30. The HoT attacked as Yano and Ishii entered the ropes, and they all brawled to the floor. Yano playfully slapped Yujiro in the back of the head. Yujiro rammed Yano into the guardrail at 2:00. In the ring, the HoT worked over Yano, with EVIL choking him with a shirt. Yano hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Yujiro. Ishii made the hot tag at 4:00 and he hit shoulder tackles on each HoT. Ishii hit a Saito Suplex on Yujiro for a nearfall, then a delayed vertical suplex, and they were both down.
EVIL and Yano entered at 6:00 and Yano yanked him to the mat by his hair. He got a schoolboy rollup for a believable nearfall. EVIL hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Yano hit a low blow and got a rollup for a believable nearfall but the ref was pulled to the floor. Togo jumped in the ring but Yujiro accidentally hit him. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Sho hit the ring and also attacked, with Kanemaru spraying alcohol in Yano’s face. EVIL hit the Everything is Evil uranage on Yano for the pin. Exactly the HoT shenanigans you’d expect.
7. Kaito Kiyomiya and Ryohei Oiwa (2) defeated “Bullet Club War Dogs” Alex Coughlin and Gabe Kidd (0) via count-out in a Block A tournament match at 12:03. Kiyomiya and Kidd charged at each other and traded STIFF forearms as Charlton reminded us how they had a heated match during the G1 Climax tournament and they have a longstanding issue. Coughlin and Oiwa traded blows on the floor. (Oiwa has brown tips on the side of his head and he looks so much different than just a few months ago as a Young Lion.) In the ring, the BCWD worked over Oiwa, as Coughlin dropped him with some hard chops. Oiwa hit a gutwrench suplex on Coughlin at 6:00. Kaito made the hot tag and dropkicked Coughlin.
Kidd backed Kaito in a corner and repeatedly punched him; he turned and shoved the ref — that could have caused a DQ! Kaito mounted him and punched Gabe in the face. Oiwa hit a back suplex on Coughlin; Kidd hit a back suplex on Oiwa. Kaito hit a Tiger Suplex on Kidd for a nearfall at 9:00 and he was fired up. Coughlin hit Kaito with a leaping football tackle. Kidd nailed a brainbuster on Kaito for a believable nearfall. The BCWD peeled back the thin mat at ringside, but Kaito managed to hit a backbody drop on Coughlin on the exposed floor at 11:30. They all brawled on the floor and were ignoring the referee’s count! Kaito dove back into the ring at the 19-count, but neither BCWD member made it in! An unexpected count-out and this feud is definitely not over! They kept brawling after the bell and needed to be separated.
8. Shota Umino and Ren Narita (2) defeated “United Empire” Great-O-Khan and Henare (0) in a Block A tournament match at 24:42. Again, GOK has a short, frizzy hair style now after Jon Moxley cut off his long braid a week ago. All four brawled at the bell. Ren and Henare fought in the ring while Shota and GOK fought on the floor. Henare hit a shoulder tackle on the smaller Narita, then a stiff kick to the spine. Ren hit his Northern Lights suplex with a bridge for a nearfall at 1:30. Charlton called it the best bridge in pro wrestling and it’s hard to argue with that. Shota hit a summersault senton for a nearfall. Henare began working over Shota. O-Khan entered and hit his Mongolian Chops at 4:30 on Shota.
Ren got in and hit another Northern Lights Suplex on O-Khan, then he applied a Texas Cloverleaf, but O-Khan reached the ropes at 8:00. O-Khan hit a gutwrench suplex. Ren hit a German Suplex with a brige for a nearfall and he was fired up, but O-Khan dropped him with a clothesline, and they were both down at 10:00. Henare re-entered and hit a hard kneelift to Ren’s gut in the corner. Ren hit a spinning leg lariat. Shota made the hot tag and he hit a flying forearm on Henare, then a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 12:00, then an Exploder Suplex.
Umino hit a DDT onto the ring apron, with Henare falling to the floor. In the ring, Shota hit a swinging neckbreaker on Henare for a believable nearfall at 14:00. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Shota hit a dropkick; Henare hit a running penalty kick to the chest. Shota nailed a Tornado DDDT. Henare hit a Berzerker Bomb/Blue Thunder Bomb. Great-O-Khan made the hot tag at 17:30; he put Shota in a Torture Rack and turned it into a neckbreaker for a nearfall. He applied a modified Anaconda Vice on the mat. O-Khan hit a butterfly suplex for a nearfall. Shota applied a modified crossface on the mat, but O-Khan reached the ropes at 20:00.
Ren and Shota hit a Hart Attack clothesline on O-Khan for a nearfall. Ren hit an exploder. Shota hit a half-nelson suplex for a nearfall but Henare made the save. Henare hit a shotgun dropkick. Great-O-Khan applied a Sheepkiller and slammed Shota to the mat for a believable nearfall, but Ren made the save. Henare hit a powerbomb for another believable nearfall at 23:30. Shota hit a tornado DDT on Henare. Shota and Ren hit stereo enzuigiris on O-Khan. Shota hit a diving forearm to the back of the head, then the Death Rider double-arm DDT on Henare for the pin. A stellar match to close night one of the tournament.
* Shota spoke on the mic and (according to Chris Charlton’s translation) said they’ve taken their first win. He talked about being in World Tag League a few years ago and lost every single match (when he was a Young Lion.) He said they are the future of New Japan Pro Wrestling, and told the fans not to forget this match. He was disappointed this show wasn’t a sellout. He said he wants to sell out this building, and every building, with him and Ren on top. “The changing of the guard of the new generation has begun,” he said. He vowed they would sweep the table.
Final Thoughts: The B Block kicks off Tuesday! The main event was stellar and had several believable nearfalls. The BCWD vs. Kaito/Oiwa match also was really good. I liked seeing all 16 teams; I haven’t looked ahead at the future lineups but I actually hope that teams get days off and aren’t in undercard matches on every show, just to rest up and keep everyone fresh.
Be the first to comment