My NJPW World Tag League 2017 Day 17 Overview

NJPW World Tag League - Day 17

Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima Green Arena Small Arena

Attendance: 1,802

NJPW World Tag League 2017 Day 17 Pre-Show Standings
A Block	Points
Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA)	8
Bullet Club (Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi)	8
CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)	8
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka)	6
Death Juice (Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan)	6
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens)	6
TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)	4
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi	2
B Block	Points
CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano)	8
Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb	8
Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T)	8
Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)	8
Killer Elite Squad (Vance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.)	8
War Machine (Hanson & Raymond Rowe)	8
Muscle Candy (Togi Makabe & Henare)	0
David Finlay & Katsuya Kitamura	0

Intro

It will be all A Block matches tonight. Los Ingobernables, Bullet Club (Page & Yujiro) and CHAOS (Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) are all tied for the lead with eight points. LIJ and CHAOS are facing off against each other tonight so one of them will no longer be tied for the lead position after tonight. Page and Yujiro also seem to have a crucial match since they will also be knocked into second place if they lose to Death Juice tonight.

Match #1

Six-Man Tag Team Match

Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Leo Tonga) vs David Finlay, Katsuya Kitamura & Tomoyuki Oka

• Loa pins Oka with the Rikishi Driver.
• I'm a big fan of the Tongan crew. Tama Tonga is always fun to watch. 
• Finlay and the young lions all have really bright futures. 

Winners: Bullet Club

Match #2

Eight-Man Tag Team Match

CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Beretta) & Chuckie T vs War Machine (Raymond Rowe & Hanson), Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb

• Cobb pins Chuckie with the Tour of the Islands.
• I think the Best Friends have been gelling well with a lot of these NJPW tag teams.
• I know that Elgin has been going through some stuff. He stiffed Hanson's War Machine elbow-bump. At first I thought that some of the backstage stuff was rearing its head into the ring but I think they're just building to their match coming up soon.
• Rowe was like "FUCK HIM! FUCK MICHAEL ELGIN". I'm sitting wondering if they're just building up to their match really well or if Big Mike actually has beef with some of the guys.
  

Winners: War Machine, Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb

Match #3

Six-Man Tag Team Match

Togi Makabe, Jushin "Thunder" Liger & Henare vs Suzuki-gun (Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & El Desperado)

• I'm starting to dig Archer's pre-match water fountain antics. It gives the shows that he's a part of a real interactive feel. 
• There was almost a botched powerbomb spot near the end between DBS Jr. and Henare. Not sure what happened there but DBS Jr. saved the move in very incredible fashion as he pinned Henare for the finish. 

Winners: Suzuki-Gun

Match #4

Six-Man Tag Team Match

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay & Gedo) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI)

• It's always a blast whever Okada/Naito and Ospreay/Takahashi are in the ring. I cannot wait for their WK12 matches.
• Okada locks in the Deep in Debt  move on Naito near the finish. Naito has the Pluma Blanca and the Polvo de Estrella and Okada has the Deep in Debt to go along with the Red Ink going into their match at WK12.
• Ospreay hits the Os-Cutter on Takahashi for the pinfall while Okada has Naito locked into the D.I.D.

Winners: CHAOS

Match #5

World Tag League 2017 Block A Match

Tag Team Match

Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi (2 points) vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens)(6 points)

• I think both teams are already eliminated at this point. At this point for these two tag teams it's all about who can look the best in elimination.
• Nagata and Nakanishi made damn sure that it was them who looked better on this night as they hit Owens with that Diving Chop/Jumping Enziguiri before Nakanishi locks Owens in the Torture Rack for the submission victory.

Winners: Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi (4 points)

Match #6

World Tag League 2017 Block A Match

Tag Team Match

TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)(4 points) vs Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka)(6 points)

• I think both of these teams are in a similar position as the teams in the previous match.
• Man, I cannot being to tell you how much I check out when the guys start brawling in the crowd. 
• Suzuki's facial expressions are just great. Especially the way he looks at Kojima when he no-sells his chops.
• Kojima and Tenzan hit a somewhat botched 3D on Suzuki.
• The ref DQs Suzuki-gun when Iizuka hits Kojima with the iron fingers.

Winners by DQ: TenKoji (6 points)

Match #6

World Tag League 2017 Block A Match

Tag Team Match

Death Juice (Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan)(6 points) vs Bullet Club (Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi)(8 points)

• I'm not up on the intricacies of possible round robin tournament outcomes in the event of a tie. But do Death Juice have a chance to win if LIJ lose tonight? Probably not, eh?
• Juice and Sami have just really clicked with me throughout this tournament.
• This was a fun match. Page hit a devastating-looking top-rope neckbreaker at one point.
• Sami hits a Death Valley Driver on Page on the apron. 
• Death Juice win when Juice hits the Pulp Friction on Yujiro.

Winners: Death Juice (8 points)

Match #7

World Tag League 2017 Block A Match

Tag Team Match

CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)(8 points) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA)(8 points)

• This was a very fun match.
• CHAOS hit EVIL with the G.Y.R. for the near fall that I bit on.
• SANADA hits Goto with a dropkick and EVIL immediately drops him with a seated Widowmaker for a near fall that the announcers went crazy over.
• LIJ drop Goto with the Magic Killer for the pinfall. 
• What's will all of these teams doing the Magic Killer? Am I missing something?

Winners: Los Ingobernables (10 points)

Closing Thoughts

This was a fun show. It would have been funner if there weren't so many of these to watch! It's been very difficult for me to keep up. But my OCD will not allow me to skip ahead. Now is that it for the A Block? Have LIJ won it? I do believe that they have.

NJPW World Tag League 2017 Day 17 Pre-Show Standings
A Block	Points
Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA)	10
Bullet Club (Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi)	8
CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)	8
Death Juice (Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan)	8
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka)	6
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens)	6
TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)	6
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi	4
B Block	Points
CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano)	8
Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb	8
Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T)	8
Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)	8
Killer Elite Squad (Vance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.)	8
War Machine (Hanson & Raymond Rowe)	8
Muscle Candy (Togi Makabe & Henare)	0
David Finlay & Katsuya Kitamura	0