NJPW Super Jr Tag League/Power Struggle 2023 - October 21 - November 4, 2023

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Chris

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Super Junior Tag League lineup revealed!​

Ten team league starts October 21

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The lineup for Super Jr. Tag League is now official, with ten teams participating across two action packed weeks. The top two point scorers in this round robin league will compete at Power Struggle on November 4- here are the teams gunning for the top two spots!
Watch Super Jr. Tag League/Road to Power Struggle on NJPW World!

BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney): Debut entry. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions
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After an impressive defence against the Intergalactic Jet Setters on October 9, the BULLET CLUB War Dogs will be wearing the titles heading into the Super Jr. Tag League- provided that is they survive the challenge of Leon Slater and Cameron Khai in London this weekend. If an upset sees the RPW young guns take the title, Connors and Moloney will be stopping at nothing to ensure they get the belts back as soon as possible, while if they’re still champions, they’ll be relishing the targets on their backs.

YOH & TBD: debut entry
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The 2022 Super Junior Tag League winners, YOH and Lio Rush would be set for a sure favourite spot in Super Junior Tag League, but after illness beset Rush on the last tour, YOH is preparing a different partner for this year. What will happen when the wraps come off, and could YOH make the team dream work for a second year in a row?

Ichiban Sweet Boys (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita)- debut entry
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Kosei Fujita’s ‘world tour’ takes him back to Japan where he combines with TMDK teammate Robbie Eagles. Eagles and Fujita have been impressive in Australia in recent weeks with wins including over the Natural Classics in NJPW TAMASHII. Now, this first time SJTL combination could be a dark horse tandem to win the whole league.

Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira & TJP) 2nd entry, 2nd consecutive
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Catch 2/2 headed into last year’s Super Junior Tag League as champions, and as a championship team that restored prestige and value in the IWGP Junior Tag titles as workhorse championships in the pro-wrestling world. Though coming up short of the trophies, they did retain the tag titles int he face of eventual winners Lio Rush and YOH- this year they’ll be using the league as a jumping off point to get back to title contention.

Los Ingobernables De Japon (Titan & BUSHI) 2nd entry 2nd consecutive
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Back in Japan for the first time since making the Best of the Super Jr. 30 final, Titan reforms his masked man tag team with BUSHI. A dynamic and hard hitting combination, the LIJ pair were well in the mix heading into the final days of last year’s league, and look to go a step further in 2023.

Master Wato & El Desperado Debut entry
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The Best of Seven trios series that played out through the road to Destruction was meant to settle just who were the better men across three separate rivalries, and determine who was the best team overall. It doesn’t exactly seem like that turned out to be the case after Destruction in Ryogoku, but it does seem to have engendered a mutual, if grudging respect between both sides. Royal Quest III will see Shota Umino and Ren Narita unite for a common good in London this weekend, and in SJTL, Master Wato and El Desperado will put long held differences aside in the hope of securing the tag trophies.

HOUSE OF TORTURE (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SHO) Debut entry
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If SHO’s behaviour was contemptible enough to be dubbed ‘the shame of Ehime’ during last year’s SJTL tour, things might get even worse with Heel Master Yoshinobu Kanemaru acting as the Murder Machine’s ultimate enabler. In SHO and Kanemaru, H.O.T now have two of the most dominant players in the junior tag ranks of the last six years under the same team banner, and the two are sure to throw wrenches (and whiskey) in the works of any other team plans.

The DKC & Ryusuke Taguchi Debut entry

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Ryusuke Taguchi doesn’t have the best of reputations when it comes to having tag team partners leave him, and history has repeated for the coach from last year to this. Clark Connors and Ryusuke Taguchi made quite the endearing team in the 2022 SJTL, but Connors’ new direction and current success in BUILLET CLUB War Dogs put paid to that. Connors’ departure came at the bitter and violent expense of the DKC, who now looks to bring the fire to this combination, and has a lot of unfinished business with Clark.

Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA) 2nd entry, 2nd consecutive

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Kevin Knight and KUSHIDA head into their second Super Junior Tag League with top flight experience under their belts and confidence in themselves and one another. Last year’s tournament saw an unprecedented rise for Knight, who graduated from Young Lion status mid tour, and it could be argued that Knight was just as responsible for KUSHIDA’s success in the team as the other way around. This year they could well be in the running heading into the final night in Osaka.

Just Five Guys (DOUKI & TAKA MIchinoku)

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Rounding out the lineup are DOUKI and TAKA Michinoku for Just Five Guys. Pairing the ever dynamic and popular DOUKI with the ‘legend’ TAKA may seem on its surface like an underdog side, but Michinoku has pciked up quite a few wins in the last tour, and this duo could surprise over the course of the league.

