By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Super Jr. Tag League”
November 1, 2025, in Osaka, Japan, at Edion Arena Osaka
Streamed live on New Japan World
This year’s tournament features 12 teams in two six-team Blocks. It’s a round-robin tournament, so each team will have at least five matches. Just the B Block is in tournament action tonight as we wrap up round-robin play. “House of Torture” Sho and Douki have advanced to the finals by winning the A Block on Thursday. Three of the six teams remain in the hunt to win this Block. The tournament finale is Sunday.
The venue is a large gym, and the attendance was maybe 800-1,000, all seated on the floor. If it’s not a sellout, it’s pretty close. The lights were on, and it was easy to see. Walker Stewart provided solo commentary. For whatever reason, there were no on-screen graphics again today.
1. Zane Jay and Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Shoma Kato and Masatora Yasuda. Yasuda and Matsumoto opened. Zane stomped on Yasuda. Matsumoto put Kato in a half-crab, but Shoma reached the ropes at 3:30. Matsumoto hit a bodyslam on Kato, and he put Kato in a Boston Crab, but Yasuda made the save. Kato hit a suplex, then he put Matsumoto in a Boston Crab, and Matsumoto tapped out. Fairly paint-by-numbers but fine.
Shoma Kato and Masatora Yasuda defeated Zane Jay and Tatsuya Matsumoto at 9:22.
2. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Oskar, Yuto-Ice, Clark Connors, and Daika Nagai vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano, Boltin Oleg, and Dragon Dia. Yano and Yuto-Ice opened; Toru playfully slapped him on the back of the head to tick him off. Taguchi got in and mocked Yuto-Ice’s mannerisms, then he hit a running buttbump at 1:30. Connors hit some running shoulder tackles on Taguchi. Dia entered at 5:30, and he hit a huracanrana for a nearfall on Clark, then an enzuigiri. Clark countered with a powerslam, and they were both down.
Finally, Oleg and Oskar got in and traded big shoulder blocks at 7:00, with neither man going down. They traded forearm strikes. Oleg hit a clothesline in the corner. Oskar hit a bodyslam at 9:00. Nagai entered and battled Oleg, hitting some shotgun dropkicks. Connors speared Oleg, allowing Nagai to get a nearfall. Oleg hit a Flatliner to pin Nagai. Decent action.
Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano, Boltin Oleg, and Dragon Dia defeated Oskar, Yuto-Ice, Clark Connors, and Daika Nagai at 11:09.
3. “House of Torture” Douki, Sho, and Yujiro Takahashi vs. “United Empire” Callum Newman, Templario, and Jakob Austin Young. Once again, Sho got on the mic and spoke, then the HoT attacked. Callum hit some kicks, and the UE worked over Sho. Yujiro bodyslammed Jakob at 3:00. Templario entered and battled Douki, hitting a springboard dropkick at 5:30. Takahashi hit the Pimp Juice implant DDT to pin Jakob.
Douki, Sho, and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Callum Newman, Templario, and Jakob Austin Young at 7:42.
4. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, and Gedo vs. Yoh, Master Wato, and Katsuya Murashima. Gedo hit a cheap shot on Yoh to open. Lots of comedy with the babyfaces hitting chin-breakers on Gedo and tugging on his beard. Hiromu hit a crossbody block at 5:00. He hit a swinging sideslam on Wato. Shingo finally got in and hit a splash in the corner on Wato and a series of punches. Wato hit a huracanrana.
Murashima got a hot tag at 7:00, and he hit some chops on Shingo, then a flying forearm and some rolling sentons for a nearfall. Murashima hit a Bulldog Powerslam on Shingo, and he was fired up. Shingo hit a suplex for a nearfall. He hit a Pumping Bomber on Murashima and applied a double armbar, and Murashima tapped out. Shingo used this lame finisher last week. Okay action; it didn’t overstay its welcome.
Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, and Gedo defeated Yoh, Master Wato, and Katsuya Murashima at 9:48.
* Clark Connors joined Walker on commentary for the tournament matches.
5. “House of Torture” Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Dick Togo (2) vs. Tiger Mask and Yamato (0) in a B Block tournament match. Well, this has the potential to be the worst match of the whole tournament. The HoT got in the ring first; they attacked the babyfaces as they tried to enter the ring, and we’re underway! Dick again ripped off TM’s mask and held it up like a trophy. We got a bell at 00:53 to officially begin. However, the Young Lions at ringside had put a towel over Tiger Mask’s head and escorted him to the back, leaving the HoT to beat up Yamato in the ring. Kanemaru tied him in a half-crab, but Yamato reached the ropes at 2:30. He kept stomping on Yamato, and you got to wonder how long it takes Tiger Mask to find a new mask…
Tiger Mask jumped into the ring at 5:00 and hit Kanemaru, but the ref sent him to the corner. Yamato hit a suplex and tagged TM in. Yamato hit a suplex on Togo at 8:30. TM and Yamato hit stereo buzzsaw kicks to Dick’s head. Yamato hit an enzuigiri and applied an ankle lock on Togo. Kanemaru sprayed whisky in Yamato’s eyes; Togo put Yamato in a crossface on the mat, but Yamato finally got to the ropes at 11:00. The ref got bumped! Togo hit a low-blow uppercut on Yamato. Yamato sprayed red mist in Togo’s eyes and choked him, but Kanemaru made the save. Tiger Mask dove through the ropes onto Togo. Yamato hit a low blow on Togo, then applied a sleeper, and Dick passed out. This would have been better if they had a shockingly short four-minute bout.
Tiger Mask and Yamato (2) defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Dick Togo (2) at 13:29/official time of 12:36.
