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People were shitting on the G1 before it happened because the field is a lot weaker this year than what NJPW usually trouts out, especially B Block.
Whatever books you must be reading must be boring as hell or short picture books since you seem to keep coming back to TPWW in record times after all complaining and garbage you've been spewing these past few months about the place and wrestling fans who like things you don't. |
I’ve been here less and less and less. Easy to try and ignore that when it’s more convenient to just say “record time,” which is a blatant lie. I used to visit this board fucking daily, man.
The G1 field being weaker is purely subjective. What is weaker? Too many aces in a fucking tournament is boring and exhausting. You’re going to get great matches out of this G1, if that’s your thing. You’ve already gotten one. Tanahashi and Okada are wrestling again. It’s not doom and gloom because things are going to actually be paced out more reasonably. It can help the overall presentation of things. If every match was Shingo and Ishii, why the fuck do you want to see Shingo and Ishii anymore? |
Tanahashi vs. Okada was great.
SPOILER: show In terms of comparisons, Night 1 > Night 2 by a lot but Night 2 had a couple really good G1 matches. If you want more thoughts about Night 2 or the rest of this year's G1, ask TPWW's resident dipshit above since his tastes and thoughts are the only thing that matter these days based on how he's been acting. Everyone else is either babies, sheep, or whatever other garbage he spews these days if its a different opinion than him or they are having too much fun watching wrestling he doesn't like or actually watch. |
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My takes are usually spot-on, people insult the shit out of it for not falling into line with them, then I’m right and people never learn. Here is the final criticism consensus of the G1 for you to echo later: “The tournament turned out to be pretty good all things considered. Not as good as other years, but what could be? And there’s Covid. But in the end they had enough good workers in there to have some great matches and make the tournament worthwhile.” Look forward to hearing it. :y: |
I know I said before that I wasn't going to bother with my thoughts for the rest of this year's G1 tournament because of the dickhead above but HOLY SHIT at the ending of Night 5.
SPOILER: show |
You gotta build up ZSJ to that Danielson match that is obviously happening.
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Came up with a Wrestle Kingdom card in my head the other day:
* Shingo vs. Okada for the World Title * Tanahashi vs. Mox for the US Title * Danielson vs. Suzuki * Omega vs. Ibushi Good stuff there for that audience. |
My boy Chase with a big win!!!!!!!!!!!! Haha.
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Wrestle Kingdom Cards:
Night 1 IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (C) [L.I.J.] vs Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] IWGP Jr Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (C) [Suzuki-gun] vs Hiromu Takahashi [L.I.J.] IWGP Tag Team Championships: Zack Sabre Jr and Taichi [Suzuki-gun] vs Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] NEVER Openweight: Tomohiro Ishii (C) [CHAOS] vs EVIL [Bullet Club] Special Singles Match: Katsuyori Shibata [Main Unit] vs X Tetsuya Naito, SANADA and BUSHI [L.I.J.] vs Jeff Cobb, Will Ospreay and Great O-Khan [United Empire] Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero [Main Unit/CHAOS] vs KENTA, El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club] YOH [CHAOS] vs SHO [Bullet Club] King of Pro Wrestling Rumble Night 2 IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Takagi or Okada (C) vs Will Ospreay [United Empire] IWGP US Championship - No DQ: KENTA (C) [Bullet Club] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [Main Unit] Tetsuya Naito [L.I.J.] vs Jeff Cobb [United Empire] SANADA [L.I.J.] vs Great O-Khan [United Empire] NEVER 6-Man: EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi and SHO (C) [Bullet Club] vs. YOH, Goto and YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] IWGP Jr Tag Team Championships: Robbie Eagles and Tiger Mask IV (C) [Main Unit/CHAOS] vs Rocky Romero and Ryusuke Taguchi[Main Unit/CHAOS] vs El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club] King of Pro Wrestling Four Way (the final 4 from the previous night's Rumble) Stardom Match: Starlight Kid and Mayu Iwatani vs Saya Kamitani and Tam Nakano |
Night 1 looks damn solid. Night 2 looks like train wreck.
Has the night 3 NJPW vs. NOAH card been announced? |
Disappointed in the amount of tag matches there. Really would have liked to see a couple more singles matches. Keno vs Takagi would have been fantastic. Instead it seems like they're doing the wrestlemania thing of quantity over quality.
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It's about what I was expecting really. Feel like people expecting marquee singles matches were ignoring the realities of the politics.
