Way behind.

Gonna try and catch up before WK.

On Destruction in Fukushima right now.

Tanahashi's theme is so fucking terrible.

RIP High Energy

2002 HBK level bad hair as well.

Felt safe and warm looking at Tanahashi's divine locks.

Now I only feel cold and empty.

Katsuya Kitamura is going to be a star. Look screams WWE, and I could see them trying to sign him.

for posterity

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Good match though. I fucking love ZSJs offence.

He was in a tag match.

Is there a Zack Sabre match on Detruction in Hiroshima?

Yeah, ZSJ V Tanahashi is the main event. But you're right, Hiroshima one not Fukushima...

Cool. Look forward to that one.

Is Yoshinobu Kanemaru officially NJPW now, or is he just a a guest through Suzuki Gun?

I don't think he's got a long term deal with NJPW, just paid for appearances.

Tanahashi is such a good babyface, and I try to ignore that they changed his theme.

The Jay White stuff is weird. I haven't seen much of him, but I don't "buy" him yet. But then again New Japan are good at making stuff stick. They went hard with Okada and it worked.

I wonder if the Switchblade stuff is kind of...Japanese. He reminds me of the kind of girlish bad-asses they have in anime sometimes. Kind of effeminate and ""pretty," but presented as dangerous. I dunno.

Tanahashi suffered a knee injury yesterday during a World Tag League show and got pulled from the rest of tournament's shows. NJPW doesn't know how serious it is at the moment nor if its going to jeopardize his match at Wrestle Kingdom 12.

That's actually a really good call. I don't watch enough anime to know if that's a trope a guy can have as well, but that sort of character makes total sense in my head.

Not sure if that works with real people, however, but at least I can almost see what they were going with now.

There's the Bishonen psychopath trope but even they tend to look batshit insane when they're not putting on the pretty boy act.

Yeah, don't know if it would work in real life, but maybe that is what they're going for.

For god sake, let Tanahashi rest. Give him time off until Wrestle Kingdom, let him work that match, put over the young guy and then give him time off until the G1 or whatever.

World tag league finals US Title Match spoiler

Also, video version of the original spoiler I put up available:

So the updated WK12 card:

Well, guess that settles it about the 6-man belts.

Roppongi Friends makes sense as a trio, don't know if they'd bring back Chuck so soon though. Or they could do War Machine & Cobb. There's an awful lot of regular, higher "priority" guys without a spot on the card though. Might as well make it a clusterfuck trios everywhere spotfest.

Don't give a fuck about how Jericho has slowed down in the ring. He is awesome.

Honestly, this version of the Jericho character just comes across as an older and slightly bitter version of his original cocky bastard character, with a couple of WWE catchphrases thrown in. I really enjoyed what happened during the Tag League final and the press conference after.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;You attacking me from behind while distracting me with a video. Well, that's something you'd really see on an episode of Monday Night Raw, isn't it? And that was my mistake, not to expect that... Chris, you're officially smarter that me. I never saw it coming.&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NJWK12?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NJWK12</a> <a href="https://t.co/dJ01QqkENp">pic.twitter.com/dJ01QqkENp</a></p>&mdash; Michael Sempervive (@Sempervive) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sempervive/status/940468927372627969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/KennyOmegamanX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KennyOmegamanX</a> just attacked <a href="https://twitter.com/IAmJericho?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IAmJericho</a>! The war is on! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AlphaVsOmega?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AlphaVsOmega</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njwk12?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njwk12</a> <a href="https://t.co/T3TRyz6Tff">pic.twitter.com/T3TRyz6Tff</a></p>&mdash; TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) <a href="https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/940472977476456448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">They had to restrain <a href="https://twitter.com/KennyOmegamanX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KennyOmegamanX</a> and then <a href="https://twitter.com/IAmJericho?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IAmJericho</a> threw a damn table at him! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njwk12?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njwk12</a> <a href="https://t.co/93bbi531BA">pic.twitter.com/93bbi531BA</a></p>&mdash; TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) <a href="https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/940478294176223232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Think I might actually get World for WK12 now.

Seems more unpredictable and vicious. So it's a good thing.

Like the mannerisms are of a mean, motherfucker.

so I just need NJPW World to see this live?

