By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League – Night 5”
November 26, 2025, in Miyagi, Japan, at Sendai SunplazaHall
Streamed live on New Japan World
The lights were low, but the ring was well-lit. Walker Stewart provided commentary. He said Callum Newman would join him later.
* 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. Tonight, just the A Block is in action. The team that advances will be 5-2 or better. (I really hope NJPW doesn’t make the mistake of having four teams at 4-3 and four at 3-4!) Point being, any team that has three losses is all but mathematically eliminated.
1. Zane Jay and “Monster Sauce” Alex Zayne and Lance Archer vs. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Hiromu Takahashi, David Finlay, and Gedo. Zane and Hiromu opened, but Lance tagged in before they locked up; Hiromu’s partners hopped off the apron, not wanting to face Lance. (I always think that’s funny when done right.) Hiromu tried some chops that had no impact; Lance knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. Hiromu rolled to the floor, but teammate David threw him right back in! Funny, I’m enjoying this duo. Lance bodyslammed Zane onto Hiromu, then Zayne onto Hiromu, for a nearfall at 3:00.
Hiromu hit a huracanrana on Alex, then a Dragonscrew Legwhip. Finlay finally tagged in and hit a series of clotheslines in the corner on Alex, and he tossed Zayne across the ring for a nearfall at the 5:00 call. Zane got back in and battled Finlay, and he put David in a Boston Crab. David countered with a Buckle Bomb at 7:30. David then powerbombed Hiromu onto Zane! Finlay hit one more powerbomb on Zane Jay for the pin. I am just really enjoying how Finlay has been using an (unwilling!) Hiromu as a weapon.
Hiromu Takahashi, David Finlay, and Gedo defeated Zane Jay, Alex Zayne, and Lance Archer at 7:51.
2. Yuya Uemura, Shota Umino, and Shoma Kato vs. “United Empire” Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, and Jakob Austin Young. Yuya and O-Khan opened. Suddenly, all six were fighting, with Callum battling Shota Umino on the floor. In the ring, O-Khan hit some Mongolian Chops on Uemura. Shota tagged in at 4:30, and he cleared the ring, hitting a dropkick on O-Khan, and he was fired up.
Umino hit a fisherman’s suplex on Callum. Callum fired back with an enzuigiri, and they were both down. Kato and Young jumped in at 6:00, with Shoma hitting a dropkick for a nearfall. Young fired back with a Sling Blade clothesline and a release back suplex. Young applied a version of a Sharpshooter that really looked painful, and Shoma tapped out! Decent match.
Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, and Jakob Austin Young defeated Yuya Uemura, Shota Umino, and Shoma Kato at 7:30.
3. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Owia, and Hartley Jackson vs. “House of Torture” Sanada, Ren Narita, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Sabre and Sanada opened, and Zack got a quick nearfall on a rollup. Suddenly, all six were fighting, in and out of the ring. Kanemaru whipped Sabire into the guardrails. Ren jabbed a chair into Sabre’s gut at 2:30 and threw him back into the ring, where Kanemaru kept him grounded. Oiwa got in, but the HoT worked him over in their corner. Kanemaru hit an enzuigiri on Oiwa at 6:30. Sabre grabbed Ren and tied him up in the corner. Oiwa hit a discus clothesline to pin Kanemaru. That wrapped up suddenly.
Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Owia, and Hartley Jackson defeated Sanada, Ren Narita, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 7:00 even.
4. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Oskar, Yuto-Ice, and Daiki Nagai vs. Katsuya Murashima, El Phantasmo, and Hiroshi Tanahashi. They all started brawling, and we had the bell a second or two later. Oskar stomped on ELP in the ring while the others fought on the floor. The UBC kept Phantasmo in their corner and kept him grounded. Yuto-Ice hit a series of roundhouse kicks to the chest in the corner at 3:00, then a running knee to the forehead for a nearfall. ELP hit an enzuigiri, and he finally tagged in Tanahashi to a huge pop.
Tanahashi hit a flying forearm on Yuto-Ice and a basement dropkick on Oskar. He hit his second-rope somersault senton on Yuto-Ice for a nearfall at 4:30, then a Sling Blade. The Young Lions entered and battled each other. Murashima hit a Bulldog Powerslam on Ngai for a nearfall at 7:00. Oskar applied a sleeper, released Murashima to slam him to the mat, and scored the pin. Good preview tag.
Oskar, Yuto-Ice, and Daiki Nagai defeated Katsuya Murashima, El Phantasmo, and Hiroshi Tanahashi at 8:02.
* Callum Newman joined Walker Stewart in the booth.
5. “House of Torture” Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi (0) vs. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Gabe Kidd and Yota Tsuji (2) in an A Block tournament match. Again, if Owens and Yujiro lose again, they are essentially eliminated. Kidd and Chase opened. Walker started to ask Callum about the change of attitude in the United Empire. Callum pleaded innocence and ignorance of some recent incidents of cheating. “I’m not the leader,” he replied. Yujiro and Yota locked up. Gabe got back in at 5:30 and hit some chops on Chase. Tsuji hit a splash to the mat on Yujiro for a nearfall. Yujiro hit an inverted DDT at 7:30. Kidd hit his discus clothesline as Tsuji was also hitting a Gene Blaster (spear) to pin Yujiro. Honestly, a pretty basic match that stayed in first gear. At least the right team won.
Gabe Kidd and Yota Tsuji (4) defeated Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi (0) at 9:13.
