By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League”
November 20, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan, at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
It’s a fairly packed crowd. Chris Charlton provided commentary; he said Alex Zayne will join him later in the show.
* This year’s tournament features 16 teams, divided into two Blocks of eight squads. It’s a round-robin tournament, so each team has seven matches. The winners of each Block will then face off in the finals. There are teams from the House of Torture and three teams from the “Unaffiliated Bullet Club,” with a member each of the Bullet Club and the former LIJ faction.
* Yoh was in the ring and spoke on the mic. He was holding a NEVER title belt. He refused to leave the ring, so several Young Lions carried him to the back. He wants a six-man tag title shot at Wrestle Kingdom!
1. Zane Jay and “Murder Sauce” Lance Archer and Alex Zayne vs. “House of Torture” Sanada, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Ren Narita. The HoT attacked Archer at the bell. Zayne battled Sanada. Ren pulled Alex to the floor and whipped him into the guardrails. The HoT worked over Zayne in the ring, with Kanemaru hitting an enzuigiri at 3:00, but Alex hit a corkscrew senton. Kanemaru hit a snap suplex. Sanada ‘accidentally’ hit a low blow kick on Alex. Zane Jay tagged in for the first time and hit some chops on Ren. Ren tied him in a knee bar on the mat, and he switched to a half-crab at 5:30. Kanemaru sprayed fluid in Archer’s eyes! Sanada tied Zayne in a Paradise Lock. Meanwhile, Ren had Zane Jay in a Boston Crab, and Jay tapped out. Decent.
Sanada, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Ren Narita defeated Zane Jay, Lance Archer, and Alex Zayne at 5:57.
2. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Hartley Jackson, and Ryohei Oiwa vs. “United Empire” Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, and Jakob Austin Young. O-Khan and Oiwa opened. Callum jumped in and attacked Oiwa (again, he’s been showing a new, more aggressive side!) Sabre pulled Callum to the floor, and they fought at ringside. O-Khan slammed Oiwa against the guardrails, too. In the ring, Oiwa hit a dropkick on Callum, and he tagged in Hartley at 4:00. Hartley hit big shoulder blocks, sending each opponent flying.
Hartley hit splashes in opposite corners on opponents, and he dropped Callum with a clothesline, then hit a massive senton for a nearfall. Sabre tagged back in and hit some European Uppercuts on Newman. They hit stereo Pump Kicks to each other’s chest and were both down. Oiwa and Jakob tagged in at 6:00. Oiwa hit a back suplex. Jakob hit a Sling Blade clothesline, but he couldn’t hit Jakob’s Ladder (Sliced Bread). Oiwa tied Young in a half-crab until he tapped out. Solid. Charlton noted the visible frustration on Callum’s face for losing yet again. Will the United Empire survive another bad tournament showing?
Zack Sabre Jr., Hartley Jackson, and Ryohei Oiwa defeated Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, and Jakob Austin Young at 8:16.
* Alex Zayne has already joined commentary! (Usually, the English-speaking wrestler only shows up for the tournament matches.)
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi, El Phantasmo, and Katsuya Murashima vs. Yuya Uemura, Shota Umino, and Shoma Kato. The Young Lions opened with basic reversals. ELP and Shota Umino entered at 1:00, and they immediately traded forearm strikes. Umino was able to back up and avoid a superkick. Tanahashi and Yuya entered at 2:30, with Hiroshi dropping him with a shoulder tackle. Yuya hit an armdrag. Tanahashi dropped Kato with a slap to the face. Murashima got back in at 5:00 and traded chops with Kato, and Katsuya got a bodyslam for a nearfall. ELP hit some chops on Kato, then Tanahashi laid one in.
ELP missed a Lionsault, and Kato dropkicked him. Yuya tagged back in at 7:00, and he armdragged several guys. He hit a vicious bulldog on ELP for a nearfall. Yuya and Shota hit stereo dropkicks on Tanahashi. ELP hit a dropkick. Katsuya tagged back in and traded forearm strikes with Shota. Katsuya hit a Bulldog Powerslam on Umino for a nearfall at 10:00. He tried to apply a Boston Crab but Shota fought it off. Tanahashi went to the top rope, but Yuya cut him off, too. Shota hit a decapitating clothesline and pinned Murashima. Good action.
