__NOTOC__ The 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

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

as a spin-off of the popular singles tournament, the

G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually (and currently) held as a round-robin, with winners ...

. It was created in 1991 as the Super Grade Tag League, as a continuation of a regular tag team tournament held since 1980, gaining the name in 1999. In 2012, NJPW's new owners, the

Bushiroad is a Japanese entertainment company, producer of collectible card games and trading cards, publisher of mobile apps and games, promotional items and many other venues, which was founded in 2007 by Takaaki Kidani and is headquartered in Tokyo. ...

company, renamed the tournament to its current form. Since the tournament acquired its current name, the winning team earns the right to challenge for the

IWGP Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPW live event. The ...

at the following year's

Wrestle Kingdom The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is a professional wrestling event produced annually on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), a Japan-based professional wrestling promotion. NJPW has promoted events in the venue every Janua ...

, assuming the team does not hold the title at the time of their victory. The World Tag League is held under a points system, with 2 points for a win, 1 for a time limit draw, and 0 for a loss, no contest or double decision. The current format, introduced in 2014, is essentially identical to that of the G1 Climax, with the top-scoring team from two blocks of eight advancing to the final. __TOC__

List of winners

1980

The 1980 MSG Tag League featured 9 teams in a single block and was held from November 21 to December 10, 1980.

1981

The 1981 MSG Tag League featured 10 teams in a single block and was held from November 19 to December 10, 1981. Due to a tie for second place, the two second-place teams faced each other in a semifinal to decide the finalists.

1982

The 1982 MSG Tag League featured 8 teams in a single block and was held from November 19 to December 10, 1982. "Young Simpson" may be a mistranslation; no data has been found other than being tag team partner of British wrestler Wayne Bridges.

1983

The 1983 MSG Tag League featured 9 teams in a single block and was held from November 18 to December 8, 1983. † Hanson was injured and could not compete in the final.

1984

The 1984 MSG Tag League featured 7 teams in a single block and was held from November 16 to December 5, 1984.

1985

The 1985 IWGP Tag Title League featured 8 teams in a single block and was held from November 15 to December 12, 1985. †Brody & Snuka no-showed the finals and jumped to

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

1986

The 1986 Japan Cup Tag League featured 8 teams in a single block and was held from November 14, 1986 to December 11, 1986.

1987

The 1987 Japan Cup Tag League featured 8 teams in a single block and was held from November 9, 1987 to December 7, 1987.

1991

The 1991 Super Grade Tag League featured 7 teams in a single block and was held from October 5 to October 17. Due to a tie for second place, the two second-place teams faced each other in a semifinal to decide the finalists.

1992

The 1992 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 7 teams, was held from October 8 to October 21.

1993

The 1993 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 10 teams, was held from October 8 to November 4.

1994

The 1994 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 10 teams, was held from October 19 to October 30.

1995

The 1995 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 7 teams, was held from October 15 to October 30. Due to a tie for second place, the two second-place teams faced each other in a semifinal to decide the finalists.

Masa Saito was a Japanese professional wrestler better known as Mr. Saito or , who wrestled for 33 years around the world. He had success as a singles wrestler, winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1990, and as a tag team wrestler with multip ...

also replaced

Riki Choshu , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both a wrestler and a booker. He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestlers ...

in his team with

Kensuke Sasaki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and founder of the now-defunct wrestling promotion Diamond Ring. Sasaki is the first of four men ever to hold all three of '' puroresus major heavyweight titles (the IWGP Heav ...

after one match.

1996

The 1996 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 8 teams, was held from October 13 to November 1. It altered the traditional points system, rewarding just 2 points for a victory, and 0 for a draw or loss.

1997

The 1997 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 8 teams, was held from November 18 to December 8. It used the same points system as the previous year, awarding 2 points for a win and 0 for a loss or draw. Due to a tie for second place, the two second-place teams faced each other in a semifinal to decide the finalists.

1998

The 1998 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 7 teams, was held from November 16 to December 6. It returned to the traditional points system, awarding 2 points for a victory, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss. 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. .

1999

The 1999 G1 Tag League, featuring 9 teams, was held from September 10 to September 23.

2000

The 2000 G1 Tag League, featuring 7 teams, was held from November 17 to November 30. It strayed slightly from the standard formula; as there was a four-way tie for first place, all four teams advanced to a small single-elimination tournament to decide the 2000 G1 Tag champions.

2001

The 2001 G1 Tag League, featuring 8 teams, was held from November 30 to December 11.

2003

The 2003 G1 Tag League, featuring 8 teams, was held from October 15 to October 30. The match between

Mike Barton Michael Polchlopek (born December 27, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1993 to 1999 under the ring names Bart Gu ...

& Jim Steele and

Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...

Yutaka Yoshie , is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer in Japan, performing most notably for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a former World Tag Team Champion. He has previously worked for promotions such as New Japan ...

did not have the usual 30-minute time limit as it was also for Tanahashi & Yoshie's

IWGP World Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPW live event. The ...

