It’s down to three teams in the B Block of NJPW’s Super Junior Tag League.
With one night left of action in the B Block set for later this week, it’s just the TMDK duo of the Ichiban Sweet Boys, Bullet Club’s Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X, and the duo of KUSHIDA and Yuki Yoshioka who could advance to the finals. The field was narrowed down to the three squads following Wednesday’s show in Niigata, Japan.
Kosei Fujita and Robbie Eagles sit atop the entire division following their performance this weekend against the winless Tiger Mask and YAMATO, with Eagles submitting YAMATO in 13 minutes with a Half Crab.
With eight points, they just need one more win to seal the deal and earn themselves a spot in the finals. The duo are hoping to go back-to-back after winning the tournament last year.
Robbie X and Taiji Ishimori remained in the hunt in the main event of Wednesday’s card, putting away the duo of El Desperado and Kuukai in 14 minutes. Robbie closed the show, connecting with his top-rope X-Express for the pinfall.
Chances of the House of Torture team of Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Dick Togo winning the B Block became mathematically impossible on Wednesday following their loss to KUSHIDA and Yuki Yoshioka. An attempt from Kanemaru to spit whisky in the face of his opponents backfired, instead getting teammate Togo in the eyes. This left the opening for Yoshioka to score a High Fly Flow, then KUSHIDA locked in a Boston Crab for the submission win.
While House of Torture’s tournament hopes remain alive in the A Block with SHO and DOUKI, the highest that Togo and Kanemaru could place in the B Block standings is fourth.
B Block winner day possibilities
The B Block winner will most likely be decided on Saturday by a matchup between Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles against Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X.
Saturday’s card is easy math for TMDK: Win and you’re in. If they can overcome the Bullet Club duo, they’ll have more points than anyone else in the bracket and will advance to the finals.
Ishimori & Robbie X could advance to the finals if they win on Saturday. Under tiebreaker rules, Ishimori and Robbie would be given the edge due to having the head-to-head win over the team they’re even with. In this case, Ishimori and Robbie X would also need KUSHIDA and Yuki Yoshioka to lose their match earlier in the night.
The chances seem the slimmest for the team of KUSHIDA and Yuki Yoshioka. The only way they can remain in the running after Saturday is if they win their match against El Desperado and Kuukai, and Bullet Club beats TMDK in the aforementioned bout. This would leave the three teams evenly tied under tiebreaker rules. In any other situation, whether TMDK wins or KUSHIDA and Yoshioka lose, their tournament has come to an end.
In short, here are each team’s paths to victory
- Kosei Fujita and Robbie Eagles: Win on Saturday
- Taiji Ishimori & Robbie X: Win on Saturday AND KUSHIDA & Yoshioka loses
- KUSHIDA & Yuki Yoshioka: Win on Saturday AND Ishimori/Robbie X wins FOR a three-way tie
Here are the results for Wednesday’s card:
- Clark Connors & Daiki Nagai def. Tatsuya Matsumoto & Zane Jay
- Callum Newman, Jakob Austin Young & Templario def. Masatora Yasuda, Boltin Oleg & Shoma Kato
- Gedo, OSKAR, Yuto-Ice & Hiromu Takahashi def. Dragon Dia, Ryusuke Taguchi, Katsuya Murashima & Toru Yano
- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Master Wato & YOH def. DOUKI, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi
- KUSHIDA & Yuki Yoshioka def. Dick Togo & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (B Block)
- Kosei Fujita & Robbie Egles def. Tiger Mask & YAMATO (B Block)
- Robbie X & Taiji Ishimori def. El Desperado & Kuukai (B Block)
A Block
- SHO & DOUKI (8)
- Master Wato & YOH (8)
- Ryusuke Taguchi & Dragon Dia (4)
- Templario & Jakob Austin Young (2)
- Hiromu Takahashi & Gedo (2)
- Clark Connors & Daiki Nagai (0)
B Block
- Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles (8)
- Robbie X & Taiji Ishimori (6)
- KUSHIDA & Yuki Yoshioka (6)
- El Desperado & Kuukai (2)
- Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Dick Togo (2)
- Tiger Mask & YAMATO (0)
