New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) hosted the second night of the World Tag League 2020 (WTL 2020) tournament series in front of 1,433 fans at the Yoshitsune Arena within the Ishikawa Prefecture. As usual, during present times, the crowd number was reduced to fit NJPW’s COVID-19 (Coronavirus, 2019) safety protocols.
The headline tournament match of the event saw former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions and CHAOS members “Stone Pitbull” one-third of the reigning NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano face the Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) team of Sanada and reigning NEVER Openweight Champion “The Dragon” Shingo Takagi.
Sanada and Shingo came off a surprising defeat to the Bullet Club team of Evil/Yujiro during the opening night of the series. Their CHAOS opponents were able to defeat the Bullet Club team of Bad Luck Fale/Chase Owens quickly to begin their campaign.
The polar opposite team of Ishii/Yano gave the LIJ team problems throughout the match, with Shingo and Ishii engaging in a physical forearm exchange that has become a staple of the NEVER Openweight division.
Yano’s mind games were also at the root of frustration for LIJ, but they were able to find their footing and secure their path to victory. Sanada gained the fall over Yano at the 12 minutes and 24 seconds mark with his O’Connor’s Bridge clutch technique. The win gave the LIJ tandem their first 2 points on the tournament, setting them on a good track forward.
The loss for the CHAOS team wasn’t unexpected but remains a matter of frustration for the former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. They went on to face their CHAOS unit mates two-thirds of the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions Hirooki Goto/Yoshi-Hashi on November 19th.
Sanada/Takagi would go on to face reigning IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions and Suzuki-Gun members Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr/Taichi) on the same night in what became an early must-win after their WTL 2020 defeat on opening night.
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