Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay – World Tag League
Man, the time off really did Finlay a world of good. Dude got in shape and looked like a million bucks in this match. I’ve been harsh on the guy in the past, but here he came off like someone ready to have a bunch of fun three star matches and win the god damned tag league with his furry BFF. Tenkoji were over as hell and FinJuice used that to great effect by acting like a bunch of smartasses and bumping their asses off. This thing had actual false finishes and a BIG MATCH BRAINBUSTER from former Triple Crown Champion Satoshi Kojima. Not sure what more you need from the World Tag League. ***
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi – World Tag League
Considering Honma and Manabu are about as mobile as [insert something that is extremely not mobile here because I’m too lazy to finish this joke], this was probably as good as this was gonna get. Known chiropractor Yuji Nagata tried to whip Honma back into shape by kicking the shit out of him, but helas it wasn’t meant to be. Meanwhile, I was simultaneously impressed by Manabu still doing that big splash spot and frightened by his inability to take a body slam. Lotta’ mileage on these folks. **1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens – World Tag League
Tanahashi managed to avoid the tag league for the longest time by being a champion or title contender at the Dome. No such luck this year – he’s gotta slum it with Chase Owens. Obviously, Tana’s presence alone is a huge bonus for a match like this as it adds a shitload of heat to everything. Henare’s new gear is a massive improvement and the guy looked good here, as he always does. Him casually adding THE JUDAS EFFECT to his repertoire is both hilarious and brilliant. Looking forward to seeing HenarAce mix it up with some higher caliber opponents. **3/4
Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi – World Tag League
A LOT to like here. The match struck the perfect balance between young lion in peril segments and Goto/KENTA hatred, hitting all the right midcard tag team wrestling notes in the process. Karl Fredericks is wrestling’s greatest conundrum as he has the looks and confidence of a WWE Main Eventer but must limit himself to young lion tropes and it’s pretty fascinating to watch. Popped huge for that bonkers inside-out dropkick. Goto has the potential to be KENTA’s best NJPW opponent yet as he has a lot more natural babyface charisma than Ishii and brings an emotional dynamic that goes beyond two guys just stiffing each other because they can. Absolute scorcher of an ending stretch between these guys. FUN. ***1/4
Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Toru Yano & Colt Cabana – World Tag League
Been enjoying NATIONAL CHAMPION COLT CABANA on NWA Powerrr lately and I’m happy to see him unite with eternal frenemy Toru Yano for this tag league. Match had enough twists and comedic highlights to make it more fun than the usual GOD match. A lot of that thanks to Cabana’s goofball babyface energy and his ability to pop the crowd with something as basic as a sunset flip. The Japanese announce team selling the shit out of the Superman pin never fails to bring a smile to my face. **3/4
Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nichols – World Tag League
Cobb works so much better for me in tags than in Epic G1 Singles Match format. Most of his weaknesses are hidden and he can spend all of his ring time doing what he does best: suplexing the be-jeezus out of people. Speaking of guys that normally don’t do much for me but were pretty good in this match: Mikey Nichols!? This man was talking shit, calling people ‘’PAL’’ and going toe to toe with Ishii – it felt like his most convincing performance in New Japan to date. Frenetic pace all the way through with everyone bringing a lot of energy and fire. Basically, the kind of match that should define the World Tag League: a bunch of midcarders that normally don’t get much spotlight (plus the Stone Pupper) going balls out and getting over massively. ***1/4
Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. – World Tag League
If you want some kind of blueprint on how to do intrafaction warfare, look no further than this riproaring shredder of a match. Jampacked, ridiculously-tense 14 minutes of action with a crazy amount of subplots and potential storyline seeds planted for the future. Beyond the main story of four villainous faction buddies secretly wanting to murder each other, this had the stunning revelation of Taichi as a compelling underdog babyface, ZSJ going toe to toe with his mentor/ trying to win the old man’s respect and Archer putting adorable Miho Abe through all sorts of psychological torture. All of it held together by a masterful performance from Suzuki: the unkillable, psychopatic mob boss laying down the law on his subordinates.
The counter wrestling between Zack and Minoru was unsurprisingly mind blowing (I audibly GASPED at Minoru reversing the neck twist into an ankle lock), but the heart of the match was characters and emotions. Taichi looking so happy for Zack’s big upset was a legitimately touching moment and I never imagined Dangerous T could nail this kind of big brother role. Considering the current staleness of New Japan’s booking, this whole match might amount to a big nothing in terms of storyline progression, but these four guys totally made me believe something big was about to go down. ****
EVIL & SANADA vs. Shingo Takagi & Terrible – World Tag League
Judging by the interactions in this match, the real money is with Shingo and EVIL/SANADA as opponents, not teammates. It’s been a good run, but it’s time to kiss the merch dollars goodbye and split up LIJ. No one even went fully all out here, but sparks would fly whenever Shingo would go after his Ingobernaboyz. The chemistry between him and SANADA was particularly unreal – I probably shouldn’t be shocked that Saint Seiya’s high paced stylings fit perfectly with a former Dragon Gate guy, but yeah. Felt like these guys had a pretty special match in them.
Terrible’s not a guy I’m TERRIBLY familiar with (I’m not paid to write this, go to hell) but I dug his no non-sense beefy lucha brawler vibes. That chop/slap combo was tremendous. I liked how EVIL and SANADA built the entire finish around trying to manoeuvre both of their opponents in position for the Magic Killer, but the actual pinfall felt a bit flat. Could’ve gone a tiny bit longer for more heat. Still pretty dope. ***1/2
