EVIL and SANADA have won the World Tag League for the second year in a row.
The duo managed to defeat Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa, the Guerrillas of Destiny, after EVIL landed the Darkness Falls on Tama Tonga, with SANADA finishing things off with the moonsault. This likely means that they will face the Guerrillas of Destiny, the IWGP tag team champions, at Wrestle Kingdom 13 for the titles.
But right after they won, The Young Bucks then came out in a surprise. They said that EVIL and SANADA are the best tag team in the tournament, but they are the best in the world. Matt mentioned they never got the rematch from when the Guerrillas of Destiny defeated them back at Fighting Spirit Unleashed. He suggested that they get the next title shot.
After everyone had left, EVIL mentioned that they are willing to take on both at the same time, leaving the door open for a possible triple threat match at Wrestle Kingdom.
Iwate is home to this year’s World Tag League Finals.
Guerrillas of Destiny and the team of EVIL and SANADA will battle tonight in the main event, both getting to 20 points and advancing to the finals. If EVIL and SANADA manage to defeat Guerrillas of Destiny, they’re practically a lock to challenge the champions at Wrestle Kingdom 13. If the champions themselves win, which doesn’t happen often, they will be able to name their future challengers.
Meanwhile, Hirooki Goto and Kota Ibushi will battle for the NEVER title. Goto threw the challenge to Kota Ibushi and after initially refusing the match, eventually accepted.
But what is more interesting is that there will be a number one contender’s match that will take place tonight, with the winner getting a title shot likely at Wrestle Kingdom 13. The former champion, Taichi, will challenge Will Ospreay, who has been out of action since October 14 after injuring his ribs in a match.
The Young Bucks also return to New Japan tonight, They will team up with Marty Scurll and Kenny Omega to take on Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, David Finlay and Ryusuke Taguchi.
Join us for live coverage starting at 1 a.m. Eastern time. Kevin Kelly and Excalibur will be on commentary.
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SATOSHI KOJIMA, HIROYOSHI TENZAN, YUJI NAGATA & MANABU NAKANISHI DEFEATED TOGI MAKABE, TOA HENARE, AYATO YOSHIDA & SHOTA UMNO (8:27)
Standard opener, with all the veterans hitting their trademark stuff. Double lariat from Makabe. Mongolian chops from Tenzan. Diving tackle from Henare.
Kojima hit Yoshida with a DDT, machine gun chops, and a Koji cutter. Yoshida got a nearfall off a backslide, but Kojima nailed him with a lariat for the pin.
MINORU SUZUKI, TAKASHI IIZUKA, LANCE ARCHER & DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. DEFEATED BERETTA, CHUCKIE T, MICHAEL ELGIN & JEFF COBB BY DQ (10:12)
Suzuki-gun jumped before the bout. While six guys brawled outside, Smith and Elgin had a really nice exchange in the ring. Smith hit a knee strike and a kip-up. Smith hit a top rope superplex.
Cobb and Archer tagged in and exchanged blows. Cobb hit an Angle Slam into a double down, then Chuckie and Suzuki tagged in.
Chuckie traded strikes with Suzuki. Well, he tried to. Suzuki laid him out, then tagged Iizuka, and removed his muzzle. Chuckie hit soul food, then tagged Beretta.
Suzuki-gun cleared the apron, then assaulted Beretta 4-on-1. Elgin jumped in to break up a pinfall. Iizuka grabbed the iron glove, but Chuckie jumped in with a chair, went nuts, and attacked everyone, including his own teammates.
SHO, YOH & TOMOHIRO ISHII DEFEATED EL DESPERADO, YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & ZACK SABRE JR. (11:12)
Good match. This was a tease for Sabre and Ishii at the Tokyo Dome for the Rev Pro title.
Ishii and Sabre kicked thinigs off. Ishii trapped Sabre’s left arm, then tagged SHO. Sabre didn’t deal with Ishii’s grappling, but quickly reversed SHO’s attack, and tagged Desperado.
SHO and YOH hit some tandem offense on Desperado. SHO hit the ropes, but Kanemaru grabbed his legs from the outside and pulled him to the floor. Kanemaru hit a legdrop on SHO over the barricade. Suzuki-gun left all three members of CHAOS laying on the floor.
Back inside, Kanemaru worked over SHO with stomps. Kanemaru hit a DDT for a nearfall, then tagged Desperado. SHO hit a suplex, but Kanemaru jumped in for the double team. SHO hit a spear, but Sabre jumped in to cut him off.
SHO finally made a tag to YOH. YOH hit a back elbow on Desperado, and a dragon screw on Kanemaru. YOH hit a neckbreaker, then a low dropkick on Desperado for a nearfall.
Desperado hit a spinebuster into a double down, and Sabre and Ishii got tags. Ishii had a counter for all of Sabre’s offense, and hit him with a brainbuster. Sabre hit a northern lights suplex, sent him into the corner, then tagged out.
Suzuki-gun tripled up on Ishii. Kanemaru hit deep impact, but SHO made the save. SHO hit a lariat on Desperado. Sabre jumped in and beat up SHO, then went after Ishii.
Kanemaru tried to spit whiskey at Ishii, but Ishii ducked it. SHO and YOH hit stereo planchas to take out Sabre and Desperado. Ishii hit Kanemaru with a brainbuster, and got the pin.
Owens and BUSHI began, with Owens getting the best of the exchange. Owens hit a backbreaker. Yujiro and Naito got tags. BUSHI jumped in for an assist, and Naito hit a dropkick on Yujiro.
Shingo got a tag, and hit a shoulder block. LIJ tripled up on Yujiro. BUSHI choked him with his t-shirt. Shingo used a front facelock. Yujiro fired back with strikes, and hit an inverted DDT.
Page tagged in. He hit a springboard lariat on BUSHI, a pescado to Naito. He missed a buckshot lariat on Shingo, but hit a regular lariat. Shingo went for a release german, but Page landed on his feet. Page blocked one pumping bomber, but Shingo hit him with a second.
