By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League 2023”
December 10, 2023 in Kumamoto, Japan at Grand Messe Kumamoto
Streamed live on New Japan World
This 16-team, round-robin tournament was fought over just a 21-day span. The venue is a very large room. It might hold 1,200 or so, but it’s not an arena, either. The show opened with a “Frontier Zone” match to highlight up-and-comers.
1. Ryusuke Taguchi and Boltin Oleg defeated Kodai Nozaki and Asosan at 5:52. The young Nokazi has Ishii’s build (but a full head of hair.) Asosan wears a tall mask that makes me think of a ‘dunce hat’ or a party hat. Asosan and Oleg opened. Taguchi and Nozaki entered at 1:30, and Nozaki sure is wide, not even fat, just wide. Taguchi’s buttbumps didn’t budge him. Oleg showed off his strength by flipping Kodai in his arms at 3:00. Kodai splashed Oleg. Kodai’s outfit makes him look like Rikishi, and he easily tossed Taguchi around. He splashed onto Taguchi for a nearfall, but Oleg made the save at 5:30. Kodai nailed a Pounce on Oleg! Taguchi rolled up Asosan out of nowhere for the pin. I came away highly impressed with the potential of Kodai; he just looks and feels different than most New Japan youngsters.
2. Master Wato, Atlantis Jr., and Soberano Jr. defeated “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Kosei Fujita at 8:31. Haste and Atlantis Jr. opened. TMDK made the playoffs in the A Block, so I like that they get to fight the B Block luchador team here. (Battling a team they never were in the ring with over the past three weeks.) Haste and Nicholls hit some team moves on Soberano, and Mikey ripped at his mask at 4:00. Soberano hit a Fosbury Flop to the floor. Wato whipped Fujita into a guardrail. In the ring, Nicholls hit a DDT on Atlantis at 6:00. Fujita hit a dropkick, then a missile dropkick, on Wato. Atlantis and Soberano hit planchas to the floor. Wato mouse-trapped Fujita’s arms and got a seatbelt cover for a nearfall. Wato immediately hit a German Suplex with a bridge to pin Fujita.
3. Lance Archer, Alex Zayne, Minoru Suzuki, and Yuji Nagata defeated “Bullet Club” Bad Luck Fale, Jack Bonza, Alex Coughlin, and Gabe Kidd at 8:42. Coughlin and Kidd won the A Block, and they are in the ring with three teams that were in the B Block. (Again, this is what I want to see on the final day.) Lance and Fale opened with shoulder tackles and neither man going down. Yuji and Coughlin entered at 1:30, with Alex hitting a back suplex. The BC worked over Yuji in their corner. Suzuki finally made the hot tag at 5:30 and he hit a Helluva Kick on Kidd. He set up for the Gotch-style Piledriver but Kidd fought free. Zayne tagged in at 7:30 and battled Bonza. Jack hit a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall. Suzuki hit the Gotch-style piledriver on Bonza. Archer grabbed teammate Zayne and gave hit the Blackout slam onto Bonza for the pin. Decent, short match.
4. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan, Henare, Jeff Cobb, and Callum Newman defeated Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, Oskar Leube, and Yuto Nakashima at 7:07. Both of these teams fought in the A Block. Good to see Cobb back in New Japan; this is his first appearance of the tournament. Everyone brawled at the bell. Yuto and Newman fought in the ring while the others were on the floor. The heels worked over Yano in the ring. Henare and Ishii battled, with Ishii hitting a vertical suplex at 4:30. Cobb entered and battled the tall Leube. Oskar hit his Hogan Legdrop for a nearfall. Cobb hit the Tour of the Islands spinning powerslam to pin Oskar. The UE kept beating up Ishii after the bell; Ishii left with his six-man title belt, and I think UE will be going after those titles.
5. “House of Torture” Sho and Dick Togo defeated Shota Umino and Tiger Mask at 3:23. No sign of Ren Narita (yet!) as the match begins. All four brawled at the bell. Shota has tape on his back. Tiger Mask hit a butterfly suplex on Sho, then a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Togo at 1:30. Ren Narita came out of nowhere and applied a rear-naked choke on Shota, and they brawled to the floor. Ren hopped in the ring and hit an X-Factor faceplant on Tiger Mask. Sho made the cover for the pin. Ren scampered to the back before Shota could get his hands on him.
