The Best in the World is…?

Stephanie Vaquer defends the WWE Women’s World Championship against Raquel Rodriguez, The New Day battle the Usos once more, and CM Punk returns to Monday Night Raw!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• The New Day VS The Usos; The Usos win.
• WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Maxxine Dupri VS Ivy Nile; Maxxine wins and retains the title.
• WWE Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer VS Raquel Rodriguez; Vaquer wins by disqualification and retains the title.
• Logan Paul VS Rey Mysterio; Logan wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

GUNTHER is here!

And the entire crowd in Hershey, Pennsylvania boos Der Ring General as he walks out, smiling ear to ear. Gunther goes right to the ring, but then decides to stand on the desk instead! Gunther soaks up all the heat, then hops down to finally step into the ring. The fans continue to boo as Gunther grabs the mic, and he pretends like he doesn’t know why they’re upset. Gunther eggs it on by standing on a corner, and the booing only gets louder. The fans even chant, “You Suck! You Suck!” Gunther pretends to be offended, then he hops down to stand at the center of the ring. The fans still use “You Tapped Out!” from WrestleMania on Gunther, but he’s not bothered.

Gunther says, “So…” The fans erupt with more booing! Gunther is amused as he sees all the thumbs down and hears the continued booing. “I did what I said I would do. I made John Cena GIVE UP!” The fans boo more, but Gunther just smiles. “And when he gave up, he tapped out like a little b*tch!” Gunther drops the mic and exits the ring, laughing all the way. But then he goes back to the ring? Gunther stands on the corner again, just to revel in the heat. The fans again chant, “You Suck! You Suck!” but Gunther just smiles as he exits again. But then he goes back to the ring again?! Gunther goes around the outside, just to stand on the desk again!

The fans continue to boo but Gunther continues to egg them all on. Gunther picks the mic back up to say, “I MADE JOHN CENA TAP OUT, LIKE A LITTLE B*TCH! It is MY time now! I will forever be the man that made John Cena give up!” Gunther drops the mic again, hops back down, and he smiles as he walks back to the ramp while fans again chant, “You Suck! You Suck!” The cameras follow Gunther to gorilla, and he crosses paths with Akira Tozawa & Otis. Otis says Gunther must feel good, rubbing people’s faces in it. Yes, Gunther does feel good! Gunther continues on, but R-Truth is there no! “You are a piece of trash.”

Gunther says sure, whatever. Gunther keeps moving on, and Adam Pearce asks if he’s proud. Yes, Gunther is. So Gunther goes to the ring, beats the Greatest Of All Time, sends him into retirement, then walks over that man’s legacy because he knows Cena’s not coming back. Gunther has it all figured out, huh? That doesn’t make you a Ring General, Gunther, it makes you an a-hole! Gunther chuckles and asks if there’s anything else. Yes, Gunther is done for the night, so go find the exit. Gunther says he was leaving anyway. Gunther goes through the door and to the parking lot, and AJ Styles is there waiting.

Gunther asks if there’s something Styles wants to say. Styles just lets Gunther go to his car. Gunther rolls down the window to tell Styles, “You Can’t See Me!” Gunther drives off into the night, far too pleased with himself. Will someone humble him before the holidays?

The Vision arrives backstage.

Bronson Reed leads the way for Paul Heyman, Bronson Reed, and Logan Paul. They’re just as pleased with what they did to LA Knight, but will they do even more damage tonight?

The New Day w/ Grayson Waller VS The Usos!

Despite all the mourning Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods have been doing, perhaps this will lift their spirits! Jimmy & Jey are back in the Raw Tag Division, but will they YEET Kofi & Woods once more? Or will the New Day make sure no one resurrects the Uso Penitentiary?

Raw returns and New Day makes their entrance. The teams sort out but they talk more trash than anything. The fans chant, “New! Day Sucks!” while Kofi and #BigJim finally step up. Jimmy and Kofi circle, feel things out, and tie up. Jimmy headlocks, Kofi wrenches out to headlock back, but Jimmy powers up. Kofi shifts the clinch but Jimmy headlocks in return. Kofi powers up and out, Jimmy runs him over, things speed up, and Kofi hurdles. Jimmy stops himself, but Kofi avoids the superkick! Jimmy avoids Trouble in Paradise! The fans cheer the standoff, and then they fist bump. But Kofi whips Jimmy! Jimmy goes up and over to UPPERCUT!

Jimmy CHOPS Kofi to the corner, then tags Jey. The fans rally up as Jimmy RAMS Jey, Jey runs in and ELBOWS! And PELES! “YEET!” Jey bumps Kofi off buckles, UPPERCUTS, then whips. Kofi reverses, Jey stops himself and ELBOWS Kofi! But Woods LARIATS Jey down while the ref is distracted! And then Kofi WRECKS Jey with a dropkick while the ref is busy with Jimmy! The fans boo but Woods says, “That’s what I’m talking about! NEW~ DAY~!” “SUCKS!” The fans chant more but Raw goes to break.

Raw returns and Kofi puts Jey in a corner. Kofi goes corner to corner, but Jey BOOTS him! Jey hurries, hot tag to Jimmy! The fans fire up as Jimmy LARIATS Kofi again and again! Then mule kick, pop ‘n’ lock, UPPERCUT! Kofi returns, Jimmy dodges, fireman’s carry! Kofi slips free and shoves Jimmy, but Jimmy BLASTS Woods! Jimmy kicks but Kofi blocks, only for the DRAGON WHIP to hit! The fans fire up and they join in with “UCE! OH! UCE! OH!” HIP ATTACK in the corner! Kofi flounders, Jimmy climbs, but Woods goes after Jimmy! Jimmy kicks Woods away, then he tells Waller to back off! But Kofi BLASTS Jimmy!

Jimmy hits barriers, the fans boo, but now Kofi distracts the ref. Waller POSTS Jimmy! Waller talks trash, Jey is furious, but the ref has them stay back. Woods FLYING LARIATS Jey down! Kofi goes out and he stomps Jimmy. Kofi puts Jimmy in, “NEW! DAY SUCKS!” Kofi stomps Jimmy again and again, then he tags Woods. Woods stomps away on Jimmy, the ref counts, but Kofi tags back in. Kofi stomps away on Jimmy! Waller talks trash while Woods tags back in, and the stampede stops so Kofi can whip Woods, basement DROPKICK! Cover, TWO! Jimmy toughs it out but Woods stalks him to the ropes.

Woods drags Jimmy up by his ears, then whips him to the corner. Woods tags Kofi, then Woods hoists Jimmy up top! Woods puts Jimmy in the Tree of Woe, Kofi runs up, but Jimmy sits up! Kofi slides and he hits post! Now he’s got trouble in paradise! Jimmy gets free of the Tree, the fans rally, and hot tags to Woods and Jey! The fans fire up as Jey LARIATS Woods again and again! “YEET! YEET!” Jey shoves Woods to a corner, Woods dodges and Jey hits buckles! But Jey still SUPERKICKS Woods! Cover, TWO! Woods bails out, Jey lines up a shot, and “YEET!” Jey DIVES! Down goes Woods and the fans fire up again!

Jey puts Woods in, goes up the corner, and CROSSBODIES! Cover, TWO! Woods survives, Jey catches his breath, and Raw goes back to break.

Raw returns again and Jey counter punches Woods, “YEET!” And again, “YEET!” Jey fires shots, pops ‘n’ locks, then winds up to DECK Woods! Jey whips, Woods reverses, and Waller trips Jey in the distraction! The fans boo, but the ref notices something is up. Waller defends his innocence, but the ref doesn’t trust him! The ref EJECTS Waller! The fans fire up as #BigG has to leave now! Jey tags Jimmy! And the Usos DOUBLE SUPERKICK Woods! DOUBLE SUPERKICK to Kofi! DOUBLE SUPERKICK to Woods again! Woods falls, Jimmy tags Jey, and the Usos take the corners! DOUBLE USO SPLASH! Cover, TWO!!

The fans and the Usos are stunned as Woods survives! “This is Awesome!” as The Usos regroup. Jey tags Jimmy, they wait on Woods, but Kofi trips Jey up! And drags him out to send into steel steps! Woods rolls Jimmy, TWO! Jimmy UPPERCUTS! Jimmy runs up, but Woods TOSSES him up and out! Then TORNADO DDT TO THE FLOOR! Woods puts Jimmy in, tags Kofi, and he DIVES onto Jey! Kofi SPLASHES Jimmy down! Tag back to Woods, Woods climbs up, and Kofi hits the BACKBREAKER! DOUBLE STOMPS for the DAYLIGHT!! Cover, JEY BREAKS IT! The fans fire up again, but Kofi gives Jey TROUBLE IN PARADISE!

All four men are down and the fans are thunderous! “This is Awesome!” Woods tells Jimmy that the New Day are the BEST tag team in the world! Woods then scuffs Jimmy, kicks him to the corner, and he tags Kofi back in. Woods scoops, Kofi climbs, but Jimmy slips fere! Jimmy POSTS Woods, Kofi leaps, but into a SUPERKICK! Jimmy SUPERKICKS Woods off the apron, and Jey SPEARS him! The fans fire up again, and Jimmy ducks Trouble to SPEAR! Tag back to Jey, they get Kofi up to whip and ONE D!! Cover, Usos win!

Winners: The Usos, by pinfall

Another chapter in this storied rivalry, another epic showdown, and another solid win for Jimmy & Jey! Will this be more than enough for The Usos to have their shot at the WWE World Tag Team Championships?

BREAKING NEWS for the Raw Netflix Anniversary!

Speaking of tag titles, Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky have been named as the #1 contenders! They will challenge The Kabuki Warriors for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships on January 5th! Will Mami & The Genius be more than ready for Asuka & Kairi Sane?

The Kabuki Warriors speak.

The Empress of Tomorrow says, “Oi, Iyo! You betrayed me. You betrayed your own family!” The Pirate Princess says, “I loved you. Asuka loved you, Iyo! You monster!” Asuka says all Iyo had to do was apologize to her senpai, and she would’ve taken Iyo back. Instead, Iyo chose Rhea, even after Rhea disrespected Asuka! Now both of them “will know nothing but pain!” January 5th, Brooklyn, Kabuki Warriors end #RheYo and retain the tag titles! These two are ready for war, but what about Rhea & Iyo? Those two are on the way to gorilla, so we’ll hear from them after the break!

