This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject , potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral.(September 2018) |
The Wrestle-1 Tag League was a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by Wrestle-1. It was created in 2014. Originally known as the Tag League Greatest in 2014. The tournament was given its current name in June 2017. The inaugural tournament, was held to determine the first Wrestle-1 Tag Team Champions, which was won by Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo who also became the longest reigning Wrestle-1 Tag Team Champions. The winners of the tournament can choose a title shot of their choosing.
The Wrestle-1 Tag League was held under a round-robin system, with two points for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. The teams finishing a top of the points standings in the two blocks advanced to the knockout stage, where the winner was determined in a head-to-head match. Matches in the Wrestle-1 Tag League had a 30-minute time limit, which is the same as matches for Wrestle-1 Tag Team Championship.
Tournament | Year | Winners (total won as an individual) | Total won as a team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tag League Greatest | 2014 | Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo | 1 | [1] |
Wrestle-1 Tag League | 2017 | Koji Doi and Kumagoro | 1 | [2] |
Wrestle-1 Tag League | 2018 | Shuji Kondo (2) and Koji Doi (2) | 1 | [3] |
Wrestle-1 Tag League | 2019 | T-Hawk and Shigehiro Irie | 1 | [4] |
The 2014 Tag League Greatest featured two blocks containing five participants each and took place between November 15 and 30, 2014. The winners of the tournament would become the inaugural Wrestle-1 Tag Team Champions. The two blocks containing the ten participating teams were revealed on November 3. The teams were later given official team names on November 14. Held under a points system, with two points for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. The top two teams from each block would advance to the knockout stage. Matches in the tournament had a 30-minute time limit, which is the same as matches for Wrestle-1. On November 27, Seiki Yoshioka pulled out of the tournament with a knee injury, forcing his team to forfeit their final match in the tournament. On November 30, Team 246 (Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo) defeated the new Wild order (Akira and Manabu Soya) in the finals to win the tournament and become the inaugural Wrestle-1 Tag Team Champions. [5]
Block A | Block B | ||
---|---|---|---|
Masayuki Kono and Tajiri (Desperado) | 8 | Kai and Ryota Hama (Akatenrou) | 6 |
Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo (Team 246) | 6 | Akira and Manabu Soya (New Wild Order) | 5 |
Jiro Kuroshio and Masakatsu Funaki (Ikeman Samurai) | 4 | Minoru Tanaka and Seiki Yoshioka (Too Sharp) | 4 |
Taiyo Kea and Yasufumi Nakanoue (Sunrise) | 2 | Hiroshi Yamato and Seiya Sanada (Seiya to Hiroshi) | 4 |
Nosawa Rongai and Mazada (Tokyo Gurentai) | 0 | Koji Doi and Yusuke Kodama (Novus) | 1 |
Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
1 | Kono & Tajiri | Pin | |||||||
3 | Akira & Soya | 9:15 | |||||||
1 | Akira & Soya | Pin | |||||||
2 | Hayashi & Kondo | 26:05 | |||||||
2 | Kai & Hama | Pin | |||||||
4 | Hayashi & Kondo | 11:37 |
On June 14, Wrestle-1 announced the creation of the Wrestle-1 Tag League in the fall. On July 31, Wrestle-1 president Kaz Hayashi announced that the Wrestle-1 Tag League would be on September 24 until October 11, [6] covering five shows. All participants and blocks were announced on September 18. [7]
Block A | Block B | ||
---|---|---|---|
Daiki Inaba and Jiro Kuroshio (New Era) | 5 | Yuji Hino and Jake Omen (Beast Tyrant) | 6 |
Koji Doi and Kumagoro (DoiKuma) | 3 | Masayuki Kono and Takanori Ito (Team Japan) | 4 |
Mazada and Nosawa Rongai (Tokyo Gurentai) | 2 | Shotaro Ashino and Yusuke Kodama (Enfants Terrible) | 2 |
Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo (Team 246 Presidents) | 2 | Manabu Soya and Ganseki Tanaka (Get Wild&Rock) | 0 |
Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
1 | Inaba & Kuroshio | Pin | |||||||
3 | Kono & Ito | 11:56 | |||||||
1 | Inaba & Kuroshio | Pin | |||||||
2 | Doi & Kumagoro | 34:02 | |||||||
2 | Hino & Omen | Pin | |||||||
4 | Doi & Kumagoro | 9:44 |
The 2018 Wrestle-1 Tag League took place between September 18 and October 24. [8] [9]
Block A | Block B | ||
---|---|---|---|
Manabu Soya and Daiki Inaba | 6 | Shuji Kondo and Koji Doi | 4 |
Kaz Hayashi and Pegaso Illuminar | 4 | Takanori Ito and Ryuji Hijikata | 2 |
Andy Wu and El Hijo del Pantera | 2 | Masayuki Kono and Yukio Naya | 2 |
Shotaro Ashino and Kumaarashi | 0 | Ganseki Tanaka and Tsugutaka Sato | 0 |
Finals | ||||
1 | Soya & Inaba | Pin | ||
2 | Kondo & Doi | 21:37 |
The 2019 Wrestle-1 Tag League ran from October 23 to November 27. [10] [11] [12]
Block A | Block B | ||
---|---|---|---|
T-Hawk and Shigehiro Irie | 6 | Kumaarashi and René Duprée | 6 |
Shotaro Ashino and Yusuke Kodama | 4 | Daiki Inaba and Koji Doi | 3 |
Masayuki Kono and Alejandro | 2 | Seiki Yoshioka and El Lindaman | 3 |
Jun Tonsho and Pegaso Illuminar | 0 | Shuji Kondo and Manabu Soya | 0 |
Finals | ||||
A1 | T-Hawk and Irie | Pin | ||
B1 | Arashi and Duprée | 13:37 |
Kazuhiro Hayashi, best known by the ring name Kaz Hayashi, is a Japanese business executive and retired professional wrestler who last competed in Gleat and serves as the company's chief technical officer (CTO). He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where in addition to being a wrestler for the promotion, he also served as the head booker for the company's junior heavyweight division. After leaving AJPW in 2013, Hayashi competed for Wrestle-1, where he also worked as a trainer. In April 2017, Hayashi took over as the new president of Wrestle-1, remaining in the position until the promotion's closure in 2020; he was also the promotion's final champion of the Wrestle-1 Championship.
Shuji Kondo is a Japanese professional wrestler. Prior to becoming a pro wrestler, he played rugby. After starting his career in Toryumon, Kondo eventually joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he became one of the promotion's top junior heavyweights, winning the World Junior Heavyweight Championship three times and the All Asia Tag Team Championship once. Upon leaving AJPW in 2013, Kondo joined Wrestle-1, where he became half of the inaugural Wrestle-1 Tag Team Champions. Kondo also worked as the vice president, booker and trainer for Wrestle-1 until its closure in 2020. He now works as a freelancer in promotions like Pro Wrestling Basara and DragonGate.
The Global Honored Crown (GHC) Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, contested exclusively among junior heavyweight wrestlers. It was created on July 16, 2003, when Kenta and Naomichi Marufuji defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Takehiro Murahama in a tournament final. It is currently one of two tag team titles in Noah, along with the typically heavyweight GHC Tag Team Championship. Although the weight limit is, The Briscoe Brothers won the titles weighing slightly more than this on January 7, 2007.
Voodoo Murders were a professional wrestling stable who were best known as the main heel group in All Japan Pro Wrestling between 2005 and 2011, and 2022 to 2023. In 2013, the group was reformed in Diamond Ring and later performed primarily for Pro Wrestling ZERO1 in the stable's final years. The group, famously led by former Toryumon wrestler Taru, performed violent actions in their matches and displayed a lack of respect for their opponents.
Katsuhiko Nakajima is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer, though he primarily works with GLEAT. He is a former Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion in All Japan Pro Wrestling and a two-time GHC Heavyweight Champion in Pro Wrestling Noah.
