4 Ups & 4 Downs From NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 (Night 1)

3. Crawling Back to GoD

Taichi Tanga Loa
NJPW

Guerrillas of Destiny are now technically the most decorated IWGP Tag Team Champions in history, having scored their seventh reign by besting the Dangerous Tekkers pairing of Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr., pulling clear of a record they'd shared with TenCozy for close to a year.

The occasional flash of personality aside, the match's first two acts were largely unengaging and plodding. While fundamentally fine, the second-gear pacing and general lack of intensity created little excitement, though it was eventually elevated by Zack Sabre Jr.'s snot and noodle-limbed technicality. The urgency increased in parallel with quality. Towards the end, the match was threatening to transform into something good or even great.

A dopy finish undid this.

Jado's distraction led to a ref bump, which led to Tama Tonga hitting Taichi with Takashi Iizuka's iron fingers, then the victory. Hardly surprising, given what NJPW became in 2020, but not what the majority of New Japan consumers tune in to see, and it needlessly damaged a match as it was gaining steam.

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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.