Wrestle Kingdom 14

[Evil Vito]

Show is the next two mornings, like last year probably best to keep it away from the main NJPW thread.

Start time for night 1 is 2 AM EST, night 2 is 12 AM EST.


Night 1

Pre-Show 1: Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma), Yuya Uemura, and Yota Tsuji vs. ToaHenare, Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors, Karl Fredericks

Pre-Show 2: Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) vs. Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi

1. Jyushin Thunder Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, The Great Sasuke, and Tiger Mask vs. Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, and Ryusuke Taguchi

2. Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, and El Desperado [Suzuki-gun] vs. EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI, and Shingo Takagi [LIJ]

3. Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] vs. KENTA, Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, and Chase Owens

4. IWGP Tag Team Championship: FinJuice (Juice Robinson and David Finlay) [NJPW Main Unit] vs. Guerrilas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) (C) [Bullet Club]

5. IWGP United States Championship - Texas Death Match: Jon Moxley [AEW] vs. Lance Archer (C) [Suzuki-gun]

6. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi [LIJ] vs. Will Ospreay (C) [CHAOS]

7. IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetusya Naito [LIJ] vs. Jay White (C) [Bullet Club]

8. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kota Ibushi [NJPW Main Unit] vs. Kazuchika Okada (C) [CHAOS]


[B]Night 2

Pre-Show - Gauntlet for NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship: Tomihiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, and Robbie Eagles [CHAOS] vs. Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, and Chase Owens [Bullet Club] vs. Taichi, El Desperado, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru [Suzuki-gun] vs. EVIL, BUSHI, and Shingo Takagi [LIJ] vs. The Most Violent Perverts (Togi Makabe, Yano Toru, and Ryusuke Taguchi) [C]

1. Jyushin Thunder Liger's Retirement Match: Jyushin Thunder Liger and Naoki Sano vs. Ryu Lee and Hiromu Takahashi

2. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Roppongi 3K (SHO and YOH) [CHAOS] vs. Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo (C) [Bullet Club]

3. RevPro British Heavyweight Championship: SANADA [LIJ] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (C) [Suzuki-gun]

4. IWGP United States Championship: Juice Robinson [NJPW Main Unit] vs. TBD (Jon Moxley or Lance Archer) (C)

5. NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto [CHAOS] vs. KENTA (C) [Bullet club]

6. Loser of Jay White/Tetsuya Naito night 1 match vs. Loser of Kazuchika Okada/Kota Ibushi night 1 match

7. Chris Jericho [AEW] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [NJPW Main Unit]

8. Double Title Match: Intercontinental Champion (Jay White or Tetsuya Naito) vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion (Kazuchika Okada or Kota Ibushi)

[Jordan]

Can you do it again with graphics plz.

[ClockShot]

Googled the start time and it came back with 3 a.m. I was thinking, "I can do that".

But 2 a.m. is tough. Looking more likely that I'll just fire it up when I wake up and avoid the thread until it's over then pop in.

[Evil Vito]

2 AM is the start of the pre-show. Main card probably not til 2:30/3.

[Triple A]

I'll prob try to watch all of it since I'll probably be awake.

How long do you guys think each show will be?

[Ultra Mantis]

Should be around 3 hours for the main show. Going to assume the pre show is half an hour since they aren't broadcasting the STARDOM match.

Not sure i'm going to be able to watch live but really looking forward to this. Hoping Yuji Nagata takes a pin from Kojima to start the show in the best possible way and give me the win in Survivor.

Not the best possible way for Smeat, admittedly. If Makabe impossibly manages to get himself pinned in that young lions match I think it would take a Wrestle Kingdom for me to get over it.

[Emperor Smeat]

Both pre-shows are an hour long.

Probably looking at least 4 hours each not including the pre-show. Wrestle Kingdom shows are usually in the 5-6 hour range but that's with a 10-11 match main card.

Meltzer reported a while ago that NJPW was looking at no later than a 7AM end time for the first night and like 5 hours max for both nights although don't remember if that included the pre-show.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Really thinking about watching live, since Japanese time is pretty similar to Australian time.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Far more interested in night two, although I feel night one is going to have the better matches. Okada vs. Ibushi is going to get five stars from most people, I think.

[Simple Fan]

NJPW World question. I just signed up and it is very confusing. I guess they really don't have an app as it just takes you to their website. Once WK14 starts will it just display a play button to watch? Tried to look through a library but it was mostly just WK hype videos. Was trying to find previous ppv to catch up a bit but might have to search it out. Need help though I think.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

It's not very American-user friendly.

