I’m hoping Mickey Nichols and Gabe Kidd are in the same block I know they’d put on an absolute banger

Hello r/njpw

Welcome to my final World Tag League analysis post, and my last tournament post for New Japan for the year!

We're down to the last few days of World Tag League, as well as the last few shows of the year for New Japan as a whole. Wrestle Kingdom is fast approaching, and the final matches for that show will be established through this tournament. However, before we get to Wrestle Kingdom, we must crown World Tag League champions, and that's what we'll be looking at today, so let's dive in.

As usual, I'm gonna plug my World Tag League results summary Google doc, which you can access here, that I'm manually updating as we go along the tournament. It contains the schedule of the matches, results, and a spoiler-free summary of the top 20 best matches of the block phase of the tournament (based on CageMatch Ratings), as well as the playoffs tree, which will be filled up once the qualified wrestlers are set.

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Let's have a look at A Block

A Block

Well, as expected, over half the block was eliminated from contention this past Monday, and A Block is down to just 3 teams: Bishamon, War Dogs, and Takagi & Tsuji. These teams will feature in just two matches (Bishamon vs War Dogs, and Takagi & Tsuji vs Umino & Honma), so the possible results are fairly easy to map out.

Case 1: Bishamon beats War Dogs

This is the simplest way. With Bishamon's prior win over Takagi & Tsuji, they have the most autonomy in this block. Should they beat the War Dogs as well, their conquest of A Block will be completely uncontested.

Case 2: War Dogs beat Bishamon, Takagi & Tsuji don't beat Umino & Honma

However, if the tables turn and War Dogs beats Bishamon, then they'll take the A Block finals spot. However, that depends on the result of the other match. If Takagi & Tsuji are unable to beat Umino & Honma to make 10 points, then War Dogs move ahead as normal, but if they do ...

Case 3: War Dogs beat Bishamon, Takagi & Tsuji beat Umino & Honma

In this case, both War Dogs and Takagi & Tsuji are at 10 points, so it goes down to tie-breaks, and because Takagi & Tsuji beat the War Dogs earlier in the tournament, the LIJ team breaks the tie and claims the finals spot for themselves.

Case 4: Bishamon and War Dogs draw

The last case is a bit of a fringe case, but merits examination regardless. This is the unlikely case where Bishamon & War Dogs go to a draw, leaving both teams at 9. The ultimate result depends on what happens in the Takagi & Tsuji-Umino & Honma match.

If Takagi & Tsuji win, then they make 10 points, and take the finals spot no problem. If they lose, then it leaves an exact tie for #1 between Bishamon & War Dogs, which would likely result in another match to settle who takes the finals spot.

However, if Takagi & Tsuji also draw Umino & Honma, then we have a three-way point-draw at 9. However, this one is easier to break. Since Bishamon beat Takagi & Tsuji and drew War Dogs, they have the best head-to-head record (Takagi & Tsuji have one win and one loss, while War Dogs has one draw and one loss), so Bishamon moves on to the finals in that case.

Thus, the results table looks like this:

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With A Block done, let's move over to B Block

B Block

In some ways, B Block is neater than A Block, but in some ways it's not. At the very least, the dynamic is different here. We effectively have only 2 contenders left (O-Khan & HENARE and Naito & Hiromu), and they'll be facing each other on Friday, so t should be an effective semi-final match, but the presence of Yano & Boltin in the mix complicates things, and House of Torture might also cause some issues. Let's just start with the simplest outcomes.

Case 1: O-Khan & HENARE beat or draw Naito & Hiromu

Having the point lead gives O-Khan & HENARE a distinct advantage versus anyone else in the tournament. It means that they can guarantee their finals spot even on a draw, because they'd still make 11 points, bringing them out of reach of anyone else in the block.

Case 2: Naito & Hiromu beat O-Khan & HENARE, Yano & Boltin do not beat TMDK

However, if Naito & Hiromu do manage to beat the tag champs, then they'll match their score with the tie break over them. As long as no other team makes 10 points to muddy things up, Naito & Hiromu take the final spot clean. Hell, even if HoT do beat Tanahashi & Jado in this case, it won't matter, because HoT has lost to both O-Khan & HENARE and Naito & Hiromu.

