The Super Junior Tag League is a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

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

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

held by

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

(NJPW). Established in 2010, but preceded by the G1 Climax Junior Heavyweight Tag League in 2001 (won by

El Samurai (born April 19, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler who is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and is better known by his stage name El Samurai. Professional wrestling career Early years (1986–1992) Osamu Ma ...

and

Jushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a trainer. He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having work ...

), it is the

junior heavyweight Junior heavyweight is an alternate name for cruiserweight used in multiple combat sports: *Cruiserweight (boxing), a weight class in boxing between light heavyweight and heavyweight. The current weight limit for the division is 200lbs (14st 4lbs/90 ...

equivalent of the

World Tag League The World Tag League may refer to any of the following professional wrestling tournaments held in Japan: * World Tag League (JWA), 1970 to 1972, hosted by Japanese Wrestling Association * World Tag League (NJPW), annually since 1991, hosted by New ...

for heavyweight tag teams. From 2010 to 2017, it was named the Super Junior Tag Tournament and followed a

single-elimination A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

format, before becoming the Super Junior Tag League in 2018, switching to a round-robin format. Since the tournament's inception, there were two years where the tournament did not take place—in 2011 and 2020 (due to major changes to NJPW's schedule during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Super Junior Tag Tournament (2010–2017)

2010

Super J Tag Tournament was a one-night

tournament hosted by

and took place on May 8. Most of the wrestlers involved were signed to New Japan but did feature wrestlers from other promotions like

Mascara Dorada Mascara (, ) is a cosmetic commonly used to enhance the upper and lower eyelashes. It is used to darken, thicken, lengthen, and/or define the eyelashes. Normally in one of three forms—liquid, powder, or cream—the modern mascara product has ...

& Valiente from

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...

Kota Ibushi is a Japanese professional wrestler and martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his tenure with New Japan-Pro Wrestling (NJPW), Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) and WWE. His career began with the Dramatic Dre ...

from

Dramatic Dream Team is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name is an initialism of Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's original name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was even ...

Fujita Hayato Hayato Fujita (藤田勇人 ''Fujita Hayato'', born September 20, 1986) is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Fujita "Jr." Hayato (フジタ"Jr"ハヤト). Despite his small stature and physique for a professional wr ...

and Taro Nohashi from

Michinoku Pro Wrestling (originally known as North Eastern Wrestling) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded by The Great Sasuke on October 1, 1992. It was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rathe ...

, and Kushida from Smash.

and

Koji Kanemoto is a Japanese professional wrestler of Zainichi Korean descent. He has previously worked with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is currently a freelancer. Professional wrestling career Kanemoto practiced Judo during his hig ...

defeated

Apollo 55 were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi. One of the most accomplished junior heavyweight tag teams in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) history, the team held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Cha ...

(

Prince Devitt A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in some ...

and

Ryusuke Taguchi is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trained by and performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a former List of IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions, two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, List of IWGP Junior He ...

) to win the tournament and become

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on August 8, 1998, at an NJPW live event. The IWGP Junior ...

. ;Results

2012

Super Jr. Tag Tournament 2012 was a two-night

tournament hosted by

. The preliminary round took place on October 21 and the semi-final and final took place on November 2. The tournament utilized wrestlers mostly signed to New Japan but also included

Negro Casas José Casas Ruiz (born January 10, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler (called a ''Lucha libre, Luchador'' in Spanish language, Spanish) and professional wrestling trainer working for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) under the ring name Ne ...

from

Taka Michinoku (born October 26, 1973), better known by his ring name (stylized as TAKA Michinoku), is a Japanese professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He primarily appears for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he is a me ...

from

Kaientai Dojo Active Advance Pro Wrestling (2AW) is a Professional wrestling in Japan, Japanese professional wrestling promotion and training facility originally owned and promoted by Taka Michinoku. The promotion places emphasis on a style of Professional wre ...

, and freelancer

Brian Kendrick Brian David Kendrick (born May 29, 1979) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE. He is also known for his time in Ring of Honor (ROH), Impact Wrestling, Total Nonstop Action Wrestlin ...

. Time Splitters (

Alex Shelley Patrick Kenneth Martin (born May 23, 1983), better known by the ring name Alex Shelley, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. He is widely known for his tenure ...

and Kushida) defeated

(

and

) to win the tournament and become the number one contenders to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. They challenged the

Forever Hooligans Forever Hooligans was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero. They are best known for working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where they are former two-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. They have ...

(Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero) to a title match at

Power Struggle A power struggle is situation where two or more people or groups fight to gain dominance over each other. The term is most commonly used in a political context, when parties contend for power or leadership positions, but can also be applied to a ...

on November 11. ;Results

2013

The 2013 Super Jr. Tag Tournament was a two-night

tournament hosted by

. The preliminary round took take place on October 25 and the semi-final and final on November 6. The debuting

Young Bucks The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Matthew Massie and Nicholas Massie, who perform under the ring names Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson. , they are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), whe ...

won the tournament and on November 9 at

, defeated

Taichi Taichi is a Japanese given name and surname. Given name Taichi (written: , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. People with the given name Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese volleyball player *, Japanese footballe ...

and

to also win the

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on August 8, 1998, at an NJPW live event. The IWGP Junio ...

