Last group matches see final four set
It’s the last night for B Block on December 7, and one day before the semifinals, our final four will be set Thursday night in Miyazaki.
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Main event: WTL B Block- Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) (3-2-1) vs Just Five Guys (Yuya Uemura & Taichi) (4-2)
Uemura and Taichi advance with a win, in first if GoD win and second if Monstersauce win
Bishamon take second with a win
It’s been a highly impressive debut World Tag League for Yuya Uemura and Taichi. While Uemura’s highly techncial style has seen him struggle in the face of large opposition like Lance Archer and Bad Luck Fale, seeing his side’s two losses this year, his growth in confidence under Taichi, highlighted by an impressive and emphatic win over Yuji Nagata, has seen both gel well to reach eight points.
Conversely, Bishamon had a rough go of things at the start of the tournament, and even mid way only had three points to their name. As has happened in the past when YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto have had their backs to the wall, they’ve fought through to just one point off the pace. One more victory would bring them one more step toward an unprecedented threepeat- will the well honed teamwork of the IWGP Champions be too much for the J5G opposition when the chips are down?
7th Match: WTL B Block- Guerrillas of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) (4-2) vs Monstersauce (Alex Zayne & Lance Archer) (4-2)
Monstersauce take first with a win
GoD advance with a win, in first if Bishamon win, and second if Uemura and Taichi win
Much like their IWGP counterparts, the NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag team Champions had a patchy start to the tournament with two straight losses after an inti8ial victory over Bishamon on the opening night. Hikuleo and Phantasmo have rallied since, and entertained as well as excelled with a sense of fair play that had been unknown to ELP for years before he left BULLET CLUB. he and Hikuleo will have to get mean to advance though as the two face Lance Archer and Alex Zayne tonight. This rematch of a chaotic bout in Las Vegas back in October sees form go in favour of the champions, but Monstersauce have a point to prove, and want to end an impressive league run with one more win and a spot in the final four.
6th Match: WTL B Block- Zandokan Jr. & Yota Tsuji (3-3) vs Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. (2-3-1)
Both teams are eliminated
Yota Tsuji and Zandokan Jr. headed into the World tag League having only teamed once before in CMLL, while Atlantis Jr. and Soberano Jr. were a relevos increibles tag, one that at home would be split down the tecnico and rudo divide. With that in mind, it’s little wonder that neither have made the final four, but in this final contest, they’ll seek to dazzle the Miyazaki crowd with one last win, and a little taste of Fantasticamania next February.
5th Match: Yuji Nagata & Minoru Suzuki (1-5) vs BULLET CLUB Rogue Army (Bad Luck Fale & Jack Bonza) (2-4)
Both teams are eliminated
Yuji Nagata and Minoru Suzuki teaming together after four decades of hatred could have ended in one of two ways- either in a miraculous synchronicity and a mutual respect, or a hatred and frustration that only grew through the month. It turned out to be the latter, and Nagata and Suzuki have only been able to muster two points. Their last chance for two more is against Jack Bonza and Bad Luck Fale, the latter being a former protege of Nagata’s, and Blue Justice’s final G1 opponent back in 2017. Will that emotional connection be to Nagata’s benefit, or downfall?
4th Match: TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls) vs BULLET CLUB (Taiji Ishimori, Gabe Kidd & Alex Coughlin)
Last night in Karatsu, a brutal main event saw the BULLET CLUB War Dogs of Alex Coughlin and Gabe Kidd seize first place in the World Tag League A Block. Shane Haste would take to the microphone after the main event and command Kidd and Coughlin to win their semifinal match Friday, so that TMDK could get revenge in the tournament finals in Kumamoto. Whether that rematch will take place remains to be seen, but in the meantime, ill feeling from last night will spill over into today’s action, particularly from Kosei Fujita, who was attacked backstage and dragged to the ring by Kidd to kick off yesterday’s melee.
3rd Match: Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada vs Boltin Oleg, Tomoaki Honma, Ryohei Oiwa & Kaito Kiyomiya
Like a moth to a flame so Kaito Kiyomiya is drawn to Kazuchika Okada, and the two will face off tonight once more. Kiyomiya has long talked of needing to defear ther Rainmaker, but the early part of 2023 saw him turned away by Okada. After exits before the knockout phase of both the G1 and World Tag League, Kaito badly needs to return to NOAH with head held high, and certainly one way to do it would be to make a mark in the last nights of the tournament. With the NEVER Openweight 6 man Champions opposite him, the stars could be aligning.
2nd Match: Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & Shota Umino vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (SHO, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL)
Shota Umino heads into Miyazaki reeling from the emotional gut punch of Ren Narita’s betrayal and joining HOUSE OF TORTURE. Narita is conspicuous by his absence tonight, and one wonders whether his presence will be felt on the outside of this bout as the Roughneck will be an emotional powder keg.
1st Match: Yuto Nakashima, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun vs United Empire (Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan & HENARE)
The night kicks off with Gates of Agony colliding with the United Empire. HENARE and Great-O-Khan defeated Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona during the World Tag League, and staked a claim to the ROH World 6 Man Championships. In place of the third member of the Mogul Embassy side Brian Cage is Young Lion Yuto Nakashima tonight, as Liona and Kaun look to build on the incredible aggression they were able to tap into on the last night of block competition to strike back against the United Empire.
