By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League”
November 27, 2024 in Miyagi, Japan at Miyagi Exhibition Hall C
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is night seven 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. The United Empire team of Callum Newman and Jeff Cobb are the lone team at 3-0 and lead the block.
This is a big gym, the lights are on, and the crowd is maybe 600. Walker Stewart provided solo commentary as the show began; Shane Haste is slated to join him later.
1. Shoma Kato vs. Masatora Yasuda. More basic Young Lions action, with Kato applying a Boston Crab until Yasuda tapped out.
Shoma Kato defeated Masatora Yasuda at 8:39.
2. “United Empire” Jakob Austin Young, Henare, and Great-O-Khan vs. Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg, and Toru Yano. Henare and Yano opened. O-Khan hit a bodyslam on Tiger Mask and worked him over in his corner. Oleg got in at 4:00 and dropped O-Khan with a shoulder tackle, then a bodyslam. Oleg hit his gut-wrench suplex on Young, then the Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll) to pin Young. Decent while it lasted.
Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg, and Toru Yano defeated Jakob Austin Young, Henare, and Great-O-Khan at 6:29.
3. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls, and Shane Haste vs. “House of Torture” EVIL, Ren Narita, and Dick Togo. The HoT attacked before the bell. TMDK worked over EVIL in the opening minutes. EVIL choked Nicholls with a shirt at 3:00. Haste got a hot tag and hit some running back elbows, then a rolling cannonball onto EVIL and Narita in a corner for a nearfall at 5:00. He hit an inverted Exploder Suplex, dropping Ren face-first to the mat. Kosei hit a springboard dropkick on Togo for a nearfall at 7:30. Togo hit his knife-edge chop to Kosei’s groin. and he choked Fujita with his wire. Haste and Nicholls hit their Power Bottom team slam on EVIL, who rolled to the floor. Fujita applied Jack Perry’s Snare Trap leg lock, cranked back on Togo’s arms, and Togo submitted.
Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls, and Shane Haste defeated EVIL, Ren Narita, and Dick Togo at 9:48.
4. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Bushi, Tetsuya Naito, and Hiromu Takahashi vs. “Bullet Club” Taiji Ishimori, Tome Filip, and Stevie Filip. Naito took an extra-long time in disrobing tonight. Stevie and Naito opened, but Tome jumped in to attack Naito. Ishimori choked him with a shirt. Naito hit a standing neckbreaker at 3:30 and he made the hot tag to Hiromu, who hit a huracanrana on Stevie, then a shotgun dropkick that sent Stevie backward onto Tome. Bushi entered at 5:30 to battle Ishimori, and he nailed his dive through the ropes onto Ishimori. In the ring, Ishimori hit his Lumbar Check-style move to the ribs for a nearfall, then a jumping knee, then the Bloody Cross double knees to the chest for the pin on Bushi.
Taiji Ishimori, Tome Filip, and Stevie Filip defeated Bushi, Tetsuya Naito, and Hiromu Takahashi at 7:39.
5. “Just 4 Guys” Taichi, Taka Michinoku, and Douki vs. Katsuya Murashima, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Jado. Taichi and Hiroshi flexed their chest muscles before the bell. Tanahashi and Taka opened, with Hiroshi hitting a crossbody block. Hiroshi’s team once again played air guitar with Katsuya getting wayyyy too into it. (They did this two days ago.) Taka stomped on Jado and J4G worked him over. Tanahashi re-entered at 4:30 and he hit Dragonscrew Legwhips on each opponent. Taichi hit a Helluva Kick on Tanahashi at 6:30; Tanahashi hit the Twist-and-Shout neckbreaker, and they were both down. Douki entered and hit some chops on Katsuya, who appears to have the size advantage on Douki. Katsuya hit a Bulldog Powerslam, and he applied a Boston Crab, but Douki reached the ropes. Katsuya got some rollups. Douki hit an enzuigiri and locked in the Douki Chokey triangle choke until Katsuya submitted. That was entertaining; Katsuya has been able to show a lot of personality in these preview tags.
