NJPW’s Guerillas of Destiny Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa are set to make their Impact Wrestling debut.
Impact announced today that Tonga and Loa will be part of the January 21 and January 22 television tapings in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
GOD’s announcement comes on the heels of word that fellow NJPW and Bullet Club member Jay White will be returning to Impact at the same tapings. Some sort of Bullet Club faction war has been teased at different times on social media between GOD, White, and former Bullet Club members Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows.
Tonga and Loa are seven-time IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions in NJPW, former ROH World Tag Team Champions, and have held the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship on four separate occasions with different members of Bullet Club. They won NJPW’s most prestigious tag team tournament, World Tag League, in 2020.
GOD come from wrestling royalty, as they are the sons of former WWF and WCW talent King Haku.
Yuji Nagata and The Guerillas of Destiny made surprise appearances at tonight’s NJPW Resurgence event in Los Angeles.
Nagata appeared as Jon Moxley’s mystery partner against Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson. Nagata ultimately ate the pin in the match after a Good Brothers Magic Killer.
Nagata and Moxley had previously faced off on the May 12, 2021 edition of AEW Dynamite, a match that Moxley won.
Following the match, Gallows and Anderson cut a promo. They were still speaking when the microphone was cut off. Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa of G.O.D. appeared and made their way to the ring to confront Gallows and Anderson. There was no physicality in the angle, as the two teams simply stared at each other before The Good Brothers left the ring.
Tonga and Loa are current members of Bullet Club, while Gallows and Anderson were members of the faction during their first NJPW run. Since returning to the promotion earlier this year, their status with the group has been unclear.
The Guerillas of Destiny are once again the IWGP Tag Team champions.
GoD regained the titles for a seventh time tonight, defeating Dangerous Tekkers, Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi. The finish of the match had Tama Tonga strike Taichi with his own fingers of doom glove. Tanga Loa then pinned Taichi with his sitout piledriver, giving their team the win.
Taichi and Sabre held the titles for 176 days, defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi at Dominion on July 12. With their seventh title win, GoD have now surpassed Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) for the most IWGP Tag Team title reigns as a team in history.
GoD received a title match after winning the 2020 World Tag League, defeating Juice Robinson and David Finlay in the finals. It was the first time they had won the World Tag League after appearing in the finals for the last four years.
More matches have been announced for both nights of Wrestle Kingdom 15.
Following the events of the Best of the Super Junior/World Tag League finals, Hiroshi Tanahashi will now face Great-O-Khan in a special singles match on January 4. Khan destroyed both Henare and Tanahashi following a tag team match, with O-Khan focusing on Tanahashi’s knee.
World Tag League winners Tama Tonga and Tanga Loga, the Guerillas of Destiny, will face Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP Tag Team titles.
After he had won the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, Hiromu Takahashi challenged the winner of the following day’s Super J-Cup to a match. El Phantasmo defeated ACH to win the Super J-Cup back-to-back and accepted Takahashi’s challenge for January 4. Taiji Ishimori will be defending the IWGP Jr. title on January 5 against the winner.
SANADA and EVIL, meanwhile, will face each other on January 5. SANADA wildly attacked EVIL after Dick Togo choked out SANADA at ringside. The two ended up fighting all the way backstage.
Shingo Takagi and Jeff Cobb will meet for the NEVER title on January 5. Cobb pinned Shingo during the World Tag League, eliminating Shingo and SANADA from the tournament. Cobb attacked Shingo during the Budokan Hall finals show and held the NEVER title up high, indicating he was next for a title match.
Here is what is currently announced for both Wrestle Kingdom cards, which will take place on January 4 and 5 at the Tokyo Dome:
January 4:
Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles
Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan
Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Guerillas of Destiny for the IWGP Tag Team titles
Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo
January 5:
Winner of Naito-Ibushi vs. Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles
SANADA vs. EVIL
Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb for the NEVER Openweight title
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hiromu-ELP winner for the IWGP Jr. title
The winners for both the World Tag League and the Best of the Super Juniors have been decided.
