** Note: If you missed part one of the World Tag League and aren’t sure what’s going on, check out the results from night one for an explanation of the tournament.
NJPW World Tag League 2015 – Second Venue
November 22, 2015
published on New Japan World
(aired live)
City: Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan
Venue: Toyohashi City General Gymnasium
Attendance: 1,240
Series: World Tag League 2015
Match 1
Yohei Komatsu & Mascara Dorada (CMLL World Welterwieght Champ) & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Sho Tanaka & KUSHIDA & Tiger Mask (IV) (NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champ)
Nice opening match. It started with a standoff between Dorada and KUSHIDA that saw neither one getting an advantage. Much of the match played out that way, both teams looked good. There were some slightly funny parts with Taguchi using hip attacks almost exclusively, and overall the match was fast-paced and solid. It broke down after a while and Tanaka ended up alone in the ring with Dorada who was able to finish him.
Dorada pins Tanaka with a Dorada Screwdriver
Time: 8:41
Match 2
Frankie Kazarian & Christopher Daniels vs Jay White & Katsuyori Shibata
Kaz and Daniels worked like a veteran tag team and did a great job of isolating Jay White for a good portion of the match. They fought dirty and and their teamwork was abundant and effective. Shibata eventually got the tag to turn the tide for a little while, but Kaz and Daniels too advantage of a hurting Jay White to take back control and the win. It was a pretty one-sided match, but it was fun to watch Kaz and Daniels pretty much dominate.
Kaz pins White after Celebrity Rehab
Time: 9:16
Match 3
Cody Hall & Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson (IWGP Tag Champs) vs Gedo & Matt Taven & Michael Bennett (ROH Tag Champs) w/ Maria Kanellis
This was a pretty good match. The IWGP Champs has a power advantage over the ROH Champs and it showed for a portion of the match, but after the match started to break down and everyone was involved that didn’t matter as much. There was nothing really wrong with the match, but there was an odd segment towards the end where Hall was holding Bennett in the air for a really long time, like he was waiting for something. He was. Anderson chased Maria around and into the ring which led to Bennett escaping Hall’s grasp. Other than that segment, the match was pretty good.
Bennett pins Hall after a spike piledriver
Time: 9:20
Match 4
“King of Darkness” EVIL & Tetsuya Naito w/ Bushi vs Hirooki Goto & Captain New Japan
This was a bit of a slwer-paced match. Naito likes to take his time when doing anything and everything it seems. Goto looked good and his segments were pretty fun, but Captain New Japan just seemed to be there to get beat up. Bushi also played a minor role in the match, distracting the ref and interfering a little here and there. Not a bad match, but not nearly the best on the show.
EVIL pins Captain New Japan after an STO
Time: 8:23
-intermission-
Match 5
World Tag League 2015 Match (Block A)
Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma
Nagata and Honma seemed to spend most of this match in the ring against each other. They had some good chemistry that led to a few close falls before Nagata finally got the win. There wasn’t a ton of tag wrestling per say, it was more of their partners keeping each other out of the ring while Nagata and Honma fought it out. Good match.
Nagata pins Honma with a bridging belly-to-back suplex
Time: 10:06
Match 6
World Tag League 2015 Match (Block B)
Yujiro Takahashi & AJ Styles vs Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
This was a solid tag team match with some good exchanges by all men. Both teams had their share of beng in contol of the match, but as it progressed it felt like Styles and Takahashi were getting increasingly behind and trying to catch up. Kojima was probably the standout of the match and took control much of the time that he was in the ring. All of the men were trading shots leading up to the end where Tenzan and Kojima managed to isolate Takahashi.
Kojima pins Takahashi after a lariat
Time: 11:56
Match 7
World Tag League 2015 Match (Block A)
Tama Tonga & Bad Luck Fale vs YOSHI-HASHI & Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Heavyweight Champ) w/ Gedo
Okada took center stage in this match, which is understandable since he’s the champ. Both teams fought fairly evenly in the first part, but Okada took over after a while facing off against both Fale and Tonga in succession. Okada tried a few power moves on the gigantic Fale and managed to get a body slam on him for a nice reaction from the crowd. His battle with Tonga was naturally a little more fast-paced. This was an entertaining match though nothing particularly spectacular stood out to me.
Okaka pins Tama Tonga after a Rainmaker (short-arm lariat)
Time: 11:16
Match 8
Juice Robinson & Michael Elgin & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii (NEVER Openweight Champ) & Shinsuke Nakamura (IWGP Intercontinental Champ)
A really good match a nice main event. All of the competitors looked very and good. Toru Yano was a surprise standout for me. I expected most of the other guys to be solid, but Yano served as somewhat of the very effective comic relief while still being smart (and dirty) in the ring. A well-timed low blow from him actually led to the final sequence of the match.
Towards the end, everyone was fighting in and around the ring. Robinson and Nakamura were the legal men. Robinson, who seemed out of place to me in this match, was holding his own pretty well with the IWGP IC Champ, but Yano’s aforementioned low blow helped turn the tide. After that and a double team with Ishii, Nakamura hit the Boma Ye to secure the victory in an exciting finish.
Nakamura pins Robinson after a Boma Ye (running knee strike to the head)
Time: 18:00
Show Impressions
Night two of the World Tag League wasn’t quite as good as night one, but it was still an entertaining show. The main event was easily the best match of the night. It’s still early in the tournament, but after two night I think Elgin and Tanahashi are the team to beat.
The show is available to watch for subscribers of the New Japan World streaming network. Note that this show was shot with a (mostly) stationary, wide-shot camera and has no commentary.
Tournament Standings After Night Two
Block A
| Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin | 1-0-0 | 2 |
| Kazushi Sakuraba & Toru Yano | 1-0-0 | 2 |
| Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata | 1-0-0 | 2 |
| Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI | 1-1-0 | 2 |
| Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian | 0-0-0 | 0 |
| Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga | 0-1-0 | 0 |
| Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma | 0-2-0 | 0 |
Block B
| Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Evil & Tetsuya Naito | 1-0-0 | 2 |
| Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata | 1-0-0 | 2 |
| Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima | 1-0-0 | 2 |
| Matt Taven & Michael Bennett | 0-0-0 | 0 |
| Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson | 0-1-0 | 0 |
| AJ Styles & Yujiro Takahashi | 0-1-0 | 0 |
| Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii | 0-1-0 | 0 |