Taichi, Taka Michinoku, and Douki defeated Katsuya Murashima, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Jado at 9:28.
* Shane Haste joined commentary here.
6. Shota Umino and Tomoaki Honma (4) vs. Alex Zayne and Ryusuke Taguchi (0) in an A Block tournament match. Zayne and Taguchi are officially eliminated if they lose here, and this is apparently Taguchi’s hometown area. Shota and Taguchi opened; Shota avoided an ankle lock and they had a standoff. Zayne and Honma entered and locked up and they traded forearm strikes at 2:30, and Zayne hit his Cinnamon Twist corkscrew senton. Honma missed his Kokeshi falling headbutt, and Zayne’s team worked Honma over. Shota got in and hit a fisherman’s suplex on Taguchi for a nearfall at 7:30. He hit a rolling forearm that dropped Taguchi, but he missed the Hidden Blade, and he missed an enzuigiri; Taguchi immediately applied an ankle lock.
Shota hit a back suplex, but Taguchi hit a flying buttbump, and they were both down at 10:30. Honma hit a bulldog on Zayne, but he again missed a Kokeshi. He suplexed Alex. Shota hit an Exploder Suplex on Zayne. Zayne hit his flipping axe kick on Honma. Shota hit a tornado DDT on Zayne. Honma finally hit the Kokeshi on Zayne. Zayne got a rollup and pinned Honma! Taguchi and Zayne hugged in the ring and celebrated in Taguchi’s hometown, as they staved off elimination. As expected, Shota has gotten the two wins for their team, while Honma has taken the two losses.
Alex Zayne and Ryusuke Taguchi (2) defeated Tomoaki Honma and Shota Umino (4) at 14:18.
7. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Gabe Kidd and Sanada (2) vs. “United Empire” Jeff Cobb and Callum Newman (6) in an A Block tournament match. BCWD came out first and they attacked the UE on the entrance walkway; I started my stopwatch at first contact. Newman hit a flip dive from the ring onto everyone, and they all brawled towards the wall. (Even though Callum entered the ring, we didn’t have a bell.) Kidd bit Cobb on his head as they brawled in the crowd. Stewart asked Haste about Sanada turning on Just 5 Guys; Haste didn’t care because it’s not his group. They went to ringside, where Kidd whipped Newman into the ring post. The ref rang the bell to officially begin at nearly 4:00 sharp. Kidd has already barked at Sanada several times, seemingly trying to fire him up.
Cobb hit his standing moonsault on Sanada for a nearfall. Sanada tied Cobb in Skull End at 6:00, and he hit a Magic Screw twisting neckbreaker. Kidd tagged in but he couldn’t lift Cobb, so he hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall instead. BCWD hit a team suplex on Cobb for a nearfall at 7:30. Newman entered and hit a running knee on Kidd, and he was fired up. He went for an OsCutter, but Kidd blocked it. Kidd hit a piledriver on Kidd, and Sanada hit a Shining Wizard. Kidd hit another piledriver on Newman for the clean pin. The last undefeated team has gone down. Sanada stormed to the back alone; bizarre that Sanada and Kidd just started teaming and they already can’t get along.
Gabe Kidd and Sanada (4) defeated Jeff Cobb and Callum Newman (6) at 9:24.
8. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji (4) vs. Chase Owens and Kenta (0) in an A Block tournament match. Like the prior match, Stewart noted that Kenta is frustrated with his partner, as Owens has been taking the losses. BC attacked before the bell. Chase and Shingo opened, as Stewart and Haste continued to talk about Kenta’s frustrations. The BCWD beat down Shingo early on. Yota got a hot tag at 5:30 and hit a backbreaker over his knee. Owens hit a top-rope elbow drop on Shingo for a nearfall. Shingo hit a DDT on Chase at 10:00. LIJ hit a team back suplex for a nearfall on Chase. Shingo hit a Pumping Bomber clothesline.
