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New Japan Pro Wrestling is popularly known for all of their annual tournaments, amongst which the G1 Climax is quite arguably the most popular tournament of the bunch and despite not being equivalent to the G1 Climax or The Best of Super Juniors for that matter, NJPW's yearly Super Junior Tag Tournament is definitely considered one of the most exciting yearly tournaments.
Throughout the years, the NJPW: Super Junior Tag Tournament has produced some of the most exciting match-ups one could ever ask for and over the years, we've also witnessed some absolutely talented tag teams compete in this annual Jr. Tag League.
The likes of The Young Bucks, reDragon, Roppongi Vice, Ricochet and Matt Sydal, and Apollo 55 have all played a major part in the rich history of the NJPW: Jr. Tag League and have certainly helped a lot in establishing this tournament as one of the much-anticipated tournaments of the year.
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However, that being said, this year's NJPW: Jr. Tag League is going to be completely different, given the fact that Jr. Heavyweight pioneers Matt and Nick Jackson- The Young Bucks- have moved up to the Heavyweight Division and several other notable tag teams have also joined them in that particular category as well.
Therefore, New Japan Pro Wrestling now has the uphill battle of booking an absolutely mouthwatering and fresh line-up for this year's Super Jr. Tag Tournament. With that kept in mind, we have now decided to put together 8 of the most exciting tag teams that we feel could make this year's NJPW: Super Jr. Tag Tournament a memorable one.
#8 Roppongi 3K
Having entered their first ever NJPW: Super Jr. Tag Tournament last year, several people around the globe had high expectations for division newcomers and former two-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, Roppongi 3K.
The duo of Sho and Yoh were super impressive in their debut Super Jr. Tag Tournament, as the two men eventually also reached the final and won the tournament in an absolutely spectacular fashion as well.
Therefore, an entry into this year's NJPW: Super Jr. Tournament makes all the sense in the world for Roppongi 3K, as Sho and Yoh will look forward to taking the world by storm yet again.
#7 Ryusuke Taguchi and Jonathan Gresham
Being an NJPW veteran, Ryusuke Taguchi has certainly established himself as one of the mainstays of the NJPW Jr. Heavyweight Division and within these past few years, Taguchi has been regularly competing at NJPW's annual Jr. Heavyweight Tournaments.
However, ever since Taguchi's Apollo 55 partner Prince Devitt's departure from NJPW, 'The Coach' has been occasionally teaming up with several random superstars such as the likes of Fuego, Mascara Dorada, or former AAW Heavyweight Champion ACH.
So for this year's tournament, having Taguchi team up with Ring of Honor upstart Jonathan Gresham will not only benefit the former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, but will also prove to be a massive step for up and comer Gresham. The 30-year-old has already won the CZW World Heavyweight Championship in the past and competing for New Japan Pro Wrestling will definitely be a major boost for Gresham's career as well.
#6 CHAOS (Will Ospreay and Rocky Romero)
Now, I know its been a while since we saw Rocky Romero compete in an NJPW ring, but let us not forget about the fact that Romero is a former multi-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion and is also a former winner of the NJPW: Super Jr. Tag Tournament as well.
In the past, Romero has entered the NJPW: Super Jr. Tag Tournament alongside his fellow CHAOS stablemate Alex Koslov, as part of a tag team known as Forever Hooligans. Whereas, in recent years, Romero has been teaming up with Trent Berretta as part of the popular tag team Roppongi Vice.
However, following Trent's promotion to the Heavyweight Division and following the dissolution of RPG Vice, Romero has occasionally competed in an NJPW ring, therefore, now will be the perfect time for him to step up and team up with fellow CHAOS stablemate Will Ospreay.
Being a prominent member of CHAOS, Will Ospreay has always been more of a singles wrestler and has been CHAOS' Jr. Heavyweight representative, but there is absolutely no harm for Ospreay to be teaming up with someone as talented as Rocky Romero and enter the Super Jr. Tag Tournament.
Surely, both Ospreay and Romero are more than capable of putting together some absolutely amazing match-ups and can definitely hang in the ring with NJPW's top Jr. Tag Teams.
#5 Titan and Dragon Lee
Having entered last year's tournament together as a tag team, the exciting duo of Titan and Dragon Lee were super impressive in their Super Jr. Tag Tournament debut and despite the first round elimination loss to Hiromu and Bushi, the two CMLL stars certainly didn't fail to leave their marks in Japan.
