By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League”
November 22, 2024 in Kanagawa, Japan at Yokohama Budokan
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is night three of the 15-show, month-long tournament. This year’s field features 16 teams in two eight-team Blocks. It is a round-robin tournament, so each team has seven matches in the Block round. Tonight, just the A Block is in tournament action.
This is a small arena. Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton provided commentary.
1. Shoma Kato vs. Nagai Daiki. Kato hit some nice dropkicks and put Nagai in a Boston Crab, and Daika tapped out.
Shoma Kato defeated Nagai Daiki at 7:31.
2. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls, and Shane Haste vs. “Bullet Club” Taiji Ishimori, Stevie Filip, and Tome Filip. Fujita and Kosei opened. Shane and one of the Filips traded offense, with Shane hitting an inverted suplex that dropped the Filip stomach-first. Fujita hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor. In the ring, TMDK hit the “Rock Bomb” team slam to score the pin.
Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls, and Shane Haste defeated Taiji Ishimori, Stevie Filip, and Tome Filip at 7:02.
3. “House of Torture” EVIL, Ren Narita, and Dick Togo vs. “Just 4 Guys” Taka Michinoku, Taichi, and Douki. The HoT attacked at the bell. EVIL choked Taka on the floor and demanded he give up. In the ring, Douki hit some armdrags on Togo at 5:00. Togo hit his knife-edge chop to Douki’s groin. Douki applied the Douki Chokey (triangle choke) and Togo submitted. As expected.
Taka Michinoku, Taichi, and Douki defeated EVIL, Ren Narita, and Dick Togo at 7:13.
4. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Tetsuya Naito and Bushi vs. Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg. Naito took forever to disrobe and it was driving Yano nuts, so Naito rolled to the floor at the bell to further frustrate Yano. Oleg got in at 3:30 and knocked Naito down with a shoulder tackle, then he hit the gut-wrench suplex, then a splash to the mat for a nearfall. Bushi nailed a dive through the ropes onto Oleg at 5:00. In the ring, Naito hit a basement dropkick on Oleg’s knee. Oleg hit an F5 faceplant on Bushi. Oleg then hit the Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll) on Bushi for the pin. Good action.
Boltin Oleg and Toru Yano defeated Tetsuya Naito and Bushi at 6:38.
5. Katsuya Murashima, Jado, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. “United Empire” Jakob Austin Young, Henare, and Great-O-Khan. Henare and O-Khan lost their tournament opener on Thursday so they should be in a bad mood. Tanahashi and O-Khan opened. O-Khan hit his Mongolian Chops on Jado at 3:00. Young entered and he twisted Jado’s left ankle. Henare hit a senton on Jado for a nearfall at 5:00. Tanahashi entered and hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip in the ropes on O-Khan, then his second-rope somersault senton on Henare for a nearfall at 7:00. Tanahashi nailed the Twist and Shout neckbreaker on Henare. Murashima jumped on the apron and demanded a tag! So, Hiroshi tagged him in, and Katsuya hit some forearm strikes and a dropkick on Henare, then a bodyslam for a nearfall. However, Henare nailed a jumping knee to Murashima’s jaw in the corner and pinned him.
Jakob Austin Young, Henare, and Great-O-Khan defeated Katsuya Murashima, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Jado at 10:01.
6. “United Empire” Callum Newman and Jeff Cobb (2) vs. Alex Zayne and Ryusuke Taguchi (0) in an A Block tournament match. Callum and Zayne opened with good reversals as Walker and Charlton talked about Zayne’s recent injury and his return. Alex hit his flipping axe kick at 2:30. Newman worked over Taguchi. Taguchi hit the mid-ring buttbump at 6:30 and tagged Zayne back in. Alex hit a jump-up Frankensteiner out of the corner on Callum, then the Baja Blast swinging faceplant for a nearfall. Zayne went for a Cinnamon Twist (corkscrew senton) but Callum caught him and got a Crucifix Driver for a nearfall. Callum hit a Go To Sleep! Cobb hit a Death Valley Driver on Taguchi, but he missed a standing moonsault.
Taguchi hit a flying buttbump on Cobb fo a nearfall. Zayne hit the Cinnamon Twist on Cobb at 9:30, and Taguchi got the nearfall. Taguchi applied an anklelock but Cobb escaped. Newman hit a Mafia Kick on Taguchi as Cobb was hitting the German Suplex and they got a nearfall, but Zayne made the save. Cobb then hit the Tour of the Islands swinging powerslam for the pin. Cobb and Newman have started 2-0.
Callum Newman and Jeff Cobb (4) defeated Alex Zayne and Ryusuke Taguchi (0) at 10:43.
7. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Sanada and Gabe Kidd (0) vs. “Bullet Club” Chase Owens and Kenta (0) in an A Block tournament match. Chase and Kenta came out first, but Sanada and Gabe attacked them from behind, and they brawled in the crowd; I started my stopwatch at first contact. Charlton said none of these guys like each other. They brawled up into the tiered seating, then back to the floor. A ring announcer kept shouting at them in Japanese, but the bell hadn’t sounded yet to officially begin. Kidd whipped Owens into the ring post. We have a bell at nearly 5:00 even. Kenta hit a running basement dropkick on Sanada in the corner, and Owens hit a top-rope elbow drop for a nearfall. Sanada hit a Magic Screw swinging neckbreaker on Chase.