Hiromu Takahashi has won the Best of the Super Juniors tournament for the second time, defeating El Desperado in the tournament finals. It was a fierce back and forth match; at one point, Desperado’s mask had been ripped so much that he took it off and continued fighting. But after two time bombs, Hiromu pinned Desperado to win the tournament.
After the match, Hiromu praised Desperado, saying there was plenty more still to come. He told Desperado that he won this time, but he will see him again.
Hiromu said that before he faces Ishimori, there is something that he needs to do. He says he wants the winner of the Super J Cup tournament that takes place this weekend.
He thanked the fans, saying he loves the Jr. heavyweight division and NJPW.
In the semi-main event, The Guerillas of Destiny defeated FinJuice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay) thanks to interference from both Jado and KENTA. Jado, who was repeatedly ejected from the arena only to return anyway, distracted the referee long enough to allow KENTA to come into the ring and strike Juice Robinson with his US title contract briefcase. This allowed Tanga Loa to pin Robinson following an assisted powerbomb off the top rope.
This marks the first time the team has won the trophies. Previously, they made it to the finals in 2016, 17, and 18, but lost all three times.
The Best of the Super Juniors and World Tag League finals have been set.
Hiromu Takahashi and El Desperado will meet in the Best of the Super Juniors 27 finals, both reaching 14 points. Jr. championTaiji Ishimori also finished with 14 points. Takahashi and Desperado both have wins over Ishimori, however, which eliminates him from the tournament.
After Desperado defeated BUSHI to advance to the finals, Takahashi came out and confronted Desperado as the two had a staredown.
Meanwhile, Juice Robinson and David Finlay will meet the Guerillas of Destiny in the World Tag League finals. After Finlay & Robinson defeated Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI to advance, the Guerillas of Destiny jumped Finlay and Robinson before they could cut a celebratory promo. Jado called GoD the leaders of the tournament and that they would be the winners come Friday.
Robinson & Finlay and GoD both finished with 12 points. Champions Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. also had 12 points, but they lost to both teams.
This would be the second time that Robinson and Finlay have reached the finals, winning the tournament last year over EVIL and SANADA. They went on to defeat the Guerillas of Destiny at Wrestle Kingdom 14 for the IWGP Tag Team titles.
The finals for both tournaments will take place on December 11 at Budokan Hall. Here are the final scores for both tournaments:
The entrants for this year’s NJPW World Tag League have been announced.
Several people will be making their return to the company after being gone due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Guerillas of Destiny, Toa Henare, and Bad Luck Fale will all be making their return on this tour.
It was announced that The Great O-Khan will team with a mystery partner, or “X”. It wasn’t made clear who that would be. O-Khan is part of The Empire stable along with Will Ospreay and Bea Preistley.
One notable team that will not be on the tour is TenKoji, Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan. This would be the first time since 2011 that the team won’t be competing in the tournament.
Here is the full list of participants for this year’s tournament. Opening day starts on November 15 in Aichi and will run through December 11 in the Nippon Budokan:
Tonight’s episode of NJPW Strong was titled “Road to Lion’s Break Crown,” a reference to the tournament the company has planned for next week.
Danny Limelight, Clark Connors, Logan Riegel & Adrian Quest defeated The DKC, Blake Christian, Jordan Clearwater & Barrett Brown
All-action opener. This was basically a preview of the matches we will see next week on Lion’s Break Crown. Even though these are all considered to be Young Lions, each member of the match seems to have at least a few years of experience, and come off as more professional and more seasoned than a lot of other rookies you see in the United States scene at the moment.
Adrian Quest and Blake Christian were in first for their teams. Christian is extremely athletic and it shows.
Connors and Jordan Clearwater were in next. Connors was aggressive with his mat wrestling, even cradling Clearwater for a nearfall early.
