By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League”
December 9, 2025, in Fukuoka, Japan, at Iizuka City General Gymnasium
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart provided commentary. This venue is a gym, and the lights were on. Most of the seats were on the floor, and it was fairly full. There are about eight rows in the upper tier that are halfway full; there might be 700-800 here today.
* Today is the final day of the round-robin tournament with the B Block in action. Two teams qualified for the playoffs on Monday, and the other two playoff spots will be decided today.
1. “House of Torture” Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Taichi, Satoshi Kojima, and Masatora Yasuda. The HoT attacked during ring introductions. Kojima hit his rapid-fire chops on each heel. Yujiro began working over Kojima. Taichi entered at 3:00 and hit a Mafia Kick on Chase. Yasuda entered at 4:30 and battled Yujiro, and hit a bodyslam. Taichi flipped Yasuda onto Yujiro for a nearfall. Yujiro hit an inverted DDT, then a clothesline for a nearfall, then the Pimp Juice (implant DDT) for the pin. As lifeless a preview tag as we saw all tournament.
Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Taichi, Satoshi Kojima, and Masatora Yasuda at 7:06.
2. Shoma Kato, El Desperado, and Shuji Ishikawa vs. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Shingo Takagi, Drilla Moloney, and Daiki Nagai. Drilla and Despe opened, and Moloney hit a delayed vertical suplex. Shingo entered at 1:30; he backed Despe into a corner and hit a series of jab punches and chops. Shuji entered at 3:00 and brawled with Shingo. He hit his second-rope doublestomp to Shingo’s gut. Shingo hit a suplex on the big man. Shoma entered at 4:30 and battled fellow Young Lion Nagai. Daiki hit a dropkick. Moloney got back in and traded forearm strikes with Kato, and he hit a top-rope elbow drop. Shingo hit a leaping neckbreaker. Moloney put Kato in a Lion Tamer (vertical Boston Crab) with his leg across the neck, and Kato tapped out. A much better preview tag than the first match.
Shingo Takagi, Drilla Moloney, and Daiki Nagai defeated Shoma Kato, El Desperado, and Shuji Ishikawa at 7:59.
3. “House of Torture” EVIL, Don Fale, and Sho vs. Katsuya Murashima, Boltin Oleg, and Toru Yano. Yano’s team came out first, but they were attacked from behind seconds after they emerged from the curtain, and I started my stopwatch at first contact. EVIL put handcuffs on Yano and threw him in the ring; we got a bell to officially begin at 00:38. EVIL threw the key to Sho. The HoT worked over Yano. The bell rang, but of course it was a ruse. This one is as much of a stinker as the first match.
Oleg jumped in at 3:30; Sho charged at him but just ricocheted off. Oleg picked Sho up and tossed him around in his arms, then his gutwrench suplex. Sho tried some chops that had zero effect, so he hit a dropkick on the knee. Murashima entered and hit a flipping senton on EVIL at 6:00, then another one for a nearfall. Murashima hit a Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall. Sho hit a knife-edge chop to Kanemaru’s groin. Fale knocked Oleg down with a shoulder tackle. EVIL applied a Sharpshooter, and Murashima tapped out. Blah.
EVIL, Don Fale, and Sho defeated Katsuya Murashima, Boltin Oleg, and Toru Yano at 7:53/official time of 7:15.
4. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Gabe Kidd, Yota Tsuji, and Gedo vs. Tatsuya Matsumoto and “Bishamon” Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto. Matsumoto and Gedo opened. Goto’s team unloaded blows to Gedo’s back. Kidd knocked Yoshi-Hashi down with a shoulder tackle at 3:00, and those two traded chops. Goto entered and hit a back suplex on Kidd for a nearfall. Gabe suplexed Goto. Gedo got back in and battled Goto. Matsumoto dropkicked Gedo, then he hit some bodyslams on Tsuji. Yota hit a bodyslam. Yota hit a Michinoku Driver for the pin. Okay.
Gabe Kidd, Yota Tsuji, and Gedo defeated Tatsuya Matsumoto, Yoshi-Hashi, and Hirooki Goto at 7:54.
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi and El Phantasmo (4) vs. “House of Torture” Sanada and Ren Narita (6) in a B Block tournament match. The HoT attacked from behind during introductions, and we’re underway! ELP hit a knee drop, and he played some air guitar. Narita kicked out Phantasmo’s knee and targeted it. Meanwhile, Tanahashi and Sanada brawled into the crowd. ELP and Ren brawled into the crowd, too. In the ring, ELP hit an enzuigiri, and he tagged in Tanahashi at 4:30. Hiroshi bodyslammed Narita and hit his second-rope somersault senton for a nearfall. He tied Narita in an abdominal stretch.
Sanada entered at 6:00. Tanahashi hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on him. The babyfaces wishboned Sanada’s legs, then hit stereo Dragonscrew Legwhips, and they applied Texas Cloverleafs. All four got up and brawled. Tanahashi hit a Sling Blade. Sho and Kanemaru ran to the ring and shook the ropes to cause the babyfaces to fall to the mat. Sho hit a knife-edge chop to Tanahashi’s groin, then Kanemaru hit one, too! Sanada grabbed his guitar, but he swung and missed. Sanada hit a low-blow mule kick on ELP. Kanemaru accidentally sprayed whiskey in Sanada’s eyes! ELP hit a straight punch to Narita’s groin, then got an inside cradle for the pin. Merely okay. Both teams finish at 3-4.
