By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League – Night 11”
December 5, 2025, in Osaka, Japan, at Edion Arena Osaka
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart provided commentary. This venue is a gym (the basketball hoops are affixed to the wall), and the lights were on. It’s packed with a crowd of perhaps 800, with everyone seated on the floor. (During the third match, Walker said it was a sellout, and that appears to be true.)
* 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. Just the A Block was in action on this show. Any team that has three losses is all but mathematically eliminated. We’re in the stretch run! Tonight is the sixth tournament match for everyone in the Block, with six teams still in the hunt for two playoff spots.
1. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman, and Jakob Austin Young vs. Katsuya Murashima, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and El Phantasmo. Tanahashi and Callum opened, and Hiroshi hit his second-rope twisting crossbody block. Callum kicked out Tanahashi’s knees. Jakob entered and hit a Sling Blade for a nearfall. O-Khan tied up Tanahashi’s left leg in the ropes. Hiroshi hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip. ELP got the hot tag at 4:30 and hit some kicks on O-Khan. ELP hit a moonsault to the floor. In the ring, he hit a Lionsault on O-Khan for a nearfall. Murashima entered and hit a rolling senton on O-Khan for a nearfall at 7:30. O-Khan tied him in a submission hold on the mat and cranked on Murashima’s neck until Katsuya submitted.
Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman, and Jakob Austin Young defeated Katsuya Murashima, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and El Phantasmo at 8:07.
2. Zane Jay and “Monster Sauce” Alex Zayne and Lance Archer vs. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Daiki Nagai, Oskar, and Yuto-Ice. The tall guys, Oskar and Archer, jawed nose-to-nose before the bell, and I’m unsure which one has the height advantage. The Young Lions opened and tied up on the mat. Oskar and Alex traded forearm strikes at 2:00. Yuto-Ice entered and hit his roundhouse kicks to the chest in the corner. Archer entered and hit a Black Hole Slam on Nagai at 4:00. Zane hit a dropkick on Daiki. Everyone fought to the back except the Young Lions! Daiki hit a Spinebuster. Yuto-Ice was back, and he battled Zane Jay and slapped him in the face and kicked him in the face for a nearfall, then a running Penalty Kick for the pin. Good energy.
Daiki Nagai, Oskar, and Yuto-Ice defeated Zane Jay, Alex Zayne, and Lance Archer at 6:32.
3. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” David Finlay, Hiromu Takahashi, and Gedo vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa and Hartley Jackson. Hiromu and Oiwa opened, and Takahashi hit a huracanrana. Finlay jumped in and slammed Hiromu onto Oiwa. (I’m enjoying how Finlay is using an unwilling Hiromu as a weapon.) Sabre entered and tied up Hiromu’s arms. Finlay suplexed Sabre, tossing him across the ring. They traded forearm strikes, and Sabre hit some European Uppercuts. Hartley entered and hit a clothesline on Finlay for a nearfall at 6:30. Hartley missed a senton on Gedo. Gedo tried a Gedo Clutch, but he couldn’t budge the big man! Hartley stood up and hit the Jagged Edge (DVD) and pinned Gedo. Solid preview tag. Finlay and Hiromu were arguing in their corner.
Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, and Hartley Jackson defeated David Finlay, Hiromu Takahashi, and Gedo at 8:06.
* Alex Zayne joined Walker on commentary!
4. “House of Torture” Ren Narita and Sanada and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Yuya Uemura and Shota Umino and Shoma Kato. The HoT attacked, and we’re underway! Yuya and Narita opened. On the floor, Sanada whipped Yuya into the guardrail, and those two went into the crowd. In the ring, Shota backed Sanada into a corner and chopped him. Kanemaru and Kato entered at 6:30, with Shoma hitting a suplex. Kanemaru slammed a knee into the mat, applied a Figure Four, and Kato tapped out.
Ren Narita, Sanada, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Yuya Uemura, Shota Umino, and Shoma Kato at 8:21.
5. “House of Torture” Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi (0) vs. Taichi and Satoshi Kojima (2) in an A Block tournament match. These are the only teams officially eliminated of the 16. The HoT attacked, and we’re underway! They worked over Kojima early on. Chase hit a sideslam on Taichi for a nearfall at 3:30. Kojima tagged back in and hit his rapid-fire chops on each opponent, then an elbow drop on Yujiro for a nearfall at 6:00.
Satoshi hit a Koji Cutter on Yujiro, then one on Chase. Yujiro hit an inverted DDT on Satoshi. Owens hit the C-Trigger running knee on Satoshi for a believable nearfall at 7:30. Yujiro got his cane, but Satoshi swatted it away. Taichi and Kojima hit front-and-back clotheslines on Yujiro for a nearfall. The ref got bumped! Chase threw powder in Kojima’s eyes and hit a low-blow uppercut! Yujiro immediately hit the Pimp Juice implant DDT for the cheap pin on Kojima. No team will finish winless! Passable action; they tried hard.
Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi (2) defeated Taichi and Satoshi Kojima (2) at 8:59.
6. “House of Torture” EVIL and Don Fale (w/Sho) (6) vs. El Desperado and Shuji Ishikawa (6) in an A Block tournament match. Sho spoke on the mic, then the HoT attacked. They immediately brawled past the guardrail and into the crowd. The big guys, Fale and Shuji, brawled on one area of the floor, while EVIL and Despe brawled elsewhere in the crowd. EVIL and Despe returned to the ring, and we had a bell at 1:30 to officially begin. EVIL went for a pin, and the bell rang, but of course, it was just Sho pulling a trick. Fale hit a punch to Despe’s gut. On the floor, Sho whipped Despe into the guardrail, then he pushed Desperado back into the ring.
