NJPW SUPER JUNIOR TAG LEAGUE NIGHTS 1-4 RECAP: Lansdell’s results and recap for the first three rounds of action!

NJPW SUPER JUNIOR TAG LEAGUE RECAP
NIGHTS 1 TO 4
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD

New Japan sure does love to run a tournament. The Super Junior Tag League sees 12 teams of junior heavyweights, split into two blocks of six, competing in a round-robin tournament. The winners of each block will face off in the final at Power Struggle, with the winner of that match earning a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team championship. Traditionally that title match takes place at WrestleKingdom on Jan 4.

The tournament often sees visiting talent from other companies, and this year is no different. Although my prediction of Private Party did not pan out (more’s the pity), there is still no lack of exciting teams.

Block A
Tiger Mask & Capitán Suicida
Los Ingobernables de Japón (Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi)
Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney)
Skateboard Bros (Ryusuke Taguchi & Dragon Dia)
TMDK (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita)
House of Torture (Sho & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

Capitán Suicida is from CMLL, while Dragon Dia is visiting from Dragon Gate.

Block B
The DKC & Ninja Mack
Chaos (Rocky Romers & Yoh)
The Velocities (Jude London & Paris De Silva)
Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X)
International Jet Setters (Kevin Knight & Kushida)
Catch 2/2 (TJP & Francisco Akira)

The Velocities are an Australian tag team that have been getting a fair amount of hype over there. Ninja Mack is currently in Pro Wrestling Noah, and was part of Best of the Super Juniors earlier this year. The DKC is part of New Japan’s LA Dojo.

NIGHT 1 RESULTS
OCTOBER 24, 2024
G MESSE GUNMA
TAKASAKI, JAPAN

LOS INGOBERNABLES DE JAPON (Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi) vs. CAPITAN SUICIDA & TIGER MASK

Some quick lucha action, even though Tiger Mask is several steps slower than his best (he turned 54 just before this event). A smart choice for Suicida’s first match in the promotion as LIJ would be familiar with his style. Hiromu continued to show his recent more aggressive style, tapping out Tiger Mask with the cloverleaf variant.

WINNERS: Los Ingobernables de Japón (2 pts) via submission in 11:00. (***)

HOUSE OF TORTURE (Sho & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs. BULLET CLUB WAR DOGS (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney)

Technically a Bullet Club civil war, though the two subdivisions are not friends. To the surprise of nobody there was plenty of cheating, though without the usual run-ins from House of Torture. A good match, maybe a step below the previous one due to all the referee distractions. War Dogs connected with Full Clip on Sho for the win.

WINNERS: Bullet Club War Dogs (2) via pinfall in 12:00. (**3/4)

SKATEBOARD BROS (Dragon Dia & Ryusuke Taguchi) vs. TMDK (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita)

This was an exciting main event with all four men really hitting high gear. Taguchi always shows up for the big matches, and even though there was a little too much butt-based offence it did not hurt the quality much. Dragon Dia did not impress me much when he came in for Best of the Super Juniors, but he was much better here. However he did eat the loss following an Abandon Hope from Fujita. A visiting star (and the secondary champion in Dragon Gate) losing in NJPW? A shocking occurrence.

WINNERS: TMDK (2) via pinfall in 16:00. (***½)

NIGHT 2 RESULTS
OCTOBER 26, 2024
CULTTZ KAWASAJI ARENA
KANAGAWA, JAPAN

CHAOS (Rocky Romero & Yoh) vs. THE VELOCITIES (Paris De Silva & Jude London)

Romero used to be the coach for Yoh and Sho when they were Roppongi 3k, so the team-up makes sense here. London and De Silva came in with a lot of hype, having been trained and turned into a tag team by Robbie Eagles. They didn’t really do anything in this match to wow me, but I’ll give them time. Decent match all the same, with Chaos hitting the 3K for the win.

WINNERS: Chaos (2) via pinfall in 13:00. (***)

BULLET CLUB (Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X) vs. THE DKC & NINJA MACK

DKC and Ninja Mack do not get along, which was positioned as an ongoing story for the tournament. New Japan likes to thread stories through the round robin portions of their tournaments, so it will be something to watch for. All four men worked very hard, with some exciting spots, but clearly were holding something back for when they have a main event match. I enjoyed it for the most part, even though there was a predictable miscommunication with DKC kicking Mack leading to a Spiral Tap from Robbie X for the win.