Charlton said Chase and Kenny Omega used to be tag partners; I didn’t know that, but they agreed that Kidd knew that. Chase went for a C-Trigger flying knee, but Gabe blocked it. Gabe hit a LOUD slap to the face, a clothesline and a brainbuster for a nearfall on Owens at 8:00. As expected, the crowd is still quiet. Kidd mockingly did a Kenny Omega pose and he shouted, “Goodbye and f— you, Kenny,” and he hit a V-Trigger, then a brainbuster to pin Chase. For heel-heel, that was decent. Kidd got on the mic and told Kenny Omega “I want to end your career.”
Gabe Kidd and Sanada (2) defeated Chase Owens and Kenta (0) at 8:42/official time of about 3:50.
8. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa (2) vs. Shota Umino and Tomoaki Honma (0) in an A Block tournament match. I’m calling it now — Shota will turn on Honma and beat the crap out of him on the final night of this tournament out of frustration with their losing. Sabre and Umino opened, and Shota hit a dropkick. They immediately brawled to the floor, where Shota whipped Sabre into the guardrails and hit a shotgun dropkick. In the ring, Honma hit some chops on Sabre at 2:00. Sabre applied a triangle choke on Honma. Shota got back in and worked over Sabre, hitting a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 5:30. Zack snapped Shota’s neck between his ankles.
Oiwa got in and knocked Shota down with a shoulder tackle, then a dropkick. Honma hit a bulldog on Oiwa but he missed a Kokeshi at 8:30. Oiwa hit a back suplex on Honma for a nearfall. Oiwa grounded Honma with a rear-naked choke. They traded forearm strikes, and Honma hit a leaping headbutt at 11:30 and they were both down. Shota and Sabre tagged back in, and Zack hit some European Uppercuts, so Shota hit some back. Sabre hit some Yes Kicks. This exchange has been really inspired. Shota switched to an STF at 15:00 and he dragged Sabre to the center of the ring, but Oiwa made the save. Shota hit a pop-up kneestrike and an Exploder Suplex on Sabre; Honma immediately hit another flying headbutt on Sabre. Sabre applied a cross-armbreaker on Shota, but Honma hit a Kokeshi on Sabre for the save.
Oiwa missed his discus clothesline on Shota. Honma immediately hit a Kokeshi on Oiwa! Shota hit a tornado DDT on Sabre in the corner. Zack hit his Pele Kick on the left shoulder. Sabre hit a German Suplex on Shota, but Shota hit a Death Rider double-arm DDT. Sabre hit the Zack Driver on Shota, and they were both down at 19:00. Okay, this has been insanely good. Oiwa got back in and hit a back suplex on Shota. Sabre hit a stiff clothesline on Umino for a nearfall; the 20-minute call was spot-on. Oiwa hit a discus clothesline on Honma. Shota hit a tornado DDT on Oiwa. Shota hit a forearm strike to the chin of Sabre. Shota nailed the Death Rider double-arm DDT and pinned Sabre! That was tremendous! Walker said that is the third time this year Shota has beaten Sabre.
Shota Umino and Tomoaki Honma (2) defeated Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa (2) at 21:48.
9. “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi (2) vs. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji (2) in an A Block tournament match. These two teams cannot possibly top the prior bout. Goto and Yota opened and they had a LOUD chop exchange. Tsuji hit some blows to Yoshi-Hashi’s kidneys. Shingo got in at 3:30 and tied up Yoshi-Hashi in the ropes, and LIJ worked him over in their corner. They hit a team shoulder tackle, and Shingo hit a senton at 5:00. Goto got in and suplexed one LIJ onto the other. Goto and Tsuji traded forearm strikes. Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee on Tsuji and they were both down.
Shingo and Y-H tagged back in at 9:00 and they traded shoulder tackles, and Yoshi-Hashi hit a standing neckbreaker, then a running Headhunter overhead neckbeaker. Goto dropped Shingo with a clothesline at 11:30. Tsuji hit a second-rope superplex on Yoshi-Hashi, and Shingo immediately hit a sliding clothesline on Y-H. Yoshi-Hashi got a folding press on Shingo for a believable nearfall at 14:30. They got up and traded forearm strikes, and Shingo hit a short-arm clothesline for a believable nearfall. He hit a Pumping Bomber clothesline. He set up for a Made In Japan, but Yoshi-Hashi got a Crucifix Driver and pinned Shingo!
Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto (4) defeated Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji (2) at 15:40.
* Yoshi-Hashi got on the mic and said it’s time for Bishamon to make history by sweeping their block and becoming World Tag League winners for a fourth consecutive year.
Final Thoughts: A really strong night of action. The Sabe-Shota exchanges were just exhilarating and it was such a wonderful tease for what is to come at the Tokyo Dome. I know there are a lot of shows in this tournament, but that tag match is worth going out of your way to see. Honma was perfect in his role in the match, too, making key saves and hitting some diving headbutts at the right times. That match will be in the top five of the whole tournament.
I am admittedly not a big fan of Bishamon, but this tag match with Shingo and Tsuji was really good, too. The Bullet Club doing a big brawl was the right way to go, as fans weren’t going to cheer for either team, and I like how Kidd instead made the match about his upcoming bout with Kenny Omega. And Cobb/Callum continue to impress as a tag team, so all in all, this was four really good tournament matches.
The B Block is back in tournament action on Saturday, with the A Block in action on Sunday.
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