New Japan Pro Wrestling announce World Tag League lineups, debuts of Sami Callihan, Chuckie T, and Jeff Cobb

With Power Struggle in our rear view mirror, there’s just one more stop along the road to Wrestle Kingdom 12, friends, and that’s World Tag League. Logically enough, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced the block lineups and laid all their cards on the table, so let’s take a look at what we have, shall we?

A Block

• Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens)
• Bullet Club (Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi)
• Chaos (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)
• Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan
• Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA)
• Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata
• Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka)
• TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)

B Block

• Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T)
• Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano)
• David Finlay & Katsuya Kitamura
• Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
• Henare & Togi Makabe
• Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin
• Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer)
• War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe)

There are a couple interesting things to pick out here, first and foremost being our trio of debuts that got called out in the headlines. While speculation of him being Switchblade proved unfounded, Sami Callihan is indeed “pulling a Cody” so to speak following his debut for Impact Wrestling at Bound For Glory last night, and he’s doing so by teaming with one of NJPW’s fastest-rising western stars, Juice Robinson.

Chuck Taylor (working here as Chuckie T to avoid the wrath of the shoe gods, one assumes) joins one of his regular tag partners and Highspots interview show co-host Beretta for his first trip to Japan since he last toured with Dragon Gate back in 2011. By contrast, Jeff Cobb is not teaming with either of his regular partners on this tour, New Japan choosing not to use Matt Riddle or David Starr in favor of creating a HOSS SUPER TEAM with Mr. Athletic and Big Mike Elgin.

Other than the debuts, it’s largely the usual mix of established teams and guys from stables put together to fill out the ranks, although it is notable that none of NJPW’s top stars are wrestling in the tournament this year. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, Kenny Omega, they’re all sitting this one out.

One last analytical note before I start listing out the tournament matches, dates, and times and all that good stuff; it’s interesting that B Block got the lion’s share of both the established teams and the debuts. A Block isn’t exactly the worst imaginable tag tournament block, Robinson & Callihan are a definite shot in the arm and the LIJ and Chaos teams will do a lot of heavy lifting, but the two teams of 3rd Generation dads are going to have to shoulder a fair share of the load themselves.

Night 1: Tokyo (November 18, 4:30AM Eastern, 1:30AM Pacific)

• Chaos (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka)
• Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA)

Night 2: Gunma (November 19, 1AM Eastern, 10PM Pacific)

• Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
• Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) vs. Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin

Night 3: Saitama (November 20, 5AM Eastern, 2AM Pacific)

• Bullet Club (Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata
• Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens) vs. TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)

Night 4: Yamanashi (November 21, 5AM Eastern, 2AM Pacific)

• David Finlay & Katsuya Kitamura vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer)
• Henare & Togi Makabe vs. War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe)

Night 5: Hyogo (November 23, 4AM Eastern, 1AM Pacific)

• Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens) vs. Bullet Club (Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi)
• Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)
• Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka)
• Chaos (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan

Night 6: Tottori (November 24, 4:30AM Eastern, 1:30AM Pacific)

• Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) vs. David Finlay & Katsuya Kitamura
• Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs. Henare & Togi Makabe
• Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T) vs. War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe)
• Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer)

Night 7: Shiga (November 25, 4AM Eastern, 1AM Pacific)

• Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA)
• Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan vs. TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)
• Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka)
• Bullet Club (Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Chaos (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)

Night 8: Aichi (November 26, 2AM Eastern, 11PM Pacific)

• David Finlay & Katsuya Kitamura vs. Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin
• Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T) vs. Henare & Togi Makabe
• Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer)
• Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs. War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe)

Night 9: Nagano (November 28, 4:30AM Eastern, 1:30AM Pacific)

• Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata
• Chaos (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)
• Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka)
• Bullet Club (Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA)

Night 10: Tokyo (November 30, 4:30AM Eastern, 1:30AM Pacific)

• David Finlay & Katsuya Kitamura vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
• Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) vs. Henare & Togi Makabe
• Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T) vs. Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin
• Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer) vs. War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe)

Night 11: Aichi (December 1, 4AM Eastern, 1AM Pacific)

• Bullet Club (Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)
• Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA) vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata
• Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka)
• Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens) vs. Chaos (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)

Night 12: Osaka (December 2, 3AM Eastern, 12AM Pacific)

• Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T) vs. David Finlay & Katsuya Kitamura
• Henare & Togi Makabe vs. Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin
• Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer)
• Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) vs. War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe)

Night 13: Kochi (December 3, 4AM Eastern, 1AM Pacific)

• Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens) vs. Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan
• Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA) vs. TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)

Night 14: Oita (December 5, 4:30AM Eastern, 1:30AM Pacific)

• Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T) vs. Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano)
• Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs. Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin

Night 15: Nagasaki (December 6, 4:30AM Eastern, 1:30AM Pacific)

• Bullet Club (Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka)
• Chaos (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata

Night 16: Yamaguchi (December 7, 5AM Eastern, 2AM Pacific)

• David Finlay & Katsuya Kitamura vs. War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe)
• Henare & Togi Makabe vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer)

Night 17: Hiroshima (December 8, 4:30AM Eastern, 1:30AM Pacific)

• Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka) vs. TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)
• Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens) vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata
• Bullet Club (Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan
• Chaos (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA)

Night 18: Ehime (December 9, 4AM Eastern, 1AM Pacific)

• David Finlay & Katsuya Kitamura vs. Henare & Togi Makabe
• Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin vs. War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe)
• Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
• Best Friends (Beretta & Chuckie T) vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer)

Night 19: Fukuoka (December 11, 4:30AM Eastern, 1:30AM Pacific)

• A Block Winner vs. B Block Winner (World Tag League Finals)

Much like Best of the Super Jr. in the spring, only select dates will be available live and in full on NJPW World, with the rest of the tournament matches being uploaded individually the day after. For World Tag League, that means the opener on November 18 (which will be broadcast free for everyone), November 30, and the finals on December 11.

There you have it, folks

World Tag League isn’t the most exciting part of the New Japan calendar, but it’s upon us and we have some pretty cool new additions to the field. Excited, Cagesiders?