Yuya Uemura, Shota Umino, and Shoma Kato defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, El Phantasmo, and Katsuya Murashima at 11:02.
4. Hiromu Takahashi, Dick Togo, and David Finlay vs. Oskar, Yuto-Ice, and Daiki Nagai. Yes, each team has an ‘Unaffiliated’ member and two Bullet Club members. Hiromu and Yuto-Ice opened, and Takahashi hit some chops. Gedo got in, but Yuto-Ice hit some roundhouse kicks on him. Oskar went for a chokeslam, but Gedo escaped and tagged out. Finlay hit a series of clotheslines in the corner on Oskar at 4:00. Oskar scooped him up and bodyslammed Finlay. Daiki hit a dropkick to Finlay’s chin. Finlay nailed an Irish Curse backbreaker over his knee on Daiki. Finlay scooped up teammate Takashi and powerbombed him to the floor onto their opponents! Finlay then hit a standing powerbomb to pin Nagai. Fun match with some decent comedy.
Hiromu Takahashi, Dick Togo, and David Finlay defeated Oskar, Yuto-Ice, and Daiki Nagai at 6:10.
5. Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg vs. El Desperado and Shuji Ishikawa in an A Block tournament match. My first time seeing Shuji (and Zayne said it’s his first time seeing him live). Shuji is clearly much older, taller, and thicker, and he opened against Oleg as they traded shoulder blocks. Despe entered and stomped on Oleg’s shoulder and upper arm. Yano whipped Despe into an unprotected corner, and he peeled off Despe’s shirt to reveal some tape and a back brace, which Yano ripped off. They got up and traded blows, and Yano again whipped him into the corner at 3:00. Oleg hit his gutwrench suplex on Desperado, sending him to the floor.
Despe got back in and hit a few chops, but Oleg dropped him with one hard chop. Despe whipped Oleg into the exposed corner! Shuji tagged in at 5:30, and he hit a double crossbody block. He did a doublestomp on Oleg for a nearfall. Oleg and Shuji traded clotheslines with neither man going down. Oleg finally suplexed him, and they were both down at 7:30. Yano tagged back in and got a rollup for a nearfall. Shuji hit a second-rope doublestomp on Yano for a nearfall, but Oleg made the save. Yano hit a low blow on Shuji, rolled him up, and scored the flash pin. Of course, Charlton’s “monitor went out,” and he saw no low blow.
Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg (2) defeated El Desperado and Shuji Ishikawa (0) at 10:13.
6. “House of Torture” EVIL and Don Fale vs. “House of Torture” Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi in an A Block tournament match. EVIL and Yujiro opened with Takahashi raking EVIL’s eyes. Fale dropped Chase with a shoulder tackle at 1:30. EVIL and Yujiro fought to the floor, into the crowd, and up into the bleachers. In the ring, Fale dropped Chase with a punch to the gut at 4:00. Chase hit a second-rope missile dropkick that dropped Fale. Yujiro hit a reverse DDT on EVIL for a nearfall. Zayne remarked this match had “much more wrestling than I expected.”
The ref got bumped at 5:30. Yoshinobu Kanemaru hopped in the ring… but who will he help? He passed around his whiskey bottle, and everyone consumed some; the crowd was laughing at this. “I’ve never seen this before,” Charlton said. EVIL sprayed whiskey in Chase’s face! He tied Yujiro in a Sharpshooter, and Takahashi tapped out. For an intra-faction, heel-heel match, that was pretty decent and didn’t overstay its welcome. Yes, I’m grading on a curve, but that could have been ugly, and it was rather fun. They all did their hand motions to show they are all on the same page.
EVIL and Don Fale (2) defeated Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi (0) at 7:09.
