NJPW - TPWW ***OFFICIAL*** Discussion Thread -- New Japan of America announced

[Mr. Nerfect]

NJPW first two days of the G1 tournament usually being the strongest quality-wise is nothing new.

That's not what people have big issues with and instead its the field in general since its the weakest in years which means the show lineups for the rest of the tournament are going to be weaker than what you would traditionally expect for a G1, especially this year's B Block.

It’s going to be fine. You ignored my actual point and just talked through it with the same argument. The blocks are fine. You’re going to get great matches. Stop being a baby.

[Emperor Smeat]

People were shitting on the G1 before it happened because the field is a lot weaker this year than what NJPW usually trouts out, especially B Block.

Whatever books you must be reading must be boring as hell or short picture books since you seem to keep coming back to TPWW in record times after all complaining and garbage you've been spewing these past few months about the place and wrestling fans who like things you don't.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I’ve been here less and less and less. Easy to try and ignore that when it’s more convenient to just say “record time,” which is a blatant lie. I used to visit this board fucking daily, man.

The G1 field being weaker is purely subjective. What is weaker? Too many aces in a fucking tournament is boring and exhausting. You’re going to get great matches out of this G1, if that’s your thing. You’ve already gotten one. Tanahashi and Okada are wrestling again. It’s not doom and gloom because things are going to actually be paced out more reasonably. It can help the overall presentation of things. If every match was Shingo and Ishii, why the fuck do you want to see Shingo and Ishii anymore?

[Emperor Smeat]

Tanahashi vs. Okada was great.

Okada beat Tana.

1st 10 minutes or so was typical Okada big match slow build up style and then it kicked into several gears afterwards.

Also almost went the full 30 minutes in the end.


In terms of comparisons, Night 1 > Night 2 by a lot but Night 2 had a couple really good G1 matches.

If you want more thoughts about Night 2 or the rest of this year's G1, ask TPWW's resident dipshit above since his tastes and thoughts are the only thing that matter these days based on how he's been acting. Everyone else is either babies, sheep, or whatever other garbage he spews these days if its a different opinion than him or they are having too much fun watching wrestling he doesn't like or actually watch.

[ron the dial]

Stop being a baby.
:rofl:

[Mr. Nerfect]

Tanahashi vs. Okada was great.

Okada beat Tana.

1st 10 minutes or so was typical Okada big match slow build up style and then it kicked into several gears afterwards.

Also almost went the full 30 minutes in the end.


In terms of comparisons, Night 1 > Night 2 by a lot but Night 2 had a couple really good G1 matches.

If you want more thoughts about Night 2 or the rest of this year's G1, ask TPWW's resident dipshit above since his tastes and thoughts are the only thing that matter these days based on how he's been acting. Everyone else is either babies, sheep, or whatever other garbage he spews these days if its a different opinion than him or they are having too much fun watching wrestling he doesn't like or actually watch.

This is just Dave’s take. You can’t actually make a critical thought of you own. You’re actually incapable of it, it’s amazing.

My takes are usually spot-on, people insult the shit out of it for not falling into line with them, then I’m right and people never learn.

Here is the final criticism consensus of the G1 for you to echo later:

“The tournament turned out to be pretty good all things considered. Not as good as other years, but what could be? And there’s Covid. But in the end they had enough good workers in there to have some great matches and make the tournament worthwhile.”

Look forward to hearing it. :y:

[Emperor Smeat]

I know I said before that I wasn't going to bother with my thoughts for the rest of this year's G1 tournament because of the dickhead above but HOLY SHIT at the ending of Night 5.

Zack Sabre Jr submitted Ibushi to remain undefeated.

He legit has to be going to the Finals now at the very least since NJPW gave him submission wins over 3 of their top guys in a row.

Naito, Shingo, and now Ibushi.

[Mr. Nerfect]

You gotta build up ZSJ to that Danielson match that is obviously happening.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Came up with a Wrestle Kingdom card in my head the other day:

* Shingo vs. Okada for the World Title
* Tanahashi vs. Mox for the US Title
* Danielson vs. Suzuki
* Omega vs. Ibushi

Good stuff there for that audience.

[weather vane]

My boy Chase with a big win!!!!!!!!!!!! Haha.

[ClockShot]

:nono:

Kota Ibushi wins A-Block. Cobb & Okada will be fighting each other for B-Block. Gedo's out of hits damn mind if he's letting Ibushi get the 3-peat. Not ready for another Okada title run.....yet. Maybe they'll pull one over on us and let Cobb win it all.

[Mr. Nerfect]

:nono:

Kota Ibushi wins A-Block. Cobb & Okada will be fighting each other for B-Block. Gedo's out of hits damn mind if he's letting Ibushi get the 3-peat. Not ready for another Okada title run.....yet. Maybe they'll pull one over on us and let Cobb win it all.

Don’t know if maybe it was supposed to be Naito vs. Okada, but Okada winning the whole thing seems like the story. Ibushi is far from my favorite wrestler, but he makes more sense than KENTA or Zack Sabre, Jr. being in there, doesn’t he?

Got a feeling the Tokyo Dome is going to be Shingo vs. Okada, Tanahashi vs. Moxley, Danielson vs. ZSJ or Suzuki and Omega vs. Ibushi. Something like that.

[Evil Vito]

Wrestle Kingdom Cards:

Night 1

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (C) [L.I.J.] vs Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS]

IWGP Jr Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (C) [Suzuki-gun] vs Hiromu Takahashi [L.I.J.]

IWGP Tag Team Championships: Zack Sabre Jr and Taichi [Suzuki-gun] vs Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS]

NEVER Openweight: Tomohiro Ishii (C) [CHAOS] vs EVIL [Bullet Club]

Special Singles Match: Katsuyori Shibata [Main Unit] vs X

Tetsuya Naito, SANADA and BUSHI [L.I.J.] vs Jeff Cobb, Will Ospreay and Great O-Khan [United Empire]

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero [Main Unit/CHAOS] vs KENTA, El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

YOH [CHAOS] vs SHO [Bullet Club]

King of Pro Wrestling Rumble


Night 2

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Takagi or Okada (C) vs Will Ospreay [United Empire]

IWGP US Championship - No DQ: KENTA (C) [Bullet Club] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [Main Unit]

Tetsuya Naito [L.I.J.] vs Jeff Cobb [United Empire]

SANADA [L.I.J.] vs Great O-Khan [United Empire]

NEVER 6-Man: EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi and SHO (C) [Bullet Club] vs. YOH, Goto and YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS]

IWGP Jr Tag Team Championships: Robbie Eagles and Tiger Mask IV (C) [Main Unit/CHAOS] vs Rocky Romero and Ryusuke Taguchi[Main Unit/CHAOS] vs El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

King of Pro Wrestling Four Way (the final 4 from the previous night's Rumble)

Stardom Match: Starlight Kid and Mayu Iwatani vs Saya Kamitani and Tam Nakano

[ClockShot]

Night 1 looks damn solid. Night 2 looks like train wreck.

Has the night 3 NJPW vs. NOAH card been announced?

[Evil Vito]

Night 3 has now been announced:

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[Fignuts]

Disappointed in the amount of tag matches there. Really would have liked to see a couple more singles matches. Keno vs Takagi would have been fantastic. Instead it seems like they're doing the wrestlemania thing of quantity over quality.

[Evil Vito]

It's about what I was expecting really. Feel like people expecting marquee singles matches were ignoring the realities of the politics.

As it is it is pretty obvious who is eating the pin in most of these.

[Evil Vito]

Fucking waste of Go Shiozaki.

[ClockShot]

:lol:

KENTA jumps to NOAH for one night only. Him vs. one of NOAH's best would have been a good idea.

[Jordan]

Very good for NJPW to be back on AXS TV again in March. I tried to watch Night 1 of WK but it was so late and it felt like the same show I've seen for the last 7 or so years basically just without any great American talents.

I cannot in any way see NJPW getting as hot as it was in the US previously without The Elite, and at this point that is so not happening.

I feel that Japanese wrestling in general is in a huge rut.

[slik]

I will def check out their first ep back on AXS for sure

Hope Sanada and ZSJ are on it

[Mr. Nerfect]

It’ll be interesting to see if the AXS deal comes with some sort of exclusive deal with Impact Wrestling.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I will def check out their first ep back on AXS for sure

Hope Sanada and ZSJ are on it

Ha, I accidentally clicked on the face page and the very first post in this thread is you talking about a Sanada/ZSJ match in 2018.

[Jordan]

So Naito and Okada are gearing up for more... I just can't with the rematches. This whole company is like the Cena/Orton feud. It's good matches sure but come the fuck on already.

[Jordan]

Sounds like the Tanahashi/Kenta match was something unique. Gotta see that one.

[slik]

Ha, I accidentally clicked on the face page and the very first post in this thread is you talking about a Sanada/ZSJ match in 2018.

My most consistent NJPW thoughts :lol:

[Jordan]

Anyone watch the NJPW/NOAH show? Thoughts?

[Mr. Nerfect]

I wonder what this AXS deal means for New Japan’s working relationships in the United States? Part of the reason for them leaving the network was their one-time resistance to working with Impact Wrestling, right?

It’d be interesting if Impact becomes the exclusive US partner of New Japan and uses that as leverage in negotiations with talent. Anthem showing up, lol.

[Fignuts]

Finished night 1. Pretty sub par, tbh.

YOH vs SHO lacked any of the heat that tag team break ups usually do in njpw. Felt like just another match.

Cannot even begin to describe my disappointment in Ishii vs Evil. A never title match at wrestle kingdom, and we get this overbooked, steaming pile of gobbledygook. The old school Never title wars are truly dead and gone.

