Super Jr. Tag League Lineup!
New Japan Pro Wrestling has chosen 10 teams to compete in this year's Super Jr. Tag League Tournament that'll take place from Nov - Dec for a chance to headline the Wrestle Kingdom 17 at Tokyo Dome.
Super Jr. Tag League starts on November 21 and ends on December 14th. This tournament will feature the junior division and these teams fight a spot at Wrestle Kingdom 17 at the Tokyo Dome to face the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Titles.
Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira & TJP) IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions
United Empire as a whole has been a force in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Their 1 year glow up as a tag team and team in general has been fascinating to watch. Akira Francesco officially joined United Empire on April 9th at NJPW Hyper Battle becoming a fast favorite on the team. The team of TJP and Akira proves that tag team wrestling is alive and well, and that both men hold the Jr division in the palms of their hands. No one expected them to beat the previous IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Master Wato and Ryusuke Taguchi during on final day of the Best of the Super Jrs. 29 tournament in a non-title match. And no one expected them to become champions given the short team history at the time. And this is why they are the untouchable as IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions of the division.
Could they win the whole tournament? Yeah.
CHAOS (YOH & Lio Rush)
This is an interesting tag team match-up. Lio Rush returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling on October 27th during The Night Before NJPW Rumble. Lio Rush saved Chaos member YOH from being attacked by House of Torture. YOH thanked Lio Rush and thus we now have this created tag team. YOH is a tag team expert. Rarely does he have single matches and when he does, they are a great treat. YOH is a previous five-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and a three-time Super Jr. Tag League winner.
Does the team of YOH and Lio Rush have the magic formula to win and make it all the way to Wrestle Kingdom 17 at the Tokyo Dome?
Los Ingobernables De Japon (BUSHI & Titan)Â
Titan debuted in New Japan Pro Wrestling during Best of the Super Jrs. 29. Titan is from CMLL — a Mexican promotion. Titan helped LIJ win against United Empire during Declaration of Power and then decided to ask if he could join the team. The members of LIJ quickly talk about it and as a group raise closed fits up in the air and all Titan had to do is the same. He is now part of LIJ. He’s the first Mexican wrestler to join LIJ. Over the past weeks, Bushi and Titan have been tagging and they are a really good tag team together. They recently fought the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Catch 2/2 (TJP and Akira). They unfortunately lost to them.
Could we see a huge comeback and lead from Bushi and Titan in this Super Jr. Tag League Tournament?
BULLET CLUB (Ace Austin & Chris Bey)
Finally!
Ace Austin debuted in NJPW during Best of the Super Jrs. 29 tour. He quickly grew to be a Japanese fan favorite and besties with Alex Zayne. However, as Best of the Super Jrs started to wind down, Ace Austin betrayed his friendship with Alex Zayne in Bullet Club fashion.
Did Bullet Club ever return Alex Zayne’s socks?
The Finesser himself Chris Bey joins his Bullet Club stablemate for Super Jr. Tag League. Chris Bey will be debuting in NJPW during this tournament and I’m here for it. He’s had amazing matches in IMPACT Wrestling and has been a wonderful addition to Bullet Club despite being the distraction during The Good Brothers vs G.O.D. tag team match to allow King Switch to betray Tama Tonga.
Can Bullet Club make it all the way to Wrestle Kingdom 17 this year?
Flying Tiger (Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask)
Live on Twitch Nov 16 - Robbie Eagles Interview! Sign up now!
Flying Tigers are back in action for Super Jr. Tag League! Flying Tigers are former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Champions. They had a good run as champions and currently, in this tournament are severe underdogs. Before they captivate the fans for Super Jr. Tag League, the Sniper of Skies Robbie Eagles has a NJPW Tamashii event. NJPW Tamashii was announced and the two first events are November 11th and 13th. NJPW Tamashii will focus on Australian, New Zealand, and Oceania wrestling.
After Robbie Eagles has a successful event, can him and Tiger Mask pull out the upset, win the tournament see them at Wrestle Kingdom 17?
HOUSE OF TORTURE (Dick Togo & SHO)
House of Torture isn’t the fan favorite in the tournament. Although, I do regard SHO as the adorable heel in House of Torture which is unheard of. Dick Togo is the brains behind House of Torture, and you can expect shenanigans to happen during this tournament with this team. SHO has experience in tag team wrestling. His former partner was YOH; that tag team was known as Roppongi 3K. With YOH by SHO’s side they became five-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champions and won Super Jr. Tag League three-times. Dick Togo is renowned for wrestling in ECW and Japan promotions. He has a lot of experience. They could be the wild card tag team in this tournament. We’ll see.
Are they even Bullet Club still?
Wild Hips (Ryusuke Taguchi & Clark Connors)
Wild Hips is such a choice of a tag team name. Taguchi’s powerful weapon is his butt. Clark Connors powerful weapon are his thighs — but honestly, his wild adaptation in the ring is the true powerful weapon. When Clark Connors debuted for Best of the Super Jrs. 29, no one knew what to expect. Recently, Clark wrestled Suzuki at NJPW Rumble on 44th in NYC. Clark adapted his style and wrestled Suzuki in a bad ass comeback match in the heart of Times Square. That night, Suzuki gave Clark the utmost respect.
Taguchi is an expert at tag team wrestling as he’s a seven-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. He’s usually teaming with Rocky Romero but according to Taguchi, they always seem to lose. And so Rocky made some calls, and we now have Wild Hips.
We got wild hips, the best coach on Earth, power, and experience. That’s a recipe for sweeping the competition and heading to Wrestle Kingdom 17.
Suzuki-Gun (DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Suzuki-Gun is in action for Super Jr. Tag League. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Douki are no strangers to tag team wrestling. Kanemaru is a six-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and won the 2021 Super Jr. Tag League tournament. El Desperado is currently locked in a Wrestle Kingdom 17 match against three other Jrs for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship. Desperado would normally be Kanemaru’s partner. But Douki has grown greatly over the last year and teaming with Kanemaru will surprise a lot of fans.
Can Suzuki-Gun survive and make it to the finals?
Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA
Kushida returned to NJPW after leaving WWE. The timesplitter gets to showcase his tag team skills during this tournament. This will be Kevin Knights debut for the tournament. Kushida is a two-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and a 2012 Super Jr. Tag League winner. Maybe we’ll have a student and teacher dynamic tag team.
El Lindaman & Alex Zayne
Alex Zayne and El Lindaman both debuted at Best of the Super Jrs. 29. Now they are a tag team. Both are super athletic and are fan favorites in Japan.
Can they co-exist as a first ever tag team to get a spot at Wrestle Kingdom 17?
El Lindaman is from STRONGHEARTS and OWE.
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