Hi guys,
It's only been a week since the end of NJPW's Junior Tag League and we've already got the announcement for the next tour: World Tag League. For anyone who hasn't watched it before, it's basically the same as Jr Tag League but on a much bigger scale, with more teams and for heavyweights!
It's always such a huge deal and the last major tour before the Tokyo Dome with some amazing teams participating, and this year is even bigger and better than before with teams from all factions and a lot of different promotions. What kind of wrestling blogger would I be if I didn't give you a preview of the tour. Because there are so many teams, I'm going to have to do it in two parts. So, welcome to part one of NJPW's World Tag League Preview!
G.O.D (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa)
We can't have World Tag League without our tag team champions (even though that was actually the case last year). For me, the Guerillas of Destiny are the best tag team in the world and nobody can tell me otherwise. Not only are they 5 time NJPW tag team champions, but also ROH and Wrestle Circus champs - they're unbeatable! Their chemistry is undeniable and that's no surprise considering they're brothers, but it's as if they can read each others minds and it just makes them a formidable set of opponents. They also really nicely compliment each other with their styles. You've got older brother Tama with the speed and agility, darting around that ring with crazy athleticism. Then there's Tanga Loa with this intensity and strength that's unreal. With that combination, they can literally take on every single opponent and this could be the year they win the Tag League and choose their opponents for Wrestle Kingdom. However, they will also have the biggest targets on their back, but they can handle it.
David Finlay/ Juice Robinson
For a while, I was scared that FinJuice weren't going to make it to World Tag League with details about Finlay's injury still unknown. Luckily, Finlay returned at the end of the Destruction tour to protect his best friend and all is well in the world! After last year's amazing run in the tour, both guys are probably out to beat that and make it all the way to the final, which I would love so much. I know that Juice and Finlay love having a laugh, but that goes out of the window in big match situations as we've seen with Juice's match with Moxley in the G1 and Finlay's matches with Jay White last year during the Dontaku tour. With their combined talent in the ring and experience, it should be a clear path for FinJuice to pick up a lot of points. However, after Juice's defeat to Lance Archer and being unable to finish his chapter with Moxley, will Juice's head be in the game? Or will it be up to Finlay to get his partner back to the Juice we all know and love.
EVIL/SANADA
Having World Tag League without the Los Ingobernable's de Japon duo of Evil and Sanada is something I never want to imagine. Two time defending tag league winners, like Roppongi 3k, they'll be out to make it three years in a row. With the field at its toughest, they're not going to have an easy run. However, never count out this duo who work amazingly together and have this telepathic connection between them that just seems so natural for the faction. Like G.O.D, this team perfectly compliments each other with their skills and strengths inside the ring! Evil is the pure, brute strength in the team and then Sanada is the purest athlete there is, in my opinion. Consistently putting on amazing matches as single competitors and together, there bout in the G1 only made them stronger. They've got a huge target on their back and not shy of enemies, so will Evil and Sanada make Milano's year and win the league again?
Toru Yano/ Colt Cabana
If you don't agree with me in saying that this is one of the best teams humanly possible, then there is something wrong. Putting Toru Yano and Colt Cabana in a team is going to make magic, I can promise you that. Not only are they comedic geniuses together (I mean have you watched their matches in ROH and the NJ cup), but they are actually really good wrestlers. Yano has this amateur wrestling background and it occasionally comes out when he isn't trying to take off the turn buckles. We all know how talented Colt is - he's held so many titles in different promotions and just epitomises everything great in wrestling from humour to combining wrestling with the traditional British style I love so much. If any team is going to cause upsets this tournament, it will definitely be Yano and Cabana! Don't count them out!
Zack Sabre Jr/ Taichi
After getting a really good score of 16 last year, all hail the future Prime Minister of England Zack Sabre Jr and the Holy Emperor Taichi. It's a team I didn't know I wanted, but now I know it's a team I need. They're both so different from each other from their personality to style. On one hand, we've got the Submission Master Zack Sabre Jr with his simple gear and focus on traditional British graps, but an extremely mean streak. Then, there's Taichi who is anything but simple and loves drama from his gear to those pants and has a style mixing Japanese Strong Style with his own offence. Put them together and there is a lot of charisma and a lot of talent in one team. Both guys have not had the best few months with Zack's not-so-great G1 run and losing to Tanahashi in London, and Taichi's loss to Naito a few weeks ago cutting him out of double title contention. So, this could be their time and their way into Wrestle Kingdom.
Lance Archer/ Minoru Suzuki
After last year, I was hoping that Suzuki and ZSJ would team up for this league. However, I couldn't be happier with this pairing and it might be even more scary and tough than any other Suzuki Gun combination. On one side, you've got the King of Pro Wrestling himself Minoru Suzuki who has a massive chip on his shoulder from not being in the G1 and a spot at Wrestle Kingdom still unsure. His partner, the new (and I assume still) IWGP US champion Lance Archer is exactly the same. He's out to prove why he's the best and why people should've taken notice of him a long time ago. Both men have a great history in this tournament and, if you didn't know, actually won it together all the way back in 2011. This mean's that not only do they have a great chemistry together, but they are one of the most versatile and scary team with Suzuki's submission skills and Archer's agility and strength. Good luck trying to beat these two, but it will be interesting to see their match against fellow stable mates Taichi and Zack. Last year the latter may have won, but Archer is a much different partner than Iizka.
Hirooki Goto/ Karl Fredericks
Once again, New Japan is giving their young lions a huge opportunity and this time, it goes to the Young Lion Cup winner Karl Fredericks. He's lucky enough to be teaming with one of my favourites Hirooki Goto and that makes this not only a damn handsome team, but also a very talented one. Karl Fredericks has really made improvement since starting at the LA Dojo and he's crazy skilled in the ring with a mix of strength, speed and agility which is surprising for someone of his height. What can I say about Hirooki Goto? A lot of people sleep on him, but he's one of the most talented and dedicated guys on the entire roster and is in the best shape of his life. Even with the loss to Jay White for the IC title (by no clean means), he should have a lot of momentum on his side after an amazing G1. However, will Fredericks lack of experience hinder this dream team? Or will the Young Lion prove he can hang with the big guys?
Hiroyoshi Tenzan/ Satoshi Kojima
As well as a lot of new talent in this tournament, you can't have World Tag League without Tencozy. As a team, they have won this tournament twice as well as winning it with other partners. Even though they are now the third generation, they are still as talented as ever and still have that Young Lion passion and drive to carry on fighting. After coming back from injury, Tenzan looks as good as new and, as always, Kojima is still in amazing shape. Together, they have this tag team chemistry that only comes with time and it gives them a huge advantage over some of the newer teams. They know each other inside and out, as well as knowing where their strengths and weaknesses lie. Will they win the league? Probably not, but they will show that they still have it and deserve to be in this league!
It's crazy how amazing the line-up is and we've only just scratched the surface of the teams involved. Within this field, there are so many teams that can win the entire thing from the IWGP tag champs G.O.D, 2 time winners Evil and Sanada and of course teams like David Finlay and Juice Robinson as well as Archer and Suzuki. It might be one of the most open fields in a long time!
As always, let me know what you think and let me know what you think of this years line up and make sure you keep an eye out for part two of this preview in the next few days! You can do this, and keep up to date with all things wrestling and be first to know when I post something new on here, and my social media at:
Bye
Comments
Post a Comment