For the past two years, NJPW has been building up their roster in the United States for their NJPW Strong brand. This has come with it’s own top championship, that being the Strong Openweight Championship. Now, they’re bringing in a set of tag team championships for the growing Strong tag team division.
Eight Team Tournament To Crown First Ever NJPW Strong Tag Team Champions To Come
This was made official with a post on NJPW1972.com, announcing an eight team single elimination tournament. The statement from NJPW would be as follows.
“This summer, the shape of STRONG changes forever, as the brand introduces tag team championships for the first time. The very first STRONG Openweight Tag Team Champions will be crowned in the Grady Cole Center in Charlotte North Carolina after the finals of an eight team tournament, with teams and brackets to be revealed soon.
The single elimination tournament will start at Ignition in the Vermont Hollywood June 19, with the first round and semifinals. Find out who makes the finals first by being a part of Ignition tapings! Then be there in person when the first ever champs are crowned at our High Alert tapings!”
With this happening through TV tapings, we will see spoilers – and will know who the champions are before the episode even has a chance to air. This might be a mistake, as NJPW could have run the finals during an NJPW Strong PPV later this year.
Teams Are Yet To Be Announced, Yet Easy To Figure Out
No teams have been announced at this time, but it’s not hard to assume the teams which could be involved. Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs aka West Coast Wrecking Crew is immediately a favorite, as is the TMDK duo of Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. We will likely we a team of LA Dojo graduates with Karl Fredericks and Alex Coughlin, and AEW’s The Factory – who have been feuding with the LA Dojo.
Stray Dog Army are likely to enter two of their members, and that’s five out of eight teams. Add in another AEW team, some Young Lions, and maybe even legends like TenKoji – and you have a great tournament. Which team do you hope to see in this tournament? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get TheOvertimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