[Droford]

NJPW World question. I just signed up and it is very confusing. I guess they really don't have an app as it just takes you to their website. Once WK14 starts will it just display a play button to watch? Tried to look through a library but it was mostly just WK hype videos. Was trying to find previous ppv to catch up a bit but might have to search it out. Need help though I think.

#1 rule, if you just subscribed it still ends the last day of the month and renews the 1st of the month (Japanese time) in case you don't want to keep subbing

You need the app to play videos. It supports Chromecast

[Droford]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you, Liger 👏👏👏👏👏<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NJWK14?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NJWK14</a> <a href="https://t.co/GS5XCS3LSR">pic.twitter.com/GS5XCS3LSR</a></p>&mdash; Arby's (@Arbys) <a href="https://twitter.com/Arbys/status/1213127940935966724?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Simple Fan]

#1 rule, if you just subscribed it still ends the last day of the month and renews the 1st of the month (Japanese time) in case you don't want to keep subbing

I'm not even sure if I can find out how to unsubscribe right now. The English tab doesn't even help that much.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you, Liger 👏👏👏👏👏<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NJWK14?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NJWK14</a> <a href="https://t.co/GS5XCS3LSR">pic.twitter.com/GS5XCS3LSR</a></p>&mdash; Arby's (@Arbys) <a href="https://twitter.com/Arbys/status/1213127940935966724?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Arby's Vs. Wendy's in a Steel Cage.

[Simple Fan]

Sad that paying $45 on FITE would be the much easier option. Really weird a Japanese company doesn't have an adequate app to me.

[Simple Fan]

Do they put up full shows afterwards? A search of Dominion 2019 came up with nothing so I had to do Dominion 6.9, still no full show and mostly just the same match with different commentary.

[Droford]

I'm not even sure if I can find out how to unsubscribe right now. The English tab doesn't even help that much.

https://front.njpwworld.com/my


5th box on the bottom says withdraw when translated but its the cancel button


Also, chrome translates all the pages pretty well from Japanese to English, I dont know what browser you're using. Odd quirk though, NJPW world doesn't work on my chromebook without using the user agent switcher extension but that nerfs the Chromecast option, so I have to use my ANDROID phone running CHROME which makes no sense, but anyway.

[Droford]

Sad that paying $45 on FITE would be the much easier option. Really weird a Japanese company doesn't have an adequate app to me.

$45 vs $9.25

I just deal with it

[Jordan]

I'm ready for this. I got two Redbulls ready to go.

[Evil Vito]

Yep I got up a little early to get onto the stream before it craps out as it did last year.

Napped for 4 hours, waking up at one point drenched because the electric heat kicked it up to 75 degrees in my room.

We'll see if I'm in a position to watch live tomorrow as well lol

[Jordan]

I am afraid I won't make it all night but I am determined to try.

[Jordan]

I've started with coffee but late at night it doesn't really help me much. Gonna pop open a Redbull soon.

[Jordan]

2am NYC time btw.

[Droford]

Lol this video for the fans

[Jordan]

Yep I got up a little early to get onto the stream before it craps out as it did last year.

Napped for 4 hours, waking up at one point drenched because the electric heat kicked it up to 75 degrees in my room.

We'll see if I'm in a position to watch live tomorrow as well lol

What stream are you watching?

I'm doing New Japan World English.

[Jordan]

Lol this video for the fans

That was funny.

[Evil Vito]

What stream are you watching?

I'm doing New Japan World English.

Same.

[Jordan]

I am not too sad about losing the New Japan Rumble for Wrestle Kingdom this year. It usually sucks. Plus I saw legit 5 Battle Royals live last year. I'm good.

[Jordan]

Just so everyone knows where I stand. I don't believe there will be any AEW involvement in this show, even down to Jericho bringing the AEW World Championship to the ring with him... I don't predict that will happen, but I very badly want it to happen. The best would be if the whole Elite showed up, but we shall see!

...

If Kota goes to the finals tomorrow then I think that will be my prediction. If Kota wins tonight then I think he wins the whole thing and then The Cleaner Lover appears.

[Evil Vito]

I am not too sad about losing the New Japan Rumble for Wrestle Kingdom this year. It usually sucks. Plus I saw legit 5 Battle Royals live last year. I'm good.

