World Tag League night 12 (December 4) Preview
Penultimate night for B Block
There are just two matches left to wrestle for B Block in World Tag League. As situations get more complex, we’ll see things take shape tonight in the beautiful prefecture of Saga.
Watch live in English on NJPW World!
Main event: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi) (3–2) vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (EVIL & Ren Narita) (4–1)
LIJ must win
A loss to LIJ and a United Empire win eliminates HOUSE OF TORTURE
Once again, the threat of HOUSE OF TORTURE in a tournament final position is real as B Block heads to the wire. Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi can help prevent that from happening, and indeed need to in order to be in the final hunt Friday. Will they put away former friend turned long time foe EVIL and the NJPW World TV Champion?
7th Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Jado (2–3) vs Toru Yano & Boltin Oleg (3–2)
Tanahashi & Jado are mathematically eliminated
Yano & Boltin must win with a United Empire and H.O.T loss
The NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Champions all sharing a ring is a relatively rare occurence of late, and this time it’s as opponents as well. While friendly competition is douibtless the theme tonight, it’s worth mentioning that at one win off the pace, Boltin and Yano might still be in contention in B Block, depending on the result of the match before. Should the Natural Classics upset the IWGP Tag Team Champions, then they’ll be fighitng to remain in contention for Kagoshima Friday, and won’t be pulling any punches.
6th Match: United Empire (Great-O-Khan & HENARE) (4–1) vs Natural Classics (Tome Filip & Stevie Filip) (1–4)
Natural Classics are mathematically eliminated
A disappointing result against HOUSE OF TORTURE at the weekend saw Tome and Stevie Filip eliminated from the World Tag League running. While their debut entry in the tournament has only yielded two points so far, there are still four left on the board to claim. While the Filips cannot reach the final, they can get a huge result over the IWGP Tag Team Champions tonight.
For HENARE and Great-O-Khan, victory in Osaka over former tag champions in TMDK has put them most in control of their destiny going into the final night of block action Friday. For the champions, a tie break over HOUSE OF TORTURE has been key in getting them closer to Kumamoto; a win tonight pushes them further in that journey.
5th Match: TAKATaichi (TAKA Michinoku & Taichi) (1–4) vs TMDK (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls) (2–3)
Both teams are mathematically eliminated
It was a gutting night for TAKA Michinoku and Taichi in Osaka Sunday, as they sustained their fourth loss, and became the first team from either block to be mathematically eliminated. Only one win, on their first night has been followed by four consecutive losses; still, one can’t argue with the quality fo that win. Two points gained over the IWGP Tag Team Champions Great-O-Khan and HENARE have to offer some considerable encouragement. Tonight they can gain more, and change the complexion of the top of the table if they can defeat former champions TMDK.
Still Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls’ stock has been hurt in what has been a disastrous WTL campaign. Needing to win in the main event of Osaka’s card December 1, their second straight defeat to Great-O-Khan and HENARE cost them any hopes of making the finals December 8. With disappointment real, they still hope to finish strong, starting with a win over TAKATaichi.
4th Match: TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa & Kosei Fujita) vs United Empire (Jeff Cobb, Callum Newman & Jakob Austin Young)
As TMDK and United Empire are both looking to finish A Block strong, Six man action hits the ring tonight in Saga. The hopes of an all TMDK final have been dashed, but could United Empire set off on the right step to making a similar goal happen for them?
3rd Match: Shota Umino, Tiger Mask & Tomoaki Honma vs Los Ingobernables De Japon (Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji & BUSHI)
The last match of A Block Thursday will see Shota Umino and Yota Tsuji pick up their generational feuds, as Shingo Takagi and Tomoaki honma will throw in their own veteran oars. Tonight BUSHI and Tiger Mask also are in the mix for what should be a hard hitting preview bout.
2nd Match: Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Shoma Kato vs War Dogs (Gabe Kidd, SANADA & Gedo)
One of the most memorable matches of last year’s WTL tournament saw Gabe Kidd and Alex Coughlin fight all over the arena with Bishamon. It’ll be a reunion of sorts for War Dogs and Bishamon Thursday, and Kidd will need to be firing on all cylinders with SANADA in order to put away the threepeat winners and prevent them nearing a fourth set of trophies. An all important preview tonight.
1st Match: Alex Zayne & Katsuya Murashima vs BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens & KENTA)
Alex Zayne teams with Young Lion Katsuya Murashima to take on KENTA and Chase Owens in our first bout of the night. While Murashima’s relative inexperience will make this a tough climb for the red corner team opposite BULLET CLUB, Ryusuke Taguchi taking the night to strategise could make this duo all the more dangerous come Friday.
