By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League”
November 23, 2024 in Kanagawa, Japan at Chichibunomiya Memorial Gymnasium
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is night four 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 B Block is in tournament action.
We’re back in a large gym; there is a second deck with about six rows that were fairly filled by the time the main show got underway. The crowd is maybe 900, but a very high percentage of seats are filled here. Walker Stewart is sick, so we have just Chris Charlton on commentary. Hopefully we get an English speaker guest for the tournament matches later.
1. Daiki Nagai vs. Masatora Yasuda. Yasuda applied a Boston Crab but Nagai reached the ropes at 4:00. They traded submission holds and this stayed in first gear until the bell.
Daiki Nagai vs. Masatora Yasuda ended in a time-limit draw at 10:00.
2. Shoma Kato and “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi vs. Shota Umino, Tiger Mask, and Tomoaki Honma. Goto and Shota opened and traded shoulder tackles. Tiger Mask got in and hit some roundhouse kicks on Kato. Yoshi-Hashi and Honma battled at 5:30 and they traded chops. Tiger Mask tied up Kato on the mat, and Kato tapped out. Very basic.
Shota Umino and Tiger Mask and Tomoaki Honma defeated Shoma Kato and Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi at 8:43.
3. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Kosei Fujita, and Ryohei Oiwa vs. Katsuya Murashima, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Alex Zayne. Murashima shoved and jawed at Fujia before the bell, but Kosei just looked amused, and those two opened. Oiwa tied up Murashima’s legs. Sabre entered for the first time at 3:00 and also applied a modified Figure Four on Murashima and tied him in a pretzel. Zayne tagged in and hit an enzuigiri on Sabre, then a standing moonsault, then his flipping axe kick. Taguchi entered at 6:00 and fought Oiwa. Murashima hit a powerslam on Oiwa and was fired up. Taguchi hit his mid-ring buttbump on Kosei, then one on Zack. Oiwa nailed the discus clothesline and pinned Murashima. Good action.
Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, and Kosei Fujita defeated Katsuya Murashima, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Alex Zayne at 10:12.
4. “United Empire” Jeff Cobb, Callum Newman, and Jakob Austin Young vs. “Bullet Club” Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens, and Kenta. Chase and Callum opened, and Charlton talked about how Kidd beat up Chase a day ago. Chase actually sat down with Charlton and chatted on commentary during the match, rather than stand on the apron. Cobb entered the match at 4:30, but Ishimori jumped on his back. However, Cobb just turned it into a Bulldog Powerslam. Cobb hit a standing moonsault on Kenta for a nearfall. Jakob hit a missile dropkick on Chase for a nearfall at 7:00. Chase hit a swinging faceplant on Jakob for a nearfall, then the package piledriver for the pin.
Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens, and Kenta defeated Jeff Cobb, Callum Newman, and Jakob Austin Young at 8:19.
5. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Bushi, Yota Tsuji, and Shingo Takagi vs. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Gedo, Gabe Kidd, and Sanada. BCWD attacked before the bell. Charlton talked about Sanada leaving LIJ and that Shingo has never gotten over the betrayal. All six brawled on the floor and it went into the crowd. Kidd beat up Bushi. Tsuji and Sanada brawled in an aisle. They finally got back in the ring at 5:00, and Bushi hit a head-scissors takedown on Kidd. Tsuji and Kidd traded mid-ring forearm strikes at 8:00. Gedo and Bushi tagged in. Gedo shook the ropes and caused Bushi to fall and be crotched. Bushi hit a missile dropkick on Gedo, then tied him in a modified Figure Four, and Gedo tapped out.
Bushi, Yota Tsuji, and Shingo Takagi defeated Gedo, Gabe Kidd, and Sanada at 10:17.
* As I hoped/presumed, Alex Zayne joined Charlton on commentary.
6. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls (0) vs. “Bullet Club Rogue Army” Stevie Filip and Tome Filip (2) in a B Block tournament match. This is a first-ever matchup, which is unexpected as they are both Australian teams. Nicholls hit some loud chops as Charlton talked about TMDk’s recent losing streak, having lost two sets of tag titles in one week. The Filips worked over Haste in their corner early on. Nicholls got in at 5:30 and hit some clotheslines. (I still don’t know which Filip is which and Chris isn’t really helping me out!) Nicholls nailed a spinebuster at 8:00 and he tagged Haste back in. Shane hit a series of European Uppercuts.