Yes since at the moment NJPW is not willing to have it on PPV outside of NJPW World. AXS TV will have a special replay of the event 2 days later though.

Only issue is if your going to buy a month of World, do it at the start of January and not this month to prevent getting billed twice within a month's span. They bill on the first of every month and not on the day you activate a subscription.

Jericho is going to "deliver" in New Japan. It's a bit different in the WWE when you've been there for so long and half the things you are doing are for comedy.

Yeah, there's part of me that wonders how much he slowed down just because he can get away with it and is smart enough to realise that people are going to remember the festival of friendship more than a good match. Whereas in Japan, he match quality will be remembered.

Hell, if he goes all out, we'll see how glld DDP Yoga is!

Yeah, like a cocky fucker who just got found out because Omega has been better than his entire career (kayfabe), so he'll do anything to prove he's the best in the world at what he does.

Might make a top 10 njpw matches thread, since there are people here grabbing nj world for wk12. Gonna have to rewatch a bunch of stuff to refresh my memory though.

I think the one knee code breaker looks better. Seems like with the other leg down it carries more force coming down, doesn't look as awkward to perform either.

Hell you could do top 10 matches of 2017 and it would tie into the WK12 interest. Alot of great match out of NJPW this year.

Easily.

Want to give love to all eras though. Well most. The mma era can die in a fire.

I like the Juice/Finlay pairing.

Wow that 1 knee codebreaker is sick af.

This KUSHIDA vs Desperado match is really good.

KUSHIDA deserves to be in the discussion for best wrestler in the world. Feel like he gets dismissed because he's a junior, but he's soooooooo good.

Desperado channeling his buddy Zach and stretching the shit out of KUSHIDA.

Mask spot was clever. Never seen a heel purposely take his mask off to buy time.

Wow, great transition into the hoverboard lock.

Even better transition into the finish. Great match.

Zach vs Tana next.

I was already interested in Cody/Ibushi, but I actually think there's even more intrigue behind it now that it's no longer for the ROH title. Didn't really see Ibushi taking the strap.

Also this means if they continue their recent history of shoehorning the ROH title onto the undercard, Dalton Castle will be at Wrestle Kingdom which would just be fantastic.

Screw putting Yano in the inevitable 6-Man Title match, give me Yano vs. Castle.

TANAHASHI WHY

https://i.imgur.com/25DLYzz.gif

Still better than his Ibushi haircut.

Gonna do a midnight live PPV watching for this. Got my buddy who is solely into WWE/TNA to want to watch with me.

Either he's embracing his inner Brian Pillman or his flowing locks were the key to his sanity.

Well, they've gone the clusterfuck route for the NEVER 6-Man Belts. 5 team gauntlet:

Bullet Club (Fale and G.O.D)
vs.
Taguchi Japan (Taguchi, Juice, Makabe)
vs.
Suzuki-gun (ZSJ, Iizuka, Taichi)
vs.
Chaos (Yano, Ishii, Beretta)
vs.
Bearded White Guys (Elgin and War Machine)

Is he auditioning for Annie?

wtf

Will this be Suzuki's last match?

It's a christmas miracle!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DRyzjUJUIAA7d8c.jpg

They've sold 30,000 tickets now. Last years attendance was 26,000 and they did a ton of business at the gate.

Kind of think it would be really cool if Jericho won the US strap. I feel like everyone is expecting an Omega win, but Jericho winning would throw everything into chaos. That's obviously if they can get him back for more dates, even if it is later in the year.

NJPW debuting a new game the day before Wrestle Kingdom 12 according to their fan event schedule.

Probably going to be another Japan-only mobile game like the past couple were.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Buried in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njwk12?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njwk12</a> fan fest schedule 'Announcement about New Japan Game' <a href="https://t.co/ea6dpaWuN8">pic.twitter.com/ea6dpaWuN8</a></p>&mdash; chris charlton (@reasonjp) <a href="https://twitter.com/reasonjp/status/945243818147831808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2017</a></blockquote>
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https://i.imgur.com/CfcIR89.jpg

Yeah, Jericho tends to do the unexpected as well. Like when he beat KO for the belt even though he was leaving.

