New Japan’s annual World Tag League tournament will begin later this month with the company announcing the teams and cards for the tour.
The notable absences from the Tag League are IWGP heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, Intercontinental champion Jay White, and Tetsuya Naito. The winners of the Tag League will receive an IWGP tag title match on one of the Tokyo Dome cards and all four are scheduled for matches both nights.
Will Ospreay is also not included in the Tag League, which ends a remarkable year of tournaments that included the New Japan Cup, Best of the Super Juniors, the G-1 Climax, and the Super J-Cup.
The following teams will make up the field:
Guerrillas of Destiny (IWGP tag champions)
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare
EVIL & Sanada
Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi
Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
KENTA & Yujiro
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma
Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
Juice Robinson & David Finlay
Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks
Colt Cabana & Toru Yano
Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls
Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens
The World Tag League begins on Saturday, November 16th in Kanagawa followed by back-to-back nights at Korakuen Hall. The Tag League finals will take place on Sunday, December 8th in Hiroshima.
Below are the tournament matches for the opening night:
*Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
*Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma
*Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens
*KENTA & Yujiro vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
*Shingo Takagi & El Terrible vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
*Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls vs. Colt Cabana & Toru Yano
*Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay
