By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League”
December 1, 2024 in Osaka, Japan at Edion Arena
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is night 10 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 B Block is in tournament action.
Walker Stewart provided commentary. This is another large gym; it appears fairly full with a crowd of perhaps 800.
* Shota Umino has a minor ankle injury so he’s skipping the preview tag here but they anticipate he’ll be back on Monday.
1. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Sanada, Gabe Kidd, and Gedo vs. Alex Zayne, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Katsuya Murashima. The BCWD worked over Murashima early on, as Walker talked again about how Kidd wants to bring the anger and killer instinct out of Sanada. Taguchi and Sanada tagged in at 5:00, with Taguchi hitting a running buttbump. Murashima hit a Bulldog Powerslam on Sanada and put him in a Boston Crab. Sanada applied the Skull End dragon sleeper, and Murashima tapped out. Good opener.
Sanada, Gabe Kidd, and Gedo defeated Alex Zayne, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Katsuya Murashima at 9:23.
2. Shoma Kato and “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi vs. “United Empire” Jakob Austin Young, Callum Newman, and Jeff Cobb. Callum and Goto opened. Goto and Kato hit a double shoulder tackle to drop Callum. The UE began working over Kato, with Cobb hitting a delayed vertical suplex, and he ‘surfed’ on Kato’s back at 4:30, then he hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Kato hit a dropkick on Callum and he tagged Goto in. Hirooki hit a back suplex on Callum for a nearfall at 7:00, then a neckbeaker over his knee. Young and Kato entered, with Shoma putting him in a Boston Crab. Young hit “Jakob’s Ladder” (Sliced Bread out of the corner) for the pin on Kato. Good action; Yoshi-Hashi was in it so little I wonder if he’s feeling okay today.
Jakob Austin Young, Callum Newman, and Jeff Cobb defeated Shoma Kato and “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi at 10:13.
3. “Bullet Club” Chase Owens and Kenta vs. Tiger Mask and Tomoaki Honma. Again, this was supposed to be a day off for Honma, but with Umino out with an ankle injury, Honma is in. Stewart talked about while it is precautionary, he also stressed that it’s unclear if Umino will be able to compete on Monday. Chase tied up Tiger Mask and tugged on his mask. Chase missed a Kokeshi on Honma for some humor. Tiger Mask hit a double-underhook suplex on Kenta at 4:30. Owens accidentally kicked Kenta (again!), but Kenta twisted TM’s mask and got a rollup for the pin. Blah.
Chase Owens and Kenta vs. Tiger Mask and Tomoaki Honma at 6:14.
4. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, and Kosei Fujita vs. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Bushi, Yota Tsuji, and Shingo Takagi. Sabre and Shingo opened and this crowd was hot, as they avoided each other’s signature spots early on. Kosei hit a spinning kick to Tsuji’s chest at 4:00. Oiwa entered and hit dropkicks on each of LIJ. Tsuji hit a Curbstomp on Oiwa at 6:00 and they were both down. Bushi hit his dive through the ropes. Sabre hit his Pele Kick to Bushi’s left shoulder. Oiwa hit his discus clothesline and pinned Bushi. Good action but shorter than anticipated. Oiwa tossed Tsuji to the floor after the bell.
Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, and Kosei Fujita defeated Bushi, Yota Tsuji, and Shingo Takagi at 8:16.
* Alex Zayne joined Walker Stewart on commentary. (Realistically, a team has to go 5-2 to win a Block. Mathematically, you are still alive at 4-3 but that would mean up to four teams at 4-3, and that is just a messy tie-breaker.)
5. Boltin Oleg and Toru Yano (4) vs. “Just 4 Guys” Taichi and Taka Michinoku (2) in a B Block tournament match. Taichi and Oleg opened, with Taichi hitting spin kicks to the thighs as Oleg hit forearm strikes. Taichi hit a Saito Suplex for a nearfall at 3:00, and he applied a Stretch Plum on Oleg. Oleg hit a belly-to-belly dropkick and a shotgun dropkick. Yano tagged in at 5:00, but Taichi caught him with a kick to the jaw. Taka tagged in and tied up Yano’s arm in the ropes. Oleg got in and hit his gut-wrench suplex on Taka at 8:30 and a Stinger Splash and a Vader Bomb for a nearfall. Taka got a rollup for a nearfall. However, Oleg hit the Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll) on Taka for the pin. At 1-4, Taichi and Taka are officially eliminated.
Boltin Oleg and Toru Yano (6) defeated Taichi and Taka Michinoku (2) at 10:57.
6. “House of Torture” EVIL and Ren Narita (w/Dick Togo) (6) vs. “Bullet Club Rogue Army” Stevie Filip and Tome Filip (2) in a B Block tourrnament match. They immediately brawled to the floor. HoT worked over Stevie’s left arm in the ring. Togo jabbed a chair into Tome’s stomach on the floor. Stevie hit a dropkick on EVIL at 5:00, and he tagged in Tome. Tome nailed a spinebuster on EVIL for a nearfall. EVIL hit a suplex. Ren tagged in and he choked Tome. Tome hit an Air Raid Crash on Ren, and Stevie hit an impressive Shooting Star Press for a nearfall, but EVIL made the save at 8:30.