The Vision talks in their private suite.

Logan Paul says BOOM! Bronson Reed flattened LA Knight! He swears they were peeling Knight’s vertebrae off the roof of that car. Bronson says that was “Spinal.” Logan agrees! Bron Breakker says yes, LA Knight is gone, they took him out, but now CM Punk is here tonight. They should destroy him! Logan agrees, destroy Punk. And maybe that masked man shows up, too! Paul Heyman asks Logan, “What about the masked man?” Logan asks Heyman who it is, and Heyman says he has no idea. And honestly, at this point, Heyman will take the help. Rey Mysterio is after Logan, all of Knight’s friends will be after them all, and Punk is after Bron.

If The Vision is aligned with the masked man and the masked man is aligned with The Vision, then Heyman’s all for it! Bron asks Heyman for a private conversation real quick, and Heyman has them step aside. Bron says he’ll be fully transparent. If Punk shows himself, Bron’s taking him out. Heyman asks why, and Bron says he isn’t gonna wait. But he’s just 21 days away! They can wait! But Bron says demolishing Punk now makes him weaker on January 5th. Heyman says no, if Punk can’t make it to January 5th, they can’t have the title match. Does Bron know what 21 days means? Yes, it’s 504 hours. That’s a bit obsessive.

But point is, Bron is 21 days away from becoming the NEW World Heavyweight Champion! Just listen: Wait until January 5th, beat Punk, and become the NEW World Heavyweight Champion! Heyman warms up saying it, and Logan asks Bron that they can lock in and take out Rey Mysterio. Bron says yeah, okay. The Vision is doing their best to keep their eyes on the prize, will Bron accept the priorities as The Oracle stated them? Or will it still be on sight with CM Punk?

Iyo Sky makes her way to the ring!

The fans cheer, because she’s not alone! Rhea Ripley makes her entrance right after Iyo, and the dynamic duo heads down the ramp together. But then Asuka is in the crowd!? BLUE MIST!! Rhea is already down, and then Kairi FLYING KABUKI ELBOWS Iyo! Asuka BUZZSAWS Iyo, then the Kabuki Warriors whip Iyo into steel steps! Rhea takes blind swings but Kairi URAKENS! Asuka SLIDING KICKS Rhea against the LED apron! The fans boo but the Kabuki Warriors put Rhea in the ring. Asuka even kicks at refs that try to stop them! Asuka knocks Jessica Karr down while Kairi climbs up! But Iyo shields Rhea! So the IN-SANE ELBOW hits them both!!

The fans boo but the damage has been done! There is no going back to the way things were, but will Rhea & Iyo make the Kabuki Warriors regret escalating things? Or will no one ever be ready for Asuka & Kairi?

WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Maxxine Dupri VS Ivy Nile!

The Alpha Babe is a true Dungeon Doll after the hardcore Hart training from Natalya. However, the Diamond Pitbull says no amount of training will get Maxxine ready for what’s coming. Will Ivy prove herself right and be an #AmericanMade champion? Or will Maxxine continue to shock the world one match at a time?

The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see who is truly champion material!

The bell rings and the two stare down. Ivy pie faces and talks trash, but Maxxine swings! Ivy ducks under, rolls Maxxine up, TWO! Maxxine SLAPS Ivy! Ivy TACKLES Maxxine and HAMMERS away! Maxxine turns things around to HAMMER Ivy! The fans cheer, but Ivy SPINEBUSTERS! Cover, TWO! Ivy drags Maxxine up, whips, but Maxxine reverses. Maxxine blocks a boot, and has the ANKLE LOCK! Ivy still holds ropes, BOOTS Maxxine away, and then dodges! Ivy ELBOWS Maxxine, Maxxine SHOVES Ivy away, and Maxxine goes up! But Ivy SMACKS Maxxine first! Ivy climbs up, but Maxxine gets a HANGING ARMBAR!

The fans fire up, Ivy manages to SLAM Maxxine on the apron! Ivy KICKS Maxxine to the floor, then hurries to waistlock and GERMAN SUPLEX on the floor! Ivy soaks up the heat from Hershey while Raw goes to break.

Raw returns and they’re on the apron again! Ivy suplexes, but Maxxine blocks! Maxxine SHOVES Ivy, LEG- NO, Ivy gets under the leg lariat to trip Maxxine up! Maxxine hits the apron, flounders in, but Ivy is after her! Maxxine cradles, TWO!! Ivy gets up and scoops, but Maxxine slips free! Maxxine scoops, Ivy slips free, DIAMOND DRAGON SLEEPER!! Maxxine flails, bridges up, and manages to RANA free! The fans fire up as Maxxine busts out some new tricks! The fans rally and the two head for each other. Ivy fires a forearm, Maxxine fires back, and repeat! The fans rally behind Maxxine as she snarls. Ivy fires more shots bu tMaxxine powers up! “AGAIN!”

Maxxine BOOTS Ivy,  LARIATS and LARIATS, and BOOTS! The fans fire up as Maxxine runs, KNEE and BACKSLIDE DROP! Ivy flounders, Maxxine kips up real smooth, and the fans fire up for the champ! Maxxine SPLASHES, then she hooks a leg! FISHERMAN SUPLEX! Bridging cover, TWO! So close to perfect, but Maxxine clamps onto Ivy! Maxxine whips, Ivy reverses, but Maxxine KICKS her! Ivy ducks a leg lariat to get Maxxine up, POWERBOMB! High stack, TWO! Maxxine survives and the fans rally up again. Ivy storms up to ROCK Maxxine in the corner! Ivy climbs up, and she soaks up some heat before she rains down fists!

Maxxine stops Ivy at 5 to carry her out! SIT-OUT POWERBOMB! High stack bridge, TWO! Ivy survives, Maxxine is furious, and she goes up a corner. But Ivy trips her up! And then DRAGON SLEEPER TREE OF WOE COMBO!? The ref counts, Ivy stops at 4, and Ivy runs around the world to DROPKICK! Ivy climbs up the corner now, takes aim again, but Maxxine sits up! Ivy ROCKS Maxxine, but she shouts, “AGAIN!” SPIDER SUPLEX! The fans fire up again and Maxxine even shouts that, “AGAIN!” The straps come down while she’s upside-down, and Maxxine climbs! Maxxine leaps, Ivy dodges, and roll-up with a bridge! TWO!!

Maxxine escapes to get the ANKLE LOCK! Ivy kicks at Maxxine but Maxxine just slips around to keep her grip! ANKLE LOCK!! Ivy turns over, BOOTS her away, but Maxxine rolls to get the leg! ANKLE LOCK!! Ivy kicks and flails, BOOTS Maxxine to a corner, but Maxxine blocks a kick! Step-over HEEL KICK! Then the ANKLE LOCK!! Ivy flails, reaches out, but Maxxine GRAPEVINES!! Ivy TAPS, Maxxine wins!!

Winner: Maxxine Dupri, by submission (still WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion)

Ivy put up a fight, but Maxxine just proved all that hard work did pay off! The Dungeon Doll is ready to dominate the Women’s Division, who will step to her next?

Adam Pearce talks with Je’Von Evans backstage.

The Raw General Manager says at Saturday Night’s Main Event, The Young OG had the eyes of the world on him and he did not disappoint! Je’Von certainly got Pearce’s attention. They shake hands, and then Los Americanos step in. In Espanol, El Grande asks Pearce what is going on. He wants to know why there has been no opportunities for Los Americanos, especially at SNME. Los Americanos are the future of WWE! But instead, they bother with NXT guys like Je’Von? Je’Von stops Grande there. He isn’t fluent, but he knows enough Spanish to know Grande is talking crazy right now. Talking down to NXT is talking down on Je’Von.

Just maybe, Grande ends up eating his palabras! Good one, right? Yeah! Grande says what a gringo. But Pearce says if Je’Von is free next week, they can do this. Je’Von says he’s down. Then Rayo steps up! Grande says that’s fine by him. Then next week, Monday Night Raw, Je’Von VS Rayo! Es oficial! Then will next week be muelle~? (That’s “bouncy” en Espanol)

CM Punk is here!

Hershey fires up for the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and sings along with Cult of Personality! No time for Clobberin’ Time, Punk goes right to the ring with a serious, stern expression. Punk grabs a mic before he steps in the ring, throwing off the mic cover. The fans cheer Punk on, and he says, “I was forced to miss two consecutive Monday Night Raws because some people that are smarter than me wouldn’t medically clear me to compete or fly. If you saw WarGames, you saw what happened to me, and I’m here to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, it hurt. But it wasn’t as painful as the last two weeks of me sittin’ my ass on the couch, listening to Bron Breakker talk.

“Bron Breakker, you cross-eyed neanderthal nepo-baby! You came out here in front of the world, and with your full chest, talked about how you were mad that I tried to end your career and break your neck in the WarGames. And I understand brains don’t exactly run in your family. But you didn’t sign up for board games, you signed up for war, son! And congratulations, your team won. But you had the audacity to stand in the champ’s ring, and talked about how you were disappointed at how easy it was to beat CM Punk. You talked about how easy it was to pin my shoulders to the mat. You talked about how you want 2011 CM Punk!

“And I’m here to tell you, kid! You can’t even handle 2025 CM Punk without help from your friends! I’m talking about an assist from a Brock Lesnar F5, or a Bronson Reed Tsunami, or that human septic tank, Drew McIn-pile splitting me open with the cage! And the cherry on top of this crap sundae is your new mystery masked man! So yeah, congratulations, Bronnie, you pinned me! Which puts you in line for a title shot! But you didn’t do it alone, did ya?” The fans chant for Punk, Punk says he’ll keep it short: He’s been here before many, many times.

And you can ask Heyman how many times he took a talent with a little bit of potential and gassed ’em up too much, too soon, only to watch him wilt under the bright lights! Hell, if Punk had a dime for every time he stood in this ring across from a talented individual that people not as smart as Punk gassed up as generational, can’t-miss, blue chip prospect WrestleMania main events waiting to happen, Punk would have a pocket full. And speaking of dimes, if you ever mention his wife’s name again, this goes from business to personal faster than Bron can run! It won’t be about the belt anymore, Punk will rip Bron’s eyes out and piss on that single-digit IQ brain!!