Later, when the DKC put Riegel in an armbar, all of the members of the match jumped into the ring and started going at it. Quick, wild brawl for a few seconds.
Connors put Clearwater in a Boston crab, but the DKC came in to break it up. Danny Limelight came in next. Barrett Brown was next with a tope of his own, and finally Blake Christian with the flip dive.
Back inside the ring, Logan Riegel made a blind tag to Brown, putting himself in the match and putting away Jordan Clearwater with a jumping spike DDT for the win.
All eight guys got into it with each other after the match, hyping up next week’s tournament.
PJ Black and Rocky Romero defeated Fred Rosser and Misterioso
Fine match. Rosser looked huge next to Romero inside the ring. Romero tried knocking Rosser off his feet with shoulder blocks but Rosser wouldn’t budge.
Rosser and PJ Black went at it next, and this is where Misterioso entered the match. He and Black double-teamed Black on and off for a while.
When Misterioso went for a moonsault, Black put his feet up and Misterioso landed face-first into them. Black next tagged out to Romero, who used his Forever Clotheslines on both Rosser and Misterioso. Black later landed a diving crossbody block for two.
Misterioso and Rosser used a 2nd-rope superplex on Black, though he recovered quickly, which led to Romero taking Rosser out on the floor with a pescado. Black went on to pin Misterioso after the Placebo Effect (springboard 450 splash) to pick up the win for his team.
Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa) defeated ACH and Alex Zayne
ACH and Zayne were on offense for the early part of this. ACH has looked awesome on these recent episodes of NJPW Strong. He and Zayne double-teamed Guerillas of Destiny early on, but the Bullet Club brothers turned the tables not long after and went to work on ACH for a while. G.O.D slowed the pace and worked over ACH for a long while, until ACH finally rolled to his corner and tagged in Alex Zayne, who cleaned house. He’s flashy and uses innovative moves, but it’s clear he still needs those reps. That said, this was hands-down the best match I’ve seen him in ever.
Zayne used a super Frankensteiner on Loa for a very close two-count, but a minute or so later, Loa recovered and spiked Zayne with Apesh*t to put him away and nab another win. This was really good for what it was. This was textbook heel tag team work from G.O.D, and both ACH and Zayne looked better than ever.
Final thoughts:
Another solid one in the can for NJPW Strong this week, though I anticipate next week’s Lion’s Break Crown tournament to be very interesting. All eight wrestlers looked hungry and aggressive in their tag match tonight, and I’m hoping the vibe will carry over into next week’s episode of NJPW Strong, when all eight face off in singles matches in night one of the Lions Break Crown tournament.
The roster for this year’s World Tag League has been revealed.
There’s no real surprises in this year’s line up. The current IWGP Tag Team champions Guerillas of Destiny are in, as well as last year’s winners EVIL and SANADA.
Coming in for the tour are Colt Cabana (who will team with Toru Yano) and El Terrible (Shingo Takagi). Mikey Nicholls & Jeff Cobb will also be coming in as a tag team. This year’s format will be the same as last year’s tournament, consisting of a single block where the two teams with the most points will meet in the finals.
Some of New Japan’s older roster members who don’t appear on every tour will also be a part of the tournament. That includes teams like Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata and Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima.
Full lineups of each show can be found on New Japan’s website. The tournament will start on November 16 in Kanagawa and end on December 8 in Hiroshima.
The tag team titles are on the line at NJPW Wrestling Hi no Kuni this morning at the Grand Messe in Kumamoto,
Current champions Tanga Loa and Tama Tonga will defend tonight against the team of Toru Yano and Togi Makabe. It was at Madison Square Garden where Yano stole the IWGP titles from the Guerillas of Destiny and has spent most of this tour keeping them from GoD’s grasp. This may the day where GoD will finally gain them back.
In the main event, Jay White will face Hirooki Goto in a special singles match. The two have been on opposite sides most of the tour, taunting one another prior to their bout. White even scored a pinfall victory over Goto after interference by Gedo.
