13 Ups & 4 Downs From NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13

11. The Kings Of Banter

Ryusuke Taguchi Togi Makabe Toru Yano banter boys
NJPW

The NEVER Openweight 6-Man contendership gauntlet was already 19 minutes deep when the ultimate banter team of NJPW jester Toru Yano, 'King Of Arse Style' Ryusuke Taguchi, and God-tier swearer/sentimental WhatCulture office favourite Togi Makabe made their entrance, but the entertaining trio saved the match in the final fall.

They got a good pop, and it wasn't until their entrance that the crowd truly came alive with anything resembling 'heat.' While nothing groundbreaking, their bout-deciding fall versus Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and Lance Archer hit the mark. It was fast, fun, and just the right level of stupid, particularly as Yano paused the action to ask 'Coach' Taguchi for advice while cheating his way through the Suzuki-gun team. Bless that man's soul.

Having reunited their Most Violent Players team for the first time in almost a decade, Yano and Makabe joined Taguchi in victory. They'll probably beat the Bullet Club for the belts in tomorrow's main event, too, and we should expect the duo to be significant tag team players going forward, given their history (and Makabe's popularity).

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.