It’s time for Night Eight of the World Tag League, and it’s almost time to say goodbye to the tournament. After tonight, there is only one more night left, making things great for Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano, who are alone at 10 points. The Empire, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI, FinJuice, Dangerous Tekkers, Guerrillas of Destiny, and Shingo Takagashi & SANADA are all right behind at 8 points. This puts many teams still in the race, making every match here count.
World Tag League 2020 Match: Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.) vs. BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens)
Fale & Owens are one of two teams completely eliminated from the tournament, and all they can do now is ruin the chances of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, Dangerous Tekkers. A win here could get Fale & Owens a championship match, and with their new finisher in the Grenade Launcher? It might just be possible to pull off the upset.
After a brawling start was won by Dangerous Tekkers, Taichi realized that he physically couldn’t get Bad Luck Fale up for his finish. Instead, Tekkers would have to break down Fale and focus on Chase Owens and were able to nail the Holy Zack Driver for the win, pushing them to double digits.
Match Rating: 2.5/5 (** ½)
World Tag League 2020 Match: CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. BULLET CLUB (EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi)
Despite a hot start in the tournament, and having the best year of his career? EVIL faces elimination if he and Yujiro Takahashi are unable to win tonight. YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto would relish in being able to knock EVIL down a peg, and if a win gets them to 10 points as well? That’s just perfect.
It was a rough start for YOSHI-HASHI as he was attacked from behind, but if 2020 taught us anything it’s that he is great at coming back when things look bleak. He’d mount the comeback with some help from Goto, and before they knew it, they were on top. They’d take EVIL out, drop Takahashi in the middle of the ring, and walk into the final night with 10 points.
Match Rating: 2.75/5 (** ¾)
World Tag League 2020 Match: FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) vs. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano)
Being the only team at 10 points in the tournament entering the night makes this an easy win for Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano. They just need one more win, and their ticket to the final might as well be punched. Standing in their way are last year’s World Tag League winners, FinJuice. They won’t back down from the fight of Ishii, and Robinson is one of the few men Yano has issues figuring out, so this one might not be a walk in the park.
It’s amazing what can happen when you don’t overthink Yano & Ishii. Finlay & Robinson had their gameplan, didn’t get flustered even when hit by lariats or turnbuckle pads. They dug their heels in, and once again Robinson showed that ‘you can’t bullshit a bullshitter’. In the end, Finlay would get the rollup on Yano for the win, pushing FinJuice to 10 points. This is getting interesting in a hurry, with four teams now tied for the lead.
Match Rating: 3/5 (***)
World Tag League 2020 Match: Guerrillas Of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs. The Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb)
Ever since forming at the start of the tournament, The Empire has become a very deadly unit indeed. Jeff Cobb & Great O-Khan might face their best challenge yet, as they face one of the most decorated tag teams in NJPW history, who are possibly better than ever. Guerrillas of Destiny have returned to NJPW with renewed passion, and are seeking to break the curse of World Tag League with a win. Both teams need this one, and will battle to the end to win it.
This tournament has been great for Tanga Loa showing that he belongs with heavy hitters in the NEVER Openweight Championship hunt, but that’s a story for 2021. Tonight we saw another masterful performance for G.O.D, who seem to look better with each passing match.
They were able to work around the rookie team of The Empire, and with Jado in their corner helping out, this was as easy as a win against Cobb & Khan gets. Tama Tonga nailed the gunstun to win, and moved up to 10 points, putting us to a five way tie.
Match Rating: 3/5 (***)
World Tag League 2020 Match: Los Ingobernables de Japón (SANADA & Shingo Takagi) vs. HenarACE (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare)
You would think a team headed up by Hiroshi Tanahashi would see more success than one win to six losses, but that is how this year is ending for Tanahashi. Henare has taken most of the falls, but it’s the hurt leg of Tanahashi that would keep Henare stranded alone. However, tonight they have a different purpose in mind. Shingo Takagi is the NEVER Openweight Champion, and Henara would like a crack at that championship. Meanwhile, Tanahashi has a bone to pick with SANADA after losing to him in the G1.
This was essentially a night off for SANADA & Tanahashi, they’ll have to deal with their issues another day. Both men played small roles in a match that was ultimately Shingo vs. Henare, and that was perfect. Henare has taken more pinfalls than anyone else in this tournament, but he’s had a chance to prove his toughness. This was an even bigger test than facing off with Ishii, but he was able to go blow for blow with Shingo in a hard hitting war. Sadly, Henare wasn’t able to survive Last Of The Dragon, and would fall to Shingo in the end. This means that was have a sixth team at ten points, making the final night very interesting.
Match Rating: 4/5 (****)
What was your favorite match of Night Eight? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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