By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League”
December 10, 2025, in Nagasaki, Japan, at Dejima Messe Nagasaki
Streamed live on New Japan World
This venue is a big, square room with all 800 or so fans seated on the floor, as there isn’t a second level. It was likely a sellout. The lights were on, and it was easy to see. Walker Stewart was solo on commentary as the show began.
* The round-robin portion of the tournament is over! We are down to our final four teams. We have just one semi-final today, so the rest of the lineup was thrown together in the past 24 hours. I did see the lineup late Tuesday night, but without studying it closely, I hope that wrestlers from different blocks get a chance to interact.
1. “House of Torture” Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Katsuya Murashima and Shoma Kato. The Young Lions attacked at the bell, and we’re underway! They went to the floor, where Yujiro whipped Murashima into the guardrail. The HoT worked over Shoma in their corner. Murashima got a hot tag and hit some flying shoulder tackles. Shoma got back in and hit a huracanrana on Owens, then a snap suplex, but he couldn’t lock in a Boston Crab. Owens accidentally hit Takahashi! The Young Lions hit a team suplex on Chase at 7:00. Shoma was now able to lock in the Boston Crab! Yujiro hit a fisherman’s suplex on Shoma, and Chase hit a C-Trigger (running knee). Shoma got an O’Connor Roll for a believable nearfall. Chase hit a pop-up knee strike, then the package piledriver for the pin. That topped all reasonable expectations.
Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Shoma Kato and Katsuya Murashima at 8:59.
2. Masatora Yasuda, Taichi, and Satoshi Kojima vs. El Desperado, Tatsuya Matsumoto, and Shuji Ishikawa. I’m disappointed in this matchup — these teams met in the A Block. (To me, these final three nights should be entirely about interacting with the teams from the other block!) The Young Lions opened. Kojima got in and hit his rapid-fire chops on Ishikawa, who was limping. Taichi battled Desperado. Matsumoto got back in and hit some forearm strikes on Taichi, then a bodyslam for a nearfall. Yasuda hit a dropkick on Desperado. Satoshi hit a Koji Cutter. Taichi dropped Matsumoto with a clothesline, then an enzuigiri to the ear for the pin.
Masatora Yasuda, Taichi, and Satoshi Kojima defeated El Desperado, Tatsuya Matsumoto, and Shuji Ishikawa at 7:25.
3. Zane Jay and “Monster Sauce” Lance Archer and Alex Zayne vs. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman, and Jakob Austin Young. Again, both of these teams were in the B Block, so they already fought; this doesn’t make any sense to me. Zayne wore his gear; he didn’t even get in the match yesterday as he’s battling some soreness. Callum made fun of Alex’s sore neck, and those two opened. Jakob and Zane Jay entered. The UE worked over Zane in their corner. O-Khan hit his Mongolian Chops. Zane hit a dropkick, and he tagged in Archer at 5:00.
Lance tossed O-Khan across the ring. He chokeslammed Jay onto O-Khan. Zayne then bodyslammed Jay onto O-Khan. (I enjoy how Archer uses teammates as weapons.) O-Khan punched Lance in the gut. Callum got back in and battled Zane Jay. Zane dropped him with a dropkick. Callum hit a running Penalty Kick on Zane, but picked him up at the two-count. He hit a doublestomp on Zane’s head and pinned him, but also continued to punch him, showing off that aggressive side. I’ll point out that the sore Zayne was barely in there and didn’t take a bump, which is probably a wise decision.
Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman, and Jakob Austin Young defeated Zane Jay, Lance Archer, and Alex Zayne at 8:49.
4. “House of Torture” EVIL, Don Fale, and Sho vs. Toru Yano, Boltin Oleg, and Hiroshi Tanahashi. The HoT attacked, and we’re underway! They all immediately brawled to the floor, with Fale shoving Oleg into a guardrail. In the ring, Yano pulled on EVIL’s hair; EVIL struck him with the corner pad. Fale stomped on Yano, and the HoT kept him in their corner. Oleg got in and hit a splash to the mat on Fale at 4:00. He tossed EVIL around in his arms and hit a gutwrench suplex.
Fale jumped in and battled Oleg, and they traded shoulder blocks. Tanahashi entered and hit a flying forearm on Sho, a bodyslam, then his second-rope somersault senton for a nearfall at 6:00. Sho hit a Dick Togo-style knife-edge chop to Tanahashi’s groin. Oleg slammed Sho to the mat, and Tanahashi nailed the High Fly Flow (frog splash) to pin Sho. A satisfying match for Tanahashi’s farewell here.
Toru Yano, Boltin Oleg, and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated EVIL, Don Fale, and Sho at 8:07.
* Alex Zayne and Lance Archer joined Walker on commentary. Their voices are too similar; I wasn’t always sure which one was speaking.
5. “House of Torture” Sanada, Ren Narita, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Shota Umino, Yuya Uemura, and El Phantasmo. The HoT attacked, and we’re underway! Yuya bodyslammed Kanemaru. Sanada kicked the ropes to crotch Yuya. Sanada and Shota brawled into the crowd and among the fans. In the ring, Ren hit Yuya with the ring bell hammer at 2:30, and the heels kept Uemura in their corner. Yuya hit a double dropkick. ELP got a hot tag at 5:00 and hit some clotheslines. He hit a Lionsault on Sanada, then a plancha to the floor, and he was fired up.
Phantasmo hit an enzuigiri on Sanada; Sanada ‘accidentally’ hit a low blow kick on ELP, so Phantasmo ‘accidentally’ hit a falling headbutt to Sanada’s groin for some juvenile humor. The heels hit a team suplex on Shota, and Kanemaru hit an inverted DDT for a nearfall at 8:00. The ref got bumped! Kanemaru grabbed his whiskey bottle, but Yuya knocked him down with a forearm strike. The babyfaces hit low blows on Kanemaru, and Shota tied him in STF, and Kanemaru tapped out. Decent.
