Pro Wrestling NOAHs Global Tag League final will air this Saturday, April 18.
Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Global Tag League is an annual round-robin tag team tournament held in the spring. The Pro-Wrestling NOAHs Global Tag League Final will air at 7pm JST, 11am BST, 6 am ET on Saturday, April 18. Eight teams competed in this year’s tournament. Two points were awarded for a victory, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss. However, each match had a 30-minute time limit. The winners of the tournament final will be crowded new number one contenders for the GHC Tag Team Championships. Masaaki Mochizuki and Naomichi Marufuji are the current champions. Below are the standing going into Pro-Wrestling NOAHs Global Tag League Final.
The final standings from this year’s tournament:
A Block
1. El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Rene Dupree (2-1 record): 4 points
2. Kenoh and Masa Kitamiya (2-1 record): 4 points
3. GHC Tag Team champions Masaaki Mochizuki and Naomichi Marufuji (1-2 record): 2 points
4. Kaito Kiyomiya and Shuhei Taniguchi (1-2 record): 2 points
B Block
1. GHC Heavyweight champion Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima (2-1 record): 4 points
2. Hideki Shrek Sekine and GHC National champion Takashi Sugiura (2-1 record): 4 points
3. Daisuke Sekimoto and Yoshiki Inamura (1-2 record): 2 points
4. Akitoshi Saito and Masao Inoue (1-2 record): 2 points
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, this year’s tournament was pre-recorded without live fans in attendance. As a result of the tournament final, although live, will also be held without fans.
Seven matches have been announced for the show.
Pro Wrestling NOAHs Global Tag Team League 2020
Seiya Morohashi vs. Kinya Okada
Kinya Okada is yet to reach the levels of success as his last name counterpart in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Since debuting in December 2018, Okada has never won a singles match in NOAH. These two foes last clashed during the N-1 Victory tour in September 2019.
Muhammad Yone and Tadasuke vs. Akitoshi Saito and Masao Inoue
Saito and Inoue pulled off the upset of the tournament when 54-year-old Saito pinned reigning GHC Heavyweight Champion Go Shiozaki on the first night of the tournament. It seems much more likely, however, that the team will remain as a lower midcard act.
Daisuke Harada, HAYATA and YO-HEY vs. Hajime Ohara, NOSAWA Rongai and X
This six-man tag team match will see the debut of Sugiura-gun’s newest member. As a result of on Sugiura-gun’s opponents, three members of junior heavyweight stable RATEL’S, it could be assumed that the newest member will also be a junior heavyweight.
Naomichi Marufuji, Masaaki Mochizuki and Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Kenoh, Haoh and Nioh
Reigning GHC Tag Team champions Masaaki Mochizuki and Naomichi Marufuji did not have an ideal time during the Global Tag League, losing two of their three contests. One of the aforementioned losses came against Kenoh and Masa Kitamiya. While Kitamiya is preoccupied elsewhere on the card, Kenoh has a long history of issues with Marufuji.
It is also worth mentioning Kenoh promised the debut of a new member of his Kongoh stable on the March 19 show. Some fans have speculated it will be Manabu Soya after the closure of Wrestle-1.
Takashi Sugiura, Hideki Shrek Sekine and Hideki Suzuki vs. Daisuke Sekimoto, Masa Kitamiya and Yoshiki Inamura
There have been various matches between members of both teams in recent memory. Sugiura and Sekine defeated Sekimoto and Inamura on the second night of the tournament when Sugiura pinned Inamura. Also, Sugiura retained the GHC National Championship against Kitamiya in January.
Previously, Inamura had only ever defeated Kinya Okada in singles competition. However, Inamura competed in Big Japan Pro Wrestling’s Strong Climb tournament prior to the Global Tag League, defeating Ryuichi Kawakami and Akira Hyodo in singles competition. Could this mean success is on the horizon for Inamura in NOAH, or potentially a match for Sugiura’s GHC National Championship?
Yoshinari Ogawa and Atsushi Kotoge vs. Kaito Kiyomiya and Kotaro Suzuki
The biggest story going into this match is the disbanding of Stinger. At NOAH the CHRONICLE vol.2 on March 29, Kotaro Suzuki turned on Yoshinari Ogawa and laid down the challenge for a GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship match. A pinfall victory over Ogawa here would solidify Suzuki’s championship claim. Also, Kiyomiya’s inclusion as Suzuki’s partner makes for an interesting choice.
Pro-Wrestling NOAH’s Global Tag Team League Final 2020: El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Rene Dupree vs. Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima
The tournament final is incredibly hard to predict. On the one side is reigning GHC Heavyweight Champion Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima. As is a tradition in Japan, if Shiozaki were to get pinned in the tournament final then it would likely lead to a future GHC Heavyweight Championship match. Neither El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Rene Dupree, however, have established themselves as credible challengers. Furthermore, Nakajima has been angling for a GHC National Championship match against Takashi Sugiura and a loss here could derail his championship aspirations.
On the other side, El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Rene Dupree have been the breakout team of the tournament. El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. debuted for NOAH during last year’s N-1 Victory tournament, finishing with a 1-3 record in his block. Despite his unspectacular start in the company, his Global Tag League record with Dupree certainly speaks for itself and the luchador even pinned Naomichi Marufuji on the last day of block completion. It looks to be an outstanding card for Pro-Wrestling NOAHs Global Tag League Final.
