Ishii vs. White was also amazing.

Winner of A Block:


Night 17 was great overall and one of the best nights of this year's tournament.

This week's NJPW Strong show was fine overall although nothing really worth watching if you missed the show.

I think Okada vs Shingo from A Block was my favorite match of the tourney so far but there’s been loads of fun ones. Happy with the A Block result. Now to have my hopes and dreams crushed to dust in B Block.

Hirooki Goto vs. Juice Robinson was very good.

Juice had some really good matches in this year's tournament.

Tanahashi vs. Sabre Jr. was also very good.

Sabre came very close to getting dropkicked in the nuts by Tana since Tana almost missed the leg he was targeting.

:lol: at the ending to Naito vs. KENTA.

That might have been KENTA's best match of this year's tournament though.

:lol: at Hiromu doing nothing to save his LIJ pal SANADA from the beatdown by Dick Togo and then when he finally decides to help, he gets quickly nailed in the nuts for his efforts.

Also :lol: at almost every B Block match tonight involved a roll up of sorts for the finish.

SANADA vs. EVIL was fantastic though. Way better than their prior match at the New Japan Cup tournament.

Winner of B Block and G1 Finals matchup:


Night 18 was entertaining overall but Gedo got really lazy with the booking of the finishes for the final B Block show.

G1 Finals....I'm in!

Really hyped about Osprey vs Okada though, don't think that match would disappoint at all!

Holy shit!

NJPW just announced that next year's Wrestle Kingdom will also be held over two nights like this year's event was.

That ending to the SHO & Okada vs. Great-O-Khan & Ospreay match was such a huge dud. Match itself was somewhat good but way below what SHO, Okada, & Ospreay are capable of.

Not even Okada's Cobra Clutch finisher got that much apathy from crowds.

Yikes at Ibushi almost seriously injuring his neck. The way he looked a bit dazed or lost afterwards and the commentators thinking he might have compressed his neck made everything look even more scary.

Ibushi vs. SANADA was amazing.

Last couple near falls was insane in sense of the kickout timings and even got the crowd pissed off at Red Shoes since they bit hard on the first one.



G1 Finals was very good overall. Undercard was fine to very good in terms of quality. Finals itself was amazing and was one of those Okada style matches where its extra long with the first half being mostly nothing special but then kicks into next gear and just ramps up huge in quality as it goes on.

I couldn’t believe when they were making the 20, 25, 30 minute calls. That flew by.

Ibushi definitely got fucked up early on. A number of spots afterwards that didn't go smoothly and looked a bit awkward.

It's a testament to both men's ability that it was still such a great match.

A good amount of NJPW's talent is like that especially some of their bigger name guys.

Also digging the new style.

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border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CGeihzSJUaB/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">STARDOM X NJPW ��⭐️��⭐️�� #G1Climax #NJPW #Stardom #TheEmpire</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/beapriestleypw/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Bea Priestley</a> (@beapriestleypw) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-10-18T07:52:46+00:00">Oct 18, 2020 at 12:52am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

I'm not even sure why SANADA wont just sign a contract at this point, unlike Ibushi and Suzuki he never really worked anywhere else once he started with New Japan and he doesnt seem to have a side hustle or anything else going on.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Full card revealed for Power Struggle November 7!<br><br>Six high stakes singles matchups!<br><br>Double IWGP title: EVIL vs Tetsuya Naito!<br><br>Tokyo Dome main event contract: Jay White vs Kota Ibushi!<br><br>US Heavyweight Contract: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs KENTA!<a href="https://t.co/BRqO4Zw45Z">https://t.co/BRqO4Zw45Z</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njpw?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njpw</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njpst?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njpst</a> <a href="https://t.co/KIkfT3iMJi">pic.twitter.com/KIkfT3iMJi</a></p>&mdash; NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) <a href="https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1318088148442697728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Full card revealed for Power Struggle November 7!<br><br>Six high stakes singles matchups!<br><br>Kazuchika Okada vs Great-O-Khan!<br><br>NEVER title: Minoru Suzuki vs Shingo Takagi!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KOPW2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KOPW2020</a>: Toru Yano vs Zack Sabre Junior!<a href="https://t.co/BRqO4Zw45Z">https://t.co/BRqO4Zw45Z</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njpw?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njpw</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njpst?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njpst</a> <a href="https://t.co/5ys8rmeCEj">pic.twitter.com/5ys8rmeCEj</a></p>&mdash; NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) <a href="https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1318088160891400193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That's...............................bland. Everything got rehashed from Summer Struggle with like 2-3 fresh matches.

And what business does ZSJ taking on Yano for that KOPW crap.

Yeah I loved the G1 but that Power Struggle card doesn't really entice me at all.

