Opinion

Making The NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Relevant

Published

7 years ago

December 3, 2018

August 12th, 2018 at Nippon Budokan : The Bullet Club OG's and The Elite faced off for the NEVER Openweight 6-man tag team championship

The NEVER Openweight 6-man tag team championship. Let me ask you a few questions about this championship : How much do you care for it ? Do you even think it still has its place in the realm of New Japan ?

I wouldn’t ask you these questions if I thought that, at this point in time, they weren’t relevant. We are talking about the only championship that has, well, “never”, felt important. It just seems like the company, Gedo and the rest of the people involved in the booking decisions just don’t have any interest in making this championship as important as the other ones. Let me tell you, this is a shame, because the potential to make this champion feel like it actually matters in New Japan’s environment is there, really, right there. With that in mind, come with me, and let’s discuss how to make these belts feel relevant.

As usual, let’s start by putting some context in place, so we actually know what we’re talking about here. The NEVER 6-man tag tam championship has been created on December 21, 2015. The first trio of champions, made CHAOS members Toru Yano & The Briscoe Brothers, faced the Bullet Club trio of Tama Tonga, Bad Luck Fale and Yujiro Takahashi to claim the belts, at Wrestle Kingdom 10. Since then, a total of 14 different trios have held the championship, with Los Ingobernables de Japon’s EVIL, BUSHI & SANADA holding the most title reigns with three, the most defenses in one reign with three (shared with Tama Tonga, Bad Luck Fale and Tanga Loa). They also hold the record for the most combined days as champions, with 281 day. This last record being in danger, as the Guerillas of Destiny, two-third of the champions, have held the championship for 247 days and counting as these lines are written. Now, holding the championship for 228 days in one reign may seem long, but this is the only time since the championship was created that one trio held it for more than 200 days. In comparison, the championship have been held less than a month seven times, with twice only being for 24 hours.

These statistics now raise one question : How can anyone expect fans to believe a championship matter when there is almost no consistency with the championship reigns ?

Personally, I wonder. Putting the belts on one trio to take them away the next day or three weeks later does no help, towards the championship, and the wrestlers themselves. Also, the championship has never really been involved in any kind of major storyline, it feels like it’s just there for wrestlers to grab so they have some gold around their waists. Is that how a championship should be treated ?

Now that we went back at this history of the championship and laid down some stats, let’s actually see how New Japan can make it important. The most important thing to keep in mind is New Japan’s global environment. As you probably know if you read this, the New Japan landscape is composed of factions. To this day, we can count CHAOS, Los Ingobernables de Japon, Bullet Club, Suzuki-Gun, The Elite and Taguchi Japan. All of these groups have held the championship before, battling with members of other factions to become champions. The thing is, it has never been made official that this championship was about faction dominance. So, I say, make it all about just that. Since the championship currently doesn’t seem to have any purpose, give it something worth fighting for outside of just holding a title. Use your landscape to create actual faction warfare surrounding these belts. We might one day come back to factions and how well, and sometimes not so much, New Japan uses them, but putting the NEVER Openweight 6-man tag team championship at the center of the war between factions is, in my humble opinion, the best way to make it matter, to make it feel like it is important for the wrestlers. Therefore, fans, and most of us have a favourite New Japan faction, will actually want to see the faction they like the most hold this championship. The frustrating part being, at least for me, is that we had glimpses of what I call faction warfare surrounding these belts, but it seems like New Japan doesn’t fully engage itself on that road. (Take the last bout between the Young Bucks and Marty Scurll against GoD and Taiji Ishimori)

Now, some may tell me that holding championships, and by that I mean holding a lot of them, is a good way to showcase the dominance of factions, and I agree. I agree to some extent. Take the example of L.I.J during the earlier part of last year. Tetsuya Naito held the Intercontinental championship, Hiromu Takahashi held the Jr Heavyweight championship, and the trio of EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI held the NEVER Openweight 6-man tag team championship as well, with a span of 66 days of not holding the belts for the trio. Thanks for that Gedo, that little detail made total sense and was really useful. At the time, at least for me, it felt like LIJ was at the top of the world, the most dominant faction in New Japan. They not only had many belts, but they felt dominant, especially thanks to Naito and Takahashi’s reigns.

A counter-example I have in mind to show that holding a handful of championships doesn’t help a faction feeling dominant is Suzuki-Gun’s most recent tenure in New Japan. This year, Minoru Suzuki held the IWGP Intercontinental championship and the British Heavyweight championship, which was also held by Zack Sabre Jr earlier this year. Suzuki and Sabre also are the current holders of the RPW Undisputed British tag team championship. The leader of Suzuki-Gun even entered 2018 as IWGP NEVER Openweight champion. Taichi also claimed that championship for a while recently, and lastly, the duo of Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado have been IWGP Jr Heavyweight tag team champions since March 6th of this year. The problem, and again, this is only based on my point of view, is that the faction has never felt dominant. This is mainly due to booking, as if you compare both situations, the LIJ members held highly valued championships for a long time and were featured in high profile matches, as for the Suzuki-Gun members, they never really did, apart from Suzuki himself and Kanemaru & Desperado, but that specific issue concerning the Junior tag belts also deserves to be treated in an article of its own.

Therefore, I see the idea of making the NEVER Openweight 6-man tag team championship a faction dominance based championship a necessity, especially for a group like Suzuki-Gun. A group that has never, since coming back to New Japan last year, gained back the same amount of glory and dominance they had when they were exiled to Pro Wrestling NOAH a few years ago.

It would, obviously, help the other factions feeling like they are dominant, depending on how New Japan books their groups and which one they want to put at the top. In the end, this is all about creating interesting stories and giving people reasons to be invested, and you cannot let any part of what makes your roster down by not putting as much effort as you do for your main event stars.

As I now put an end to this article, feel free to share your opinion on this subject, that I consider to be more important than what it may seem. Tell me, what would you do to help make the NEVER Openweight 6-man tag team championship more relevant ? Would you shorten the name ? Would you even consider putting these belts away, thinking such a championship is worthless ?

Can the NEVER Openweight 6 Man Titles be saved, or thrown into the bin? Let us know on social media @theCHAIRSHOTcom and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

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WWE Week In Review: November 26 – December 2, 2018

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(NOAH) WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.12 ~ 30 NOVEMBER 2018

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

2 weeks ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

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SATURDAY – The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY – Keeping the news ridiculous… The Oddity / The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE’s PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS…IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O’Dowd’s 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

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About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

1 month ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1