World Tag League hits Nagano
The opening third of the tournament behind us, World Tag League heads to Nagano on November 22. Who will take control in the competitive middle phase of the league?
Main event: Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi) (2-1) vs Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (2-1)
Tag record: 1-0 G.o.D
A thrilling main event in Nagano will see the dominant team in 2020, Dangerous Tekkers, face the dominant team of the last half decade in Guerrillas of Destiny. In last year’s World Tag League, it was G.o.D out on top, but this was at the start of a campaign that saw Taichi and ZSJ really come together through the league, eventually rounding out the 2019 campaign with six consecutive wins. Now, Dangerous Tekkers head to Nagano having faced their first loss of the league against Shingo and SANADA, while G.o.D started their own campaigns with a loss to FinJuice before recovering to two wins in a row. The momentum appears to be on G.o.D’s side, but can they get two more points tonight?
5th Match: FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) (2-1) vs THE EMPIRE (Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb) (2-1)
FinJuice and THE EMPIRE’s clash in the semi-final match is one to keep an eye on for several reasons, not least of which are the interactions between Jeff Cobb and his opponents. Cobb’s move to NJPW’s newest faction will be a greater shock to Finlay and Juice than anyone else, the former tag champions having travelled the roads and teamed with the Olympian on several occasions in the past. Emotions, or lack thereof may be the key to victory for one of these teams tonight.
4th Match: CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) (2-1) vs BULLET CLUB (EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi) (2-1)
EVIL rarely comes to the ring in a good mood, but he will be in a particularly mean spirited one tonight. Not only did Thursday in Korakuen see he and Yujiro’s first loss of the league after Loa’s OJK forced a Yujiro submission, but he will also be nose to nose with Toru Yano for the first time since he lost to the Master YouTuber/Producer/Chef/Cookbook Author/Sightseeing Ambassador in Korakuen during the G1 Climax. Yujiro Takahashi also ate a fall during the G1 at the hands of Tomohiro Ishii, making this match a tough one for the BULLET CLUB side on paper. With an extremely deep playbook of sneaky tactics on both sides of this match, who will come out on top?
3rd Match: HenarACE (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare) (0-3) vs CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) (1-2)
Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI meet HenarACE in the third match of the night, with a lot of similarities on paper between two of its players. Much like YOSHI-HASHI in prior years, Toa Henare has shown tremendous heart but hasn’t yet gotten big results, and nowhere has that been more evident than in World Tag League to date. A tough series of matchups for he and Tanahashi has seen Henare in awesome form, but the result is still a scoreline that reads zero. For YOSHI-HASHI, it was a similar story until his first championship win earlier this autumn turned everything around for the Headhunter. HenarACE seek to turn their own fortunes around against the CHAOS side tonight.
2nd Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Shingo Takagi & SANADA) (2-1) vs BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens) (0-3)
Tournament action kicks off with Shingo Takagi and SANADA, looking to build on their momentum after beating tag champions Dangerous Tekkers Thursday, facing Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens, looking to build on, well, anything, a tough loss to Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan leaving them winless after three matches. Can the BULLET CLUB side finally get on the board, or will Shingo and SANADA forge ahead?
1st Match: Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs Yuji Nagata & Yota Tsuji
Kicking things off, it’s Yota Tsuji teaming with Yuji Nagata once again against Satoshi Kojima and Tomoaki Honma. Thursday in Korakuen, Tsuji was left reeling by a Kojima lariat. Will things be different tonight?
