{"id":224539,"date":"2026-11-01T15:19:21","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T21:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=224539"},"modified":"2026-11-01T15:19:21","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T21:19:21","slug":"njpw-super-junior-tag-league-2026-nights-4-7-lansdell-brings-you-his-report-on-the-final-nights-of-block-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/11\/01\/njpw-super-junior-tag-league-2026-nights-4-7-lansdell-brings-you-his-report-on-the-final-nights-of-block-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"NJPW SUPER JUNIOR TAG LEAGUE 2026 NIGHTS 4-7 &#8211; Lansdell brings you his report on the final nights of block competition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3590346568\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Advertisements\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>And no sooner than it started, it was coming to an end. The final four nights of block competition in the 2026 Super Junior Tag League snuck up on me just over a week after night one. Squeezing the whole tournament into a short stretch has become the norm in the last couple of years, but it has never been a mere eight days outside of the pandemic-affected 2021 edition.<\/p>\n<p>As a result it has been a tough tournament to follow in real time. The greatly reduced number of preview tags has also stilted the opportunity to develop stories within the blocks. A lot of reviewers skip the tag tournaments but I quite enjoy them, and this dense barrage of matches has felt a little too much like pressure and not enough like something I want to watch. The lack of star power in the tournament has not helped that feeling. Nonetheless there have been enjoyable moments, and I haven\u2019t given up yet!<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>October 27, Night Four &#8211; Hanamomo Gymnasium, Ibaraki<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\nThis was the first A Block-only card and featured Francesco Akira joining Walker Stewart on commentary. I love when they have wrestlers on commentary, and Akira is one of the better ones for entertainment value.<\/p>\n<p><strong>MASTER WATO &amp; KUUKAI (2) vs. ROBBIE X &amp; TAIJI ISHIMORI (4)<\/strong><br \/>\nI was all set to say that this match was disappointingly methodical, almost plodding in pace. What it ended up being was a study in building a crescendo and letting each team get more intense as they hit the finishing sequence. When that sequence did arrive it was almost entirely X and Ishimori in the driver\u2019s seat, and indeed they took home the win when X hit the X Express on Kuukai. I think this was my new favourite match of the tournament thus far. Wato and Kuukai looked excellent in defeat, although the loss eliminated them. Wato really needs something to liven him up, and I think a heel turn is the best bet. X and Ishimori are still looking likely to be in the finals. In case it wasn\u2019t clear, you should make time to watch this one.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RYUSUKE TAGUCHI &amp; KAZUMA SUMI (2) vs. NICK WAYNE &amp; KUSHIDA (4)<\/strong><br \/>\nWayne had entirely too much fun mocking Taguchi\u2019s ass attacks in the early going. I have always thought Taguchi was at his best when he has a few haha spots in an otherwise serious match, and his opponents join in. Having said that, I was most intrigued by the prospect of Wayne and Sumi working together. Sumi is 23 and Wayne is 21, and from what I had seen of Sumi their styles were complementary. We did get flashes of those two and the chemistry certainly seemed to be there, but this was the Big Match Taguchi showcase of the tournament instead. It\u2019s hard to be disappointed when we get that version of Taguchi because he is so good when he turns it on. They went 17-plus minutes, impressive for anyone at the pace they maintained but even more so for 47-year-old Taguchi and 43-year-old Kushida. Taguchi grabbed a schoolboy on Kushida to pick up the win and leave both teams at four points. This was the match of the tournament so far, and honestly would have been a fitting main event. Strongest recommendation possible.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DOUKI &amp; YOSHINOBU KANEMARU (4) vs. MISTICO &amp; MASATORA YASUDA (2)<\/strong><br \/>\nThe fact that a team with a Young Lion in it won a match, let alone was still in contention on the penultimate night of group matches, is strange enough. That the team has been in the main or semi-main event each night is stranger still. HoT took the smart approach of continually knocking Mistico off the apron and focusing their attack on Yasuda. Given the people involved it was a good way to make the match main-event length without the usual HoT shenanigans artificially dragging it out. The plan worked from the point of view of winning the match, but as it only went ten minutes you could not say that the match length plan was successful. Then again, Douki has often said that too many junior heavyweights want to have good matches. He just wants to have bad matches and make the most money. Douki is Wade Keller, confirmed. Douki pinned Yasuda after Suplex de la Luna, eliminating their opponents and putting themselves in the driver\u2019s seat for the final night in the block. For good measure they also attacked Mistico\u2019s knee after the bell, which probably leads to Yasuda getting a win on the final night. The match was OK, Yasuda acquitted himself well with the spotlight on him for the whole match, but it was not something you HAVE to see.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">October 30, Night 5 &#8211; Gifu Memorial Center, Gifu<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nB Block\u2019s turn to take the spotlight for each team\u2019s fourth of five matches unfortunately had nobody join Stewart in the booth. Even more unfortunate was that it started with a House of Torture match.