The Ultimate Tag League is a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

round-robin

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

held by

DDT Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...

. It was created in 2000 as the and was renamed in 2001. In 2021, the tournament was brought back 16 years after the previous edition under its current name. The Ultimate Tag League is held under a points system, with 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss. From 2000 to 2003, wins by

pinfall In wrestling, a pin is achieved by holding an opponent's shoulders to the mat for a three count. Pinfall is the term used in professional wrestling which is a way to win the match for that person or team. Background A pinfall is a victory condi ...

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

were awarded 3 points and wins via

countout Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

or disqualification were only worth 2 points. Number of entrants and formats have changed over the years, with up to three blocks of participants and the occasional inclusion of semifinals. Matches in the DDT/KO-D Tag League had a 20-minute time limit. The Ultimate Tag League matches have a 30-minute time limit.

List of winners

Results

2000

The 2000 DDT Tag League featured two blocks of three teams and ran from August 24 to September 14.

2001

The 2001 KO-D Tag League ran from August 25 to September 30 and saw eight teams compete in a single block, with the top two scoring teams advancing to a final. On August 16,

Mikami is a Japanese name. Place Name * Mount Mikami, a mountain in Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture, Japan * Mikami Shrine, a temple at the foot of Mount Mikami Surname Notable people with the surname include: *Kyohei Mikami, Japanese wrestler * Masat ...

and

Super Uchuu Power was a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, also known under the ring name . Kimura was known for his work in promotions like Dramatic Dream Team, W*ING, Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling, among ...

vacated the

KO-D Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Japanese promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). The title was established in 2001. In its early days, DDT occasionally referred to the title as the . It is currently the only tag tea ...

and put the titles on the line in the tournament.

2002

The 2002 KO-D Tag League ran from July 13 to August 25 and saw eight teams compete in a single block. On May 16,

had to vacate the

due to an injury. It was then decided than the tournament would crown new champions. Due to a four-way tie for first place, the four teams were paired in the semifinals, with the two winners facing off in the final.

Tomohiko Hashimoto is a Japanese professional wrestler and former judoka and mixed martial artist, best known for his time with Dramatic Dream Team (DDT), where he competed as a mainstay from 2000 to 2006. After working as a freelancer on the Japanese independent c ...

suffered an injury after one match. He was temporarily replaced by JPWA Lion #1 for one match and then permanently replaced by

Seiya Morohashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (1997-present) Morohashi made his professional wrestling debut in Inte ...

for the remaining matches. Morohashi suffered a mild injury too and also had to forfeit a match.

2003

The 2003 KO-D Tag League was held from September 11 to September 28 and featured two blocks of five teams. On the first day of the tournament, the

KO-D Tag Team Champions The is a professional wrestling tag team championship (professional wrestling), championship owned by the Professional wrestling in Japan, Japanese professional wrestling promotion, promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). The title was established in ...

Takashi Sasaki is a Japanese professional wrestler and the owner of Pro Wrestling Freedoms (Freedoms). A regular on the Japanese independent circuit for over 25 years, Sasaki began his with IWA Kakutō Shijuku and Dramatic Dream Team before transitioning into ...

and

Thanomsak Toba is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Dramatic Dream Team (DDT). His ring name is an hommage to Thai professional boxer Thanomsak Sithbaobay. Professional wrestling career Indepe ...

lost their match against

and Super Uchuu Power Omega. They decided to vacate the titles in order to put them up for grab in the tournament.

2004

The 2004 KO-D Tag League was held from September 16 to September 30 and featured three blocks of four teams. The points system was changed to a more traditional system of 2 points for a victory and 1 point for a draw. The winners would also win the vacant

2005

The 2005 KO-D Tag League featured two blocks of four teams and ran from September 10 to September 23.

Toru Owashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name . He is best known for his work in DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is a former KO-D Openweight Championship, KO-D Openweight Champion and two time KO-D Tag Team Championship, KO-D Ta ...

was forced to drop out of the tournament after his first match and forfeited his remaining matches. Due to a three-way tie for first place in block B, the three teams faced off in a three-way decision match, with the winners advancing to the final.

2021

The Ultimate Tag League 2021 ran from May 9 to May 27 and featured five teams competing in a single block with the team scoring the most points to be declared the winners. Due to a tie, the top two scoring teams faced off in a tie-breaker. The time limit for the matches was increased from 20 minutes to 30 minutes.

2022

The 2022 Ultimate Tag League ran from January 30 to February 27. This edition featured ten teams competing in two blocks. On January 3,

Harashima Harashima (stylised in all capital letters) (born July 6, 1974) is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in DDT Pro-Wrestling (formally Dramatic Dream Team), where he is a ten-time KO-D Openweight Champion and a curren ...

and

Naomi Yoshimura is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Dramatic Dream Team (DDT). Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2016-present) Yoshimura is known for his matches from the jap ...

vacated the

so it could be put up for grab in the tournament. Danshoku "Dandy" Dino was originally scheduled to represent Pheromones but had to be pulled off the tournament when he was diagnosed with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

symptoms days before the start. He was replaced by Yumehito "Fantastic" Imanari. CDK, the team of

Chris Brookes Chris Brookes (born 24 August 1991) is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is a two-time DDT Universal Champion. Career Progress Wrestling (2017–2019) On 24 August 2019, at Progress x ...

and

Masa Takanashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . Takanashi was trained by Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) and has worked for the promotion since his debut in September 2003, becoming a one-time KO-D Openweight Champion, a two-time ...

, had to forfeit multiples matches due to various medical reasons.

References

Notes

Footnotes

External links

*
Wrestle Universe
{{Professional wrestling in Japan DDT Pro-Wrestling Tag team tournaments