WINNERS: Bullet Club (2) via pinfall in 15:00. (***½)

CATCH 2/2 (TJP & Francisco Akira) vs. INTERNATIONAL JET SETTERS (Kevin Knight & Kushida)

An intriguing decision to have this match on the block’s first night, as both teams would be considered favourites. Kushida and Knight are defending champs, with Catch 2/2 being perennial contenders. It was as good as you might expect, definitely helped by Kevin Knight being able to rein himself in and not go overboard with the athletic displays. Catch 2/2 picked up the somewhat-surprising win with a tandem running knee strike to Kevin Knight.

WINNERS: Catch 2/2 (2) via pinfall in 15:00. (***¾)

NIGHT 3 RESULTS
OCTOBER 27, 2024
KORAKUEN HALL
TOKYO, JAPAN

Both blocks were in action for this night.

HOUSE OF TORTURE (Sho & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (0) vs CAPITAN SUICIDA & TIGER MASK (0) – A Block match

The two teams I would expect to finish at the bottom of the block faced off in the opener. Tiger Mask continued to roll back the clock with his performance, but Suicida was the real highlight. Even for an avowed non-fan of the lucha style, he is exciting to watch. Sadly the match ended after some HoT Shenanigans (TM) involving whiskey and a brainbuster. An annoying end to a fun match.

WINNERS: House of Torture (2) via pinfall in 10:00 (**½)

THE DKC & NINJA MACK (0) vs. THE VELOCITIES (Paris De Silva & Jude London) (0) – B Block match

The two visiting teams put on an acrobatic spectacle that showcased what all four men could do. They managed to make it somewhat coherent in terms of a story, which was my concern going in. Ninja Mack hit his spectacular Ninja Bomb for the win. The Velocities are small but exciting, they would fit well in the Junior Heavyweight tag division.

WINNERS: DKC and Ninja Mack (2) via pinfall in 11:00. (***¼)

SKATEBOARD BROS (Dragon Dia & Ryusuke Taguchi) (0) vs. LOS INGOBERNABLES DE JAPON (Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi) (2) – A Block match

For a relatively short match, there was a lot of fun packed in here. Hiromu and Taguchi are usually good for a couple of comedy spots, and they managed to work those into an otherwise tight match. Taguchi pinned Bushi for the shock win, leaving A block in an interesting place. Taguchi, like Tiger Mask, seems to have found another gear for the early running here in this tournament.

WINNERS: Skateboard Bros (2) vis pinfall in 9:00. (***¼)

INTERNATIONAL JET SETTERS (Kevin Knight & Kushida) (0) vs. BULLET CLUB (Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X) (2) – B Block match

Knight once again managed to restrain himself and avoid any nasty-looking mistakes, but this match continued the trend of “enjoyable but not captivating” matches we have had all tournament so far. On the bright side, nothing has been hard to watch. Robbie X fits in this style so smoothly, it’s like he was always there. Kushida got something of a flash pin with a crucifix to get their first points on the board.

WINNERS: International Jet Setters (2) via pinfall in 9:00. (***¼)

TMDK (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita) (2) vs. BULLET CLUB WAR DOGS (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) (2) – A Block match

One thing you can count on with War Dogs is stiff physicality, and we got that here. A chair shot to Fujita, who was held against a wall, was one of the highlights, though it was done safely (in that the chair did miss his head entirely). But in addition, this was just a fantastic match. With the exception of one late save where the referee had to stop counting for no reason, everything they did worked. Fujita being in the ring with these three men would have done him the world of good. Match of the tournament so far, by some distance. Full Clip was the decisive moment for War Dogs.

WINNERS: Bullet Club War Dogs (4) via pinfall in 22:00. (****)

CHAOS (Rocky Romero & Yoh) (2) vs. CATCH 2/2 (TJP & Francisco Akira) (2) – B Block match

Add Rocky Romero’s name to the list of (comparatively) older guys who have stepped it up for the tournament. As good as the previous match was, this was every bit as good…maybe better. Catch 2/2 are always phenomenal, but this felt like a coming-out party for Yoh. At times he seemed to be channeling Shinsuke Nakamura with his mannerisms, but it didn’t detract from the match at all. It was thrilling, it was athletic, it was dramatic, and it had a surprise win for the Chaos team following a Strong Zero. Something to watch for was a second-straight miscommunication between Rocky and Yoh. The first one happened after their first match, but this time it was during the match when Rocky kicked Yoh. Regardless…watch this match.

WINNERS: Chaos (4) via pinfall in 25:00. (****¼)

NIGHT 4 RESULTS
OCTOBER 28, 2024
KORAKUEN HALL
TOKYO, JAPAN

Once again we had both blocks competing at this event.