Jr and Heavy title matches were great, but then, they were always going to be.

Going to peep night 2 tonight.

2niiiiiiiiiiite

[Evil Vito]

Juice Robinson had said he wasn't re-signing with New Japan and was teasing retirement......instead he turned up at Dontaku, joined Bullet Club and announced he was coming for Tana's US title.

[Evil Vito]

Best of Super Junior field announced:

A BLOCK:

Ace Austin (Impact)
Alex Zayne (Main Unit)
Clark Connors (Main Unit)
Francesco Akira (United Empire)
Hiromu Takahashi (L.I.J.)
Ryusuke Taguchi (Main Unit)
SHO (Bullet Club)
Taiji Ishimori (Bullet Club)
YOH (CHAOS)
Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-gun)

B BLOCK:

BUSHI (L.I.J.)
DOUKI (Suzuki-gun)
El Desperado (Suzuki-gun)
El Lindaman (Stronghearts)
El Phantasmo (Bullet Club)
Master Wato (Main Unit)
Robbie Eagles (CHAOS)
Titan (CMLL)
TJP (United Empire)
Wheeler Yuta (AEW)

I have to say, that's a pretty nice list with a lot of fresh matchups. I've fallen out of NJPW recently but this feels like something that makes me want to jump back in.

[Fignuts]

Looks a bit indyriffic

[Mr. Nerfect]

Yeah, looks pretty bad, lol.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I liked Juice Robinson as a babyface floating around. Him joining the Bullet Club just feels passé at this point. I guess it might mean David Finlay will have something to do. It’s just…eh.

[Fignuts]

They've been doing that babyface act for several years now. This at least gives them both something new and fresh to sink their teeth into.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I don’t know if you can call the Bullet Club fresh. But I do hear what you’re saying. Heel Juice Robinson though? Hmm. Not feeling it. Maybe he will wow against Tanahashi?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Gedo has been booking for such a long time. He’s one of the best and this is quite a legendary stretch, when you think about it — but he must be getting burnt out.

Shingo Takagi has gone from World Champ to KOPW in a few months. Isn’t that like their 24/7 Title?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Or could some of New Japan’s “messiness” (for lack of a better term) be caused by Dick Togo allegedly getting more power?

[Fignuts]

I think Gedo's booking has been questionable for a few years now.

Omega's departure was not handled well, and the IWGP scene has suffered ever since. Hoping a good long Okada run can help boost it back up.

[Evil Vito]

Out of boredom I'm starting to think about a possible G1 field since it's back in the normal summer timeframe.

First off, the following guys from last year's G1 feel like locks to return:

1 - EVIL
2 - Hiroshi Tanahashi
3 - Jeff Cobb
4 - Kazuchika Okada
5 - Shingo Takagi
6 - Taichi
7 - Tama Tonga
8 - Tetsuya Naito
9 - Tomohiro Ishii
10 - Toru Yano
11 - Zack Sabre Jr.

I wouldn't have had Tama as a lock to be in this but given he just won the NEVER belt and precedent seems to be for all the current and recent singles heavyweight champs to be in, I'd be surprised if he wasn't.

Then you have the following 3 who would've been on the locks list but they've been hurt. Let's assume they're all healthy by July and pencil them in.

12 - KENTA
13 - Kota Ibushi
14 - SANADA

I also see a bare minimum of 3 guys who weren't in last year but will be back in this year:

15 - Jay White
16 - Juice Robinson
17 - Will Ospreay

And now we're at 17 and the question becomes do we get any entrants from AEW or elsewhere. Naturally, Wheeler Yuta being in BOSJ makes me hopeful that at least one AEW guy will be in, especially knowing the stable he's in. Ah what the hell, let's dream big.

18 - Bryan Danielson
19 - Jon Moxley
20 - Tom Lawlor

Oh man I'd go absolutely wild if the other two BCC members decided to enter the G1 after Yuta entered BOSJ. Skeptically I still think there's a difference between AEW allowing Yuta to be off TV for a month vs losing a Mox and/or a Danielson for a month, but again, I'm dreaming big. And I'm throwing Filthy Tom in to show Strong some love and because it fits with the theme of having your champs in. Any of those three being in though would pique my interest in the tournament significantly.

And to close it out, here are the 6 guys from last year that didn't get included in the field, ranked in the order I think they'd be most likely to be in it if any of the hurt guys aren't in or they bring in no outsiders:

1 - Hirooki Goto
2 - YOSHI-HASHI
3 - Tanga Loa
4 - Great O-Khan
5 - Yujiro Takahashi
6 - Chase Owens (lol)

It's really weird to imagine a scenario where Goto ends his run of 14 straight G1s but for the purposes of this I had him just on the outside looking in. Really a coin flip between Tanga and O-Khan for #3 but I figure maybe they only want 2 United Empire guys in and Ospreay took O-Khan's spot. If Yujiro or Chase are in, we riot.

[Mr. Nerfect]

The Capital Collision card looks like the drizzling shits.

[Mr. Nerfect]

My predictions for G1: Yujiro Takahashi is replaced by Jay White, Great O-Khan by Will Ospreay, Taichi by Minoru Suzuki and Yujiro Takahashi by Juice Robinson.

Block A:

1. Kazuchika Okada
2. Shingo Takagi
3. KENTA
4. Zack Sabre, Jr.
5. Tomohiro Ishii
6. Jay White
7. Hirooki Goto
8. YOSHI-HASHI
9. Minoru Suzuki
10. Tetsuya Naito

Block B:

1. Kota Ibushi
2. Jeff Cobb
3. EVIL
4. Toru Yano
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi
6. Will Ospreay
7. Tanga Loa
8. Tama Tonga
9. Juice Robinson
10. Sanada

[Mr. Nerfect]

Predictions for outcomes:

Okada drops falls to Shingo and maybe one or two others. He ties with Shingo, who gets the nod because he beat Okada. Ospreay wins Block B. Shingo vs. Ospreay in the finals. Ospreay wins to go against Okada.

[Evil Vito]

Sounds like Kota Ibushi might be done.

He's gone on something of a Twitter tirade the past few days, and people have been attempting to translate the tweets to the best of his ability. He appears to have a problem with a NJPW executive named Kikuchi who seemingly took issue with him appearing at a non-NJPW event (TAKA's JTO promotion).

He was announced for the New Japan Cup and then mysteriously pulled, but the nature of the tweets could suggest either two outcomes...either he was announced before he was healthy to return (NJPW has a known issue with having guys work through major injuries hence Naito and Tana's decline in recent years). Or, he was actually going to return and Kikuchi had him pulled as punishment. Ibushi seems to suggest he doesn't feel he will ever be allowed to return.

This would all be shit that could be mended on its own...but then he put some tweets out there alluding to "an army of cheaters" and sexual abuse within NJPW that he is threatening to expose. And now today he implied that there are Yakuza business practices all around the Japanese wrestling scene.

Yakuza involvement in wrestling has been a poorly kept secret for decades but to actually say the quiet part loud is the kind of thing you do if you're prepared to burn your bridge to every company in Japan.

[Evil Vito]

My read on the situation is that, at least right now, he has no real desire to wrestle any more. That might be a short-term thing to work through, but I don't think he just wants out of his NJPW contract, I think he's burned out and needs a break full stop.

Perhaps he's really just comparing NJPW's business practices to the Yakuza instead of saying they're involved outright. But invoking Yakuza involvement at all, if that's what he's actually doing, is a huge step. Putting something like this out there isn't just going to have NJPW not wanting to book him, but multiple other promotions reluctant to touch him either.

Even if the reality of it is that Ibushi is a whistleblower here, and therefore broadly in the right, Japanese sports and business culture do not look kindly on someone rocking the boat like this, to say nothing of how the actual Yakuza might feel.

That, to me, suggests someone happy to step away from the ring altogether, for the time being. He's reportedly been very careful with the money he's made over his career. His body's battered. He turns 40 in a week. He's not the away-with-the-fairies manchild that sections of the fanbase paint him as, even if he is a bit of an oddball.

Obviously there's a history of Yakuza involvement in Japanese wrestling and combat sports. But if it can be actually proven in NJPW's case, there's a significant chance of them losing major sponsors and TV coverage, if not being shuttered outright.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Lol, people care so little about New Japan that even their scandals get a 0.00.

[XL]

Oh c’mon Noid. I was expecting you to respond with some more “this will lead to the end of AEW” fantasy booking. :'(

[Mr. Nerfect]

It would be absolutely fitting if Ibushi spills the sake just as AEW has made this commitment to work with New Japan, and TK gets a bunch of the stank on him.

[Bad News Gertner]

You hear about Japan promotions in the 90s being funded by "Local Businessmen" in the Newsletters all the time. I bet none of those businessmen have their picky finger.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Lol, the “local businessmen” don’t even go about the charade of defining what that local business is.

[Mr. Nerfect]

“As a Japanese businessman, you probably shouldn’t have all those tattoos. People might get the idea that you’re…oh…”

[Evil Vito]

Watched a lot of NJPW this weekend. Enjoyed Capital Collision a lot, most everything delivered. Ishii/Kingston was my MOTY, loved watching them kill each other. Main event had some cool dynamics involved, heel Juice feels like a breath of fresh air for his character.

Day 1 of BOSJ was good too. It's weird to see Ace Austin in NJPW but I dig it, he's got some great character work. The announcers were talking about Alex Zayne's "excursion" to WWE and I had completely forgotten that he was there slumming it on the dying days of 205 Live.

SHO vs. Francesco Akira was probably my favorite of the night.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I was thinking the other day, New Japan works best for me when there is a top gaijin that has been somewhere western in a big way for me. AJ Styles was such a big help to them and their reputation.

I’m not talking about guys like Kenny Omega, Prince Devitt, Zack Sabre, Jr. or Jay White. I mean a guy that has been a star somewhere else going over. The biggest signings they could possibly make right now are Claudio Castagnoli, or as much as I hate to say it, Bray Wyatt.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Bray Wyatt with JoJo as his valet.

[Evil Vito]

Watched the Day 2 tournament matches this morning. Couldn't get into TJP/Wato due to not caring about TJP but everything else was good. Eagles/Yuta slapped. Really dug the closing sequence of DOUKI/Lindaman.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I’ve got to say: the turnaround Fred Rosser has made has really impressed me. When he was in the WWE, he was one of my least favorite guys there. In New Japan of America, he’s worked on all aspects of his game. He seems more mature as a character. He talks like he means it (haven’t seen too many actual promos worth grading though). He had an entertaining brawl with Hikuleo that wouldn’t look out of place in a 2000 WWF main event.

He’s a guy that I could see the WWE being interested in again. If a billionaire starts a new wrestling promotion, I would be looking at Rosser for the roster. He’s only 38 years old. The only other guy from that pack that REALLY impresses me is Clark Connors. The guy lacks size, but someone should poach Danielson from AEW and run Connors vs. Danielson in the Pacific Northwest.

[Evil Vito]

Really enjoyed Phantasmo/Titan and Yuta/Despy from night 6.

[Fignuts]

Apparently Ibushi's mother was in the hospital due to a suicide attempt when he made those tweets. Sounds like both sides are willing to hear each other out and attempt to work through it.

[Fignuts]

I'm not too optimistic, but Im hoping Ibushi can spark some change in how NJPW treats their non-trueborn talent. Its been detrimental to the company for years now.

[ClockShot]

Yikes.

The heels kicked some ass at Dominion.

[Fignuts]

Why is Shingo fucking Takagi the KOPW champion?

Who did he piss off to go from IWGP Champion to that trash title.

[Mr. Nerfect]

There was something that happened in New Japan that I’m going to put into spoiler tags:

Jay White defeated Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. It seems White will be going against Page. My thoughts are that New Japan want to showcase some of their English speaking talent. I don’t know where this leaves Okada. I’d still like to see him and Danielson, but apparently Zack Sabre, Jr. called out him.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Why is Shingo fucking Takagi the KOPW champion?

Who did he piss off to go from IWGP Champion to that trash title.

New Japan is a bit of a mess. I want to have faith, and if you squint you can see the creativity in a lot of their decisions. But at the end of the day, some of their direction is just so murky.

[ClockShot]

Why oh why did they fuck with the G1?

Perfect the way it was. No reason to bump up the participants and force people to compete. Lookin' at you, El Phantasmo.

[Fignuts]

Been saying for a while now, but the G-1 should be an interpromotional event. Still have the majority of participants be NJPW, but add in different NOAH, AJPW, ROH, AEW, etc. guys every year.

[slik]

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/video/sitdown-with-njpw-star-jay-white/

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[Mr. Nerfect]

Good for Jay White. He’s well spoken. Feels forced, but it’s a good spot. Probably the most people that have ever seen him.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Hiroshi Tanahashi is teaming with Yuya Uemura at Ignition. What do people think of Uemura? He has a striking look and has been at the young lion thing for a while. I could see them trying to use this period to break him out.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I think an issue that has stopped me really engaging with New Japan as much as I’d like is that I’m always more curious about their past and their future, as opposed to what they’re actually doing in the moment. I think Gedo’s done a pretty amazing job of getting New Japan anywhere close to where it currently is. And I can entice myself with ideas of what Okada’s legacy’s going to mean, etc. Who is going to be the next breakout star? I just can’t put much weight into whatever is present though.

[Fignuts]

Its just embraced american indy style too much for my liking the last few years.

[Fignuts]

As terrible as the early 2000's were in regards to inoki bringing in untrained mma guys and hotshotting guys like Lesnar and Fujita to the title, there were some absolute banger main events between guys like Nagata, Tenzan, Takayama, etc. Not to mention the formative years of Tanahashi, Nakamura, and Shibata.

Some of my favorite matches in the company's history are from that era, despite it being their lowest point.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I have this theory that people think puro has fashioned itself after the American indies as a deliberate choice above all others. I think a part that is overlooked is the Japanese wrestling is going to try and accentuate what is available to it. When you’ve got Tanahashi, Nakamura and Okada available to you, there is going to be an optimal way to feature them all together. There’s this idea that a New Japan wouldn’t take a Randy Orton or Roman Reigns if they became available.

I like to see the top free agents hover around New Japan. Right now, the biggest guys like that are probably Claudio Castagnoli (who would fit the current style) and Windham Rotunda (who many would argue wouldn’t).

But anyway, the funny thing that happens is that New Japan goes with aesthetic choices, but then those aesthetic choices influence the tastes of the guys outside New Japan, so it reinforces that as a limited option.

[Mr. Nerfect]

As terrible as the early 2000's were in regards to inoki bringing in untrained mma guys and hotshotting guys like Lesnar and Fujita to the title, there were some absolute banger main events between guys like Nagata, Tenzan, Takayama, etc. Not to mention the formative years of Tanahashi, Nakamura, and Shibata.

Some of my favorite matches in the company's history are from that era, despite it being their lowest point.

Do you have any specific matches that you’d love to rep off the top of your head? I’m unfamiliar with this period beyond the general vibe of New Japan struggling under Inokiism and the general outlines of direction you talked about.

[ClockShot]

Blocks A-D announced for the G1. Discuss at your leisure.

A Block:

Kazuchika Okada
Toru Yano
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor
Jeff Cobb
JONAH
Bad Luck Fale
Lance Archer

B Block:

Jay White
Tomohiro Ishii
SANADA
Tama Tonga
Great-O-Khan
Chase Owens
Taichi

C Block:

Hiroshi Tanahashi
Hirooki Goto
Tetsuya Naito
Zack Sabre Jr.
Aaron Henare
KENTA
EVIL

D Block:

Will Ospreay
YOSHI-HASHI
Shingo Takagi
David Finlay
Juice Robinson
El Phantasmo
Yujiro Takahashi

[Jordan]

I think I will be seeking out A block and C block matches.

[Destor]

id be way more interested if it were David Finley

[Mr. Nerfect]

Does anyone here follow NOAH or AJPW? New Japan is…losing any interest I might have in checking it out.

[Fignuts]

Been saying for a while now, but the G-1 should be an interpromotional event. Still have the majority of participants be NJPW, but add in different NOAH, AJPW, ROH, AEW, etc. guys every year.

[Fignuts]

Does anyone here follow NOAH or AJPW? New Japan is…losing any interest I might have in checking it out.

I watched AJPW quite a bit in 2018. Their main event scene was mostly hosses that beat the shit out of each other, and the smaller athletic ace, Kento Miyahara to play the underdog. Undercard was a bit shit though.

I haven't watched Noah but I've heard good things. Go Shiozaki vs Kazuyuki Fujita was apparently an early match of the year candidate. Which is wild when you consider how terrible Fujita was in njpw.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I watched AJPW quite a bit in 2018. Their main event scene was mostly hosses that beat the shit out of each other, and the smaller athletic ace, Kento Miyahara to play the underdog. Undercard was a bit shit though.

I haven't watched Noah but I've heard good things. Go Shiozaki vs Kazuyuki Fujita was apparently an early match of the year candidate. Which is wild when you consider how terrible Fujita was in njpw.

Thanks for that. :y:

I was wondering if maybe trying to find a promotion to tick all boxes is a bit of a false goal? Maybe the plan should be to look to the main stuff from each promotion and take their best, because none of them are deep enough to put together whole shows of greatness.

I haven’t watched much of his recent work, but Go Shiozaki looks pretty impressive these days. He comes off like a company ace. I don’t know much about Funaki, except for him being one of the Inokiism guys, but they’ve seemed to have put him into this role of being a bad-ass veteran that half-way works for him (at least to the point they made him a champion of some sorts).

Who is booking NOAH these days?

I’ve had this sneaking suspicion that something big could shake out in the next coming year regarding momentum in Japan. It’s all speculative, but I’ve just got this feeling that Kenny Omega’s going to be done with AEW, and probably still be on the outs with New Japan. Kota Ibushi seems to be out of all New Japan plans for the foreseeable future. I can see CyberFight making a play for them. And besides Japanese popularity, I can see that side of things being more open to using women in conjunction with their shows in order to make their US expansion more palatable.

I just saw the other day that Timothy Thatcher is doing work with NOAH. I think they’d be wise to go after Claudio Castagnoli and/or Windham Rotunda too. Really bounce out that gaijin side.

[XL]

How does the 4 block structure pan out? Semi-finals between block winners?

[Mr. Nerfect]

How does the 4 block structure pan out? Semi-finals between block winners?

I assume so. Don’t know if it’s going to be Block A vs. Block B and Block C vs. Block D, but I think it is going to bother me to no end if it is A vs. C and B vs. D.

You can pretty much assume it is going to be Okada vs. White/Sanada and Tanahashi/Naito vs. Ospreay/Shingo in the semis. There’s always room for spoilers and huge shockers, but those would be the most reasonable picks. Only guy outside that I see with even half a chance is ZSJ.

They could get cute and try and keep Naito and Shingo away from each other to save them for Wrestle Kingdom. I’m thinking it will likely be Okada vs. White and Naito vs. Ospreay with an Okada/Naito final.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Seems like AEW killed interest in New Japan too. The G1 is already underway and no one is talking about it.

I think Naito takes the tournament.

[ClockShot]

I don't like that they're dragging this out super slow. 1 match from each block per show along with the preview matches.

I would have ditched the preview matches, do 2 blocks a show with the odd men out having an off day or non-tournament match. Like A & B one day, C & D the next or some other combination.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Fair point. I guess you always know where you are with this way though.

[XL]

Yeah if I had to guess why there’s less interest there’s a number of reasons

1) the bigger field potentially diluting and elongating the competition
2) the lack of perceived stars currently in NJPW. Who’s their big US star that they’re had for the majority of the years where they’ve had renewed interest
3) it’s early days, once the field starts to clear a bit they’re will be a bit more interest

[ClockShot]

Honestly think Zack Sabre Jr. should win the whole thing as a thank you for sticking around all this time during the Pandemic. Piggy back it to a nice title reign.

I mean, winning the New Japan Cup is nice gesture. But I don't think the dude left the country once as opposed to the other gaijin roster members coming in and out.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I’ve seen a few people pulling for a ZSJ win. I’ve never been a big fan. It’s likely that Tony Khan will give New Japan access to some top AEW guys for Wrestle Kingdom. I can see ZSJ getting a match with Bryan Danielson, even though I think there is a better use for both.

[Mr. Nerfect]

My gut tells me that Naito is going to win. I can see the finals being him and Okada. I can see Ospreay losing the US Title before WK and making a special challenge to Okada. I can see Okada vs. Ospreay at the Tokyo Dome being New Japan’s sly dig on Kenny Omega. It’ll be a big “spectacle” that will get the New Japan nerds in the west very excited and doesn’t necessarily need a belt on the line (although they could just make it for the US Title).

I don’t think they will want their show dripping with AEW talent, but I can see Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Jericho, CM Punk and FTR all involved in the show to some degree. Danielson in the “dream match” against ZSJ (ugh). Punk & FTR against a configuration of The Bullet Club (possibly EVIL, KENTA and Sho?) for the NEVER Six-Man. Punk vs. KENTA has intrigue but isn’t huge enough. Throwing the belts and a team with FTR in there increases the appeal and also gets some other Bullet Club guys on. Claudio against Shingo Takagi, because come on. Jericho can do something with…fuck me, I don’t know and I barely care. But I can see Jericho insisting he be involved. Hirooki Goto is always someone they want people to care about. I guess Mox can do a US Title match with Minoru Suzuki or something. I thought he would be higher, but I also struggle to care about him.

Oh, Lance Archer will probably do something on there, since they seem enamored with him. A match with Tomohiro Ishii seems too “low” for WK, but maybe it could be a cute spot for both guys. Or they could have Archer win the NEVER Title and have Tama Tonga go against him or something.

As far as other gaijin being involved, you’ve got the guys New Japan already has under contract and The Briscoes are now probably available. You can put The Good Brothers and The Briscoes into a match with a Japanese team for the Tag Titles.

The other big match I can see happening, should they be able to get/keep him on side, is Tanahashi vs. Ibushi. I can see there being a “clash of philosophies” there that could carry the program. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen when they’ve interacted.

And there, that’s basically Wrestle Kingdom.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I thought about a BCC vs. LIJ series. You could have done Mox vs. Naito, Danielson vs. Sanada, Claudio vs. Shingo, Wheeler vs. Hiromu and BUSHI against Jonathan Gresham (who would join) or another member. Maybe they throw Chris Hero a spot? But there does seem to be better matches for almost all the guys.

Mox vs. Naito and Claudio vs. Shingo work though. I’d strongly consider them in place. Claudio and Shingo can be for the ROH World Title on night one. Danielson against Okada is optimal, but I can see why you want to build to that. Danielson vs. ZSJ does have the thread and is the western nerd’s “dream match.” Yuta isn’t really high profile enough for a spot, although AEW clearly want him to be.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I don’t think it should be understated just how little pairing with AEW has helped New Japan. They can join Impact in that.

[Evil Vito]

Caught up with the tourney matches and so far the ones I would've expected to delivery have done so.

Both of Naito's matches have been typically great as I'd come to expect from a Naito G1 match. He's started 0-2 and the announcers have been pretty much giving him the eulogy so he's bound to come back around, especially with EVIL sitting there as his next opponent. Either way you look at the schedule for Night 18 and they've got Naito/ZSJ just sitting there, so you know that'll be to decide the C Block.

Pleasant surprise of the tourney for me so far was seeing Yano actually work a serious match against Okada, largely abandoning his usual tricks because Okada knows all of them.

[Evil Vito]

A Block is almost assuredly going to Okada. They gave Cobb a great showing last year but he's the only real other threat in the block and Okada's taken him down already. Can't say I'd be surprised to see Okada go 6-0 in his block at worst, and really I think they'd get him to the finals and have him lose there unless he's just gonna have a dominant repeat.

B Block is meant to be Jay White's to lose but don't know if they'll want to run Okada vs. White back yet again in the semis or finals (they've not conclusively said that the semis are A vs B, C vs D). White faces Tama on the final day and they've had longstanding business with White getting GOD and Jado booted from Bullet Club. Could actually see it being a situation where Tama beats him with botched Gedo interference, meaning Tama will get a title match that he'll lose and maybe a spot in the semi-finals. They could also have SANADA backdoor his way into winning the block with a Tama win.

C Block as mentioned will definitely come down to Naito vs. ZSJ on the final day. I'm not entirely sure if they're giving Naito one last run up the main event ranks but I'd really hope they can get him a spot in the finals.

D Block comes down to Ospreay vs. Juice on the final day, safe bet would be Ospreay I suppose as he'd be the more credible finals threat plus it's a logical result as Juice has physical possession of Ospreay's US title.

[Evil Vito]

Not really a fan of the format as a whole though. Stretching the tourney out like this makes it a bit more difficult to keep track of, some dudes get over a week off between tourney matches which would've been avoided had they expanded it to an even 32.

At the same time, even making it 28 led to people I don't care at all about being in this. No interest in watching Fale, Chase Owens, or Yujiro matches.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Block A should be Okada’s, like you said. Block B I see going to Sanada, actually. I can see Tama beating White and that being the reason White doesn’t progress. Gives Tama something, which they clearly want to do, without actually pushing him too hard.

Block C coming down to Naito and ZSJ is interesting. That could really go either way. LIJ has got Sanada in the finals stage. Naito being on the other side is interesting. But Ospreay vs. ZSJ in a Best of the British has got its appeal to some fans too. I’d probably go with the Naito story, but whatever. Ospreay winning Block B was only really challenged by Shingo, I thought. Naito being the LIJ member to not make it has got some interest. You could build to an Okada vs. Shingo final that way.

A few credible ways they could go. If I had to guess, I would predict Okada, Sanada, Naito and Ospreay.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I can see Okada winning more and more. That might imply a match with White, but I wonder if they do a stunt where White loses the belt before the Tokyo Dome? In that case, I could see Danielson or Omega being prime candidates for that. A title switch in Arthur Ashe? Okada challenging either Danielson or Omega at the Tokyo Dome seems “rushed,” but if they want to lean on this relationship, it’s possible.

New Japan putting a card together with their own talent still sees White/Naito for the title and Okada/Ospreay, in my opinion.

[ClockShot]

Block matches for the G1 are over. Final 4 is set.

The results:

A Block - Kazuchika Okada

B Block - Tama Tonga :eek:

C Block - Tetsuya Naito

D Block - Will Ospreay


Okada vs. Tama Tonga and Naito vs. Ospreay are your semi-final matches.

[Evil Vito]

Bleh, Ospreay. Not surprised he won the block but ugh, I'd have preferred a Shingo/Naito clash which always brings the goods. Hope Naito takes him out.

Definitely figured Naito was winning with how the block progressed but didn't expect it in the matter it happened (a flash pin inside of three minutes).

I had a feeling back when I saw the match schedules that this would set up for Tama to get a block victory, get a win over White given they had a score to settle. White will get his win back when they inevitably do a title match later this year.

Okada vs. Archer was a main that, on paper, felt like such a formality because surely they weren't rolling out a Tama vs. Archer semi-final. Instead they got me to bite on several false finishes. I liked Archer a lot already but this might've been his best match ever.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Eh, not really too excited about any of this. Haven’t seen much Tama Tonga. He’s probably better than most people say. Okada should win that side. It just comes down to who he is going to face in the finals. I don’t feel like it really matters.

[Jordan]

NJPW doing a show in Times Square in October at The Palladium, used to be The Playstation Theater. It's a nice space, they should be able to fit at least 1,000 or more people with the ring set up, maybe more. The site says they seat about 2,000 but with a ring in there it will be much less.

[Mr. Nerfect]

It ain’t MSG.

[drave]

Surprised they didn't just do the show outside in Times Square. Seems like a very Japanese thing to do.

[ClockShot]

Soooooooooo, the Wrestle Dynasty show that was planned at MSG before the Pandemic hit is..........what? Forgotten? On the back burner? Still being planned?

Kinda pointless to have a show just up the road.

[Jordan]

Soooooooooo, the Wrestle Dynasty show that was planned at MSG before the Pandemic hit is..........what? Forgotten? On the back burner? Still being planned?

Kinda pointless to have a show just up the road.

They cannot book MSG right now or the foreseeable future without AEW'S help, in my opinion.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Another reason AEW might not be the best thing for wrestling.

[ClockShot]

They cannot book MSG right now or the foreseeable future without AEW'S help, in my opinion.

Eh. They can do it.

The problem is if Gedo half-asses his booking and loads the bulk of the NJPW roster up in pointless tag team or multi-team matches, then yeah, he's gotta pluck a few people from ROH/AEW.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I don’t know what main event moves the tickets at MSG.

[Jordan]

I don’t know what main event moves the tickets at MSG.

Omega/Okada would probably cut it. I would say Danielson/Okada but I think Danielson would prefer that in Japan.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Omega/Okada would probably cut it. I would say Danielson/Okada but I think Danielson would prefer that in Japan.

Oh, I meant from purely the New Japan roster. But yeah, those matches have that western audience appeal. Okada vs. Danielson should be the New Japan vs. AEW match, but Danielson is a mid-carder in AEW.

[Evil Vito]

I hated the 28-man, 7-block G1 format. Some guys would have like a week off and it just became too much of a hassle to follow and too confusing to track the brackets.

Not that I wanted the tournament to expand but if they were going to expand it this much above 20 I would've just gone all the way up to 32 (with it being G1 32 and all). 8 tournament matches a night across 14 shows, then semi-finals and finals. Technically means 2 less shows from what people were used to in a normal G1 (19) but there's a lot more matches of consequence since everything would be a tourney match and prelim tags are no longer a thing. I know the tags are meant to build stories for the next tourney match but there are other ways you can build.

Would just be way easier to track tourney progress if an entire block wrestled on the same night.

[Mr. Nerfect]

No one’s talking about this, but G1 results:

Okada defeated Ospreay in the final. Cool.

I guess the story is Okada avenging his losses to White — both for the belt and in the Tokyo Dome however many years ago. It wouldn’t surprise me if New Japan is desperate and throws a wrinkle in there. Danielson or Omega finding a way to wrestle Okada on one of the nights or even winning the IWGP Title wouldn’t shock me.

Pretty “flat” main event for anything more than a one-night Wrestle Kingdom, in my opinion.

[Mr. Nerfect]

New Japan feels so cold.

[Mr. Nerfect]

They should work with WWE. Seth Rollins would be so itchy to wrestle Tanahashi. Okada and Reigns. White and Cody Rhodes. Shingo and Brock. Naito and AJ Styles. Ibushi and Nakamura. The Usos and whoever they decide to make tag champs. New Day and House of Torture. Ricochet going for the Jr. Heavyweight. Rey & Dominik going for the Jr. Tag. Finn Balor & Damian Priest against GoD. Asuka vs. Iyo vs. whoever for the new Women’s Title.

There’s a whole card.

[Mr. Nerfect]

You hear nothing about New Japan anymore. How is it’s actual popularity doing? It feels like pandemic and the AEW deal has put it on its ass.

Royal Quest II is the next major show. FTR vs. Aussie Open for the IWGP Tag Team Titles. Does anybody care?

[Jordan]

Not me

[Mr. Nerfect]

Damn. I wish they could get something rolling.

[Jordan]

NJPW goes in these waves. They are probably waiting on the next big thing that to carry them through the next 10 years. They repeat so much there. This dip is because of AEW but also the pandemic. Last time they dipped like this was when they tried to infuse MMA into the product.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Has it actually affected their business, or is this dip just reflected in the online communities? Because the hangover from Inokiism is a pretty infamous decline to be coming back from.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Royal Quest II is on soon. Doesn’t look like anything major. Seems like the biggest things coming out of it will be a #1 Contender for Will Ospreay (Naito or Zack Sabre, Jr.) and a first round match in the women’s tournament. In their defense, they’ve got Jazzy Gabert in there, who is at least visually interesting.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Women’s tournament could actually end up being half-way decent. I kind of balked at the idea at first, but this could be a good way to introduce myself to some of their joshi.

[Fignuts]

Participants from stardom are Starlight Kid, Utami Hashishita, Mayu Iwatani, and Giulia. Definitely worth watching.

Kairi is also in it, facing the winner of Jazzy vs Ava. In other words she's facing Jazzy.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I’m hoping the tournament puts some focus on things that STARDOM as a full promotion can’t. I dunno. We’ll see how it goes.

[Evil Vito]

If anyone remembers Katusuya Kitamura who was an extremely muscular Young Lion from 2016-2018 before disappearing to injury and retiring.

He sadly passed away, only 36.

https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/SEI_129401293-20e6.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&zoom=1&resize=480%2C360

[Fignuts]

Fuuuuuuuuuuck

Remember seeing him thinking he would be the next huge star in new japan. Fucking sad, man.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I remember having this feeling they had big plans for him down the line. Very sad.

[DaveWadding]

Kitamura had "it". What a shame. My condolences to his family for their loss.

[Fignuts]

Hate to say it, but I'm betting it was related to steroid use. Probably affected his heart in some way.

Thats not just an assumption based on how he looks. He was busted for it before.

[Destor]

Add in the surging rates of myocarditis in the last 18-24 months that are rising for inexplicable and mysterious reasons absolutely no one can explain for any reason whatsoever and id wager a lot of guys who are on gear are going to drop in the immediate future.

[Destor]

Rough cocktail

[Destor]

The bodybuilding scene has been flooded with deaths in the last 2 years.

[Evil Vito]

NJPW has put out an official statement that Karl Anderson will vacate the NEVER title if he goes to Crown Jewel instead of Osaka (he was double booked for that day).

Sour Boy is the worst.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Eh, fuck New Japan.

[Fignuts]

I wasn't even aware he was the NEVER champ.

[Evil Vito]

Fields announced for both the World Tag League and Super Junior Tag League, which will be running concurrently. Winners get shots at the respective division tag champs and Wrestle Kingdom.

World Tag League:

* Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)
* HOUSE OF TORTURE (EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi)
* Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA)
* United Empire (Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan)
* Be-Bop Tag Team (Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi)
* Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher)
* Suzuki-Gun (Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki)
* BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens)
* TMDK (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls)

Super Junior Tag League:

* Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira & TJP)
* CHAOS (Lio Rush & YOH)
* Los Ingobernables De Japon (BUSHI & Titan)
* BULLET CLUB (Ace Austin & Chris Bey)
* Flying Tiger (Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask)
* HOUSE OF TORTURE (Dick Togo & SHO)
* Wild Hips (Ryusuke Taguchi & Clark Connors)
* Suzuki-Gun (DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
* Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA
* El Lindaman & Alex Zayne

[LibSuperstar]

If anyone remembers Katusuya Kitamura who was an extremely muscular Young Lion from 2016-2018 before disappearing to injury and retiring.

He sadly passed away, only 36.

https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/SEI_129401293-20e6.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&zoom=1&resize=480%2C360

Damn! 36 is young.

[ClockShot]

Fields announced for both the World Tag League and Super Junior Tag League, which will be running concurrently. Winners get shots at the respective division tag champs and Wrestle Kingdom.

World Tag League:

* Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)
* HOUSE OF TORTURE (EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi)
* Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA)
* United Empire (Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan)
* Be-Bop Tag Team (Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi)
* Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher)
* Suzuki-Gun (Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki)
* BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens)
* TMDK (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls)

Super Junior Tag League:

* Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira & TJP)
* CHAOS (Lio Rush & YOH)
* Los Ingobernables De Japon (BUSHI & Titan)
* BULLET CLUB (Ace Austin & Chris Bey)
* Flying Tiger (Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask)
* HOUSE OF TORTURE (Dick Togo & SHO)
* Wild Hips (Ryusuke Taguchi & Clark Connors)
* Suzuki-Gun (DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
* Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA
* El Lindaman & Alex Zayne

I'd have thought for sure FTR would be in the World Tag League. Round out that bunch to an even 10 teams.

[ClockShot]

Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay for the U.S. Title at Wrestle Kingdom.

Per the main page.

[Fignuts]

Watched historic X-over. I was only interested in a few matches, because most of the card was tag matches. As much as I like the individual wrestlers in stardom, I can't stand multi person matches. Clusterfucks that may as well be tornado tag matches. That said, it was cool to see a lot of these women get to show what they can do on a bigger stage. Oedo Tai/Suzuki-gun match was fun given who was involved.

Muta's last njpw match was cool even though guy can barely move.

Ospreay vs Shota Umino was very good. Umino has come a long way. Umino going for a high leapfrog and ospreay leaping up and turning it into a liger bomb in mid air is one of the craziest reversals I've ever seen. Also, had a bit of the feels when ospreay came out in the hayabusa gear. Hayabusa was my entry into japanese wrestling, and hearing the story behind the gear choice was touching.

Kairi vs Mayu was tremendous. Absolutely worthy of the scale of this event. It's between this and Becky vs Bianca for women's match of the year. Nothing else comes close.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Lol, New Japan has a better women’s division than AEW and it’s existed for only a sneeze.

[Fignuts]

In fairness their "division" is a joshi promotion that has existed and built itself up for over a decade.

Watch stuff from the first couple years of stardom and ask yourself if its better.

[Mr. Nerfect]

In fairness their "division" is a joshi promotion that has existed and built itself up for over a decade.

Watch stuff from the first couple years of stardom and ask yourself if its better.

I’m not convinced Stardom is good now. Give me AJW, sure. Stardom can go fuck itself. But it is probably still better than AEW’s lol. I’ll maybe give New Japan a chance to tell stories in their own universe. I might check out Kairi vs. Mayu.

[Fignuts]

Like I said, their tag matches are nonsense and the idol culture is cringey, but when it comes to singles matches, no other modern women's roster touches stardom.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Like I said, their tag matches are nonsense and the idol culture is cringey, but when it comes to singles matches, no other modern women's roster touches stardom.

It coming from you means something. I dunno, I just remember the Athena/jobber stuff and people saying that Stardom makes it look weak. That sort of shit is gross.

[Evil Vito]

Minoru Suzuki announced tonight at the WTL Finals that that Suzuki-gun is disbanding effective the end of the year. He put over all of the members individually and reflected on how they'd gone from hated to beloved by the crowd in the past couple of years, but that it was time for everybody to go their separate ways.

Whether they actually go their separate ways is TBD, I could certainly see them all jumping Suzuki and basically keeping the group together with either ZSJ, Taichi, or Desperado in charge.