Tag matches fill out the rest of tonight’s card, with Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Kota Ibushi and Roppongi 3K squaring off against their Wrestling Dontaku rivals SANADA, EVIL, Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi.
Join us for live coverage starting at 2:00 a.m. EST.
Narita’s right shoulder is still taped up, and he appears to be limited by injury. Rather than strikes, suplexes and crabs, these openers have involved a lot more working holds since Narita got hurt, and the match quality has suffered.
Honma and Henare traded chops in slow motion. The pace picked up after Uemura and Umino tagged in. Uemura hit a dropkick on Umino, and Tsuji hit a powerslam. Uemura used a crab on Umino, but Narita broke up the hold.
Umino used a spinebuster into a cover, but Uemura kicked out. Umino maintained control over Uemura’s legs, and transitioned to a full crab. That was a cool spot. Uemura reached the ropes.
Umino went for a fisherman buster, but Uemura used a cradle for a nearfall. Umino hit a dropkick, then hit the fisherman buster for the pin.
While the finish was going on, Honma and Tsuji fought on the floor, and Honma ended up bleeding from the mouth.
JUSHIN LIGER, JEFF COBB, RYUSUKE TAGUCHI, YOSHI-HASHI & TIGER MASK DEFEATED MINORU SUZUKI, TAICHI, EL DESPERADO, YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & TAKA MICHINOKU
This was chaotic. They continue to build towards Cobb vs. Taichi and Liger vs. Suzuki.
Suzuki-gun attacked before the bell. Taguchi’s team recovered well and too the early advantage. Suzuki-gun reclaimed the edge, and went 5-on-1 against Taguchi. Taguchi was able to tag Liger, and Liger and Suzuki faced off.
Liger hit a shotei. Suzuki used a PK, and got a nearfall. They exchanged palm strikes to the chest. Suzuki dropped Liger with a forearm, then used a rear naked choke. He went for a Gotch piledriver, but Liger powered out. Suzuki hit a knee, into a double down.
Cobb and Taichi tagged in. Cobb hit a clothesline and a standing moonsault. Kanemaru and Desperado jumped in, but Cobb hit both with a double back suplex. Taichi used the distraction to recover, and used a buzzsaw kick for a two count.
TAKA tagged in, and cleared the apron. Suzuki hit Cobb with a PK, and TAKA hit a knee for a nearfall. The match broke down, leaving Cobb and TAKA the legal men. Cobb hit Tour of the Islands on TAKA and got the pin.
DRAGON LEE & WILL OSPREAY DEFEATED TAIJI ISHIMORI & HIKULEO
A short match, but quite good for what it was.
Ospreay stood on Lee’s back and hit a corkscrew moonsault on Hikuleo. Hikuleo recovered and hit some suplexes and power moves on Ospreay. Ospreay hit a backflip kick, and both tagged out.
Lee and Ospreay did a series of teases and reversals. Both missed with reverse ranas, and Lee hit a vertical suplex. Ishimori tagged out. Hikuleo hit a series of chops. Lee hit a jumping knee strike. Hikuleo no-sold, and hit a vertical suplex.
Ospreay hit Pip Pip Cheerio, and picked up a nearfall. He followed with a dropkick in the corner, and teased the Storm Breaker, but Ishimori cut him off. Ishimori and Hikuleo isolated Ospreay. Hikuleo used a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall.
Lee used a rana to send Ishimori outside, then hit a dive to the floor. Inside, Hikuleo hit a lariat for a close nearfall. Ospreay recovered, hit a hook kick, a Robinson Special, and used the Oscutter to get the victory.
BAD LUCK FALE DEFEATED MIKEY NICHOLLS
I’m a little bit surprised by the result here. They have protected Nicholls to a certain degree since his debut, but I guess that’s over now.
They brawled to the floor right away. Fale sent Nicholls over the barricade, and focused his attack on Nicholls’s right arm. Nicholls wears a pad on that arm, and he uses it to hit his sliding lariat. They did a long countout tease, but Nicholls beat the count back inside.