CATCH 2/2 (TJP & Francisco Akira) (2) vs. THE VELOCITIES (Paris De Silva & Jude London) (0) – B Block match

This was a surprise all around. I didn’t particularly like the layout of the match, with a fair amount of it taking place with three men in the ring. TJP in particular had an extended stretch where he was in control of both opponents. The Velocities just look too small (in height and mass) to be taken seriously. That is not helped by their facial expressions being pretty goofy at times. For Catch 2/2 to lose after losing the previous night was an interesting and surprising choice. It seemed that London hurt his leg during the finishing sequence, which further muddies the waters. The shooting star DDT that got the win should have been spectacular, but unfortunately the positioning and timing were off.

WINNERS: The Velocities (2) in 13:00. (**¼)

CAPITAN SUICIDA & TIGER MASK (0) vs. BULLET CLUB WAR DOGS (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) (4) – A Block match

Very little to talk about here; there was a Drilla Killa, and the expected result was achieved. Connors and Moloney look set to make the finals…so they probably will stumble at the final hurdle.

WINNERS: War Dogs (6) via pinfall in 9:00. (**¼)

INTERNATIONAL JET SETTERS (Kevin Knight & Kushida) (2) vs. THE DKC & NINJA MACK (2) – B Block match

It was never likely that a pair of visitors would beat the defending champions, and in fact they did not. DKC and Mack got to show off their athleticism, then Knight showed off his. Pretty standard fare for this stage of the tournament, given the teams involved. The combination neckbreaker-frog splash ended the festivities.

WINNERS: Knight & Kushida (4) via pinfall in 10:00. (***)

SKATEBOARD BROS (Dragon Dia & Ryusuke Taguchi) (2) vs. HOUSE OF TORTURE (Sho & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (2) – A Block match

A pretty average match that was first improved, then hurt by the finishing sequence. Dia and Taguchi really dialed up the speed and intensity and were looking good to win in impressive fashion before the usual cheating nonsense. You’d expect House of Torture to win here but at some point I would greatly prefer them to win without the foreign objects.

WINNERS: House of Torture (4) via pinfall in 11:00. (**¼)

CHAOS (Rocky Romero & Yoh) (4) vs. BULLET CLUB (Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X) (2) – B Block match

Another fantastic match from four guys who have had a couple of them already. We did see more miscommunication between Yoh and Rocky, on the same superkick spot as before, but it was not decisive. They also hit the spot correctly later in the match, so perhaps a red herring. This was really good and worth seeking out, especially when you consider that Robbie X is facing most of these people for the first time. Bullet Club got the win with an X-Press by Robbie X into a 450 from Ishimori.

WINNERS: Bullet Club (4) via pinfall in 16:00. (****)

TMDK (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita) (2) vs. LOS INGOBERNABLES DE JAPON (Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi) (2) – A Block match

A heck of a main event, as you would expect from these teams. I still find it hard to enjoy tag matches where the actual tagging becomes an afterthought, but sometimes they are good enough to make it undeniable. This was one such match. Hiromu’s slow metamorphosis into a darker, more serious version continued apace, and I am starting to wonder if he could be moved into an Okada-type role. TMDK have had a great year as a stable, and Fujita looks to be positioning himself for a run up the junior division ranks. I think the prior match was slightly better, but this is still worth seeking out. Fujita pinned Bush with a European clutch.

WINNERS: TMDK (4) via pinfall in 19:00. (***¾)

Standings and analysis after three rounds

Bullet Club War Dogs lead A Block with six points. House of Torture and TMDK each have four, LIJ and the Skateboard Bros have two, and Tiger Mask and Capitán Suicida are propping up the block on zero. With two matches left, I would not be surprised to see War Dogs lose their next match to make the final night very interesting. I think TMDK will win the block, since we have seen War Dogs and Jet Setters quite a bit.

In B Block things are pretty congested. International Jet Setters and Chaos have four points each, and everyone else has two. Needless to say, that makes it very hard to predict a winner. I’m going to go for Bullet Club mainly because I think Robbie X has done enough to secure himself a big match in January.

I am curious about a couple of story threads: Hiromu’s slow burn character shift, and the Yoh-Rocky tension. Hiromu has basically done it all as a junior heavyweight, and he has started to challenge the heavyweights from time to time. If he is going to be this more serious version of himself, it would work well with a shift up in weight class.

With Rocky Romero spending so much time in AEW, it makes sense to run with a story that writes him off for a while. Chaos is pretty much dead in the water right now, but I would much rather see Yoh resurrect it and change its philosophy than see him join Bullet Club.

I’ll be back very soon with a recap of the last two rounds of action before the final on November 4. As always, thanks for stopping by. You can contact me at lansdellicious@gmail.com or on Twitter @lansdellicious.