Two title matches, massive tag set for Power Struggle!​

First part of Osaka card set

The first matches for Power Struggle on November 4 are set, with two championships set to be defended, and an intriguing preview for Wrestle Kingdom on the agenda.
Watch Power Struggle LIVE in English on NJPW World!

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The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship will be on the line when Hiromu Takahashi defends against Taiji Ishimori. After Hiromu successfully defended his gold at Destruction in Ryogoku in a wild three way, he was laid out by Ishimori, making a surprise return since a neck injury sustained in a match with the Time Bomb during Best of the Super Juniors. Now Ishimori wants revenge, and top end the reign of Hiromu.

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Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii put the NEVER Openweight 6 Man Championships on the line against TMDK’s Zack Sabre Jr., Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls. Ishii called out the TMDK trio after Ryogoku as a result of being pinned twice by Sabre on the tour. Can the TMDK trio get the job done with the gold on the line?

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Tetsuya Naito and Yota Tsuji will team up to take on SANADA and Yuya Uemura in Osaka. While this is, indeed a big preview for SANADA and Naito as they head into the Tokyo Dome main event on January 4, there will also be a lot to look out for in the combination of Uemura and Tsuji in this match. Fierce rivals as Young Lions, who might prove superior now both are graduated?

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The finals of the Super Junior Tag League will see the top two points scoring teams facing off at Power Struggle. With these matches, and much more to be announced, it’ll be a hot night in Osaka on November 4 live in English on NJPW World!

Boltin Oleg gets NJPW World TV title shot October 24!​

Delayed title shot now set for Kazakh giant

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Watch road to Power Struggle live in English on NJPW World!
The Road to Destruction in September was originally set to kick off with a championship opportunity for Boltin Oleg. Having won the Young Lion Hat Trick Challenge at the G1 Climax semifinals back in August, part of Boltin’s prize was a shot at Zack Sabre Jr.’s TV title. However, a wrist infection meant that the match had to be put off at the last minute, ZSJ instead defending against Ryohei Oiwa.

On October 24 though, Boltin will get his chance at the World TV title. Sabre has racked up 14 defences with the gold, making him the winngest champion in the modern NJPW era. Can he take another step toward his goal of V20 by year’s end, or will the Kazakh amateur great surprise the Briton? Find out live in English on NJPW World!​
 
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mystery pal was supposed to be Lio I assume?
 

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I assume so and might still be? Just a placeholder to see if he's good by then. Or he just has American dates during idk
 
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I assume so and might still be? Just a placeholder to see if he's good by then. Or he just has American dates during idk
Yoh should bring in another ringer if Lio can't make it
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More matches set for Osaka November 4!​

IWGP US & UK Championships, Moxley vs O-Khan, Loa vs Finlay

Watch Power Struggle November 4 live in English on NJPW World!
After the events of Royal Quest III on October 14, three more matches have been added to the lineup for Power Struggle on November 4.

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Both the IWGP US and UK belts will be up for grabs when Shota Umino challenges Will Ospreay. After the Royal Quest main event, Ospreay threw out an open challenge for a ‘Japanese sexy b*tch’ to face him for the IWGP UK title. Umino felt that he fit the bill, but with feelings still sore from one year ago, where he lost to Ospreay in London, then Tokyo for the IWGP US Championship, the Roughneck wanted both belts to be on the line. Ospreay has felt like Umino’s white whale, but could an Osaka Shooter Shock be in the offing?

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Great-O-Khan will go one on one with Jon Moxley. Ospreay was not quick to accept the challenge of Umino for Osaka, stating that as a condition of the title shot, O-Khan gets a singles match he has been looking for for quite some time. That means the Eliminator will go head to head with Umino’s mentor on November 4- after a year full of ups and downs, a win for O-Khan could mean huge things for him on the road to Wrestle Kingdom.

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Meanwhile David Finlay will take on Tanga Loa in singles action. Less than one week after he lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Tama Tonga in Ryogoku, Finlay was again reeling from a loss to Loa in tag competition in London. A frustrated and humiliated Finlay demanded this singles match to gain fast and full revenge, but could the Silverback beat the Rebel again?​
 
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Road to Power Struggle/Super Jr. tag League night 1 (October 21) Preview​

Tag tournament gets underway in Saitama

October 21 begins the road to Power Struggle in Osaka November 4, and along with it the Super Jr. Tag League. Ten teams begin their intense two week journey to the trophies, while other matches give a taste of things to come over the next series.
Watch live in English on NJPW World!

Main event: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Titan & BUSHI) vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

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The first main event of the league will pit LIJ’s Titan and BUSHI in their second campaign against the new H.O.T tandem of SHO and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. With fluid offense and phenomenal communication, Titan and BUSHI came achingly close last November to capturing the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, and though they fell short of the gold and the SJTL trophies last year, they look to right that wrong in 2023. Meanwhile, after his defection from Just 5 Guys in Kobe this past September, Kanemaru now finds himself on the same side with a man he’s opposed many a time in the past over the years in SHO. Between them, these men have held junior tag gold 11 times- will this match be a dark portent of a trophy, and 12th reigns to come?

