Both EVIL and SANADA think it's a shame some of the top stars of New Japan Pro Wrestling couldn't participate in this year's World Tag League tournament.
They spoke to New Japan's website recently about the state of the tag team division, as well as the tournament itself. The heavyweight division does have a certain stigma to it that turns some people off - sometimes too many of the same matches in a division that isn't exactly loaded at times. SANADA knows this, and wants to change the image of the division, perhaps by having them branch out more as singles wrestlers:
SANADA: Right. I want us to overthrow that. I want to improve the image of the tag division. Anyway, for all those guys in the division, it's the same for them whether they're tagging or whether they're solo right? ... I don't want it to be 'Those guys in the tag division should only do tags'. Wouldn't it be cool for the Tag Team Champions to kick ass in singles matches, too? That's what I want for us.
When it was brought up that anyone who already had a match for Wrestle Kingdom 12 were not included in this year's tournament, SANADA said he felt sorry for them, while EVIL pondered about something else, mentioning how Naito had mentioned he was going to look for a partner in Mexico, but insted ended up not being in the tournament at all:
EVIL: I don?t have anything to say about that. The only thing is, I was wondering who Naito?s mystery partner was going to be. And had he entered, there would have been the chance of seeing EVIL and SANADA vs Naito and ?X?. No matter, because EVIL and SANADA will still be in the spotlight.
SANADA: Honestly, I feel sorry for those wrestlers that they can?t participate. It?s a prestigious tournament, it has a long history.
The World Tag League started back on November 18, and will conclude on December 11 on New Japan World.