Case 3: Naito & Hiromu beat O-Khan & HENARE, Yano & Boltin beat TMDK, HoT does not beat Tanahashi & Jado

Things start getting complicated if Yano & Boltin make 10 as well. With O-Khan & HENARE, Naito & Hiromu, and Yano & Boltin all at 10 points, they become locked in a three-way deadlock for #1. As per usual with these deadlocks, I'm not sure what the resolution is, but I guess we'll find out if it happens.

Case 4: Naito & Hiromu beat O-Khan & HENARE, Yano & Boltin beat TMDK, HoT beats Tanahashi & Jado

Adding House of Torture to the mix doesn't help much. If HoT beats Tanahashi & Jado as well, we now have 4 teams with 10 points. Among them, O-Khan & HENARE and Naito & Hiromu both have two head-to-head wins (Yano & Boltin and HoT, and O-Khan & HENARE and HoT, respectively), while Yano & Boltin and HoT each have just one (Naito & Hiromu and Yano & Boltin, respectively). In this case, I imagine O-Khan & HENARE and Naito & Hiromu take the lead, but how it gets broken after that is unclear.

And so the results table for B Block looks like this. The "with draws" section is a bit long, but I think you get the idea:

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Potential Finals Match-Ups

So with all the potential outcomes laid out, what are we looking at as far as what the finals match could be? Well, at this point, the most likely finals match-up is Bishamon vs O-Khan & HENARE, which is a prestigious match-up. The reigning WTL champions vs the current IWGP tag champs. Bishamon vs Naito & Hiromu isn't quite as momentous, though Goto & Naito have enough history to make it interesting.

Then there's the War Dogs, who each have their own dance partners. Gabe Kidd matching back up with United Empire writes itself, and I'm sure HENARE in particular wants to get his hands on Kidd. On the other hand, the connection between SANADA and Naito & Hiromu doesn't need to be said. Yeah, they've clashed many times before, but the new context of SANADA as a War Dog adds a new wrinkle.

Lastly, Takagi & Tsuji have little bit with each of the B Block contenders as well. The recent history of Takagi & HENARE is enough to build the context of that final match-up, but the obvious fan-pleaser here is the all-LIJ final.

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That does it for me here. Like I said, that'll be the last tournament analysis post for me this year. The next round robin tournament for New Japan will almost certainly be the Best of the Super Juniors next May, so I'll see you all back in half a year. However, I do have something fun in the works for the remainder of the year leading up to Wrestle Kingdom. I'll talk about that later on.

Also, if you keep up with AEW, I'm still doing write-ups for the Continental Classic, so come over to r/AEWOfficial to keep up with me there if you're interested.

Until then, thanks for reading! See you next post.

In my defense I was bumping this shit really hard in the first half of the year

• Pre-Show: Match canceled due to Yasuda’s injury, back on tomorrow. They do a ceremony to commemorate this being the final event of their 2024 collaboration with the city of Karatsu.

• Main show kicks off with Liger, one of the main Karatsu promotion guys, coming out to give a short rah-rah speech. Karatsu Castle mascot Karawan-kun is in the back row of the balcony watching the show.

• Chase Owens & KENTA def Katsuya Murashima, Alex Zayne (w/Ryusuke Taguchi) — (8:13, Game Over)

• Post-match, Chase and KENTA attempt to recruit Liger, who is on Japanese commentary, into BC. Liger just waves them off.

• Gedo, SANADA & Gabe Kidd def Shoma Kato, Bishamon (YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto) — (10:23, Drill a Hole Piledriver)

• During his entrance, Gabe stops to stare down and taunt Liger. He also asks what the fuck Karawan-kun is (a dog in a samurai helmet) and gives the mascot the double bird. No respect for his fellow canine.

• Gabe takes a break during his beatdown of Kato to do a brief a capella rendition of the Karatsu promotional theme song.

• Post-match, Gabe tells SANADA to join him to get their hands raised. Still not BFFs but Kidd has definitely warmed up to him.