Owens and BUSHI tagged in. Naito jumped in for a double team, but Owens slammed BUSHI onto Naito with a uranage. Shingo broke up a package piledriver attempt. Naito hit a swinging DDT.
Owens blocked a destino, but Naito hit a flying forearm, then hit destino for the pin.
SWITCHBLADE JAY WHITE, BAD LUCK FALE & TAIJI ISHIMORI DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA, TORU YANO & KUSHIDA (11:01)
Good match, similar to all of the Okada tags on this tour, like a house show main event. The post-match was interesting, with Makabe making the save for CHAOS.
Okada and KUSHIDA cleared the ring of the Bullet Club at the opening bell. KUSHIDA hit a cartwheel dropkick. When the dust settled, KUSHIDA and Ishimori ended up the legal men. KUSHIDA worked over Ishimori’s left arm.
Ishimori came back with a seated senton on KUSHIDA, while White and Okada fought on the ramp. White applied a single-leg crab, leaving Okada on the ramp.
Back in the ring, the Bullet Club worked over KUSHIDA. They cut the ring in half and went to work in their corner. KUSHIDA made a comeback, and Ishimori and KUSHIDA tagged out to White and Okada.
White hit a suplex on Okada, right into the corner pad. White hit a Saito suplex, then tagged Fale. Okada hit Fale with a dragon screw, then tagged Yano. Yano untied a corner pad, and used it as a weapon on Fale. Fale whipped Yano into the exposed buckle.
Fale cleared the apron, then the Bullet Club went three on one against Yano. Fale hit a splash, but KUSHIDA broke up the pinfall.
The match broke down. Okada missed a dropkick, escaped a blade runner, then hit an air raid crash on White. Yano used a backslide for a nearfall, but Fale recovered, and hit Yano with a grenade for the pin.
After the match, Okada hit White with a dropkick, but White laid him out with a suplex, dropping him right on his head. Ishimori hit a bloody cross on KUSHIDA. Makabe ran in to make the save with a chain, and cleared the ring.
KENNY OMEGA, THE YOUNG BUCKS & MARTY SCURLL DEFEATED HIROSHI TANAHASHI, JUICE ROBINSON, DAVID FINLAY & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI (13:12)
A really good match. A nice mix of comedy and serious stuff with Tana and Omega teasing their title match.
Taguchi and Scurll started off with some comedy. Nick Jackson and Finlay tagged in. Juice jumped in for a double team, and they hit a double bulldog. Matt Jackson came in, but ate a double hip toss.
Taguchi’s team hit their clothesline train spot in the corner on Nick. They teased a quadruple dropkick, but Nick hung on to the top rope. Taguchi’s team went for stereo planchas, but they all missed, and The Elite took over the match.
Omega hit a kotaro krusher. The Bucks worked over Finlay with tandem offense. Scurll stomped on Finlay’s left arm. The Elite cut the ring in half and worked Finlay over in their corner. Finlay came back with a backbreaker over the knee on Omega, then tagged Tana.
Tana hit a dropkick to Omega, then a dragon screw. The Bucks hit Tana with stereo superkicks. Tana escaped a double enziguri, and The Bucks hit Omega. Tana blocked a v-trigger, but Omega hit a snap dragon suplex into a double down.
Juice hit everyone with a series of jabs. Scurll cut him off, but Taguchi jumped in and hit everyone with hip attacks. Juice hit a cannonball on Matt. Omega hit a rana on Taguchi. Tana hit Omega with slingblade, then hit a plancha. Scurll ran into a double flapjack. The Bucks hit a double dropkick. The Elite hit a four-way superkick on Taguchi, but Tana broke up the pinfall.
Tana ran into a v-trigger, and Taguchi ran into an indytaker for the pin.
NUMBER ONE CONTENDER MATCH FOR THE NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: WILL OSPREAY DEFEATED TAICHI (17:03)
The story here was Ospreay making his comeback after the rib injury. It was a slower match focused on Ospreay’s selling. His selling was excellent, but the people didn’t seem to be into the match until the last couple of minutes.
Taichi jumped Ospreay with his mic stand before the bell. Taichi stomped on Ospreay’s taped ribs. Ospreay hit a monkey flip, and Taichi rolled to the floor. Ospreay hit a springboard elbow off the barricade.
Ospreay hit a suicide dive, and the action spilled to the ramp. Back inside, Ospreay went for a springboard attack, but Taichi whipped the referee into the ropes, knocking Ospreay off. Taichi dropped Ospreay over the barricade.
Taichi ripped off Ospreay’s tape and used an abdominal stretch. Ospreay came back with a handspring kick, an enziguri, a 619, and a springboard forearm for a two count.
Ospreay teased a storm breaker, but his ribs gave way, and he couldn’t lift Taichi. Taichi hit a pair of kicks, dropping Ospreay. They exchanged strikes, and Taichi dropped Ospreay with a mid kick. Ospreay caught another kick, but Taichi hit a buzzsaw kick for a nearfall.
Taichi took his pants off. Ospreay hit a side suplex, then went to the top. Opsreay went for a shooting star, but Taichi got his knees up, then used a Gedo clutch for a nearfall.
Taichi hit an axe bomber for a nearfall. Taichi went for a last ride, but Ospreay escaped. He went for an Oscutter, but Taichi blocked. Ospreay hit the Robinson special, then went for another Oscutter, but Taichi turned it into a high angle suplex. Taichi hit a last ride for a nearfall, as the crowd started getting into the match.
Ospreay hit a Canadian destroyer for a nearfall. He went for the storm breaker, but Taichi blocked it. Ospreay went for it again, but Taichi slipped out. Ospreay hit a standing spanish fly. Ospreay hit a kick, then hit the storm breaker for the pin.
NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: KOTA IBUSHI DEFEATED HIROOKI GOTO TO WIN THE NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (16:54)
Excellent match.
