I don't watch New Japan for Lance Archer, that's for God damn sure.

Lance Archer is excellent.

"Aw, son of a BITCH!"

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We’ve been told by a few people on the street... Stardom will have a match at Wrestle Kingdom. We discuss on our most recent show .</p>&mdash; Super J-Cast (@thesuperjcast) <a href="https://twitter.com/thesuperjcast/status/1188554378015334400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Assuming its true, probably going to have a RevPro match featured on one night and a Stardom match featured on the other night.

Doubt ROH is getting their spot back since NJPW went with RevPro instead of them at this year's Wrestle Kingdom show and that was before everything that has happened since the G1 Supercard show.

Good for Stardom and all that, but even with the two shows it’s going to be tight getting everything in.

Depends on how many extra matches get added to the overall card since recent WK events have been 10-11 matches long and NJPW usually runs 7-9 matches for regular events.

If they do 7 per night, that's an extra 3-4 matches and plenty to pass around for their roster and partnership showcases. 8 per night might be overkill even with Liger getting two matches, 3 matches involving the IWGP and IC belts, and the extra partnership match.

I thought they’d be able to fit everything onto two nights of Wrestle Kingdom no problem but it sounds like they want all of the stars to work both nights so it’s not really going to alleviate much.

Based on a recent poll, a sizeable majority of NJPW's male fanbase supports the idea of women's wrestling being featured in the company while a vast majority of their female fanbase opposes the idea.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">this is a japanese poll result from <a href="https://t.co/TtI9V3SuHW">https://t.co/TtI9V3SuHW</a> RE: women in NJPW (hat tip to <a href="https://twitter.com/RockTheEytys?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RockTheEytys</a> on finding it). tbh the gender split here is pretty much exactly what i would have expected. men are more open to women in NJPW, but the vast majority of women are not <a href="https://t.co/Nf9mmj1JJ9">pic.twitter.com/Nf9mmj1JJ9</a></p>&mdash; john (@toshanshuinLA) <a href="https://twitter.com/toshanshuinLA/status/1188856057382215680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It does seem that women’s wrestling turns women off. Whether that’s because of its fetishistic undertones or because of the same principles that leads to women largely not enjoying women comedians and the like.

It’s not necessary and you can probably keep them separate except for a feature match here and there.

Chris Jericho vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for Night 2 of Wrestle Kingdom 14 just got announced during tonight's on-going Power Struggle show.

Jericho made the announcement via video where he beat up a bunch of people dressed as Tanahashi while they were doing Tana's air guitar shtick.

:lol: at everything that happened during the post-match of the Super Jr Tag finals.

NEVER Openweight title match was very good overall but also had arguably the worst looking GTS's ever done by KENTA.

IWGP Jr Heavyweight title match was great.

:D

Naito/White for the IC and Ibushi/Okada for the IWGP on night one of Wrestle Kingdom with the winners competing on Night 2 to crown a double champion.

Hiromu is still an absolute madman / sweet boy. :rofl:

I have missed him.

Ospreay really leaning into being the Kenny Omega replacement with that "mist extraction" spot. Almost thought he was going to plant one on Hiromu too.

To Goto is to suffer.

I'm still not into White, and I kind of hate that he's in he mix there because it would be so Gedo to have him be the guy to beat Naito and Okada to win it all, but at the same time I know he's going to lose, but there's a chance he won't and I hate it. I don't hate Jay White himself. It's more that I hate the concept of Jay White.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">THE DOUBLE GOLD DASH IS ON!<br><br>Double title match is set for night two of Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 5; winners of Jay White vs Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi on Jan.4 to meet in historic match.<a href="https://t.co/tJ83EVyyTG">https://t.co/tJ83EVyyTG</a><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/3ZxWpw0XCd">pic.twitter.com/3ZxWpw0XCd</a></p>&mdash; NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) <a href="https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1191597353867923456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The losers of those title matches will compete against each other for night 2's card.

Naito called it first.

