By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League – Night One”
November 19, 2024 in Tochigi, Japan at Fukai Square Garden
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is night one of the 15-show, month-long tournament. This year’s field features 16 teams in two eight-team Blocks. It is a round-robin tournament, so each team has seven matches in the Block round. Tonight, just the A Block is in tournament action.
Notably, we don’t have an AEW team in this year’s field. Alex Zayne has a mystery teammate. Walker Stewart provided solo commentary as the show began; Henare would join him later for the tournament matches. This is a gym and it is really empty with no one seated in an upper deck; the crowd might be 400 and this might be the smallest audience I’ve seen in NJPW action.
1. Shoma Kato vs. Masatora Yasuda. Basic reversals between these Young Lions. Kato applied a Boston Crab, and Yasuda tapped out. Stewart said it was Kato’s first-ever singles victory.
Shoma Kato defeated Masatora Yasuda at 7:08.
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jado, and Katsuya Murashima vs. Taiji Ishimori, Tome Filip, and Stevie Filip. I’ve seen this Australian team a few times and this is their NJPW debut in Japan, Stewart said. (I’m reading into that as they wrestled in a NJPW show held outside of mainland Japan.) They have long hair and good physiques, and one of them opened against Tanahashi. The heels worked over Jado in their corner. Tanahashi got back in at 5:00 and hit his somersault senton for a nearfall. Murashima got in and brawled with one of the Filips. The Filip brothers hit a neckbreaker-and-powerbomb combo on Murashima and pinned him. Decent match; it rightfully showcased the Filips, who I’m sure are the most unknown team in this year’s field. This was basically a day off for Ishimori.
Taiji Ishimori, Tome Filip, and Stevie Filip defeated Jado, Katsuya Murashima, and Hiroshi Tanahashi at 8:48.
3. Tiger Mask, Toru Yano, and Boltin Oleg vs. “House of Torture” EVIL, Dick Togo, and Ren Narita. The HoT attacked before the bell and all six brawled. Togo choked Yano in the ring as others fought on the floor. Oleg got in at 3:30 and leveled Narita with a shoulder tackle. Tiger Mask entered and battled EVIL, and he hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee. Togo hit some knife-edge chops on the groins of the babyfaces. EVIL and Togo hit a Magic Killer swinging slam on Tiger Mask for the pin. Basic.
EVIL, Dick Togo, and Ren Narita defeated Tiger Mask, Toru Yano, and Boltin Oleg at 7:39.
4. “Just 4 Guys” Taichi, Taka Michinoku, and Douki vs. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan, Henare, and Jakob Austin Young. I see no point in continuing the J4G team without Sanada. Taka and Henare opened. Young tagged in at 2:00 and he continued to beat down Taka. O-Khan hit his Mongolian Chops, and Taka hasn’t been able to tag out yet. Taichi finally tagged in at 4:30 and he hit a Mafia Kick on Jakob. Douki tagged in and battled Young. Young hit a second-rope missile dropkick on Douki for a nearfall at 8:00. Douki applied the Douki Chokey triangle choke, and Young either tapped out or passed out.
Taichi, Taka Michinoku, and Douki defeated Great-O-Khan, Henare, and Jakob Austin Young at 9:25.
5. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, and Tetsuya Naito vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, and Mikey Nicholls. Nicholls and Hiromu opened. Bushi battled Fujita. Naito entered at 3:00 and kicked at Kosei. Haste entered and hit a uranage on Naito for a nearfall. Naito hit a tornado DDT on Haste. Bushi nailed a dive through the ropes to the floor at 5:30 on Haste. Kosei hit a springboard dropkick in the ring, then an Asai Moonsault to the floor. Haste and Nicholls slammed Bushi for the pin. Good action; shorter than expected.
Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, and Mikey Nicholls defeated Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, and Tetsuya Naito at 6:45.
* Henare joined Stewart on commentary, and he immediately began cheering for his United Empire faction partners.
6. “United Empire” Jeff Cobb and Callum Newman vs. Shota Umino and Tomoaki Honma in an A Block tournament match. Cobb and Shota opened and traded shoulder tackles. Cobb bodyslammed Honma at 1:30 but he missed a Kokeshi. The UE worked over Honma. Umino hit a fisherman’s suplex on Newman for a nearfall at 4:00. Newman nailed a tornado kick on Shota and they were both down. Shota hit a dropkick on Cobb. Honma tagged back in and chopped Cobb. Cobb hit a Death Valley Driver and a standing moonsault on Honma for a nearfall at 6:30. Shota hit a tornado DDT on Cobb, then an Exploder Suplex on Cobb! He hit a running swinging neckbreaker on Cobb for a nearfall, but Callum made the save. Honma and Shota hit stereo Kokeshi headbutts on Cobb. However, Cobb hit a diving forearm on Honma for a nearfall, then the Tour of the Islands swinging powerslam for the pin. I enjoyed Henare’s unbridled cheerleading for UE here.
Jeff Cobb and Callum Newman (2) defeated Shota Umino and Tomoaki Honma (0) at 9:16.
