The NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (NEVER無差別級6人タッグ王座 NEVER Musabetsu-kyū 6-Ri Taggu Ōza) is the top trios championship in the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. NEVER is an acronym of the terms "New Blood", "Evolution", "Valiantly", "Eternal", and "Radical" and was a NJPW-promoted series of events, which featured younger up-and-coming talent and outside wrestlers not signed to the promotion.
The title was announced on December 21, 2015, with the first champions crowned on January 4, 2016. The title became NJPW's seventh active championship and the second to carry the NEVER name, following the NEVER Openweight Championship, which was introduced in November 2012. Through NJPW's relationship with Ring of Honor (ROH), the title has also been defended in the American promotion. The championship is contested for by teams of three wrestlers and is the first title of its kind in the history of NJPW. The title's openweight nature means that both heavyweight and junior heavyweight wrestlers are eligible to challenge for it.
Overview[]
On December 11, 2015, NJPW announced that at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2016, the Bullet Club trio of Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi would take on Toru Yano and two mystery partners.[2][3] Eight days later, Yano revealed his partners as the Ring of Honor (ROH) tag team The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe).[4] On December 21, NJPW added that the match would now be contested for the newly created NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship, the first six-man title in the promotion's history.[5][6] The title's name carried the acronym NEVER, which stood for "New Blood", "Evolution", "Valiantly", "Eternal", and "Radical" and was an NJPW-promoted series of events that ran from 2010 to 2012 and featured younger up-and-coming talent and outside wrestlers not signed to the promotion.[7] This would mark the second title to carry the NEVER name, after the NEVER Openweight Championship, which was introduced in November 2012.[5][8]
On January 4, 2016, Toru Yano and The Briscoe Brothers defeated Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi to become the inaugural champions.[9][10] After losing the title to Fale, Tonga, and Takahashi on February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka,[11] Yano and The Briscoe Brothers also became the first two-time winners of the title, when they regained it three days later at The New Beginning in Niigata.[12] Later that month, the title was defended outside Japan for the first time, when new champions Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) successfully defended it against ACH, KUSHIDA ,and Matt Sydal at ROH's 14th Anniversary Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.[13][14] On September 25, 2016, the title was vacated for the first time due to one of the champions, Matt Sydal, failing to make it to a scheduled championship defense because of "travel issues".[15] NJPW crowned new champions that same day.[16]
On January 4, 2017, at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome, the Los Ingobernables de Japon trio of BUSHI, EVIL, and SANADA won a four-team gauntlet match to capture the title for the first time.[17][18] They then began exchanging the title with members of the Taguchi Japan stable, resulting in them becoming record three-time champions on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2017.[19] The quick title changes resulted in the title earning a reputation as a "hot potato",[20][21] with no championship team successfully defending it more than two times.[22][23] The title was also slotted on the undercards of NJPW events with some championship matches taking place as early as the second match on a seven-match show with no other title matches. BUSHI publicly criticized NJPW's handling of the title, claiming that the booking was costing the title credibility.[22] L.I.J.'s record-setting reign ended on December 17, 2017, when they were defeated by Bullet Club's Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, and Tanga Loa in their fourth defense.
On January 30, 2019, Makabe, Taguchi, and Yano defeated Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Taiji Ishimori) to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. Their reign would surpass L.I.J's record, breaking the record for the longest reign as champions at 340 days, losing the titles to Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL, and Shingo Takagi) on January 5, 2020, in the second night of Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome. On July 11, 2020, EVIL turned on Los Ingobernables de Japon, defecting to Bullet Club. Afterwards, NJPW still recognized EVIL, BUSHI, and Shingo Takagi as champions until August 1, when NJPW officially vacated the titles, announcing a tournament to crown the new champions. On August 9, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, and Yoshi-Hashi defeated fellow CHAOS stablemates Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, and Sho in the tournament final to win the vacant championships. Their reign would break the record for the longest reign as champions at 454 days and the most successful title defenses with 9 defenses, before losing the titles to House of Torture (EVIL, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi) on November 6, 2021 at Power Stuggle.
Championship Tournament[]
| First Round (August 6 and 7) | Semifinals (August 8) | Finals (August 9) | ||||||||||||
| CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and Sho) | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi, Gedo and Jado) | 12:04 | |||||||||||||
| CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and Sho) | CO | |||||||||||||
| Los Ingobernables de Japón (Shingo Takagi, BUSHI and SANADA) | 13:07 | |||||||||||||
| Los Ingobernables de Japón (Shingo Takagi, BUSHI and SANADA) | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado and DOUKI) | 13:43 | |||||||||||||
| CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and Sho) | Pin | |||||||||||||
| CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi) | 24:18 | |||||||||||||
| Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi and Master Wato | ||||||||||||||
| Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) | ||||||||||||||
| Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi and Master Wato | Pin | |||||||||||||
| CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi) | 17:11 | |||||||||||||
| Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma | ||||||||||||||
| CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi) | ||||||||||||||
Title History[]
| # | Trios Team (Individual Reigns) |
Team Reigns | Date | Location | Length | Defenses | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CHAOS (Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe and Toru Yano) |
1 | January 4, 2016 | Tokyo | 38 Days | 1 | Defeated Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi) to become the inaugural champions. |
| 2 | Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi) |
1 | February 11, 2016 | Osaka | 3 Days | 0 | |
| 3 | CHAOS (Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe and Toru Yano) |
2 | February 14, 2016 | Nagaoka | 6 Days | 0 | |
| 4 | The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) |
1 | February 20, 2016 | Tokyo | 50 Days | 2 | |
| 5 | Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin and Yoshitatsu | 1 | April 10, 2016 | Tokyo | 23 Days | 1 | |
| 6 | The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) |
2 | May 3, 2016 | Fukuoka | 61 Days | 0 | |
| 7 | Matt Sydal, Ricochet, and Satoshi Kojima | 1 | July 3, 2016 | Takizawa | 84 Days | 0 | |
| — | Vacated | — | September 25, 2016 | — | — | — | Title vacated due to Sydal failing to make a scheduled championship defense because of travel issues. |
| 8 | David Finlay, Ricochet (2), and Satoshi Kojima (2) | 1 | September 25, 2016 | Kobe | 101 Days | 1 | Defeated Bullet Club (Adam Cole, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) to win the vacant title. |
| 9 | Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL and SANADA) |
1 | January 4, 2017 | Tokyo | 1 Day | 0 | This was a gauntlet match, also involving Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Hangman Page and Yujiro Takahashi) and CHAOS (Jado, Will Ospreay and Yoshi-Hashi). |
| 10 | Taguchi Japan (Hiroshi Tanahashi (2), Manabu Nakanishi and Ryusuke Taguchi) |
1 | January 5, 2017 | Tokyo | 37 Days | 0 | |
| 11 | Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL and SANADA) |
2 | February 11, 2017 | Osaka | 52 Days | 1 | |
| 12 | Taguchi Japan (Hiroshi Tanahashi (3), Ricochet (3) and Ryusuke Taguchi (2)) |
1 | April 4, 2017 | Tokyo | 29 Days | 0 | |
| 13 | Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL and SANADA) |
3 | May 3, 2017 | Fukuoka | 228 Days | 3 | |
| 14 | Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale (2), Tama Tonga (2) and Tanga Loa) |
1 | December 17, 2017 | Tokyo | 18 Days | 0 | |
| 15 | CHAOS (Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii and and Toru Yano (3)) |
1 | January 4, 2018 | Tokyo | 1 Day | 0 | This was a gauntlet match, also involving Michael Elgin and War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe), Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Takashi Iizuka and Zack Sabre Jr.) and Taguchi Japan (Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi and Togi Makabe). |
| 16 | Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale (3), Tama Tonga (3) and Tanga Loa (2)) |
2 | January 5, 2018 | Tokyo | 118 Days | 3 | |
| 17 | Super Villains (Marty Scurll, Matt Jackson (3) and Nick Jackson (3)) |
1 | May 3, 2018 | Fukuoka | 101 Days | 0 | |
| 18 | Bullet Club OG/Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori, Tama Tonga (4) and Tanga Loa (3)) |
1 | August 12, 2018 | Tokyo | 171 Days | 2 | |
| 19 | Ryusuke Taguchi (3), Togi Makabe and Toru Yano (4) | 1 | January 30, 2019 | Sendai, Miyagi | 340 Days | 4 | |
| 20 | Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL (4), BUSHI (4) and Shingo Takagi) |
1 | January 5, 2020 | Tokyo | 208 Days | 2 | This was a gauntlet match, also involving CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Yoshi-Hashi and Robbie Eagles), Suzuki-gun (Taichi, El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) and Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi).