As for Suzuki himself, I've got a feeling he's going to be properly going freelance now and since he owns the rights to the stable name, they had to do this. If he's planning on retiring in a year or two it makes sense for him to just get his bag freelancing everywhere for the next few years.

[ClockShot]

Wouldn't be a bad thing to bust them up unless as you said they'll jump him and one of the others will be in charge.

They need to recruit some fresh blood. LIJ was in the same boat for a while. But I see that they brought Titan into the fold.

[Evil Vito]

Updated card for Wrestle Kingdom:

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] vs. Jay White (C)

[b]IWGP Women's Championship
Tam Nakano [Cosmic Angels] vs. KAIRI (C) [STARDOM Main Unit]

IWGP United States Championship
Kenny Omega [AEW/The Elite] vs. Will Ospreay (C) [United Empire]

NEVER Openweight Championship
Tama Tonga [G.o.D] vs. Karl Anderson (C) [WWE/Bullet Club]

Inaugural IWGP World Television Championship
Zack Sabre Jr. [Suzuki-gun/TBD] vs. Ren Narita [NJPW Main Unit]

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Hiromu Takahashi [L.I.J] vs. El Desperado [Suzuki-gun/TBD] vs. Master Wato [NJPW Main Unit] vs. Taiji Ishimori (C)

[b]IWGP Tag Team Championship
Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] vs. FTR (C) [AEW]

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
YOH and Lio Rush [CHAOS] vs. Francesco Akira and TJP (C) [United Empire]

[slik]

is sanada on the card

[ClockShot]

Is that for all of Wrestle Kingdom or just one of the nights?

Hiromu Takahashi being the sole member of LIJ represented for the show is kinda sad. But at the same time, that's a solid card.

[Evil Vito]

is sanada on the card

Not yet.

I imagine there will be another match or two but not really sure what.

Might be some 6-Man tag title bullshit where it would be Naito, SANADA, and Shingo vs. House of Torture.

[Mr. Nerfect]

That’s just the January 4 card. The next show being on January 21 will likely feature the prominent acts not included here.

WK is usually 9 matches — or at least it was a few years — so I think 1 more will be added.

[Mr. Nerfect]

New Japan pretty boring on paper right now.

* Junior Tag Titles are worthless. I get that they go for the sports thing, but it feels too dense and becomes a barrier of entry.

* Their tag division in general has sucked. I’m sure FTR will be good, but it’s a bit transparent to give Hirooki Goto another thing that doesn’t feel like the real thing. Doesn’t feel like “progress.”

* Clusterfuck four-way for another meaningless weight class belt. Feels like those names have been put together for years.

* Why are they creating another championship? Fucking hell.

* Tama Tonga vs. Karl Anderson sounds boring. Another title match. Who cares about the NEVER Title rn?

* Omega vs. Ospreay…yuck. Who cares about the US Title?

* I don’t know anything about Tam Nakano. Good luck to Kairi getting that belt over.

* Okada vs. White should be good and caps off a lot of history, but I doubt it’s a classic and isn’t supported by the rest of the card.

[Fignuts]

Tam Nakano is polarizing for me. Her image and presentation embodies everything I hate about modern joshi. At the same time, she consistently has great, hard hitting singles matches, and has been involved in some of the best storylines in stardom.

The match against KAIRI should be good at least.

[Evil Vito]

Couple more matches announced for the main card:

Keiji Muto's Last NJPW Match
Keiji Muto, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Shota Umino vs. L.I.K (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and BUSHI)

Antonio Inoki Tribute Match
Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, and Togi Makabe vs. Tiger Mask, Tatsumi Fujinami, and Minoru Suzuki

Additionally, the pre-show will feature a 3-minute exhibition between Ryohei Oiwa and Boltin Oleg, and a New Japan Rumble that will probably just have everyone else.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Those are more interesting than anything else announced on the show lol.

[DaveWadding]

Ne1 watch WK yet

[weather vane]

Watched yup. Omega/Osprey was awesome.

[DaveWadding]

I'm sure they finished on each other's faces

[weather vane]

Watching just shows how crazy it is that WWE/AEW/NJPW can’t have a working relationship. Let’s all cannibalize each other instead of work together. Dumb.

[weather vane]

I'm sure they finished on each other's faces

ya man it was pretty deadly

[Fignuts]

Posting thoughts as I watch this.

What in the fuck has happened to KENTA? Doing the Santino walk to the ring with a goofy haircut. Depressing.

I don't think there's a greater microcosm for Gedo's booking falling off a cliff than Shingo and EVIL, two recent IWGP champions being relegated to the preshow gimmick battle royal. Unfortunate.

Old guys match. Always fun for what it is. I hope I look half as good as Tatsumi Fujinami does when I'm 70. Dude looks like he could work in a coal mine. Tigermask literally dying in the ring. Needs to take diet and workout pointers from Fujinami. Makabe 69's Tigermask for the win. Huh.

Jr Tag Title match is your usual chaotic spotfest. At least fucking try to follow tag rules and have some structure. I'd understand if it was a multi team match but this is just 2 on 2. It's like a stardom trios match ffs. I will say that if Lio Rush didn't have all those attitude problems he'd probably be a really big star. We've seen he can talk and he's one of the few high flyers whose sheer talent and athletic ability make him stand out in an industry full of that style. Too bad.

IWGP Women's match. Looking forward to this one. Both these women deliver in singles matches. Very happy for them that they can perform on a stage of this scale. Ohy man, matrix into roll up by Tam looked so clean. Oh. it's over. Well so much for that. Don't see the fucking point of this title if they're only giving them 10 minutes.

There's Sasha. Can't tell if that move is good or terrible. I'm honestly interested to see what Sasha's work looks like with no restrictions.

Tag title match. Love Goto. Love FTR. Yoshi-Hashi is also in this match. Actually I haven't seen yoshi wrestle in a year or so. I'll give him a chance I guess. If FTR went to NJPW, I would watch it more regularly if they were there. Good match. Hard to get invested since you knew FTR was losing.

Ren Narita vs Zack Sabre Jr. Looking forward to seeing how Narita has progressed. Zack is always good. Solid technical match. Very abrupt ending, but that makes sense given it revolved around submissions. Oh TMDK is a faction now. Neat. Is Suzuki Gun not a thing anymore?

Anderson vs Tama for the never title. Holy shit at the start. Wow, this was better than I was expecting.

Mutoh's last match in NJPW. Be shocked if Sanada doesn't pin Mutoh for the finish. lol at Tanahashi begging Mutoh not to do the moonsault. Man Umino is 100% the next big homegrown star for njpw. You can just see it. Whelp. I'm shocked. Although, using this to help push Umino isn't a terrible idea either.

Looking at Master Wato and his mannerisms I can't help but think of OSW Review watching X-pac and going "waaaaaahhhhhh" I already saw one junior clusterfuck match I don't need to see another. I miss the 90's. Commentators talking about some backstage fight between Naito and Umino the whole time. Even they don't care about this match. Wato's finisher is cool, though.

Time for Omega vs Ospreay. omg at this fucking nerd coming out to one winged angel. Ospreay should come out to the oddly terrifying Dragon Quest battle music. Ospreay's presentation so much better. Aussie open in the suits surrounding him looks sharp. Kenny does look in the best shape he's been since leaving new japan. They must have imported that table from the states. Normal japanese tables are forged in the fires of mordor and require a magically enchanted tank round to break. This is very good. It's every bit the spectacle you would expect from these two, but at the same time, they're telling a story. Great match. Want to say the wrong guy won, but they could have plans for Ospreay to tie the score at an AEW event. Rubber match at Forbidden Door.

Main Event time. God damn, Jay White looking shredded. Jay is so great at being an obnoxious heel. Feel like both these guys need a refresh. All this seems a bit been there, done that. They should do a reversal of how this all started. Gedo turns on Jay to reunite with Okada and bring him into bullet club, and thus kicking Jay out. They won't though. I really do love how well the rainmaker and bladerunner counter into themselves. Those two moves were made for eachother. Great match. This was billed a memorial show for Inoki so kinda figured Okada was winning.

Good show. This is Wrestle Kingdom though. It needs to be better than a good show. The last two matches were the only ones that had that special wrestle kingdom feel. Can't help but feel they've gone harder into the WWE mindset of filling the card with multiman matches to get everyone on the card, thus watering the whole thing down. The IC belt's absence has also left a big hole in the card. That used to have really big match feel at WK. Likewise, the NEVER title used to be the belt for knock down drag out fights, and always had a match to look forward to at WK. They killed the IC belt, and got rid of the brutal fight feel of the NEVER title to elevate it as a replacement but it never came close to recheaching that level of prestige. And thus, two big match belts were killed to make room for more senseless multiman matches.

I'll come back for the big shows like WK and Dominion, but this did not convince me to pick up New Japan regularly again.

[Fignuts]

And I'm still fucking pissed that jr tag gymnastics contest got more time than Kairi and Tam. Those two really could have put on something special.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Good takes. I’d imagine the reason the women’s match is so short is because New Japan’s main audience isn’t that into women’s wrestling. They’re drip-feeding them.

[Fignuts]

And this was an oppurtunity to change that. But it doesn't happen in 6 minutes.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I don’t disagree. They could have used a banger to get people on-side. But their thinking is probably to make smaller impressions over time. Get people used to them before they hit them with a banger.

[ClockShot]

Jay White lost to Hikuleo in the "Loser Leaves Japan" match at New Beginning.