* It’s time to find out who is Alex Zayne’s mystery partner! He came to the ring and said Lance Archer couldn’t be in this year’s field, so he instead introduced Ryusuke Taguchi. UGH. This team will go 2-5 or at best, 3-4. ALSO, this is the first time Zayne has wrestled in Japan since he suffered a knee injury on a GCW/DDT show earlier this year that I reviewed.
7. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji vs. Alex Zayne and Ryusuke Taguchi in an A Block tournament match. Yota and Zayne opened, and Alex hit a Cinnamon Twist corkscrew senton. Taguchi entered and hit a huracanrana. Takagi entered and hit a suplex on Taguchi for a nearfall at 5:00. Taguchi hit a mid-ring buttbump and they were both down. Zayne got back in and battled Shingo; he hit a double flipping axe kick on both LIJ at 6:30. Zayne hit his jump-up Frankensteiner on Shingo. Stewart talked about Zayne’s knee injury. Taguchi put Shingo in an ankle lock, but Shingo reached the ropes at 9:30. LIJ took turns kicking Taguchi. Tsuji hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 11:00. Shingo hit a wheelbarrow German Suplex on Zayne. Taguchi avoided the Gene Blaster spear and got a rollup on Tsuji for a nearfall. Shingo nailed the Pumping Bomber on Taguchi, and this time, Tsuji nailed the Gene Blaster for the pin. Good action.
Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji (2) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi and Alex Zayne (0) at 12:22.
8. “Bishamon” Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto vs. “Bullet Club” Kenta and Chase Owens in an A Block tournament match. Kenta has barely been in Japan this year. BC attacked at the bell. They went to the floor, where Chase whipped Goto into the guardrails. In the ring, the BC worked over Goto. Goto hit a clothesline on Kenta and tagged in Yoshi-Hashi at 5:00. Yoshi-Hashi hit a basement dropkick on Chase’s knee. Chase hit a senton on Goto at 8:00. Owens hit an enzuigiri and a jumping knee on Goto for a nearfall. He set up for the package piledriver, but Yoshi-Hashi made the save. Bishamon hit the Shoto team slam on Chase, and Goto covered Owens for the pin. Dull, slow-paced, lethargic action; I’ve just never gotten into Bishamon.
Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto (2) defeated Chase Owens and Kenta (0) at 10:30.
9. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa vs. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Sanada and Gabe Kidd in an A Block tournament match. Kidd and Oiwa opened; these two will face each other soon in California, and they traded shoulder tackles. Sanada re-entered at 2:00; he once again is blond and has grown some facial hair again, so he’s looking like he did before he bolted from LIJ to join Just 5 Guys. Sanada whipped Sabre into the guardrails. They brawled into the crowd, with Sanada fighting Sabre while Kidd was beating up Oiwa. Kidd and Oiwa finally made it back into the ring, with Gabe keeping him grounded, and he gave middle fingers to the crowd. Oiwa hit a sudden German Suplex at 9:30 and they were both down.
Sabre tagged back in and again battled Sanada, tying him in an Octopus Stretch, then snapping Sanada’s neck between his ankles. He hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. Sanada hit a dropkick. (This truly has felt like two singles matches and not a tag match.) Oiwa got in and hit a gut-wrench suplex on Sanada. TMKD hit stereo dropkicks on Kidd, sending him to the floor. Sanada put Oiwa’s feet on the top rope and hit the Magic Screw swinging neckbreaker at 13:30. Kidd tagged back in and hit a series of forearm strikes on Oiwa. Oiwa hit a hard clothesline on Kidd for a nearfall, then a back suplex for a believable nearfall at 16:00, and Ryohei was fired up.
Kidd hit a brainbuster on Oiwa. Oiwa got a backslide for a nearfall. Sanada nailed the Shining Wizard on Zack, but Sabre fired right back with a Zack Driver at 19:00 and suddenly all four were down. Oiwa and Kidd got up and they traded mid-ring slaps to the face. Oiwa got a schoolboy rollup out of nowhere for the pin. Henare on commentary started hilariously cackling, as Kidd sat up, shocked that he was just pinned. He jumped on Oiwa and kept hitting him, and they brawled through the crowd, with the ring bell being sounded frantically, trying to get them to stop. A hot post-match brawl. No post-match promo from the winning team, which is a rarity.
Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa (2) defeated Sanada and Gabe Kidd (0) at 19:38.
Final Thoughts: A really strong main event to conclude what was otherwise a lackluster show. I would also add that there were no upsets in the first night of action, as I fully expect the losing teams (except Kidd/Sanada) tonight to be the bottom three in the standings at the end of the tournament.
Last year, the Gates of Agony had a good showing in World Tag League, and I’m really disappointed we didn’t get an AEW team this year. Tony Khan could have sent the Dark Order, or maybe The Righteous or the Iron Savages… it doesn’t have to be FTR, the Young Bucks or Private Party! Anyone who has read my reviews knows I’m not a fan of Taguchi and his juvenile antics, so to me, he was the worst possible choice to be Zayne’s mystery partner.
The B Block will have their first night of action on Thursday, headlined by Naito and Takahashi vs. Haste and Nicholls. Admittedly, we have a lot more guys in the tournament in the B Block I don’t care for, such as Toru Yano, Taka Michinoku and Jado… so I really wish we had another strong team or two from the U.S. or Mexico.
Be the first to comment