• BUSHI, Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi def Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino — (6:18, Gene Blaster)

• Shota works the open of the match, with all three LIJ members taking turns targeting his bad leg. Once he tags out, he is not a factor for the rest of the match.

• Post-match, Shingo gestures that he’s going to break Shota’s leg, and Tsuji mocks his injury.

• Not saying anything for certain, but there were a couple points here where I think Shota appeared to have briefly forgotten which leg he’s meant to be selling.

• Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa, Zack Sabre Jr. def Jakob Austin Young, Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb — (11:11, The Grip)

• WTL A Block: TMDK (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls) def TAKATaichi (TAKA Michinoku & Taichi) — (11:12, Electric Blue)

• WTL B Block: HENARE & Great-O-Khan def Natural Classics (Tome Filip & Stevie Filip) — (10:02, Imperial Drop)

• Karawan-kun is fucking hyped to see friend of Karatsu O-Khan.

• Natural Classics lean heavy into the heel BC tactics.

• WTL B Block: Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano def Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi — (11:25, flash pin)

• Oleg & Yano are technically still in with a multi-way tie scenario if LIJ win the main.

• WTL B Block: Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito (full suit w/t shirt accessory version) def Ren Narita & EVIL (w/Dick Togo) — (19:23, Destino)

• A scramble leaves Red Shoes catching Hiromu holding Ren’s push up bar. After a moment of contemplation Hiromu tosses the bar out… and then superkicks Naito.

• HoT don’t know what to make of it, but eventually hit the smoke, Hiromu joins in.

• They go to attack Naito, but Hiromu hits EVIL and then Ren with EVIL. He apologizes to Naito.

• Post-match promo. Hiromu apologizes to Naito again, gives him the mic. First ever LIJ roll call in Karatsu.

——Standings (w/key results)——

A Block:

• Bishamon— 8 points (4-2) (beat LIJ) win Block if win
• War Dogs— 8 points (4-2) (lost to LIJ) win Block if win and LIJ lose
• LIJ (T&T)— 8 points (4-2) (beat WD; lost to Bishamon) win Block if win and BSH lose

——— Eliminated ———

• BC— 6 points (3-3) (beat LIJ; lost to Bishamon, WD, C/N) possibly alive in multi-way tie if win final, plus LIJ lose final, plus WD vs Bishamon ends in zero points
• Cobb/Newman— 6 points (3-3) (beat BC; lost to WD, LIJ, Bishamon) possibly alive in multi-way tie if win final, BC get to 8, plus WD vs Bishamon ends in zero points
• TMDK (Z&O)— 4 points (2-4)
• Zayne/Taguchi— 4 points (2-4)
• Shota/Honma— 4 points (2-4)

B Block:

• HENARE/O-Khan— 10 points (5-1) (beat HoT, O/Y) win Block if win
• LIJ (N&H)— 8 points (4-2) (beat HoT, lost to O/Y) win Block if win, plus O/Y lose
• Oleg/Yano— 8 points (4-2) (beat LIJ; lost to H/O, HoT) alive in multi-way tie if win final, plus LIJ beats UE

——— Eliminated ———

• EVIL/Ren— 8 points (4-2) (beat O/Y, lost to H/O, LIJ) possibly alive in multi-way tie if win final, O/Y win, plus LIJ beat UE
• TMDK (S&M)— 6 points (3-3) (beat T/J; lost to LIJ, HoT, H/O)
• Tana/Jado— 4 points (2-4)
• Natural Classics— 2 points (1-5)
• TAKATaichi— 2 points (1-5)

——

Reminder: If you see another basic full results post after this one (especially one from a website trying to shill their zero-effort content) it is considered a repost and should be reported as such.

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Dude just:

-Turned on Naito

-Joined House of Torture

-Turned on House of Torture

-Apologized to Naito and went on to win the match

All within two minutes

Man, I love this freaking company 🤣🤣🤣🤣

My bad if this isn't the right sub. Does the Tokon Shop in Suidobashi sell Stardom tickets? I'll be in Tokyo for Wrestle Kingdom week and was hoping to buy all my tickets at the shop. Googling didn't turn up anything.

