The new IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions in Juice Robinson & David Finlay will find no rest as the dust settles after Wrestle Kingdom & New Years Dash. They teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi to face The Bullet Club team of Tama Tonga, Tanga Roa, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens. The babyface team came out on top, and in the post match, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi laid down a challenge to FinJuice for their newly won titles. It will be up to the NJPW matchmakers to make it official, but judging from the fan reaction; the fans want it.
Thrown Together Team, But With A Ton Of Experience
A team of Kota Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi is an interesting one, as they have been fierce rivals who have insane amounts of respect for each other. They have very little tag team experience with each other, but are not unfamiliar to the art form. Tanahashi has held the IWGP Tag Team Championships in the past with Shinsuke Nakamura & Yutaka Yoshie. He hasn’t held that title since 2005, but he held the CMLL World Tag Team Champion with Jushin Thunder Liger in 2013.
Kota Ibushi is of course, one half of the legendary Golden Lovers with Kenny Omega. His tag team skills are just as strong as his skills as a singles competitor. Despite this, he has never held the IWGP Tag Team Championships. He has held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion with Kenny Omega, and has won other tag team championships around Japan, but never NJPWs top tag team prize. Could this partnership with Tanahashi change this? Another major loss though, and we could very well see Ibushi go off the deep end.
Can Juice Robinson & David Finlay Overcome?
While both members of FinJuice are talented, they are outclassed in terms of skill & experience in this matchup. They have one key factor which could put them on the winning side, and that is that they are an experienced tag team. Having teamed together since 2018, they have had time to build up their chemistry and have become a well oiled machine. After their impressive run in World Tag League and their dominant victory at Wrestle Kingdom, they also have momenteum. Juice lost some of his after failing to beat Jon Moxley for the IWGP United States Championship on Night Two of action, but as a team they remain on top.
This match will likely take place on one of the upcoming New Beginning shows which will take place in both Japan and the United States later on in January, and with the talent involved, could very well headline a show.
Who do you have as a victor in this prospective matchup? Let us know in the comment section down below.