The fans cheer Punk on even louder, and Punk paces a bit while he cools down. He throws off his jacket and promises, January 5th, he’d tell Bron to show up alone, to test himself 1v1 against the Best in the World, but he knows Bron won’t do it. Not because Bron doesn’t have the balls, he doesn’t have the heart! The belief in himself to carry WWE on his shoulders and wear this gold! So go ahead, Bronnie, bring Heyman, bring The Vision, bring the masked man, bring the National Guard! Hell, bring your dumb father and your even dumber uncle! Bring them all to Brooklyn, Bron will need every bit of help to stand a snowball’s chance in hell of beating Punk for the title!

And when Punk wins, WHEN, and when Bron wakes up and sees that Heyman has left him for the next, next big thing while Bronson Reed is stuck doing videos with the TikTok scammer, and that mystery man never even showed up because he’s embarrassed to be involved, the only people Bron has left IS Dumb & Dumber! And in real time, all three of you find out that even with Steiner Math, GTS = 1-2-3, Bron loses, Punk wins, #AndStill Best in the World, C M PUNK!! The fans fire up as Punk drops the mic. Punk dares Bron to actually try for once, but will there be no sleep ’til Brooklyn for anyone?

Judgment Day is in the clubhouse.

Liv Morgan is so proud of Dominik Mysterio, and Dom says he is very excited for tonight. Raquel’s gonna take the world title and hopefully, The Vision puts an end to his deadbeat dad once and for all! They’ll have such a great Christmas! But wait, where is Finn? Finn’s with JD, and JD is unfortunately gonna be on the shelf again. Well, let’s focus on the positive: Big sis Raquel is gonna be the NEW World Champion! Liv offers to be in her corner, but Raquel says she can handle Vaquer on her own. Roxie says she’s got it! Liv says so long as they bring that title home, she’s good. Then Liv & Roxie can take those women’s tag titles and celebrate!

But first, Roxie will handle Bayley next week to keep Bayley & Lyra out of the picture. Raquel is so excited to have Liv back, and to get those titles back! Judgment Day runs Raw! Raquel heads out, but will everything go their way? Or will La Primera survive Judgment Day?

WWE Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer VS Raquel Rodriguez!

Raw returns as Raquel makes her entrance to join Vaquer in the ring. The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and it is time to see who is truly the best!

The bell rings and Raquel rushes up! Vaquer dodges, they tie up, and Raquel stays put as Vaquer tries to push her back! Raquel’s height is her leverage, but she also pulls hair. The ref reprimands, Vaquer wrenches, but Raquel THROWS Vaquer down! Vaquer kips up, but Raquel pulls hair again. Raquel whips, Vaquer sunset flips, but Raquel YANKS Vaquer right up! Vaquer fires forearms, then runs, but into a BIG shoulder tackle! Raquel stalks Vaquer to a corner, Raquel stomps and fires body shots! The ref counts, Raquel stops at 4 and tells him to back off. Raquel brings Vaquer around, bumps her off buckles, but Vaquer dodges!

Vaquer fires forearms, the fans rally, and Vaquer HEADBUTTS! Vaquer runs, tilt-o-whirls, and she rolls Raquel, with a bridge, TWO! Raquel flounders, Vaquer fires shots, and she runs up, but Raquel puts her on the apron! Vaquer HEADBUTTS, SMACKS Raquel off buckles, then goes up top! CROSSBODY, but Raquel catches her! Raquel pops Vaquer around to then carry her for the SLAM! Cover, TWO! Vaquer survives and Raquel seethes, but Raw goes to break.

Raw returns again and Raquel ripcords Vaquer to whip her to a corner. Vaquer dodges the splash and jumps on for a SLEEPER! Raquel flails, THROWS Vaquer, then she clamps on with the straitjacket stretch! Vaquer endures, Raquel talks trash, then Raquel steps over to stand over Vaquer. Vaquer wiggles out the back, shoves, then slides under the boot! Vaquer SLAPS, SOBATS, HEADBUTTS, and then runs corner to corner! LARIAT! Vaquer puts Raquel’s legs in the ropes, and she HEADBUTTS again! DRAPING DRAGON SCREW! Raquel writhes, Vaquer storms over, but Raquel fights the lift! Raquel CLUBS Vaquer, TOSSES her to the corner, and RAMS into her!

Raquel RAMS Vaquer again and again, the ref counts, but Raquel puts Vaquer up top. But then Vaquer catches her to a HANGING ARMBAR! Raquel deadlifts Vaquer?! POWERBOMB! Cover, TWO! Vaquer survives again but Raquel stays focused. Raquel drags Vaquer to the drop zone, goes up and VAD- NO, Vaquer evades the Vader Bomb! SUPERKICK! Leg hook and BIG back suplex! The fans fire up as Vaquer then has the headscissors! DEVIL’S KISSES! AH, AH, AH, AH, AH, AH, AH, AH, AH, AH! YEEEEAH~! Raquel flounders to a corner, Vaquer runs in, METEORA! Vaquer drags Raquel out to tuck the arms!

Raquel wrenches out! Vaquer ducks one lariat, but not the SOUTHPAW! Raquel snarls, drags Vaquer up again, and Raquel whips her to the corner. But Vaquer again catches Raquel tot he HANGING ARMBAR! And she DRAGS Raquel out! Raquel staggers, Vaquer CROSSBODIES, but again she’s caught! But she slips free and she POSTS Raquel! The fans fire up, but NIKKI BELLA POSTS VAQUER! And she RAMS Raquel into steel steps!

Winner: Stephanie Vaquer, by disqualification

The fans boo as Nikki ruins things for everyone, but especially Raquel! Fireman’s carry, and RACK ATTACK 2.0! #FearlessNikki says no one leaves her behind! No one forgets about her! Will Nikki not stop until she’s finally back on top? Or will she regret ruining things for Raquel once again?

Adam Pearce talks with Paul Heyman.

The Raw GM says they can play this over and over again. The guy under the mask that gets involved in Vision business, but Heyman doesn’t know who it is? Pearce is asking one last time: Who is that under the mask? Heyman says it is Seth Rollins. No, wait, it’s Becky Lynch. Maybe Nick Aldis. No, no, it’s Bruno Sammartino! Heyman doesn’t know! And as long as this person’s vision is aligned with Heyman’s, he doesn’t mind it. Oh, of course not. But Heyman says that doesn’t mean he’s guilty of anything! It just means this is convenient.

Now, if you don’t mind, or even if you do, Heyman has to prepare Logan for his match with Rey Mysterio. So Heyman will bid Pearce a goodnight. Pearce tells Heyman that he needs to know by the end of the night! But then in steps Rhea, still wiping her eyes. She wants Asuka! Then how does next week sound? Perfect! Then it is official. Rhea heads out, will Mami make sure Asuka doesn’t even make it to January 5th? Or will Asuka’s Christmas gift to herself be tearing Rhea down once and for all?

Rey Mysterio makes his way to gorilla.

But on the way is CM Punk. They shake hands, and Punk says he knows The Vision guys don’t do things alone, so if need be, Punk will watch Rey’s back. Rey says he appreciates that. They shake hands again, and Punk hopes Rey hits Logan right in his face. Rey says he’ll do that just for Punk. Rey continues on, will he dial the 619 in Hershey? Or will The Maverick get a bit ImPAULsive in tonight’s main event?

Backstage interview with AJ Styles & Dragon Lee.

Jackie Redmond is with the WWE World Tag Team Champions and says Jimmy & Jey Uso are back. They won that throwback match with The New Day. Any takeaways? Yeah, a great tag team, a great rivalry, but last time Styles checked, he and Dragon were the champs. They’re ready to defend these titles! Dragon says yeah, any team, any time, any where! They will bring the fire! In fact, let’s go talk with Pearce right now. They head out, Jackie thanks them for the time, but then Nikki Bella barges in, saying she has somethin got say. She did what she did and she is not sorry! she is not apologizing putting those beneath her in their place.

Nikki is so sick that this is the road she paved and no one appreciates it! Nikki is a legend in this industry! And Stephanie and Raquel both should be shining her boots! Nikki storms off again, but will she be forced to eat those words along with someone’s foot?

Bayley talks with Maxxine Dupri backstage.

The Role Model is so proud of Maxxine for that title defense! Maxxine thanks her and hugs it out. That means so much coming from Bayley, and oof, bloody nail! Hardcore! Maxxine goes to medical, and Lyra steps in. Lyra asks how Bayley is feeling after Saturday. Well, uh, losing to someone so much younger and less experienced isn’t fun, and it makes her wonder if Asuka is right about some stuff… Wow. But one loss is all it takes to have her doubt herself? That’s not the Bayley that Lyra grew up watching. Or that she’s come to love and know as the tag partner she needs! Maybe Asuka was right: Bayley’s an idiot!

Bayley shoves Lyra and says the only idiot is Lyra if she thinks one loss to a rookie is gonna stop her from wrecking Roxanne next week! IDIOT! Bayley is fired up again and The Morrigan says,  “There she is.” Will Bayley be ready to go berserk on The Prodigy for the holidays? Or will Roxie make it all about Judgment Day?

Logan Paul w/ Paul Heyman VS Rey Mysterio!

The Maverick talked trash on the King of Lucha, then sucker punched him and beat him down. Then he and The Vision beat down LA Knight just because he got in their way. Will Logan add insult to injury as he takes the fight to Rey? Or will Rey get revenge on behalf of the Mega Star?

Raw returns as Logan makes his entrance, The Oracle accompanying him. The bell rings, Logan throws his headband at Rey, but Rey just picks it up to shine his shoes. The fans rally as Rey and Logan circle, and Logan corners Rey. Rey uses the ropebreak to back Logan off, and Logan is annoyed. They reset, go again, and tie up. Logan powers Rey to the corner, the ref counts, but Rey turns things around. The ref counts again, Logan turns things around, and Logan backs off at 4. Logan talks trash, but Rey SLAPS him! The fans fire up, Rey dodges Logan and fires off more shots! Rey whips corner to corner, Logan reverses, but Rey slides out!

Rey eggs Logan on, Logan hurries after him, and they cat ‘n’ mouse around before Rey DROPKICKS Logan out! Rey does jumping jacks to taunt Logan, and Logan rushes in again. Rey drop toeholds Logan onto ropes! Rey dials it up, but Logan BOOTS Rey down! Logan rains down forearms, then paces to soak up heat. Logan rope-a-dopes, then JABS, JABS, and UPPERCUTS Rey! Logan flexes, Heyman smiles, but the fans boo. Logan drags Rey up, puts him in a corner, and whips corner to corner hard! Rey bounces off buckles to hit the mat, and Logan LASHES Rey with Rey’s own belt! The fans boo, but Logan LASHES Rey again!

