#World Tag League

[rennarita]

#effie's gifs #njpw #el phantasmo #hikuleo #world tag league #20/11/2023

[honestlychiefbanana]

Highlights of Shota Umino & Ren Narita vs Kaito Kiyomiya & Ryohei Oiwa NJPW World Tag League 2023

#highlights #wrestling #njpw #wrestling highlights #new japan pro wrestling #puroresu #shota umino #ren narita #kaito kiyomiya #ryohei oiwa #world tag league

[wrestlingisfake]

World Tag League final preview

Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. El Phantasmo & Hikuleo - This is the final match to determine the winners of the World Tag League tournament. It's one fall to a finish, and there is no time limit; there must be a winner. Bishamon (Goto & Yoshi) are the IWGP heavyweight tag team champions, and Phantasmo and Hikuleo are the STRONG openweight tag team champions; neither title is on the line here.

Both of these teams competed in B Block; Phantasmo and Hikuleo finished on top with a 5-2 record, while Bishamon came in second place at 4-2-1. In the semifinals, Bishamon toppled the A Block winners (Alex Coughlin & Gabe Kidd) while ELP/Hiku defeated the A Block runners-up (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls). So we're left with a tournament final that is a rematch from B Block: Phantasmo and Hikuleo defeated Goto and Yoshi on November 21.

The winners of World Tag League are supposed to go on to challenge for the IWGP heavyweight tag title at January's Wrestle Kingdom show in the Tokyo Dome. Since Bishamon already holds the title, if they win here they earn the right to select their own challengers for January 4. They tell us that in every New Japan tournament where a title shot is at stake, but I've never seen it happen. I've been watching New Japan for nine years now, and I can't even remember a champion reaching the finals of a tournament for a shot at his belt. On top of that, Bishamon is seeking their third consecutive World Tag League win, so they're in rarefied air right now.

It feels inevitable that this match will be run back at Wrestle Kingdom. If ELP and Hiku win, they're entitled to a rematch for the IWGP gold. If Bishamon win, they'll want a shot at the STRONG title, and they'll be in a position to demand it. One way or another I think we'll see a double title match on January 4; the only question is whether some third team tries to weasel into the match and make it a three-way.

With all that in mind, I'm going with Bishamon to win here. That would make the two teams 1-1, and set up the perfect context for a rubber match for all the marbles.

SANADA & Taichi & Yuya Uemura & DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku vs. Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji & Zandokan Jr. & BUSHI - Sanada vs. Naito is set to headline Wrestle Kingdom next month; Naito is making his in-ring return after undergoing eye surgery. Taichi/Uemura represented Just 5 Guys in World Tag League. Tsuji represented Los Ingobernables de Japon, albeit with a non-LIJ partner in the form of CMLL's Zandokan. It won't make much difference who wins this match, and I could see several guys on both sides eating the pinfall. I'll pick Naito's team to win, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun - Okada and Tana are two-thirds of the NEVER trios champions; the Gates of Agony are two-thirds of the Ring of Honor trios champions. I wouldn't count on this match leading to a title-for-title situation, since Okada and Tana each have big singles matches awaiting them in the Tokyo Dome, while Liona and Kaun need to hurry back for ROH's Final Battle show on December 15. Just getting this matchup is a big step for the Gates of Agony, but that's about all they can hope to get here, I think. Barring a shock upset, the Dream Team should win here.

Kaito Kiyomiya & Ryohei Oiwa & Tomoaki Honma vs. EVIL & Yujiro Takahahi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru - Kiyomiya/Oiwa and Evil/Yujiro competed in World Tag League. Kiyomiya is a top guy in Pro Wrestling NOAH, while Oiwa is a New Japan trainee on excursion there. If it was me I'd present Kiyomiya as being more than capable of dealing with the House of Torture, but his teammates really aren't up to the task, and it'll probably cost him the win. Honma will probably get pinned, but I suppose there's a chance Kanemaru could lose instead.

Shota Umino & Tiger Mask vs. Ren Narita & SHO - Umino and Narita were teammates during World Tag League, but on December 6 Ren turned on Shota and joined the House of Torture. It's a safe bet these two will have meet one-on-one at Wrestle Kingdom, and very little will be settled before then. Tiger Mask has to be here to lose the fall.

Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan & HENARE & Callum Newman vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano & Yuto Nakashima & Oskar Leube - Khan/Henare and Ishii/Yano saw action in World Tag League. Nobody in this match seems to have any big plans on the horizon--they'll probably all be in the pre-show battle royale on January 4. It probably doesn't matter who wins this match, but I guess I'll go with Cobb's side.

Minoru Suzuki & Yuji Nagata & Lance Archer & Alex Zayne vs. Alex Coughlin & Gabe Kidd & Bad Luck Fale & Jack Bonza - Suzuki/Nagata, Archer/Zayne, Coughlin/Kidd, and Fale/Bonza appeared in World Tag League. From what I've heard Suzuki and Nagata haven't been on the same page, and that could spell disaster for them here. On the other hand, Bonza is kind of a weak link and easy pickings for the babyface side. I could see this going either way.

Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls & Kosei Fujita vs. Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. & Master Wato - Haste/Nichols and the CMLL team of Atlantis/Soberano competed in World Tag League. I'd favor Haste and Nicholls against the Mexicans if it was two-on-two, but Wato is a stronger partner than Fujita, and that'll probably make the difference. I'm thinking the CMLL guys finish the tour with a win.

Ryusuke Taguchi & Boltin Oleg vs. Asosan & Kodai Nozaki - This is billed as a "Frontier Zone" match, so it's a team of New Japan regulars against guys from the indies--in this case, Asosan and Nozaki represent Kyushu Pro. I don't know anything about these guys, but I read Asosan's gimmick is based on Japan's largest active volcano, and I'm a sucker for volcano-themed pro wrestlers. Regardless, the outsider guys never win these matches, so this should be an easy payday for Taguchi and Oleg.

#njpw #world tag league #bishamon #hirooki goto #yoshi-hashi #el phantasmo #hikuleo

[sshadyjess]

Oh the Ren & Shota girlies are gonna have a field day with this one

#ren narita #shota umino #njpw #world tag league

[enbywrestlingfan]

It's the most wonderful time of the year, BeBop Tag Team time!

#bebop tag team #hiroshi tanahashi #world tag league #toru yano #njpw #new japan pro wrestling

[roundrobinmathematics]

World Tag League 2022 - Final Standings

Spoilers up to Sunday 11th December 2022:

Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher(14) defeated Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens(4) by forfeit

Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer(8) defeated Alex Coughlin & Gabriel Kidd(2)

Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare(10) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano(8)

EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi(6) defeated Tetsuya Naito & SANADA(12)

Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI(14) defeated Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste(12)

With 14 points each, Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher and Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI have have finished the league in first and second place respectively, and now advance to the final on Day 17.

Next:

Day 17, featuring:

The fourth Super Junior Tag League Final: YOH & Lio Rush(1st Place Finishers) vs. Ace Austin & Chris Bey(2nd Place Finishers)

The eleventh World Tag League Final: Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher(1st Place Finishers) vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI(2nd Place Finishers)

Airs live on Wednesday 14th December 2022.

#world tag league #wtl11 #final standings #hiroshi tanahashi #toru yano #hirooki goto #yoshi-hashi #alex coughlin #gabriel kidd #tetsuya naito #sanada #great-o-khan #aaron henare #mark davis #kyle fletcher #mikey nicholls #shane haste #minoru suzuki #lance archer #evil #yujiro takahashi

[droptoeholdyourhorses]

#wrestling is weird #impact wrestling #final resolution #tna wrestling #nxt #nxt deadline #njpw #world tag league

[brainbustr]

NJPW - World Tag League

Night 14 of NJPW World Tag League 2022, results + your ratings 👉 https://brainbustr.com/en/events/njpw-world-tag-league-2022-super-junior-tag-league-2022-tag-14

#NJPW #World Tag League

[gordo-majima]

i love them

#world tag league #tanahashi #toru yano

[kaitcake1289]

