Text and photos exclusively by Tokio Tsukada / Copyright & Courtesy: PRO WRESTLING NOAH
Pro Wrestling NOAH is currently holding the Mercari Presents NEO Global Tag League 2026, with all teams remaining active on the front lines to this day.
A total of 12 teams have entered this league tournament to determine NOAH’s top tag team, divided into Blocks A and B.
Block A features powerful tag teams that transcend organizational boundaries, including “Los Tranquilos de Japón” (Tatsuya NAITO & BUSHI), who moved their primary arena from New Japan Pro Wrestling to NOAH and are the current GHC Tag Champions; the team of Kaito Kiyomiya & Harutoki; and “The Good Brothers” (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows).
Block B, meanwhile, features a lineup of highly talked-about powerhouses, including “Maruken” (Naomichi Marufuji & Kenoh), “TMP SQUAD” (KENTA & Katsumi Inahata), and “SUNSETTERS” (Yoshiki Inamura & Stallion Rogers).
The official matches began with the Kyoto event on May 23 and will be held across 12 venues nationwide.
Then, at the final event on Tuesday, June 16, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, the winner of Block A will face the winner of Block B in a championship match to determine the Spring Tag Team Champions.
All matches will be 30-minute single bouts. Wins and wins by default are worth 2 points, losses, losses by default, and no-contests are worth 0 points, and all draws are worth 1 point.
If multiple teams tie for the highest score, the winner will be determined by the result of their head-to-head match; if that match also ends in a draw, a playoff match will be held to decide which team advances to the championship match, making this a grueling survival tournament.
On May 30th at Korakuen Hall, highly anticipated matches took place in both Block A and Block B.
In a semi-final match of the Tag League A Block, Los Tranquilos de Japón (LTJ)’s Testuya Naito and BUSHI faced off against All Rebellion’s Kaito Kiyomiya and Harutoki.Thanks in part to Harutoki’s valiant effort—including a flurry of Shubababaki Kicks (neckbreakers) in the final moments—Kiyomiya ultimately finished off BUSHI with a Skywalk Elbow at 15 minutes and 24 seconds, securing a victory over the reigning GHC Tag Team Champions, LTJ.
After the match, Naito took the microphone and said:
“Was today’s event called the NEO GLOBAL TAG LEAGUE? I had a blast. As the GHC Tag Team Champion, losing is incredibly frustrating and embarrassing, but today’s match was a ton of fun.”
He said this while looking at Harutoki, then rudely added”
“Nah, never mind you.”
Then, he turned toward Kiyomiya and said:
“And you, Harutoki, is that your name? I really enjoyed fighting you too, but the one I have business with today isn’t you—it’s Kiyomiya.”
Naito said:
“If it’s this much fun, I’d love to take my time and have a single match with you. I don’t know much about Pro Wrestling NOAH’s schedule, but how about our first single match—me versus Kiyomiya—at the next big event? Are you in? Give me your answer, cabrón!”
And proposed a singles match with Kiyomiya.
Kiyomiya replied:
“Mr. Naito, a singles match? Aren’t you finally getting anxious too? But I’m anxious as well. Competing in this league from this position has me incredibly anxious too. So I’m absolutely thrilled by your challenge, Mr. Naito!”
Naito followed up, “So, Kiyomiya’s answer is obviously…” but Kiyomiya responded with Naito’s signature catchphrase, “Tranquilo, don’t get ahead of yourself,” and the momentum for the long-awaited one-on-one showdown began to build.
And the main event of the day is:
Block B Official Match: Naomichi Marufuji & Kenoh vs. Manabu Soya & Yuki Iino.
Jounetsu MAX (Soya & Iino) put on a passionate, intense fight that was almost suffocating. Amid a back-and-forth battle, Soya found himself in trouble against Kenoh’s special move, while Iino was caught in Marufuji’s back choke. However, Iino rose with fierce determination, carried Marufuji on his back, cut off Kenoh, and rescued his partner Soya. This turned the tide of the match. They continued their relentless assault, ultimately connecting with their finishing move, Passion IS, as Soya secured a decisive three-count over Kenoh. After the match, Soya grabbed the microphone and declared, “I beat Kenoh and Marufuji! We’re going to go undefeated and win the championship!”
Looking ahead to the final match (June 16, Korakuen Hall), he called out to the crowd, “Share your passion with us!” and, drawing the audience in, led a massive chorus of “Passion,” declaring, “Let’s fill this Korakuen Hall to the brim with a battle overflowing with passion—let’s fill it to the brim with fiery passion!”
We are all looking forward to seeing who will come up to the final match on June 16.