The ref warns Logan, so Logan tosses the belt aside. Logan whips but Rey blocks by holding the rope! So Logan fires body shots! Logan backs off, then he whips Rey corner to corner. Logan runs up, but into a BOOT! Rey runs up, tilt-o-whirl and RANA! Logan tumbles to a corner, Rey stomps him, then RAMS him! Rey climbs up, the fans count, but Logan slips out at 3 to CLUB and YANK Rey down! Logan eggs Rey on, then he whips Rey to ropes. Rey CROSSBODIES, but Logan catches him! Logan smirks, pops Rey up to a fireman’s carry, then ROLLING SENTON! LIONSAULT onto knees! Logan tumbles out of the ring and clutches the ribs!

Rey goes to the apron, lines up a shot, and SEATED SENTONS on the floor! The fans fire up for Rey while he takes control, and Raw goes to break.

Raw returns once again and Logan has Rey in a waistlock. The fans rally as Rey fights up, fires elbows, but Logan CLUBS him! Logan whips Rey to the corner, then SPLASHES! Rey flops down, Logan goes up, and FROG- NO, Rey avoids the splash! Rey TOSSES Logan out, DROPKICKS the legs, then he dials it up! But Logan ducks the call! And he box jumps to LARIAT Rey down! The fans boo, but Heyman has Logan pose a la Hogan. Logan goes up the corner, drags Rey up, but the fans chant “LOGAN SUCKS! LOGAN SUCKS!” Rey fires body shots! The fans cheer as Rey GAMANGIRIS! Rey goes up and he HEADBUTTS Logan!

Rey goes to the very top, fires hands, and the fans count along, all the way to nine! SUPER STEINER for TEN! Cover, TWO! Logan survives and Heyman is relieved. Logan staggers up, he ROCKS Rey, but Rey ROCKS Logan! The forearms go back and forth, then Rey KICKS a leg! Logan backhands Rey, but Rey fires a flurry of forearms! Logan kicks low! The fans boo but Logan whips, Rey KICKS, and Rey QUEBRADA, but Logan catches Rey again! POWERSLAM! Cover, TWO! Rey survives and Logan seethes but Hershey rallies up. Logan reels Rey in, puts one out, and he hoists Rey up, but Rey fires fists!

Rey RANAS, Logan is on the ropes! Dial it up, but Logan again BOOTS Rey down! Logan knows Rey too well, he snap suplexes! And that’s Uno Amigo! Then Logan hits Dos Amigos! The fans boo, but Logan drags Rey up again for the third, only to put Rey up top instead! Logan then climbs up, gives some Latino Heat, but Rey blocks the lift! The fans rally as Rey fires body shots! Rey CLUBS away on Logan’s back, then he gives some Latino Heat! The fans fire up and Rey says “SUCK IT!” SUPER SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMB! Logan writhes and flounders away to the ropes, so Rey baseball slide DROPKICKS! Logan falls on the floor and the fans rally up!

Rey tells Heyman to watch this! Rey runs, SLIDING SPLASH! The fans fire up and Rey drags Logan up. Rey puts Logan in, Logan crawls around, and wait, here come Bron & Bronson! But PUNK is here! He SMACKS Bronson with a chair! He SMACKS Bron! Punk chases them off into the back! Rey hits the crucifix takedown on Logan, TWO!! Logan escapes, but Rey UPPERCUTS! Rey goes up, up, and FLYING- NO! Logan stops the rana! Logan swings Rey up for the OVERBOMB! The ref checks Rey, Logan says, “Just in case.” Heyman understands, and he equips Logan with the brass knuckles! The fans boo but Logan hides those just right.

Logan runs up, but Rey drop toeholds Logan onto ropes! Dial it up, and 619!! Finally! The fans fire up, but now Rey sees the knuckles. Rey picks them up, he hides them, but THE MASKED MAN APRON CURB STOMPS REY!! Heyman keeps the ref from seeing this happen! Logan hurries up the corner, and he “SUPERSTAR” FROG SPLASHES!! Cover, Logan wins!!

Winner: Logan Paul, by pinfall

Logan practically predicted this earlier tonight! The mystery man in the hood and mask strikes again, and now he stares down with Logan. Are they really on the same page? Wait! Punk runs back in! He chases Logan and the masked attacker off! The masked attacker goes up the stairs, and he takes off the mask!! IT’S AUSTIN THEORY!! From Seth Rollins’ protege to A-Town Down Under to now the rogue element that’s been helping The Vision! But just as Punk is shouting at Theory, Bron returns! Punk turns around, into a SPEAR!! The fans either boo or bark!

Bron says yeah, this IS business. But if Punk ever talks about his family like that again, Punk will never stand on two feet again. Bron holds up the title, Heyman again says, “And NEW World Heavyweight Champion, BRRRON! BRRREAKKER!” We have three weeks left until the Netflix Anniversary, are those the last three weeks Punk has as champion?

My Thoughts:

A really good Raw to follow Saturday Night’s Main Event, but also to start the countdown to the New Year’s Raw. Gunther’s promo and everything that followed was great, though I feel he doubled back and egged the fans on one time too many. Also, he should’ve been more like Roman Reigns after Roman beat Undertaker, where all he said was that one line, “My time is now!” I did like Tozawa, Otis, Truth, even Pearce and Styles, all confronting Gunther. Gunther probably faces at least Truth and Styles at some point, and probably in that order. But either way, Gunther is a top Heel maybe even above The Vision with all of this.

Great tag match from Usos VS New Day to get The Usos back on a tag team track. I still wouldn’t be surprised if Jey immediately crashes out the moment they fail to take the tag titles from Styles & Dragon, and that makes Jey turn on Jimmy. Great promo from Asuka & Kairi to hype up their tag title match, and I also liked them going right after Rhea & Iyo. Rhea VS Asuka next week will be great, and who knows who wins on the anniversary episode. Great match from Maxxine VS Ivy, and Maxxine busted out some great new moves to go with the new attitude. Great win for Maxxine, she’s really getting the crowd with her, too.

Very good promo from Bayley with Maxxine and then with Lyra to hype Bayley up for the match with Roxie next week. Bayley VS Roxie will be really good stuff but I bet Liv helps cheat things. Very good, very fun promo with Je’Von and Los Americanos. Je’Von is looking closer and closer to a call-up, and he’ll have a great match with Rayo Pete Dunne Americano. As I said before, Je’Von Evans VS Ricky Starks will be big for New Year’s Evil, and maybe the loser leaves NXT to be on Raw or SmackDown.

Very good Judgment Day promo to not only hype up their matches, but also to give us that medical update on JD McDonagh. I believe it was JD’s hand that needed surgery, hopefully he can recover quickly. Vaquer VS Raquel was really good, but ugh, Nikki Bella getting involved again is so annoying, but of course it had to happen. Nikki is just the exact kind of Heel that isn’t going to let anything slide or let anything go. I suspect some kind of Triple Threat for that Women’s World Championship will happen, and this might be the way Raquel takes the title since she can pin Nikki, even in an opportunistic way.

And some really good stuff with The Vision’s story. Heyman wanting Bron to not completely demolish Punk for the sake of keeping the match on is good stuff, and then of course Logan wants help against Rey. Punk had a great promo, especially pointing out how that was a team match Bron won, not a 1v1. Of course “Masked Man” shows up to help Logan win, but a bit surprised he revealed himself. Austin Theory was definitely the top suspect, so them sticking to that plan is fine.

It’s perhaps bad timing that they didn’t bring Theory in before Rollins got hurt for real, and they’ll have to figure out why Theory is still helping when Rollins is out of The Vision, but there’s possibilities. Theory can flip his motivation, joining up now because they took Rollins out. Even smarter, but probably not at all what they’ll do, is Theory is a mole for Rollins to then give us Vision Civil War in the future.

My Score: 8.7/10

Who wins the 2025 World Tag League Championship?

Gabe Kidd & Yota Tsuji have held it together, but can they take the World Tag League trophies? Or will TMDK make them #JustTapOut?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• NJPW World Television Championship Open Challenge: El Phantasmo VS Hartley Jackson; ELP wins and retains the title.
• 10 Man Tag: Bishamon, Boltin Oleg, Katsuya Murashima & Tatsuya Matsumoto VS Taichi, Satoshi Kojima, Lance Archer, Alex Zayne & Masatora Yasuda; Taichi, Kojima, Archer, Zayne & Yasuda win.
• Six Man Tag: El Desperado, Shuji Ishikawa & Shoma Kato VS SHO, Don Fale & Yoshinobu Kanemaru; Sho, Fale & Kanemaru win.
• Six Man Tag: Shingo Takagi, “Drilla” Dan Moloney & Taiji Ishimori VS Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens & DOUKI; Takagi, Drilla & Taiji win.
• Six Man Tag: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura VS OSKAR, Yuto-Ice & Daiki Nagai; Tanahashi, Shota & Yuya win.
• David Finlay & Hiromu Takahashi VS Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman; Finlay & Hiromu win, by disqualification.
• NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championships: Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato VS EVIL, SANADA & Ren Narita; Yano, Yoh & Wato win and retain the titles.
• 2025 World Tag League Finals: Gabe Kidd & Yota Tsuji VS Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa; ZSJ & Oiwa win and will challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships.

PLAY BY PLAY

NJPW World Television Championship Open Challenge: El Phantasmo VS ???

The Headbanga fought hard, but he and Hiroshi Tanahashi couldn’t get to the playoffs. Now he must defend his title, but against who? It’s TMDK’s Hartley Jackson! Now this is a BIG surprise! But can ELP overcome? Or will it be Hartley Jackson Number One?

The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see whose 15 minutes of fame are up!

ELP polls the fans, and it sounds pretty even between them. The bell rings and we’re on the clock as the two tie up. Hartley SHOVES ELP away, ELP is a bit stunned, but he comes back. Hartley SHOVES ELP away again, and ELP steadies himself before coming back again. ELP waistlocks, but Hartley’s too big to lift! Hartley switches, ELP fires elbows, but ELP headlocks. Hartley powers up and out, they RAM shoulders, and Hartley says, “No, no, no.” ELP runs to RAM Hartley again, but Hartley is solid! ELP runs again to RAM Hartley, but he still doesn’t budge! ELP fires forearms, but Hartley CLOBBERS ELP!