Fale stomped and splashed the right arm. Nicholls blocked a Grenade, then hit a lariat. He followed with a sliding lariat for a nearfall, as he just stopped selling the right arm. Nicholls went for a Mikey Bomb. Fale fought him off.
Fale hit a Samoan drop, then hit The Grenade and got the pin.
JUICE ROBINSON DEFEATED CHASE OWENS
This was okay, but slow, and it didn’t have a lot of heat. It was the weakest match of their recent trilogy.
They started by trading holds. Owens sent Juice to the floor, then hit a dropkick through the ropes. They exchanged chops, then traded right hands. Juice hit a leg lariat, then a sit-out lariat. Juice went to the top rope, and hit a crossbody for a two count.
Juice went for Pulp Friction, but Owens turned it into a cradle for a two count. Juice went for it again, but Owens escaped. Owens hit a knee strike and went for the package piledriver, but Juice turned it into a jackknife cover for a nearfall.
Owens hit a big lariat. Juice hit the Left Hand of God, then hit Pulp Friction for the pin.
TETSUYA NAITO, SHINGO TAKAGI, BUSHI, EVIL & SANADA DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA, SHO, YOH, KOTA IBUSHI & TOMOHIRO ISHII
The 10-man tags between these teams on this tour have been outstanding. I know they like to go with title matches on top whenever they can, but I don’t understand why Jay White and Hirooki Goto are going on last tonight. No one can follow this match.
Okada and SANADA began. Okada broke cleanly on the ropes, but SANADA used the clean break to attempt a paradise lock. Okada didn’t allow the hold to be applied, and used a submission hold of his own.
The action spilled to the floor, where LIJ gained the early advantage. Naito sent Ibushi chest-first into the barricade. Back inside, LIJ went 5-on-1 against YOH. Naito hit the combinacion de cabron, then used a submission hold. SHO broke it up.
BUSHI jumped in and sent SHO back to the floor, and LIJ continued working on YOH. YOH made a comeback, hitting BUSHI and Shingo with dragon screws. Ibushi got a tag and ran wild. He hit a snap rana, a double backflip kick, and hit EVIL with a standing moonsault for a nearfall.
Ishii tagged in and went toe-to-toe with EVIL. They traded clotheslines and shoulder blocks, with neither man budging. Ishii finally dropped EVIL with a clothesline. EVIL popped right up. EVIL went for a fisherman buster, while Ishii tried to hit a brainbuster. The sequence ended with EVIL hitting a thrust kick, followed by a fisherman buster.
Okada and SANADA got tags. Okada hit a running back elbow for a knockdown. He followed with an air raid crash. The other eight men fought on the floor. Okada went up top and hit an elbow drop. He hit the Rainmaker pose.
SANADA ducked a Rainmaker. Okada hit a dropkick. SANADA ducked another Rainmaker attempt, and used an O’Connor roll to set up Skull End. SANADA gave up the hold and went for a moonsault, but Okada hit the Woo dropkick.
Okada tagged SHO in. SHO hit a spear. He teased a deadlift German, and finally got it after a long struggle. SHO went for Shock Arrow, but Shingo jumped in for the save. Shingo and SHO traded lariats, and both hit a Pumping Bomber. SANADA recovered and hit SHO with a back suplex for a nearfall.
They did a tremendous sequence where everyone hit a big move. With the ring cleared, SANADA used Skull End on SHO for the submission victory.
IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA DEFEATED TOGI MAKABE & TORU YANO TO RETAIN THE TITLES (14:51)
Bullet Club used a jumpstart, but it backfired. Yano untied a turnbuckle pad, while Makabe hit a double clothesline. The fight went to the floor, where both teams had mixed results. Yano sent Loa into a row of chairs, while Tonga sent Makabe into the barricade.