⚡️👾🌏

#very proud of this piece yayyy #scott pilgrim takes off #scott pilgrim #scott pilgrim vs the world #ramona flowers #league of evil exes #too lazy to tag this zzzzz #kaitsart #knives chau #wallace wells #matthew patel #lucas lee #todd ingram #roxy richter #ken katayanagi #kyle katayanagi #katayanagi twins #gideon graves #kim pine #stephen stills #young neil

[comickergirl]

Bluesky (with a bit of Tumblr assist) Color Wheel Challenge! I want to stress that all of the red/orange suggestions folks sent in here were so good. Genuinely went back and forth on a number of them. Thanks so much for sending 'em in! :D

#my art #color wheel challenge #oooooh always fun tagging all these XD #carmen sandiego #gritty #Wolverine #laura kinney #chilchuck #captain haddock #shinji ikari #helena bertinelli #huntress #Ty lee #atla #marvel comics #tintin #neon genesis evangelion #dungeon meshi #justice league unlimited #where in the world is carmen sandiego

[rennarita]

#njpw #effie's gifs #shota umino #ren narita #world tag league #29/11/2023 #finally got the bracelet moment i wanted since their first tag match #i need ren to wear it to his next match #themmm :)

[honestlychiefbanana]

Highlights of Aussie Open vs Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI NJPW World Tag League Final

#Highlights #NJPW #world tag league #aussie open #Hirooki Goto #yoshi-hashi #new japan pro wrestling #bishamon #wrestling highlights #puroresu

[wrestlingisfake]

World Tag League & Super Jr. Tag League final preview

Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI - This is the final match of the World Tag League tournament. The winning team will receive matching trophies. Traditionally, the WTL winners issue a challenge to the IWGP heavyweight tag team champions for Wrestle Kingdom. This time the titleholders are AEW's Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler, so I'm not certain they'll be available on January 4, but I would imagine they've cleared their calendar.

Both teams scored went 7-2 in the block matches to finish on top with 14 points. However, Aussie Open (Fletcher/Davis) won their block match against Bishamon (Goto/Yoshi), so they're technically in first place. Bishamon is looking for a repeat of last year, when they won WTL and went on to capture the IWGP tag title. Aussie Open is seeking to win the tournament on the first try, and recover from losing the STRONG tag title back in October.

I still can't shake the feeling Yoshi is a glorified jobber, even though he's been on a roll for a couple of years now. In a weird way that makes Bishamon matches really good, since I'm always surprised when they do a big comeback and it actually works. As for Aussie Open, I don't keep up with the US-based roster on Strong, so I haven't seen much of these guys, but what I've seen is good. This is a matchup that feels like it shouldn't be headlining, but I bet when I sit down to watch it they'll make me believe it belongs in the main event.

I think either team can work facing FTR in the Tokyo Dome. But Aussie Open already challenged the champs back in October, so Bishamon is a fresher matchup. So I expect Goto and Yoshi to go back-to-back.

Chris Bey & Ace Austin vs. Lio Rush & YOH - This is the final match in the Super Jr. Tag League tournament. The winning team receives a pair of trophies and typically challenges the IWGP junior heavyweigh tag team champions. Since this year's tournament is so close to January, I expect the winners to face Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira and TJP) at Wrestle Kingdom, but we'll have to wait and see if that gets booked.

The two teams finished on top of the block at 14 points. Yoh and Rush are technically in first place, since they won the block match against Bey/Austin. On the other hand, Bey and Austin won their block match against Catch 2/2, which should put them in line for a title shot whether they win the tournament or not.

Lio returned to NJPW in October, making the save for Yoh and Rocky Romero against Yujiro Takahashi and Yoh's former partner SHO. Yoh and Sho dominated this tournament with a 2017-2019 dynasty, but Yoh missed most of 2020 with an injury, and Sho turned on him during the 2021 Super Jr. Tag League. So it makes a lot of sense for Lio to seek out an alliance with a junior tag specialist in need of a new partner, and it seems to be paying off.

Either team could win, but my gut feeling is that it's Austin and Bey's time. Although they're members of Bullet Club they're primarily in Impact Wrestling, so they've been largely isolated from the rest of the faction. A junior tag title run for them would serve to bring them closer to the fold, or to demonstrate New Japan's commitment to Impact.

