By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League”
November 29, 2024 in Shizuoka, Japan at Twin Messe Shizuoka
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is night nine 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 big gym, the lights are on, and the crowd is maybe 600. Walker Stewart provided solo commentary as the show began.
1. Daiki Nagai vs. Shoma Kato. More basic Young Lions action. Stewart said the other trainee, Masatora Yasuda, is injured and will miss the rest of the tour. Kato applied a Boston Crab, and Nagai tapped out.
Shoma Kato defeated Daiki Nagai at 8:21.
2. Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg, and Toru Yano vs. “Just 4 Guys” Taichi, Douki, and Taka Michinoku. Taka and Oleg started in a startling contrast of sizes; Taka of course couldn’t budge him on shoulder tackle attempts. Boltin hit a double shoulder tackle. Yano battled Taichi. Oleg got back in at 3:30 and hit his gutwrench suplex on Taichi. Tiger Mask entered and hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee on Douki at 6:00, and he tied up Douki on the mat. Douki applied the Douki Chokey on Tiger Mask, who submitted.
Taichi, Douki, and Taka Michinoku defeated Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg, and Toru Yano at 7:13.
3. “Bullet Club” Gedo, Stevie Filip, and Tome Filip vs. “House of Torture” EVIL, Ren Narita, and Dick Togo. The BC attacked at the bell. Stevie hit a slingshot senton on Narita. Tome hit a suplex for a nearfall. EVIL choked Gedo with a microphone cord on the floor. Gedo and Togo brawled at 3:30. As expected, the crowd was quiet, not cheering for either team. EVIL entered and chopped Gedo. Tome re-entered and hit some shoulder tackles. Ren hit the Double Cross (X-Factor) faceplant. Gedo re-entered and choked Narita. Ren applied a cross-armbreaker, and Gedo tapped out. These teams better just brawl in their next match; the crowd just won’t cheer for either of them.
EVIL, Ren Narita, and Dick Togo defeated Gedo, Stevie Filip, and Tome Filip at 8:20.
4. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, and Mikey Nicholls vs. “United Empire” Henare, Great-O-Khan, and Jakob Austin Young. Haste and O-Khan traded quick mat reversals to open, and TMDK took turns working over O-Khan early on. Henare tagged in at 5:00 and knocked Nicholls down with a shoulder tackle. He hit a roundhouse kick that leveled Fujita. Jakob hit a missile dropkick on Kosei, then a back suplex for a nearfall. O-Khan and Nicholls hit stereo clotheslines at 8:00 and both were down. Kosei caught Young with a spin kick to the head, then a German Suplex for a believable nearfall. Kosei hit the Abandon Hope (pop-up stunner) on Jakob for the pin. Good action.
Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, and Mikey Nicholls defeated Henare, Great-O-Khan, and Jakob Austin Young at 9:02.
5. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, and Bushi vs. Katsuya Murashima, Jado, and Hiroshi Tanahashi. Naito and Tanahashi were set to open, but LIJ jumped in and attacked Tanahashi. LIJ began working over Jado. Tanahashi got a hot tag at 5:00 and brawled with Hiromu, and he hit his second-rope somersault senton for a nearfall, then a Dragonscrew Legwhip. Murashima got in and showed great fire as he hit LIJ. He hit a Bulldog Powerslam on Hiromu for a nearfall at 7:00. Hiromu hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. He tied Katsuya in a Boston Crab, who tapped out.
Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, and Bushi vs. Katsuya Murashima, Jado, and Hiroshi Tanahashi at 8:08.
* Henare joined Walker Stewart on commentary.
6. “Bishamon” Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto (6) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi and Alex Zayne (2) in an A Block tournament match. Goto and Taguchi opened, as Stewart reminded us that Taguchi and Zayne are eliminated if they lose. Bishamon ‘wishboned’ Taguchi’s legs at 3:30. Taguchi hit his mid-ring buttbump on Togo. Zayne entered for the first time and hit the Cinnamon Twist corkscrew senton, then a suplex at 5:30. Zayne hit his flipping axe kick for a nearfall and an enzuigiri. Goto hit his neckbreaker over his knee, and they were both down. Yoshi-Hashi and Taguchi tagged in at 7:00, with Y-H hitting some playful slaps to the butt, and they did some comedy.
Yoshi-Hashi hit a clothesline for a nearfall. He hit his Headhunter overhead neckbreaker for a nearfall at 9:30. Bishamon set up for Shoto, but Zayne made the save. Taguchi hit an enzuigiri on Yoshi-Hashi. Taguchi rolled up Yoshi-Hashi out of ABSOLUTELY nowhere for the pin! I didn’t see that coming at all! Merely an okay match and not that exciting. They all shook hands afterwards.
Ryusuke Taguchi and Alex Zayne (4) defeated Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto (6) at 11:06.
7. Shota Umino and Tomoaki Honma (4) vs. “Bullet Club” War Dogs” Gabe Kidd and Sanada (4) in an A Block tournament match. Kidd immediately hit some hard chops on Shota, and they traded shoulder blocks. They brawled to the floor, with Shota and Kidd going up a flight of stairs and out of our view. The cameraman followed them up onto a second level. Honma and Sanada were brawling in the crowd on the main level. Kidd came back down the stairs and posed with the World Tag League trophies, which were on display in a gated area. Honma and Kidd rolled back into the ring at the 19-count at 4:00. Kidd whipped Shota into the guardrail, as Sanada tied up Honma in the ring. Walker talked about how Kidd wants Sanada to show more fire and unleash his inner anger.
