By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League”
December 3, 2025, in Shizuoka, Japan, at Twin Messe Shizuoka North Building
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart provided commentary. This venue is a really small room with all seating on the floor. It’s packed in there, but the crowd was maybe 600-700.
* 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. Today, just the B Block is in tournament action. We enter the day with just one team at 3-1, six at 2-2, and one at 1-3.
1. Taichi, Satoshi Kojima, and Masatora Yasuda vs. “House of Torture” Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. The HoT attacked, and we’re underway! Chase twisted Taichi’s left knee. Kojima and Yujiro entered at 3:00, and Satoshi hit his rapid-fire chops in the corner, then a second-rope elbow drop for a nearfall. Yujiro hit an inverted DDT. Kanemaru tagged in, but Satoshi hit a Koji Cutter. Yasuda tagged in and dropkicked Kanemaru. Yasuda hit a flip off the top rope onto Kanemaru. Kanemaru suplexed Yasuda, then put him in a Boston Crab, and Yasuda tapped out.
Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Taichi, Satoshi Kojima, and Masatora Yasuda at 6:48.
2. “House of Torture” EVIL, Don Fale, and Sho vs. El Desperado, Shuji Ishikawa, and Shoma Kato. Sho got on the mic and apparently proclaimed he is actually Dick Togo and got booed. The HoT attacked, and all six immediately brawled to the floor. In the ring, Fale hit a big shoulder tackle on Desperado, and EVIL immediately applied a Sharpshooter on Despe. Back on the floor, EVIL continued to beat up Desperado, rolled him into the ring, and Sho stomped on him. Despe hit a basement dropkick on Fale’s knee.
Shuji tagged in at 3:00 and hit a double clothesline, and he battled Fale, hitting a clothesline to get a nearfall. Fale and Shuji hit stereo clotheslines and were both down. Shoma entered and knocked Sho down with a shoulder tackle, then a bodyslam for a nearfall. Sho did Dick Togo’s knife-edge chop to the groin move (Okay, it really is Togo!) He choked Shoma with a wire! EVIL and Sho hit a Magic Killer team slam to pin Shoma. Decent humor from Sho.
EVIL, Don Fale, and Sho defeated El Desperado, Shuji Ishikawa, and Shoma Kato at 6:19.
3. Daiki Nagai and “War Dragons” Drilla Moloney and Shingo Takagi vs. Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano, and Katsuya Murashima. Shingo and Yano opened. Moloney battled Oleg, and they traded forearm strikes and chops. Oleg hit the Vader Bomb for a nearfall at 3:30. Moloney hit a dropkick. Daiki entered and hit a missile dropkick on Oleg. Moloney hit a top-rope elbow drop on Oleg, then Daiki hit one for a nearfall. Oleg scooped up Daiki and hit an F5 faceplant for the pin. That wrapped up suddenly.
Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano, and Katsuya Murashima defeated Daiki Nagai, Drilla Moloney, and Shingo Takagi at 6:18.
4. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Yota Tsuji, Gabe Kidd, and Gedo vs. Tatsuya Matsumoto and “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi. Gedo and Matsumoto opened. Tsuji and Yoshi-Hashi brawled at ringside. Goto and Kidd went past the guardrail and into the crowd. In the ring, Tsuji hit a splash to the mat on Yoshi-Hashi for a nearfall at 4:00. They got up and traded chops. Yota tagged in Gedo; Kidd looked livid, but Gedo immediately tagged in Kidd. (Intrigue!) Kidd suplexed Goto. Kidd was pushed into Yota, knocking Tsuji down! Uh-oh! Matsumoto hit a dropkick on Kidd, then he put Gabe in a Boston Crab. Kidd got up and slapped Matsumoto in the face, then hit a piledriver for the pin. The real story here is the sudden tension between Kidd and Tsuji.
Yota Tsuji, Gabe Kidd, and Gedo defeated Tatsuya Matsumoto, Hirooki Goto, and Yoshi-Hashi at 7:51.