6. “House of Torture” EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (w/Dick Togo) defeated Kaito Kiyomiya, Ryohei Oiwa, and Tomoaki Honma at 11:06. The HoT attacked at the bell. Kaito and Oiwa hit stereo dropkicks on Kanemaru. The HoT hit a snap suplex on Oiwa on the bare floor at 2:00. In the ring, EVIL hit a bodyslam on Oiwa at 3:30 and the HoT kept him in their corner. Oiwa finally hit a gut-wrench suplex on Kanemaru at 5:30 and he tagged in Kaito, who hit a series of dropkicks on all the heels. However, the HoT took control, with EVIL hitting a suplex for a nearfall; the bell rang and EVIL celebrated, but the referee yanked down EVIL’s arm, as it was Togo who rang the bell.
Honma got the hot tag to enter for the first time at 8:30 and he hit some chops on EVIL, but he missed the Kokeshi falling headbutt. Togo hit a second-rope Kokeshi onto Honma’s groin, with EVIL making the cover for a nearfall! Honma hit a Kokeshi on EVIL, then a diving headbutt for a nearfall at 10:30. Kanemaru sprayed alcohol in Honma’s eyes! EVIL immediately hit the Everything is Evil uranage to pin Honma. Okay action.
* The HoT continued to beat down on Kaito and Oiwa after the bell. Shota Umino ran into the ring and brawled with the HoT, and he dove onto Ren Narita and hit some punches. The babyfaces chased off the HoT.
7. Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated “Gates of Agony” Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona at 11:53. Okada and Liona opened, and Okada couldn’t bodyslam him, but Liona easily bodyslammed Okada. Kaun stomped on Okada. Okada finally hit a Flapjack faceplant on Kaun and tagged in Tanahashi at 5:30. Tanahashi hit a second-rope summersault senton onto Kaun. Tanahashi hit a twisting neckbreaker on Liona at 7:30. Okada re-entered and hit a DDT on Liona, but Toa popped back to his feet.
Okada hit another DDT, but he again couldn’t hit a bodyslam on the big man. He finally hit a bodyslam on the third attempt, but he immediately clutched at his lower back. The GoA hit their team slam on Okada for a nearfall but Tanahashi made the save at 10:30. Tanahashi hit a plancha to the floor on Kaun. Okada hit a dropkick on Liona, then a scoop bodyslam, then the Rainmaker short-arm clothesline to pin Liona. Good match, and a nice opportunity for Gates of Agony.
* The camera pans to Hiromu Takahashi, who is on Japanese commentary, so he’s not in our next match.
8. Zandokan Jr. and “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Bushi, and Yota Tsuji defeated “Just 5 Guys” Sanada, Douki, Taka Michinoku, Yuya Uemura, and Taichi at 12:18. J5G walked through the crowd and shook hands. This is the first match of this tour for both Taka Michinoku and Tetsuya Naito. Again, one of the stories this week has been that Naito has not offered Zandokan Jr. a spot in LIJ yet, which has frustrated Zandokan. Naito and Sanada opened with an intense lockup, giving us a Wrestle Kingdom preview. Takagi and Taichi entered at 2:30 with Shingo hitting chops and Taichi hitting spin kicks to the thigh. Shingo battled Douki in the ring while others brawled on the floor.
Bushi hit a standing neckbreaker on Douki at 5:30. Zandokan Jr. entered and hit a delayed vertical suplex and a Lionsault for a nearfall on Douki. Sanada and Naito re-entered, with Sanada hitting a dropkick on the knee. Sanada tied Bushi in the Paradise Lock, and he hit a dropkick on Naito at 8:00. Sanada went for Skull End but Naito escaped. Bushi hit a top-rope missile dropkick on Sanada at 9:30.
Taka tied up Bushi on the mat and cranked back on the head. He hit the Michinoku Driver for a nearfall, but Yota made the save. Yota and Uemura traded chops, and Yuya hit a back suplex and a dropkick. Shingo fired back with the Pumping Bomber clothesline. Naito hit a tornado DDT on Sanada. Zandokan Jr. hit a Tiger Driver on Taka and he was fired up. He dove to the floor on Douki. In the ring, Bushi hit his second-rope flying Lungblower on Taka for the pin.
* Hiromu got in the ring and the five members of LIJ did their pose together. Zandokan Jr. stood in a corner and clutched his head in frustration. However, he was allowed to throw his hand in ad join in the LIJ salute! So, it appears he is officially in the faction! (It took a while to get here, but it’s where we were always headed.) Zandokan Jr. and Yota hugged. (Where is the T-shirt for him to put on?)
