I don’t think I’d quite appreciated how long this Tag League is. Each team is wrestling fifteen matches. FIFTEEN! Was this put together specifically to torture poor Nakanishi? There’s a chance he won’t survive this. Won’t someone think of the Dads!
After two enjoyable shows in Korakuen, World Tag League hit the road, and this was the big test. If this tournament is going to earn its official status of ‘actually good’ then the fun has to continue through these smaller shows. Can they do it? Let’s find out.
Korakuen Hall is a magical place. I am finally heading out to Japan over New Year, and while I can’t wait for the Dome show and the crowning of Naito Two Belts (please, Gedo-san), I can’t imagine even that will overshadow the moment I sit in Korakuen Hall for the first time. Something about that place brings the best out of wrestlers, and the previous day’s Tag League show was a perfect example of that. Could that magic linger for another night? I’m not going to bet against it.
The self-hatred continues with night two of World Tag League. Although I quite enjoyed the previous day, so I can’t moan too much. Throw in the fact New Japan was in Korakuen, and there was every chance we’d get a decent show.
YOSHI-HASHI being brilliantly YOSHI-HASHI. Credit: NJPW
I have reviewed every match of every New Japan tournament this year, and because of that, I’m going to review every match of World Tag League. Why do I hate myself, you ask? That’s for my therapist and me to discuss. So, if you know a good one, get in touch. This tournament rarely, if ever, gets above average, so it’s going to be a long one, but you never know, maybe it will surprise me.
As is the norm, I won’t be reviewing non-tournament matches.
Wow, July is a busy month for wrestling, isn’t it? So is August when we get down to it, which is why this is late. Then again, it’s late every month, so at some point, it has probably stopped being late and turns up exactly when it’s expected. Anyway, this is quite G1 heavy because, well, it’s the motherfucking G1, but more than one match has rightly made its way in from elsewhere, so it’s not the New Japan wankfest you might expect.
We are getting very close to the end of this G1, aren’t we? There are two shows left, including this one, and it’s time to find out who will be going on to face Kota Ibushi for the right to main event Wrestle Kingdom. Goto, White, Naito and Moxley are all still in the mix, but we’ve all got our fingers crossed for the Naito Express, right? Come on, my son, bring it home.
My spoiler-free must-see recommendations are Tomohiro Ishii vs Taichi and Shingo Takagi vs Hirooki Goto.
I think I nailed my G1 maths for A Block yesterday, so let’s see if I can do the same for B. On the block’s penultimate night, Jon Moxley, Tetsuya Naito, Jay White, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Juice Robinson, Hirooki Goto, Taichi and Jeff Cobb all still had a chance to reach the final. Now I’ve written all that down I’ve realised this would be the longest intro of all time if I tried to figure it out, so let’s leave it for the end.
My must-see spoiler-free recommendations are Tetsuya Naito vs Jeff Cobb and Shingo Takagi vs Tomohiro Ishii.
I think Naito might have been in pain. Credit: NJPW
The Naito comeback express is picking up speed and with the B Block in Osaka he needed Moxley to lose to Jay White before he faced off against his stablemate, Shingo, in the main event. Just that alone sounds like a shitload of fun, so let’s not hang around – onto the wrestling!
My spoiler-free must-see recommendations are Tomohiro Ishii vs Toru Yano, Jay White vs Jon Moxley and Shingo Takagi vs Tetsuya Naito.
Time for the hard bastards to do hard bastard things. Credit: NJPW
We are over the hump and the G1 is roaring towards it’s conclusion. Meanwhile, the booking has me in a place where I genuinely don’t have a clue what’s going on. I’m still optimistically clinging to my Naito pick, but who fucking knows at this point.
My spoiler-free must-see recommendations are Jeff Cobb vs Shingo Takagi and Hirooki Goto vs Tomohiro Ishii.