10 things you must watch from the NJPW Together Project
By Sonal Lad
8. Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi v Taguchi and Taka Michinoku – IWGP Jr Tag Titles
Despite being such a successful and important team in the Jr Heavyweight division, I think that some people forget that Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi teaming as Apollo 55 was one of the best Jr teams in New Japan history. Together, the team won the Jr tag titles four times during their time together and combined amazing wrestling, personality and funky dance moves.
However, there is one faction who hated everything like that: Kojima Gun (now known as Suzuki Gun). Back in 2011, Taka Michinoku and then Jr Taichi were very much at the forefront of both the singles and tag Jr division. Obviously Taka is a Jr legend, but Taichi was also creating waves and getting people to hate him. So, obviously they were going to try and take the beautiful Jr belts off a duo that was the antithesis of who they were.
As expected, this match was full of chaos and disarray from the team of Taka and Taichi. If you expected a clean fight, you definitely clicked on the wrong match. That doesn’t mean that this wasn’t a solid wrestling match. Taguchi and Devitt’s talent was undeniable. However, you shouldn’t underestimate the heel duo. Everyone knows how talented an athlete Taka Michinoku is and Taichi was a Jr heavyweight at this time combining speed and strength.
I loved watching this match because we got to see four athletes in a title match that we probably won’t see again.