The ten teams for New Japan’s World Tag League have been revealed.
New Japan will wrap up its year with two tag tournaments as the annual World Tag League runs concurrently with the Super Junior Tag League beginning November 21st.
On Monday, the promotion revealed the following teams for the World Tag League:
*Aussie Open
*Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
*Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano
*Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
*Alex Coughlin & Gabriel Kidd
*Tetsuya Naito & SANADA
*Great O-Khan & Aaron Henare
*Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste
*Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens
*EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi
The first World Tag League round-robin matches are scheduled for November 22nd at Korakuen Hall with the following matches:
*Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. Aaron Henare & Great O-Khan
*Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano vs. Aussie Open
*EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
*Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
*Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls vs. Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin
The World Tag League was initially presented as the MSG Tag League beginning in 1980 when Antonio Inoki & Bob Backlund won the inaugural Tag League. It went through various naming conventions including the G1 Tag League and was rebranded the World Tag League in 2012.
Last year’s winners were Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI with Goto winning previous tournaments with partners Karl Anderson in 2012 and Katsuyori Shibata in 2014.
The winners are expected to challenge for the IWGP Tag Team Championship, which are held by FTR.
