7 Ups & 3 Downs From NJPW Royal Quest

3. Ospreay & Eagles Soar Vs. Bullet Club

It'd be very New Japan to throw a meaningless, run-of-the-mill undercard tag down as Royal Quest's third match. They didn't, though, and instead we got an El Phantasmo/Taiji Ishimori vs. Will Ospreay/Robbie Eagles tag bout informed by months of story.

Eagles and Ospreay met in Australia, forging mutual respect after working a handful of critically-acclaimed singles bouts. When Eagles came to NJPW, he joined Bullet Club, but found himself shunted out of the spotlight by ELP's rapid 2019 ascension. Having left the group after Phantasmo started favouring Ishimori as a partner, we got this match - an explosive tag bag between three of NJPW's most exhilarating junior heavyweights.

Decked out in matching black, red, and gold attire, Ospreay and Eagles looked like a fluid, cohesive team. They worked excellently together, downing Bullet Club with tandem attacks one would normally associate with duos who've been together for years. Your writer can only imagine their work was even more impressive live, without the glitchy FITE.tv stream.

Eagles and his super-powered partner took it with a double-Spanish Fly on Ishimori from the top rope. A great closing spot for this adrenaline-fuelled clash, and afterwards, Ospreay challenged Ishimori and ELP for a well-earned shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. Sounds great, provided it gets a decent spotlight.

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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.