I guess he's all done with NJPW?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Good for him.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Jay White would be an awesome edition to NXT. I think he’ll probably go to AEW, but I think he’d be more refreshing in NXT.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Brackets for the New Japan Cup look kind of uninspired. I think the final four will probably be Sanada/Naito, Will Ospreay, Shingo Takagi and ZSJ. I’m reading a lot of support for El Phantasmo, but whatever. I think a final between Ospreay and Shingo looks good.

[Evil Vito]

lol Gedo brought out David Finlay as the newest member and presumptive leader of Bullet Club. He's even dyed his beard jet black so it straight up feels like "but we have Jay White at home" energy.

[Fignuts]

Never been terribly impressed with finlay either. He's alright, but I don't see him filling those shoes.

[Evil Vito]

I mean I can understand the character motivation for him. Bullet Club was recruiting every gaijin sunder the sun at the same time David Finlay was coming out of the Dojo.

Finlay sees Jay White join, become the leader, win multiple titles, get all kinds of accolades. AND the company basically goes all out on giving him a hero's farewell treatment. There was no real comeuppance for White's dastardly actions over the years.

So I can see why Finlay would be like "fuck this shit, I should've just been like Jay this whole time".

But that doesn't mean he's got the talent to pull it off.

[Mr. Nerfect]

The Bullet Club is so fucking done.

[Evil Vito]

SANADA beats Naito to advance to the semi-finals only to announce he's quitting LIJ and joining Just4Guys (a stable that was formed after Wrestle Kingdom by displaced Suzuki-gun members Taichi, DOUKI, TAKA Michinoku, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru). Presumably they'll be called Just5Guys now.

Somebody should probably check on Gedo.

[Fignuts]

If he's leading the stable, it might not be a bad idea, as far as propping him up to that next level. Pretty solid group of guys too.

[ClockShot]

That's just so random.

When Bullet Club eventually phases out, I wouldn't be surprised if EVIL went back to L.I.J. and we pretend like nothing happened.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I get the Sanada move. The stable name doesn’t translate though.

[Fignuts]

Yeah it might be something that sounds cool in japanese, but it sounds like a jobber stable in english.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Exactly.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Anyone think Sanada is going to win the IWGP Title?

[Fignuts]

I think theres a better chance now than in any of his other matches.

[Mr. Nerfect]

That’s where I am. Not that I follow too closely, but I think it’s all a bit of a waste if Sanada doesn’t shit or get off the pot.

[ClockShot]

New look, new group.

Sure. What the hell. If you're not gonna let him win the G1 and win it the hard way, let's go the second best scenario. Have him win the New Japan Cup and challenge the champ that way.

[slik]

Sanada #1

[slik]

Sanada is my NJPW fave, keep away from WWE Sanada, they won't know what to do with you!

:y:

[slik]

Ha, I accidentally clicked on the face page and the very first post in this thread is you talking about a Sanada/ZSJ match in 2018.

:y:

[Fignuts]

Watching now. Skipping the multi man tag matches. Starting with the stardom match

[Fignuts]

Very spotty so far but they're executing everything quickly and precisely, so it works.

Like, this match looks like how a lot of women think their clumsily executed sequences appear in their heads.

[Fignuts]

That was a lot of fun. Very creative finish.

Sasha is really doing work. AZM is incredible.

[Fignuts]

Oh shit, inject Sasha vs Mayu directly into my veins, please.

[Fignuts]

There's that weird promo again

[Fignuts]

Shota vs Zachary of Sabre

Been following shota closely for a while. Excited for this one. Feel like his whole identity is tanahashi jr. though. Needs to stand out on his own somehow.

[Fignuts]

Absolutely fantastic match.

Shota is 100% the next ace after Okada.

[Fignuts]

Damn, Bishamon vs Aussie Open was an incredible match too.

[Fignuts]

Jr title time. Should be good.

[Fignuts]

Is that natsupoi in the front row?

[Fignuts]

Was not expecting a limb attack story for this match

[Fignuts]

Almost skipped this cause I'm not in the mood for the usual 90mph hiromu match, but im pleasantly surprised. This is some 90's junior shit right here.

[Fignuts]

Distracted by hiromu shouting ROBBIIIIIIIEEEE during every move. Please stop.

[Fignuts]

Oh god that poisonrana looked bad

[Fignuts]

Best junior match I've seen in a while. hiromu could have sold the leg better in certain spots, but thats just me nitpicking.

[Fignuts]

Sanada looking clean. Without the beard and flashy highlights he actually looks more intimidating. Looks like a classic njpw top guy.

[Fignuts]

Not gonna lie, sanada's new theme is kinda lame. Cold Skull way cooler.

[Fignuts]

"If he doesn't win tonight, he becomes Hirooki Goto."

Sigh

[Fignuts]

Sanada in trunks.

Someone check on slik.

[Fignuts]

So so so so so happy right now. Been a Sanada mark for years, but after all the failed attempts combined with not being a trueborn had me convinced this would never happen.

Match itself was great. Had a classic njpw title match feel, with both guys having a clear strategy.

I came for Okada vs Sanada. But this whole show really impressed me. Much better than wrestle kingdom.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Good for Sanada.

[Evil Vito]

That's awesome for Sanada. Very much deserved this accolade. I was very skeptical of him turning and was worried that it would be go on to be another EVIL type of deal, but they've quickly assuaged those concerns.

EVIL's problem is who he beat, when he beat him, and the fact that he cannot for the life of him deliver in a high-profile singles match.

Even if this runs turns out to just be a transitional run for Sanada and he drops it sometime in the summer, he's now got a clean title win over Okada on the ledger and has basically solidified himself as someone you can comfortably slot into a main event whenever you need him to, and now people could buy that he actually can win.

[Evil Vito]

They've announced a mini tournament to determine the number one contender for the US Title, with the title match being at Forbidden Door

-Lance Archer vs. Juice Robinson on April 16 in Philly
-Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Will Ospreay on May 21 in Long Beach
-Winners face off June 4th at Dominion

Seems pretty obvious this is setting up Omega vs. Ospreay II at Forbidden Door, but you can never totally dismiss Tana if either Ospreay's shoulder is still fucked by May 21st or if they want to save the rematch for Wembley.

[Fignuts]

To give more context to the Just 5 guys name, the point is that they are a group of guys who have been overlooked as guys who are "just a good hand".

Additionally, they are touting themselves as champions of the people, looking to change new japan not just for themselves but for the audience. Thats why the enter through the audience. Because they're just 5 guys, no different from the people in the crowd.

Its an interesting idea. Not sure if it will work though, as the whole point of pro wrestling is that these people are not like everyone else. Thats why you want to see them. But I guess a godly physical specimen like Sanada saying "hey brother, you're just like me" might win some people over.

[Fignuts]

They've announced a mini tournament to determine the number one contender for the US Title, with the title match being at Forbidden Door

-Lance Archer vs. Juice Robinson on April 16 in Philly
-Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Will Ospreay on May 21 in Long Beach
-Winners face off June 4th at Dominion

Seems pretty obvious this is setting up Omega vs. Ospreay II at Forbidden Door, but you can never totally dismiss Tana if either Ospreay's shoulder is still fucked by May 21st or if they want to save the rematch for Wembley.

I would have the rematch at fd2, and the rubber match at wembley

[Mr. Nerfect]

Omega beats Ospreay again at Forbidden Door. Ospreay finally gets a win over Omega in Wembley.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Main events of the show are MJF/Punk for the men’s title and Jamie Hayter/Britt Baker, Lights Out, for the women’s.

The Bucks team with Adam Page to wrestle for the six-man belts. I’ve got them going against Death Triangle in my head. Big spot for PAC. House of Black will probably end up in there too.

I see Danielson going against either Okada or ZSJ. I’d prefer Danielson vs. Okada, with Danielson vs. ZSJ being something that you can do if you go back. You can do an angle with him or something. Maybe he wins the ROH Pure Championship in a taped match before the show that you can do make a big deal out of on ROH TV?

Saraya is in a big tag team showcase alongside whatever heels are in the Outcasts. I can see them throwing Athena in there, maybe kicking out a Toni Storm and/or a Ruby Riott by then. I can see them trying to get Sasha Banks & Bayley, at least for that match. Saraya, Mercedes Mone, Pamela Martinez, Mercedes Martinez & Serena Deeb (is she even still there?) vs. Toni Storm, Ruby Riott, Riho, Willow Nightingale & Jade Cargill. If you do it that way, you can have Mercedes & Martinez and Mercedes Martinez teaming together. If you can’t get Bayley, keep Toni on the heel side and just throw in Hikaru Shida.

Taya Valkyrie drops the TBS Title to Kris Statlander, maybe taped before the show to actually air on Dynamite. That’s where they are. They do something with the TNT Title. Maybe Hook wins it? Swerve? Doesn’t matter. You do a men’s tag team showcase between Sting, Darby, The Acclaimed & Paul Wight and whatever heels are going at the time. It could be QTV, The Embassy, Jeff Jarrett and co. Doesn’t really matter.

If you can get Kairi, do a ROH Women’s Title match between her and Athena.

FTR defend the AEW Tag Titles against Moxley & Claudio.

There’s some sort of Wembley Rumble where you can feature some special appearances and guys who don’t fit on the card. You try and get Nick Aldis for that.

[Evil Vito]

Yota Tsuji made his return from excursion, attacking SANADA and effectively laying down a challenge for the title immediately. Also did the LIJ pose so presumably that’s the faction he’ll be joining.

Came across looking like a star in that segment.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Don’t know who that guy is, but taking your word that he comes off like a star, it wouldn’t be the most shocking thing in the world to have him take the belt off Sanada. I don’t think Sanada needs a long reign and it could help to freshen up the product. Would kind of be another Okada against Tanahashi moment, with Sanada also being a freshly crowned guy.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Good look on the guy. I’m kind of sick of reading about the same names in New Japan.