6. Kushida and Yuki Yoshioka (6) vs. El Desperado and Kuukai (2) in a B Block tournament match. Kushida and Yuki are mathematically still alive, but the best they can hope for is a three-way tie for first. Kushida and Kuukai opened and immediately tied up on the mat. Despe and Yuki got in and traded hard chops at 2:30, and Yuki hit an impressive dropkick. Kushida and Kuukai brawled to the floor and away from the ring. (You can really see how this small building is packed!) Back in the ring, Kuukai and Despe kept Yuki in their corner. Yuki hit a bodyslam on Kuukai, and he tagged in Kushida at 7:00.
Kushida hit a handspring-back elbow, then a basement dropkick on Despe. Kushida hit a Frankensteiner on Kuukai, then a DDT, and he went to a cross-armbreaker. Kuukai hit a superkick; Kushida hit a Pele Kick, and they were both down at 10:00. Okay, this is easily the best non-main event of the tournament. Yuki hit a double knee drop to Kuukai’s chest for a nearfall. Kuukai tied Yuki in a Bow-and-Arrow, bending him in half over his knees. Despe accidentally hit a spear on Kuukai! Kuukai made the hot tag to Despe at 13:30.
Yuki hit a top-rope crossbody block, but he missed a frogsplash. Despe hit a hard slap to Kushida’s face that dropped him. Yuki hit a hard clothesline on Despe. Despe hit the Pinche Loco (Angel’s Wings) on Yuki for a believable nearfall at 15:30. Kuukai dove through the ropes and crashed onto Kushida. Despe hit a Jay Driller on Yuki. He hit a second Pinche Loco to pin Yuki. That was really good, and as I presumed, the loss eliminates Kushida and Yuki, so our main event winner will win the Block.
El Desperado and Kuukai (4) defeated Kushida and Yuki Yoshioka (6) at 16:34.
7. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita (8) vs. “House of Torture” Taiji Ishimori and Robbie X (6) in a B Block tournament match. Eagles got a “Robbie, Robbie, Robbie!” chant going as he opened against Robbie X, and they targeted each other’s left arms early on. Robbie X tried a huracanrana, but Eagles rotated and landed on his feet. Kosei and Ishimori got in at 2:30 and traded chops. TMDK hit stereo moonsaults from the apron to the floor. In the ring, Robbie X flipped Ishimori onto Fujita, and Robbie got a nearfall. He tied Fujita in a Bow-and-Arrow at 6:00.
Robbie X hit a slingshot senton on Fujita for a nearfall. Ishimori tied a leg lock around Fujita’s waist. Robbie X went for a springboard move, but Fujita caught him with a dropkick, and they were both down. Eagles got a hot tag at 9:00 and he hit a leg lariat on Ishimori, then a flip dive through the ropes, crashing onto the BC and also a woman in the front row! (And this is why they don’t have guardrails for the Super Junior tournaments!) In the ring, Eagles caught Taiji with a superkick to the jaw. The BC began working over Eagles. Fujita got back in at 11:00. He hit a springboard dropkick on Robbie X for a nearfall.
Fujita hit a German Suplex on Robbie X for a nearfall. Ishimori hit a sliding German Suplex on Fujita, and Robbie X immediately hit a running Shooting Star Press on Fujita for a nearfall at 13:30. The BC hit their Magic Killer team slam. Robbie X set up for the X Express, but Eagles jumped to the top rope and hit a Frankensteiner on him. Fujita and Robbie X traded kicks. Ishimori tagged back in and hit a handspring-back-spin kick on Fujita as we heard the 15:00 call. Fujita hit a wheelbarrow German Suplex on Ishimori, and they were both down. Eagles tagged back in, selling pain in his jaw, and he traded forearm strikes with Ishimori.
TMDK hit a team slam on Ishimori for a nearfall. Robbie X hit a Pele Kick on Fujita. TMDK set up for the Sweetbuster, but Ishimori broke it up. Robbie X hit a Poison Rana in the ring, then a top-rope dive to the floor on Fujita. Meanwhile in the ring, Ishimori put Eagles in the Bone Lock on the mat. Robbie got some rollups for nearfalls on Ishimori, then the Turbo Backpack at 18:30, and they were both down. Eagles went for a top-rope 450 Splash, but Ishimori got his knees up to block it! Robbie X immediately hit the X Express (Phoenix Splash) on Eagles! Ishimori hit Bloody Cross (double knees to the chest) for the pin on Eagles. WOW.
Taiji Ishimori and Robbie X (8) defeated Kosei Fujita and Robbie Eagles (8) at 19:21 to win the B Block.
* Almost immediately, A Block winners Sho and Douki ran into the ring and attacked Ishimori and Robbie X.
Final Thoughts: Probably the best match of the tournament in the main event, while Despe/Kuukai vs. Kushida/Yuki was perhaps top five, so two really impressive matches to round out the final night of block play. It just shows what happens when you put the comedy aside and don’t have enhancement guys in the top matches.
If I had to summarize this tournament in just one word, it’s probably “comedy.” As in, too much of it. Taguchi’s cartoonish facial expressions. The comedy between Hiromu and Gedo. The comedy between Connors and Nagai. Treating junior heavyweights like clowns and the punchline of a joke … that’s what WWE does with Akira Tozawa. I hope for more from NJPW. And of course, the best matches of this tournament were letting the best juniors just go out there and be their best, without the cartoonish antics.
During the G1 Climax, I was annoyed that Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Yota Tsuji; I felt that was a match the younger ‘face of the future’ needed to win in a ‘passing the torch’ moment. Well, they are having the rematch on Sunday, and if I were a betting man, I’d heavily bet on Tsuji winning this time around.
Be the first to comment