So far 2019 has been a great year for NJPW. This year’s G1 broke attendance records and the promotion is as popular than ever in the US, but the tag team division this year so far has felt like an afterthought for fans and critics.
The lackluster booking
Gedo by many is consider the best booker in wrestling, but his biggest weakness is the booking of tag teams, even when he had The Young Bucks, he still wasn’t able to book this division properly.
The tag team division in both weight classes feels like an afterthought and their matches are not allowed to steal the show, and for the most part they feel like filler during the NJPW shows.
The booking in this division should be better since NJPW books a lot of multi-man tag matches and this matches help them start programs or continue feuds for the most part.
The Young Bucks departure
During their tenure in NJPW, Nick and Matt Jackson made the Jr and later the heavyweight championships a focal point. Ever since they left, NJPW has struggled to make the championships and division be as entertaining as their singles division.
Losing the Young Bucks has made this division less important than ever and because of the limited amount of wrestlers in the divisions we see the same match for months or in some cases hot potato title changes.
Suggestions
At this point it feels cliche saying this, but a partnership with AEW would help NJPW improve their tag team division. AEW so far puts a lot of focus on their tag team division and they have a lot of interesting tag teams that could help the Jr and heavyweight divisions improve.
One thing NJPW could do is to make the World Tag League as important as the G1 and the BOSJ. Letting the division shine during this tournament could help teams and the division. This formula has worked in the past with many wrestlers during the G1 and BOSJ respectively.
The Jr and Heavyweight divisions have very few wrestlers and maybe unifying both divisions could make for some interesting match ups and amazing stories to to tell in the ring. Only time will tell if NJPW will improve their tag team divisions.