Quite arguably, both Titan and Dragon Lee are among two of the most athletic superstars in today's NJPW roster and their entry in the Super Jr. Tag Tournament is definitely going to bring the very best out of the every other tag team as well.
Expect some absolutely exciting and high-flying matches with these two being at the center of attention!
#4 Suzuki Gun (El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
By the time of this writing, the Suzuki Gun duo of El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru are the only confirmed tag team to enter this year's NJPW: Super Jr. Tag Tournament, given the fact that the two men have now been in possession of the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championships for almost 200 days.
After being eliminated in the semifinals of last year's tournament, Desperado and Kanemaru will look forward to going one better on this occasion, as the two Suzuki Gun representatives and the only remaining Suzuki Gun Jr. Heavyweights (excluding Taka Michinoku of course) will look forward to winning their first-ever NJPW: Super Jr. Tag Tournament, while being in possession of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships.
#3 Chris Sabin and Kushida
Now speaking of unusual duos, this tag team is definitely a bit different from the rest of the lot, but trust me, there is a lot of history between Kushida and ROH star Chris Sabin and the storytelling they can pull off while teaming up with each other will be beyond perfect.
Former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Kushida is quite arguably the ace of the Jr. Heavyweights and in the past, we've already seen him form various tag teams with other notable Jr. Heavyweight competitors. However, one tag team which stood out the most was Kushida's partnership with former Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champion and one half of The Motor City Machine Guns, Alex Shelley.
During their early days as a tag team, Kushida and Alex Shelley- who were collectively known as The Time Splitters- pretty much dominated the entire NJPW Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Division. And their success also drew comparisons to The Motor City Machine Guns, compiling of Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley, who found success all over the Independent circuit, as well as for promotions such as Impact Wrestling and ROH.
Now the sole reason why I feel Kushida should team up with Chris Sabin at this year's NJPW: Super Jr. Tag Tournament is due to the common bond that they share through a common tag team partner in the form of Alex Shelley.
Shelley, of course, announced his retirement from Professional Wrestling earlier in the year, thus having Kushida team up with Chris Sabin, who also returned to NJPW earlier in the year as a singles competitor, makes all the sense in the world.
#2 Flip Gordon and Marty Scurll
By this point, you might feel that this year's NJPW Jr. Tag Team Tournament's theme is to have as many unusual tag teams as possible, but no, trust me, a team between former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion and Ring of Honor favorite Flip Gordon is what the fans have been craving to see.
Not only did Flip and Marty develop a good bond with each other at Ring of Honor, but, the two men recently also competed at the Best of Super Juniors 2018 Tournament, which eventually led to a brand new Being The Elite shtick between the two men, billed as "Flip and Marty Take Japan".
With that being said, several fans have now claimed that they would absolutely love to see both Gordon and Scurll team up with each other at the upcoming Super Jr. Tag Tournament and despite Flip not being a member of The Bullet Club, the two men can definitely provide a lot of amusing moments.
#1 Taiji Ishimori and a brand new Bullet Club Jr. Heavyweight
Throughout the years, the legendary Bullet Club has had some notable Jr. Heavyweights in their ranks. I mean, it initially started off with leader Price Devitt, who himself is a former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and following Devitt's departure, the void was filled in by current leader and another former Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Kenny Omega.
The likes of Chase Owens, Marty Scurll, and 'The Bone Soldier' Taiji Ishimori have all been a major part of The Bullet Club, as well as the NJPW Jr. Heavyweight Division, as well. That being said, Ishimori currently is the only Jr. Heavyweight representative who has sided himself with The Tongans, whereas, Scurll has opted to stick beside his Bullet Club Elite buddies, therefore, there is no way in hell the two men are going to team up with each other anytime in the near future.
So, with all of that being said and done, Taiji Ishimori is currently in need of a new Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team partner who can represent The Firing Squad and in recent interviews, The Bone Soldier also claimed that he is apparently planning on bringing in a new Jr. Heavyweight in the group.
Ishimori is definitely open to plenty of options right now, but the one name which comes in mind is right now is non-other than recently released WWE superstar Neville, who could very well join The Bullet Club Firing Squad, considering that Tama Tonga is a huge fan of the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion.
A newly formed tag team between Neville and Ishimori will take the entire Pro Wrestling World by storm and the two men are then capable of holding the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championships as well.