They shook hands at the opening bell. Goto used the handshake to go for an ushigoroshi, but Ibushi blocked it. Ibushi hit a mid kick and Goto went down. Ibushi hit a snap rana, and Goto rolled to the floor.
Goto jumped back inside and hit a lariat, and Ibushi dropped on the apron on his head and neck.
Goto went after the neck, hitting a hanging neckbreaker off the top. Ibushi used a rope break to stop a pinfall. Goto used another neckbreaker. Goto applied a headscissors, but Ibushi forced a rope break.
Goto used a leg sweep, then applied an octopus on the mat. Ibushi reached the ropes, forcing a break.
Ibushi hit a dropkick, and Goto rolled to the floor. Ibushi hit a golden triangle. Back inside, Ibushi hit a standing moonsault for a close two count. Goto hit a high kick, then used a suplex for a nearfall.
Goto hit a leg lariat, then went to the top rope. Ibushi cut him off, and they traded shots on the ropes. Goto went for a code red off the top, but Ibushi flipped out of it. Ibushi hit a big lariat, into a double down.
Ibushi was first up. Goto blocked a last ride, but Ibushi hit a high kick. Goto blocked a kamigoye, and hit an ushigoroshi. Goto used a sleeper. They traded cradles for nearfalls. After a series of GTR attempts and reversals, Ibushi hit a headbutt.
Goto blocked a straight jacket suplex attempt, but Ibushi hit a knee strike, a headbutt, and hit the kamigoye for the win.
Ospreay came out after the match and cut a promo. He challenged Ibushi to face him in a dream match for the title at Wrestle Kingdom. They shook hands.
2018 WORLD TAG LEAGUE FINAL: EVIL & SANADA DEFEATED TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA TO WIN THE 2018 WORLD TAG LEAGUE (27:01)
A really good tag team main event.
Jado hit EVIL with a kendo stick before the opening bell. They fought into the crowd. Tonga sent SANADA into the arena wall. Loa stomped on EVIL, and slammed him on the floor. Tonga and SANADA beat the count back inside at 19.
SANADA missed a standing moonsault, and Tonga hit a back elbow. Tonga and Loa worked SANADA over in their corner, while EVIL was still out on the floor. Loa hit a running powerslam for a two count.
SANADA missed with a dropkick, and Loa hit an elbow drop for two. SANADA hit a dropkick off the second on Tonga, but Tonga was able to tag Loa, and keep the pressure on SANADA.
SANADA finally got a tag to EVIL, and EVIL ran wild. He hit a bulldog and a senton on Loa for a nearfall. EVIL went for a fisherman buster, but Loa countered into a suplex. Loa hit a superplex. SANADA jumped in to help out, and dropkicked Tonga off the apron.
Tonga broke up a magic killer with a spear. Tonga hit a gun stun and Loa covered EVIL for a nearfall. Loa sent EVIL outside, and Jado nailed him with the kendo stick. Loa whipped SANADA into the barricade.
Back inside, Tonga hit a jumping elbow drop for a two count. Tonga worked EVIL over with right hands. Tonga hit a standing frog splash for a nearfall on EVIL.
Loa got a tag. EVIL backdropped out of a powerbomb attempt. He went for a tag, but Tonga jumped in and knocked SANADA off the apron. Tonga and Loa hit guerrilla warfare. Tonga and Loa went to the top rope. SANADA cut off Tonga, and Loa missed a diving headbutt.
They did a stacked up superplex spot, and all four men ended up down in the ring. Loa covered EVIL for a two count. EVIL blocked one lariat. Both hit simultaneous lariats. They did a misdirection spot, and EVIL hit a lariat, enabling both men to tag out.
SANADA took out Jado with a plancha, then hit planchas on both Tonga and Loa. SANADA and Tonga botched a moonsault spot. SANADA used skull end, but Tonga used a standing switch. SANADA hit the ropes, and Loa tripped him.
Loa and Tonga hit SANADA with an assisted neckbreaker, but SANADA kicked out. SANADA escaped a magic killer, but ran into a kendo stick shot for a nearfall. Tonga and Loa hit a magic killer, and EVIL jumped in to break up the pinfall.
EVIL ran into a spear from Loa. Tonga hit a splash in the corner. They went for a super powerbomb, but SANADA countered with a rana. EVIL jumped in, and they went for the magic killer. Tonga kicked SANADA off into the ref, who took a bump.
Jado jumped in with the kendo stick, but got hit with a magic killer. SANADA reversed a Tongan twist into skull end. Loa broke up the submission attempt.
EVIL hit Loa with everything is EVIL. Tonga went for a gun stun, but EVIL blocked it. They hit Tonga with a magic killer, but Tonga kicked out.
EVIL hit darkness falls on Tonga, and SANADA hit a moonsault, then covered Tonga for the pin.
The Young Bucks came to the ring after the match. Matt Jackson said EVIL and SANADA were the best team in the tournament, but that The Bucks are the best team in the world. Matt said they never got their rematch after losing the titles, and that they should be the next challengers.
EVIL said how about a three way at Wrestle Kingdom? The Bucks left without official word, but that certainly appears to be the match at the Tokyo Dome.
The final days of the World Tag League are upon us as the tournament heads to Yamagata for the fifteenth day of events.
Scheduled for tonight’s card is Shota Umino & Ayato Yoshida vs. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii, Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Jeff Cobb and Michael Elgin, Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer, David Finlay & Juice Robinson vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan, SANADA and EVIL vs. Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka and Best Friends vs. The Guerrillas of Destiny.
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada will team up in the main event, pairing with KUSHIDA and Rocky Romero to take on Jay White, Back Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori and Gedo.
At this point in the tournament, the Guerillas of Destiny are in the lead, commanding eighteen points in first place. EVIL & SANADA, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano and the Killer Elite Squad are not too far behind with sixteen points. It’s still anyone’s game.
English commentary will return on tonight’s show, which will feature Kevin Kelly and the debuting Excalibur. The show begins at 4:30 a.m. EST.