Shota got a hot tag and hit a flying forearm on Kidd at 6:30. They traded mid-ring forearm strikes. Shota hit a tornado DDT, but Kidd popped up and hit an Exploder Suplex, so Shota hit an Exploder, and they were both down at 9:00. Honma and Sanada tagged back in, and Honma missed a Kokeshi. Moments later, he hit the Kokeshi for a nearfall. Shota hit a dropkick on Kidd, but he couldn’t hit the Death Rider. Moments later, he nailed the Death Rider, but Kidd rolled to the floor. Honma hit a flying headbutt on Sanada at 11:30, then a second one for a nearfall. Sanada hit a low blow mule kick on Honma and was loudly booed. He nailed a Shining Wizard and he applied Skull End dragon sleeper and cranked on Honma’s neck until Honma tapped out. Decent match.
Gabe Kidd and Sanada (6) defeated Shota Umino and Tomoaki Honma (4) at 13:01
8. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa (4) vs. “Bullet Club” Kenta and Chase Owens (2) in an A Block tournament match. Oiwa and Kenta opened; again, OIwa scored a pin on Kenta in the U.S. earlier this month that has driven Kenta nuts. Sabre entered and snapped Kenta’s neck between his ankles at 2:00. Oiwa hit some bodyslams for a nearfall. Kenta dropped him with a hard slap! Chase and Sabre were brawling on the floor out of our view. Kenta hit some roundhouse kicks. Chase tagged in at 4:30 and worked over Oiwa. Kenta hit a stiff kick to Oiwa’s spine as the BC kept Ryohei grounded. Sabre got a hot tag at 9:00 and immediately hit a series of European Uppercuts on Chase, then his Pele Kick to the shoulder.
Sabre hit a tornado DDT and the neck twist between his ankles. Chase hit a senton. Sabre went for a cross-armbreaker, but Kenta entered and hit a stiff kick to Sabre’s spine to break it. Sabre went for an Octopus Stretch, but Chase shrugged him off, and Chase hit a clothesline at 12:30, then the C-Trigger knee strike to the side of the head, then a spinning back fist. Oiwa got back in and battled Kenta. Kenta hit a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall at 15:30. Oiwa got a backslide for a believable nearfall. Oiwa hit a discus clothesline for a nearfall. Sabre hit a running penalty kick on Kenta, and Oiwa hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Kenta couldn’t hit Go To Sleep, as Oiwa escaped and hit a Doctor Bomb for a believable nearfall at 18:00. Kenta hit a low blow kick on Oiwa! Kenta nailed Go To Sleep and pinned Oiwa. Good match.
Kenta and Chase Owens (4) defeated Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa (4) at 18:56.
9. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji (4) vs. “United Empire” Jeff Cobb and Callum Newman (6) in an A Block tournament match. All four fought at the bell. I will again point out that Callum shocked Shingo during the G1 Climax tournament. Callum hit a doublestomp on Tsuji’s back at 1:30. Henare pointed out that Tsuji has bruising on his chest and wondered if he has a pec tear. (I hope not!) UE kept Tsuji grounded. Cobb hit a flying back elbow on Shingo at 7:00, then a bodyslam, but he missed the standing moonsault. Tsuji hit a top-rope flying huracanrana. Cobb and Yuta got up and traded forearm strikes, and Yota hit a Stomp. Cobb popped up and hit a dropkick at 9:30. Newman and Shingo got back in, with Callum hitting a penalty kick for a nearfall.
Callum and Shingo traded blows. Cobb jumped in and hit a Spin Cycle back suplex on Shingo, then a superkick. UE hit high-low front-and-back blows on Shingo. LIJ began hitting some team offense on Callum, with Shingo hitting a wheelbarrow German Suplex for a nearfall at 14:00. Cobb hit a uranage and a standing moonsault on Tsuji. Callum hit the OsCutter on Shingo (how he pinned him in the G1!) for a believable nearfall. Nice callback! Stewart just reiterated what I wrote about the G1 finish. Shingo dropped Callum with a headbutt; Callum popped up and hit an enzuigiri. Shingo hit a Pumping Bomber clothesline. Tsuji hit a jumping knee to Cobb’s chin at 16:30. Shingo nailed a Pumping Bomber on Callum that flipped him. Shingo nailed the Made in Japan for a believable nearfall, as Tsuji hit a Gene Blaster on Cobb. Tsuji nailed a Gene Blaster (spear) on Newman, and Shingo made the cover for the pin. Excellent.
Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji (6) defeated Jeff Cobb and Callum Newman (6) at 17:54.
* Shingo spoke briefly on the mic in Japanese.
Final Thoughts: That main event is well worth going out of your way to see. Great callbacks of the new feud between Shingo and Newman, as well as Yota vs. Cobb. They reiterated that Callum is just 22 years old and he’s deceptively tall and thick. Nothing else really stood out today; I really wasn’t feeling Bishamon-Taguchi/Zayne at all until the shocker rollup. Kenta/Chase’s match does take second, and I really like how NJPW has stressed how much Kenta’ loss to Oiwa in Massachusetts bothered him. Wins and losses matter! Who knew?
Back in the 1980s, the TV show Dallas decided to essentially wipe out a season by having a dead character return with the explanation that the season the character missed was was just a dream. That is how I feel right now watching Sanada. He was blond with facial hair and a lackey in LIJ a couple years ago. It feels like his great ‘season’ of being IWGP champion, with short dark, black hair, and leader of his own faction, is now just a dream that has been wiped from our collective memory. He’s back to being a blond, scruffy-faced lackey in a faction led by David Finlay. How did this happen?
The tournament takes a day off on Saturday and resumes on Sunday with the B Block in action with the best two teams in the Block, as Haste and Nicholls face O-Khan and Henare.
Be the first to comment