|
| — | Vacated | — | August 1, 2020 | — | — | — | On July 11, 2020, EVIL turned on Los Ingobernables de Japon, defecting to Bullet Club. Afterwards, NJPW still recognized EVIL, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi as champions until August 1, when NJPW officially vacated the titles. |
| 21 | CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii (2) and Yoshi-Hashi) |
1 | August 1, 2020 | Tokyo | 454 Days | 9 | Defeated CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and Sho) in a tournament final to become the champions. |
| 22 | House of Torture (EVIL (5), Sho and Yujiro Takahashi (2)) |
1 | November 6, 2021 | Osaka | 241 Days | 4 | |
| 23 | CHAOS (Hirooki Goto (2), Yoh and Yoshi-Hashi (2)) |
1 | July 5, 2022 | Tokyo | 80 Days | 0 | |
| 24 | House of Torture (EVIL (6), Sho (2) and Yujiro Takahashi (3)) |
2 | September 23, 2022 | Takamatsu, Kagawa | 141 Days | 1 | This was a Tornado Dog Cage Survival Match |
| 25 | Strong Style (Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado and Ren Narita) |
1 | January 11, 2023 | Osaka | 81 Days | 1 | |
| 26 | Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi (4), and Tomohiro Ishii (3) | 1 | May 3, 2023 | Fukuoka | 266 Days | 8 | |
| — | Vacated | — | January 24, 2024 | Tokyo | — | — | Okada voluntarily relinquished the titles on behalf of the team after announcing his departure from NJPW. |
| 27 | Hiroshi Tanahashi (5), Toru Yano (5), and Boltin Oleg | 1 | April 14, 2024 | New Taipei City | 56 Days | 1 | Defeated House of Torture (EVIL, Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) in a tournament final to become the champions. |
| 28 | Los Ingobernables de Japon (Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, and BUSHI (5)) |
1 | June 9, 2024 | Osaka | 7 Days | 0 | |
| 29 | Hiroshi Tanahashi (6), Toru Yano (6), and Boltin Oleg (2) | 2 | June 16, 2024 | Sapporo | 228 Days | 2 | |
| 30 | House of Torture (Sho (3), Yujiro Takahashi (4) and Ren Narita (2)) |
1 | Janaury 30, 2025 | Sendai | 79+ | 1 |
Combined Reigns[]
| † | Indicates the current champion |
By team[]
| Rank | Team | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi) |
1 | 9 | 454 |
| 2 | House of Torture (EVIL, Sho and Yujiro Takahashi) |
2 | 5 | 382 |
| 3 | Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe and Toru Yano | 1 | 4 | 340 |
| 4 | Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg | 2 | 3 | 284 |
| 5 | Los Ingobernables de Japón (EVIL, BUSHI and SANADA) |
3 | 4 | 281 |
| 6 | Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii | 1 | 8 | 266 |
| 7 | Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi) |
1 | 2 | 208 |
| 8 | Bullet Club OG/Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) |
1 | 2 | 171 |
| 9 | Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) |
2 | 3 | 136 |
| 10 | The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) |
2 | 111 | |
| 11 | David Finlay, Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima | 1 | 1 | 101 |
| Super Villains (Marty Scurll, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) |
0 | |||