This was a fun sprint. They heavily teased an upset, and the crowd loved the false finishes.
Umino and Yoshida jumped Yano and Ishii before the bell, looking to gain the early edge. Yano and Ishii recovered quickly. Ishii and Umino had an intense exchange, and Umino dropped Ishii to one knee, but Ishii took him down with a shoulder tackle.
Yano untied a corner pad. Umino missed a charge into the corner, and ran into the exposed buckle. Umino hit a missile dropkick, then tagged Yoshida. Yoshida landed a PK for a nearfall. Umino hit a second missile dropkick after a tag.
Yano tagged Ishii, who applied a crab to Umino. Umino made the ropes. Ishii went for a second crab, but Yoshida jumped in and kicked him in the back, and he collapsed into a cradle by Umino for a close nearfall.
Umino hit a beautiful bridging german on Ishii for a nearfall. Ishii hit a brainbuster Umino used a la magistral cradle for a nearfall. Ishii applied another crab and got the tapout.
JEFF COBB & MICHAEL ELGIN DEFEATED MANABU NAKANISHI & YUJI NAGATA (8:58)
Not bad. Lots of power stuff with Cobb and Nakanishi.
Nagata and Elgin grappled to a stalemate, then tagged Nakanishi and Cobb. They did a knuckle lock, and Nakanishi won that battle. Nakanishi hit a tackle, but Cobb scoop slammed him, then tagged Elgin. Elgin delivered some punishment, then tagged Cobb.
Cobb and Nakanishi exchanged headbutts. Elgin and Cobb used a series of quick tags, working over Nakanishi’s back and neck. Nakanishi hit a lariat, then tagged Nagata, who went to work on Elgin with kicks. Nagata hit a boot in the corner and an exploder for a nearfall.
Nagata applied a crossface, but Cobb jumped in to break it up. Elgin hit a superkick and a falcon arrow into a double down. Cobb and Nakanishi tagged in. Nakanishi hit a pair of strikes to the throat and hit a short lariat for two.
Nakanishi used a torture rack on Cobb, while Nagata put a Nagata lock on Elgin, but they escaped. Elgin hit Nagata with an enziguri. Cobb and Elgin hit a double suplex on Nakanishi, but Nagata broke up the pinfall.
Cobb used an Angle slam into a standing moonsault on Nakanishi, and pinned him.
LANCE ARCHER & DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. DEFEATED YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & HANGMAN PAGE (10:41)
This picked up near the end, really when Page tagged in.
Smith went nuts on Page with suplexes at the outset. Killer Elite Squad tried to take the fight to the floor, but that backfired. Yujiro and Page hit stereo suicide dives. Smith and Archer came back with a Hart attack.
Smith and Archer worked over Yujiro, both scoring nearfalls on him. Smith used a chinlock. Archer beat on Yujiro with forearms and palm strikes to the chest. Yujiro finally got to his corner and tagged Page. Page hit a pescado on Smith. He went to the top for a moonsault. He teased one from the post to the floor, but Smith cut him off. Page fought off Smith and hit Archer with a moonsault in the ring.
Yujiro hit a sliding dropkick to Archer, and Page hit a standing shooting star for two. Page hit the ropes, but right into a pounce from Archer. I love the pounce.
Smith and Yujiro got tags. Yujiro hit a bulldog and a low dropkick to Smith’s leg. Yujiro went for a fisherman buster, but Smith countered into a low dropkick. Yujiro and Page hit stereo dropkicks, then Yujiro got the fisherman buster for a two count.
Page hit a buckshot lariat. Archer and Smith hit an assisted splash and an assisted powerslam for a nearfall, then hit the killer bomb on Yujiro for the pin.
ZACK SABRE JR. & TAICHI DEFEATED DAVID FINLAY & JUICE ROBINSON (9:23)
Not great.
Sabre and Taichi jumped Fin Juice before the bell. Juice and Finlay recovered, and both hit planchas. Juice missed a cannonball on Sabre. Sabre started stretching Juice in the ring, while Taichi and Finlay fought in the crowd. Taichi used a chair to attack Finlay. Sabre took Juice to the outside, and Taichi hit him with a chair.
Back in the ring, Sabre and Taichi worked Juice over. Sabre used a guillotine and an octopus. Juice escaped and hit a Juice box, then tagged Finlay. Finlay hit a pair of back elbows on the mat, then a diving uppercut off the second rope on Taichi.
Sabre and Taichi used a series of kicks on Finlay, and Taichi picked up a nearfall. Taichi removed his slacks, then hit an axe bomber for a nearfall. Juice took Sabre to the floor. TAKA took the ref while Taichi went for the mic stand. Taichi missed with the stand, and Juice and Finlay made a comeback.
The ref took a bump, allowing Taichi to hit a low blow and use a Gedo clutch on Finlay for the pin.
HIROYOSHI TENZAN & SATOSHI KOJIMA DEFEATED TOGI MAKABE & TOA HENARE (9:58)
This was okay. Everyone worked hard. Tenzan was moving a little bit better than he has of late.
Tenzan and Makabe kicked things off. Tenzan was doing well until he attepted a kokeshi, which he missed. Both tagged out. Kojima hit a DDT on Henare, then tagged Tenzan. TenKoji worked over Henare. Tenzan hit a headbutt for a nearfall, then a leg lariat for another.
Kojima tagged in and used a neckbreaker for a series of nearfalls. Henare finally got a tag to Makabe. Tenzan hit him with a brainbuster for a nearfall. Tenzan and Makabe dropped each other with simultaneous lariats, then tagged out.
Henare and Kojima exchanged machine gun chops in the corner. Henare hit a Samoan drop for a nearfall. Henare hit the slowest, gentlest spear I’ve ever seen. Kojima popped up and hit a cutter. Tenzan jumped in and they hit the TenKoji cutter for a nearfall, but Makabe broke up the pin.