The NJPW/ROH Rumble before MSG gave me my fill. Marking out to Suzuki's entrance live and Muta's surprise entrance.

[Emperor Smeat]

NJPW must be expecting record-breaking sub numbers for WK 14 since I don't think they issued a statement for last year's show about potential lag and/or stream issues being very possible.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As the non-televised STARDOM bout gets underway, NJPW World and FITE pre-show broadcasts will begin very soon. <br>In order to prevent server congestion, please do not navigate away or refresh your feed. <br><br>Thank you for your patience. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njpw?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njpw</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njwk14?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njwk14</a> <a href="https://t.co/7kn2xeJj0U">pic.twitter.com/7kn2xeJj0U</a></p>&mdash; NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) <a href="https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1213354373151174658?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Jordan]

I must say in this four way scramble for double belts, I really don't know who will win. Well ... it's like reminiscent of an old Anderson Silva fight. When it comes to Okada, it's dumb to bet against him, but a victory for him leaves me wondering the next step. I could easily see Kota and Jay White in the final match on 1/5, and also another Okada/Naito match but this time with the residue of defeat for both would be an interesting psychology for a great dome match.

[Evil Vito]

Yeah last year I logged in minutes before the 2 AM start and it took nearly 30 minutes to actually get to the stream.

This year I fired it up 30 minutes early.

[Evil Vito]

Yeah genuinely no clue who is leaving with the belts.

Naito has a years-long story that never got paid off
Ibushi signed a contract, won the G1 and is red hot
Gedo has a huge boner for Jay White
Okada can never be ruled out and he's a torch bearer for the Tokyo Olympics

[Simple Fan]

All I'm getting is interviews has the show started?

[Jordan]

On Jay White. I'm in his corner. There is something singularly special about him that nobody else has. It's almost as if he's a more exciting Randy Orton. So naturally talented and athletic but White has a different more extroverted charisma. I can see why Gedo picked him to be the replacement English speaking star for Kenny. He isn't Kenny but he doesn't try to be. I know a lot of people would be really upset if he walked out with two championships when it's all said and done but that is exactly the reason to do it. Just think of the return!

[Evil Vito]

All I'm getting is interviews has the show started?

Not yet, waiting for the Stardom match to finish and then both televised pre-show matches will happen

[Jordan]

All I'm getting is interviews has the show started?

I'm getting the same. On the F4W board there is a guy live posting from the Dome, the women's match is on right now.

[Droford]

Where can I get NJPW supercard (it looks exactly like WWE supercard)

[Simple Fan]

$45 vs $9.25

I just deal with it

Kind of wishing I just spent the extra money though.

[Simple Fan]

Not yet, waiting for the Stardom match to finish and then both televised pre-show matches will happen

I'm getting the same. On the F4W board there is a guy live posting from the Dome, the women's match is on right now.


Good to know. My stream just paused so maybe they're starting.

[Jordan]

I wonder how much Chase Owens get's paid per show or per week or how it works.

[Simple Fan]

Yep

[Evil Vito]

HERE WE GO

[Droford]

Yay, live

[Jordan]

We are live!

[Evil Vito]

The Young Lion sprint to the ring is cooler in the Dome

[Jordan]

Lions match. These dudes look like they are gonna be stars. All of them.

[Evil Vito]

I actually like Makabe's dubbed theme more than the real thing

[Emperor Smeat]

NJPW needs to either give Togi Makabe a giant bag of money so he finds a new theme that can actually play on New Japan World or just pay whatever the asking price is for Immigrant Song since Makabe still doesn't want to change his theme.

[Jordan]

Alex Coughlin is the new Benoit.

[Jordan]

NJPW "Selling out" this show just goes to show that commitment to your booking will actually pay off.

[Jordan]

Thankful we don't have to listen to JR struggle with all of these names.

[Jordan]

These guys are all on their A Game tonight.

[Triple A]

This is cool...

[Evil Vito]

Yota Tsuji taking all of those chops while keeping the Boston Crab locked in was cool. Yota's good.

[Jordan]

Nice match. Does Toa usually use the uranagi as a finish? Just curious cause I can't remember, but wonder if that was the NJPW way of saying he's not a young lion anymore.

[Triple A]

Not sure about this english commentary team yet... Seems like they could potentially be annoying... but not yet...

[Emperor Smeat]

The little Dojo Civil War story that NJPW has going on has been pretty entertaining.