I can't fucking wait for this show.

Someone help me watch things on NJPW World before Thursday.

So when is this show? Interested in seeing Jericho. Not really interested in anything else.

the 4th, early in the morning

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...htmlview#gid=0

The darker highlighted ones are the best matches and it's all sorted by date, so scroll to the bottom for matches this year. Not been updated with he world tag league stuff yet though

Hello minions.

As some of you may be aware, I am the most knowledgable member of the TPWW wrestling forum.

However I have a blind spot for Japanese wrestling. Seen a lot of stuff about
this Wrestle Kingdom.

For someone who doesn't really care for wrestling anymore/hasn't watched in a long time, would it be worth me watching? Is it 7 hours long like I hear wrestlemania is nowadays?

Depends. Do you think jericho matches have delivered in the past...15 years? If yes...sure...its only 899 yen. Wait for the next day and watch it in delay. Its a good card if you like inring product. If you like spectacle and gimmicks then pass on it.

It's like 5 hours, but has an actual intermission. The card also ramps up gradually unlike Wrestle mania, so the end matches are the bigger events rather than peppering in "main event matches" throughout the hours.

It's worth giving a shot, especially if you're not working because UK time for Japanese events works out great.

You goddamn beautiful man.

Yes but if you only really care about a few matches, best to catch the latter half of the event. Usually NJPW events have the first half be mostly multi-man or tag stuff and the second half having all the real big and hyped up matches.

I remain cautiously optimistic.

Im wondering whether I should get up at 5 am (a normal time for me to get up so it wouldnt be odd) to try and watch this (having to pay for NJPW World) OR just wait and watch it for free on AXS in a couple days.

New Legacy have confirmed that they're doing a commentary on their Discord server for WK12 as well. Always find it more entertaining than KK/Don or commentary in a language I don't understand.

https://discord.gg/0mQSmL3d9DyAZ8Nl

I'm planning on getting up and watching live. The bigger question is whether or not I call in sick or just "tough it out" and go in to work late.

Probably depends on if I can get enough sleep in before the 3 AM alarm goes off.

Its 2018...I cant understand why you wouldnt just watch to your own schedule...

You arent a slave to time slots anymore

For one, I'd like to be able to discuss the show in real time with others I know will be watching.

Beyond that, short of me staying off of here, FB (multiple friends will be watching), Twitter (again follow a lot of people who will be watching), etc. throughout the day I'm almost certainly gonna see spoilers.

No matter how good a wrestling match is, if you go into it knowing the outcome you're never going to enjoy it as much as you would watching with a clean slate. That's just fact.

Case in point, Okada/Omega at WK11 was unbelievable. But I went into it knowing it'd be 45 minutes and that Okada was going over. So as much as I enjoyed the match, none of the false finishes meant anything to me because I knew the outcome.

It's not hard to avoid spoiler for 8 hours. I BELIELVE IN YOU

Call in sick so we can text about it in real time.

Just gonna leave this here

https://i.imgur.com/ZCnDA4S.png

https://i.imgur.com/MSsISrO.png
Story mode. Start as young lion, and work your way to IWGP champion

https://i.imgur.com/Nsy5uJ5.jpg

It's neat, but I'd rather have had variety and a new game. I miss the days of playing Fire Pro, then stopping to fire up KOC2 or No mercy or Day of Reckoning 2.

I've always thought that a video game would be a great way to increase their exposure. If they make it a genuinely good quality game, reviewers will draw those links between the New Japan and WWE product.

Fire Pro is already out on PC and is an absolutely fantastic game. However, it is 2D sprite based so it will never be flashy enough to appeal to a wide user base.

It always makes me smile that little Fire Pro outsold WWE 2k18 on PC though, by 11,000 and counting so far. And that was before the NJPW mode.

And Fire Promoter mode.

Honestly I'm more excited about the attention this will bring to Fire Pro than the other way around.

Yeah totally, should do wonders for the visibility of the game especially by the time it hits PS4. Wonder if they'll translate the story mode. If not, I guess someone will.

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I highly doubt it won't be. Both Spike and NJPW are pushing hard to break into the western market. From the beginning they stated east and west will be given the same content.

