NJPW has unveiled the entire 16-team field for this year’s World Tag League.
The tournament, which kicks off November 20 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, will see a few returning acts alongside 12 new pairings competing to win the promotion’s top tag trophy.
The favorites in the A Block will be the Bishamon duo of Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI, who have prevailed in three separate World Tag League tournaments since 2021. Following a reign with the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship earlier this year, Goto will try and begin his quest toward a sixth IWGP Tag Team Championship reign when he competes in the upcoming bracket.
The A Block will also feature the continuing alliance between former Los Ingobernables de Japon members, now called “Unaffiliated,” and Bullet Club War Dogs wrestlers. Yota Tsuji will team with Gabe Kidd, and Shingo Takagi will wrestle alongside Drilla Moloney.
The B Block will feature the World Tag League newcomer team of Yuto-Ice and OSKAR, who enter with tons of momentum despite being rookies. The Knockout Brothers made a huge splash back in September when they captured the IWGP Tag Team Championships off Taichi and Tomohiro Ishii, just weeks after they made their official debut on the roster.
The soon-to-retire Hiroshi Tanahashi will make his final World Tag League run alongside El Phantasmo, it was announced. After competing in more than 60 NJPW tournaments over the years, the upcoming tour will see Tanahashi step into block action for the very last time.
The tour will also see AEW’s Lance Archer return to Japan to team with Alex Zayne, bringing “Monster Sauce” back. While Archer mainly represents the Don Callis Family on AEW programming, he previously teamed with Zayne in the 2023 World Tag League, ending the tournament with eight points. Two years later, the duo will make their return to the country as part of the upcoming tournament.
Here’s a full look at the lineups:
A Block
- Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)
- Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano
- Yota Tsuji & Gabe Kidd
- EVIL & Don Fale
- Taichi & Satoshi Kojima
- El Desperado & Shuji Ishikawa
- Shingo Takagi & Drilla Moloney
- Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
B Block
- Knockout Brothers (OSKAR & Yuto-Ice)
- Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa
- Monster Sauce (Alex Zayne & Lance Archer)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi & El Phantasmo
- Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura
- David Finlay & Hiromu Takahashi
- Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman
- Ren Narita & SANADA
