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The is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a spin-off of the popular singles tournament, the G1 Climax. It was created in 1991 as the Super Grade Tag League, as a continuation of a regular tag team tournament held since 1980 known various as the MSG Tag League, IWGP Tag Title League, or Japan Cup Tag League. It gained the name in 1999. In 2012, NJPW's new owners, the Bushiroad company, renamed the tournament to its current form. Since the tournament acquired its current name, the winning team earns the right to challenge for the IWGP Tag Team Championship, assuming the team does not hold the title at the time of their victory.
The World Tag League is held under a points system, with 2 points for a win, 1 for a time limit draw, and 0 for a loss, no contest or double decision. The current format, introduced in 2014, is essentially identical to that of the G1 Climax, with the top-scoring team from two blocks of eight advancing to the final.
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List of winners TournamentYearWinnersTotal wonas a teamReferenceAsia Tag Team League 1976 Seiji Sakaguchi and Strong Kobayashi - 1980 Antonio Inoki and Bob Backlund 1 1981 André the Giant and René Goulet 1 1982 Antonio Inoki (2) and Hulk Hogan 1 1983 Antonio Inoki (3) and Hulk Hogan (2) 2 1984 Antonio Inoki (4) and Tatsumi Fujinami 1 1985 Tatsumi Fujinami (2) and Kengo Kimura 1 1986 Antonio Inoki (5) and Yoshiaki Fujiwara 1 IWGP Tag Team Title League 1987 Keiji Muto and Shiro Koshinaka - 1987 Tatsumi Fujinami (3) and Kengo Kimura (2) 2 Japan Cup Elimination Tag League 1988 Antonio Inoki, Kantaro Hoshino and Riki Choshu - IWGP Tag Team Title Challenger Decision League 1989 Masa Saito and Shinya Hashimoto - New Year Tag Tournament 1990 Masahiro Chono and Shiro Koshinaka - New Year Tag Tournament 1991 Kengo Kimura and Osamu Kido - 1991 Tatsumi Fujinami (4) and Big Van Vader 1 1992 Riki Choshu and Shinya Hashimoto 1 1993 Hiroshi Hase and Keiji Muto 1 1994 Hiroshi Hase and Keiji Muto 2 1995 Cho-Ten(Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan) 1 1996 Shinya Hashimoto (2) and Scott Norton 1 1997 nWo Japan(Masahiro Chono (2) and Keiji Muto (3)) 1 1998 nWo Japan(Satoshi Kojima and Keiji Muto (4)) 1 1999 Keiji Muto (5) and Scott Norton (2) 1 2000 Takashi Iizuka and Yuji Nagata 1 2001 Ten-Koji(Satoshi Kojima (2) and Hiroyoshi Tenzan (2)) 1 2003 Osamu Nishimura and Hiroyoshi Tenzan (3) 1 President Hoshino 10 Million Yen Offer Tag Tournament2004 Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Shinsuke Nakamura - U-30 One Night Tag Tournament2004 Hiroshi Tanahashi and Taiji Ishimori - Samurai! TV Openweight Tag Team Tournament2005 Yuji Nagata and Hirooki Goto - 2006 Masahiro Chono (3) and Shinsuke Nakamura 1 2007 Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko 1 2008 Ten-Koji(Satoshi Kojima (3) and Hiroyoshi Tenzan (4)) 2 2009 Bad Intentions(Karl Anderson and Giant Bernard (2)) 1 2010 Seigigun(Yuji Nagata (2) and Wataru Inoue) 1 2011 Suzuki-gun(Lance Archer and Minoru Suzuki) 1 2012 Sword & Guns(Hirooki Goto and Karl Anderson (2)) 1 2013 Bullet Club(Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson (3)) 1 2014 Meiyu Tag(Hirooki Goto (2) and Katsuyori Shibata 1 2015 Great Bash Heel(Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma) 1 2016 Great Bash Heel(Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma) 2 2017 Los Ingobernables de Japon(Evil and Sanada) 1 2018 Los Ingobernables de Japon(Evil and Sanada) 2 2019 FinJuice(Juice Robinson and David Finlay) 1 2020 G.O.D.(Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) 1 2021 Bishamon(Hirooki Goto (3) and Yoshi-Hashi) 1 2022 Bishamon(Hirooki Goto (4) and Yoshi-Hashi (2)) 2 2023 Bishamon(Hirooki Goto (5) and Yoshi-Hashi (3)) 3 2024 Los Ingobernables de Japon(Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi) 1 2025 TMDK(Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa) 1
Asia Tag League Four years before the inauguration of their recognized Tag League lineage, NJPW held a tournament with the later-familiar round-robin format to crown the first Asia Tag Team Champions. It had a much smaller field than subsequent editions, featuring only 4 teams in the single block. The League began on July 22, with the final taking place on August 4.