7. “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi vs. Taichi and Satoshi Kojima in an A Block tournament match. A few months ago, Taichi and Satoshi were teaming up, and it was clear they didn’t trust each other. Taichi and Goto opened. Goto flipped Yoshi-Hashi onto Kojima. Yoshi-Hashi tied up Taichi’s leg on the mat. Kojima hit his rapid-fire chops on Goto in the corner at 5:30. Satoshi hit a Koji Cutter on Yoshi-Hashi. Yoshi-Hashi and Taichi traded forearm strikes. Yoshi-Hashi hit a Headhunter (running Blockbuster).
Yoshi-Hashi tied Taichi in a Figure Four at 9:30. Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee. Bishamon went for the Shoto team slam, but Taichi escaped. Taichi and Kojima hit front-and-back clotheslines on Goto! Yoshi-Hashi superkicked Kojima. Taichi hit a brainbuster on Yoshi-Hashi at 12:00, and he was fired up. He got Y-H up for Black Mephisto, but it was blocked. Seconds later, Taichi hit Black Mephisto (Air Raid Crash) and pinned Yoshi-Hashi! The tournament has its first upset!
Taichi and Satoshi Kojima (2) defeated Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi (0) at 12:29.
8. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Gabe Kid and Yota Tsuji vs. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Drilla Moloney and Shingo Takagi in an A Block tournament match. Yota and Shingo opened! Yota hit a basement dropkick and a shoulder tackle. Gabe and Drilla tied up at 2:00 with some intense reversals, and they ‘barked’ at each other before locking up again. They switched to trading chops. “There will be a handshake after the match but certainly not right now,” Charlton said. Drilla hit a dropkick. On the floor, Gabe hit an Exploder Suplex onto the thin mat on Drilla! Meanwhile, Yota and Shingo brawled to the English commentary booth! The fight went into the crowd.
Back in the ring, Drilla and Gabe traded more chops, and the exchange kept going and going, until Gabe hit a clothesline for a nearfall at 6:30. Drilla hit some chops on Yota and a suplex. Shingo got a hot tag, and he hit a Flatliner-and-DDT combo for a nearfall at 8:00. Shingo hit a double clothesline. Shingo and Drilla hit stereo top-rope elbow drops for nearfalls. Gabe hit a clothesline in the corner on Drilla at 11:00, then a back suplex for a nearfall. Yota hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee on Maloney, and Gabe immediately hit a hard clothesline on Moloney. Kidd and Shingo traded forearm strikes. Moloney hit a Spinebuster on Yota, and suddenly, everyone was down at 12:30.
Moloney set up for the Drilla Killa, but Tsuji escaped. Yota hit a headbutt, and they both collapsed. This has been really, really good action. Shingo and Gabe traded clotheslines, and Shingo hit a back suplex. Yota stomped on Shingo’s head, but he couldn’t hit the Marlowe Crash on Moloney. Gabe hit a running knee, and everyone was down again at 15:00, and this crowd was hot. Shingo and Gabe traded headbutts, chops, and open-hand slaps. Drilla hit a Gore on Gabe! Shingo hit a Pumping Bomber clothesline on Yota, then one on Gabe for a nearfall. Shingo and Drilla hit a team Made In Japan flipping powerbomb to pin Kidd! That was a blast; I don’t know how we get a better A Block tournament match than that.
Shingo Takagi and Drilla Moloney (2) defeated Gabe Kidd and Yota Tsuji (0) at 17:00 even.
* Shingo and Drilla spoke on the mic. Drilla named their team “War Dragons.” Shingo wasn’t so sure.
Final Thoughts: I had the same reaction during Super Junior Tag League — I would rather just watch Shingo and Yota team up, and Gabe and Drilla team up. I am just not ‘feeling’ the combo teams from the two factions. That said… that was a great main event. Seriously, looking at the other teams in the A Block, I don’t think there is a matchup that looks better on paper than what we got here. But I’ll also add that I think the B Block has a stronger field of teams.
The other three tournament matches were all fine, but nothing must-see. Kojima is so slow now; Taichi will really have to work hard to cover Satoshi’s flaws and weaknesses over the course of this tournament. I guess I’m glad they got some of the intrafaction warfare out of the way right away. The tournament has an off-day on Friday and will be back in action with the B Block underway on Saturday.
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