NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades

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NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship Gauntlet Match

Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. Taichi, & Takashi Iizuka) vs. Michael Elgin & War Machine (Warbeard Hanson & Raymond Rowe) vs. Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, & Beretta) vs. Taguchi Japan (Juice Robinson, Togi Makabe, & Ryusuke Taguchi) vs. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, & Tanga Loa) (c)

Result: Chaos defeated Bullet Club to become the new NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Excuse me while I mark out that TRENT BERETTA JUST WON A CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH INSIDE THE TOKYO DOME. Sure, Roppongi Vice won the Junior Heavyweight Tag Titles last year, but let me have this one. The only thing missing was Chuckie T, but all in due time.

My love of trios matches knows no bounds. CHIKARA’s King of Trios event is something I look forward to every year. The Shield and the Wyatt Family brought great six man action to WWE a few years back. So going into this contest, it was pretty likely that I’d be all in for something of this nature.

All five teams had their moments. War Machine is one of the best HOSS teams in the world, and the agility both guys have with their size is ridiculous. Juice Robinson is crazy over, and Taguchi Japan is such a fun group to watch. ZSJ is so fluid with his movements, and the submission he used to eliminated Rowe was beautiful. Bullet Club is, well, Bullet Club – it’s easy to forget that there’s more to the stable than The Elite, but this trio is pretty darn good, too.

And then there’s Chaos. Ishii is amazing – suplexing Fale? Ridiculous – Yano is great, and Beretta has been terrific since transitioning to the heavyweight division. The Dudebuster is such a great finish, and we’re two for two on title changes to kick off the show.