Can tell they really love the work Shibata has been doing as the head trainer there with the showcases they've given to his Dojo.

[Evil Vito]

Fun opener.

[Evil Vito]

New Japan Dads!

[Jordan]

I wish they would shoot from the other side so you could see the massive crowd instead of the empty side lol.

[Triple A]

I never really watch NJPW so this is cool to me... Presentation is pretty sweet... Feels like a boxing match / MMA fight... Cheap green entrance ramp mats kinda look like shit but w/e

[Jordan]

I never really watch NJPW so this is cool to me... Presentation is pretty sweet... Feels like a boxing match / MMA fight... Cheap green entrance ramp mats kinda look like shit but w/e

And this has been their production since the 90's... pretty much forever actually. It's only gotten more crisp. I love how they light the ring as well.

[Jordan]

Was listening to Jim Valley and Fumi talk about Kojima, whom I have a soft spot for from his work in early MLW. He doesn't get any love because he was an AJPW guy. He could be better used.

[Evil Vito]

Nagata doesn't eat the pin. Survivor remains endless.

[Jordan]

Pretty good match there but nothing special other than it's at the Dome and they all had a great energy.

[Emperor Smeat]

Both pre-show matches were pretty good.

[Evil Vito]

Time to have a coffee

[Jordan]

I don't think I've ever seen such a big crowd at the Tokyo Dome since the 90's.

[Emperor Smeat]

I never really watch NJPW so this is cool to me... Presentation is pretty sweet... Feels like a boxing match / MMA fight... Cheap green entrance ramp mats kinda look like shit but w/e

That's pretty much where the inspiration came from.

Inoki was a huge MMA fan and under his leadership, he tried to make NJPW's puro style be a lot more MMA focused which ended up hurting the company a lot in the long run.

[Evil Vito]

Stardom match:

Mayu Iwatani and Arisa Hoshiki beat Hana Kimura and Giulia after friendly fire between Hana and Giulia leading to Mayu pinning Hana with a moonsault.

General vibe is that the match was very well-received, which is great to hear.

[Droford]

All this needs is a countdown clock on the side and Id feel like Id gone back 30 years to VIEWERS CHOICE PPV before a PPV minus the annoying PPV ads

<iframe width="609" height="457" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OxY7pcdLFn8" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Jordan]

I just washed my face and brushed my teeth! Feeling refreshed. Got a cold Red Bull I'm about to slurp down after the minty toothpaste goes away.

[Evil Vito]

Can't wait to see if 66 year old Tatsumi Fujinami can still go.

[Simple Fan]

Not sure I'll make it through, hope I can find replay tomorrow.

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Amazing. <a href="https://t.co/uRgzWwjuii">pic.twitter.com/uRgzWwjuii</a></p>&mdash; JJ Williams (@JJWilliamsWON) <a href="https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1213369616518397953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Jordan]

Not sure I'll make it through, hope I can find replay tomorrow.

Drink coffee dude

[Emperor Smeat]

Intro video for the show was great. Maybe even the best one ever from NJPW.

[Jordan]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Amazing. <a href="https://t.co/uRgzWwjuii">pic.twitter.com/uRgzWwjuii</a></p>&mdash; JJ Williams (@JJWilliamsWON) <a href="https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1213369616518397953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

:rofl::cool:

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at Otani's entrance video being just clips of him beating up Liger

Also pretty cool that everyone's entrance video includes their past encounters with Liger in it.

[Jordan]

My god I hope they don't do solo entrances for all the team matches.

[Jordan]

I hope the match isn't a long as the entrances lol my god.

[Jordan]

Naki Sano looks so uncomfortable on camera lol. You'd think he'd have gotten used to it by now.

[Evil Vito]

I can't recall anyone ever getting a full blown send-off match like this where they brought back everyone from someone's past to be in the match.

[Jordan]

Holy shit at that stadium shot! WOW! Biggest crowd I've seen for NJPW since old days for sure, this is incredible.

[Jordan]

That face wash spot was awesome.

[Emperor Smeat]

Night and day difference on how NJPW treated Liger compared to how WWE treated Kurt Angle for their big retirement matches and hype around it.

[Droford]

I can't recall anyone ever getting a full blown send-off match like this where they brought back everyone from someone's past to be in the match.

I feel like its just as much for the others getting a Tokyo Dome match too in a way

[Jordan]

Otani reminds me THQ game engine.