Karl Anderson vs. Hikuleo - Anderson is defending the NEVER openweight championship. This match was originally announced back on October 4 and scheduled for November 5. However, Anderson returned to WWE on October 10, and got booked for WWE's Crown Jewel show on 11/5. Unexpectedly, Anderson continued to film promos for New Japan about the situation, vowing to make good on the title defense on his own time. Apparently New Japan was clued into Anderson's WWE return ahead of time, and there's been some sort of agreement in place all along.

Hikuleo turned on Bullet Club on September 25, saving his brother Tama Tonga from a beatdown by Jay White, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows. Tama handed Anderson's title belt to Hikuleo, which amounted to issuing a challenge. That's all the story we got before the interpromotional weirdness went down.

It feels like the whole point of all this is to have Anderson drop the title in a big loss to put over Hikuleo on his way out. However, reports suggest Anderson is committed to appearing at Wrestle Kingdom. So that has me wondering if he'll retain the title to set up some other challenger to really put him away for good on January 4. Or I suppose Hikuleo could just win the belt and Gallows and Anderson wind up in a tag match at the Tokyo Dome. Either way, I expect a post-match angle of some sort.

Jay White & Taiji Ishimori & Gedo vs. Kazuchika Okada & Tama Tonga & Master Wato - White is defending the IWGP world title against Okada on January 4. On that same show, Ishimori is defending the IWGP junior title against three challengers, including Wato. Gedo is White's crony and Tama is still mad White kicked him out of Bullet Club. No one in this match has any business getting pinned right now except Gedo, who is probably here to lose the match for his team.

Tetsuya Naito & SANADA & BUSHI & Titan vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano & Ryusuke Taguchi & Clark Connors - Naito/Sanada and Tana/Yano were in World Tag League; Bushi/Titan and Taguchi/Connors were in Super Jr. Tag League. I'm not sure where any of these guys fit into plans for Wrestle Kingdom, and I doubt we'll get any answers about that in this match. I'm picking Naito's team to win.

Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI vs. EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi & SHO & Dick Togo - Suzuki/Archer and Evil/Yujiro were in WTL; Nobu/Douki and Dick/Sho were in SJTL. Since Archer is here I think that means this is the first time an WWE guy (Karl Anderson) and an AEW guy will appear on the same show.

It's a little weird for two heel groups (Suzuki-gun and Evil's House of Torture) to face off like this, but at least it's fresh. Suzuki made some cryptic comments about big plans for the future coming together on this show. That makes me think he plans to challenge Evil, Yuj, and Sho for the NEVER trios title at Wrestle Kingdom. To do that he needs to win this match, and I have a pretty good feeling he will.

Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare & TJP & Francesco Akira vs. Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask & Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin - Khan/Henare and Coughlin/Kidd were in WTL; Tiger/Eagles and Catch 2/2 were in SJTL. Khan's team should make short work of the good guys here.

KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight vs. Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls - Kushida and Knight were in Super Jr. Tag League, while Haste and Nicholls were in World Tag League. So this is a battle of heavyweights versus junior heavyweights. That probably doesn't bode well for the juniors, even though Kushida is the biggest star here. Knight will probably lose the fall.

Alex Zayne & EL LINDAMAN vs. Ryohei Oiwa & Kosei Fujita - Zayne and Lindaman were in SJTL, but Oiwa and Fujita are merely Young Lions working the opening matches, so this is just a squash match.

#njpw #world tag league #super jr. tag league #aussie open #bishamon #yoshi-hashi #hirooki goto #kyle fletcher #mark davis #ace austin #chris bey #yoh #lio rush #karl anderson #hikuleo

[sshadyjess]

can't believe Oskar stole my tweet smh

His tweet:

translation: "As soon as the bandana comes off, I lose. suspicious..."

Now, my tweet:

#THIS IS A JOKE #njpw #world tag league #oskar leube

[enbywrestlingfan]

If you're not following World Tag League, go out of your way to watch Aussie Open vs. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA from this mornings show. It was excellent.

#World Tag League #NJPW #New Japan Pro Wrestling #Aussie Open #Tetsuya Naito #SANADA #Mark Davis #kyle fletcher