Really hope he gets it.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/WillOspreay?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WillOspreay</a> got <a href="https://twitter.com/TIMEBOMB1105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TIMEBOMB1105</a> a new friend for Daryl, Carol, Daryl Jr. and Naoru... meet Percy! �� <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njwk14?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njwk14</a><br><br>➡️ <a href="https://t.co/nA6zFRMmxQ">https://t.co/nA6zFRMmxQ</a> <a href="https://t.co/aBDLpO84s1">pic.twitter.com/aBDLpO84s1</a></p>&mdash; TDE Wrestling (@tde_wrestling) <a href="https://twitter.com/tde_wrestling/status/1191605260797849600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I can see Okada/Naito happening, but I can also imagine Okada/White with Okada looking for redemption from last year. They could do that with either Okada beating Ibushi or not. I can imagine White beating Naito so that Okada and Naito can both win their matches.

World Tag League teams and schedule were announced yesterday. Competing this year (In order of importance):

DEATH PIRATE [EVIL / SANADA]
Guerillas of Destiny [Tama Tonga / Tanga Loa]
CHAOS [YOSHI-HASHI / Tomohiro Ishii]
Fin Juice [David Finlay / Juice Robinson]
Dangerous Tekkers [Taichi / Zack Sabre Jr]
Boom Thief [Colt Cabana / Toru Yano]
Suzuki-gun [Minoru Suzuki / Lance Archer]
Los Ingobernables [Shingo Takagi / Terrible]
Bullet Club [KENTA / Yujiro]
The Mighty Don't Elgin [Mikey Nicholls / Jeff Cobb]
The Area 51 Experience [Bad Luck Fale / Chase Owens]
Great Bash Heel [Togi Makabe / Tomoaki Honma]
TenCozy [Hiroyoshi Tenzan / Satoshi Kojima
Team DAD [Manabu Nakanishi / Yuji Nagata]
A Spade for The Ace [Hiroshi Tanahashi / Toa Henare]
LA Dojo [Hirooki Goto / Karl Fredericks]

Only the top four teams listed there really have a chance and I'm actually hoping EVIL and SANADA don't win. Instead, I want them to face each other at WK. Ishii has the most beef with Bullet Club right now and YOSHI desperately needs to win something so I'm pulling for CHAOS. Or GBH or Tencozy to help me out in Survivor. Look to Cabana and Yano for the upsets.

No Goto / Ishii super team could mean we're getting Goto vs KENTA at WK, unless Shibata manages to get cleared. It's not like Goto is a priority though, sadly.

Suzuki vs Shingo is also rumoured, we could see that develop here.

Cabana's presence was set up back in January, but he's a ROH guy never the less. Partnership isn't quite dead yet, and that could partly be because they don't want to lose Cobb. CMLL still in the mix with Terrible too.

As much as I enjoy EVIL and SANADA, them winning their tournament for a third year in a row right after R3K also won their tournament for a third year in a row won't exactly do much to dispel the opinion that Gedo totally phones it in with tag division booking.

According to this week's Observer Newsletter, NJPW is rumored to have been trying to get Kenny Omega banned from working in Japan for the next 10 years.

3rd time he's traveled to Japan since leaving the company and each time he was initially stopped from entering the country.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;When Kenny Omega went to Japan for the DDT show, he was stopped going into the country. It’s the third time this has happened since he left New Japan. Something happened where there was an attempt to get him banned from going to Japan for ten years.&quot;</p>&mdash; Trevor Dame (@TrevorDame) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrevorDame/status/1192617957299372032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That sounds a bit far fetched, isnt he a Japanese citizen? He had a big press conference about it last year.

Some of the speculation online is that he might not actually be a full citizen yet due to some of the rules Japan has for the process and might still be using his work visa that was sponsored by NJPW.

Ah, if that's the case then it's probably more down to Kenny trying to get in to work for DDT using a New Japan employment Visa and it's his own fault for not arranging a new one. I've seen people saying that the source on New Japan being behind it is Nick Jackson, so yeah.

Yeah its been a very odd situation overall.

Ya know, I've heard of people/companies holding a grudge, blackballing, starting a smear campaign, etc.

But going so far as to have someone blocked from entering a country for years is just nuts. That's if this rumor/story is true.

Now here's the thing. We know Kenny has a clause in his AEW contract in which he can continue to do some work for New Japan. They haven't called him, and I don't think Kenny's made an effort to call them. Why neither hasn't done anything is beyond me.