Hartley says, “Jackson Number One!” But ELP mule kicks! ELP whips but Hartley blocks! Hartley whips ELP to a corner hard, and ELP tumbles up and out to the floor! The fans rally, Hartley goes out to stomp ELP, then he opens the gate. Hartley drags ELP out to the crowd, just to scoop and POST him! The fans rally again while ELP writhes. Hartley drags ELP along, opens another gate, and he again brings ELP to the crowd. Hartley scoops, but ELP slips free! ELP POSTS Hartley! The fans cheer while Hartley slumps down. ELP closes the gate and the fans applaud. ELP brings Hartley up, whips, but Hartley blocks again!

Hartley reverses, ELP leaps over railing, then he ROCKS Hartley! ELP jumps up, but he’s caught! DEATH VALLEY DRIVER to the floor! A bit double-edged with both men down, but the ref checks on ELP. ELP is still in this, and Hartley rolls into the ring. The ring count starts, but ELP slumps against railing at 3 of 20. ELP stands at 5, slumps back down, but crawls his way over at 8. ELP stretches out his back before he rolls in, but Hartley is on him for a cover, TWO! Another cover, TWO! Hartley is annoyed but the fans rally up. Hartley drags ELP up, puts him in the corner, and CHOPS! ELP staggers away to another corner.

Hartley storms up and he CHOPS again! ELP sits down this time, but the fans rally up. Hartley waits on ELP to stand, but ELP dodges the chop to CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! Hartley swings, ELP dodges, and he CHOPS, fires fast hands, then ROCKS and ENZIGIRIS! Hartley drops to a knee and we pass five minutes! ELP goes to suplex, but Hartley’s too big! Hartley suplexes high and hard in return! Hartley paces, the fans rally up, and Hartley runs, but ELP moves! The senton FLOPS and the fans rally again. ELP storms up to fire forearms, then he whips, but Hartley again blocks! ELP KICKS Hartley’s leg again and again!

ELP whips, Hartley reverses, but ELP ducks ‘n’ dodges to springboard and CROSSBODY! Somersault and LIONSAULT! Cover, TWO! Hartley is still in this and the fans rally up. ELP brings Hartley up, he still tries, but Hartley is too much to suplex! ELP wrenches to RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP, then covers, TWO! Hartley is still in this, but ELP goes up the corner. The fans cheer as ELP lines up the shot! “Say cheese!” FALLING AX HANDLE! The fans cheer as ELP now air guitars a la Tanahashi! But Hartley runs up! ELP dodges, Hartley hits buckles, and ELP ENZIGIRIS! ELP goes up, TORNADO DDT!

Hartley stands, staggers, then falls! ELP covers, TWO! ELP calls for the Brain Salad! The fans rally up, ELP straitjackets and- NO, Hartley is too big to torture rack lift! Hartley whips ELP to a corner, SPLASHES, then short arm LARITS! SENTON onto knees! Ghost pin, TWO! Mule kick! ELP tucks Hartley in, but Hartley wrenches out! ELP dodges to SUDDEN DEATH! ELP runs, but into a LARIAT! SENTON!! Cover, TWO!! The fans fire up and Hartley hurries, DEATH VALLEY BOMB!! Cover, TWO!!! ELP survives and the fans fire up again! Hartley stalks ELP, drags him up, and fireman’s carries!

Hartley goes to the corner, puts ELP up top, and then climbs. Hartley fireman’s carries, but ELP CLUBS free! ELP fires forearms as we hit 10 minutes, and he ROCKS Hartley! ELP SUPER SUNSET FLIP, but  Hartley holds onto ropes! ELP avoids the punch! Mule kick to the leg! Mule kick to the other leg! And the corner helps with the torture rack! BRAIN SALAD!! Cover, TWO?!? Hartley survives and the fans fire up! ELP tucks Hartley in, and lifts?! C R 2!! ELP hurries to the apron, climbs up the ropes, and THUNDERKISS 86!! Cover, ELP WINS!

Winner: El Phantasmo, by pinfall (still NJPW World Television Champion)

Hartley was definitely a big challenge, but ELP found a way to make it through! The Headbanga Show continues on, but who will be next on the list?

After Six Man Tag: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura VS OSKAR, Yuto-Ice & Daiki Nagai…

A HIGH FLY FLOW on Daiki Nagai scores the win for The Ace and his team! There’s a tense stare down between Hontai and the Knock Out Brothers, but that’s all it is for now. Tanahashi then gets the mic, and he says, “NJPW has finally returned to Kumamoto! Everyone, today was my last match here in Kumamoto, thank you for the support. And from now on, it will be the work of all our young wrestlers to carry NJPW forward! We look forward to your support, and even though we haven’t finished the show… Kumamoto, AISHITEMAAASU~!” The fans cheer President Ace as he and #YuSho make their exit. Shota & Tanahashi even do photo-ops with baby fans.

Tanahashi may not have gone far in his final World Tag League, but he still leaves Kumamoto on top. Now he must prepare for his final WrestleKingdom and his final match with Kazuchika Okada. Will The Ace stay high? Or will he be brought down to earth by The Rainmaker?

David Finlay & Hiromu Takahashi VS Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman!

The Rebel & The Timebomb brawled with The United Empire all over Kagoshima in a Six Man Tag, but that was just the opening salvo! Will Finlay & Hiromu finally humble the Dominator & Prince of Pace? Or will Khan & Callum conquer the Unaffiliated War Dogs?

But turnabout is fair play, Finlay & Hiromu attack the Empire from behind this time! They mug Callum, knock Jakob Austin Young down, then go after Khan! The fans rally while Hiromu CHOPS Callum! And CHOP again! Callum hits Hiromu back, but Finlay brings Khan around to SMACK off the apron! Gedo cheers Finlay on, but Callum CHOPS Hiromu, then CHOKES him using his jacket! Finlay brings Khan up to whip, but Khan reverses to send Finlay into railing! The ref reprimands, Callum drags Hiromu to ringside and whips him into railing! Hiromu hobbles away while Jakob applauds, and Khan has taken things into the crowd!

Khan BOWLS Finlay into chairs and railing! Callum brings Hiromu out to whip, but Hiromu reverses to BOWL Callum! STRIKE! The fans rally for Finlay but Khan tells them to shut up. Finlay fires body shots and forearms, then he HEADBUTTS Khan! And HEADBUTTS again! And again! Khan stumbles into railing, Finlay whips him into the wall! Callum drags Hiromu up to CHOP! Hiromu staggers towards ringside, Callum clears out chairs, and he brings Hiromu up to SMACK off the apron! Finlay drags Khan along, but Khan fires body shots! Khan KNEES low, Callum RAMS Hiromu into railing, and Khan POSTS Finlay!

Callum lounges on the apron for a moment, then he gets Hiromu up. Khan CHOKES Finlay with a chair! Callum puts Hiromu in the ring, wants the bell, but the ref wants him to back off first. Callum waits, and the bell rings as Hiromu sits up. Callum stomps Hiromu down, then rains down forearms! The ref wants to check Hiromu so Callum backs off. Hiromu eggs Callum on, so Callum rains down more forearms! Hiromu still eggs Callum on, so Callum gets the wrists to STOMP Hiromu! Cover, TWO! Callum BLASTS Finlay off the apron, goes back to Hiromu, and fires forearms! Hiromu CHOPS, CHOPS, CHOPS, but Callum kicks low!

Callum runs, Hiromu dropkicks the leg! Callum stays up, and he BLASTS Finlay again! And he BOOTS Hiromu down! The fans rally, Callum bumps Hiromu off buckles, tags Khan, but Hiromu goes out after Callum! Hiromu goes after Callum, CLUBS him, then whips, but Callum reverses! Hiromu hits railing, Callum brings him around, and whips him back into railing! Khan keeps the ref distracted while Callum puts Hiromu back in. Khan then talks some trash, sits Hiromu up, and DECKS him with a haymaker! And again! And again! The ref reprimands the closed fists but Khan shoves him aside, to then BLAST Finlay off the apron!

Khan rains down more fists, the ref reprimands again, but then Khan BODY BLOWS Hiromu while he’s on the mat! Cover, TWO! The fans rally, Khan argues the count, but Gedo still protests the closed fists. Khan scuffs Hiromu, drags him up, and suplexes. Hiromu slips free to CHOP, CHOP, and CHOP! Khan Mongolian Chops! And then IRON CLAW! Hiromu fights the grip, breaks free, and stomps a toe to KICK! Hiromu runs, HIROMU-CHAN BOMBER! But Khan stays up! And he IRON CLAWS again! And ELIMIN- NO, Hiromu victory rolls, TWO! But then SUPERKICK! Hiromu runs, HIROMU-CHAN BOMBER!

The fans fire up while both men are down! Khan and Hiromu crawl, hot tag to Finlay! Finlay CLOBBERS Khan, BLASTS Callum, and CLOBBERS Khan again! Finlay whips, Khan reverses, but Finlay UPPERCUTS! Callum kicks, runs, but Finlay ELBOWS him down! Finlay LARIATS Callum up and out! Finlay runs in and UPPERCUTS Khan in the corner! The fans bark with Finlay, and he fires LARIAT after LARIAT! Finlay goes all the way to TEN and the fans fire up. Finlay reels Khan in for a BROKEN ARROW! The fans cheer, Finlay flexes, and Khan writhes. Finlay drags Khan up, reels him in, but Khan fights the lift!

Khan BACKDROPS, Finlay sunset flips, but Khan stays up to IRON CLAW! Khan drags Finlay right up, and THROWS him away! Finlay tumbles to the corner, Khan fires up, and Khan runs in! Finlay BOOTS Khan away, then BOOTS him again! Finlay runs up, ROLLING- IRON CLAW! Khan clinches and lifts, but Finlay slips free and ROLLING ELBOWS! The fans fire up again and Finlay drags Khan up. Finlay lifts to POWERBOMB! The fans fire up again and Finlay vows to end it! Finlay drags Khan up, reels him in but Callum CHUCKS a chair! The ref says that’s it, disqualification!