Doesnt have to be from this year. Just one you can remember.

For me I'd go with Shangi Chi and the 10 Rings. Good Film that had a good start, fun MC, and a good antagonist until the last 3rd where it was very much unnecessary.

The year isn't over yet. But for me it's been up and down.

🙂‍↕️

This brings us to 9 matches so far for the show. The only people advertised for it who don’t have matches yet are ZSJ, Shota, and Ishii.

IMO Titan being added to this card also bodes well for his Wrestle Dynasty chances, as he’s one of the names DOUKI recently threw out as CMLL competitors he’d like to face there (along with again mentioning Sammy Guevara, so it might end up as a three way).

Interested to get this subs opinion on the Tag League attendances this tour and how I think this has played into the booking. Bar the Korakuen show and the Fujisawa show they've not cracked any other shows this tour above 1k mark, which they did with almost every show last year with a less star laden tour.

One thing I certainly did notice which was interesting is that they've ran far more provincial shows this year than ever before, a good third of this tour is in towns and cities NJPW haven't run in a very long time.

Not quite sure who it was but I think someone remarked earlier on in the tour with Kikuchi back with a firm hand on how the booking goes and how he's viewed tag team wrestling as a vehicle to progress stories with singles matches. I kinda get the feeling this tour rather than being a Tag League showcase has essentially been used by NJPW as an extended house show run to drum up interest in more provincial markets for the dome weekender in January. Would certainly explain why having so many singles champions and challengers have made it in this year as the tournament has been used to further advance those stories. Would also explain why there's been a lack of outside involvement also - no CMLL involvement for the first time in a while

I think it's certainly been successful, and guys like Shota and Oiwa have gotten a lot out of it too. Interested to see what others make of it.

Good luck trying to top this one. You're gonna need it.

I now REALLY need to check their previous tag now 😅😅😅

• Pre-Show: Shoma Kato def Daiki Nagai — (8:43, Boston crab)

• Jakob Austin Young, HENARE & Great-O-Khan def Gedo, Natural Classics (Tome Filip & Stevie Filip) — (8:04, Ultima)

• DOUKI, TAKATaichi (TAKA Michinoku & Taichi) def Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls — (7:47, Heavy Killer No.1)

• Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano def Katsuya Murashima, Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi — (11:11, Kamikaze)

• BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito def Dick Togo, Ren Narita & EVIL — (11:01, Maximum the Holding Third Form [Named by Daisuke Han])

• Typical House start of match, but not quite your typical House match overall since LIJ can somewhat match their tomfoolery.

• WTL A Block: Chase Owens & KENTA def Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino — (5:24, Package Piledriver)

• BC jump Shota & Honma during their entrance. They begin targeting Shota’s ankle, which is being described as a minor injury.

• Shota & Honma are eliminated from the League.

• WTL A Block: SANADA & Gabe Kidd def Funky Sauce (Ryusuke Taguchi & Alex Zayne) — (13:09, Deadfall [after a dick shot])

• It’s a War Dogs match, you know how those go by now.

• Funky Sauce are out of contention.

• Gabe is very slowly continuing to warm up to SANADA.

• WTL A Block: Bishamon (YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto) def Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb — (12:16, Shoto)

• United Empire, Owens/KENTA, and TMDK are now essentially out (exact scenarios in block standings).

• WTL A Block: Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi def Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. — (24:18, Pumping Blaster)

• TMDK are completely out now.

• In his backstage comments, Tsuji has some interesting words for 1/2 of the team they’ll face on the final night: “Shota, the Dome is calling. I have to acknowledge, you’re the only person right now who can challenge for the IWGP. I respect that. I wonder if you will show me respect in return. You understand?”