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi and El Phantasmo (2) vs. “Monster Sauce” Lance Archer and Alex Zayne (4) in a B Block tournament match. Zayne and Phantasmo opened and twisted each other’s left arms. Archer battled Hiroshi. ELP and Zayne traded offense while playing air guitar for some silliness. Lance got back in and stood on both opponents at 4:30. ELP hit a Lionsault on Zayne, then a plancha to the floor on Archer, then a springboard Swanton on Zayne in the ring. He did an airplane spin-into-a-slam on Zayne for a nearfall at 6:30. Alex hit his jump-up huracanrana out of the corner on ELP. (They did that move flawlessly, and it got a nice pop.)
Zayne hit his flipping axe kick on ELP. Lance chokeslammed teammate Alex onto ELP for a nearfall. Alex flipped Lance onto Tanahashi in the corner at 8:30. ELP tried to hit the CR2 on Zayne, but Archer made the save. Tanahashi hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Archer. Tanahashi put Archer in a Texas Cloverleaf, but Lance reached the ropes. Hiroshi and ELP hit stereo second-rope somersault sentons, and they played air guitar together. ELP hit the CR2 (modified Styles Clash) on Zayne for a nearfall at 11:00, but Archer made the save. Tanahashi hit a Sling Blade on Archer, and they clotheslined Lance to the floor. Tanahashi hit a top-rope crossbody block to the floor on Lance! Meanwhile, ELP hit the Thunderkiss 86 (frog splash) on Zayne for the pin. Good action.
Hiroshi Tanahashi and El Phantasmo (4) defeated Lance Archer and Alex Zayne (4) at 12:01.
* Archer got on the mic and said “thank you” in Japanese, bowed, and shook Hiroshi’s hand. Zayne also shook Tanahashi’s hand, and the crowd gave them a nice applause.
* Drilla Moloney joined commentary here!
6. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan and Callum Newman (w/Jakob Austin Young) (4) vs. “House of Torture” Sanada and Ren Narita (6) in a B Block tournament match. The HoT came out first, and they attacked the UE as they rolled into the ring, and we’re underway. They brawled into the crowd. Moloney and Walker talked about the “change of attitude” in Callum, who has had a proverbial chip on his shoulder lately. Sanada whipped Callum into the guardrail. In the ring, Ren got a nearfall on O-Khan, and he had his leg over O-Khan’s throat. O-Khan hit his Mongolian Chops on Narita at 5:30 and threw Ren into the corner.
Sanada hit a basement dropkick on Newman; Callum popped up and hit an enzuigiri, and they were both down at 8:30. Callum hit a running neckbreaker on Sanada for a nearfall. The ref got bumped. Kanemaru jumped in the ring and attacked the UE with his whiskey bottle. Sanada got his guitar and jabbed it into O-Khan’s gut. Callum grabbed the guitar, but he nearly hit O-Khan! Luckily, he was able to pull up in time. Callum hit a plancha to the floor. O-Khan cracked the guitar over Sanada’s head, then he hit the Eliminator chokeslam to pin Sanada! Both teams are now 3-2.
Great-O-Khan and Callum Newman (6) defeated Sanada and Ren Narita (6) at 11:35.
7. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa (4) vs. “Bullet Club” Yuto-Ice and Oskar (4) in a B Block tournament match. Drilla said that Yuto-Ice “ruffles everyone’s feathers.” Oskar and Oiwa opened, but Oiwa hit a cheap shot on Yuto-Ice, who was on the apron. Yuto-Ice and Sabre brawled at ringside while Oskar was stomping on Oiwa in the ring. Yuto-Ice hit his roundhouse kicks in the corner on Oiwa, then running knees to the face, for a nearfall at 3:00. Oskar and Oiwa traded chops. Sabre finally entered and hit some pump kicks on Oskar.