Based on what he's said in interviews, Omega wanted to be courted and seems like he was hoping New Japan would chase after him and offer him big money to come back and do marque matches with Ibushi or Okada once or twice a year. I'd say both sides feel slighted and neither will make the first move to repair the damaged relationship.

I wouldn't have thought 2019 New Japan would have anywhere near enough political pull to ban people from entering the country.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">One day I’m gonna have a lot of wild stories to tell about my 2019 that a lot of people won’t want to believe. But the truth is actually way worse than what’s been rumored and/or reported. Until then, one day until <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AEWFullGear?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AEWFullGear</a></p>&mdash; Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) <a href="https://twitter.com/KennyOmegamanX/status/1192928959694024705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Stumbled upon this earlier and need to share it.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pU_ZgiZ95l4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Wtf Makabe :rofl:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">����������There's a good chance you know that Satoshi Kojima enjoys bread. But just how much? We spoke to him to find out. ����������<br><br>Spoiler: It is a lot. He likes bread a lot. <a href="https://t.co/mYQNvkmuHQ">https://t.co/mYQNvkmuHQ</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/njpw?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#njpw</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREADCLUB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREADCLUB</a> <a href="https://t.co/n4fOiHS6Tz">pic.twitter.com/n4fOiHS6Tz</a></p>&mdash; NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) <a href="https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1199961976048214017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">No Honor Rising next year! <a href="https://t.co/6mE0g0nPJ7">pic.twitter.com/6mE0g0nPJ7</a></p>&mdash; Super J-Cast (@thesuperjcast) <a href="https://twitter.com/thesuperjcast/status/1199990878636367873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Observer held a recent interview with Kenny Omega and one of the topics discussed was the recent attempts to have him banned from entering Japan.

Turns out it wasn't anyone from NJPW who was trying to have him banned and instead just some random businessmen and possibly from NJPW's parent company.

According to NJPW president Harold Meij, the company hasn't closed the door on an AEW & NJPW partnership happening in the future.

He hinted NJPW will start considering the idea after AEW has had more time to establish a solid foothold and identity as a company. Once that happens, NJPW will have a better idea on how AEW could fit or complement their own style of wrestling for a potential partnership.

Link: https://www.foxsports.com.au/more-sp...6e368b44a36dc9

Looks like World Tag League is down to EVIL / SANADA and Juice / Finlay already. Gedo's booking of tag teams is truly baffling.

I haven't watched any due to them not having English streams. Will watch the shows coming up.

That could just be Meij doublespeak for "fuck those guys" though.

Bunch of cool moments at the finals.

Ibushi finally snapping and bludeoning dickhead Okada.
New Japan Moxley somehow being much cooler than AEW Moxley.
Dragon Lee is back.
Yano / Cabana making a Fale match fun.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We've been told Ryu (ex-Dragon) Lee signed a 1-year deal with New Japan</p>&mdash; Voices of Wrestling (@voiceswrestling) <a href="https://twitter.com/voiceswrestling/status/1203764037634396162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Wrestle Kingdom 14 card
 

Night 1


IWGP Heavyweight Championship -- Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
IWGP Intercontinental Championship -- Jay White (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship -- Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
IWGP United States Championship -- Lance Archer (c) vs. Jon Moxley [Texas Death Match]
IWGP Tag Team Championship -- Guerrillas of Destiny (c) vs. FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson)
Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Yoshi-Hashi) vs. Bullet Club (Kenta, Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Sanada, Evil, Shingo Takagi & Bushi) vs. Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & El Desperado)
Jyushin Thunder Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, The Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask vs. Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Ryusuke Taguchi


Night 2

IWGP Heavyweight Championship & IWGP Intercontinental Championship -- Winner of Okada-Ibushi (c) vs. Winner of White-Naito (c)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho
Loser of Okada-Ibushi vs. Loser of White-Naito
NEVER Openweight Championship -- Kenta (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
IWGP Heavyweight Championship -- Winner of Archer-Moxley (c) vs. Juice Robinson
British Heavyweight Championship -- Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Sanada
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship -- Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (c) vs. Roppongi 3K
Jyushin Thunder Liger & Naoki Sano vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Ryu Lee

Trying to think ahead with the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship booking for the new year...