. ;Results

2014

The 2014 Super Jr. Tag Tournament was a four-night

tournament hosted by

. The preliminary round took place on October 25, the semifinals on November 1 and 2, and the final on November 3. For the third year in a row, the tournament's winning team,

reDRagon reDRagon was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly, formed in 2012, and lasting until September 1, 2022 when Fish quietly left All Elite Wrestling (AEW). They are also known for their work in Ring of Honor ...

, went on to also capture the

. ;Results

2015

Matt Sydal and Ricochet Super Junior Tag Tournament Winners

The 2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament is a three-night

tournament hosted by

. The preliminary round took place on October 24, the semifinals on November 1, and the final on November 7 at

. ;Results

2016

Roppongi Vice Super Junior Tag Tournament Winners

The 2016 Super Jr. Tag Tournament was a four-night

tournament hosted by

. The preliminary round took place on October 21 and 25, the semifinals on October 30, and the final on November 5 at

. ;Results

2017

Roppongi 3K Super Junior Tag Tournament Winners

The 2017 Super Jr. Tag Tournament was a four-night

tournament hosted by

. The preliminary round took place on October 23 and 29, the semifinals on October 30, and the final on November 5 at

. ;Results

Super Junior Tag League (2018–present)

2018

The 2018 Super Jr. Tag League was a thirteen-night

tournament hosted by

. It featured eight teams in a single block. Block matches were held from October 16 to November 1, 2018 with the first and second placed teams advancing to the final, on November 3, at

. Due to a three-way tie at the top of the standings, the final was a

three-way tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

between the qualified teams.

2019

The 2019 Super Jr. Tag League is a fifteen-night

tournament hosted by

. It features eight teams in a single block, with the first and second placed teams advancing to a final. Block matches were held from October 16 to November 1, 2019, on the Road to Power Struggle tour, and the final was held on November 3, 2019, at

2021

The 2021 Super Jr. Tag League is a five-night

tournament hosted by

. It features six teams in a single block, with the team having most points at the end of the league winning the entire tournament. In case of a tie between two or more top ranked teams in the block in terms of points tiebreakers will be held and the winner of the tournament would be decided. Block matches will be held from 7 August to 9 August and 16 August to 17 August 2021, on the Summer Struggle 2021 tour at

Korakuen Hall is a sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches. History On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with a capacity of approximat ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Gedo Gedo (, , , or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. The region was formed during 1974 and is bordered by the Ogaden in Ethiopia, the North Eastern Province ...

and

Dick Togo , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Togo is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of House of Torture and a former member of Bullet Club. Togo has spent the major ...

forfeited their match against

and Master Wato due to both having to be quarantined for being in contact with

EVIL Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...

, who had been in physical contact with

Shingo Takagi (born 21 November 1982), known by the ring name Shingo Takagi (鷹木信悟, ''Takagi Shingo''), is a Japanese professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a former member of the ''Los Ingob ...

, who tested positive for COVID. Due to this situation, official word was of giving Taguchi and Wato a bye in the tournament, thus only two league matches were held on 16 August 2021. Sho and Yoh broke up following the events of the August 16, 2021 show, causing their match against Gedo and Dick Togo to be ruled a double forfeit.

2022

The 2022 Super Jr. Tag League is a sixteen-night

tournament hosted by

. It features ten teams in a single block, with the team having the most points at the end of the league winning the entire tournament. In case of a tie between two or more top-ranked teams in the block in terms of points, tiebreakers will be held and the winner of the tournament would be decided. Block matches were held from November 21 to December 14, 2022, and the final took place at Sendai Sunplaza Hall in

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

2023

The 2023 Super Jr. Tag League is a sixteen-night

tournament hosted by

. It features ten teams in a single block, with the team having the most points at the end of the league winning the entire tournament. In case of a tie between two or more top-ranked teams in the block in terms of points, tiebreakers will be held and the winner of the tournament would be decided. Block matches will be held from October 21 to November 4, 2023, and the final took place at the 2023 edition of

2024

The 2024 Super Jr. Tag League is a nine-night

tournament hosted by

. It features twelve teams divided across two blocks – the first time this format has been used since the tournament switched to a round-robin tournament – with the top two teams facing in the finals. Guest wrestlers include

Dragon Dia is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate where he is a former Open the Brave Gate Champion, Open the Twin Gate Champion and Open the Triangle Gate Champion. Professional wrestling career Dra ...

from

Dragongate Dragongate Japan Pro-Wrestling, often referred to simply as Dragongate or Dragon Gate (, ''Doragongēto''), is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded and headquartered in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Hyōgo, Japan. Most of the promotion ...

Ninja Mack Brenden McAleavey (born December 31, 1989), better known by his ring name Ninja Mack, is an American professional wrestler currently performing for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a one-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion and one-time GHC Op ...

from Pro Wrestling Noah, and Captain Suicida from

CMLL Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...

. The tournament winners advance to an

match at

Wrestle Kingdom 19 Wrestle Kingdom 19 was a professional wrestling event promoted by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2025, at the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 34th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the 19th promoted unde ...

. In case of a tie between two or more top-ranked teams in the block in terms of points, tiebreakers will be held and the winner of the tournament would be decided. Block matches were held from October 24 to November 2, 2024 and the final took place at the 2024 edition of

References

{{Super Jr. Tag Tournament New Japan Pro-Wrestling tournaments Tag team tournaments

Super Junior Tag Tournament (2010–2017)

2010

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Super Junior Tag League (2018–present)

2018

2019

2021

2022

2023

2024

See also

References