The tour continued today. Yesterday’s matches are now up on NJPWWorld.
– 12/4/2018, Hyogo Kobe Samba Hall
World Tag League 2018:
Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa [Bullet Club] d. Ayato Yoshida [K-DOJO] & Shota Umino (Loa > Umino, Super Powerbomb, 7:52)
World Tag League 2018: Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi d. Adam Page & Yujiro Takahashi [The Elite] (Nagata > Yujiro, Backdrop Hold, 8:15)
World Tag League 2018:
Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi [SZKG] d. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (Sabre > Tenzan, European Clutch, 9:30)
World Tag League 2018:
Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. [SZKG] d. Togi Makabe & Toa Henare (Smith > Henare, Killer Bomb, 10:06)
World Tag League 2018: Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb [FREE] d. Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka [SZKG] (Cobb > Iizuka, Tour Of The Islands, 11:37)
World Tag League 2018:
Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor [CHAOS] d. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano [CHAOS] (Taylor > Yano, Backslide, 8:50)
World Tag League 2018: Juice Robinson & David Finlay Jr. d. EVIL & SANADA [Los Ingobernables] (Robinson > SANADA, Pulp Friction, 11:15)
Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori & Gedo [Bullet Club] d. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS], KUSHIDA & Rocky Romero [CHAOS] (White > Romero, Blade Runner, 13:44)
And then, just to make it interesting, 2 of the co-leaders lose today. So right now GOD sit alone at the top of the table, and both KES and Elgin/Cobb have a shot of making the Finals now. So here’s the table, and then the possible scenarios with two matches left to go:
GOD: assured of going through bar a collapse the next two nights. Their final opponents are Best Friends and Ishii/Yano. They could win both, Ishii/Yano being the more likely one they will lose.
EVIL/SANADA: Have the toughest remaining matches, Suzuki/Iizuka and KES on the last day. They’ve beaten KES before. Both winnable but will be rough. Still my pick to win it all.
Ishii/Yano: They have Yoshida/Umino and GOD. They will definitely beat DOJO-Lions but may fall to GOD. Plus, with Ishii probably defending the RPW Undisputed British Heavyweight title against ZSJ at WK13, he won’t be able to challenge for the tag belts too. They will not make it.
KES: Remaining for them are Page/Yujiro and EVIL/SANADA. I don’t think they win both, so they do not make it.
Elgin/Cobb and Juice/Finlay: Very outside chances. But if GOD wins against Best Friends, both teams are eliminated.
Mind you, all this could be academic and NJPW will prove once more that it doesn’t matter at all who wins the World Tag League because…
…basically, what this tweet says. The Young Bucks have confirmed they will be at the WTL Finals on Sunday, even tho they are not officially booked (yet). And yes, because of how NJPW likes to book things, the Young Bucks absolutely will show up and insert themselves into the WK13 IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team title match, because tournaments and wins seem to mean absolutely nothing in Harold Meij’s NJPW.
And yes, I know NJPW have been on this road for a very long while, and have been doing mutli-man title matches at Wrestle Kingdom for a long time. Even just this year we got three separate three-way tag title matches during the New Beginning tour with the same guys fighting for it each time.
It still stinks, and I really hope the All Elite Wresting rumors are coming to pass because frankly I’m over the Young Bucks, and the Elite. The combination of the booking and the Elite’s ubiquitousness since Dominion lead to one of the worst ever IWGP Heavyweight title matches, and I don’t see things improving much with another 3-way tag title match. This is about to become a very skipable Wrestle Kingdom, and I hate that.
This week’s NJPW on AXS returns to Power Struggle, from Osaka EDION Arena on 11/3/2018. This week’s matches include the Super Jr. Tag League Final (another 3-way!) between Roppongi 3K v. BUSHI/Shingo Takagi v. Yoshinobu Kanemaru/El Desperado, which was a decent match. Also decent, the special singles match between Tetsuya Naito v. Zack Sabre Jr. We’re in the final month of Jim Ross and Josh Barnett on NJPW on AXS now.
The tour takes a break tomorrow, before returning Thursday on a show that will be live on NJPWWorld.
– 12/6/2018, Yamagata Big Wing (NJPWWorld)
World Tag League 2018: Ayato Yoshida [K-DOJO] & Shota Umino v. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano [CHAOS]
World Tag League 2018: Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi v. Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb [FREE]
World Tag League 2018: Adam Page & Yujiro Takahashi [The Elite] v. Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. [SZKG]
World Tag League 2018: Juice Robinson & David Finlay Jr. v. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi [SZKG]
World Tag League 2018: Togi Makabe & Toa Henare v. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
World Tag League 2018: EVIL & SANADA [Los Ingobernables] v. Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka [SZKG] v.
World Tag League 2018: Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor [CHAOS]v. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa [Bullet Club]
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS], KUSHIDA & Rocky Romero [CHAOS] v. Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori & Gedo [Bullet Club]
@ghostofviper@earl-01 what are your thoughts on the Young bucks thing? Bad booking or and interesting twist?
I hate it. Bucks can’t be bothered to show up for months and then are going to waltz themselves in a WK match.
The only way this doesn’t end in outrage is if they’re inserted in the match to take the pin fall so the others don’t have to.
Misfits Welcome 