Meltzer predicted that Naito ends up double champion with Okada eventually taking the titles and becoming double champ himself. When I think about it I think that is probably the best course for a great weekend of events and for the championship as well as the fan base who have been clamoring for a solid Naito run.

Moxley did say that he would be wrestling in Japan for as long as he is wrestling. Does that mean his loyalties lie there? I'm not sure. But I can say that I don't see him touring to the US with NJPW of America, because of AEW of course. So if that is the case then he should probably loose to Juice on Night 2. But is Juice a better draw for NJPW of America or Archer? Also if Juice wins the tag titles with Finlay then, is it a good idea to put the US Championship back on him?

I really feel like Jericho is due a big win in NJPW and this would be the time. He would be a great contender for Okada, Naito or Ibushi should they win the double titles.

I was a little disappointed with Liger's final match being a tag but at the same time, I'm sure it will be a fantastic opener and mean a lot, it will be a great moment.

Welp... I had no idea I would be led to believe I would want to see Dean Ambrose vs. Lance Hoyt in 2020, but here we are.

Would be funny if a Delta Airlines flight attendant makes a run-in.

Sooooooo, all that teasing with Shibata and KENTA, and it ain't happening.

Don't know if Shibata isn't cleared or doesn't want to fight. Or if they are keeping it super quiet and springing it at the last minute. But boy, I wanted to see that match.

If Shibata is actually cleared to wrestle again then I'd assume KENTA to retain against Goto and then they run a hot angle at New Years Dash or maybe even in the post match. I really hope so.

According to Stardom, Wrestle Kingdom 14 will feature a women's match from the promotion.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!<br>Stardom will have a match at Wrestle Kingdom 14!</p>&mdash; We Are Stardom (@we_are_stardom) <a href="https://twitter.com/we_are_stardom/status/1209453909594345475?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Only catch is that it won't air live on New Japan World or FITE and instead is just for the live audience.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">STARDOM will have a match at Wrestle Kingdom 14.<br>But it was announced that NO TV SHOW and we can see it only at TOKYO DOME.</p>&mdash; ゆか (@senayuka1011) <a href="https://twitter.com/senayuka1011/status/1209459365167583233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Happy Merry Christmas����<br><br>I received a &quot;DEATH RIDERS&quot; jacket as a gift from my master.(<a href="https://twitter.com/JonMoxley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonMoxley</a> )<br>Someday I will wear this again and be together.<br><br>I always climb the top of the harshest mountain with this jacket.<br>And there will be something at the end of the dream.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MOX?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MOX</a>×<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Shooter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Shooter</a> <a href="https://t.co/GrjByURXeQ">pic.twitter.com/GrjByURXeQ</a></p>&mdash; 海野 翔太〈Shota Umino〉 (@njpw_shota) <a href="https://twitter.com/njpw_shota/status/1209624962417512448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I assume they can’t air the Stardom match since a different network has their streaming rights.

That seems to be the speculation from Meltzer and others.

Meltzer even mentioned in last week's Observer Newsletter that if NJPW were to ever leave their current tv network, they'd lose the rights to most of the footage on New Japan World since the current tv network owns it due to how the laws work over there.

If Shota came to AEW...

According to the Observer Newsletter, the backlash from NJPW's female fanbase in regards to the Stardom match announcement at Wrestle Kingdom 14 was soo great that the company is reconsidering all their plans with the Stardom.

Guess the female fanbase didn't want their ogling time with NJPW stars being cut back because of Stardom.

Speaking of ogling, NJPW recently released their Top 10 Best Bodies in NJPW list.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The results of the first ever NJPW Concurso are in!<br><br>Have plenty to drink for the holidays, but still thirsty? ��<br><br>We reveal the top ten best bodies in NJPW below!<a href="https://t.co/bp12VTewLL">https://t.co/bp12VTewLL</a><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/jqaWGph1RD">pic.twitter.com/jqaWGph1RD</a></p>&mdash; NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) <a href="https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1210112052607344641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Lucky for SHO that his bowl haircut didnt factor in to the judging.

Well well well....

https://www.facebook.com/ChrisJerich...2662402592852/

Jericho will win

Also I'm pissed shitty impact buying AXStv to air their shitty wrestling is basically costing me being able to watch njpw (for free)

More reason to hope for Tanahashi.