* So… we’ve reached the finals! The IWGP Tag Champs Bishamon vs. the New Japan Strong tag champs Guerrillas of Destiny square off to conclude World Tag League!!. And… I’m not sure if it matters who wins, because it appears they are headed toward a rematch at Wrestle Kingdom, where I presume the titles are consolidated. As a brand, New Japan Strong is essentially over. The tag belts are fairly unneeded now, just as Eddie Kingston’s Strong title is being consolidated. Just because I find Bishamon rather boring, I’m cheering for Hikuleo and El Phantasmo!
* A nice video package aired of highlights from the tournament. GoD won their matchup early in the tournament, as they were both in the B Block.
9. “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated “Guerrillas of Destiny” El Phantasmo and Hikuleo to win World Tag League at 40:27. ELP and Yoshi-Hashi opened. The GoD began working over Goto in their corner. Hikuleo hit a DDT for a nearfall at 6:00. Goto hit a decapitating clothesline on ELP. Yoshi-Hashi made the hot tag, and they worked over Phantasmo. ELP finally hit a huracanrana on Yoshi-Hashi at 11:00 but he couldn’t make the hot tag. Hikuleo finally tagged in and he hit a snake-eyes and a shoulder tackle on Goto, then a double clothesline at 13:00. ELP hit a top-rope moonsault to the floor on Bishamon.
Hikuleo went under the ring and pulled out one of the unbreakable Japanese wood tables! They set it up on the floor. Hikuleo placed Y-H on the table. ELP went to the top rope, but Goto made the save before Phantasmo could dive onto Yoshi-Hashi. In the ring, Hikuleo and Goto hit simultaneous clotheslines and were both down at 17:00. Yoshi-Hashi and Phantasmo tagged in and traded forearm strikes. ELP hit a springboard crossbody block, then he dove through the ropes onto Yoshi-Hashi at 19:00. In the ring, ELP hit a Swanton Bomb and a Lionsault for a nearfall. (A 20-minute call is right on with my stopwatch.)
ELP hit a superkick on Yoshi-Hashi, and Hikuleo immediately hit a chokeslam! ELP went for the springboard frogsplash, but Yoshi-Hashi got his knees up, and he rolled up ELP for a believable nearfall. ELP hit a stunner on Goto at 22:30. ELP hit a second-rope sit-out powerbomb on Yoshi-Hashi, but Goto made the save. Hikuleo missed a top-rope frogsplash at 25:00! Goto finally got the hot tag and he hit a Saito Suplex on ELP for a nearfall. ELP got a backslide for a nearfall. Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee, and he tied up Phantasmo on the mat and cranked on his left arm. Goto hit another neckbreaker over his knee at 29:00.
Bishamon set up for Shoto, but Hikuleo made the save. Yoshi-Hashi hit his running Headhunter neckbreaker, with Goto making the cover on ELP for a nearfall. Bishamon hit Shoto for a nearfall, but ELP kicked out at 31:00, and everyone was down. Bishamon clotheslined Hikuleo over the top rope to the floor. Hikuleo and Goto fought on the ring apron, right above the unbreakable table. Yoshi-Hashi made the save. Bishamon hit Shoto on Hikuleo, leaping off the ring apron and crashing through the table at 34:00. (Hey, it does break!) ELP was down on the mat while the others were down on the floor.
Bishamon got in the ring; ELP tried hitting chops and forearms on both of them. They set up for Shoto but ELP escaped. ELP hit a neckbreaker and a superkick and got a nearfall at 36:30. ELP hit a neckbreaker over his knee, but Goto kicked out at one! ELP nailed the CR2 modified styles Clash for a believable nearfall; I thought that was it! Goto slammed ELP for a nearfall at 39:00. Goto nailed a top-rope Bulldog for a nearfall. Bishamon finally hit Shoto to pin El Phantasmo.
* Bishamon were presented with the trophies, and they shook hands with ELP and Hikuleo.
Final Thoughts: An excellent main event, but perhaps a bit too long. However, it felt like an important match and the crowd was fully into it. I actually really hope they do NOT run this back at Wrestle Kingdom, as I don’t see how they can top it. I like how they set up the table but it was seemingly forgotten about, before it finally came into play. As usual, I think the dynamic El Phantasmo was the glue that really made this match shine. I’m not proclaiming it’s an epic, must-see match, but it did top my expectations.
The rest of the show was fine. Shota is once again chasing Ren Narita, and if he enlists Kaito and Oiwa in his fight with the House of Torture, I’m fine with that. As I noted, Zandokan Jr. got his offer to join LIJ to conclude that storyline. And of course, we got a taste of Naito vs. Sanada, but neither man was involved in the pin.
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