Back inside, Loa drove Yano into the exposed buckle. Bullet Club gained the advantage, and sent both Makabe and Yano into the barricade. Back inside, Loa worked on Yano. He hit a legdrop for a two count.
Tonga got a tag and saw his first legal action of the match. The GOD hit a double suplex on Yano. They used a series of quick tags. Loa made a pinfall attempt, but Yano got a foot on the ropes, forcing a break.
GOD continued working Yano over, isolating him in their corner. Tonga sent Yano into the exposed buckle, and picked up a two count. Yano used a handful of hair to take Loa down, and tagged Makabe.
Makabe hit Tonga with a lariat, and he rolled outside. Makabe hit ten punches in the corner on Loa, then sent him to a knee with a lariat. Loa ducked another lariat and hit a German, then tagged Tonga. GOD hit Makabe with a double dropkick for a nearfall. Makabe hit a clothesline to Tonga, then tagged Yano.
Yano used a fireman’s carry and a belly-to-belly. He hit the ropes, but Loa tripped him from the floor. Tonga hit the ropes, but Makabe tripped him from the floor. Yano hit an inverted atomic drop, and used a slingshot to send Tonga into the exposed buckle.
Makabe hit the ropes, right into a kendo stick shot from Jado. GOD hit Guerrilla Warfare on Makabe, but he kicked out. Loa hit a diving headbutt, and Tonga hit a frog splash. Tonga made a cover, and got a two count.
The match broke down, and all four men jumped in. Tonga took the referee. Loa teased using Makabe’s chain as a weapon, but Yano nailed him with a low blow. The ref took a bump. Makabe used his chain and hit Tonga with it for a nearfall.
Makabe hit the King Kong Kneedrop, but Loa broke up his pinfall attempt. Jado jumped on the apron. Tonga used the distraction to roll up Makabe, and grabbed the pin with a handful of tights.
JAY WHITE DEFEATED HIROOKI GOTO (22:59)
A good main event. They built the match well, starting slowly, and really picking up the pace near the finish. White cut a promo after the match, promising to go after the winner of Okada vs. SANADA to get the IWGP title back.
White did a lot of stalling early. He rolled outside immediately. They locked up, and White begged off again. White rolled outside a third time. Goto finally got his hands on White, and hit a shoulder block. He hit a second, and White rolled outside again.
Goto followed White to the floor, and sent him into the barricade. Gedo cut Goto off, and White hit him with a Saito suplex on the floor. White sent Goto into the barricade and the ring frame. Back inside, referee Red Shoes refused to count due to White’s nefarious tactics.
White used a crab. Goto reached the ropes. White used a slingshot to send Goto’s neck into the bottom rope. White used some chops, and hit a back elbow for a two count. White used a chinlock. Goto fired back with palm strikes to the chest, and used a snap suplex.
White ducked a charge into the corner, and hit another Saito suplex. Goto ducked a clothesline and hit a mid kick. White escaped an ushigoroshi attempt, but ate another mid kick. Goto hit the ropes, but Gedo tripped him. White used the distraction to hit a big uranage.
After a double down, White hit an uppercut and a DVD for a two count. White hit a flatliner and a deadlift German for another nearfall. White caught a mid kick, and sent Goto to the floor with a suplex over the top rope.
White hit a Kiwi Krusher for a two count. White blasted Goto with knee strikes to the head and neck area. Goto recovered and hit a lariat. They got to their knees, and exchanged forearm strikes. Back on their feet, they traded again, and Goto dropped White.
After a great series of misdirection spots, Goto hit a big clothesline. Goto connected with a wheel kick in the corner, and hit an elevated neckbreaker. He made a cover, but White kicked out. Goto went to the top rope, but White cut him off. They exchanged strikes on the top rope. Goto hit a headbutt, then a code red off the top for a nearfall.
Gedo jumped on the apron for a distraction. White swung a chair, but Goto ducked it. Goto hit Gedo with an ushigoroshi, then hit one on White. Goto hit a mid kick. He went for a GTR, but White blocked the first attempt. Goto hit an inverted GTR for a two count.