As it is it is pretty obvious who is eating the pin in most of these. |
Fucking waste of Go Shiozaki.
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:lol:
KENTA jumps to NOAH for one night only. Him vs. one of NOAH's best would have been a good idea. |
Very good for NJPW to be back on AXS TV again in March. I tried to watch Night 1 of WK but it was so late and it felt like the same show I've seen for the last 7 or so years basically just without any great American talents.
I cannot in any way see NJPW getting as hot as it was in the US previously without The Elite, and at this point that is so not happening. I feel that Japanese wrestling in general is in a huge rut. |
I will def check out their first ep back on AXS for sure
Hope Sanada and ZSJ are on it |
It’ll be interesting to see if the AXS deal comes with some sort of exclusive deal with Impact Wrestling.
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So Naito and Okada are gearing up for more... I just can't with the rematches. This whole company is like the Cena/Orton feud. It's good matches sure but come the fuck on already.
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Sounds like the Tanahashi/Kenta match was something unique. Gotta see that one.
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Anyone watch the NJPW/NOAH show? Thoughts?
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I wonder what this AXS deal means for New Japan’s working relationships in the United States? Part of the reason for them leaving the network was their one-time resistance to working with Impact Wrestling, right?
It’d be interesting if Impact becomes the exclusive US partner of New Japan and uses that as leverage in negotiations with talent. Anthem showing up, lol. |
Finished night 1. Pretty sub par, tbh.
YOH vs SHO lacked any of the heat that tag team break ups usually do in njpw. Felt like just another match. Cannot even begin to describe my disappointment in Ishii vs Evil. A never title match at wrestle kingdom, and we get this overbooked, steaming pile of gobbledygook. The old school Never title wars are truly dead and gone. Jr and Heavy title matches were great, but then, they were always going to be. Going to peep night 2 tonight. 2niiiiiiiiiiite |
Juice Robinson had said he wasn't re-signing with New Japan and was teasing retirement......instead he turned up at Dontaku, joined Bullet Club and announced he was coming for Tana's US title.
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Best of Super Junior field announced:
A BLOCK: Ace Austin (Impact) Alex Zayne (Main Unit) Clark Connors (Main Unit) Francesco Akira (United Empire) Hiromu Takahashi (L.I.J.) Ryusuke Taguchi (Main Unit) SHO (Bullet Club) Taiji Ishimori (Bullet Club) YOH (CHAOS) Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-gun) B BLOCK: BUSHI (L.I.J.) DOUKI (Suzuki-gun) El Desperado (Suzuki-gun) El Lindaman (Stronghearts) El Phantasmo (Bullet Club) Master Wato (Main Unit) Robbie Eagles (CHAOS) Titan (CMLL) TJP (United Empire) Wheeler Yuta (AEW) I have to say, that's a pretty nice list with a lot of fresh matchups. I've fallen out of NJPW recently but this feels like something that makes me want to jump back in. |
Looks a bit indyriffic
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Yeah, looks pretty bad, lol.
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I liked Juice Robinson as a babyface floating around. Him joining the Bullet Club just feels passé at this point. I guess it might mean David Finlay will have something to do. It’s just…eh.
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They've been doing that babyface act for several years now. This at least gives them both something new and fresh to sink their teeth into.
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I don’t know if you can call the Bullet Club fresh. But I do hear what you’re saying. Heel Juice Robinson though? Hmm. Not feeling it. Maybe he will wow against Tanahashi?
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Gedo has been booking for such a long time. He’s one of the best and this is quite a legendary stretch, when you think about it — but he must be getting burnt out.
Shingo Takagi has gone from World Champ to KOPW in a few months. Isn’t that like their 24/7 Title? |
Or could some of New Japan’s “messiness” (for lack of a better term) be caused by Dick Togo allegedly getting more power?
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I think Gedo's booking has been questionable for a few years now.
Omega's departure was not handled well, and the IWGP scene has suffered ever since. Hoping a good long Okada run can help boost it back up. |
Out of boredom I'm starting to think about a possible G1 field since it's back in the normal summer timeframe.