*posted 3 months ago in response to Shota's excursion announcement.

Not exactly my dream, but close enough, I'll take it!!!

And I love the fact that he's at the bar. Presumably carving an hourglass into the countertop with knuckledusters.

Also, still would love to see the "unlikely" alliance of Mox, Shooter, and The Revival all rocking these jackets and taking over Japan.

I actually hope Tanahashi wins, just for the "unthinkable" nature of it. The man doesn't need to win the subsequent shot, but it would make for an unbelievable "what if" scenario that would get all the positive buzz if the match doesn't uncharactisically suck.

Even if they move all the mountains they would need to and the ultimate unthinkable scenario goes down, where Tana becomes the second AEW champion, would it be a legit recognized title reign? Or would Jericho pull a HHH and have the decision reversed and then *he* also has a championship match that "never happened"? It would make for a moment.

Or, in full conspiracy theory speculation mode, what if the whole thing is a swerve, and New Japan starts a working relationship with AEW, and Mox brings the US Championship here and Tanahashi takes the World Championship to Japan... and both are recognized as "outer promotional champions" instead of having to pretend the other place doesn't exist? New Japan's US contingent becomes an expanded roster of sorts for AEW, and some of them get the exposure and experience they otherwise wouldn't get in Japan.

I hope Tana wins now. I would really love to see Tanahashi and Jericho one on one on Dynamite or AEW PPV.

I am re-watching some of Dave's matches rated over 5 stars this year. I wanted to say Ospreay is amazing.

But with that said Takagi/Ospreay Super Junior Finals is the MOTY. It's like everything all in one match.

One thing that would make NJPW so much better to me would be if they would just subtitle everything for me that is spoken or written in Japanese so I can know everything.

Ospreay easily wrestler of the year. A similar year to Kenny in '18 but maybe even better.

My wrestling dream is that AEW and NJPW to end up working together. That they end up doing an invasion angle that actually works. They can invade both ways and they can do it for like a year or more. All leading up to a giant PPV at Jaguars Stadium, AEW vs NJPW.

I've yet to decide my plan for Wrestle Kingdom. I've watched live two years in a row now and those were on work nights, but I wanted to watch live because I didn't trust being able to stay spoiler-free all day.

With it being a weekend there's no reason I can't just fire up the show once I wake up...but I'll miss out on discussing the show live which has been a blast.

Been thinking the same thing. Either set the alarm clock at 2:30 and wake up. Or, just wake up, have a nice breakfast, and watch late and make a morning of it.

According to the Observer, the reason for NJPW's removal from AXS TV is due to them refusing an ultimatum from Anthem.

Anthem demanded them to start a working partnership with Impact Wrestling in order to keep their show on AXS TV or be punished.

NJPW refused and Anthem kicked them off the network as punishment.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">On the new Observer Radio, Dave outright says that Anthem told NJPW they could stay on AXS if they started a working relationship with Impact. NJPW said no and so they got the boot.</p>&mdash; Trevor Dame (@TrevorDame) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrevorDame/status/1212849386113228801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Think something weird and big is coming at Wrestle Kingdom. I don’t know why. Just got a feeling in my bones, I guess. And I’m not talking about a partnership with AEW. Think it’s more surreal.

New Japan really losing out double on that blackmail deal because now they wont be able to bring in hot fresh acts like.... uh... Disco Inferno? Rob Van Dam? Johnny Swinger?

Even if you discount the whole past relationship disaster, Impact has absolutely nothing to offer New Japan. Well, aside from a shitty TV deal apparently.

"What the hell are these Japanese fans doing in the Impact Zone?!"

"Is that... oh my God, it's Okato! The former X division competitor has returned to challenge Tessa Blanchard!"

Night 1 starts at 2 AM Eastern, Night 2 at 12 AM.

Damn. I have a bunch to do on Saturday so if I want to watch both shows live I'm basically gonna have to be up for a day and a half straight. MAYBE I can sneak a 2-3 hour nap in before night 2 if I'm lucky lol.

I really want to try and watch it live.

Assuming both shows are around 5 hours, Night 2 starting at midnight is great for me personally.