Kohei Suwama is a Japanese professional wrestler better known simply as Suwama (諏訪魔). He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is a former record eight-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and a seven-time World Tag Team Champion. He is also part of the promotion's board of directors.
The Junior League is an annual professional wrestling round-robin tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling, to decide the promotion's top junior heavyweight wrestler, as well as the #1 contender to the World Junior Heavyweight Championship. It was established in 1983 as a single-block round-robin tournament then in 2006, it began as a two-block round-robin tournament, in which each block's highest scorers face off in the finals. A victory is worth two points, a draw is worth one, and a loss zero; each match has a thirty-minute time limit. In 2012, the tournament was renamed the "Junior Hyper League". After no tournament took place in 2013, the 2014 tournament was dubbed "Jr. Battle of Glory", being announced to take place in February, instead of its usual place in the summer.
Manabu Soya is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he is the current GHC National Champion, in his first reign. He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling, and he previously lived in Canada training at the Can-Am Wrestling School under Scott D'Amore, working regularly for the Maximum Pro Wrestling promotion.
Masayuki Kono is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently working as a freelancer. He is best known for his time in Wrestle-1, where he is a former two-time Wrestle-1 Champion.
Yusuke Kodama is a Japanese professional wrestler and currently wrestlers for All Japan Pro Wrestling as a freelancer. Kodama is best known for his time with Wrestle-1 (W-1), where he is a former two time UWA World Trios Champion, two time Wrestle-1 Cruiser Division Champion and one time Wrestle-1 Tag Team Champion with Shotaro Ashino.
Hiroshi Mihara, better known by his ring name Hiroshi Yamato, is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works as a freelancer. Trained by the All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, he started his career in February 2007 working in Mexico for the International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) promotion, where he won the 2007 Rey del Ring tournament. Yamato returned to Japan and his home promotion in February 2008 and during the next five years went on to become a one-time World Junior Heavyweight and All Asia Tag Team Champion and the winner of the 2012 Junior Hyper League. In June 2013, Yamato left All Japan in a mass exodus to join the new Wrestle-1 promotion. In January 2016, Yamato won the Wrestle-1 Cruiser Division Championship. Yamato also worked as a trainer and sales manager for Wrestle-1 until his departure from the promotion in 2018.
The Wrestle-1 Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Wrestle-1 (W-1) promotion. The title was announced on September 22, 2014, in conjunction with the start of a tournament to crown the first Wrestle-1 Champion. In Japanese the title's name includes the katakana term for "championship", Chanpionshippu (チャンピオンシップ), derived from the English language instead of the more common kanji term Ōza (王座).
Yasufumi Nakaue is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Yasufumi Nakanoue, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division, where he was the BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion. He started his career in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and has also worked for Wrestle-1 (W-1), where he is a former one-time Wrestle-1 Tag Team Champion and a two-time UWA World Trios Champion.
Shotaro Ashino is a Japanese professional wrestler who is currently signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling. He was trained by and best known for his time in Wrestle-1, where he was a former two time Wrestle-1 Champion.
Daiki Inaba is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently competes as a freelancer, majorly for Pro Wrestling Noah. He's best known for his time in Wrestle-1, where he was a two-time Wrestle-1 Champion, and the winner of the 2019 Wrestle-1 Grand Prix. His nickname is Mad Dog and he currently works as a babyface (hero).
Tomato Kaji is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his tenure with the Japanese promotions Kaientai Dojo, Big Japan Pro Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and many others.
Ryuki Honda is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling where he was formerly World Tag Team Champions in his first reign alongside Shotaro Ashino.
Kohei Fujimura, better known by his ring name Alejandro, is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah.
Koji Doi is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his tenure with the Japanese promotions Wrestle-1 and All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Masaya Suzuki better known by his ring name Kumaarashi (羆嵐) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his tenure with the Japanese promotions Wrestle-1 and All Japan Pro Wrestling.