On November 30th, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) presented World Tag League 2020 (WTL 2020) from the legendary Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan in front of 557 fans. COVID-19 (Coronavirus, 2019) safety restrictions were responsible for the reduced crowd size, yet the crowd was present during key parts of the night.
The third series match of the event saw the CHAOS team of former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Tomohiro Ishii/Toru Yano face HenarAce (Hiroshi Tanahashi/Toa Henare). Ishii/Yano came into the match after defeating the Empire team of Jeff Cobb/Great-O-Khan on November 28th, while HenarAce dropped the fall to the Bullet Club tandem of “Rogue General” Bad Luck Fale and “Crown Jewel” Chase Owens on the same night.
The contest was important for the CHAOS teams, as a victory would put them on 10 points and keep them at pace with the top of the table. However, HenarAce wanted to prove they could come together as a tag team during their second World Tag League competition.
Henare showed his metal, especially when competing against Ishii, proving he has untapped potential that could see him become a singles champion within NJPW. Yet, the HenarAce tag team didn’t quite have enough to gain the fall.
Ishii would gain the victory at the 14 minutes and 43 seconds mark after using his Sheer Drop Brainbuster technique on Henare, moving the CHAOS team to (5-2) [10 points] while the loss dropped HenarAce to (1-6) [2 points].
Ishii/Yano would go on to face former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions and WTL 2019 winner FinJuice (Juice Robinson/David Finlay) on December 4th, while HenarAce face the Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) team of Sanada/”The Dragon” Shingo Takagi on the same night.
The former of Ishii/Yano was not expected to last this long into WTL 2020, yet the team managed to capture the chemistry they had during their IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship reign.
Remember to stay up to date with the latest news on TheOvertimer. Don’t forget to visit Gamestingr for great videos, news, and gameplay!