7th Match: YOH & MUSASHI vs BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors)
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With a partner to be determined, 2022 SJTL winner YOH is going to have an uphill climb separated from his tournament winning partner Lio Rush, and presumably in a completely fresh combination with MUSASHI against the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Champions Moloney and Connors. Yet YOH and Rush were a completely fresh combination last year, and after a shaky start become an unstoppable force. In MUSASHI, a teenage friend of YOH’s, the trendsetter has a sense of innate trust right from the jump that some teams take years to cultivate. Can YOH work magic for the second year in a row?

6th Match: DKC & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Master Wato & El Desperado
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A picture paints a thousand words, and the image of El Desperado begrudgingly shaking Master Wato’s finger after their Best of Seven Trios series that ended in a tie tells you all you need to know heading into this unique pairing for the tournament. Desperado actively dislikes Wato, with their randomly drawn odd couple pairing at Power Struggle last year seeing tags play out with slaps across the face. Yet with Wato having won Best of the Super Jr., and then the Best of Seven series through the Detsurction tour, grudging respect has to be owed by Despe. Now we’ll see whether grudging respect turns to great results when they face The DKC and Taguchi.

5th Match: Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA) vs Just Five Guys (DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku)
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The Intergalactic Jet Setters will look to bounce back from a hard fought defeat at the hands of BULLET CLUB’s War Dogs in Ryogoku and restart their ascent to contention. Super Junior Tag League last year saw them make tremendous strides, with Kevin Knight in particular undergoing huge personal growth in one tour. Now this combination of star on the rise and veteran hand face another, as DOUKI and TAKA Michinoku look to strike for Just Five Guys.

4th Match: Ichiban Sweet Boys (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita) vs Catch 2/2 (TJP & Francesco Akira)
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Since Kosei Fujita embarked on his world tour a couple of months ago, he’s come into his own in Australia alongside TMDK partner Robbie Eagles. The Ichiban Sweet Boy team of Eagles and Fujita have already picked off the likes of the Natural Classics Down Under, and now look to pick off the competition in Super Jr. Tag League. It’s a hard match from the outset though as they take on the former IWGP Jr. Tag Champions Catch 2/2. TJP and Francesco Akira are a tough test for any team- is it one the Ichiban Sweet Boys can pass?

3rd Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi) vs BULLET CLUB (Taiji Ishimori & Gedo)
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Taiji Ishimori’s first match back in Japan after his neck injury back in May sees a first preview of November 4’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship bout between the Bone Soldier and Hiromu Takahashi. Ishimori’s return bout against Robbie X in London this past weekend showed that he has not slowed down any- nor has he lost any of his trademark viciousness. Can he stay on a roll as he focuses on EDION Arena and Power Struggle November 4?

2nd Match: Just Five Guys (SANADA & Yuya Uemura) vs Boltin Oleg & Oskar Leube
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For the first time since joining Just Five Guys, Yuya Uemura tags with IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA when the two face Boltin Oleg and Oskar Leube. In the wake of SANADA’s retention of the world title at Ryogoku Sumo Hall, Uemura clarified his condition for entering the J5G group would be to have singles matches with the other members, SANADA one day included. For now though, they’re partners and looking to show what they can do in the face of Young Lion competition.

1st Match: Yuto Nakashima, Ren Narita & Shota Umino vs United Empire (Callum Newman, HENARE & Great-O-Khan)
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Shota Umino and Ren Narita might have a relationship of grudging respect but it’s one that produced results this past weekend at Royal Quest. Narita and Umino scooped the win Saturday over Great-O-Khan and Francesco Akira, and O-Khan wants revenge tonight on Umino while he prepares to face Shooter’s mentor Jon Moxley on November 4 at Power Struggle. Meanwhile, what show of force will HENARE make one week before he faces Eddie Kingston in Las Vegas for the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship?​
 
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Shooter has such a long entrance lmao
 
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I like seeing the young lions mixing it up with Sanada
 
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It's wild that Gedo still wrestles regularly on these tours
 

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Lol Naito just killed him
 

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My War Dogs Clark and Drilla about to become Superheroes. :proud
 

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Phils won last night and hopefully the Eagles win tonight so I need some stuff to get me ready and locked in for that Game and New Japan fits the bill. Let's see who's tagging with who in this one!
 

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Umino and Narita teaming with each other this feels so weird I must say.
 

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Henare I'm not impressed by you getting wins over Young Bois come on now.
 

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Uemura tagging with Mr.Personality go Young Bois!