Makabe hit a double lariat. Henare hit a diving tackle off the turnbuckle for two. Tenzan and Makabe brawled to the floor, while Henare and Kojima went at it in the ring. Kojima hit a big lariat, and picked up the pin.
EVIL & SANADA DEFEATED TAKASHI IIZUKA & MINORU SUZUKI (10:53)
The last minute of the bout, when everyone jumped in and broke up finishers, was excellent. The preceding ten minutes was kind of a mindless brawl.
Suzuki and Iizuka jumped EVIL and SANADA before the bell. Iizuka used a chair on SANADA from the floor to the ring, allowing Suzuki-gun to gain the edge. They fought into the crowd, and Suzuki hit SANADA with a half dozen chairs. SANADA beat the count back in at 19.
Suzuki removed Iizuka’s muzzle, and Iizuka bit everyone. Suzuki hit SANADA with a chair on the floor. Red Shoes refused to count an Iizuka pin on SANADA due to the chair shot. SANADA took a flip into the corner, went over the ropes, then hit a springboard attack on Iizuka. SANADA used a dragon screw on Suzuki.
EVIL got a hot tag and ran wild. He hit a neckbreaker and a senton on Suzuki for a nearfall. Suzuki hit a boot in the corner and a PK for a nearfall. EVIL and Suzuki exchanged chops and forearms. Suzuki hit a pair of short elbows. EVIL hit a fisherman buster into a double down.
SANADA got a tag. Suzuki used a choke to get to his corner, then tagged Iizuka. Suzuki hit a PK, and Iizuka covered for a nearfall. Iizuka choked SANADA with a rope, and got a nearfall. Iizuka grabbed the iron glove, but SANADA ducked it and applied skull end. Suzuki grabbed him with a choke and went for the Gotch, but EVIL broke it up.
Iizuka bit EVIL and SANADA, but then fell victim to a magic killer. SANADA applied skull end while EVIL held Suzuki at bay, and Iizuka tapped out.
CHUCKIE T & BERETTA DEFEATED TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA (17:02)
A really good match. Beretta is an awesome worker. He always goes all out, and did even more so here in a semi-main spot.
The Best Friends hit stereo enziguris, but missed with stereo planchas. It looked as if the Guerillas of Destiny might take over, but Beretta hit an Asai moonsault, and his team remained in control in the early going.
Beretta hit the ropes, but Jado nailed him with a kendo stick from the floor, as the Guerillas took over. Jado continued to attack Beretta with the stick on the floor. Loa hit Beretta with an attitude adjustment on the apron.
Tonga sent Beretta into the corner, then hit him with a dropkick on the way out. Tonga and Loa continued their assault on Beretta’s back. Beretta hit Loa with a running knee out of the corner, and was able to tag Chuckie.
Chuckie hit a tope con hilo, then avoided a kendo stick strike. Chuckie hit a double stomp off the top rope for a nearfall on Tonga, as Loa broke up the pin. Tonga hit a spear out of nowhere, then tagged Loa.
Tonga hit a gun stun, and Loa hit an elbow drop for a nearfall. Chuckie hit soul food, then tagged Beretta.
Beretta hit a high cross off the top on Loa, then a diving lariat. He hit a back elbow in the corner and went for a tornado DDT, but Loa blocked it and dropped him on the top rope. Loa hit a blue thunder bomb, but did not attempt a cover.
Beretta escaped a death valley driver, turning it into a tornado DDT. Loa and Beretta traded strikes. Beretta flipped out of a german attempt, then got sent into the referee. The ref also took shots in the corner from Tonga and Loa, and rolled to the floor.
Jado jumped in and used the kendo stick on Beretta. Tonga and Loa continued to beat down Beretta, using a double neckbreaker. Chuckie jumped in and went crazy with chair shots on Tonga and Loa. He threw the chair into Loa’s head twice, and Loa got caught and started bleeding from the forehead.
Chuckie walked through a kendo stick shot, and laid out Tonga on the floor. In the ring, Beretta used a rollup on Loa, and pinned him.
SWITCHBLADE JAY WHITE, BAD LUCK FALE, TAIJI ISHIMORI & GEDO DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA, HIROSHI TANAHASHI, KUSHIDA & ROCKY ROMERO (16:40)
The Bullet Club found themselves overwhelmed at the opening bell. All but Gedo bailed to the floor, and everyone teamed up on Gedo. Tana hit him with a kokeshi. KUSHIDA and Rocky hit him with clotheslines in the corner. Okada used an elbow drop. Gedo finally avoided a corner clothesline from Rocky, and his teammates jumped back in to take control of the match.
White took Okada into the aisle and choked him with a banner. Gedo used the ring bell hammer on Tana. Rocky just beat a count back inside at 19. The Bullet Club worked over Rocky. They cut the ring in half, isolating Rocky.
Tana finally got a tag and went after Fale. He used a low dropkick to chop the big man down. He tried repeatedly to slam him, but eventually settled for twist and shout. Fale blocked a slingblade and tagged White.
White hit Tana with an uppercut in the corner. Tana blocked a dragon screw and hit one of his own, then tagged Okada. Okada nailed White with right hands and a back elbow. White escaped a flapjack, but Okada hit him with an air raid crash. Okada went for a tombstone, but White turned it into a Saito suplex. Okada escaped a brainbuster attempt, and hit a flapjack into a double down.
Ishimori and KUSHIDA got tags. KUSHIDA hit a buzzsaw kick and used a cross armbreaker. Ishimori used a crucifix for a nearfall, then a rollup for a nearfall. Ishimori hit a handspring elbow. Rocky jumped in and hit ranas on Ishimori and Gedo.
The match broke down, and everyone jumped in. Okada hit Fale with a dropkick. Tana hit White with a slingblade. Tana and Okada hit planchas. KUSHIDA ducked a brass knuckles shot from Gedo, then hit a back elbow. White jumped in and hit KUSHIDA with a blade runner. Ishimori hit KUSHIDA with a bloody cross for the pin.