Fale kept Despe grounded. Shuji choked Sho at ringside at 7:00. In the ring, EVIL clotheslined Shuji in the corner. Shuji dropped him with a shoulder tackle. Despe entered and raked EVIL’s eyes, then hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 8:30, and he applied a Stretch Muffler, but EVIL quickly got to the ropes. Despe hit a second-rope doublestomp to EVIL’s chest, then Shuji hit one. Fale and Shuji brawled, with Shuji dropping him with a shoulder tackle. Sho got in and threw some blows to Shuji’s back that had no effect, but Sho and Fale were able to pull Shuji to the floor. In the ring, Despe set up for the Angel’s Wings, but it was blocked: EVIL went for Everything is Evil, but it was blocked. Sho struck Despe in the head with a weapon! EVIL hit the Everything is Evil (uranage) on Despe for the cheap pin.
EVIL and Don Fale (8) defeated El Desperado and Shuji Ishikawa (6) at 11:14/official time of 9:44.
7. Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg (6) vs. “War Dragons” Shingo Takagi and Drilla Moloney (6) in an A Block tournament match. Alex Zayne noted Oleg’s fur hat and said, “Whatever that was made of, he tracked it down and killed it with his bare hands.” Shingo and Oleg opened and traded basic reversals. Yano and Drilla entered at 2:00, and they argued before tying up. Yano struck him with a corner pad. The WD worked over Yano in their corner. Shingo and Drilla hit stereo top-rope elbow drops for a nearfall at 5:30. Oleg hit his gutwrench suplex on Shingo, then bodyslammed him and hit a splash to the mat for a nearfall at 7:30.
Oleg and Drilla traded forearm strikes and chops; Zayne said he isn’t sure who likes this exchange more. This exchange kept going and going! Drilla got knocked down, hopped up, and they continued! Drilla hit a suplex for a nearfall right at the 10:00 call (which was a bit late, actually.) Oleg fired back with a second-rope gutwrench suplex for a nearfall, but Shingo made the save. Oleg got both guys on his shoulders, but they escaped, and Moloney hit a Gore at 11:30!
Shingo hit a sliding clothesline. Oleg hit a double suplex! Yano tagged back in and chop-blocked Drilla. Oleg hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Drilla. Drilla hit a Spinebuster on Yano. Drilla went for the Drilla Killa, but Oleg escaped. Shingo nailed the Pumping Bomber clothesline on Oleg! Yano went for double low blows, but they both blocked him. The Dragons hit a team flipping powerbomb and pinned Yano. Fun match that topped my expectations, and the right team won.
Shingo Takagi and Drilla Moloney (8) defeated Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg (6) at 14:09.
8. “Bishamon” Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto (6) vs. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Gabe Kidd and Yota Tsuji (8) in an A Block tournament match. Kidd and Tsuji could wrap up a playoff spot right now with a win (which virtually guarantees they will lose. Gedo’s 50/50 booking style is a crutch.) Yoshi-Hashi and Tsuji opened. Goto flipped Yoshi-Hashi onto Tsuji’s chest at 1:30. Kidd and Goto brawled past the guardrail and to the far wall. In the ring, Tsuji applied a Camel Clutch on Goto, then bodyslammed him and hit a splash to the mat for a nearfall at 4:30.
Goto hit a hard clothesline on Kidd, and they were both down. Yoshi-Hashi tagged in at 6:00, and he traded chops with Kidd. Kidd hit a clubbing clothesline for a nearfall at 8:30. Yoshi-Hashi hit a clothesline. Goto and Shingo tagged in, with Goto dropping him with a clothesline, then a back suplex for a nearfall. Goto dropped Yota’s chin over his knee for a nearfall at 10:30, and they set up for Shoto, but Kidd made the save. Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee on Gabe. Tsuji hit a Falcon Arrow, and suddenly all four were down.
Tsuji and Goto got up and traded forearm strikes at 12:00. Yota hit a hard headbutt that dropped Goto. Kidd made a blind tag, and that enraged Yota! They argued! However, they hit some punches on Goto, then on Yoshi-Hashi, and they hit a team suplex on Goto. Goto headbutted Kidd. Yota accidentally hit a spear on Kidd! Uh-oh! Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee on Yota. They then hit the Shoto team slam to pin Kidd. Sure, I expected Bishamon to win, but we keep seeing cracks in the teams of the “Unaffiliated” and the “Bullet Club War Dogs.”
Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi (8) defeated Yota Tsuji and Gabe Kidd (8) at 14:01.
Final Thoughts: I didn’t love either of the final two matches — I’ve never been a big fan of Bishamon — but they both worked. I’m intrigued to see if the Unaffiliated and the Bullet Club War Dog teams can all get on the same page, or if it all breaks down all over again. The Oleg/Yano match was good — as per usual, I really enjoy it when Oleg is in the match, and not so much when Yano is in.
The tournament takes a rare day off, and the B Block will be back in action on Sunday, headlined by Uemura and Umino vs. Narita and Sanada. The A Block has their final tournament match on Monday.
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