[Jordan]

Excalibur!

[Evil Vito]

Night and day difference on how NJPW treated Liger compared to how WWE treated Kurt Angle for their big retirement matches and hype around it.

lol I was in MetLife Stadium and could barely find the energy to partake in the YOU SUCK chants because his match was thrown 5+ hours deep into the card

[Droford]

lol

[Jordan]

Taguchi with the honors!

[Evil Vito]

I'm not surprised. You go out on your back in NJPW, and Taguchi is the only active guy on the other team.

Fully expect Liger to eat a pin to Himoru tomorrow.

[Jordan]

I'm not surprised. You go out on your back in NJPW, and Taguchi is the only active guy on the other team.

Fully expect Liger to eat a pin to Himoru tomorrow.

No doubt.

[Emperor Smeat]

8-man tag match was very good overall.

Didn't think they'd go that all out for spots especially Sasuke with the swanton bomb to the outside.

[Triple A]

I like this commentary team a lot better than the pre-show one

[Droford]

I sorta figured hed win tonight and lose tomorrow, i guess not

[Evil Vito]

Funny thing is the youngest guy in the match went over in that one. It just happens that the youngest guy in the match is 40 years old.

[Triple A]

I like this commentary team a lot better than the pre-show one

Is it the same guys... idk... whatever

[Emperor Smeat]

I like this commentary team a lot better than the pre-show one

Isn't it the same one?

[Jordan]

Is it the same guys... idk... whatever

:lol:

It is.

[Triple A]

I like Chris Charlton... idk if he was on the pre-show... seems to be at least talking a lot more now

[Emperor Smeat]

:n: at no Suzuki theme for his entrance.

[Emperor Smeat]

I like Chris Charlton... idk if he was on the pre-show...

He was. Gino or Rocky was the one that didn't talk that much during the pre-show

[Evil Vito]

using ZSJ's theme instead of Kaze ni Nare :(

then again I know the entire point is to preview SANADA vs. ZSJ

[Jordan]

LOL @ Zack pouncing on that young boy. That was good.

[Evil Vito]

Hoping ZSJ can formally take over the stable on New Year Dash. Suzuki being like the fourth most important member of his own stable doesn't sit well.

[Jordan]

I'd really like to see Suzuki vs Jericho

[Jordan]

Who is the commentator with the Lord Alfred Hayes accent?

[Evil Vito]

Who is the commentator with the Lord Alfred Hayes accent?

Chris Charlton, he's a historian

oh there's also Gino Gambino who is an Aussie and technically part of Bullet Club

[Emperor Smeat]

Hoping ZSJ can formally take over the stable on New Year Dash. Suzuki being like the fourth most important member of his own stable doesn't sit well.

Wouldn't be surprised if that happened since they've been doing slight teases for a while of him either turning on Suzuki or Suzuki making him the new boss once he's ready to step away from the spotlight.

[Jordan]

Fucking awesome submission. Good team match.

[Jordan]

Sanada and Sabre will be excellent tomorrow and now it will be even more heated.

[Emperor Smeat]

LIJ vs Suzuki-gun match was pretty good.

[Evil Vito]

ZSJ saying "and when Fujinami's here? How dare you!" to SANADA after he tried to use the Dragon Sleeper is fantastic.

[Jordan]

Remember how bad ass Drew McIntyre was before he went back to WWE? Imagine if he had signed with NJPW instead.

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at Gino's bewilderment at Bullet Club tracksuits existing and him being the only one who didn't get one.

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: Yano at the start of the match.

[Triple A]

Some woman screaming the same shit over and over and over every 3-8 seconds...

[Emperor Smeat]

Yano didn't hold back at all with that smack to the back of Fale's head.

[Evil Vito]

Ishii is a treasure and should be pushed to the highest heights

[Emperor Smeat]

:lol: at Goto doing the least in the match and picking up the pin win.

Match itself was pretty good overall.

Wrestle Kingdom's undercard was very good.

[Evil Vito]

Now come the title matches :cool:

[Droford]

Juice stealing Fandango's gimmick

[Evil Vito]

Juice Robinson looking like a gay new member of Breezango

[Triple A]

Kinda wish there were some quick recap videos of the feuds or w/e, as someone who doesn't know what is going on...

[Jordan]

This is an interesting match. I'd really like to see new tag champs but I think Juice is the the best guy to have the US Championship. He is capable of long great main event matches and is a great babyface so I think he's the guy to go with for the first NJPW of America tour. So I'd say the tag belts stay with G.O.D and Juice wins the US Championship from Moxley.