First off, the following guys from last year's G1 feel like locks to return: 1 - EVIL 2 - Hiroshi Tanahashi 3 - Jeff Cobb 4 - Kazuchika Okada 5 - Shingo Takagi 6 - Taichi 7 - Tama Tonga 8 - Tetsuya Naito 9 - Tomohiro Ishii 10 - Toru Yano 11 - Zack Sabre Jr. I wouldn't have had Tama as a lock to be in this but given he just won the NEVER belt and precedent seems to be for all the current and recent singles heavyweight champs to be in, I'd be surprised if he wasn't. Then you have the following 3 who would've been on the locks list but they've been hurt. Let's assume they're all healthy by July and pencil them in. 12 - KENTA 13 - Kota Ibushi 14 - SANADA I also see a bare minimum of 3 guys who weren't in last year but will be back in this year: 15 - Jay White 16 - Juice Robinson 17 - Will Ospreay And now we're at 17 and the question becomes do we get any entrants from AEW or elsewhere. Naturally, Wheeler Yuta being in BOSJ makes me hopeful that at least one AEW guy will be in, especially knowing the stable he's in. Ah what the hell, let's dream big. 18 - Bryan Danielson 19 - Jon Moxley 20 - Tom Lawlor Oh man I'd go absolutely wild if the other two BCC members decided to enter the G1 after Yuta entered BOSJ. Skeptically I still think there's a difference between AEW allowing Yuta to be off TV for a month vs losing a Mox and/or a Danielson for a month, but again, I'm dreaming big. And I'm throwing Filthy Tom in to show Strong some love and because it fits with the theme of having your champs in. Any of those three being in though would pique my interest in the tournament significantly. And to close it out, here are the 6 guys from last year that didn't get included in the field, ranked in the order I think they'd be most likely to be in it if any of the hurt guys aren't in or they bring in no outsiders: 1 - Hirooki Goto 2 - YOSHI-HASHI 3 - Tanga Loa 4 - Great O-Khan 5 - Yujiro Takahashi 6 - Chase Owens (lol) It's really weird to imagine a scenario where Goto ends his run of 14 straight G1s but for the purposes of this I had him just on the outside looking in. Really a coin flip between Tanga and O-Khan for #3 but I figure maybe they only want 2 United Empire guys in and Ospreay took O-Khan's spot. If Yujiro or Chase are in, we riot. |
The Capital Collision card looks like the drizzling shits.
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My predictions for G1: Yujiro Takahashi is replaced by Jay White, Great O-Khan by Will Ospreay, Taichi by Minoru Suzuki and Yujiro Takahashi by Juice Robinson.
Block A: 1. Kazuchika Okada 2. Shingo Takagi 3. KENTA 4. Zack Sabre, Jr. 5. Tomohiro Ishii 6. Jay White 7. Hirooki Goto 8. YOSHI-HASHI 9. Minoru Suzuki 10. Tetsuya Naito Block B: 1. Kota Ibushi 2. Jeff Cobb 3. EVIL 4. Toru Yano 5. Hiroshi Tanahashi 6. Will Ospreay 7. Tanga Loa 8. Tama Tonga 9. Juice Robinson 10. Sanada |
Predictions for outcomes:
Okada drops falls to Shingo and maybe one or two others. He ties with Shingo, who gets the nod because he beat Okada. Ospreay wins Block B. Shingo vs. Ospreay in the finals. Ospreay wins to go against Okada. |
Sounds like Kota Ibushi might be done.
He's gone on something of a Twitter tirade the past few days, and people have been attempting to translate the tweets to the best of his ability. He appears to have a problem with a NJPW executive named Kikuchi who seemingly took issue with him appearing at a non-NJPW event (TAKA's JTO promotion). He was announced for the New Japan Cup and then mysteriously pulled, but the nature of the tweets could suggest either two outcomes...either he was announced before he was healthy to return (NJPW has a known issue with having guys work through major injuries hence Naito and Tana's decline in recent years). Or, he was actually going to return and Kikuchi had him pulled as punishment. Ibushi seems to suggest he doesn't feel he will ever be allowed to return. This would all be shit that could be mended on its own...but then he put some tweets out there alluding to "an army of cheaters" and sexual abuse within NJPW that he is threatening to expose. And now today he implied that there are Yakuza business practices all around the Japanese wrestling scene. Yakuza involvement in wrestling has been a poorly kept secret for decades but to actually say the quiet part loud is the kind of thing you do if you're prepared to burn your bridge to every company in Japan. |
My read on the situation is that, at least right now, he has no real desire to wrestle any more. That might be a short-term thing to work through, but I don't think he just wants out of his NJPW contract, I think he's burned out and needs a break full stop.