Nicholls hit a Death Valley Driver. Tome applied a Figure Four at 10:00 on Haste; Tome has darker hair and looks more like Alex Reynolds. Tome and Shane got up and traded forearm strikes, and Tome hit a German Suplex. TMDK hit a team slam on Stevie, then one on Tome for the pin. Solid match, and a needed win for TMDK.
Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls (2) defeated Stevie Filip and Tome Filip (2) at 13:08.
7. “House of Torture” EVIL and Ren Narita (2) vs. “Just 4 Guys” Taichi and Taka Michinoku (2) in a B Block tournament match. Taka and Taichi pulled off the big upset in their first match over champs Great-O-Khan and Henare. Dick Togo attacked Taichi and Taka from behind; I started my stopwatch at first contact as they all brawled into the crowd. The bell sounded to officially begin at 1:00, as EVIL beat up Taka in the ring, and they kept Taka in their corner. Taichi finally got a tag at 6:00 and hit a Helluva Kick on EVIL. EVIL whipped Taichi into an exposed corner and Taichi immediately sold the pain in his back.
Taichi hit a clothesline on Narita and they were both down. Taka got a hot tag at 9:30 and he tied up Ren on the mat. Ren applied a cross-armbreaker. Ren hit Taka with his push-up bar. Taka avoided the Double Cross (X-Factor), and he hit a running knee and he tied up Ren on the mat. The bell rang and Taka let go of the hold and celebrated, but it was just Dick ringing the bell. The ref got bumped. Togo used the push-up bar on Taka’s groin. Ren hit the Double Cross faceplant and pinned Taka. Mediocre action.
EVIL and Ren Narita (4) defeated Taka Michinoku and Taichi (2) at 12:55/about 12:00 for an official time.
8. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan and Henare (0) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jado (0) in a B Block tournament match. Tanahashi and O-Khan opened with some slow-paced standing reversals. O-Khan hit his Mongolian Chops on Jado at 6:30. This match has been almost devoid of action. Tanahashi got in and hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip in the ropes on Henare at 9:30, then his second-rope somersault senton on O-Khan for a nearfall, and he hit some Mongolian Chops on O-Khan! He hit a Twist-and-Shout neckbreaker on Henare at 11:30 and they were both down.
Jado tagged back in and hit a clothesline on Henare for a nearfall. He hit a DDT out of the ropes for a nearfall at 13:00. Jado applied a Crossface on Henare. Henare nailed a jumping knee to Jado’s forehead in the corner, and he applied the Full Nelson in the center of the ring, and Jado submitted. Substandard match; it just stayed in first gear. UE needed this win.
Great-O-Khan and Henare (2) defeated Jado and Hiroshi Tanahashi (0) at 15:35.
9. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi (2) vs. Boltin Oleg and Toru Yano (0) in a B Block tournament match. Let’s see if these guys can salvage a night filled with subpar matches. Yano was again irritated at how long it took Naito to disrobe. Charlton made a comment that it was surprising to see Yano in a main event. They did comedy early on where Yano jawed at Naito but neither were in the ring at the same time. Oleg hit a double shoulder tackle at 1:30. Naito cracked a corner pad across Yano’s back, and LIJ worked over Yano. Boltin got the hot tag at 5:30; he went to hit a gut-wrench suplex on Hiromu, but Naito made the save. Boltin finally hit the gut-wrench suplex on Hiromu, then a splash to the mat for a nearfall at 7:00, then a Vader Bomb for a nearfall.
Oleg set up for a Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll), but Hiromu turned it into a Crucifix Driver for a nearfall. Yano hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Hiromu. Hiromu hit a DDT on Yano and they were both down. Naito tagged in at 9:30 and he hit a flipping bulldog move on Yano. Yano got some rollups. Oleg hit a shotgun dropkick on Naito. Yano rolled up both Hiromu and Naito, and Oleg jumped on the pile, too, and they got the pin.
Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg (2) defeated Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi (2) at 11:20.
Final Thoughts: Oof. Night three had two absolutely great matches to close the show. There is nothing — absolutely nothing — on night four that is worth going out of your way to see. I avoid using “star ratings,” but I couldn’t muster a “good match” statement out of any of the tournament matches tonight. Yano’s comedy is passable in the undercard but it really sticks out as not good in the main event. Having Yano, Jado and Taka in three separate matches to close out this event just showed how thin the roster of talent is in this year’s field, and why they really needed a quality AEW or indy tag team to help shore up this field.
This tournament is a grind, and the A Block is back in action Sunday when NJPW returns to Korakuen Hall with Shingo and Tsuji vs. Kidd and Sanada in the main event. After a (rare) day off, the B Block resumes on Tuesday.
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