Zack stomped on Oskar’s right elbow and immediately tied up the right arm. Sabre hit a dropkick on Oskar and a running European Uppercut in the corner, then a running Penalty Kick for a nearfall at 5:30. Oskar went for a chokeslam, but Sabre locked him in a Triangle Choke! Nice! Oskar, of course, hit a powerbomb to escape, and they were both down at 7:00. Yuto-Ice and Oiwa got back in and brawled some more. Oiwa hit a dropkick, then a clothesline. TMDK hit some quick team moves, and Oiwa hit a German Suplex on Yuto-Ice for a nearfall at 9:30.
Yuto-Ice dropped Oiwa with a hard slap, and he hit a running Penalty Kick for a nearfall. Oskar hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall. Oiwa got a flash rollup on Oskar for a believable nearfall at 12:00. Sabre hit a Pele Kick on Oskar’s damaged arm. TMDK hit a team suplex on Oskar, and Zack hit another penalty kick. Oiwa hit a frog splash for a nearfall. Oiwa went for his discus clothesline, but Oskar ducked it, scooped up Oiwa, and hit his leaping Tombstone Piledriver to pin Oiwa. Good match; I wasn’t sure which team was winning, and that added a lot of drama.
Yuto-Ice and Oskar (6) defeated Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa (4) at 13:42.
8. Shota Umino and Yuya Uemura (4) vs. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” David Finlay and Hiromu Takahashi (4) in a B Block tournament match. Shota and Finlay opened in a lockup, as Walker reminded us, they met in the finals of the New Japan Cup. Yuya entered and tied up David’s left arm. The UBC kept Shota grounded and in their corner, with Hiromu hitting a series of chops. Finlay whipped Hiromu into a rolling cannonball in the corner at 5:30. (I have been amused all tournament at how Finlay has used Hiromu as an unwilling weapon.)
Yuya hit a basement dropkick on Finlay at 8:00, and he applied a hammerlock to keep David grounded, but he eventually reached the ropes. Finlay hit a Northern Irish Curse backbreaker over his knee on Yuya. Hiromu tagged back in at 9:30, and he battled Yuya, and they traded multiple chops to the chest. Umino hit a fisherman’s suplex on Hiromu for a nearfall at 12:00. Finlay threw Yuya onto Shota’s chest, and Hiromu covered Shota for a nearfall. Hiromu hit a Time Bomb (DVD) on Shota for a nearfall at 14:00.
Shota and Yuya hit a team back suplex on Hiromu for a nearfall. Shota accidentally clotheslined Yuya! Hiromu hit a Lungblower. Finlay picked up Hiromu and went to powerbomb him in the corner, but their opponent moved, and Hiromu crashed into the corner, having taken a Buckle Bomb! Umino hit a Dragon Suplex on Finlay, and everyone was down at 16:00. Hiromu and Shota traded more chops. Takahashi hit a clothesline and a swinging sideslam for a nearfall, but Yuya made the save. Yuya hit a Dragon Suplex on Hiromu at the same time Umino was clotheslining Hiromu. Shota then hit the “Second Chapter” (Snow Plow Driver) on Hiromu for the pin. A superb match.
Shota Umino and Yuya Uemura (6) defeated David Finlay and Hiromu Takahashi (4) at 18:55.
Final Thoughts: The B Block continues to have great main events, and today was no different. I am really loving that El Desperado and Hiromu Takahashi, who both regularly wrestle as juniors, have stepped up in this tournament filled with heavyweights. We haven’t seen much of an interaction of Hiromu facing Shota or Yuya, but as expected, they all meshed quite well. The TMDK vs. Yuto-Ice/Oskar match was also really good. Monster Sauce never gets a main event, but they continue to have very good tournament openers.
So, we have four teams at 3-2, and four teams at 2-3, so I believe in theory, every team is still mathematically in the race. After a day off, the tournament continues on Friday with the A Block in action as we are now in the stretch run.
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