[Fignuts]

Disagree with completely about Sanada having a short reign. Guy has been giving it his all as a premier workhorse for the company for years and he deserves a solid title run.

I understand the fatigue with seeing the same names, but given his transformation, he might as well be a new guy. Can't reiterate enough how much he comes off like classic 80's new japan stars like fujinami and inoki. I just get a whole throwback vibe and its awesome.

[Evil Vito]

Okada/Tana/Ishii vs. Mox/Claudio/Umino and SANADA/Tsuji were both fantastic matches. Hell of a fucking showing for Tsuji going straight into a main event spot. I think they've really got something with him

[Evil Vito]

G1 field announced - bumped up again from 28 to 32 participants:

Aaron Henare (United Empire)
Alex Coughlin (Bullet Club)
Chase Owens (Bullet Club)
David Finlay (Bullet Club)
Eddie Kingston (AEW)
El Phantasmo (Main Unit)
EVIL (Bullet Club)
Gabriel Kidd (Bullet Club)
Great-O-Khan (United Empire)
Hikuleo (GoD)
Hirooki Goto (CHAOS)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (Main Unit)
Jeff Cobb (United Empire)
Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH)
Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS)
KENTA (Bullet Club)
Mikey Nicholls (TMDK)
Ren Narita (Strong Style)
SANADA (J5G)
Shane Haste (TMDK)
Shingo Takagi (LIJ)
Shota Umino (Main Unit)
Taichi (J5G)
Tama Tonga (GoD)
Tanga Loa (GoD)
Tetsuya Naito (LIJ)
Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS)
Toru Yano (CHAOS)
Will Ospreay (United Empire)
YOSHI-HASHI (CHAOS)
Yota Tsuji (LIJ)
Zack Sabre Jr. (TMDK)

[Mr. Nerfect]

Yuck at Kingston being in there, but it should still be pretty good. I played out some scenarios in my head the other day. I think Tanahashi could have a shot for “one more main event.” Sanada could put him down and that could add fuel to the Sanada/Okada rivalry.

Another thing that would be kinda cool is if you get a pretty fresh winner or even two guys in there that you wouldn’t expect. Tsuji winning the thing would be PrettyCool.

I think we’ll also have to wait for Forbidden Door and see what goes down there. If Danielson/Okada is just the greatest match ever, they’ll probably run that again at the Tokyo Dome. But I’m predicting Okada/Omega and Danielson, Moxley, Claudio, Yuta & Umino against…fuck it, LIJ.

[XL]

Is that Vito putting AEW next to Kingston? Didn’t he do a “fuck AEW” thing and “go to” ROH?

[Mr. Nerfect]

New Japan has no time for AEW’s shit storylines.

[Mr. Nerfect]

It would also be possible to do something where, say, Tsuji wins the G1. Tanahashi can still challenge Sanada on Night 1. You could do LIJ vs. BCC on night 1 too. Tsuji can challenge Sanada night 2. That would be a pretty cool way to make a star. Tsuji pins Danielson and Sanada over the course of Wrestle Kingdom.

Oh man, imagine if Tanahashi/Punk is lined up for night 2 and Punk is all mad because Tanahashi doesn’t win the belt and bring it into their match. Tsuji wouldn’t be guaranteed a title shot then, but it could agreed upon that he goes on to wrestle the winner of Tanahashi/Punk. Could be a good chance for Sanada to cut some really good promos (if he can talk) about how he’s not going to lose the belt to Tanahashi.

[Fignuts]

Kaito has to beat okada here. Come on.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I just saw Kaito Kiyomiya’s name in there. Is there any chance he could be a dark horse in this thing? I mean, a strong showing is probably good enough, but the story of a NOAH guy going for the belt could be…interesting.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Kaito beats Okada and shockingly wins the G1. Okada beats Sanada for the belt. Okada vs. Kaito II in the Dome.

[Fignuts]

I've been saying for a while now that the noah vs njpw thing at wrestle kingdom isn't half as good as it could be. Create actual builds and feuds around it, all culminating in a noah guy going for the iwgp title. Hell, get even crazier and have him win the damn thing.

[Fignuts]

Kaito beats Okada and shockingly wins the G1. Okada beats Sanada for the belt. Okada vs. Kaito II in the Dome.

It would actually be kaito vs okada III. Okada has beaten him twice now. The most recent one was the hottest angle in japan for a while.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I’m down for Kaito/Okada in the G1 and then Kaito winning the belt at Wrestle Kingdom.

[Mr. Nerfect]

You can do all sorts of tricky stuff with booking too. For example, Kaito could lose to Okada a third time but still win the tournament. Leaves you Kaito/Okada IV with Kaito defending the belt against the guy he never beat. Or you can go the other way and have Kaito beat Okada.

[Fignuts]

Imagine kaito having a vice grip on the title for a year, and at the next wrestle kingdom, njpw trueborn Tsuji dethrones him to bring the title back home.

Or Shota. It's between those two in terms of being the next ace.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I don’t think it even has to be one of them. You could use the win to cement Sanada, Shingo or anyone. That wrestler can lay credit to being the one to save New Japan and put over the next gen.

[Fignuts]

The japanese fans would want a trueborn to beat kaito in that situation. They might even completely reject anything else. They are super passionate about that stuff.

[Mr. Nerfect]

The japanese fans would want a trueborn to beat kaito in that situation. They might even completely reject anything else. They are super passionate about that stuff.

I think that would be the best direction, but a guy from NOAH that has chosen New Japan could be a story. Would work better for an undercard match though.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I’m now thinking my preferred direction is Kaito winning the G1 and Okada winning the belt. Kaito should beat Okada in the G1 too. Match 4 is either Okada breaking away or Kaito evening it up and getting the belt. No clue what you do with Sanada, but a good strong win underneath is probs a good idea.

[Mr. Nerfect]

How about Sanada beating one of the top gaijin? Omega, Danielson or Moxley would be good.

[Evil Vito]

Is that Vito putting AEW next to Kingston? Didn’t he do a “fuck AEW” thing and “go to” ROH?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FxxENnkX0AILxsw?format=jpg&name=large

[Evil Vito]

AEW are very likely to always have a G1 participant especially with the field being this big now. I'm sorta surprised Lance Archer isn't in given he had a nice run last year and he isn't being used on AEW much, but he's also battled some injuries and AEW might not've wanted him in a grueling tourney.

So Eddie's probably the next most sensible guy for AEW to send. Storyline wise, he played a part in running Jay White out of New Japan, at least from the US side of things. He's also someone that AEW won't particularly care that he's gonna eat a few losses along the way.

The dream would be to see Danielson do it next year but I don't know if Khan will ever be down for it.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I’m interested in New Japan’s upcoming Independence Day PPV. Seems to feature a lot of New Japan Strong talent. Headlined by Jon Moxley in garbage matches though.

I like Clark Connors and what I’ve seen from Gabriel Kidd. They’ve got good spots on the show. I’ve heard good things about Bad Dude Tito too, but haven’t seen anything from him.

[Mr. Nerfect]

What’s Fred Rosser doing? Dude got REALLY good outside WWE.

[Evil Vito]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">If you’re not a fan of NJPW that’s okay but one thing you gotta credit them on is how they made these young lions into stars like Alex Coughlin for example great promo.<br> <a href="https://t.co/gV6B3wg73O">pic.twitter.com/gV6B3wg73O</a></p>&mdash; Kenan (@KenanFields) <a href="https://twitter.com/KenanFields/status/1679875908960649217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

damn that's a good promo

[XL]

CM Punk lite.

[XL]

Nah that was pretty good. Does tend to be a bit more believable when you’re cutting a promo based on the truth. Wonder how he’d do with something from the WWE scriptwriters.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Not impressed by that. Quite dry and performative. Too much swearing. Don’t buy him. I’ve seen the guy before and I don’t think he’s an offensive wrestler or anything. Youngish and in good shape. But the promo is pretty bad.

[Fignuts]

It would be a great explanation for a heel turn. Did he turn heel? Or is he just publically airing greivances?

[Evil Vito]

It would be a great explanation for a heel turn. Did he turn heel? Or is he just publically airing greivances?

He turned heel and aligned with Bullet Club a couple months ago. He and some of the other Dojo guys also joined (Gabriel Kidd, Clark Connors etc) and airing their grievances is part of the reason they’ve joined Bullet Club and want to take the place down.

Kinda bringing BC back to its roots in a way. These guys have a purpose for wanting to be in there.

[Evil Vito]

Of course, the Dojo was/had been legitimately mismanaged for a while so the grievances have elements of truth to them as well, but at least they’re parlaying it into an angle.

[Mr. Nerfect]

You can’t push them all though. Everyone doing the same thing sounds boring.

[DaveWadding]

Cant believe we had ZERO posts about the 2 G1 shows that are free on New Japan World.

Night 1 had some great moments. Shoota / Narita had an absolute banger. Everything else was okay.

Night 2 was one of the best shows I've watched in a while. Ishii/Finlay was a 4* match. Yano/Goto had a classic comedy match with some truly hilarious stuff. Shingo and Eddie Kingston fucked each other up I highly recommend it. Cobb/Naito had a great main event too. Lemme put them links down:

[DaveWadding]

https://njpwworld.com/p/s_00658_2_1

https://njpwworld.com/p/s_00658_4_1

[Mr. Nerfect]

I might check them out. I don’t know why, but I’m really hoping Finlay becomes something. I would actually like to see him cross paths with CM Punk. I think Punk talking about his father would be interesting and I think Punk & FTR vs. Finlay, KENTA and someone else from Bullet Club would be a cool way to get some Punk and KENTA interactions out there without making it all about them.