Winners: David Finlay & Hiromu Takahashi, by disqualification

Callum stopped caring about the rules, and that cost the team! But he says fine, all bets are off! He POSTS Finlay! Hiromu goes after him, but Callum whips him into more railing! Callum puts Hiromu in the ring, takes aim with Hiromu’s on GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship, and CLOBBERS him! Then Callum SPITS on the title, puts it down, and smears Hiromu’s face in it! Then EXCALIBUR STOMP onto the belt! The fans boo, but Jakob throws Gedo in! Callum says bang bang, PENALTY KICK to the face! The fans boo more, but Callum puts a chair around Gedo’s neck! Finlay has the SHILLELAGH!!

Callum runs away from Finlay, and Finlay snarls as he circles. Finlay is bloodied but he still has fight in him! Callum dares Finlay to do something, so he CLOBBERS Jakob!! And OVERKILL!! Drilla & Shingo are also out here to reinforce Finlay. Callum smirks like it doesn’t even matter, but Finlay grabs a mic. “Callum! Thank you for reminding me! Thank you for painting a little picture in my own effin’ blood! I was beginning to forget who I am. These people were beginning to forget who I am. More importantly, the boy sin the back were beginning to forget who I am! You are marching down a very, very dangerous road.

“Are you absolutely sure you wanna make me a target? Do you really think you can kill me off? Consider this a baptism in my own blood! The Savage King is reborn!! The same Savage King that beat your old leader so bad, he had to limp off into Uncle Tony’s arms! So here’s what I’m gonna do. How ’bout this? At the Tokyo Dome…! At a sold-out WrestleKingdom, I am going to give the Empire a chance. Come get revenge, or come get killed! If there’s one thing about blood, boys, if you’re gonna draw it, you better be damn ready to effin’ spill it!” Finlay has put out the challenge but Callum shrugs it off with a smirk and a finger gun.

Did Callum just get the Empire dragged into another war with the War Dogs? Will this Rebel make sure to put the Empire down once and for all?

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championships: Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato VS EVIL, SANADA & Ren Narita!

The challenge was put out for Tokyo Dome, but the King of Darkness didn’t want to wait! Will Evil become the King of NEVER with the help from the Cold-Blooded, Souled-Out Snakes? Or will The Producer, The Direct Drive & The Way to the Grandmaster stay golden for the holidays?

The introductions are made, but of course the House attacks! The fans boo and the ref reprimands, but Evil TOSSES Wato while Ren TOSSES Yano! Sanada SMACKS Yoh off buckles, then dumps him out! Ren CHOKES Yano with Yano’s own sash! Evil stomps Wato, Sanada stomps Yoh, and Fale gets a BODY BLOW in since this isn’t a match yet! Ren SMACKS Yano with a water bottle! Sanada puts Yoh in the ring, the bell sounds, and now this is a match! Sanada stands Yoh up, but Yoh fires forearms! Sanada CLAWS eyes, SMACKS Yoh, then headlocks. Yoh powers up and out, drops down, then bypasses to drop toehold!

Yoh keeps moving, basement DROPKICK! But Evil & Ren attack! They double whip, but Yoh ducks the lariats to DUOBLE EYE POKE! The fans fire up and Yoh storms over to Sanada. Yoh drags Sanada around by his legs, and then he ties Sanada up, only for SAanada to kick free! Sanada blocks a kick, trips Yoh, and he ties Yoh up! But Yoh kicks free! Yoh dodges Sanada, O’Conner Rolls, and bridges! But Evil YANKS the ref out! Ren BLASTS Wato & Yano, Yoh hurries to check on the ref, but Sanada KICKS the ropes to jam him up! Wait, now Douki & Yujiro are out here to add onto the mugging! The fans boo, but Sanada puts Yoh in the DRAGON SLEEPER!

Wait a minute, KANEMARU is a ref now?! SKULL END!! Kanemaru asks Yoh, and Kanemaru claims Yoh gave up! Sho rings the bell, and the music plays!? Evil drags the belts into the ring while Sho makes the BS announcement! The House of Torture are NOT the new NEVER Openweight Six Man Champions, but they mug Yano, Yoh & Wato all the same! Sho claims that Yoh, Yano & Wato are NOT going to the Tokyo Dome now! Kanemaru raises everyone’s hands in victory, and the whole House thinks this farce will stand with NJPW officials! The fans boo as the House starts to leave, but Yoh picks up the mic!

“Oi! What’re you idiots talking about? You really think we’ll let you get away with this?! We need to have this happen, NOW! Restart the match!” The fans chant for that, too! And now AARON WOLF is here, and he’s bringing ref Marty Asami! The fans cheer as justice is being served! Asami also lays down the law, telling Kanemaru and all the extra players to back off! But then Ren & Sanada CLOBBER Team Hontai from behind! The fans boo again as the mugging continues, and even Wolf gets in there! Evil CLAWS Wolf’s eyes! Asami shouts at them all to stop it, and the other Young Lions get in there to usher the cornermen out!

Evil, Ren & Sanada are without Fale, Douki, and the rest, but even Wolf has to back down for the time being. The fans rally for Wolf but he’s sent to the back. Things are finally just 3v3, and we do get our restart! Evil TOSSES the blue buckle pad! Evil drags Yano up, whips him to the corner, and Yano hits the bare steel! Evil tags Ren, Ren stomps Yano’s leg and AX HANDLES him down! Ren drags Yano up and whips him back into the bare steel! Tag to Sanada, Sanada drags Yano, and Sanada TOSSES Yano out! Ren sets Yano up for Evil to JAM him up with a chair! Evil puts Yano in the ring and Sanada covers, TWO!

The fans cheer as Yano toughs it out. Sanada tags Evil, Evil brings in a towel, but the ref stops Evil! The ref confiscates the towel, but Evil has the tag rope! Evil CHOKES Yano with the rope, laughs as he gets away with it, then covers, TWO! Yano survives but Evil covers again, TWO! Another cover, TWO!! The fans fire up as Yano stays in this for the team! Evil tags Ren, and they split the wishbone! Ren drags Yano up, whips him to ropes, and ELBOWS him down! Cover, TWO! Ren is annoyed but the fans cheer. Ren drags Yano up, but Yano pulls hair! The fans cheer, but Ren hits a leg roll! Evil & Sanada BLASTS Yoh & Wato! FIGURE FOUR KNEEBAR!!

Yano endures, reaches out, but Ren puts on the pressure! Yano still fights his way around, and he makes the ROPEBREAK! The fans cheer while Ren lets go in frustration. Ren stands Yano up, kicks the leg, then whips. Yano reverse and THROWS Ren down by his hair! The fans rally while both men crawl, hot tag to Wato! Wato BLASTS Sanada & Evil, then he goes after Ren with forearms! Wato ROCKS Ren, whips him, but Ren reverses. Wato RANAS Ren! Evil & Sanada return, they double whip Wato to a corner, then Sanada runs in. Wato dodges and he RANAS Evil! Then he dodges Sanada to RANA Sanada, too!

The fans fire up as The House regroups on the outside! Wato builds speed and he FLIES! Down goes the House! The fans fire up with Wato now and he drags Ren into the ring. Wato then goes up the corner, MISSILE DROPKICK! Cover, TWO! Ren survives but the fans still rally for Wato. Wato waistlocks to GERMAN- NO, Ren fights the lift and switches, SLEEPER! Wato arm-drags free, ducks and ZIGZAGS! The fans fire up, Wato covers, TWO! Ren toughs it out but the fans rally for Wato again. But Ren CHOKES Wato! Wato breaks free, kicks low, then runs, but Evil trips him! Ren tags Sanada while Evil BLASTS Yano & Yoh!

The House double whip Wato to a corner, then Evil LARIATS! Sanada ELBOWS! Ren ELBOWS! Snapmare, and Evil has Yano’s red chair! This is to distract the ref while SHO slithers back out here! Sanada & Ren set Wato up upside-down, Sho goes up, and DICK CHOP! The fans boo but Sanada covers, TWO!! Wato survives and the fans fire up! Sanada drags Wato up and around, fireman’s carries, but Wato slips free! Sanada ELBOWS Wato, runs the ropes, but Wato DROPKICKS him down! The fans fire up and Wato crawls for the corner! Hot tag to Yoh! Yoh drags Sanada around, and ties him up in Paradise!

The fans cheer as Yoh hurries to kick and whip Ren into railing! And then he does the same to Sho! The fans fire up and Yoh hurries back into the ring! Yoh encourages the fans to get louder a la the old Sanada, and he DROPKICKS Sanada out of Paradise! The fans cheer again, and Yoh reels Sanada in! FALCON- NO, Sanada slips free! Yoh ELBOWS and ROCKS Sanada, but Sanada FALLING LOW BLOWS! The fans boo, but Sanada gets his guitar! The ref stops Sanada, but this is so Sho can sneak in! SPOILER CHOKER on Yoh! The fans boo but “Dick Togo Junior” scurries away! Ren now distracts the ref, and Sanada takes aim!

But WOLF has Sho in a sleeper! Revenge! Evil is furious, Sanada takes a swing, Yoh dodges! SMASH HIT on the post! Yoh then waistlocks, but Sanada fights the lift! Yoh avoids the low blow, Sanada ROCKS him, but Yoh FALLING LOW BLOWS! Ren freaks out, but Yoh kicks the ropes to JAM Ren up! Yoh then SHOVES Sanada into Ren, and then cradles Sanada! HONTAI WINS!!

Winners: Toru Yano, Yoh & Master Wato, by pinfall (still NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championships)

Justice has truly been served, and then Wolf and Evil are brawling full on! Evil CLAWS at Wolf, the Young Lions get in there and back them both off, but not for long! Evil CLAWS Wolf’s eyes, fires some knees, and things spill into the crowd! Wolf ROCKS Evil! And ROCKS him again! Wolf is not backing down, so Evil THROWS Young Lions at him! Evil drags Wolf up with a headlock, CLAWS his eyes again, but the Young Lions pry him off of Wolf! Evil tells Wolf to know his place, but Wolf isn’t gonna be bullied! They take their fight to the back! Is it all but official that Evil will be defending his NEVER title at WrestleKingdom, too?

Hiroshi Tanahashi joins commentary!

He may have missed out on the finals, and he may have already had his last match in Kumamoto, but he wants to watch this main event match that very well affects the future of NJPW.