Goto went for another GTR, but White escaped. White went for a Blade Runner. They did a series of GTR and Blade Runner reversals. White hit two half-and-half suplexes, then hit the Blade Runner for the pin.
NJPW returns to Korakuen Hall this morning for more World Tag League action.
The main event will be much like yesterday morning’s tag team match, but it will now be an eight man tag team match. Rocky Romero joins Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada and KUSHIDA while Gedo joins Jay White, Bad Luck Fale and Taiji Ishimori.
More tag team action is set for tonight. Togi Makabe & Toa Henare vs. Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino, Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Best Friends, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay, Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka, Killer Elite Squad vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi, Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano and SANADA & EVIlL versus Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa will all take place tonight.
Current standings show EVIL & SANADA just slightly ahead of their competition. But Ishii & Yano, Guerillas of Destiny and Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi are not too far behind, and anything can change during the next week.
Join us for live coverage starting at 4:30 a.m. EDT.
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World Tag League: Togi Makabe & Toa Henare defeated Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino
Yoshida and Henare worked together for a bit; Yoshida showed great fire. Makabe was in there, but a lot of this was Henare. Umino came in and got the heat with some good near falls. Of course, in the end, Henare won with the Samoan Drop. Patterned, but pretty good.
World Tag League: Best Friends defeated Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
Solid stuff to start things out with. Nakanishi was in working mode, launching off with a plancha that…well, didn’t look good at all, but A for effort. He did something that vaguely looked like brawling with Beretta near the entrance as Chuckie T and Nagata went after it. Chuckie cut off Nagata with a knee to the face, then grabbed his leg and rolled him up out of nowhere for the win.
This was fine, a different kind of match up that wasn’t too offensive when Nakanishi wasn’t in there.
World Tag League: Juice Robinson & David Finlay defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
Juice was wearing gear that resembled 80’s Randy Savage, complete with the headband, robe and glasses.
Juice and Finlay controlled early but Juice then accidently sledged Finlay. Despite that, he remained in control. Kojima came in and did his number, but got cut off. Kojima came back after grabbing Juice from the top rope and landing the Koji Cutter.
Kojima motioned for the lariat but Juice ducked and went for the Pulp Friction. Kojima blocked it, but walked into a fist from Juice and a stunner from Finlay. Juice then connected with the Pulp Friction for the win. Good match.
World Tag League: Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka defeated Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi
Since this was a Suzuki-gun match, naturally this wound up as a brawl around the arena. Suzuki took care of Yujiro while Iizuka went after Hangman Page. Suzuki whacked Yujiro with the ring bell hammer.
Iizuka was eventually unleashed, muzzle off, and attacked both Yujiro and Page by biting them. Page made a comeback, at one point dropkicking Iizuka and landing a moonsault on Suzuki at the same time.
Yujiro was in control as Page hit the slingshot lariat on Suzuki as an assist. He and Iizuka brawled on the outside as Yujiro tried for the pimp juice DDT. Suzuki countered and instead hit the Gotch piledriver for the win. It was fine, just kind of there for the most part.
World Tag League: Killer Elite Squad defeated Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
Taka cut a promo before the match saying it would be a hard match to predict, but anyone who faces Zack will just tap out. He also said in English “let’s have a clean fight.”
Taichi stalled a lot in the beginning. He wanted a handshake. He tried to jump Archer when he accepted the handshake, but it didn’t work in his favor. They chased one another around the arena until both Taichi and Archer made it at 19.
Archer chased Taichi to the back as Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Sabre went at it. They chained wrestled before Sabre focused on the knees. DBS had the advantage when Archer came back in carrying Taichi.
Both KES worked on Sabre as he avoided offense from DBS. Taichi was tagged in as he worked on Archer. He went for the superkick, but Archer countered with the pounce. He and DBS then hit the killer bomb for the win. Another just okay match, though DBS/Sabre chain wrestling was cool while it lasted.