, giving it a 60-minute time limit.

2006

The 2006 G1 Tag League featured two blocks of five and ran from October 15 to November 6.

2007

The 2007 G1 Tag League was held from October 18, 2007 to November 2, 2007 over ten shows, featuring eight teams in one block. Due to a four-way tie for first place, a four-team semifinal was set up, with the matchups being randomly drawn. ¹This was a handicap match, not involving Tomko due to scheduling conflicts.

2008

The 2008 G1 Tag League, featuring 12 teams in two blocks, will be held from October 18 to November 5.

2009

The 2009 G1 Tag League featured two blocks of five and ran from October 17 through November 1.

2010

The 2010 G1 Tag League featured two blocks of six and ran from October 22 through November 7.

2011

The 2011 G1 Tag League featured two blocks of six and ran from October 22 through November 6.

2012

The 2012 edition of the newly rebranded World Tag League took place from November 20 through December 2.

2013

The 2013 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 23 through December 8.

2014

The 2014 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 22 through December 7. Following his team's opening match in the tournament, Yoshitatsu was forced to pull out of the tournament with a neck injury, leading to him and

forfeiting the rest of their matches.

2015

The 2015 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 21 through December 9.

A.J. Styles Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Regarded as one of the best ...

was sidelined with a back injury following November 24, forcing him and

Yujiro Takahashi , is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Bullet Club and its sub-group House of Torture. Takahashi entered New Japan in November 2003 with an extensive amateur backgr ...

to forfeit the rest of their matches.

2016

The 2016 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 18 through December 10.

2017

The 2017 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 18 through December 11. The tournament featured the NJPW debuts of Chuckie T.,

Jeff Cobb Jeffrey Cobb (ジェフ・コブ　''Jefu Kobu'', born July 11, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he is a two-time IWGP Tag Team Champion with United Emp ...

, and

Sami Callihan Samuel Alton Johnston (born September 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by the ring name Sami Callihan, currently signed with Impact Wrestling and is a former Impact World Champion. He also wrestled for Luch ...

. The tournament featured a format change, where several top wrestlers, namely

Kazuchika Okada (born November 8, 1987) is a Japanese professional wrestler 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 dramati ...

Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-time ...

, and

Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' faction. Tetsuya Naito began training for a professional wrestling career in 2000, initially under Anima ...

, who already had matches booked for

Wrestle Kingdom 12 Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2018, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 27th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show, which is NJPW's ...

, were left out of the tournament.

2018

The 2018 tournament saw a change to a single block and a decrease in teams. From the previous year's 16, 14 teams were competing in the 2018 league.

2019

In 2019, the World Tag League sees 16 teams competing in a single block, with the first-placed team being declared the winner. The tournament winners advanced to an

match at

Wrestle Kingdom 14 Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome was a two-night professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4 and 5, 2020, at the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 29th January ...

2020

The 2020 World Tag League took place in tandem with the 2020

Best of the Super Juniors The Best of the Super Juniors (often abbreviated BOSJ) is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), typically in May or June. Originally known as Top of the Super Juniors, the first tournament was held in ...

from November 15 to December 11. The World Tag League sees 10 teams competing in a single block, with the top two teams facing in the finals. The tournament winners advanced to an IWGP Tag Team Championship match at

Wrestle Kingdom 15 Wrestle Kingdom 15 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place over two nights, on January 4 and 5, 2021 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 30th Ja ...

2021

The 2021 World Tag League will take place in tandem with the 2021

from November 13 to December 15. The World Tag League sees 12 teams competing in a single block, with the top two teams facing in the finals. The tournament winners advance to an IWGP Tag Team Championship match at

Wrestle Kingdom 16 Wrestle Kingdom 16 was a three-day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event co-produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) promotions. The event took place on January 4 and 5, 2022, at the Tokyo Dome, in To ...

2022

The 2022 World Tag League will take place in tandem with the 2022

Super Junior Tag League The Super Junior Tag League is a professional wrestling tag team tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Established in 2010, but preceded by the G1 Climax Junior Heavyweight Tag League in 2001 (won by El Samurai and Jushin Thunder L ...

from November 21 to December 14. The World Tag League sees 10 teams competing in a single block, with the top two teams facing in the finals. The tournament winners advance to an IWGP Tag Team Championship match at

Wrestle Kingdom 17 Wrestle Kingdom 17 was a two-day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event co-produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) promotions. The first day of the event took place on January 4, 2023, at the Tokyo Dom ...

. On December 2, it was announced that Chase Owens would be absent for the remainder of the tournament, following the passing of a family member, leading them to forfeit the remainder of their matches.

References

External links

World Tag League at NJPW.co.jp

G1 Tag League at NJPW.co.jp
{{New Japan Pro Wrestling events New Japan Pro-Wrestling tournaments Tag team tournaments