FTR will wrestle in the US on November 27, at the same date as a Tag League show

29 comments

1. FTR will be teaming up with Ricky Steamboat for his return match which will take place on November 27th, in the middle of the Tag League tour. There’s Tag League shows taking place on the 26th and the 27th, so i’m pretty sure this confirms that FTR won’t be able to participate in the tournament.

2. Feels like they will be on Wrestle Kingdom next year to defend the IWGP tag titles from the winner of Tag League

3. There is a New Japan two-night show in New York at the end of October and they will most likely be there.

4. Glad I got to see FTR live but there the IWGP tag champs I know they wouldn’t win the tournament but it’s taking the biscuit they haven’t officially been on a NJPW show in Japan!

5. Strip them off the title.

6. They will defend the belts in New York at the end of October , maybe on an episode of Dynamite and probably once in Japan in November (Power Struggle or whatever the last major show is called this year) before losing at Wrestle Kingdom to the WTL winners. Perfectly fine.

7. It’s ridiculous that they haven’t wrestled in Japan. Hopefully they do at whatever power struggle is called this year. I know this is an extremely western based forum but we are facing a match at kingdom where the majority of the crowd don’t know the champs

   That’s weird

8. i have nothing against FTR, literally just saw them at royal quest and thought they were great but this is so bizarre. people brushing this off are falling prey to thinking our english-speaking online side is the core fandom and it isn’t, it’s the native audience. how are they meant to care about the belts being retained or dropped at WK by a team they’ve basically never seen with them?

   i mean, in light of that weird shoot on tony khan at RQ, i feel like these belts are a total afterthought to them in trying to get his attention or something, so i’m not sure why we’re meant to care either. which is annoying to feel when i just saw them have a great match lol but…

9. New Japan established the strong tag titles for a Western title scene so there should be no reason not to have the IWGP champs in Japan.

10. Haven’t been used on Dynamite since Forbidden Door, and I fucking guarantee Tony Khan will “randomly” decide to put them on TV during WTL. Face it. This AEW partnership does not benefit New Japan.

11. People complain about Karl Anderson as NEVER champ, but damn at least his belt has been represented in Japan since he won it.

12. Exactly what many people here correctly guessed. It’s very likely that IWGP tag titles won’t be defended in Japan until FTR eventually drop them at WK next year, meaning that they will not have been seen in Japan for over six months. Beautiful work Gedo! Also shoutout to the great and generous Tony Khan for allowing his wrestlers to win another promotion’s titles and then never defend them in that promotion’s home country.

    This is indefensible.

13. I understand not having the never openweight in the g1 but this tournament is all about the tag belts the champions should be represented.

    Have khan on the cobb beat them at a random strong and get the belts back

14. First time I watched NJPW Goto and Shibata dropped the titles to the Good Brothers then they proceeded to have the most boring feud I have ever seen in my life with The Kingdom for like 6 months. Gedo never cared for the tag division.

15. 3+ months ago when the switch happened I was very vocally against it, saying they didn’t/won’t work Japan, and having the titles vanish – just to use them as props in another promotion – is awful for the tag division, company and fans.

    I had a lot of downvotes and angry comments, saying FTR just holding them helps the belts’ prestige (because them being one of three never-used, interchangable sets of belts carried around in another promotion certainly helps), that they were gonna work Japan and be in World Tag League (even if true, a five-month wait to see them?), and that this was clearly building to NJPW taking them back at All Out (lol).

    I’d hate to say I told you so, but that’d be a lie; I love saying I told you so.

16. Friendly reminder Great O-Khan was recognized as a hero after saving a girl, and rather than riding that hype/momentum, it was sacrificed for this FTR reign.

17. Honestly what I’m wondering is what the reason is that they don’t defend it in Japan. Because they are working NJPW US shows and they went to the UK solely for this NJPW I assume.

    So what his hindering them to defend it in Japan? I understand not wanting to do a full tour but I see no reason why they couldn’t fly in for a show or two

18. At this point I think it’s only fair The Acclaimed drop the AEW tag titles to the Dangerous Tekkers, who proceed to not appear on AEW TV for six months (barring a random trios match on the YouTube show).

19. off topic but extremely funny Steamboat is doing this and didn’t do the Flair show

20. Man it’s almost like this AEW “partnership” is incredibly one sided

21. Damn, really wishing for FTR to work New Japan more

22. Dang.

23. What’s the point of having them be champions then

24. I’m a HUGE FTR mark, but they seriously should have dropped the titles to Aussie Open. If they can’t defend them, they really shouldn’t have them.

25. Who is benefiting from this title reign?

26. AEW fans are pissed about them being absent from Dynamite and the tag title scene while NJPW fans are pissed that they’re not defending the NJPW tag belts enough… everyone wants more FTR

27. What I feared at the beginning of their reign happened. They’re a fantastic team, it’s not FTR’s fault, but they de facto only want the championships to hold them during some rare TV interviews. In the meantime, NJPW has been without their main tag titles for months now, and all the work that Dangerous Tekkers and Bishamon had done is now completely ruined. On top of that, UE are 2 times champions but they have like 20 days in 2 reigns. This is piss poor booking and nobody sane should’ve allowed the title change at Forbidden Door. Much like the US title, another NJPW championship went to die in America and this time they don’t even have the covid excuse. Simply terrible.

28. This is on NJPW for putting their titles on guys who won’t come to the country.

29. This also speaks to AEW being “the inmates running the asylum” because the entire point of FTR winning all of the other belts was to win the AEW titles from the Bucks. The bucks refused to out FTR over for the belts when Tony should have forced them too. An absolute clusterfuck all around.