Who Will AEW's FTR Defend The IWGP Tag Team Titles Against At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17?

Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler will be facing THIS tandem next month.

by Andrew Pollard
Bishamon's Hirooki Goto YOSHI-HASHI
NJPW

Following today's NJPW World Tag League 2022 & Super Junior Tag League 2022 event, it's now been revealed that FTR will be defending the IWGP Tag Team Titles against Bishamon's Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17.

Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler were already confirmed to be putting the IWGP Tag Team Championships on the line against the winner of World Tag League at WK17, and Bishamon toppled Aussie Open to earn themselves a spot against the Top Guys.

This is the second consecutive year where Goto and YOSHI-HASHI have emerged victorious in the World Tag League, with many predicting that it would instead be the Aussie Open tandem of Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher who'd be the ones to cement themselves another opportunity to dethrone FTR as the IWGP Tag Champs. FTR and Aussie Open famously tore the house down at Royal Quest II this past October, with Dax and Cash retaining their gold on that night.

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FTR vs. Bishamon will take place on 4 January from the Tokyo Dome as part of Wrestle Kingdom 17's first night. This is the second AEW vs. NJPW bout set for the event, with Kenny Omega to face off against Will Ospreay in a contest that will surely be an early Match of the Year candidate for 2023.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.