By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “World Tag League”
December 12, 2025, in Kagoshima, Japan, at Sun Arena Sendai
Streamed live on New Japan World
The venue is a large gym, and the lights were on. The crowd was maybe 700. There was a second tier with maybe six rows, and they were filled on at least one side. Walker Stewart was solo on commentary as we got underway. Alex Zayne would join him later in the show.
* On Wednesday, “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa advanced to the finals (which will be this Sunday.) Today, we will find out which team joins them in the finals.
1. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Shingo Takagi, Daiki Nagai, and Drilla Moloney vs. Tatsuya Matsumoto and “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi. All six brawled at the bell. Shingo hit some jab punches on Goto, while Drilla fought Yoshi-Hashi. Drilla and Shingo hit a team shoulder tackle on Goto. Nagai hit a splash on Goto at 2:00. Drilla and Goto traded forearm strikes.
Drilla hit a Spinebuster on Yoshi-Hashi. Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee on Drilla. The Young Lions got in at 4:30 and battled. Shingo’s team took turns hitting Matsumoto in the corner. Shingo hit a top-rope elbow drop, then Drilla hit one, then Nagai hit a top-rope flying headbutt for a nearfall. Matsumoto tied up Nagai’s leg, but Daiki reached the ropes. Nagai tied him in a Boston Crab, and Matsumoto tapped out. Solid opener.
Shingo Takagi, Daiki Nagai, and Drilla Moloney defeated Tatsuya Matsumoto, Hirooki Goto, and Yoshi-Hashi at 7:55.
2. “Murder Sauce” Lance Archer and Alex Zayne vs. Zane Jay and Boltin Oleg. So, Murder Sauce has teamed with Jay throughout this tournament in the preview tags, but now they are on opposite sides. A reminder that Zayne is a bit beat up with a sore neck, and he has barely wrestled on the past two shows, but he opened the match against Zane Jay, and they traded some basic reversals. Oleg entered, so Archer entered at 2:00, and they immediately traded chops. Zane Jay got back in and tried some dropkicks, but Lance dropped him with a Black Hole Slam. Lance hit a delayed vertical suplex and did a bit of a strut!
Zayne tagged back in at 5:00 and traded blows with Zane Jay. Jay hit a dropkick. Oleg and Archer got back in and hit stereo clotheslines. Archer dropped him with a big boot; Oleg dropped him with a shoulder tackle. Oleg flipped Zayne around in his arms. Archer hit a running double crossbody block and was fired up. Archer slammed Zane onto Oleg. Oleg hit a Samoan Drop on Archer and Zane got a nearfall on him. Archer hit the Blackout (flipping Razor’s Edge) on Jay for the pin. A good match that was much longer than anticipated.
Lance Archer and Alex Zayne defeated Zane Jay and Boltin Oleg at 10:06.
3. “House of Torture” Ren Narita, Sanada, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. El Desperado, Shuji Ishikawa, and Shoma Kato. Despe and former teammate Kanemaru opened, and Desperado knocked him with a shoulder tackle. They went to the floor, where Kanemaru whipped him into the guardrail, and those two fought into the crowd. In the ring, Ren beat down Despe, and the HoT worked him over in their corner. Shuji entered at 4:00 and hit his second-rope doublestomp on Sanada’s gut.
Sanada hit a dropkick that only staggered the massive Shuji. Sanada kicked the ropes to crotch Shuji. Ren and Sanada hit ‘accidental’ low blows. Shoma entered, and he brawled with Kanemaru on the floor. In the ring, Shoma hit a huracanrana on Ren, then a bodyslam for a nearfall. He tied Ren in a Boston Crab, but Narita reached the ropes at 7:00. Ren tied Shoma in a heel hook on the mat, and Kato tapped out. Decent.
Ren Narita, Sanada, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated El Desperado, Shuji Ishikawa, and Shoma Kato at 7:50.
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuya Uemura, Toru Yano, Shota Umino, and Katsuya Murashima vs. “House of Torture” EVIL, Don Fale, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, and Chase Owens. Shota and Chase opened, but Yujiro jumped in and attacked Umino. Yuya and Shota hit stereo dropkicks to knock Fale off the apron to the floor. Yano got in and removed the corner pad; he turned around, and EVIL kicked him in the gut. Chase struck Yano with the corner pad. The HoT worked over Toru in their corner. Fale stood on Yano’s back at 4:00. Ouch!
Tanahashi entered and began hitting some Dragonscrew Legwhips. He hit his second-rope somersault senton on Sho at 6:00. EVIL tripped Hiroshi. Hiroshi hit a Twist and Shout neckbreaker on EVIL. Murashima entered and battled EVIL, hitting a Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall. He hit his rolling sentons on EVIL and locked in a Boston Crab. Fale ducked in and hit the Grenade (pop-up heart punch) on Murashima; EVIL then locked in a Sharpshooter, and Murashima tapped out. Solid; they kept it moving
EVIL, Don Fale, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, and Chase Owens defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuya Uemura, Toru Yano, Shota Umino, and Katsuya Murashima at 9:06.
5. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Hiromu Takahashi, David Finlay, and Gedo vs. “United Empire” Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, and Jakob Austin Young. The UE got into the ring, but then they ran up the entrance ramp to attack the UBC as they emerged from the back. All six fought into the crowd. Finlay and Callum fought along the outside wall and onto a merchandise table, with Finlay whipping merchandise at Newman. O-Khan battled Hiromu elsewhere on the floor.