Hiroshi Tanahashi and El Phantasmo (6) defeated Sanada and Ren Narita (6) at 10:26.
6. “Murder Sauce” Lance Archer and Alex Zayne (6) vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa (6) in a B Block tournament match. Zayne was at ringside but is sore, so this is going to actually be a handicap match. Sabre attacked Archer. Archer hit a crossbody block. Lance slammed Oiwa onto Sabre. He hit a Blackout slam on Sabre! He set up for one on Oiwa, but Ryohei escaped. Sabre rolled up Archer for the flash pin! The shortest match of the tournament! Zayne was in his ring gear but was selling a neck injury, and he had tape on his upper back.
Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa (8) defeated Lance Archer and Alex Zayne (6) at 2:31.
* Drilla Moloney joined Stewart on commentary.
7. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan and Callum Newman (8) vs. Hiromu Takahashi and David Finlay (4) in a B Block Tournament match. Walker talked about how the UE has been in “shambles” of late, but can win the Block with the win today. All four brawled at the bell. On the floor, Callum whipped Hiromu into the guardrails. In the ring, Callum kept Hiromu grounded. O-Khan hit some Mongolian Chops at 5:00; Hiromu dropped him with a Dragonscrew Legwhip. Finlay got the hot tag, and he hip-tossed O-Khan across the ring and got a nearfall.
Finlay hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall. Callum and Finlay traded forearm strikes. (I have to reiterate how Callum is so much bigger than you’d think; he looks bigger than Finlay.) Hiromu entered and hit his running crossbody blocks, each opponent at 9:00. Hiromu whipped Finlay onto their opponents. (A fun reversal of this whole tournament, where Finlay has used Hiromu as a weapon!) Stewart was chuckling at it all. Hiromu hit a basement dropkick on Callum for a nearfall. Hiromu hit a Time Bomb (DVD) on Newman for a nearfall at 11:00.
HIromu hit a clothesline, and they were both down. Finlay clotheslined Newman to the floor. Hiromu again flipped Finlay to the floor on the UE. This is some really good comedy, as David shouted, “What the f— are you doing?” at Hiromu. Newman hit a Yes Kick on Hiromu. Finlay nailed the OverKill (pop-up knee strike to the sternum) on Callum. Hiromu immediately hit the Time Bomb 2 (modified Air Raid Crash) for the pin on Newman. Entertaining. “That was a spectacle and a half,” Stewart said. He added he doesn’t think we’ll see much more of Finlay and Hiromu as a team.
Hiromu Takahashi and David Finlay (6) defeated Great-O-Khan and Callum Newman (8) at 14:39.
8. “Knockout Brothers” Yuto-Ice and Oskar (6) vs. Shota Umino and Yuya Uemura (8) in a B Block tournament match. Yuto-Ice and Yuya opened. The Knockout Brothers kept Shota grounded, with Oskar applying a modified Camel Clutch, and he cranked on Umino’s head and neck. Umino hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Oskar at 6:30. Yuya got back in, as did Yuto-Ice. Yuya targeted Yuto-Ice’s left elbow. Oskar unloaded some LOUD chops on Yuya. Umino tied Oskar in a crossface on the mat at 12:00.
Oskar hit a backbreaker over his knee on Shota. They hit a team powerbomb move on Shota for a nearfall at 14:00. Yuya and Yuto-Ice traded a long series of forearm strikes. Uemura hit a headbutt that dropped Yuto-Ice at 17:00. Yuya and Shota hit stereo dropkicks on Oskar, then a team back suplex for a nearfall. Oskar hit a Choke Bomb on Yuya at 20:30 and was fired up. He tried one on Umino, but Shota blocked it. Oskar applied a sleeper on Shota. Shota escaped and hit a hard clothesline that dropped Oskar. Oskar nailed his leaping Tombstone Piledriver and pinned Umino! And just like that … we have a four-way tie at 4-3 and four teams at 3-4. UGH.
Yuto-Ice and Oskar (8) defeated Shota Umino and Yuya Uemura (8) at 21:52.
* Walker Stewart said Yuto-Ice and Oskar advanced to the playoffs with the win. Oiwa and Sabre also advance to the playoffs due to the tiebreakers.
Final Thoughts: A very good main event; they set a pace to go long, but it didn’t drag, either. Anyone who read my NJPW reviews knows that I wrote repeatedly all year, “When are Yuto and Oskar coming back from excursion?” These two former Young Lions are talented and would immediately move into a top-tier slot. And they have. The crowd is totally into both of them. The Hiromu/Finlay stuff was fun and funny. For the past 13 shows over nearly three weeks, Finlay has tossed an unwilling Hiromu around, beating up his teammate in the process. So, it was fun to watch Hiromu ‘turn the tables’, so to speak, and do those moves on Finlay.
Hopefully, Zayne’s injury is minor. I really enjoyed that Monster Sauce-TMDK preview tag match, so it’s too bad they couldn’t tear it up today in a Block match. The only announced match for Wednesday’s show is the semifinal playoff match of Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa. After an off-day on Thursday, we’ll have a wild Kidd/Tsuji vs. Yuto-Ice/Oskar semifinal.
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