<\/p>\n<p><strong>HOUSE OF TORTURE (2) vs. THE SWIRL (4)<\/strong><br \/>\nThe more I see of The Swirl, the more I want to see. Being in Japan they have not been able to demonstrate their talent (or lack thereof) on the mic, but they can certainly go in the ring. They would be a really good team to put behind someone like MJF, not as hired goons but more of a loose association. I would have expected this to be fairly short with The Swirl having most of the offence, but that expectation was subverted as HoT spent a large part of the match in control. Christian kicked out of a spike piledriver and Johnson made a save after a Magic Killer before they went to the Brain Rot sequence that has impressed Japanese fans each time out. The win here moved The Swirl to six points and put them in pole position for a shot at the finals. Decent enough, but it didn\u2019t rise above the middle of the pack. If you have some spare time there are worse ways to spend it.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2838219171\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Advertisements\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><strong>YOH &amp; HYO (4) vs. TITAN &amp; DAIKI NAGAI (0)<\/strong><br \/>\nWith Yasuda\u2019s team having picked up a win in A Block it would be less of a shock if Nagai managed to put some points on the board as well. I didn\u2019t expect it to come in this match, and I was correct. Yoh and Hyo reversed roles from the last night of competition, Yoh holding the leash this time. Hyo looked far more comfortable in that role than Yoh did, but to be fair Yoh still looked uncomfortable as the pet owner. Titan and Hyo opened the match with a breathless exchange of acrobatics before Nagai surprisingly took control against Yoh. At one point Nagai stole a replica Myon-Myon from a fan, brought it into the ring, and beat it up. He put it on Hyo\u2019s chest for Titan to nail with a top rope diving stomp which I kind of expected to be the finish. Titan seemed to be fighting extra hard in this one, seemingly telling a story of being tired of losing and\/or wanting to get a win for Nagai. Instead it was the catalyst for Hyo and Yoh to come back and hit 3K for the win. Two teams were now on six points going to the final night, with a third one likely to join them after the main event. I enjoyed the match but could have done without the visual of Hyo cocking his leg and pretending to spray Yoh with his\u2026musk. Still, it\u2019s a match worth watching.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TMDK (4) vs. UNITED EMPIRE (4)<\/strong><br \/>\nProbably one of the biggest matches that could happen during the group stages, made all the more important by both teams being on four points and needing the win. Akira has a storied history with TMDK, though most of that was with TJP as his partner. This would be a reasonable place to really crank up the tension on the United Empire split, but with one more group match to go I didn\u2019t expect the final turn to happen here. Throughout the match Akira and Young were clearly not getting along. Young cut corners and used Zane Jay at ringside to beat down TMDK, and Akira wanted no part of it. They didn\u2019t actually have the stereotypical collision until ten minutes into the match, and even then it was not immediately detrimental. Eagles threw Akira into Young to break up a submission and that led to a shoving match between Akira and Young, but again they were able to get back to working together. Young and Fujita had a good three-minute stretch together that showed a reassuring amount of improvement on Young\u2019s part. He was able to kick out of a Sweet Busta that felt like the finish at the 15-minute mark. Akira briefly intervened but was dispatched to the outside, and Fujita hit Thrill Ride to secure the win and eliminate United Empire. It was good, but I expected good and maybe more than good. Still worth a watch though.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>October 31, Night 6 &#8211; Nishiyama Park Gymnasium, Kyoto<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\nJakob Austin Young joined the commentary for this show. He\u2019s not as good as Akira but the extra voice almost always helps.<\/p>\n<p><strong>MISTICO &amp; MASATORA YASUDA (2) vs. RYSUKE TAGUCHI &amp; KAZUMA SUMI (4)<\/strong><br \/>\nI haven\u2019t mentioned it yet, but the music they chose to mask Mistico\u2019s usual theme is quite the banger. Coming into the match both Mistico and Taguchi had said they wanted their partners to get the fall for the win. With both teams effectively eliminated it isn\u2019t unreasonable to have that goal. Technically Sumi and Taguchi could tie the leaders on six points but the resulting four-way tie would require several maths degrees to untangle.Yasuda once again spent most of the match in the ring while Sumi and Taguchi took turns beating on him. Sumi had his chances to impress but seemed to be overawed by the opportunity and ended up slipping or over-rotating in a few exchanges. He didn\u2019t completely bomb but if this tournament was an audition I would not think he had done himself any favours. Surprisingly Taguchi tapped out Yasuda for the win, a puzzling decision given that the result was almost entirely inconsequential. Definitely skippable, both teams had better matches earlier in the tournament.<\/p>\n<p><strong>MASTER WATO &amp; KUUKAI (2) vs. DOUKI &amp; YOSHINOBU KANEMARU (6)<\/strong><br \/>\nA win for Wato and Kuukai makes the main event a win-and-in for Ishimori and X, and I think if Wayne and Kushida won it would let them advance with a House of Torture loss. HoT did a good job of showing that urgency and spent most of the first five meetings beating up Kuukai. It also led to something of a scrambled and jumbled feel to the match, which in turn hurt the overall quality. Seen as part of the story of the tournament it made sense but as a match in a vacuum it was pretty unremarkable. Douki hit Suplex de la Luna on Kuukai for the win, leaving X and Ishimori needing a win to advance but also eliminating Wayne and Kushida.