That reminds me, they only touched on it briefly, but on the 8-4 Play podcast (a podcast by Americans working in the game industry in Japan), they actually had a guest on who has been recently employed by New Japan as part of a team that is now subtitling their YouTube and Social Media output in English, so you're right, they are pushing it.

Plus they've been really hands on with the fans over here, holding twitch stream chats, responding on the steam forums, giving us specific stuff we've asked for, and being genuinely appreciative of the fans.

They know how much the western fans want this. Plus they said Fire Promoter is one of two major game modes that they had to make paid DLC due to budget issues. Modders discovered code for a story mode. So I'm guessing that's the second, with any official NJPW edits, moves and parts being free, as they stated nothing like that would cost extra, as they don't want to divide the workshop.

Guessing the PS4 version will be the "full version" and will cost whatever the PC + DLC costs.

I think they said they were aiming for $29.99 on Steam, so I would imagine a $39.99 package for PS4 with the licensing fees and all.

Sweet, I'm almost caught up with work for once. Working from home tomorrow might just be on call unless something comes in so I can sit and enjoy WK12 while doing not much else.

They haven't stated the price of DLC on PC but I can't imagine it will be more than 15 for each one.

Thinking 10 dollars for each, with the season pass being 15.

That makes sense, it launched at $20 so it wouldn't be far off $30. They'll probably then make the "complete package" version $29.99.

Definitely rocked out to Suzuki's theme on the drive into work this morning.

Well this is a big day for me! I get annually excited for two shows a year and this is one of them! I just bought New Japan World and have coffee and tea ready for the night. Well not ready, I'll make it fresh. I don't have work tomorrow so I have no excuse not to mark out to the inner wrestling fan in me and stay up all night like a kid and watch some good matches.

I'm still not sold on that Naito is winning the belt. I think they're all-in with Okada being the guy. I can see Okada winning and LIJ turning on Naito to give him something to do. Still see Jericho winning the US Title and giving them reason to do a return match, even if it happens as late as Jericho's boat thing in August, or even in ROH.

I DON'T think Okada will go the whole year as champion, but I see someone else getting it at one of the New Beginning shows or Dominion or something, and Okada to possibly win it back by the year's end, or to go on to win the G1 and challenge for it at the Tokyo Dome.

Just think that Okada is "the guy," and Naito is the cool outsider edgy popular guy, like Shinsuke Nakamura sort of was. My prediction for a guy to win it off Okada is actually Ishii, because he's awesome. While I think they want to expand into the US, I don't think they want to isolate their national fanbase, and I think Ishii has enough cred in both locations.

Or Brock Lesnar when his WWE contract expires.

According to NJPW, they sold over 32k tickets for Wrestle Kingdom 12 with the amount to go up once the walk-in sales are included after tonight's show.

so this is at 2am? Does New Japan World have a trial?

Im not completely against an Okada win, but I would prefer Naito. No one is hotter than Naito and LIJ right now. Not Bullet Club, not Omega, not Okada. Nobody. And if Okada's reign ended tonight, it would still be hailed as one of the greatest of all time. Ending it at the biggest event of the year to a guy who has had a remarkable journey to this moment and is flaming hot, is the perfect cap to this reign in my opinion.

Extending okada's reign would not benefit in any way that is worth sacrificing how great of a moment Naito's win would be. And the guy is more than good enough to take that moment and run with. He's one of the best wrestlers in the world, and he is absolutely worthy of ending okadas epic reign.

2AM for the pre-show, 3AM for the actual card.

No but they do put past matches from shows for free every week as a replacement. Same for their Youtube channel showing free content from their network service.

Also, wouldn't put too much money on an Ishii title win. I love him, but He's not what they typically look for in a world champion, and he works really well as an upper midcarder. Then theres the fact that he's getting up there in age. Age doesnt work here the same as it does in the states, where being old gives you super powers that let you squash someone half your age, despite having 3 hip replacements and faberge eggs for knees. An older vet can typically still beat on young lions, but he's going to be doing a lot of selling, and eating a lot of pins against younger big names, because realistically experience can only carry you so far. And Ishii is approaching that age where he won't even be a likely contender for the IC belt.