The matches were contested under Best Two Out Of Three Falls rules, as was the style at the time. The final was a rematch between the top two scorers (who ultimately happened to have had their first match - the last block bout - on the previous day's event). Inoki & Kido and The Mongols had a second block match against one another for unknown reasons, although Inoki's team won both regardless (and would still have come third place had both wins counted to their standing).
+Final standings Seiji Sakaguchi and Strong Kobayashi 3 wins Tiger Jeet Singh and Gama Singh 2 wins Antonio Inoki and Osamu Kido 1 win Bolo Mongol and Geeto Mongol 0 wins Results SakaguchiKobayashi SinghSingh InokiKido MongolMongol SakaguchiKobayashi SakaguchiKobayashi(19:33) SakaguchiKobayashi(?) SakaguchiKobayashi(21:39) SinghSingh SakaguchiKobayashi(19:33) SinghSingh(12:17) SinghSingh(?) InokiKido SakaguchiKobayashi(?) SinghSingh(12:17) InokiKido(?) MongolMongol SakaguchiKobayashi(21:39) SinghSingh(?) InokiKido(?)
1980 The 1980 MSG Tag League featured 9 teams in a single block and was held from November 21 to December 10, 1980.
+Final standings Antonio Inoki and Bob Backlund 34 Stan Hansen and Hulk Hogan 32 André the Giant and The Hangman 28 Tiger Jeet Singh and Umanosuke Ueda 24 Seiji Sakaguchi and Strong Kobayashi 20 Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura 15 Willem Ruska and Bad News Allen 10 Kantaro Hoshino and Riki Choshu 9 Ox Baker and Johnny Powers 0 Results BakerPowers HansenHogan InokiBacklund HoshinoChoshu RuskaAllen SinghUeda SakaguchiKobayashi AndréHangman FujinamiKimura BakerPowers Draw(30:00) InokiBacklund(3:57) HoshinoChoshu(9:16) RuskaAllen(9:05) SinghUeda(10:25) SakaguchiKobayashi(13:51) Draw(30:00) FujinamiKimura(13:03) HansenHogan Draw(30:00) DoubleCountout(16:58) HoganHansen(4:27) HoganHansen(8:05) HoganHansenDQ (6:50) HoganHansen(9:50) DoubleCountout(12:55) HoganHansen(9:35) InokiBacklund InokiBacklund(3:57) DoubleCountout(16:58) InokiBacklund(10:05) InokiBacklund(13:48) InokiBacklund(11:31) InokiBacklund(11:59) DoubleCountout(14:36) InokiBacklund(15:45) HoshinoChoshu HoshinoChoshu(9:16) HoganHansen(4:27) InokiBacklund(10:05) RuskaAllen(13:01) HoshinoChoshuDQ(6:08) SakaguchiKobayashi(13:14) AndréHangman(7:16) FujinamiKimura(12:17) RuskaAllen RuskaAllen(9:05) HoganHansen(8:05) InokiBacklund(13:48) RuskaAllen(13:01) Draw(30:00) SakaguchiKobayashi(13:54) AndréHangman(4:49) FujinamiKimura(11:02) SinghUeda SinghUeda(10:25) HoganHansenDQ (6:50) InokiBacklund(11:31) HoshinoChoshuDQ(6:08) Draw(30:00) SinghUedaCO(8:40) SinghUeda(3:37) SinghUeda(11:48) SakaguchiKobayashi SakaguchiKobayashi(13:51) HoganHansen(9:50) InokiBacklund(11:59) SakaguchiKobayashi(13:14) SakaguchiKobayashi(13:54) SinghUedaCO(8:40) AndréHangman(7:09) SakaguchiKobayashi(14:09) AndréHangman Draw(30:00) DoubleCountout(12:55) DoubleCountout(14:36) AndréHangman(7:16) AndréHangman(4:49) SinghUeda(3:37) AndréHangman(7:09) AndréHangman(4:51) FujinamiKimura FujinamiKimura(13:03) HoganHansen(9:35) InokiBacklund(15:45) FujinamiKimura(12:17) FujinamiKimura(11:02) SinghUeda(11:48) SakaguchiKobayashi(14:09) AndréHangman(4:51)