| 13 | Matt Sydal, Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima | 84 | ||
| 14 | Strong Style (Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado and Ren Narita) |
1 | 81 | |
| 15 | CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi and Yoh) |
0 | 80 | |
| 16 | House of Torture (Sho, Yujiro Takahashi and Ren Narita) † |
1 | 79+ | |
| 17 | CHAOS (Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe and Toru Yano) |
2 | 44 | |
| 18 | Taguchi Japan (Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi and Ryusuke Taguchi) |
1 | 0 | 37 |
| 19 | Taguchi Japan (Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi) |
29 | ||
| 20 | Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin and Yoshitatsu | 1 | 23 | |
| 21 | Los Ingobernables de Japón (Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI) |
0 | 7 | |
| 22 | Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi) |
3 | ||
| 23 | CHAOS (Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) |
1 |
By wrestler[]
| Rank | Wrestler | No. of reigns |
Combined defenses |
Combined days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EVIL | 6 | 11 | 871 |
| 2 | Tomohiro Ishii | 3 | 17 | 721 |
| 3 | Toru Yano | 6 | 8 | 669 |
| 4 | Hiroshi Tanahashi | 12 | 639 | |
| 5 | Hirooki Goto | 2 | 9 | 534 |
| Yoshi-Hashi | ||||
| 7 | BUSHI | 5 | 6 | 507 |
| 8 | Yujiro Takahashi † | 4 | 464+ | |
| 9 | Sho † | 3 | 461+ | |
| 10 | Ryusuke Taguchi | 4 | 406 | |
| 11 | Togi Makabe | 1 | 3 | 340 |
| 12 | Tama Tonga | 4 | 5 | 310 |
| 13 | Tanga Loa | 3 | 307 | |
| 14 | Boltin Oleg | 2 | 3 | 284 |
| 15 | SANADA | 3 | 4 | 281 |
| 16 | Kazuchika Okada | 1 | 8 | 266 |
| 17 | Ricochet | 3 | 1 | 214 |
| 18 | Matt Jackson | 2 | 212 | |
| Nick Jackson | ||||
| 20 | Shingo Takagi | 1 | 208 | |
| 21 | Satoshi Kojima | 2 | 1 | 185 |
| 22 | Taiji Ishimori | 1 | 2 | 171 |
| 23 | Ren Narita † | 2 | 160+ | |
| 24 | Bad Luck Fale | 3 | 3 | 139 |
| 25 | Kenny Omega | 2 | 2 | 111 |
| 26 | David Finlay | 1 | 1 | 101 |
| Marty Scurll | 0 | |||
| 28 | Matt Sydal | 84 | ||
| 29 | Minoru Suzuki | 1 | 81 | |
| El Desperado | ||||
| 31 | Yoh | 0 | 80 | |
| 32 | Jay Briscoe | 2 | 1 | 44 |
| Mark Briscoe | ||||
| 34 | Manabu Nakanishi | 1 | 0 | 37 |
| 35 | Michael Elgin | 1 | 23 | |
| Yoshitatsu | ||||
| 37 | Yota Tsuji | 0 | 7 | |
| Hiromu Takahashi | ||||
| 39 | Beretta | 1 |
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedWrestleKingdom10 - ↑ ja:【WK10】来年1月3日（日）『大プロレス祭り』“公開記者会見”のスケジュールが決定！ 岡倫之選手の入団会見も実施！ (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2015-12-11). Retrieved on 2017-08-03.
- ↑ ja:真壁＆本間 １・４東京ドームでＩＷＧＰタッグ挑戦 (in Japanese). Tokyo Sports (2015-12-11). Retrieved on 2017-08-03.
- ↑ ja:【WK10】1.4東京ドームの第2試合は矢野＆ブリスコ・ブラザーズvsファレ＆裕二郎＆タマに決定！ウワサの“ブリスコ兄弟”の凄さとは？ (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2015-12-20). Retrieved on 2017-08-03.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 ja:【WK10】1.4東京ドームは“8大選手権”！ 第2試合は初代NEVER無差別級6人タッグ王座戦！ 第3試合はROH世界選手権に！ NJランボー参戦選手も追加！ (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2015-12-21). Archived from the original on 2015-12-21. Retrieved on 2015-12-21.