Perhaps he's really just comparing NJPW's business practices to the Yakuza instead of saying they're involved outright. But invoking Yakuza involvement at all, if that's what he's actually doing, is a huge step. Putting something like this out there isn't just going to have NJPW not wanting to book him, but multiple other promotions reluctant to touch him either. Even if the reality of it is that Ibushi is a whistleblower here, and therefore broadly in the right, Japanese sports and business culture do not look kindly on someone rocking the boat like this, to say nothing of how the actual Yakuza might feel. That, to me, suggests someone happy to step away from the ring altogether, for the time being. He's reportedly been very careful with the money he's made over his career. His body's battered. He turns 40 in a week. He's not the away-with-the-fairies manchild that sections of the fanbase paint him as, even if he is a bit of an oddball. Obviously there's a history of Yakuza involvement in Japanese wrestling and combat sports. But if it can be actually proven in NJPW's case, there's a significant chance of them losing major sponsors and TV coverage, if not being shuttered outright. |
Lol, people care so little about New Japan that even their scandals get a 0.00.
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Oh c’mon Noid. I was expecting you to respond with some more “this will lead to the end of AEW” fantasy booking. :'(
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It would be absolutely fitting if Ibushi spills the sake just as AEW has made this commitment to work with New Japan, and TK gets a bunch of the stank on him.
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You hear about Japan promotions in the 90s being funded by "Local Businessmen" in the Newsletters all the time. I bet none of those businessmen have their picky finger.
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Lol, the “local businessmen” don’t even go about the charade of defining what that local business is.
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“As a Japanese businessman, you probably shouldn’t have all those tattoos. People might get the idea that you’re…oh…”
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Watched a lot of NJPW this weekend. Enjoyed Capital Collision a lot, most everything delivered. Ishii/Kingston was my MOTY, loved watching them kill each other. Main event had some cool dynamics involved, heel Juice feels like a breath of fresh air for his character.
Day 1 of BOSJ was good too. It's weird to see Ace Austin in NJPW but I dig it, he's got some great character work. The announcers were talking about Alex Zayne's "excursion" to WWE and I had completely forgotten that he was there slumming it on the dying days of 205 Live. SHO vs. Francesco Akira was probably my favorite of the night. |
I was thinking the other day, New Japan works best for me when there is a top gaijin that has been somewhere western in a big way for me. AJ Styles was such a big help to them and their reputation.
I’m not talking about guys like Kenny Omega, Prince Devitt, Zack Sabre, Jr. or Jay White. I mean a guy that has been a star somewhere else going over. The biggest signings they could possibly make right now are Claudio Castagnoli, or as much as I hate to say it, Bray Wyatt. |
Bray Wyatt with JoJo as his valet.
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Watched the Day 2 tournament matches this morning. Couldn't get into TJP/Wato due to not caring about TJP but everything else was good. Eagles/Yuta slapped. Really dug the closing sequence of DOUKI/Lindaman.
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I’ve got to say: the turnaround Fred Rosser has made has really impressed me. When he was in the WWE, he was one of my least favorite guys there. In New Japan of America, he’s worked on all aspects of his game. He seems more mature as a character. He talks like he means it (haven’t seen too many actual promos worth grading though). He had an entertaining brawl with Hikuleo that wouldn’t look out of place in a 2000 WWF main event.
He’s a guy that I could see the WWE being interested in again. If a billionaire starts a new wrestling promotion, I would be looking at Rosser for the roster. He’s only 38 years old. The only other guy from that pack that REALLY impresses me is Clark Connors. The guy lacks size, but someone should poach Danielson from AEW and run Connors vs. Danielson in the Pacific Northwest. |
Really enjoyed Phantasmo/Titan and Yuta/Despy from night 6.
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Apparently Ibushi's mother was in the hospital due to a suicide attempt when he made those tweets. Sounds like both sides are willing to hear each other out and attempt to work through it.
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I'm not too optimistic, but Im hoping Ibushi can spark some change in how NJPW treats their non-trueborn talent. Its been detrimental to the company for years now.
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Yikes.
The heels kicked some ass at Dominion. |
Why is Shingo fucking Takagi the KOPW champion?
Who did he piss off to go from IWGP Champion to that trash title. |
There was something that happened in New Japan that I’m going to put into spoiler tags:
SPOILER: show |
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Why oh why did they fuck with the G1?
Perfect the way it was. No reason to bump up the participants and force people to compete. Lookin' at you, El Phantasmo. |
Been saying for a while now, but the G-1 should be an interpromotional event. Still have the majority of participants be NJPW, but add in different NOAH, AJPW, ROH, AEW, etc. guys every year.
