New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) began its annual World Tag League (WTL) tournament on November 16th. This entry looks at the teams who currently have the best chance to win tournament glory. All pictures are property of NJPW.
FinJuice (Juice Robinson and David Finlay) still sit near the top of the World Tag League standings, remaining one of the teams with the best opportunity to grasp eventual glory. However, their loss today to the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Guerrillas of Destiny (G.O.D) puts a damper on their hopeful tournament finals appearance.
The featured headline match at the Ukaru Chan Arena went just over 14 minutes and saw Tanga Loa submit David Finlay with his recently debuted technique the Operation Jado Killer (OJK), a move passed down from Jado himself who currently manages G.O.D. The IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions now has 16 points (8-2 record) and a tiebreaker over FinJuice.
The FinJuice loss combined with Cold Darkness (Evil and Sanada) defeating HenarAce (Hiroshi Tanahashi and Toa Henare) puts the Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) team at the top of World Tag League standings with 18 points (9-1 record).
Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi Hashi’s victory over Kenta and Yujiro Takashi put them at 16 points (8-2 record), setting up a clash between them and FinJuice tomorrow who also sit at 16 points (8-2) record.
Toru Yano and Colt Cabana were able to defeat the LIJ team of Double Rampage (Shingo Takagi & Terrible) today to raise their point total to 16 (8-3 record). Yano and Cabana have tiebreaker victories over G.O.D., Ishii/Yoshi-Hashi, and Cold Darkness. Therefore, if they can keep winning they are likely to find themselves as surprise World Tag League finalists. Their match tomorrow against Kenta and Yujiro is a must-win if the loveable team wishes to have a realistic chance at the finals.
With victories, Jeff Cobb and Mikey Nicholls (14 points, 7-3 record) along with the Suzuki-Gun team of Minoru Suzuki and IWGP United States Champion Lance Archer (14 points, 7-3 record) were able to keep their outside chances alive. Cobb and Nicholls have a tiebreaker victory over the Suzuki-Gun team.