Tsuji hit a second-rope superplex, and Shingo immediately hit another Pumping Bomber for a believable nearfall. Chase got a Magistral cradle for a believable nearfall on Shingo! Chase hit a C-Trigger knee, but Shingo hit another Pumping Bomber. Chase hit a low blow on Shingo and another C-Trigger, then a jumping package piledriver for the cheap pin on Shingo. Just an okay match; Chase and Kenta also avoid elimination.
Chase Owens and Kenta (2) defeated Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji (4) at 12:58.
9. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa (4) vs. “Bishamon” Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto (4) in an A Block tournament match. Goto and Oiwa opened with a feeling-out process. Sabre entered at 2:00 and immediately tied up Goto’s left arm. Yoshi-Hashi entered and traded chops with Sabre. Sabre and Oiwa tied up Yoshi-Hashi and this went for several minutes. Goto got in and hit a spin kick on Oiwa in the corner, then a back suplex for a nearfall at 9:30. They traded clotheslines until both finally collapsed. Yoshi-Hashi and Sabre tagged in, and Y-H hit a standing neckbreaker for a nearfall at 11:30.
Sabre applied a cross-armbreaker on the mat; Goto made the save. Sabre locked up both arms behind Y-H’s back, and he grabbed a leg, too. Yoshi-Hashi reached the ropes at 14:30 to break the hold. Yoshi-Hashi hit a clothesline and they were both down. Sabre applied an ankle lock on Goto. Oiwa entered and hit a German Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall on Goto at 16:30. He hit a back suplex on Goto, and Sabre hit a running Penalty Kick. Oiwa nailed a Doctor Bomb for a believable nearfall. Sabre hit a Helluva Kick on Goto but he couldn’t hit the Zack Driver; Goto immediately hit a neckbreaker over his knee at 19:30. Oiwa hit a double clothesline and all four were down, and the 20-minute call was spot-on.
Oiwa and Goto traded forearm strikes. Bishamon set up for Shoto, but Oiwa escaped and got a rollup for a believable nearfall. Goto hit a headbutt on Oiwa. He hit a second-rope bulldog for a nearfall at 22:30. They hit the Shoto team slam and pinned Oiwa. Bishamon, who have already won the past three World Tag Leagues, are again tied for first place.
Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto (6) defeated Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa (4) at 22:58.
* Goto spoke on the mic after the match.
Final Thoughts: The A Block continues to deliver. All four of the Sabre/Oiwa tournament matches have been standouts, and they once again take best match of the night. They started a bit slow with some basic non-descriptive offense the first 10 minutes, but the last 10+ minutes was incredible action. Taguchi/Zayne was really good, and Taguchi seemed inspired to have a good match in his hometown, and he dialed back the goofiness, and they took second place. Not my favorite Shingo/Yota match, but that was more about the uneasiness between Kenta and Owens than the match itself.
The B Block is back in action on Thanksgiving with — rubbing my eyes in disbelief and making sure this is correct — Jado and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi and Taka Michinoku in the main event. Yes, I’ve been hard on the B Block for not having enough stars… but when was the last time either Jado or Taka were in a main event match?
I looked this fact up… of the 20 competitors in this year’s G1, nine are in the A Block and 6 are in the B Block. Not in this year’s WTL but competed in G1 are David Finlay, Konosuke Takeshita, El Phantasmo (medical leave), Yuya Uemura (injured) and Jake Lee (injured). On that note, it furthers my belief that if Yuya and Lee hadn’t each gotten injured, Sanada never bolts from Just 5 Guys to Bullet Club War Dogs.. the move still makes no sense! It appears Kidd really wants to get Sanada as angry and fired up as he is; we’ll see if that works. The A Block is back in action on Friday.
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