——Standings (w/key results)——

A Block:

• War Dogs— 8 points (4-2) (lost to LIJ)
• Bishamon— 8 points (4-2) (beat LIJ)
• LIJ (T&T)— 8 points (4-2) (beat WD; lost to Bishamon)

——— Eliminated ———

• BC— 6 points (3-3) (beat LIJ; lost to Bishamon, WD, C/N) possibly alive in multi-way tie if win final, plus LIJ lose final, plus WD vs Bishamon ends in zero points
• Cobb/Newman— 6 points (3-3) (beat BC; lost to WD, LIJ, Bishamon) possibly alive in multi-way tie if win final, BC get to 8, LIJ lose final, plus WD vs Bishamon ends in zero points
• TMDK (Z&O)— 4 points (2-4)
• Zayne/Taguchi— 4 points (2-4)
• Shota/Honma— 4 points (2-4)

B Block:

• EVIL/Ren— 8 points (4-1) (lost to H/O)
• HENARE/O-Khan— 6 points (3-1) (beat HoT, O/Y)
• Oleg/Yano— 6 points (3-2) (beat LIJ; lost to H/O, HoT)
• LIJ (N&H)— 6 points (3-2) (lost to O/Y)

——— Eliminated ———

• Tana/Jado— 4 points (2-3) (beat LIJ; lost to TMDK, H/O) possibly alive if they win out plus LIJ beats H/O, plus LIJ vs HoT ends in 0 points
• TMDK (S&M)— 4 points (2-3) (beat T/J; lost to LIJ, HoT, H/O) possibly alive if they win out, plus LIJ beats H/O, plus LIJ vs HoT ends in 0 points, plus T/J or O/Y get to 8
• Natural Classics— 2 points (1-4)
• TAKATaichi— 2 points (1-4)

——

Reminder: If you see another basic full results post after this one (especially one from a website trying to shill their zero-effort content) it is considered a repost and should be reported as such.

Also please report any posts that are either direct links to pirated versions of recent NJPW shows, or that link to Abema blogs that exist solely to distribute pirated content. “Breaks r/NJPW Rules” -> “Custom” -> write in the text box that it’s copyrighted content. We do not need TV Asahi on our butts.

there’s still some shows missing from NJPW World that I was hoping would be added back by now. I know what shows they add depends on the month. but there’s still multiple shows missing from the 2014 G1 Climax that were on World before the update. The 2014 King of Pro Wrestling show is also not available (aside from its main event). I hope these shows get added back soon

On tomorrow’s recording of Keepin’ It Strong Style, we’ll review World Tag League Nights 6-11 and preview the finals. Any questions for us?

Hello r/njpw!

Okay, I'm usually a lot wordier with these, but I'm gonna try to do this one quickly. The turn-arounds on this tournament are rough, and between other commitments and the general priority of World Tag League, I don't feel like putting too much effort into this one will not provide a good return on investment, so to speak.

If you know me, you know what this is about. Catch my World Tag League results page if you want updated results, schedules, and match recommendations.

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Alright. Let's hop right into A Block

A Block

With only one qualifier per block, a lot of these are gonna be very easy to round up. Let's go down the line

1. Bishamon

Bishamon have the best chance here and the most control. They beat Takagi & Tsuji and their remaining matches are against fellow 6-pointers. If they win both of their remaining matches, they are guaranteed to make the finals. However, because A Block is so tight at the moment, no one can really afford to drop a match, and while Bishamon can win at 8 points, it'll involve a lot of messy tie-breaking, so the simplest and cleanest way for them to make the playoffs is by winning their two remaining matches.

2. War Dogs

The impromptu pairing of Kidd & SANADA has proven to be successful here in World Tag League, though not all is well in the dog house. They've got a loss to Takagi & Tsuji, but they have a win over Cobb & Newman and a match to give with Bishamon. If Takagi & Tsuji keep pace with the dogs, then things'll be bad, but otherwise, they've got a pretty good line to the finals.

3. Takagi & Tsuji

Takagi & Tsuji find themselves only slightly behind the War Dogs, despite having already beaten them. this is mostly because their matches against current 6-pointers, which includes a critical loss to Bishamon, the current block leaders. With no way to change that result, they must hope that Bishamon drops a match in this final stretch, or else their hopes are all for naught. However, Bishamon is currently the only major roadblock for the LIJ team.