1981 The 1981 MSG Tag League featured 10 teams in a single block and was held from November 19 to December 10, 1981. Due to a tie for second place, the two second-place teams faced each other in a semifinal to decide the finalists.
+Final standings Wrestlers Score André the Giant and Rene Goulet 10 Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami 8 Stan Hansen and Dick Murdoch 8 Tiger Toguchi and Killer Khan 6 Seiji Sakaguchi and Kengo Kimura 6 Rusher Kimura and Animal Hamaguchi 2 Riki Choshu and Yoshiaki Yatsu 2 Bad News Allen and Pat Patterson 2 Samoans Afa and Sika 2 El Canek and Super Maquina 2 Note: "Draw" is used when the outcome is unknown. Results AfaSika AllenPatterson ChoshuYatsu El CanekMaquina HansenMurdoch InokiFujinami SakaguchiKengo RusherHamaguchi AndréGoulet ToguchiKhan AfaSika AllenPatterson(9:10) ChoshuYatsu AfaSika Draw(30:00) Draw(30:00) SakaguchiKengo(8:23) RusherHamaguchi AndréGoulet ToguchiKhanDQ(8:51) AllenPatterson AllenPatterson(9:10) DoubleCountout Draw(30:00) DoubleCountout InokiFujinami(15:42) Draw(30:00) DoubleCountout(10:21) Draw(30:00) ToguchiKhan ChoshuYatsu ChoshuYatsu DoubleCountout ChoshuYatsu(7:29) HansenMurdoch(7:19) InokiFujinami(13:22) DoubleCountout(13:17) DoubleCountout(12:01) AndréGoulet ToguchiKhanDQ El CanekMaquina AfaSika Draw(30:00) ChoshuYatsu(7:29) HansenMurdoch InokiFujinami(9:05) SakaguchiKengo(11:25) RusherHamaguchi(11:29) AndréGoulet ToguchiKhan(14:30) HansenMurdoch Draw(30:00) DoubleCountout HansenMurdoch(7:19) HansenMurdoch HansenMurdoch(10:37) HansenMurdochCO(6:55) HansenMurdoch DoubleCountout(8:11) HansenMurdochCO InokiFujinami Draw(30:00) InokiFujinami(15:42) InokiFujinami(13:22) InokiFujinami(9:05) HansenMurdoch(10:37) InokiFujinami(13:33) InokiFujinami(10:45) DoubleCountout(13:53) InokiFujinami(15:38) SakaguchiKengoSakaguchiKengo(8:23) Draw(30:00) DoubleCountout(13:17) SakaguchiKengo(11:25) HansenMurdochCO(6:55) InokiFujinami(13:33) SakaguchiKengoCO(12:54) AndréGoulet(7:52) ToguchiKhan(15:15) RusherHamaguchi RusherHamaguchi DoubleCountout(10:21) DoubleCountout(12:01) RusherHamaguchi(11:29) HansenMurdoch InokiFujinami(10:45) SakaguchiKengoCO(12:54) AndréGoulet RusherHamaguchiDQ AndréGoulet AndréGoulet Draw(30:00) AndréGoulet AndréGoulet DoubleCountout(8:11) DoubleCountout(13:53) AndréGoulet(7:52) AndréGoulet AndréGoulet(10:50) ToguchiKhan ToguchiKhanDQ(8:51) ToguchiKhan ToguchiKhanDQ ToguchiKhan(14:30) HansenMurdochCO InokiFujinami(15:38) ToguchiKhan(15:15) RusherHamaguchiDQ AndréGoulet(10:50)
1982
The 1982 MSG Tag League featured 8 teams in a single block and was held from November 19 to December 10, 1982. "Young Simpson" may be a mistranslation; no data has been found other than being tag team partner of British wrestler Wayne Bridges.