I don’t think the match officially started, but we have hit the 4:00 mark from the first blow. O-Khan hit his Mongolian Chops on Hiromu. Those two finally made it to ringside, and O-Khan whipped Hiromu into the ring post at 6:00. He applied a claw on Hiromu’s face. Young and Gedo got in the ring, and we got a bell at 7:01! Young hit a twisting suplex. Callum hit a running knee for a nearfall, then slammed Gedo and pinned him.
Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, and Jakob Austin Young defeated Hiromu Takahashi, David Finlay, and Gedo at 7:47/official time of 00:46.
* Finlay got on the mic and called out Callum and the UE!
6. Taichi, Satoshi Kojima, and El Phantasmo vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Hartley Jackson, and Ryohei Oiwa. (Kayfabe, shouldn’t TMDK essentially forfeit, or only let Hartley be in the ring? I’m thinking of the 13-3 NFL team that essentially benches all its starters in the final regular season game to rest up for the playoffs. Sabre and Oiwa need to be 100% for Sunday!) Hartley opened and easily shoved ELP to the mat. ELP tried a shoulder block but ricocheted off of him, and Hartley hit a bodyslam. He hit a running crossbody block on ELP at 2:30.
Oiwa entered and tied up Phantasmo. Sabre got in, too, and targeted ELP’s ankle. Taichi entered and hit some chops on Oiwa. Sabre battled former teammate Taichi, with Taichi hitting a spin kick for a nearfall at 5:00. Oiwa suplexed Taichi, then hit a dropkick. Sabre got back in and hit some European Uppercuts on Taichi. Suddenly, they were both down. Kojima entered for the first time at 7:00 and hit his rapid-fire chops in the corner on Sabre. Hartley flattened Kojima with a senton. Satoshi hit a Koji Cutter on Sabre. ELP hit a stunner on Sabre at 8:30. Taichi hit a spin kick to Sabre’s head. ELP hit a tornado DDT on Hartley. Sabre hit some more European Uppercuts on Kojima. Sabre hit the Zack Driver to pin Kojima
Zack Sabre Jr., Hartley Jackson, and Ryohei Oiwa defeated Taichi, Satoshi Kojima, and El Phantasmo at 10:18.
7. “Unaffiliated Bullet Club” Yota Tsuji and Gabe Kidd vs. “Knockout Brothers” Yuto-Ice and Oskar in a World Tag League semi-final match. Kidd and Yuto-Ice opened, and they immediately traded forearm strikes; no feeling-out process here! Yota ran across the ring and kicked Oskar off the apron to the floor. Kidd hit a senton on Yuto-Ice, and Yota hit a splash to the mat for a nearfall at 1:30. Tsuji tied Yuto-Ice in a Camel Clutch. Yuto and Kidd brawled into the crowd at 4:00. Yuto and Oskar fought at ringside. Oskar whipped him into rows of chairs.
Yuto-Ice and Kidd got back into the ring, where Yuto hit his roundhouse kicks in the corner, then his running double knees in the corner at 6:30. Yuto hit a Stinger Splash on Yuto-Ice, but Yuto hit a suplex, and they were both down. Yota hit a headscissors takedown on Oskar at 9:00, then a dive through the ropes onto Oskar. In the ring, Oskar hit a guillotine leg drop on Tsuji for a nearfall, then a backbreaker over his knee. Yota flipped both opponents to the mat, then he hit a backbreaker over his knee on Yuto-Ice at 11:00.
Oskar bodyslammed Tsuji, and suddenly, all four were down. Yuto-Ice and Tsuji got up and traded forearm strikes. Yuto-Ice dropped him with a stiff spin kick to the head, and they were both down again at 14:30. Kidd and Oskar tagged in, and Gabe hit a series of chops in the corner. Oskar hit a clothesline for a nearfall. Gabe pulled down his knee pad and hit a running knee on Oscar for a nearfall at 17:00. Yuto and Kidd traded open-hand slaps to the face!
Oskar slammed Kidd to the mat, and Yuto-Ice immediately hit a running knee. They hit a team powerbomb on Kidd for a believable nearfall. Kidd hit a German Suplex on Oskar. Tsuji hit a Gene Blaster on Yuto-Ice! Kidd hit a piledriver on Oskar for a nearfall at 20:00. Kidd and Yota went for their team finisher on Oskar, but Oskar grabbed them by their throats. Moments later, they hit the team finisher (Yota hitting a Gene Blaster spear and Kidd hitting a flying shoulder tackle), and Kidd pinned Oskar. A very good match. This tournament is ending on a high note.
Gabe Kidd and Yota Tsuji defeated Oskar and Yuto-Ice to advance to the World Tag League finals at 20:34.
* Sabre and Oiwa got in the ring and confronted Tsuji and Kidd; they argued but left with no punches thrown. Tsuji spoke on the mic in Japanese, and he let Kidd speak, but he didn’t say anything notable.
Final Thoughts: A highly entertaining main event, and I wasn’t sure who would win. Sure, Oskar and Yuto-Ice are the champs, which generally means they won’t win the tournament, because the tournament winner will almost certainly get a title shot… but I thought they might still win here. The only undercard match I really liked was the Monster Sauce match. TMDK’s tag earns third. We have one more day off on Saturday and will wrap up on Sunday.
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