6. El Desperado and Shuji Ishikawa (2) vs. Taichi and Satoshi Kojima (2) in an A Block tournament match. We opened with 55-year-old Kojima locking up with 50-year-old Shuji, and they traded shoulder blocks, then chops. Shuji (again he’s 6’5!” knocked Satoshi down with a shoulder tackle; Kojima knocked Shuji down with one. Former Suzuki-Gun teammates Taichi and Despe locked up at 1:30. Taichi hit some stiff kicks to the spine and kept Desperado grounded. Shuji entered and hit a second-rope knee drop to Taichi’s chest for a nearfall at 6:00.
Taichi got up and hit some spin kicks to Shuji’s thighs, while Shuji responded with forearm strikes. Taichi hit a back suplex, and they were both down at 9:00. Kojima entered and hit a DDT on Desperado. Despe fired back with a spear at 10:30. Satoshi hit a Koji Cutter on Desperado, then a hard clothesline for a nearfall. Kojima went for another clothesline, but Despe partially blocked it, rolled up Satoshi, and scored the flash pin. The crowd was really into this one.
El Desperado and Shuji Ishikawa (4) defeated Taichi and Satoshi Kojima (2) at 12:15.
7. “House of Torture” EVIL and Don Fale (w/Dick Togo) (2) vs. “War Dragons” Shingo Takagi and Drilla Moloney (w/Daiki Nagai) (2) in an A Block tournament match. The HoT attacked, and we’re underway. Drilla and Shingo hit a team shoulder tackle to drop EVIL. EVIL whipped Shingo into the guardrail. In the ring, EVIL choked Shingo with a T-shirt. Drilla finally entered at 5:00, and he battled EVIL, hitting a dropkick, then a baseball slide dropkick to the floor on EVIL. The WD tried to lift Fale but couldn’t budge him. They each hit a top-rope elbow drop and got a nearfall at 7:30.
EVIL hit a suplex on Shingo for a nearfall, and he barked at the ref. The ref got bumped. Shingo hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on EVIL. Daiki and Drilla held EVIL upside-down, and Shingo hit a knife-edge chop to EVIL’s groin! (The cameras panned to Togo, who was livid that his signature spot was being stolen!) The ref got up but was almost immediately knocked down again. Togo jumped in the ring and helped Fale stomp on Shingo. EVIL and Togo hit a Magic Killer on Shingo, and Fale hit an elbow drop. EVIL applied a Sharpshooter on Shingo at 11:30, but Moloney made the save.
EVIL hit the Darkness Falls powerbomb on Shingo for a nearfall. Fale set up for the Grenade, but Shingo escaped, and he hit a Pumping Bomber clothesline. He hit a Pumping Bomber clothesline on EVIL, too! Togo jumped in and hit a low blow on Moloney. Powder was thrown into Shingo’s eyes! EVIL immediately hit the Everything is Evil (uranage) for the cheap pin on Shingo. The crowd went silent, and Walker was livid.
EVIL and Don Fale (4) defeated Shingo Takagi and Drilla Moloney (w/Daiki Nagai) (2) at 13:16.
8. Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg (4) vs. “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi (2) in an A Block tournament match. Yosh-Hashi and Oleg opened. Oleg flipped Y-H around in his arms. Yano entered at 2:30 and immediately removed a corner pad. “He just doesn’t shut up, does he?” Callum said. Yano and Goto traded forearm strikes. Boltin tagged back in at 7:00 and sent Yoshi-Hashi flying with a shoulder tackle that was so hard it caused Callum to bust out laughing. Y-H and Boltin traded chops with Oleg getting the better of the exchange. Yoshi-Hashi hit an inverted DDT on Oleg. Bishamon went for the Shoto team slam, but Oleg fought free.
Oleg hit a Vader Bomb on Yoshi-Hashi for a nearfall at 10:30. Oleg hit a Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll) for a nearfall. He went for another one, but Yoshi-Hashi turned it into a Crucifix Driver for a nearfall. Yoshi-Hashi hit a basement dropkick on Yano’s knee. Goto finally got a hot tag at 13:00. Oleg hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Goto. Yoshi-Hashi hit his running Headhunter (blockbuster) on Yano for a nearfall at 15:00. They set up for the Shoto team slam, but Oleg made the save. Yoshi-Hashi hit a Dragon Suplex on Oleg. Yano rolled up Goto for a nearfall, then another. Yoshi-Hashi hit a top-rope Blockbuster as Goto was also hitting a Russian Leg Sweep on Yano for a nearfall. They then hit the Shoto team slam to pin Yano. Solid match.
Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto (4) defeated Boltin Oleg and Toru Yano (4) at 17:01.
Final Thoughts: I’ve written in every review of the tournament so far… the B Block is superior to the A Block, and tonight was a great example of that. I generally avoid giving a ‘star rating’ because they are so subjective and it’s all people focus on… but on this night… we had no tournament matches I would rate as a “good match,” meaning, between 2.5 stars and 3.25 stars. Some matches were adequate, but I wouldn’t use the word “good,” and certainly not “great” or “must-see.” That’s fine… not every show can have a “match of the tournament” contender. All that said, the main event was the best of the four, even though I’d say it was just slightly above average.
SO… we have five teams at 2-1, two at 1-2, and Chase/Yujiro, who are almost mathematically eliminated at 0-3. The tournament skips Thursday and resumes on Friday with the B Block back in action, with ELP and Tanahashi vs. Oskar and Yuto-Ice as the headliner.
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