[Evil Vito]

Kinda wish there were some quick recap videos of the feuds or w/e, as someone who doesn't know what is going on...

Yeah for better or worse that's how New Japan run their cards. No bullshit, straight on to the next match.

Thankfully Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton are good at providing some backstory as the match goes on.

[DaveWadding]

Ishii is a treasure and should be pushed to the highest heights

ISHII 2 BELTS WK 15 2021

[Emperor Smeat]

Kinda wish there were some quick recap videos of the feuds or w/e, as someone who doesn't know what is going on...

They mostly only do that for the top matches. Pretty much the last 3 title matches are guaranteed to get the video package treatment.

Doubt the US title match will get one.

[Jordan]

Tama Tonga is getting big. I bet he goes for a singles run before long.

[Jordan]

Oh my GOD, that bump on the top turnbuckle could have been SO BAD if his head would have hit the post.

[Jordan]

Finlay has turned out to be a really good wrestler.

[Evil Vito]

I wish more folks in the position he was in at NXT/developmental would bet on themselves the way Juice did.

[Droford]

Finlay has turned out to be a really good wrestler.

his dad would probably kick his ass if he didnt

[Jordan]

Actually what NJPW need to do is broker a deal with AEW to get Moxley available to do the NJPW of America tour so that they have a solid draw on the first go, plus it would establish the US Championship as the new number 2 title legit because Mox is legit.

[Jordan]

Juice is great but he really struggles to find his identity. I remember him saying that in his Jericho podcast. He changes his look all the time. He should have kept the dreds they gave him a coolness that he doesn't have anymore. His stupid facial hair tonight has me not seeing him as a champion tomorrow.

[Droford]

wow

[Droford]

Juice 2 Belts? Tune in tomorrow night

[Evil Vito]

Good for FinJuice

I'd say this makes it less likely that Juice takes the US Title tomorrow but the tag titles are largely an afterthought so there's no reason he can't hold both.

[Jordan]

WOW! Good match, great finish! New champs! I was thinking "this would be like Finlay's coming out tonight but they are gonna beat him" but he won! We got something interesting with FinJuice.

[Emperor Smeat]

Being tag champs going into Wrestle Kingdom has been the biggest curse in NJPW these past few years.

Tag title match was pretty good. Feel great for Juice since he would have never been as big of a star he's become in NJPW had he stayed in NXT and WWE.

[Droford]

Being tag champs going into Wrestle Kingdom has been the biggest curse in NJPW these past few years.

Tag title match was pretty good. Feel great for Juice since he would have never been as big of a star he's become in NJPW had he stayed in NXT and WWE.
That CJ Parker gimmick was going nowhere

[Jordan]

Good for FinJuice

I'd say this makes it less likely that Juice takes the US Title tomorrow but the tag titles are largely an afterthought so there's no reason he can't hold both.

It would make him a "bigger deal" to be double champion touring USA wouldn't it?

[Droford]

Theres no way this gets as crazy as the match at Full Gear..right?

[Triple A]

Lance Archer is cool... He was the most interesting guy to me at the Hammerstein Ballroom show I went to a few months ago

[Evil Vito]

Mox :love:

[Jordan]

Theres no way this gets as crazy as the match at Full Gear..right?

No I don't think it will be like that. Archer has had some crazy shit going on in his matches this year. I'm expecting some creative wrestling violence.

[Emperor Smeat]

Moxley ditching the short tights look in favor of pants was a great decision by him.

[Emperor Smeat]

That CJ Parker gimmick was going nowhere

He was like a prototype version of Daniel Bryan's Evil Captain Planet gimmick except without the coolness and Bryan's promo skills.

Like all Bryan did was evolve the annoying tree-hugging hippie gimmick into something a lot better but with the same overall theme.

[Jordan]

Awesome dive from Mox.

[Droford]

I still dont believe Lance Archer is the same dude from the ECW reboot

[Emperor Smeat]

Holy crap at the whacks Archer took to the head with the kendo stick and trash can lid.

[Evil Vito]

:lol: Archer using a Young Lion as a weapon

[slik]

Let's go Mox!

[Droford]

oh shit

[Emperor Smeat]

Holy shit at the Blackout onto the chairs.