Wonder if NJPW did the different hours because they didn't want to burn out their US audience with three major early morning shows in a row.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This means a chance for (legit) over 40,000 <a href="https://t.co/GJez3JbOtU">https://t.co/GJez3JbOtU</a></p>&mdash; Voices of Wrestling (@voiceswrestling) <a href="https://twitter.com/voiceswrestling/status/1213168412685414407?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

When does it start, what time

2am Jack!

As discussed in other posts, Goto/Ishii vs Shingo/EVIL at New Years Dash was dope.

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NJPW is going to lose another Dad :(

Manabu Nakanishi retiring February 22nd

I didn't mind KENTA ruining Naito's crowning moment but leaving him laying on the mat at both WK and New Year Dash has me worried that only Gedo's boys get to be booked strong as champion. I get that the idea will be that Naito is gonna slap the piss out of him at New Beginning at least so it should be okay.

So unbelievably hyped for Suzuki vs Moxley. I'd like to see Ospreay going for the US title at some point too.

Nagata better be conducting interviews with others to quickly find a new fall guy for him for my TPWW NJPW Survivor's sake.

Nagata has already dumped Nakanishi and is teaming with Kojima on the New Beginning USA tour.

Nakanishi is teaming with Tenzan back in Japan... against Makabe and his numerous partners.

Also Nagata must have taken the news very badly because hes challenging Lance Archer in a singles match on the 26th.

I am going to cry when Nakanishi pins Makabe on the 25th.

Goto & Ishii NEED to win World Tag League this year :rant:

New Beginning cards announced, here are the matches of import:

The New Beginning in Sapporo, Night 1 (2/1/20):

NEVER Openweight Title: Hirooki Goto [CHAOS] (V1 defense) vs. Shingo Takagi [LIJ]
Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL
Kazuchika Okada/Jon Moxley [CHAOS/AEW] vs. Minoru Suzuki/Taichi [Suzuki-gun]
Tetsuya Naito/SANADA [LIJ] vs. Jay White/KENTA [Bullet Club]
Ryu Lee/Ryusuke Taguchi [Main Unit] vs. Hiromu Takahashi/BUSHI [LIJ]

The New Beginning in Sapporo, Night 2 (2/2/20):

Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] vs. Taichi [Suzuki-gun]
British Heavyweight Title: Zack Sabre Jr. [Suzuki-gun] (V? defense) vs. Will Ospreay [CHAOS]
Tetsuya Naito/SANADA/Hiromu Takahashi [LIJ] vs. Jay White/KENTA/Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]
Jon Moxley/SHO/YOH/Ryusuke Taguchi [AEW/CHAOS/Main Unit] vs. Minoru Suzuki/El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemaru/DOUKI [Suzuki-gun]

Road to the New Beginning (2/4/20):

Elimination Match: Kazuchika Okada/Will Ospreay/SHO/YOH [CHAOS] vs. Zack Sabre Jr./Taichi/El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemaru [Suzuki-gun]

Road to the New Beginning (2/5/20):

Elimination Match: Tetsuya Naito/SANADA/Hiromu Takahashi/BUSHI [LIJ] vs. Jay White/KENTA/Taiji Ishimori/El Phantasmo [Bullet Club]

Road to the New Beginning (2/6/20):

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Titles: EVIL/Shingo Takagi/BUSHI [LIJ] (V1 defense) vs. Hirooki Goto/Tomohiro Ishii/Robbie Eagles [CHAOS]

The New Beginning in Osaka (2/9/20):

IWGP Heavyweight/IWGP Intercontinental Titles: Tetsuya Naito [LIJ] (V1 & V2 defenses, respectively) vs. KENTA [Bullet Club]
IWGP US Heavyweight Title: Jon Moxley [AEW] (V2 defense) vs. Minoru Suzuki [Suzuki-gun]
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Hiromu Takahashi [LIJ] (V1 defense) vs. Ryu Lee [Main Unit]
SANADA [LIJ] vs. Jay White [Bullet Club]
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles: Roppongi 3K (SHO/YOH) [CHAOS] (V1 defense) vs. El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemaru [Suzuki-gun]
Manabu Nakanishi Final in Osaka-Jo Hall: Manabu Nakanishi/Yuji Nagata/Satoshi Kojima/Hiroyoshi Tenzan [Main Unit] vs. Togi Makabe/Tomoaki Honma/Toa Henare/Ryusuke Taguchi [Main Unit]

