10 Ups & 4 Downs From NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14

2. New Japan’s Tag Malaise Continues

While neither of the matches were outright bad, Wrestle Kingdom 14's two nights did nothing to shake New Japan's two tag team divisions from their seemingly unending malaise.

Guerrillas of Destiny vs. FinJuice was a Guerrillas of Destiny match: slow, plodding, and heatless while Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa were on offence. It's a shame, really, as so much of G.O.D.'s act is great (from their legacy to their banging entrance track), but the bloom comes off the rose as soon as they hit the ring, and Juice Robinson and David Finlay's combined energy couldn't lift them. Still, at least it ended the Guerrillas' tedious 315-day reign. Perhaps the division can move forward now.

Roppongi 3K vs. Bullet Club's Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo was marginally better. Still, it brought little to the table outside of empty sugar-rush calories. The high spots were plentiful and the pacing fast, but you've seen a hundred matches like this before and ELP's over-the-top heeling continually veers into "too much" territory. This did little to elevate the Junior Heavyweight tag scene.

Gedo was a tag team specialist back in the day, so it's odd that he hasn't found a way to fix these divisions. Fans just have to accept that it's probably never going to happen at this point.