Match has been great soo far

[Droford]

somewhere Terry Funk is rolling over in his bed

[Droford]

thats a new one

[Emperor Smeat]

Don't think anyone told Archer that your not supposed to actually try to murder someone in a deathmatch.

[Triple A]

Oh no

[Jordan]

That was an all time great table bump!

[Triple A]

Jesus, that could have been bad with how Archer landed on the table legs

[Emperor Smeat]

Moxley vs Archer was great.

Yikes at the cut on Archer's arm.

[DaveWadding]

That was a damn good finish.

[Droford]

full gear ruined me for matches like that, still crazy

[Evil Vito]

That was damn good

[slik]

Good table spot

Moxley with the belt baybay

Hoping this means AEW/NJPW parternship is a go

[Emperor Smeat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">DEATH RIDER!!!!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njwk14?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njwk14</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JonMoxley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonMoxley</a><a href="https://t.co/IKsQw9WMvw">https://t.co/IKsQw9WMvw</a> <a href="https://t.co/af6B00N0eY">pic.twitter.com/af6B00N0eY</a></p>&mdash; LARIATOOOO!! (@MrLARIATO) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrLARIATO/status/1213397923364519936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Evil Vito]

Death Rider is a much better finisher name than Paradigm Shift. If NJPW and AEW start a working agreement I hope he goes with the Death Rider name.

[Evil Vito]

Hoping Mox wins tomorrow to provide reassurance that he'll still be around NJPW for the coming year.

[Jordan]

Death Rider is a much better finisher name than Paradigm Shift. If NJPW and AEW start a working agreement I hope he goes with the Death Rider name.

Me too.

[Droford]

stealing Asuka's gimmick

[Emperor Smeat]

Hiromu's entrance jacket looks pretty cool.

[Evil Vito]

Ospreay better not hurt Hiromu

[Droford]

lol if he had a pirate hat on Ospreay would look like Kairi Sane

[slik]

lion on shoulder looks sick af

[DaveWadding]

Said a lil prayer for Hiromu's neck.

[Emperor Smeat]

Don't think anyone told Ospreay that this wasn't a Deathmatch since he's been trying to break Himoru's neck plenty of times already.

[Evil Vito]

christ

[Droford]

holy shit at Ospreay

[Triple A]

Cool...

[Emperor Smeat]

Holy crap, that whole sequence of moves was amazing.

Ospreay is great.

[slik]

whose the other commentator that isn't Kevin Kelly

[Jordan]

Well that was fucking insane.

[Evil Vito]

whose the other commentator that isn't Kevin Kelly

4 guys on commentary:

Kevin Kelly
Rocky Romero
Gino Gambino (Australian dude with the deep voice)
Chris Charlton (English dude who chimes in with historical context)

[Jordan]

whose the other commentator that isn't Kevin Kelly

Rocky Romero

[slik]

Is he British

[Droford]

ospreay missed that stomp completely

[Triple A]

This is freaking sweet

[DaveWadding]

What the fuck Hiromu

[Triple A]

lol this rules

[Droford]

crowd is really into this more than anything so far

[DaveWadding]

The sell on that Oscutter was great.

[slik]

This match is fucking great

[Emperor Smeat]

Wow at the air Hiromu got for the Pop-up powerbomb.

[Jordan]

I fucking love this match!

[Evil Vito]

These guys are maniacs.

[DaveWadding]

HIROMU HAS A FAMILY DAMMIT

[DaveWadding]

WON'T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF DARRYL, FFS

[Evil Vito]

What. A. Match!

[Jordan]

That was a mind blowing match. Amazing.

[Emperor Smeat]

:D Hiromu

That match was freaking amazing.

[DaveWadding]

Here lies Will Ospreay's neck.

[slik]

Fuckin great match

[Triple A]

Wow

[Evil Vito]

In what has become a WK tradition, 3.5 hours deep and the show has absolutely flown by.

2 matches left but both will likely approach 30 minutes as well.

[DaveWadding]

If this is over in an hour, I'm calling it an absolute win.

[slik]

Let's go OKADA!

[slik]

sick mask

[Droford]

I really hate jay white

[slik]

Let's go NAITO

[Triple A]

Thinking about how at the MSG NJPW show I was at, there was some black girl sitting in front of me who didn't react at all to a single thing on the show until Jay White came out, then she went "freaking insane" standing up and screaming and cheering for Jay White for the entire match...