The ref got bumped. Togo hit his knife-edge chop on Stevie. Ren applied a cross-armbreaker. Stevie avoided a Double Cross and he got a Crucifix Driver. EVIL hit a low blow, so Tome hit a low blow on EVIL, and suddenly all four were down from receiving a low blow. Stevie got a chair but the ref confiscated it. Togo tossed salt in Stevie’s eyes! Ren hit the Double Cross (X-Factor) faceplant to pin Stevie Filip. The Filips also are officially eliminated at 1-4.
EVIL and Ren Narita (8) defeated Stevie Filip and Tome Filip (2) at 11:09.
7. Jado and Hiroshi Tanahashi (2) vs. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi (6) in a B Block tournament match. Naito and Tanahashi opened; you have to wonder how many of these encounters are left in the final year of Hiroshi’s career. Tanahashi hit a double crossbody block. On the floor, Takahashi whipped Tanahashi into the guardrail, while Naito tied up Jado on the mat, and LIJ extensively worked over Jado. Tanahashi got a hot tag at 8:00 and he hit a flying forearm, then his second-rope somersault senton on Naito for a nearfall. Naito hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker.
Naito hit a flipping neckbreaker off the ropes at 10:00. He hit a dropkick on Tanahashi’s knee, but Hiroshi hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Naito. Hiromu entered and hit a Falcon Arrow on Tanahashi for a nearfall, then a hard clothesline for a nearfall. Tanahashi hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Hiromu, and he applied a Lion Tamer vertical Boston Crab on Hiromu, but Hiromu reached the ropes at 13:00. Hiromu hit a superkick and a Death Valley Driver on Tanahashi for a nearfall at 14:30. Jado hit a DDT on Naito out of the ropes. Hiroshi hit some Twist-and-Shout neckbreakers on Hiromu, then the High Fly Flow frogsplash to pin Hiromu. Good match, entirely carried by the interactions between Hiromu and Hiroshi.
Jado and Hiroshi Tanahashi (4) defeated Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi (6) at 15:52.
8. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls (4) vs. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan and Henare (6) in a B Block tournament match. These are easily the best two teams in this Block. Shane and O-Khan opened. Henare entered and hit a stiff kick to Shane’s spine at 3:30. Nicholls and Henare fought on the floor. In the ring, TMDK worked over Henare, with Shane choking him alongside the ring post at 6:00. This was an extensive beatdown, which is a bit surprising, as Henare doesn’t generate crowd sympathy. Nicholls hit a Death Valley Driver and a sliding clothesline for a nearfall at 9:30. Nicholls hit a DDT; Henare hit a DDT; they hit simultaneous clotheslines and were both down.
O-Khan got the hot tag and hit his Mongolian Chops on Nicholls. He slammed Mikey to the mat for a nearfall. Nicholls hit a clothesline and tagged in Shane, who hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall at 12:30. O-Khan hit a suplex for a nearfall. Henare hit a springboard spin kick and a senton on Haste for a nearfall. Henare nailed the Berzerker Bomb (Doctor Bomb) for a nearfall, but he couldn’t hit Rampage. Haste hit a rolling cannonball in the corner, and TMDK hit a team neckbreaker for a nearfall at 15:30. TMDK hit the Power Bottom team slam on Henare for a believable nearfall. Henare hit a jumping knee in the corner, then a pop-up powerbomb on Haste. Nicholls hit a clothesline on O-Khan. Henare hit a flying headbutt on Haste and he was fired up! He hit the Rampage football tackle on Haste for a believable nearfall at 19:00. UE hit the Imperial Drop team neckbreaker, and Henare pinned Haste. A very good main event.
Great-O-Khan and Henare (8) defeated Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls (4) at 19:20.
Final Thoughts: The B Block has produced just two must-see matches in the first five rounds, and this TMDK-UE match was one of them. (TMDK vs. LIJ on Night 2 is the other!) O-Khan and Henare keep pace with EVIL and Narita. I do consider the outcome of that match to be a mild upset, because it drops Haste and Nicholls to 2-3, and they are all but officially eliminated. (Again, I fully expect the block winner to be 5-2, or even 6-1). I really liked the Oleg/Yano-Taichi/Taka match, as again Oleg and Taichi carried the action for their teams. (Seriously, Yano is racking up very few minutes in the ring in this tournament.) So, in the B Block we have two teams each at 4-1, 3-2, 2-3, and 1-4.
The A Block is back in action on Monday with the marquee headlining match of Ryohei Oiwa and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji, as those two teams have had the best matches of the tournament thus far. The B Block returns on Wednesday. Because of the day off, if Umino can get through Monday’s match, he won’t have another tournament match until Thursday.
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