5 Ups & 2 Downs From NJPW New Year Dash 2019
1. Guerillas Of Destiny & Taiji Ishimori Vs. Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Ryusuke Taguchi
Togi Makabe famously told Bullet Club to "F*CK OFF" in 2014, but the group have never been more worthy of his four-letter fury than in early-2019.
As unlikely gauntlet winners one night prior, 'Most Violent Players' Makabe and Toru Yano and partner Ryusuke Taguchi were charged with dragging something entertaining out of the tired trio - made particularly awkward by Tama Tonga working his on-the-nose 'Good Guy' gimmick in a ticket-flogging exercise for his WrestleMania weekend car boot sale.
As noted by the announcers early, the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Championships have changed hands on this show before (and have been largely meaningless hot potatoes since their inception), so it was always deemed possible for the babyfaces to prevail despite the disparity in the current booking between the trios.
Ultimately, it wasn't to be. Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi confirmed their place alongside the Tongans' reframed Bullet Club to help the trio retain, and a beatdown solidified the reunification. Jay White will do well to avoid injury in 2019 - alongside all the matches he'll be expected to work, his back will be already be killing having to carry so many sacks of sh*t.