[slik]

New Japan blends high flying action and in-ring storytelling so well

[DaveWadding]

this is it boys. NAITO 2 BELTS starts right here, right now.

[Emperor Smeat]

Thinking about how at the MSG NJPW show I was at, there was some black girl sitting in front of me who didn't react at all to a single thing on the show until Jay White came out, then she went "freaking insane" standing up and screaming and cheering for Jay White for the entire match...

Maybe all she wanted to do was Breathe with the Switchblade.

Considering the ROH stink during the show, don't blame her at all for being in a joyous mood after breathing in some quality Switchblade air.

[slik]

Gedo is a damn jezebel

[Evil Vito]

Feel like Vince will be too stubborn to ever stretch Mania out to two nights like this vs. making everyone sit through an 8 hour show.

[Emperor Smeat]

Feel like Vince will be too stubborn to ever stretch Mania out to two nights like this vs. making everyone sit through an 8 hour show.

Knowing him and WWE's habits, if they ever do that it would just be 6+ hour long shows and padded with way too many matches on both nights.

[slik]

Could 100% see WM being split into two nights eventually so WWE can double profits from attendance

[Jordan]

Oh my that suplex over the top onto the apron was sick!

[Emperor Smeat]

Yikes at the Saito suplex to the outside

[Evil Vito]

Knowing him and WWE's habits, if they ever do that it would just be 6+ hour long shows and padded with way too many matches on both nights.

I assume Takeover would be killed off (sadly) with NXT matches being added to the Mania cards instead.

[Emperor Smeat]

This match soo far has been way better than the last one they had for the IC belt.

[Emperor Smeat]

I assume Takeover would be killed off (sadly) with NXT matches being added to the Mania cards instead.

Either that or they push everything back a day to make room for Mania Night 2.

Would screw the indies big time since that's one less night to make some really good money. Might also have the problem of traveling fans not arriving early enough in big numbers since they'd need to arrive a day earlier in the week.

[Evil Vito]

Naitoooooooooo!!!!!

[Jordan]

Damn that was intense. Perhaps Naito will have his day!

[Emperor Smeat]

Naito vs White was very good overall.

The chance of a neck massacre happening on tomorrow's main event is now 50% more likely.

[Evil Vito]

Kind of love that Ospreay/Hiromu is being followed by this Naito/White match where they have to keep going for their signature moves multiple times because they've scouted each other well enough and wrestled each other enough that even hitting stuff like the Kiwi Crusher and Naito's flying forearm is a struggle.

[Jordan]

I'm getting tired! Gotta keep it up for the MAIN.

[Triple A]

Good match but the Ospreay match was really hard to follow

[Triple A]

Love Ibushi...................

[slik]

Let's go OKADA

[Triple A]

Seems cool that nobody has the cold or flu during cold/flu season for their biggest show of the year!!!

[Emperor Smeat]

Okada's entrance video was really cool.

Same for his entrance jacket.

[Evil Vito]

I actually feel better about Naito's chances if Okada wins tonight, not sure they'll put the belt on Kota just to take it away a night later. But who knows.

[slik]

Entrance of the night goes to Okada

[Triple A]

Ibushi... beautiful man

[Evil Vito]

Started to fade a bit during the middle of Naito/White but now on a second wind for this main.

Might try to nap for an hour or two as soon as this show ends though, if only so I don't crash and burn in the afternoon and mess myself up even more.

[Triple A]

Wide awake on my normal weekend schedule here, champions

[Emperor Smeat]

Okada is probably one of the very few guys who can make a very slow paced match not feel boring considering how well he kicks things into the next gear after a while.

Also he's been very effective at letting the crowd cool down from a hot match prior but not enough that it hurts his own match.

[Evil Vito]

I'll always pop for the Rainmaker cam

[Emperor Smeat]

Ouch at Okada's neck.

[Emperor Smeat]

Ouch at Ibushi's neck afterwards

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">FUUUUUUUCK <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njwk14?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njwk14</a><a href="https://t.co/IKsQw9WMvw">https://t.co/IKsQw9WMvw</a> <a href="https://t.co/K0itdSfHdr">pic.twitter.com/K0itdSfHdr</a></p>&mdash; LARIATOOOO!! (@MrLARIATO) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrLARIATO/status/1213427497125253126?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Evil Vito]

Ibushi's facial expression or lack thereof on those forearms was great.

[Emperor Smeat]

Psycho mode Ibushi is the best.

[Triple A]

Damn...