New Japan Pro Wrestling continued their World Tag League & Best of Super Juniors dual tour on Tuesday & Wednesday. With the half-way point nearing for both tournaments, holding patterns were shattered in a series of shocking results.
In World Tag League, Tetsuya Naito & SANADA broke away from the pack with a sneaky win over tournament hoodlums Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano. Even more important than the points, SANADA won the match by pinning none other than The Ace himself, Hiroshi Tanahashi. Stuck in limbo for the past few years, pinning someone like Tanahashi bodes well for SANADA’s 2022 and beyond.
There is a traffic jam at 6 points, as CHAOS, Fale & Owens, Guerrillas of Destiny, Tanahashi & Yano, and the tag champions Sabre & Taichi all have three wins apiece. Meanwhile Great Bash Heel and Nagata & Tiger Mask are currently stuck at the bottom with no wins. EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi finally got on the board with a dominant win over Ten-cozy.
United Empire had the upset of the night on Tuesday, defeating the IWGP Tag Champs. Henare was absent from the G1 and O-Khan fizzled out after an impressive start. This tournament seems to be where they are proving themselves.
World Tag League Standings:
- 8 points: Tetsuya Naito & SANADA
- 6 points: CHAOS, United Empire, Guerrillas of Destiny, Dangerous Tekkers, Owens & Fale, Be-Bop World Tag League
- 2 points: House of Torture, Ten-cozy
- 0 points: Suzuki & TAKA, Great Bash Heel, Tiger Mask & Nagata
SEE ALSO: Best of Super Juniors (NIGHT 1) (NIGHT 2), World Tag League (NIGHT 1) (NIGHT 2), and Nov. 18th-21st Results (HERE)
The next night, during Best of Super Juniors, things slid in all directions. Tables were turned and odds were overcome. YOH finally got his first win of the tournament. The only winless wonder of the tournament, YOH took advantage of Robbie Eagles overshooting a Tope Suicida, and brought back the 5 Star Clutch to get the win over the IWGP Jr. Tag Champion.
Yeaaaaaaaah. Tonight kinda sucked. #njbosj https://t.co/RkIqZGhwVL
— Robbie Eagles (@RobbieEagles_) November 24, 2021
The main event of Wednesday’s show saw Hiromu Takahashi overcome his tag partner BUSHI, and a black mist, to get the win. Takahashi is stuck in second place behind Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SHO, looking to repeat last year’s tournament win.
Speaking of Kanemaru & SHO, he broke SHO’s winning streak on Wednesday. Kanemaru outsmarted the young House of Torture member, enraging The Murder Machine. After the match, SHO attacked Kanemaru with his trademark wrench.
Plus Master Wato got a win over Taguchi, Jr. Champion El Desperado submitted DOUKI, and the Young Lions continue to wrestle 10min masterpieces.
Best of Super Juniors Standings:
- 8 points: SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- 7 points: Hiromu Takahashi
- 6 points: Taiji Ishimori
- 5 points: El Desperado
- 4 points: El Phantasmo, Robbie Eagles, Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato, DOUKI, BUSHI
- 2 points: YOH
Here are the full results:
11/23
NJPW World Tag League: Night 4
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Non-Tournament Match: Yuto Nakashima wrestled Kosei Fujita to a Time Limit Draw. (10:00)
- World Tag League: CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) (6) def. Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask (0) by pinfall. (10:59)
YOSHI-HASHI pinned Tiger Mask via Shoto. - World Tag League: House of Torture (EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi) (2) def. Ten-cozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) (2) by pinfall. (11:24)
Yujiro Takahashi pinned Hiroyoshi Tenzan via Big Juice. - World Tag League: Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale (6) def. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) (0) by pinfall. (10:34)
Chase Owens pinned Tomoaki Honma via Package Piledriver. - World Tag League: Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (6) def. Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku (0) by pinfall. (9:52)
Tama Tonga pinned TAKA Michinoku via Gun Stun. - World Tag League: United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare) (6) def. Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi) (6) by pinfall. (19:05)
Great-O-Khan pinned Taichi via Imperial Drop. - World Tag League: Tetsuya Naito & SANADA (8) def. Be-Bop World Tag League (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano) (6) by pinfall. (15:18)
SANADA pinned Hiroshi Tanahashi via O’Connor Roll.
11/24
NJPW Best of Super Juniors: Night 5
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Non-Tournament Match: Ryohei Oiwa wrestled Kosei Fujita to a Time Limit Draw. (10:00)
- Best of Super Juniors: Master Wato (4) def. Ryusuke Taguchi (4) by pinfall via RPP. (12:09)
- Best of Super Juniors: YOH (2) def. Robbie Eagles (4) by pinfall via 5 Star Clutch. (13:48)
- Best of Super Juniors: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (8) def. SHO (8) by pinfall via Rollup. (8:08)
- Best of Super Juniors: El Desperado (5) def. DOUKI (4) by submission via Numero Dos. (15:08)
- Best of Super Juniors: El Phantasmo (4) def. Taiji Ishimori (6) by pinfall via Small Package. (15:53)
- Best of Super Juniors: Hiromu Takahashi (7) def. BUSHI (4) by pinfall via TIME BOMB II. (21:16)
NJPW returns on Nov. 27th at 4am ET for Best of Super Juniors: Night 6 on NJPWWorld.com
