New Japan Pro Wrestling concludes its World Tag League tour this Saturday night live from Kumamoto, this is the final tournament before WrestleKingdom 18 next month, the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team defense (January 4th) will be determined after this weekend.
An 8-match lineup on deck featuring the teams within the tourney, some returns, with an okay main event (battle of the IWGP & NJPW STRONG Tag Team Champions).
More build for WrestleKingdom will occur along with some last-minute build for the upcoming Ring Of Honor Wrestling PPV (Final Battle on 12/17), the meaningless ROH trios titles still don’t have a confirmed match.
Here’s what you need to know about this Sunday’s NJPW Tag League Finals.
The full card is set for World Tag League finals SUNDAY!
Bishamon vs GoD your main event!
Tetsuya Naito is BACK! And much more on a big afternoon in Kumamoto!
Full preview: https://t.co/vDro2SQ6H7#njpw #njwtl pic.twitter.com/Li3ROP9aMo
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) December 9, 2023
Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) are looking to make history as the first team to win the tournament 3 years in a row but they’ll be up against a team that took New Japan by storm throughout the year, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo (Guerrillas of Destiny).
The GoD duo already pinned the reigning heavyweight champion during WTL opening night, so the CHAOS boys will most certainly have their work cut out for them this 2nd go around.
Hopefully, Bishamon wins so they can call out a tag team from All Japan Pro Wrestling (wishful thinking it’s Kento Miyahara & Yuma Aoyagi but one can only dream), but knowing NJPW we’ll more than likely get a rematch for the tag straps in the Tokyo Dome next month.
Tetsuya Naito will be returning to in-ring action in a preview match alongside Los Ingobernables de Japon & CMLL stalwart Zandokan Jr. to face JUST 5 Guys (SANADA, Taichi, Yuya Uemura, DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku) on the undercard ahead of the big WrestleKingdom headliner next month.
Both the champion and G1 Climax winner will be looking to gain more momentum but all eyes should be on the rivalry of Yota Tsuji/Yuya Uemura.
The “Dream Team of NJPW’ Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi will be in tag team action against Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona representing Mogul Embassy ( All Elite Wrestling/nuROH ) on the undercard, should be a damn good match for the Kumamoto crowd.
Pro Wrestling NOAH stasr Kaito Kiyomiya, Ryohei Oiwa & Tomoaki Honma are facing House of Torture (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & Uncle Nobu) in a trios match on the undercard. Kiyomiya and Oiwa will look to close out their tour on a high note since the duo didn’t fare too well during the WTL tourney.
SHO and a recently turned rudo Ren Narita will be teaming up for the first time to face a revenge-filled young Shota Umino & Tiger Mask 4 after the events regarding House of Torture and his now former partner Ren.
Am sure Shota vs Narita is the direction for the 2 former young lions but you never can be too sure regarding Gedo’s booking of the main New Japan brand.
United EMPIRE (Great O-Khan, HENARE, Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman aka the spitting image of Fergal Devitt also known as Finn Balor in WWE) will face the team of Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Yuto Nakashima & Oskar Leube in tag team action on the undercard.
Earlier in the tour, HENARE pinned one-half of the ROH trios champions during their tournament match. Seems like United EMPIRE will be represented at the upcoming Ring of Honor year-end PPV but nothing has actually been confirmed.
Former Suzuki-Gun mates Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer reunite once again to close out this tour alongside their respective partners Yuji Nagata & Alex Zayne to face Bullet Club (Coughlin & Kidd, Fale & Bonza) in a tag match on the undercard.
TMDK Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Kosei Fujita ) will be facing the wicked team of Soberano Jr., Atlantis Jr. & Master Wato in the opening match.
Kinda bummed out that the boys from down under didn’t get the nod for WK next month, those guys deserved this year honestly. But on the real, this trios match is gonna be money and the World Tag League finale will be streaming live via NJPW World.
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