2025 World Tag League Finals: Gabe Kidd & Yota Tsuji VS Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa!

Both teams fought hard to make it up the ranks, make it to the playoffs, and make it to this point. The Mad Man & Gene Blast smoothed out the rough patches, but The Chin & The Mullet have always been in sync. Will Gabe & Tsuji make The Mighty kneel? Or will ZSJ & Oiwa be more than #WarReady?

The teams sort out, and while Gabe wants after someone, Yota has him stand down. Yota starts against Oiwa and the bell rings. The fans rally up already as Oiwa and Yota stare down. The “YOTA! YOTA!” seems to outweigh the “OIWA! OIWA!” They slowly circle, feel things out, and while Yota reaches in, Oiwa steps back. They tie up with collar ‘n’ elbow, then Yota wrenches to wristlock. Oiwa rolls, wrenches back, and wristlocks. Yota moves around, the fans rally, and Yota spins to slip through and full nelson. Yota spins Oiwa, snapmares, but Oiwa rolls to wrench. Yota rolls, wrenches, but Oiwa headlocks.

Yota powers up and pries the hold open, to then top wristlock! Oiwa fights it but Yota still powers him down, so Oiwa bridges! The fans cheer as Oiwa stands and headlocks again! Yota endures the grind, powers up, but can’t power out as Oiwa holds on tight! Yota powers up to lift, Oiwa hits the takeover, bu tYota rolls to a cover! ONE, and Yota fights up. Yota fires body shots, powers up and powers out, to then drop down and sidestep! Yota then runs, slips around and arm-drags Oiwa! And leg sweeps! Cover, ONE! Yota hits a takeover, Oiwa headscissors, and Oiwa holds on tight! The fans cheer as Oiwa pushes up for pressure!

Yota fights around, pops out, and he has Oiwa’s legs trapped in a butterfly! Yota floats to a headlock, Oiwa headscissors, but Yota kips free! The fans cheer the standoff! Oiwa and Yota back away, and they take Gabe and ZSJ. The fans rally as Gabe and ZSJ circle, then they step up. They feel things out, knuckle lock, but ZSJ rolls, wrenches, and wristlocks. Gabe spins, slips through, wrenches, and wristlocks. ZSJ hooks a leg, but Gabe puts pressure on the wristlock. ZSJ rolls, hooks the leg again, and even chinbars. Gabe cranks the wristlock again, but ZSJ bridges, spins, wrenches, slips through, and wrangles Gabe with a top wristlock!

Gabe fights up fast, rolls, rolls back, then handsprings! Gabe breaks free, ZSJ avoids the chop, and the fans cheer! ZSJ and Gabe reset, circle again, and test the waters. They tie up, ZSJ wrenches an arm then makes it a COBRA CLUTCH! Gabe fights it, but ends up in a straitjacket! ZSJ digs his head into Gabe’s shoulder blades, then keeps him from the ropes. Gabe powers up to turn the jacket onto ZSJ! ZSJ drops, bridges, scoots under, but Gabe blocks him! Gabe keeps the jacket on ZSJ, but ZSJ tries again! Bridge, spin, waistlock! Gabe switches, ZSJ switches, O’Conner, but Gabe trips ZSJ to a SLEEPER! ZSJ rolls back, has the wrists, but Gabe flips over!

Gabe smothers ZSJ into a cover, TWO!! ZSJ avoids another chop and the fans fire up! Gabe and ZSJ back off in their stalemate, and ZSJ tags Oiwa. Gabe doesn’t tag out, but he pretends like Oiwa isn’t there. Gabe and Oiwa circle, and Gabe eggs Oiwa on. They tie up, Gabe headlocks, but Oiwa powers up and out! Gabe RAMS Oiwa, RAMS him again, and RAMS him again! Oiwa stays up and the fans fire up! Gabe runs, ducks ‘n’ dodges, but Oiwa arm-drags him down! The fans cheer while Oiwa grinds the armlock. Gabe fights around, rises up, and fires forearms! Oiwa grinds the armlock harder and Gabe drops to a knee.

Gabe fights back up, Yota coaches him, and Gabe KNEES low! Gabe whips Oiwa to a corner, but Oiwa dodges, to arm-drag again! Oiwa has the armlock again, and ZSJ BOOTS Yota down for good measure! Red Shoes reprimands, but Gabe fights up. Oiwa wrenches and YANKS the arm! Oiwa UPPERCUTS the arm, then RAMS the shoulder! Tag to ZSJ, he steps on Gabe’s arm, and he pulls the arm around to bend the fingers! Red Shoes reprimands but Gabe endures. ZSJ has the top wristlock, floats to turn Gabe over, and he traps the arm in an omoplata! Then roll to a cover, TWO! ZSJ keeps the arm to wrench, wrench, and he tags Oiwa.

Oiwa takes the handoff and wrenches the arm again. And again, and then he top wristlocks! Oiwa STOMPS the arm down! A very ZSJ move, and Oiwa SPLASHES down! Cover, TWO! The fans cheer but Oiwa keeps Gabe down. Oiwa drags Gabe over and tags ZSJ. TMDK double whip and DOUBLE ELBOW! Then they get the legs, DOUBLE TOEHOLDS! Red Shoes reprimands but they shift to DOUBLE STRAIGHT ARMBARS! Yota storms in and stomps them both! Yota coaches Gabe, but TMDK trips Yota up! DOUBLE TOEHOLDS! Then they both top wristlock and STOMP the arms! Yota rolls out of the ring while he writhes.

Gabe sits up, ZSJ kicks him again and again and again. Gabe stands, ZSJ wrenches the arm and wristlocks. ZSJ bends the arm, wrangles Gabe to the mat, and JAMS his own hand into his side! ZSJ twists the arm more, then DOUBLE WRISLTOCKS! Gabe endures while the fans rally, then fights up. ZSJ wrenches, Gabe whips him away, but ZSJ goes up and- CHOP! Yota is back, he and Gabe BLAST Oiwa together! Yota goes out after Oiwa while Gabe CHOPS ZSJ! And CHOPS! And CHOPS! Yota sends Oiwa into railing, then stomps him down. Gabe RAMS ZSJ into railing, then CHOPS! And CHOPS! And CHOPS!

ZSJ flops down, Gabe shakes out his arms, and Gabe drags ZSJ up to whip him into railing! The ring count starts but Gabe CHOPS, CHOPS, CHOPS! The count is 8 of 20, Gabe rolls in at 10. ZSJ is still down and the count is climbing. We pass 15, but ZSJ rolls in at 17! The fans cheer, but Gabe is there to CHOP ZSJ in the corner! And CHOP again! Gabe snarls, CHOPS again, and ZSJ drops to the mat! Gabe paces, glares at Oiwa, then tags Yota. Yota BLASTS Oiwa for good measure before he brings ZSJ up. Yota whips ZSJ to a corner, RAMS into him again and again, then CHOPS! The fans cheer and rally up while Yota snapmares ZSJ.

Yota digs his knee into ZSJ’s back while he clamps on the chinlock. ZSJ bends Yota’s fingers, but Yota ELBOWS ZSJ in the head! Yota tags Gabe back in, Gabe drags ZSJ up, and Gabe suplexes. CHASING THE DRAGON!? Cover, TWO!! ZSJ survives that but Gabe sends ZSJ to Yota’s scoop, BACKBREAKER! Gabe scoops, SIDEWALK SLAM! Cover, Oiwa breaks it! Oiwa stomps Gabe, but Yota kicks and TOSSES Oiwa. Gabe snarls as he looms over ZSJ. Gabe drags ZSJ up to CHOP him to the corner! And CHOP him down! Tag to Yota, he and Gabe stand ZSJ against the ropes to CHOP, CHOP, CHOP, and repeat!

The fans cheer but Red Shoes reprimands. The CHOPS continue, and then they stop at 4. Yota & Gabe tell Red Shoes to tranquilo, then they double whip ZSJ. But ZSJ double wrenches and PELES the arms! Hot tag to Oiwa! He DOUBLE LARIATS! The fans fire up, and Oiwa runs to LARIAT Gabe in a corner! And he LARIATS Yota in the other corner! Oiwa winds up, Yota ducks the lariat, but he runs into a DROPKICK! Oiwa fires up, he dodges Gabe, and DROPKICKS! Oiwa handsprings and the fans fire up again! Oiwa drags Gabe up, he suplexes, but Gabe fights it! Oiwa holds on!? And he suplexes again for the SLAM!

The fans fire up, but Yota RAN- NO! Oiwa stops the rana to LIGER BOMB!! Cover, TWO!! Yota survives but the fans cheer Oiwa’s sheer strength! Oiwa drags Yota up, but Yota fights the Tenzan Plex! Oiwa still tries but Yota sunset flips it! TWO, and Yota clinches! BACKBREAKER, FLATLINER, and STOMP! The fans cheer the Gene Combination while Oiwa sputters. Yota takes a moment to check his own neck, then he sees Oiwa go to the corner. Yota runs corner to corner, and STINGER SPLASH! Then Yota hoists Oiwa up top, and he ROCKS him with a forearm! Yota fires the fans up, and he smiles as he climbs! Yota fires a flurry, but Oiwa fires back!

Oiwa fights the clinch, HEADBUTTS Yota down, and now Oiwa fires up! The fans cheer, but Gabe SMACKS Oiwa! Gabe climbs up, he has Yota move aside, and Gabe has Oiwa on the very top! SUPER DUPER PLEX! Yota covers, TWO! Oiwa is tougher than that, but Gabe barks. The fans bark with Gabe, Yota stands Oiwa up, and Gabe runs up! Oiwa dodges and knees collide! Oiwa then SHOVES Yota into Gabe! Oiwa then gets around, TENZAN PLEX! All three men are down and the fans rally up again! Oiwa crawls, hot tag to ZSJ! ZSJ runs up, tilt-o-whirls, and has the arm for the IRON OCTOPUS! But Yota powers up to BACKDROP free!