WORLD TAG LEAGUE STANDINGS
EVIL & SANADA (9-3, 18 Points)
LANCE ARCHER & DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. (9-3, 18 Points)
(Winner of EVIL & SANADA vs. Archer & Smith on Friday advances to the final on Sunday)
TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA (9-3, 18 Points)
TORU YANO & TOMOHIRO ISHII (9-3, 18 Points)
(Winner of Tonga & Loa vs. Yano & Ishii on Friday advances to the final on Sunday)
New Japan returns to Osaka this morning for more World Tag League action.
Tonight’s tournament matches include Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino, EVIL & SANADA vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi, Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay, Togi Makabe & Toa Henare vs. Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka, Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb vs. Best Friends, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano and Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi.
Current standings have Guerrillas of Destiny, EVIL & SANADA and Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano all tied for first with twelve points. There’s still a few shows left, so these standings can change after today’s show.
This morning’s main event will have Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada teaming up again, as they partner with KUSHIDA & Rocky Romero to take on the Bullet Club contingent of Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori & Gedo.
Join us for live coverage starting at 2 a.m. Eastern.
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LANCE ARCHER & DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. DEFEATED SHOTA UMINO & AYATO YOSHIDA (4:13)
This was just a quick squash, not much to it. Smith entered wearing a bulldog mask.
Umino started off with Archer He went for a series of quick cradles right away. Yoshida jumped in and they used a double crab, but Smith broke it up. From there, Killer Elite took control.
Yoshida took a buckle bomb. Umino took a chokeslam. The finish saw Killer Elite hit the killer bomb on Yoshida for the pin.
EVIL & SANADA DEFEATED MANABU NAKANISHI & YUJI NAGATA (9:00)
To say this was a clash of styles and eras would be an understatement, but I think it worked.
EVIL and SANADA worked over Nakanishi. SANADA used low dropkicks to take out the big fella’s knees, while SANADA worked the arms, and stomped away at the midsection.
Yuji tagged in and made a comeback, including using a Nagata lock on EVIL, but SANADA cut him off. SANADA and Nakanishi tagged in, and WORKRATE NAKANISHI went to the top rope, hitting a high cross on both EVIL and SANADA.
Nakanishi went for the Argentinian backbreaker, and after an initial reversal, got it on SANADA, while Nagata used a Nagata lock on EVIL. Nakanishi hit a big splash for a nearfall. EVIL entered for the illegal double team, and Nakanishi ate a magic killer. Nagata broke up the pin.
EVIL jumped in and hit everything is EVIL on Nagata, then pulled him to the floor, allowing SANADA to hit Nakanishi with a moonsault for the cover and pin.
DAVID FINLAY & JUICE ROBINSON DEFEATED HANGMAN PAGE & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI (7:16)
This felt rushed, and didn’t have a lot of psychology to it. The last minute or so was excellent, though. Hangman Page is most improved this year, right?
Yujiro and Finlay kicked things off with a series of misdirection spots, reversals and counters. Yujiro hit a low dropkick, while Finlay hit a senton.
Juice entered for a senton of his own. Yujiro tagged Page, and business picked up. Page hit a standing moonsault. Juice fired back with a series of jabs, then hit Page with a DDT and a cannonball.
All four guys missed planchas. Juice finally hit one. Page hit a suicide dive. Page hit Juice with a big lariat. Page and Yujiro hit a double team move for a nearfall on Juice. Juice and Finlay hit stereo dropkicks.
Page missed with a buckshot lariat. Juice went for pulp friction, but Page reversed into a backslide for a nearfall. Finlay jumped in and hit Page with a cutter, and Juice followed with pulp friction for the victory.
A good match. It probably went a little longer than it needed to, but the last few minutes were good, and they had a nice brawl.
Suzuki-gun’s attempt to jump Henare and Makabe before the bell was thwarted initially, as Makabe and Henare fought them off. Suzuki-gun turned the tide, and took control as they fought into the crowd.
In the ring, Suzuki worked over Henare. Henare tried to fire back with chops, but Suzuki was impervious to them. Suzuki removed Iizuka’s muzzle, and Iizuka bit Henare. Henare hit a Samoan drop on Suzuki, then tagged Makabe.
Makabe went nuts on Suzuki, doing his usual hot tag spots. Tackle, lariat, punches in the corner, suplex. Suzuki recovered, and the two traded strikes. Suzuki hit a running mid kick into a doube down, then tagged Iizuka.
Suzuki and Iizuka double teamed Makabe, in a good intense sequence. Iizuka grabbed the iron glove, but Makabe ducked it. Henare took out Suzuki with a tackle, hit Iizuka with a shoulder block off the top, and Henare followed with the king kong kneedrop for the win.
MICHAEL ELGIN & JEFF COBB DEFEATED BEST FRIENDS BY DQ (11:48)
They were having a pretty good match until the wacky finish.
Chuckie and Cobb began. Chuckie tried to drop Cobb with shoulder blocks, but Cobb didn’t go down. Chuckie went down after on Cobb shoulder block. They botched a springboard crossbody. Beretta got a tag and hit a suicide dive. Cobb and Elgin came back with delayed suplexes.
Cobb and Elgin worked over Beretta. Beretta took his flip bump into the corner, then bounced out into a lariat from Cobb. Cobb hit a fallaway slam and went for a standing moonsault, but Beretta got his knees up.
Chuckie got a tag. He hit a plancha on Elgin, then hit one on Cobb. Chuckie hit a DDT, then a foot stomp off the top for a nearfall. He went up top, but Elgin hit him with an enziguri and a superplex. Cobb hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall, then tagged in Elgin.
Elgin went for a buckle bomb, but Chuckie turned it into a rana, hit soul food, then tagged Beretta. Beretta hit a back elbow and a tornado DDT. He flipped out of a german from Elgin, but right into a german from Cobb. Beretta countered with a german on Cobb.