Hopefully they drop the G1 Tag League/BOSJ fields within the next 10 days so I can decide whether or not to take a couple months off before the Dome.

Got this recommended to me this morning...for once YT didn't lie to me!

<iframe width="1019" height="573" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Tuy-dsmheY" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This G1 has been an absolute goldmine for post-match promos, and this one from KENTA might be the weirdest and best of them all (Full version here: <a href="https://t.co/ANhClGbEIA">https://t.co/ANhClGbEIA</a>) <a href="https://t.co/GZtGjt6WEY">pic.twitter.com/GZtGjt6WEY</a></p>&mdash; Super J-Cast (@thesuperjcast) <a href="https://twitter.com/thesuperjcast/status/1318045574239637507?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

BOSJ I see at least seven locks: Ishimori, Himoru, BUSHI, Desperado, Kanemaru, SHO, and Taguchi. I'd probably call Master Wato a "most likely" despite a less than stellar return from excursion as this'll give him the chance to properly show out in matches. The last two spots would depend on if they're willing to bring some more people back, if so two of Phantasmo/Eagles/Rocky are options. Otherwise you've always got DOUKI around and you can probably dig up Tiger Mask if you gave to.

WTL you've got Dangerous Tekkers, The Empire, SANADA/Shingo, two Chaos teams between Yano/Ishii/Goto/YOSHI, and they're probably giving honorary spots to Tencozy and GBH. Juice/Cobb seems like a possible team unless they're bringing David Finlay back. With travel in mind, G.O.D I figure will be back if allowed. If not, there's still gonna be a Bullet Club team and they have Switchblade/EVIL/KENTA as options....orrrrr it could just be one of them saddled with Yujiro who eats all the pins.

Only thing I don't know is if the Golden Aces will be involved, they've kept announced Dome match participants out of WTL in recent years and hopefully Kota will retain the briefcase after Power Struggle. Almost wonder if they'll revisit the Tana/Okada dream team and have them in the finals against Empire.

Only thing about Eagles is if he comes back, will he also leave Chaos and hook up with Ospreay and do Birds of Prey for WTL and leave O-Khan out. Or leave Chaos, stay lightheavy and be the rep for Super Jrs.

He's in a tricky spot right now.

There's no way Eagles is going heavyweight, so I think Birds of <strike>War</strike> Prey were kind of dead as soon as Ospreay made the transition. I could see him becoming the Jr rep of Ospreays group and feuding with SHO until YOH comes back. Then YOH is totally going to turn on SHO and join Ospreay too. SHO is due a good singles push and Kamatsu / Robbie could become an offshoot tag team.

Robbie was quite well received as a baby though so maybe he stays with CHAOS, but then hes pretty much going to be treading water unless Ospreay recruits somebody for the Jr division.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Looking for something a bit spicier in your face mask?<br><br>How about one featuring a picture of Tana's abs?����<br><br>Grab this new face mask today!<a href="https://t.co/5VvNyQ3dab">https://t.co/5VvNyQ3dab</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njpwshop?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njpwshop</a> <a href="https://t.co/bUyburqRyW">pic.twitter.com/bUyburqRyW</a></p>&mdash; NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) <a href="https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1318612952157544449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That's just creepy.

This week's episode of NJPW Strong was fine overall. Nothing really worth going out of your way to watch if you missed the show though.

Long singles matches in an empty arena setting is still a big downside to these types of shows and the Jay White vs. Rocky Romero match from tonight was no exception. Dragged at times due to the lack of crowd reactions and them stretching it out to almost 15 minutes long.

NJPW Strong show this week was pretty good. None of the matches dragged in quality and was also one of the shortest episodes in series history at around 40 minutes long.

Probably would be more into this Finlay vs. KENTA feud for the IWGP US title case if NJPW didn't already book a Tanahashi vs. KENTA match for the case at next week's Power Struggle show.

NJPW announced the field for this year's Best of the Super Jrs. tournament.

Biggest change is only 1 block and 10 guys are competing instead of 2 blocks and 20 guys total.


Meanwhile a one-night Super J-Cup tournament will be held in the US this December.

El Phantasmo will probably go back to back Super-J Cup wins. Unless someone gives him a run for his money.

Piggybacking on that, I'm surprised he's not getting on a plane and doing the BOSJ. It sure ain't going to have that magic like last year going from 20 guys to 10.

Suzuki vs. Shingo match at Power Struggle was amazing.

Every one of their recent bouts has been nothing less than a brutal hard hitting war between the two.

:lol: at Will Ospreay's new British upper class snobby look.

Ospreay just challenged Okada to a match at next year's Wrestle Kingdom event.