Quote:
Originally Posted by Noid
My thoughts. If you don't want to read them don't read them. They're not positive:
* Kevin Kelly doing his best to add to the conflict. Good stuff. Then he goes into the Meltzer scale. These guys are equally matched -- there's a good point there. Don't need to hear "5 and 3/4 stars" being uttered seriously though.
* Who is the third person on commentary? They fucking suck.
* Callis bringing up "7 stars." Fuck off. The goal of wrestling is not to have a good match. Your goal is to hype the product, sure, but hyperbole can make things inaccessible too. "The greatest match of all-time." It wasn't. Get people expecting that and they will be disappointed.
* "Is Kenny Omega the greatest IWGP Heavyweight Champion of all-time?" Fucking hell, Callis is awful.
* Naito charismatic as hell, by the way.
* "You can't escape." That's lame.
* Fuck, he did it twice. Hahahaha.
* Omega's doing the faces now.
* This has been very WWE style so far. Lots of spots that happen for the sake of doing the spots. Naito spat in Omega's face and then turned away. Omega holds up the mats so Naito can jump into him. It's lacking that fight psychology that I'm a huge fan of.
* Kenny with a springboard crossbody into the crowd. It feels like they've done this so many times before though. And indeed commentary points that out. Is there a secret to emotionally investing in this?
* I saw a move I really liked. Omega hit this delayed gutwrench powerbomb. Then that third dick on commentary has to make sure he inserts it's called "The Dr. Wily Bomb" and Callis is such an ass-crawler that he adjusts his call.
* I just can't understand how these string of moves doesn't feel repetitive to people in 2018. This is my exact problem with WWE.
* My thoughts keep going to Ziggler/Rollins. If that match happened in New Japan, it would probably be better. Or if Omega/Naito happened in WWE, it would be considered about on par with that.
* Callis finally makes a good call when he sees Naito's foot hooking the turnbuckle.
* You mean one finisher didn't do it?! No way! Destino is a silly move, by the way. Looks more effort to hit than a normal Reverse DDT.
* Why keep going for a move where you put yourself on the guy's shoulders for his move?
* Hahaha, Naito tried his silly finisher again and got dropped on his head. Maybe he's learnt a lesson?
* I think what bothers me about this spotty style is that when you know the moves are safe, as presumably the audience secretly does, then just doing a move and getting a two count is arbitrary. Anyone can do it. The artistry in a false finish is in knowing when and how to do a move that would normally get a three count yet doesn't. I don't think Kenny Omega has ever won a match with the Jay Driller. Maybe he has, but I don't expect that to be the finish of an Omega/Naito match. This would be like The Rock beating Austin with his Samoan drop.
* If I had to rank the match, and I use a cinematic 1-4 scale, with 4 being great, 3 being good, 2 being average, 1 being bad, and 0 being awful, I'd probably give it **. It really did feel like an "average match" by today's standards. The execution was good, and it did get the crowd into it, but the psychology and the story were just not there, despite Kelly trying to introduce it at the start. There was nothing from Naito or Omega that really added to that.
* I don't think modern wrestling is for me. It feels like TNA's X-Division has taken over the main event and is presented like serious drama instead of popcorn filler. I've watched a bit of 90's Japan recently, and the emotion and the drama hooked me instantly. It felt like there were great stakes. You hear that Japanese crowds are quiet. Not so when watching the stuff they really care about. None of that drama was mined here. This was a WWE-style match with WWE-style commentary. The presentation was great. It felt like they wanted it to have a sporting environment, but the sporting psychology was just not there. Most of the things (not everything) they did was crisp, but I just can't get into guys hitting obscure drivers and then being surprised when they don't get the win when there hasn't been at least two finishers in 2018. I really want New Japan to succeed, but it feels like more of the same. I don't think it's for me.
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I can totally understand why that match and other NJPW big matches lately remind you of WWE style. I like to call it American Crash style because they are still doing a much more edgy match than WWE does. I don't agree with all your opinions but they are valid and I appreciate you actually sitting down and watching to try it out.
There certainly is a new style creeping into NJPW that wouldn't jive with the traditional strong style NJPW built its foundation on. Strong Style Evolved? Sure that title works.
I could critique NJPW on pushing so many on-Japanese Stars right now, it doesn't
bother me but it's noticeable.
Omega says it all the time, he's not a great wrestler, that there are many better than him. He is a phenomenal talent that has enough wherewithal to understand what
he needs to do to have the best match possible. His matches stand out and when he is working with a guy who is a great wrestler (Okada, Natio) he's having phenomenal matches, the best in the world, he's evolving wrestling to something bigger.
On commentary... I used to really be harsh on Kevin Kelly but the more I get into the product the more I have to attribute that to him. His knowledge and education during commentary is fantastic. It is odd to hear wrestlers and announcers talk about match ratings, but that is a part of NJPW... Kenny's gimmick is "Best Bout Machine", and it draws big time for them. It works, and it's legit, a lot of people tune in to NJPW to see the best matches and they don't hide the fact that amazing matches is what sets them apart from WWE.
The commentator you don't like is Rocky Romero and I can totally understand why, he has no finesse. But for myself I do enjoy having him there to educate me on the characters and product.
The only concern I have for NJPW right now (and for the past 3 years) is that I don't see the next great Japanese superstar. They have to hang onto Tanahashi, and rightfully so, he's the legit ace of NJPW. They have Okada, Suzuki and Naito but beyond that I don't see the next guy, which is why there are so many non-Japanese stars filling the roster right now. I do agree that they should push the best talent they have regardless of nationality but I want to see the next great Japanese star. Any of you guys see that star on the horizon?