Elgin hit a tiger driver on Beretta for a nearfall. Beretta sent Elgin outside, where Chuckie hit him with a chair. Chuckie then went nuts on Elgin and Cobb with chairs in the ring, which was a DQ.
Chuckie continued his assault after the bell, hitting Elgin and Cobb with chair shots. He teased hitting them with his belt, but Beretta stopped him.
This was a decent brawl from the jump. Tenzan and Kojima were more than holding their own, until Ishii hit Tenzan with an elbow from the floor. Yano untied a corner pad, and Ishii sent Tenzan into the exposed buckle. Tenzan came back with headbutts, but he was repatedly sent into the buckle.
Tenzan ducked a charge from Ishii, who hit Yano. Tenzan tagged Kojima, and Kojima hit Ishii and Yano with machine gun chops in the corner. Ishii and Kojima traded elbows. Kojima hit a DDT. Ishii hit a brainbuster.
Yano got a tag, but he and Ishii ran right into Koji cutters. Kojima tagged Tenzan, who hit a brainbuster on Yano for a two count. Tenzan hit something resembling a northern lights suplex on Yano, then used an anaconda vice, but Ishii broke it up.
Ishii ran into a Koji cutter, then Kojima brawled to the floor with Ishii. Tenzan missed a moonsault. Tenzan tried to fight off both Ishii and Yano, but the two on one was too much for him. Yano hit a low blow, and used a rollup for the pin.
TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA DEFEATED ZACK SABRE JR. & TAICHI (9:44)
This was a fun brawl.
The seconds got involved right away. TAKA was doing his mic work before the bell, end Jado hit him with a kendo stick. Taichi beat up Jado, while Tonga beat up TAKA. Sabre and Loa paired off, and after a crowd brawl, worked back to the ring. Taichi and Tonga continued brawling around the building. They teased a countout, but all four guys made it back in at 19.
Taichi sent Tonga to the floor, and Sabre and Taichi doubled up on Loa. Tonga jumped back in and hit a gun stun on Taichi. Loa covered for a two count. Sabre hit Tonga with a PK, while Taichi hit an axe bomber on Loa.
Taichi used the mic stand on Tonga while TAKA took the ref. Loa tried to use a kendo stick on Taichi, but Taichi blocked and hit him with the mic stand. tonga hit a gun stun on Taichi for two, as Sabre broke up the pin.
The Guerillas hit a magic killer on Sabre, who rolled to the floor. Loa hit a powerbomb on Taichi from the second rope, and covered for the pin.
SWITCHBLADE JAY WHITE, TAIJI ISHIMORI, BAD LUCK FALE & GEDO DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA, HIROSHI TANAHASHI, KUSHIDA & ROCKY ROMERO (14:38)
This was a fantastic eight man tag.
All action, right from the outset. Okada and Tana cleared the ring and posed on the turnbuckles. Rocky and KUSHIDA worked on Fale, but Fale made his own comeback and cleared the ring again.
This became a fight all over the arena. White sent Okada over the guardrail and left him buried under a fence in the crowd. The Bullet Club ended up back in the ring, working KUSHIDA over four on one. Rocky, Tana and Okada made it back to the ring, so White pulled KUSHIDA outside, and whipped him into the fence and the ring frame.
Ishimori and KUSHIDA used a series of standing switches, leading to Ishimori making a cover for a two count. KUSHIDA recovered and hit a cartwheel dropkick into a double down.
Okada and White got tags. Okada cleared the Bullet Club corner off the apron, and hit Gedo with a DDT. White used the opportunity to hit a Saito suplex. Okada popped up and they exchanged strikes. Okada hit a flapjack, into a double down.
Tana got a tag, and hit a dragon screw on White. White ducked slingblade and hit a uranage, then tagged Gedo. Gedo ate a slingblade, but Ishimori broke up the pin. Tana hit a slam and went to the top, but White pushed him off into Fale. Tana fought off a chokeslam, and tagged Rocky.
Rocky hit a dropkick on Fale, a rana on White, and a series of corner lariats on Gedo. Rocky went for sliced bread, but Gedo escaped, and Fale took Rocky down with a tackle. Ishimori tagged in, and Rocky sent him into the corner with a rana. Rocky and KUSHIDA hit Ishimori with dropkicks. KUSHIDA hit a DDT, and Rocky covered for a two count.
Rocky used Fale as a springboard and hit sliced bread. It broke down and Okada hit White with a dropkick. Tana hit a dragon screw on Fale. Ishimori hit Rocky with a lungblower, but Rocky kicked out. Ishimori hit Rocky with the bloody cross for the pin.
White cut a promo after the match, and called his team the real dream team. He said Okada and Tana had teamed three times, and lost three times. He said Tana and Okada can’t beat him, and he’ll prove it at the Tokyo Dome. He said Tana, Okada, and all the fans have no choice but to breath with the Switchblade in his new era.
CURRENT WORLD TAG LEAGUE STANDINGS
EVIL & SANADA (7-2) — 14 points
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano (7-2) — 14 points
Guerrillas of Destiny (7-2) — 14 points
Juice Robinson & David Finlay (6-3) — 12 points
Killer Elite Squad (6-3) — 12 points
Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi (5-4) — 10 points
Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb (5-4) — 10 points
Best Friends (5-4) — 10 points
Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka (4-5) — 8 points
Togi Makabe & Toa Henare (4-5) — 8 points
Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi (3-6) — 6 points
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (3-6) — 6 points
Three matches are official for NJPW’s next show in the United States.
Cody Rhodes challenging for Juice Robinson’s IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, The Young Bucks defending their IWGP Tag Team titles against Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa, and Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll in an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship tournament semifinal match have been announced for Fighting Spirit Unleashed, which will take place at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California on September 30.
Ospreay vs. Scurll is part of a four-man tournament to decide the next Junior Heavyweight Champion. KUSHIDA will face BUSHI at Destruction in Kobe on September 23 in the other semifinal match, and the finals will be held at King of Pro Wrestling on October 8.