4. Cobb & Newman

Cobb & Newman started this tournament off pretty hot, but critical losses to War Dogs & Takagi & Tsuji have cost them precious momentum. They have one more chance at recovery with their next match against Bishamon, but losing that will spell the end of the road for the United Empire in A Block.

5. ZSJ & Oiwa

Holding onto contention are ZSJ & Oiwa. With how tight things are in A Block, the 4-pointers don't have a lot of room to grow. They gotta hope for some epic crashouts from everyone in the leading pack to have any hope for the WTL finals. ZSJ & Oiwa are the best off among the 4-pointers, thanks to their win over the War Dogs, and their other upcoming matches against Cobb & Newman and Takagi & Tsuji, but the loss to Bishamon weighs heavy on their heads. the IWGP champ will need some serious support if he wants to get a second major NJPW tournament win for the year in his belt.

6. Funky Sauce

Funky Sauce is in dire straits. While they do have a nice win over Bishamon in their pockets, losses to Takagi & Tsuji and Cobb & Newman hurt their chances. Again, they're gonna need some serious external support for any hope at the finals

7. Umino & Honma

It's not much better for Umino & Honma. They too have a win over Bishamon, but they also have losses to Cobb & Newman and the War Dogs. The problem is that Bishamon will be facing both those teams in the coming shows, so if neither ends up as a draw, either at least one of their two losses makes 8 points, or Bishamon makes 10, and both results would eliminate Umino & Honma.

8. KENTA & Owens

Lastly for A Block is the Bullet Club team of KENTA & Owens. The former IWGP Tag champs have beaten Takagi & Tsuji, but they lost to all the other current 6-pointers. It's like the Umino & Honma situation, but without the benefit of the Bishamon win.

So to sum it all up for A Block, our 4-pointers are in deep, deep water right now, but really, anyone who loses on this next show is unlikely to make the finals. While everyone is technically still in the running, we should see a lot of contention eliminations after this next show, even potentially for some those who do manage to win.

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Now, let's go over B Block

B Block

B Block is a lot smaller compared to A Block, and so will be even easier to go over. Let's start with the champs.

1. O-Khan & HENARE

The newly crowned IWGP Tag Team Champions are doing well in their first WTL as champions. They've got the point lead, as well as a win over the other team at 8, so as long as they stay ahead of the pack, they should be fine. However, the upcoming match against Naito & Hiromu could make things difficult for them in the final decisions.

2. HOUSE OF TORTURE

Coming up in 2nd are EVIL & Narita. They too have the point lead, but the loss to O-Khan & HENARE might be all that keeps them out of the finals. With only one spot for B Block, they'll need to clear the United Empire team in order to make the finals.

3. Naito & Hiromu

The weirdo duo of Naito & Hiromu find themselves still in the running for the WTL Finals. Though they are 2 points behind the two block leaders, they also have open matches with the both of them. Should they win both of those matches, they are almost guaranteed the finals spot. There's just one little wrinkle to that equation ...

4. Yano & Boltin

2/3 of our NEVER 6-Man Champions have the trickiest way into the finals. Losses to both O-Khan & HENARE and HOT should've eliminated them from contention. However, with their win over Naito & Hiromu and with the way the remaining matches are laid out, they have a slim shot at the finals.

Should Naito & Hiromu beat both O-Khan & HENARE and HOT, and should both O-Khan & HENARE & HOT lose their other match, and should Yano & Boltin win both of their remaining matches, we will have Yano & Boltin and Naito & Hiromu as the leaders of B Block with 10 points each, and with the tie-break favoring Yano & Boltin, they would go to the finals.

5. Eliminated Teams

Everyone else in B Block is out of contention for the finals. It's unfortunate, but that's how it is. Might they play spoiler? We'll see.

So that's it for B Block. The two 8-point teams have some wiggle room, while the two 6-point teams need some very specific outcomes to make the finals.

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That'll do it for me for now. I should make one more post after the next B Block show. It should be another abridged one like this one was. I skipped over a lot of details and nuances, but in the next post, a lot of things should be simplified.

Until next time, thanks for reading! See you next post.

