My oh my, was that ever a long night... but it was sure worth it! Ladies and gentlemen, Wrestle Kingdom 14 is, technically still upon us as we speak as we are now between halves of this pro wrestling extravaganza! Night 1 finished a few hours ago as I type this and frankly I’ve only just now begun to decompress from all that I’ve witnessed. As I said before any of this even started, it’s going to go down as a truly unforgettable weekend in professional wrestling’s storied history.
With the fourth match of the main card came the first of five straight title bouts. The Guerrillas of Destiny, comprised of Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa, had held the IWGP Tag Team Championships for over 300 days by the time they strolled into the January 4th Dome Show. FinJuice is a brand new team that just won the World Tag League last month.
FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) def. The Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) to become IWGP Tag Team Champions
Indeed, the first title match brought us the first of several title changes. I kinda thought they’d want to let Tama and Loa surpass their predecessors’ Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows with a year-long title reign of their own, but I guess not.
You can see an excerpt of my recap of this match below:
Finlay driven to the corner, Loa up top, Tama suplexes him into Powerbomb position, Finlay with a Super Rana to counter, Loa might’ve landed on Finlay’s leg there… Gunstun avoided, Tama trips Finlay into a kendo stick shot from Jado, roll-up for a nearfall! Tama tries the Gunstun on both of FinJuice and they each avoid it, Finlay hits him with it instead for a nearfall, Loa has to break it up! Hoists Finlay up for a powerslam, Juice pulls him free, Loa grabs Juice instead but he escapes to the back, tries for the Pulp Friction, Loa shoves him away, Jado on the apron, Juice with a huge left hand takes him to the floor! Loa eats a leftie as well but no sells… so he gives him a second knockout shot to rock him, Pulp Friction! Finlay hits the Sliced Bread #2 on Tama, pin for the win!
Winners: FinJuice