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NICK WAYNE &amp; KUSHIDA (4) vs. TAIJI ISHIMORI &amp; ROBBIE X (6)<\/strong><br \/>\nA Block came down to a simple equation: Ishimori and X win and go through, otherwise House of Torture makes the finals. It was never mentioned in the commentary but as both teams are ostensibly faces and only one of them could make the finals, there could have been some suggestion of Kushida and Wayne not trying their best here. I can see both sides to that; on one hand you don\u2019t want to put that idea in people\u2019s heads, but on the other hand you can make Wayne and Kushida look more honorable because they put the \u201csanctity of the competition\u201d ahead of everything else. The match only lasted 13 minutes, and high-octane though it was I still came away feeling short-changed by that. The match order throughout the block made the final night somewhat anticlimactic in my mind, and that\u2019s a trap the booking team is normally able to avoid. Now we move to the B Block finale to see who the opponents will be.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>November 1, Night 7 &#8211; Okayama<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>HOUSE OF TORTURE (2) vs. TITAN &amp; DAIKI NAGAI (0)<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Futility Bowl kicked off the B Block finale, and if ever Nagai were going to get himself a win this was the time to do it. Interesting to note that Titan came out in a black mask for this match. Sho made a show of having brought handcuffs with him, which very early were used to attach Togo and Sho to each other. It did not last unfortunately as YujiroTakahashi made his way to ringside with a key. Titan was featured more than he had been thus far in the tournament, fighting a lot of the match alone as Nagai was recovering on the outside. Titan eventually blocked a low blow from Sho, Nagai hit a low blow of his own, and that started the rally. Titan hit a diving double stomp on Togo for the win, giving the Young Lion his first two tournament points. Nothing really special here unless you have a hankering to watch Titan go ham.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-142507236\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Advertisements\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><strong>THE SWIRL (6) vs. UNITED EMPIRE (4)<\/strong><br \/>\nUnited Empire can only play spoilers here. Even with a win, The Swirl needed Yoh &amp; Hyo to win in the main event in order to qualify for the finals. Akira struck quite the tragic figure throughout the match, doing everything he could to be a good partner and show that he trusted Young. Ultimately there were no collisions and no miscommunications, just The Swirl being better as a team on the night. They showed more offence in this match than they had needed to show on previous nights. Johnson pinned Young after Brain Rot, and poor Akira looked distraught. All three members of United Empire went to the back together without any additional quarrels, which rather suggests Power Struggle on November 3 might see the foretold explosion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TMDK (6) vs. YOH &amp; HYO (6)<\/strong><br \/>\nWith a win, TMDK would make the finals as they would hold the tiebreaker over The Swirl. If Yoh &amp; Hyo won they would not have the tiebreaker over The Swirl and thus would still not make the finals. A draw would of course mean The Swirl made the finals. Three of the four competitors are old hands in this tournament, and Hyo has shown that he can hang with the top tier talent in the division. All signs pointed to an excellent match with high stakes, and we got that. The comedy was kept to a minimum as both teams took the match seriously. My one complaint would be that the ending came abruptly and with almost no reaction in the venue. TMDK hit the Interceptor on Hyo to qualify for the finals, but Yoh made no attempt to break the cover and there was no real drama leading up to it. A strange ending to what had been a phenomenal match to that point. I would still suggest you watch it, but be prepared for that jarring ending.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Final thoughts:<\/strong> Well we got the finals most people would have wanted when the lineups were announced, and we got there with a minimal amount of tension or jeopardy. There were some good matches throughout and the likes of The Swirl and Hyo made the best of their cameos, but the condensed nature of the tournament and the lack of star power meant the whole thing felt like something New Japan were doing because they had to. There\u2019s very little I will remember from this tournament in a year\u2019s time, and some of that is because it was entertaining and not due to match quality. Either team could win from here, the match itself has the potential to be excellent if given time, but the key is to make people care. I hope we do see more of The Swirl in New Japan, that\u2019s for sure. Nick Wayne, Hyo, and even Kuukai were solid additions. Nagai and Yasuda both made their cases for being ready to go on excursion. A lot of good things could come from the block stages, but that feeling of irrelevance just hangs over the whole thing. A real shame.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1110614102\"><div id=\"pwtor-1642245480\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Advertisements\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>And no sooner than it started, it was coming to an end. The final four nights of block competition in the 2026 Super Junior Tag League snuck up on me just over a week after <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2026\/11\/01\/njpw-super-junior-tag-league-2026-nights-4-7-lansdell-brings-you-his-report-on-the-final-nights-of-block-competition\/\" title=\"NJPW SUPER JUNIOR TAG LEAGUE 2026 NIGHTS 4-7 &#8211; Lansdell brings you his report on the final nights of block competition\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":224466,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,6945,542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-224539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tvshowsandevents","category-japantvreports","category-new-japan-ppvs"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2026\/10\/20261024_SJrTagL2026_logo-350x233-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224539"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":224540,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224539\/revisions\/224540"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}