ZSJ runs up, but into a FLATLINER! Both men are down and Yota calls to Gabe! Yota rolls, hot tag to Gabe! Gabe puts some stank on the CHOP! ZSJ falls, Gabe covers, TWO!! ZSJ almost didn’t get out of that, but Gabe stands him up. Gabe CHOPS, then CHOPS again! ZSJ staggers around, and Gabe CHOPS again! Gabe eggs ZSJ on, CHOPS, but ZSJ blocks! And top wristlocks to STOMP the arm! Gabe writhes, ZSJ PENALTY KICKS! But Gabe sits up to flip ZSJ off! ZSJ PENALTY KICKS and high stacks! TWO!! Gabe survives and escapes, but ZSJ stays focused. The fans rally up, ZSJ reels Gabe in, scoop and- NO, Gabe fights that to suplex!

ZSJ slips free, Oiwa is there, LARIAT GERMAN SUPLEX COMB! EURO CLUTCH! TWO!! Gabe is up, but ZSJ BOOTS! Oiwa backslides, ZSJ jackknifes, but Gabe rolls through to cover! Oiwa breaks it!! Oiwa almost didn’t notice the turnaround, but he manages to save this for TMDK. But Gabe ROCKS ZSJ, CHOPS Oiwa, and repeat! Oiwa ducks a chop, puts Gabe in a corner, ENZIGIRI to CHAOS THEORY!! Then the jackknife bridge! YOTA BREAKS IT!! Yota almost didn’t get there in time, but he kicks Oiwa and whips! Wrench and GENE TRIGGER! Oiwa falls, but ZSJ snapmares Yota to NECK TWIST! Gabe BOOTS ZSJ!

ZSJ is on the ropes, the fans rally up even harder, and ZSJ BOOTS Gabe! Gabe BOOTS ZSJ! ZSJ BOOTS Gabe! Repeat! ZSJ rebounds, Gabe blocks a boot to KNEE ZSJ down! The fans are thunderous while everyone is down! Gabe calls to Yota, crawls his way over, and he hot tags Yota! The fans fire up as Yota runs in, but ZSJ dodges the knee! ZSJ comes back, blocks a boot, but Yota uses the British Reel and he DOUBLE STOMPS ZSJ down! The fans fire up again and Yota goes up the corner! MARLOWE- NO, ZSJ avoids the crush! ZSJ runs up, jumps on, GUILLOTINE FACELOCK! But Yota powers through to suplex free!

ZSJ lands out, but Yota avoids the Pele to have the BOSTON CRAB! Simple yet effective and the fans fire up! ZSJ endures, but Yota powers him down! ZSJ still fights forward, but Yota drags him back! ZSJ tucks and rolls, and he drags Yota into the RINGS OF SATURN! Oiwa intercepts Gabe into the ARC CLUTCH!! Gabe endures while ZSJ shifts angles on Yota, CLARKY CAT!! Yota endures, Gabe fights around, ZSJ shifts things again for the BAD BALLOON REMIX!! Gabe THROWS Oiwa onto ZSJ! The fans are thunderous as all four men are down again! We’ve hit 25 minutes, the longest match of this whole tournament, but there’s no limit on this one!

The fans rally up again as ZSJ drags Yota up. ZSJ UPPERCUTS Yota, then UPPERCUTS again! Yota wobbles but ZSJ UPPERCUTS him down! Yota rises, ZSJ reels him in, scoop and- NO, Yota slips free! And he catches ZSJ to a backslide! Roll through, GENE TRIGGER! ZSJ flops into the corner, Yota runs up, GENE TRIGGER!! Yota roars, the fans fire up, and MARLOWE CRUSH!! But Yota doesn’t cover, he just powers up again! Yota aims from the corner, GENE- NO, ZSJ scoops for the SABRE DRIVER!! But he can’t make the cover! The fans rally as hard as they can as both men crawl! Hot tags to Oiwa and Gabe!

Gabe and Oiwa fire forearms back and forth, faster and faster! The fans rally with every shot! Gabe ROCKS Oiwa, ROCKS him again, then looms over Oiwa. Gabe eggs Oiwa on, so Oiwa stands up. Oiwa ROCKS Gabe, but Gabe shakes that off to come back. Gabe ROCKS Oiwa, and Oiwa staggers to the ropes! Gabe shouts for Oiwa to bring it! This is NJPW, get up and fight! Oiwa fires another forearm, and another, and another! That left knocks Gabe down!! The fans fire up while Red Shoes checks. Oiwa storms up, Gabe SHOVES Oiwa away, and Gabe checks his mouth. He lost a tooth!? Gabe stands up, and he SMACKS Oiwa!

Gabe SMACKS Oiwa again, and again, and Oiwa staggers around! Is Gabe trying to knock out Oiwa’s teeth? Oiwa fires forearms in return, then SMACKS Gabe! Oiwa reels Gabe in, DOCTOR- RANA! Gabe runs up and STRAIGHT RIGHT! Then Gabe says, “I’m a Mad Man!” MADMAN BOMB!! Cover, TWO!! Oiwa survives but Gabe snarls again! Gabe brings down the kneepad! Oiwa rises up, O- NO! Oiwa flops down! Gabe is annoyed as Oiwa is down, but Gabe hits a three point stance! He runs up like Yota, but Oiwa stops his Gene Blaster! DOCTOR BOMB!! Cover, TWO!! The fans are thunderous as we hit 30 minutes!

Gabe sputters as he sits up, but he reaches out for Oiwa. Gabe and Oiwa are forehead to forehead, and then Gabe SMACKS Oiwa! Oiwa SMACKS back! Gabe fires a flurry of palm strikes, but Oiwa LARIATS! Gabe stays up, ducks ‘n dodges, Yota joins in! WAR BLASTER!!! Cover, ZSJ BREAKS IT! Yota gets ZSJ up, he and Gabe DOUBLE HEADBUTT! Then DOUBLE KNEE! Yota TOSSES ZSJ out, then he DIVES! Direct hit and ZSJ hits railing! Gabe has Oiwa, PILEDRIVER!! Cover, TWO!?!? Oiwa survives and Gabe is as shocked as anyone! The fans are thunderous for “OIWA! OIWA!” while Gabe shakes his head.

Gabe says a quick prayer, perhaps asking to forgive what he’ll do next. Gabe runs, Yota is back, but ZSJ trips Yota to an ANKLE LOCK! DOUBLE LARIATS collide and both Gabe and Oiwa stagger away! Yota hops around on one foot as ZSJ has him on the outside! Gabe and Oiwa run up, THE GRIP!! But Gabe pops right up! STRAIGHT RIGHT! But THE GRIP returns!! Cover, TMDK WINS!!!

Winners: Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa, by pinfall (2025 World Tag League Champions)

Both teams were firing on all cylinders, but truly, the mightier team won out! Yota apologizes to Gabe for failing to get him across the finish line. Will these rivals just have to fight that much harder next time? Will there be a next time?

As for TMDK, they have their hands raised, and then they’re handed the trophies! ZSJ & Oiwa hold those up high while the fans cheer. Then they sit down for a moment to rest and catch their breath. ZSJ makes sure the fans all cheer Oiwa properly for scoring the fall. Oiwa is then handed the mic, and he starts by saying, “TMDK just captured World Tag League! It’s been 15 months since I came back to NJPW, and I haven’t won any championships. To some, it may’ve seemed like I was lingering in the shadows, but now, Zack and I have won the World Tag League trophies! I’m not an NPC, I am a lead character!” The fans cheer that!

Oiwa continues by saying that ever since he came into NJPW, he is glad to fight and get stronger with TMDK. Zack, thank you! The fans applaud as ZSJ side hugs his young sidekick. Oiwa says that in 2025, you cannot stop TMDK’s momentum! And when this year is done, in 2026, TMDK will be at the top and put NJPW on top of the wrestling world! Oiwa vows to stay true to himself and his pro-wrestling style, and that wrestling you saw here tonight was TMDK, that was pro-wrestling! Thank you for all your support, but they’re not done yet! TMDK will keep getting stronger, and will be even tougher the next time you see them in Kumamoto!

So when they come back, Oiwa hopes this entire venue will be decked out in orange! With that, Oiwa does the mic drop, and both he and ZSJ lift the trophies again! The fans cheer and the streamers fly! The streamers are blue and silver, but will The Chin & The Mullet soon be decked out in IWGP Heavyweight Tag gold?

My Thoughts:

Another great event, especially as the 2025 WTL finale. ELP VS Hartley to open with the NJPW World TV title was good stuff, Hartley looked good even in defeat, but ELP retaining is good stuff. ELP could face any number of possible opponents now for WrestleKingdom, I’m sure that’ll be another great match. Tanahashi’s team winning here was the right move, Daiki was there to take that loss, and it was good for Tanahashi’s last Kumamoto match to be a win. Tanahashi is probably going to build more momentum with win after win up until WrestleKingdom, where he more than likely loses to Okada one last time.

Great stuff from Finlay & Hiromu VS Callum & Khan, because of course we got another brawl to be the majority of the segment. Callum disqualifying things was a bit of a surprise, and I kinda dread the possibility of another “Dog Cage” match… The first one was rough and cost Alex Coughlin his in-ring career. The second was alright but it was just to keep things going between War Dogs VS House of Torture in other forms. Again, Finlay’s contract is just about up, will Dog Cage 3 be how they write Finlay out of NJPW? Or will it give away that Finlay is staying in NJPW when the War Dogs/Unaffiliated win?

Really good stuff in the NEVER Six Man title match, and they used overbooking just right here. The House was so involved that of course it was a mess and they tried to literally steal these belts. Aaron Wolf getting involved again telegraphs that we’re getting Evil VS Wolf for WK20 now, but hey, that’s a great spot for Wolf’s first match. Yoh, Yano & Wato probably face another combination of the House of Torture since all the other factions are gonna be busy with other stuff, maybe involving Sho so that Yoh and Sho can continue their feud through these titles.

And we got an awesome, stellar main event for the WTL finals. As I’ve been saying, Gabe & Yota weren’t gonna win, Yota has his match with Konosuke. TMDK winning is awesome for Oiwa, he and ZSJ are going to have another awesome match with the Knock Out Brothers, and that could go either way honestly. Oskar & Yuto-Ice have been doing so well, I wouldn’t be surprised if they retained at their first WK to really solidify themselves. At the same time, TMDK needs a lot going for them right now in the mainstream NJPW. I haven’t seen Shane Thorne & Mikey Nicholls on these shows in a long time, and no idea if they’re helping Tamashii or NJPW Strong, no idea if their contracts are almost up, too. Getting the heavyweight tag titles would be just the spark for TMDK to get going in 2026.

My Score: 9/10