The final major event of the year for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) goes down Wednesday as it will be the finals of the Best of the Super Juniors and World Tag League. Both final matches have some surprises that could lead to a major shift at NJPW’s biggest event of the year, Wrestle Kingdom. Here’s a look at the complete card for the combined finale, featuring the return to action for the G1 Climax winner Kazuchika Okada and IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi.
Best of Super Jr. & World Tag League finals WEDNESDAY!
YOH vs Hiromu Takahashi, CHAOS vs HOUSE OF TORTURE!
Shingo faces Okada in a Wrestle Kingdom preview!
Katsuyori Shibata's announcement and more!
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Best of the Super Juniors 28 & World Tag League Final Full Card:
- Kosei Fujita, Yuto Nakashima & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. DOUKI, TAKA Michinoku & Minoru Suzuki
- Ryohei Oiwa & Tiger Mask vs. El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori
- Master Wato, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe & Toru Yano vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
- Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa
- SANADA & Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
- Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. Kazuchika Okada & Robbie Eagles
- Katsuyori Shibata makes a major announcement
- World Tag League Final: Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi
- Best of the Super Juniors 28 Final: Hiromu Takahashi vs. YOH
World Tag League Final: Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi
In what many believe to be a surprise, CHAOS will be represented against House of Torture in the finals of World Tag League. Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI have had a masterful year as a tag team, having a record-setting NEVER Openweight Six-Man Championship run alongside Tomohiro Ishii. Now they have a shot to secure a ticket for the Tokyo Dome on Jan. 4 or 5. They defeated the same team they would be facing at the event in Dangerous Tekkers to secure in the finals. They will have EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi opposing them, two-thirds of the team that ended their NEVER Openweight Six-Man Championship reign. EVIL and Takahashi cheated their way to the finals, continuously having the help of Dick Togo to get them there. They defeated SANADA and Tetsuya Naito to solidify their shot at an IWGP Tag Team Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom. For the first time this year, it feels like a final in a NJPW tournament is a true coin flip.
Prediction: Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
Best of the Super Juniors 28 Final: Hiromu Takahashi vs. YOH
The defending Best of the Super Juniors winner Hiromu Takahashi feels at home in this finals environment while his opponent in YOH feels as if he is on the underdog run of the year. After having zero luck in his first four matches, going an impressive 0-4 in that span, YOH was able to find some magic by winning seven matches in a row to find himself in the finals. It’s one of the best tournament runs all year and now he has a shot to go to Wrestle Kingdom and challenge El Desperado for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. YOH overcame his former tag team partner SHO to get to this very spot but a meeting with the Junior Ace is one he has to be worried about. Takahashi and YOH kicked off the tournament against each other, marking the shortest match of the Best of the Super Juniors with a whopping three minutes and 55 seconds. YOH came out trying to shake it up, attacking Takahashi before the bell but it didn’t seem to matter as “The Ticking Time Bomb” finished him off. There’s a story to be told here despite the greatness of what Takahashi and El Desperado can deliver in the Tokyo Dome setting. YOH should win to continue the Roppongi 3K story but it feels that Takahashi is going back-to-back.
Prediction: Hiromu Takahashi
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can rewatch all 2021 NJPW events and plenty more tremendous wrestling content from New Japan Pro-Wrestling on NJPWWorld.com; The King of Sports Streaming.