Hiromu Takahashi had to relinquish the Junior Heavyweight title after suffering a neck injury at last month’s G1 Special in San Francisco.
Cody was set up as Robinson’s next challenger when he pinned Robinson during a tag match at the G1 finals. The Young Bucks and Tonga & Loa are on opposite sides of the feud between the Bullet Club and the Bullet Club OGs, and Tonga, Loa, & Taiji Ishimori won the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles from The Young Bucks & Scurll at the G1 finals.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has one more title match scheduled before Wrestle Kingdom 12 at the Tokyo Dome.
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI will defend their titles against Bad Luck Fale & Guerrillas of Destiny at NJPW’s Road to Tokyo Dome show on December 17th. With SANADA & EVIL challenging Killer Elite Squad at Wrestle Kingdom, a title change would clear the way for the NEVER tag belts to be featured on the card.
SANADA & EVIL defeated Guerrillas of Destiny in this year’s World Tag League finals, with BUSHI getting disqualified against Fale earlier in the show after using the black mist.
The NEVER Six-Man titles were featured in a gauntlet match at Wrestle Kingdom 11. Whether Los Ingobernables de Japon retain or not, the full card for January’s Dome show likely won’t be announced until after Sunday’s six-man title match happens.
SANADA & EVIL vs. KES for the IWGP Tag Team Championship was added to the Wrestle Kingdom 12 lineup at a press conference overnight. Minoru Suzuki vs. Hirooki Goto in a match where Suzuki’s NEVER Openweight title and Goto’s hair are both on the line has been set up as well, though NJPW has yet to officially announce it.
Korakuen Hall will host Road to Tokyo Dome shows on December 17th and 18th as the final build to Wrestle Kingdom takes place. Hiroshi Tanahashi isn’t listed on the card for either night at Korakuen, which means that his first match back from his knee injury is scheduled to be when he faces Jay White at the Dome.
Kazuchika Okada facing off against Tetsuya Naito in tag team matches ahead of their IWGP Heavyweight Championship bout is the main event for both Road to Tokyo Dome shows. Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Naito & Hiromu Takahashi will headline night one, with Okada, Sho & Yoh vs. Naito, Takahashi & BUSHI set for night two.
The IWGP Tag Team Championship match for the Tokyo Dome is seemingly set after this morning’s World Tag League finals.
After both won their respective blocks, SANADA & EVIL defeated Guerrillas of Destiny to win this year’s World Tag League tournament. There was involvement from Los Ingobernables de Japon and Bullet Club during the match, with BUSHI’s interference bringing out Bad Luck Fale before Fale eventually chased him to the back. SANADA & EVIL took out Tanga Loa with a Magic Killer through a table on the outside, then Tama Tonga was hit with Darkness Falls, a Magic Killer, and an STO before being pinned by EVIL.
The team that wins the tournament usually gets a shot at the IWGP Tag Team titles at Wrestle Kingdom, and SANADA & EVIL called out champions Killer Elite Squad and challenged them after their win. Lance Archer got on the microphone to accept the challenge, with Davey Boy Smith Jr. saying the titles will stay with KES forever.
Along with BUSHI, SANADA & EVIL also currently hold the NEVER Six-Man Tag Team Championship. Those belts will apparently either not be on the line at Wrestle Kingdom or will be changing hands before then. NJPW has two road to the Tokyo Dome shows at Korakuen Hall later this month before Wrestle Kingdom 12 takes place on January 4th.
Minoru Suzuki and Hirooki Goto have been building up a match for the NEVER Openweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom. That took another step forward at the Tag League finals as NJPW appeared to set up that Suzuki’s title and Goto’s hair will be on the line when they face off.
The full card for the Tokyo Dome show will either be finalized or close to finalized at a press conference late tonight.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced its lineup for tomorrow morning’s show at the Fukuoka Convention Center, which features SANADA & EVIL vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa in the finals of the World Tag League 2017 tournament.
The show will air at 4:30 a.m. Eastern time Monday morning in the United States on New Japan World, or 1:30 a.m. Pacific time late tonight.
The winning team is expected to face Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. for the IWGP Tag Team Championship on the January 4th Wrestle Kingdom show at the Tokyo Dome.
The Young Bucks, Cody, and Marty Scurll are flying from Dublin to London to Narita to Fukuoka and are scheduled to arrive shortly before the start of the show.
The nine-match show, which will be broadcast in English with Kevin Kelly and Don Callis as announcers, is:
Katsuya Kitamura, Hirai Kawato, Henare, David Finlay & Togi Makabe vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
War Machine, Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb vs. Leo Tonga, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page
Bad Luck Fale vs. BUSHI
Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan vs. Beretta & Chuck Taylor
Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado
Kota Ibushi & KUSHIDA vs. Cody & Marty Scurll
Sho, Yoh & Rocky Romero vs. The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega
Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi
SANADA & Evil vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa in the World Tag League 2017 finals
In addition to announcing the schedule for the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, New Japan Pro Wrestling also revealed more matches for the upcoming Dominion card last night.
Minoru Suzuki will defend the NEVER Openweight Championship for the first time in a lumberjack match against Hirooki Goto at the show. Members of Suzuki-gun and Chaos will presumably be at ringside for the match.
Suzuki previously defeated Goto to win the title at a show late last month prior to NJPW’s Wrestling Toyonokuni and Dontaku events.
Two tag title matches have been announced for Dominion as well. War Machine will put their IWGP Tag Team Championship on the line against Guerrillas of Destiny, and The Young Bucks will challenge for Roppongi Vice’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag titles.
Michael Elgin vs. Cody (Rhodes) is also set for Dominion.
Dominion will take place on June 11th at Osaka-jo Hall. The updated lineup is:
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada defending against Kenny Omega
IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito defending against Hiroshi Tanahashi
NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki defending against Hirooki Goto in a lumberjack match
IWGP Tag Team Champions War Machine defending against Guerrillas of Destiny
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi Vice defending against The Young Bucks