Tampa (January 24) --
Elimination match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Rocky Romero vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens & Jado
YOSHI-HASHI vs. Lance Archer
Jeff Cobb vs. Alex Zayne
TJP & Karl Fredericks vs. Colt Cabana & Toru Yano
Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Ren Narita & Alex Coughlin
Clark Connors vs. Misterioso

Nashville (January 26) --
Kota Ibushi, Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Rocky Romero vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Chase Owens & Jado
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Yuji Nagata vs. Lance Archer
Satoshi Kojima vs. Jeff Cobb
TJP & Clark Connors vs. Colt Cabana & Toru Yano
YOSHI-HASHI vs. Karl Fredericks
Ren Narita & Alex Coughlin vs. Alex Zayne & Misterioso

Durham (January 27) --
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Juice Robinson, David Finlay & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens & Jado
Ren Narita vs. Lance Archer
Jeff Cobb vs. Karl Fredericks
The Rock 'n' Roll Express & Alex Zayne vs. Colt Cabana, Toru Yano & Rocky Romero
Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Clark Connors & Alex Coughlin
TJP vs. Misterioso

Miami (January 30) --
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Rocky Romero vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens & Jado
Alex Zayne vs. Lance Archer
Jeff Cobb vs. Ren Narita
The Rock 'n' Roll Express vs. Colt Cabana & Toru Yano
Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Karl Fredericks & Alex Coughlin
YOSHI-HASHI & Misterioso vs. TJP & Clark Connors

Atlanta (February 1) --
IWGP Tag Team Champions Juice Robinson & David Finlay defending against Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
Kota Ibushi vs. Chase Owens
Jeff Cobb vs. Lance Archer
Hiroshi Tanahashi & The Rock 'n' Roll Express vs. TJP, Alex Zayne & Clark Connors
Colt Cabana & Toru Yano vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Jado
YOSHI-HASHI & Rocky Romero vs. Alex Coughlin & Misterioso
Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Karl Fredericks & Ren Narita

Any of y'all rednecks goin to see that Japanese rasslin?

The NJPW of America tour isn't as bad as I thought. You can't really complain about not enough Japanese stars with Tanahashi, Ibushi, Nagata and Kojima... Rock 'n Roll Express vs Yano & Cabana is going to be a must see! I wonder how NJPW will do with the multi-man and tag main events in the US. We here have been conditioned that a draw main event is a singles match for a championship or a big gimmick match so ... we shall see. I hope they can sell out or come close to each venue.

Also I just want to nut a little bit over the young lions group right now. Each and every one of them can be stars. Alex Coughlin sticks out to me because he is the new Dynamite/Benoit body type and he knows it. But literally all of them are amazing. NJPW will have even more amazing cards in 2-3 years as these young lions start rising against the old guard.

Kojima is a good fit for now since its only against Young Lions but he needs to find a different guy afterwards since Kojima might be higher on the pecking order than him.

Fully confident Nagata will dish out some Blue Justice to the Everybody Dies guy in case Nakanishi fails to take out Makabe.

New Japan has done a really good job fostering its own talent. They've almost got too much. We're at the point where guys like Ishii, Goto and Suzuki are almost afterthoughts, and they've got all these young lions coming up. Sanada and Ibushi are both trying to really find their spot in the established guard too.

I wouldn't be opposed to New Japan trying to do two Dome shows a year, or like another giant venue type thing. The Osaka Dome or something. I mean, I don't really know how that frees up the log-jam.

If it were any other dad I'd be skeptical but yeah Nagata would absolutely no sell death and put it in an armbar.

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I love how socially awkward all three of these guys are.

What the occasion?

Tokyo Sports awards ceremony, only the winners from each promotion attend which is why they have sat them on the same table but it exists in kayfabe so none of them are acting like theyre friends.

Ibushi's influenza illness reportedly is a lot worse than originally stated by NJPW.

https://i.imgur.com/7CpROIz.jpg

Guy can't catch a break.