On The Edge of Obscurity, A Chance At Growth
The Junior Tag tournament definitely serves a purpose
Just a few days ago, I posed a question to friends that received a sobering answer. I handed over a lineup of the latest New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) tournament with the prompt: “How would you book this?” The first response I received was: “I wouldn’t.”
Truth is, NJPW’s Super Junior Tag League is arguably their most obscure and least interesting tour of the year. It comes during a very transitional portion of the year for them; a time where the promotion hasn’t really started its Wrestle Kingdom build, but also doesn’t have many more programs before then either. All of the promotion’s Ryogoku shows of the year and all of its major singles tournaments have concluded.
And the division that the tournament focuses on guarantees it will be obscure. The junior division is small in NJPW, and its tag team subsection receives little attention during other parts of the year. For more casual NJPW viewers, this time of the year is certainly an offseason period.
But you could make the case that it’s still a valuable time for the promotion. It’s a tournament that can allow growth and give some shine to names that deserve it. To make this point, let’s talk about Kevin Knight.
Just under a year ago, people knew just a few things about Knight. He was a Young Lion in NJPW’s L.A. dojo who wore the usual black trunks and boots. In 2022, many recognized him as the wrestler who could deliver a million-dollar dropkick. But that was it.
Then he was attached to KUSHIDA in the junior tag tournament last year. NJPW used this tournament as a chance to rebrand him. With nine different matches where he would be on showcase as part of the tournament, they gave him a new look and gimmick. He styled himself similar to KUSHIDA’s Back To The Future aesthetic, with bright, long pants and silver sunglasses. He picked up loads of ring time, showing viewers that along with his big dropkick was a whole load of other slick moves.
A year later, Knight has competed in Best of the Super Juniors, had a brief junior tag titles run, appeared frequently in notable promotions like IMPACT Wrestling, CMLL and GCW, and recently placed 15th on a list of the Top 500 Black Wrestlers In The World that has been circulating on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The junior tag league last year gave Knight a chance to sink his teeth into a Japan tour, competing frequently and gaining some notoriety from it. This begs the question, who will be the Knight of this year? Could it be The DKC, who has trained for years in NJPW’s L.A. Dojo but has spent little time in Japan? Or will it be Kosei Fujita, a Young Lion who has been credited by many as a wrestler with a ton of potential, who is competing in a round-robin style tournament for the first time in his career? There’s also no doubt that this tournament could help solidify the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions — Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney — as major players in the promotion. And while someone like MUSASHI is certainly not a new name, the tournament could give him a bigger spotlight, as the Michinoku Pro talent is competing in the NJPW ring for the first time in his career.
It’s true that the tag leagues, and especially the junior tag league, only gain attention from hardcore fans who crave as much NJPW as possible. And for most, this tournament barely even exists to them. But if there’s something this tournament could do, it would be giving the platform for someone to grow further. In the coming weeks, we’ll see if that can come to fruition.
NJPW ~ Super Junior Tag League 2023 ~ Road To Power Struggle ~ Night 1
Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan & HENARE def. Ren Narita, Shota Umino & Yuto Nakashima (9:31)
SANADA & Yuya Uemura def. Oleg Boltin & Oskar Leube (8:05)
Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito def. Gedo & Taiji Ishimori (8:15)
Francesco Akira & TJP def. Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles (NJPW Super Junior Tag League Block Match) (11:51)
Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA def. DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku (NJPW Super Junior Tag League Block Match) (10:15)
El Desperado & Master Wato def. Ryusuke Taguchi & The DKC (NJPW Super Junior Tag League) (10:48)
Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney def. MUSASHI & YOH (NJPW Super Junior Tag League) (12:21)
BUSHI & Titan def. SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (NJPW Super Junior Tag League) (13:58)
NJPW Super Junior Tag League Standings After Night 1
BUSHI & Titan (2)
Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney (2)
El Desperado & Master Wato (2)
Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA (2)
Francesco Akira & TJP (2)
SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (0)
MUSASHI & YOH (0)
Ryusuke Taguchi & The DKC (0)
DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku (0)
Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles (0)
Saturday Notebook
To be completely honest, I’m not sure what the plan is for covering this tournament on Time Limit. I feel like it might be overkill to do a story for each night of the tournament. We’ll play it by ear, and at the very least check in every once in a while.
We still have lots of stuff coming, though! Especially with NJPW doing a U.S. event next weekend along with this tour continuing. As usual, welcome to the new readers who are joining us for the first time, plus the usual readers who are coming back. I appreciate anyone who spends just a few minutes checking out this passion project.
A questionable addition to NJPW Power Struggle: Tanga Loa vs. David Finlay
Two matches have been added to NJPW’s Las Vegas show next weekend:
Royce Isaacs, Jorel Nelson & Danny Limelight vs. Baliyan Akki, Titus Alexander & Jakob Austin Young. Pretty cool to see ChocoPro talent Akki on this card.
Also, Matt Vandagriff vs. Buck Skynyr.
I recently wrote about Will Ospreay’s stretch of IMPACT Wrestling dates for POST Wrestling.
Tonight, he’s competing at Bound For Glory in a singles bout against Mike Bailey. It’s a bout that’s sure to deliver.
The night after, he’ll meet Josh Alexander in a first-ever singles pairing. If Alexander wins the IMPACT World Championship tonight, their bout tomorrow will be for the title. This match will air sometime in the coming weeks as part of IMPACT’s weekly TV show.
On October 27th, Osprey will appear at the promotion’s October 27th event in a match against Eddie Edwards.
Former NJPW talents Kyle Fletcher and Kenny Omega had a really great singles match on AEW Dynamite this week. I recommend.