NJPW’s 2025 World Tag League is officially underway.
Action kicked off Thursday night at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, with four matchups in the A Block.
The new duo of Shingo Takagi and Drilla Moloney, which they dubbed “War Dragons” by the end of the night, came up victorious in the main event against Gabe Kidd & Yota Tsuji. Scoring a double-team version of Takagi’s Made In Japan finisher, the duo got off to a strong start with two points in the bracket.
An alliance between Takagi and Moloney (as well as Kidd and Tsuji, for that matter) emerged earlier this year when the “Unaffiliated” ex-Ingobernables de Japon members confirmed an alliance with the Bullet Club War Dogs.
The biggest upset of the night occurred in the co-main, as the duo of Satoshi Kojima and Taichi overcame multi-time Tag League winners Bishamon (YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto). A Black Mephisto from Taichi in the 12th minute gave him the pinfall win against YOSHI-HASHI to get their tournament started with significant momentum.
In a House of Torture vs. House of Torture match, who gets to win via cheating? That question was answered when the team of Don Fale and EVIL defeated Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi on Thursday.
After an appearance from Yoshinobu Kanemaru, who tried to calm things between the two teams, everyone involved decided to take a swig of his whiskey bottle. After Kanemaru turned away from the action, EVIL spat whiskey in the eyes of Takahashi, giving his team the advantage. Fale scored an elbow drop to Takahashi, then EVIL locked in a Sharpshooter for the submission win. Luckily, everyone in the faction was able to call a truce afterward.
The odd duo of Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg kicked off Block action with a win, taking down El Desperado and Shuji Ishikawa. Oleg tossed Desperado into Ishikawa’s hands, then the multi-time AJPW tag champ hit the canvas due to a low blow from Yano. This allowed Yano to score a roll-up pin onto Ishikawa, who was not only hurt due to the low blow but was further being weighed down by Desperado, whom he was still holding.
A Wrestle Kingdom matchup was confirmed on Thursday, when YOH staged a sit-in protest, demanding the opportunity to defend the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championships alongside Master Wato and Toru Yano in the Tokyo Dome. After being ushered away during the pre-show, YOH reappeared following the main event, eventually forcing NJPW to give in to his demand. Their opponents aren’t known yet.
The World Tag League will continue on Saturday with the first action in the B Block. The night will be headlined by a clash between current IWGP Tag Team Champions OSKAR & Yuto-Ice (the Knockout Brothers) and the duo of David Finlay & Hiromu Takahashi.
Here’s a look at today’s full results, plus an updated look at the standings:
- Ren Narita, SANADA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru def. Alex Zayne, Lance Arhcer & Zane Jay
- Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. def. Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan & Jakob Austin Young
- Shoma Kato, Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura def. El Phantasmo, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuya Murashima
- David Finlay, Gedo & Hiromu Takahashi def. OSKAR, Yuto-Ice & Daiki Nagai
- Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano def. El Desperado & Shuji Ishikawa (A Block)
- Don Fale & EVIL def. Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi (A Block)
- Satoshi Kojima & Taichi def. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI (A Block)
- Drilla Moloney & Shingo Takagi def. Gabe Kidd & Yota Tsuji (A Block)
A Block Standings
- Drilla Moloney & Shingo Takagi (2)
- Satoshi Kojima & Taichi (2)
- Don Fale & EVIL (2)
- Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano (2)
- Gabe Kidd & Yota Tsuji (0)
- Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI (0)
- Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi (0)
- El Desperado & Shuji Ishikawa (0)
B Block Standings
- David Finlay & Hiromu Takahashi (0)
- OSKAR & Yuto-Ice (0)
- El Phantasmo & Hiroshi Tanahashi (0)
- Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura (0)
- Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan (0)
- Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. (0)
- Alex Zayne & Lance Archer (0)
- Ren Narita & SANADA (0)