+Final standings Wrestlers Score Antonio Inoki and Hulk Hogan 28 Killer Khan and Tiger Toguchi 23 Seiji Sakaguchi and Tatsumi Fujinami 22 Dick Murdoch and Masked Superstar 21 André the Giant and Rene Goulet 20 Adrian Adonis and Dino Bravo 9 El Canek and Perro Aguayo 4 Wayne Bridges and Young Samson † 0 Results AdonisBravo AndréGoulet InokiHogan CanekAguayo MurdochSuperstar KhanToguchi SakaguchiFujinami BridgesSamson AdonisBravo AndréGoulet InokiHogan AdonisBravo MurdochSuperstar KhanToguchi(7:06) AdonisBravo(11:05) AdonisBravo(forfeit) AndréGoulet AndréGoulet HoganInoki AndréGoulet AndréGoulet KhanToguchi DCO(8:54) AndréGoulet(forfeit) InokiHogan InokiHogan HoganInoki HoganInoki HoganInoki KhanToguchi HoganInoki InokiHogan(forfeit) CanekAguayo AdonisBravo AndréGoulet HoganInoki MurdochSuperstar KhanToguchi SakiguchiFujinami(12:07) CanekAguayo(forfeit) MurdochSuperstar MurdochSuperstar AndréGoulet HoganInoki MurdochSuperstar MurdochSuperstar DCO(12:11) MurdochSuperstar(forfeit) KhanToguchi KhanToguchi(7:06) KhanToguchi KhanToguchi KhanToguchi MurdochSuperstar SakiguchiFujinami(14:22) KhanToguchi(forfeit) SakaguchiFujinami AdonisBravo(11:05) DCO(8:54) HoganInoki SakiguchiFujinami(12:07) DCO(12:11) SakiguchiFujinami(14:22) SakaguchiFujinami(forfeit) BridgesSamson AdonisBravo(forfeit) AndréGoulet(forfeit) InokiHogan(forfeit) CanekAguayo(forfeit) MurdochSuperstar(forfeit) KhanToguchi(forfeit) SakaguchiFujinami(forfeit)
† Bridges and Samson withdrew from the tournament and returned to the United Kingdom following the death of Bridges's father.
1983 The 1983 MSG Tag League featured 9 teams in a single block and was held from November 18 to December 8, 1983.
+Final standings Wrestlers Score André the Giant and Swede Hanson † 32.0 Antonio Inoki and Hulk Hogan 28.5 Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch 27.5 Riki Choshu and Animal Hamaguchi 26.5 Tatsumi Fujinami and Akira Maeda 24.0 Killer Khan and Tiger Toguchi 16.5 Seiji Sakaguchi and Kengo Kimura 14.0 Bobby Duncum and Curt Hennig 5.0 Wayne Bridges and Otto Wanz 5.0