16 Ups & 9 Downs For NJPW In 2018

8. World Tag League Tedium

Togi Makabe Toru Yano
NJPW

Storylines like Chuckie T. snapping on his opponents and his Best Friends partner Beretta gave this year's World Tag League an extra dollop of intrigue, but that an entire tour's worth of New Japan shows (finals aside) can even be considered skippable is damning.

These shows are fine. You'll get a couple of hours of passable action every single day, with the participants playing their hits without overexerting themselves. Cards usually contain an easter egg or two to keep completionists happy, but there's no need to watch these dry, unrewarding broadcasts. The odd **** match amidst dozens of middling plodders isn't a tasty enough carrot to dangle.

That wrestlers like Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks took WTL 2018 off speaks volumes. It remains NJPW's least essential tour. On a positive note, this gives weary diehards the chance to recharge their batteries at the end of the year, as only an insane person would commit to watching everything that makes tape on this long, gruelling slog of a tournament.

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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.