Everyone shook hands after the match.
World Tag League: Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano defeated Michael Elgin and Jeff Cobb
This got pretty heated as time went on. Yano did his comedy early. Cobb and Yano were going at it. Cobb hit the standing moonsault but Yano countered with a belly to belly suplex. Cobb fired back when Ishii entered, hitting a spinning slide slam. Ishii and Elgin then battled one another, with Ishii absorbing a lariat.
Elgin actually landed a Chaos Theory suplex then Germaned him after. Both he and Cobb hit dual German suplexes. Yano managed to spear Cobb and ow blow Elgin. Ishii hit a lariat, but Cobb broke it up. Together, Elgin and Cobb double teamed Ishii
Elgin hit the Elgin bomb, but Ishii kicked out. The two brawled, Elgin connecting with a roaring elbow. Ishii came back with a lariat but Elgin kicked out. Ishii finally connected with the brainbuster for the win. Damn, this turned into an amazing match toward the end. Really worth watching if you’re picking and selecting matches to watch during this tour.
World Tag League: Guerillas of Destiny defeated EVIL & SANADA
SANADA has grown a beard during this tour. It’s the weirdest look.
After some back and forth early (including SANADA putting Tonga in the Paradise Lock), everyone brawled into the crowd. SANADA manages to make it to the ring by 19. Tonga teases the paradise lock a few times, but prefers to stomp on SANADA instead.
SANADA tries to tag EVIL in, but Loa keeps him away. He finally manages to break free, but Tonga takes EVIL off the apron. Finally he tags in, but GoD keep at him, working him over as well. After a brief back and forth, EVIL takes out Tonga with a lariat.
SANADA is tagged in again as he runs wild, even taking out Jado with a plancha.Everyone winds up in the ring. SANADA goes for a moonsault on Loa but messes up his foot on landing. The referee is bumped as Jado gets involved. Loa charges, but hits Jado instead. Loa kicks out of a rollup, sending SANADA into the ropes and also into a cane shot by Jado.
GoD hit the Guerrilla Warfare on EVIL, then take SANADA to the top rope. Loa launches off the middle rope with a powerbomb and pins SANADA for the win. Good stuff overall, basic match but the crowd was good.
Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori and Gedo defeated Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA and Rocky Romero
Okada is in and takes out Ishimori, then hones in on Gedo, who is quickly laid out with a DDT. White comes and and plants Okada with a side suplex then tags himself in to continue his work. KUSHIDA and Ishimori are tagged in, having some great back and forth with one another.
Okada and Tanahashi work together, taking out White with a double suplex and send Fale to the floor with a double clothesline. Rocky and Ishimori are in as Ishimori looks to finish. He goes for a lifting DDT into a lungblower but KUSHIDA stops it. Rocky fights back, but then falls to Ishimori’s finish, scoring the win for the Bullet Club. Good, fast-paced main event.
White tries to attack Okada after the match but Okada gets the better of him until Fale splashes him in the corner. White lays out Okada with the bladerunner then bails as the rest of his teammates make the save. White eventually makes the rest of the team leave so the Bullet Club can post in the ring.
White cuts a promo saying that the “dream team” of Okada and Tanahashi are now 0-2. But no worries, he is here to save the day. They can’t beat him, they can’t beat us, and this is the cutthroat era of the Bullet Club. They will breathe with the Switchblade in his new era.
Updated Standings:
EVIL & SANADA (6-2) — 12 points
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano (6-2) — 12 points
Guerrillas of Destiny (6-2) — 12 points
Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi (5-3) — 10 points
Killer Elite Squad (5-3) — 10 points
Best Friends (5-3) — 10 points
Juice Robinson & David Finlay (5-3) — 10 points
Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb (4-4) — 8 points
Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka (4-4) — 8 points
Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi (3-5) — 6 points
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (3-5) — 6 points