- ↑ NJPW Tokyo Dome Updates – Briscoes vs. Bullet Club for new titles, more . Pro Wrestling Torch (2015-12-20). Archived from the original on 2015-12-21. Retrieved on 2015-12-21.
- ↑ ja:Nextジェネレーション育成 新プロジェクト「NEVER」シリーズがスタート!! (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2010-07-12). Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved on 2015-12-21.
- ↑ Caldwell, James 2012-10-05. News items: Velvet Sky launches clothing line, Details on Nash's next int'l tour, NJPW introducing new title . Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved on 2012-12-21.
- ↑ ja:【新日・東京ドーム】「ＮＥＶＥＲ無差別級６人タッグ」矢野組が初代王者に (in Japanese). Tokyo Sports (2016-01-05). Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2016-01-03. Wrestle Kingdom 10 live results: Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi . Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved on 2016-01-04.
- ↑ 2/11 New Japan "New Beginning in Osaka" Results – Okada defends IWGP World Title, two big title changes . Pro Wrestling Torch (2016-02-11). Retrieved on 2017-08-03.
- ↑ 2/14 New Japan "New Beginning in Niigata" Results – Tanahashi vs. Omega for vacant IWGP IC Title, Bullet Club everywhere . Pro Wrestling Torch (2016-02-14). Retrieved on 2017-08-03.
- ↑ ROH 14th Anniversary (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved on 2017-08-03.
- ↑ Rose, Bryan 2016-02-26. ROH 14th Anniversary live results: Jay Lethal vs. Kyle O'Reilly vs. Adam Cole . Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved on 2016-02-26.
- ↑ ja:【お知らせ】マット・サイダル選手が飛行機トラブルのため9.25神戸大会を欠場。デビッド・フィンレー選手が代打出場でNEVER6人タッグは「王座決定戦」に変更 (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2016-09-25). Archived from the original on 2016-09-25. Retrieved on 2016-09-25.
- ↑ Rose, Bryan 2016-09-25. NJPW Destruction in Kobe results: Elgin defends his title against Naito . Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved on 2017-08-03.
- ↑ Johnson, Mike 2017-01-04. Omega vs. Okada classic, Tanahashi vs. Naito, lots of title changes & more: complete New Japan Wrestle Kingdom 11 coverage (page two) . Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved on 2017-08-03.
- ↑ ja:【新日１・４ドーム】NEVER6人タッグはSanada組が制す (in Japanese). Tokyo Sports (2017-01-05). Retrieved on 2017-08-03.
- ↑ ja:“田口ジャパン”またＮＥＶＥＲ陥落…ロス・インゴが３度目戴冠 (in Japanese). Daily Sports Online. Kobe Shimbun (2017-05-04). Retrieved on 2017-08-03.
- ↑ Andrews, R.W. 2017-01-17. 1/5 New Japan’s New Year’s Dash from Tokyo: Takahashi, Nakanishi, KUSHIDA, Ricochet, O’Reilly, Finlay, Cole, Elgin, Young Bucks . Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved on 2017-08-03.
- ↑ Meltzer, Dave (February 20, 2017). "February 20, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWE financials, death of Chavo Guerrero, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 20. ISSN 1083-9593.
The show was built around five title matches, with one change, the hot potato Never trios titles which went back to Sanada & Evil & Bushi, who defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryusuke Taguchi & Manabu Nakanishi.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 ja:【新日本】NEVER6人タッグ王者のBushiが試合順に難クセ (in Japanese). Tokyo Sports (2017-02-16). Retrieved on 2017-08-03.
- ↑ ja:新日・制御不能軍が田口ジャパン撃破で史上最多タイのＮＥＶＥＲ６人王座Ｖ２ (in Japanese). Daily Sports Online. Kobe Shimbun (2017-06-21). Retrieved on 2017-08-03.