• Pre-Show: Cancelled due to Yasuda’s injury, back on tomorrow.

• Gedo, SANADA & Gabe Kidd def Katsuya Murashima, Funky Sauce (Ryusuke Taguchi & Alex Zayne) — (9:44, Skull End)

• War Dogs jump the faces to start the match.

• Gabe is finally warming up just slightly to SANADA.

• Jakob Austin Young, Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb def Shoma Kato, Bishamon (YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto) — (10:13, Jacob’s Ladder)

• Chase Owens & KENTA def Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma (originally set to be Shota, who is off this show due to an ankle injury) — (6:16, rollup after unmasking)

• BC jump the faces to start the match.

• Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. def BUSHI, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi — (8:15, The Grip)

• Post-match, Oiwa cheekily gives Yota a gut shot and tosses him out of the ring, while Shingo eyes ZSJ’s title.

• WTL B Block: Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano def TAKATaichi (TAKA Michinoku & Taichi) — (10:57, Kamikaze)

• TAKATaichi are eliminated from the League.

• WTL B Block: Ren Narita & EVIL (w/Dick Togo) def Natural Classics (Tome Filip & Stevie Filip) — (11:05, Double Cross)

• HoT jump Natural Classics to start the match, but it’s not a long double team/outside brawl.

• A senton atomico from Stevie hits Narita in the gut so hard that his mouthguard falls out.

• In the ending stretch of the match, everyone but Dick (and the ref) gets hit in the dick.

• Dick powder to the eyes, Double Cross, and Natural Classics are eliminated from the League.

• WTL B Block: Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi def Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito (full suit w/t shirt accessory version) — (15:52, High Fly Flow)

• Crowd is 70/30 for Naito over Tana as the two start the match.

• WTL B Block: HENARE & Great-O-Khan def TMDK (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls) — (19:21, Imperial Drop)

• HENARE/O-Khan getting to 8 means that unless LIJ beat them and LIJ vs HoT ends in zero points (double DQ/count out or completely thrown out); one of HENARE/O-Khan, LIJ, or HoT will end with 10 points and thus TMDK and Tana/Jado are out. (Full scenarios in the block standings.)

• In his post-match comments, HENARE says that after they beat the Young Bucks, they’ll give TMDK another shot at the titles.

——Standings (w/likely key results)——

A Block:

• Bishamon— 6 points (3-2) (beat BC, LIJ, TMDK)
• LIJ (T&T)— 6 points (3-2) (beat WD, C/N; lost to Bishamon, BC)
• War Dogs— 6 points (3-2) (beat BC, C/N, S/H; lost to LIJ)
• Cobb/Newman— 6 points (3-2) (lost to WD, LIJ)
• TMDK (Z&O)— 4 points (2-3) (beat WD; lost to Bishamon, BC)
• Shota/Honma— 4 points (2-3) (beat Bishamon; lost to C/N, WD)
• Zayne/Taguchi— 4 points (2-3) (beat S/H, Bishamon; lost to LIJ, C/N)
• BC— 4 points (2-3) (beat LIJ, Z/O; lost to Bishamon, WD, C/N)

B Block:

• HENARE/O-Khan— 8 points (4-1) (beat HoT, T/J, O/Y, TMDK)
• EVIL/Ren— 8 points (4-1) (beat TMDK; lost to H/O)
• Oleg/Yano— 6 points (3-2) (beat LIJ; lost to O/H, HoT)
• LIJ (N&H)— 6 points (3-2) (beat TMDK; lost to O/Y, T/J)
• Tana/Jado— 4 points (2-3) (beat LIJ; lost to TMDK, H/O) Only alive if they win out, plus LIJ beats H/O and LIJ vs HoT ends in 0 points.
• TMDK (S&M)— 4 points (2-3) (beat T/J; lost to LIJ, HoT, H/O) Only alive if they win out, plus LIJ beats H/O and LIJ vs HoT ends in 0 points, plus T/J or O/Y get to 8.

——— Eliminated ———

• Natural Classics— 2 points (1-4)
• TAKATaichi— 2 points (1-4)

——

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