The World Tag League (WORLDタッグリーグ) 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, gaining the name G1 Tag League (G1タッグリーグ) 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 at the following year's Wrestle Kingdom, 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.

List of winners

1980

The 1980 MSG Tag League featured 9 teams in a single block and was held from November 21 to December 10, 1980.

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.

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.

1983

The 1983 MSG Tag League featured 9 teams in a single block and was held from November 18 to December 8, 1983. † Hanson was injured and could not compete in the final.

1984

The 1984 MSG Tag League featured 7 teams in a single block and was held from November 16 to December 5, 1984.

1985

The 1985 IWGP Tag Title League featured 8 teams in a single block and was held from November 15 to December 12, 1985. †Brody and Snuka no-showed the finals and jumped to All Japan Pro Wrestling

1986

The 1986 Japan Cup Tag League featured 8 teams in a single block and was held from November 14, 1986 to December 11, 1986.

1987

The 1987 Japan Cup Tag League featured 8 teams in a single block and was held from November 9, 1987 to December 7, 1987.

1991

The 1991 Super Grade Tag League featured 7 teams in a single block and was held from October 5 to October 17. Due to a tie for second place, the two second-place teams faced each other in a semifinal to decide the finalists.

1992

The 1992 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 7 teams, was held from October 8 to October 21.

1993

The 1993 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 10 teams, was held from October 8 to November 4.

1994

The 1994 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 10 teams, was held from October 19 to October 30.

1995

The 1995 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 7 teams, was held from October 15 to October 30. Due to a tie for second place, the two second-place teams faced each other in a semifinal to decide the finalists. Masa Saito also replaced Riki Choshu in his team with Kensuke Sasaki after one match.

1996

The 1996 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 8 teams, was held from October 13 to November 1. It altered the traditional points system, rewarding just 1 point for a victory, and 0 for a draw or loss.

1997

The 1997 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 8 teams, was held from November 18 to December 8. It used the same points system as the previous year, awarding 1 point for a win and 0 for a loss or draw. Due to a tie for second place, the two second-place teams faced each other in a semifinal to decide the finalists.

1998

The 1998 Super Grade Tag League, featuring 7 teams, was held from November 16 to December 6. It returned to the traditional points system, awarding 2 points for a victory, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss. Due to a four-way tie for first place, the four teams were paired in the semifinals, with the two winners facing off in the final. .

1999

The 1999 G1 Tag League, featuring 9 teams, was held from September 10 to September 23.

2000

The 2000 G1 Tag League, featuring 7 teams, was held from November 17 to November 30. It strayed slightly from the standard formula; as there was a four-way tie for first place, all four teams advanced to a small single-elimination tournament to decide the 2000 G1 Tag champions.

2001

The 2001 G1 Tag League, featuring 8 teams, was held from November 30 to December 11.

2003

The 2003 G1 Tag League, featuring 8 teams, was held from October 15 to October 30. The match between Mike Barton and Jim Steele and Hiroshi Tanahashi and Yutaka Yoshie did not have the usual 30-minute time limit as it was also for Tanahashi and Yoshie's IWGP World Tag Team Championship, giving it a 60-minute time limit.

2006

The 2006 G1 Tag League featured two blocks of five and ran from October 15 to November 6.

2007

The 2007 G1 Tag League was held from October 18, 2007 to November 2, 2007 over ten shows, featuring eight teams in one block. Due to a four-way tie for first place, a four-team semifinal was set up, with the matchups being randomly drawn. 1This was a handicap match, not involving Tomko due to scheduling conflicts.

2008

The 2008 G1 Tag League, featuring 12 teams in two blocks, will be held from October 18 to November 5.

2009

The 2009 G1 Tag League featured two blocks of five and ran from October 17 through November 1.

2010

The 2010 G1 Tag League featured two blocks of six and ran from October 22 through November 7.

2011

The 2011 G1 Tag League featured two blocks of six and ran from October 22 through November 6.

2012

The 2012 edition of the newly rebranded World Tag League took place from November 20 through December 2.

2013

The 2013 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 23 through December 8.

2014

The 2014 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 22 through December 7. Following his team's opening match in the tournament, Yoshitatsu was forced to pull out of the tournament with a neck injury, leading to him and Hiroshi Tanahashi forfeiting the rest of their matches.

2015

The 2015 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 21 through December 9. A.J. Styles was sidelined with a back injury following November 24, forcing him and Yujiro Takahashi to forfeit the rest of their matches.

2016

The 2016 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 18 through December 10.

2017

The 2017 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 18 through December 11. The tournament featured the NJPW debuts of Chuckie T., Jeff Cobb and Sami Callihan. The tournament featured a format change, where several top wrestlers, namely Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito, who already had matches booked for Wrestle Kingdom 12, were left out of the tournament.

2018

The 2018 tournament saw a change to a single block and a decrease in teams. From the previous year's 16, 14 teams were competing in the 2018 league.

2019

In 2019, the World Tag League sees 16 teams competing in a single block, with the first-placed team being declared the winner. The tournament winners advanced to an IWGP Tag Team Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 14.

2020

The 2020 World Tag League took place in tandem with the 2020 Best of the Super Juniors from November 15 to December 11. The World Tag League sees 10 teams competing in a single block, with the top two teams facing in the finals. The tournament winners advanced to an IWGP Tag Team Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 15.

2021

The 2021 World Tag League will take place in tandem with the 2021 Best of the Super Juniors from November 13 to December 15. The World Tag League sees 12 teams competing in a single block, with the top two teams facing in the finals. The tournament winners advance to an IWGP Tag Team Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 16.

2022

The 2022 World Tag League took place in tandem with the 2022 Super Junior Tag League from November 21 to December 14. The World Tag League sees 10 teams competing in a single block, with the top two teams facing in the finals. The tournament winners advance to an IWGP Tag Team Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 17. On December 2, it was announced that Chase Owens would be absent for the remainder of the tournament, following the passing of a family member, leading them to forfeit the remainder of their matches.

2023

The 2023 edition of the World Tag League took place from November 20 to December 10. The tournament returned to block format for the first time since 2017. It featured sixteen competing teams divided across two blocks. The first two placed teams of each block moved to the semifinals and the winners of those matches to the final. The League featured the debut of Mogul Embassy's Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona (collectively known as Gates of Agony), CMLL's Zandokan Jr., Atlantis Jr. and Soberano Jr., Alex Zayne, former Young Lions Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji, Ren Narita and Ryohei Oiwa, Guerrillas of Destiny's Hikuleo and El Phantasmo (at the time holders of the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship), Bullet Club's Rogue Army member Jack Bonza and Pro Wrestling Noah's Kaito Kiyomiya. The winning team advanced to an IWGP Tag Team Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 18. Since Bishamon were the reigning champions, as the winners of the Tag League they got the privilege to choose their challengers which they choose runner-ups Guerrillas of Destiny as their opponents with Guerrillas of Destiny's Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship also on the line.

2024

The 2024 edition of the World Tag League will take place from November 19 to December 8. It will feature sixteen competing teams divided across two blocks. The first two placed teams of each block move to the semifinals and the winners of those matches to the final. The League will feature the debut of Callum Newman, Hiromu Takahashi, Boltin Oleg, and Bullet Club Rogue Army members Stevie and Tome Filip (collectively known as The Natural Classics). The winning team will advance to an IWGP Tag Team Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 19.