Shota Umino, Yuya Uemura, and El Phantasmo defeated Sanada, Ren Narita, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 9:12.
* The next match features members of the Unaffiliated and the Bullet Club War Dogs, on both teams! I will definitely be confused about who is on which team! This was the only preview tag match that interested me, and let’s see if teammates really go at each other!
6. Hiromu Takahashi, David Finlay, Oskar, Yuto-Ice, and Gedo vs. Shingo Takagi, Drilla Moloney, Daiki Nagai, Gabe Kidd, and Yota Tsuji. Tsuji opened against Yuto-Ice, but they barely did anything before tagging out. Kidd and Oskar got in, and Gabe unloaded some chops; Oskar hit a bodyslam. Yuto-Ice got back in and brawled with Kidd. Those two brawled into the crowd, and they traded forearm strikes. Hiromu and (regular teammate) Shingo traded chops on the floor!
Walker said it feels like “we’re in a different universe” because of watching these teams fight. In the ring, Drilla, Nagai, and Shingo worked together to beat up Gedo. Finlay and Hiromu jumped in and attacked them. On the floor, Hiromu whipped Finlay into their opponents, so Finlay did the same to Hiromu. In the ring, Hiromu flipped Finlay through the ropes and onto their opponents at 8:30. Shingo and Drilla hit stereo bodyslams and stereo top-rope elbow drops for nearfalls. Those two went for their team swinging powerbomb, but Finlay fought free. David hit his Northern Irish Curse backbreaker over his knee on Shingo at 10:00.
Yuto-Ice and Kidd again were alone in the ring and traded forearm strikes and chops, and they loudly shouted profanities at each other. Yuto-Ice hit his roundhouse kicks in the corner, but Kidd dropped him with a clothesline. Kidd pulled down a knee pad, and he charged at Yuto-Ice, but Yuto blocked the running knee. Shingo hit a Pumping Bomber clothesline on Hiromu. Drilla superkicked Finlay. Finlay scooped up Hiromu and powerbombed him to the floor on all their opponents. It allowed Yuto-Ice to hit a running Penalty Kick to pin Nagai. That was pretty wild.
Hiromu Takahashi, David Finlay, Oskar, Yuto-Ice, and Gedo defeated Shingo Takagi, Drilla Moloney, Daiki Nagai, Gabe Kidd, and Yota Tsuji at 13:57.
* The United Empire ran out of the back and stomped on Hiromu Takahashi, and they ran to the back. “I have no idea what that was about!” Stewart said.
7. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa (w/Hartley Jackson) vs. “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi in a World Tag League semi-final match. Sabre and Goto opened, and Walker went through the history between these two in 2025. Some quick reversals and a standoff. Oiwa and Yoshi-Hashi traded forearm strikes at 2:00. Oiwa targeted Yoshi-Hashi’s right arm and kept him grounded. The 5:00 call was spot-on. Zayne noted that he and Archer beat Bishamon in the 2023 World Tag League, and they want a title shot. Sabre got back in and continued to twist Yoshi-Hashi’s arm. They have set a pace to go long.
Yoshi-Hashi finally suplexed Sabre, and they were both down at 8:30, and the crowd came alive. Goto tagged in and he suplexed Oiwa onto Sabre. Goto hit a back suplex on Sabre for a nearfall. Goto dropped Sabre face-first on his knee; Zack hit a flying spin kick to the chest. Oiwa got back in at 10:00, but Goto dropped him with a clothesline. Yoshi-Hashi hit a Headhunter (running Blockbuster) on Oiwa. Ryohei went for a Fujiwara Armbar, but Y-H reached the ropes. Oiwa hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 12:00.
Oiwa and Yoshi-Hashi traded chops for a lengthy period. Oiwa hit a frog splash for a nearfall. Oiwa hit a Doctor Bomb for a nearfall at 14:00. Goto hit his neckbreaker over the knee on Sabre. Oiwa hit a double clothesline. He hit a discus clothesline on Yoshi-Hashi. They hit stereo clotheslines, and both went down at 16:30. Goto got in and hit his GTR on Sabre. Zack tied up both of Goto’s arms behind his back. Sabre switched to one arm and one leg, but Goto eventually got to the ropes at 19:30.
Sabre hit some Yes Kicks on Goto, but they fired him up. He hit a running penalty kick for a nearfall. Yoshi-Hashi hit a snap Dragon Suplex. Bishamon set up for Shoto on Sabre, but Oiwa made the save. Sabre got an O’Connor Roll for a believable nearfall. Goto hit a clothesline on Sabre. Goto clotheslined Oiwa to the floor, then Bishamon hit clotheslines in the corner on Sabre. Y-H hit a top-rope Blockbuster, and Goto made the cover on Zack for a nearfall. Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee. They again set up for Shoto, but Sabre fought free. Oiwa hit a German Suplex on Goto; Sabre floated over and got the jackknife cover pin on Goto. (They won at least one match that way earlier in the tournament.) A stellar tag match. “God, what a war!” Stewart said.
Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa defeated Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto to advance to the World Tag League finals at 24:10.
* Oiwa spoke first. Sabre then spoke, speaking entirely in Japanese, before saying “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” in English, threw the mic to the mat, and their music played.
Final Thoughts: A tremendous main event. Goto and Sabre work so well together, and they played nicely off their matches from this spring and summer. The Unaffiliated-Bullet Club battle was really fun, too. The first five matches are forgettable enough, and if you only have time for two matches, it should be just those final two.
A rare day off on Thursday, then the other semifinal headlines Friday’s show.
800…always 800 with this guy