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https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/v...tar-jay-white/
<iframe src="https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/video/sitdown-with-njpw-star-jay-white/" id="cbsNewsVideo" allowfullscreen allow="fullscreen" frameborder="0" width="620" height="349"></iframe> |
Good for Jay White. He’s well spoken. Feels forced, but it’s a good spot. Probably the most people that have ever seen him.
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Hiroshi Tanahashi is teaming with Yuya Uemura at Ignition. What do people think of Uemura? He has a striking look and has been at the young lion thing for a while. I could see them trying to use this period to break him out.
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I think an issue that has stopped me really engaging with New Japan as much as I’d like is that I’m always more curious about their past and their future, as opposed to what they’re actually doing in the moment. I think Gedo’s done a pretty amazing job of getting New Japan anywhere close to where it currently is. And I can entice myself with ideas of what Okada’s legacy’s going to mean, etc. Who is going to be the next breakout star? I just can’t put much weight into whatever is present though.
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Its just embraced american indy style too much for my liking the last few years.
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As terrible as the early 2000's were in regards to inoki bringing in untrained mma guys and hotshotting guys like Lesnar and Fujita to the title, there were some absolute banger main events between guys like Nagata, Tenzan, Takayama, etc. Not to mention the formative years of Tanahashi, Nakamura, and Shibata.
Some of my favorite matches in the company's history are from that era, despite it being their lowest point. |
I have this theory that people think puro has fashioned itself after the American indies as a deliberate choice above all others. I think a part that is overlooked is the Japanese wrestling is going to try and accentuate what is available to it. When you’ve got Tanahashi, Nakamura and Okada available to you, there is going to be an optimal way to feature them all together. There’s this idea that a New Japan wouldn’t take a Randy Orton or Roman Reigns if they became available.
I like to see the top free agents hover around New Japan. Right now, the biggest guys like that are probably Claudio Castagnoli (who would fit the current style) and Windham Rotunda (who many would argue wouldn’t). But anyway, the funny thing that happens is that New Japan goes with aesthetic choices, but then those aesthetic choices influence the tastes of the guys outside New Japan, so it reinforces that as a limited option. |
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Blocks A-D announced for the G1. Discuss at your leisure.
A Block: Kazuchika Okada Toru Yano “Filthy” Tom Lawlor Jeff Cobb JONAH Bad Luck Fale Lance Archer B Block: Jay White Tomohiro Ishii SANADA Tama Tonga Great-O-Khan Chase Owens Taichi C Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi Hirooki Goto Tetsuya Naito Zack Sabre Jr. Aaron Henare KENTA EVIL D Block: Will Ospreay YOSHI-HASHI Shingo Takagi David Finlay Juice Robinson El Phantasmo Yujiro Takahashi |
I think I will be seeking out A block and C block matches.
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id be way more interested if it were David Finley
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Does anyone here follow NOAH or AJPW? New Japan is…losing any interest I might have in checking it out.
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I haven't watched Noah but I've heard good things. Go Shiozaki vs Kazuyuki Fujita was apparently an early match of the year candidate. Which is wild when you consider how terrible Fujita was in njpw. |
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I was wondering if maybe trying to find a promotion to tick all boxes is a bit of a false goal? Maybe the plan should be to look to the main stuff from each promotion and take their best, because none of them are deep enough to put together whole shows of greatness. I haven’t watched much of his recent work, but Go Shiozaki looks pretty impressive these days. He comes off like a company ace. I don’t know much about Funaki, except for him being one of the Inokiism guys, but they’ve seemed to have put him into this role of being a bad-ass veteran that half-way works for him (at least to the point they made him a champion of some sorts). Who is booking NOAH these days? I’ve had this sneaking suspicion that something big could shake out in the next coming year regarding momentum in Japan. It’s all speculative, but I’ve just got this feeling that Kenny Omega’s going to be done with AEW, and probably still be on the outs with New Japan. Kota Ibushi seems to be out of all New Japan plans for the foreseeable future. I can see CyberFight making a play for them. And besides Japanese popularity, I can see that side of things being more open to using women in conjunction with their shows in order to make their US expansion more palatable. I just saw the other day that Timothy Thatcher is doing work with NOAH. I think they’d be wise to go after Claudio Castagnoli and/or Windham Rotunda too. Really bounce out that gaijin side. |
How does the 4 block structure pan out? Semi-finals between block winners?
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You can pretty much assume it is going to be Okada vs. White/Sanada and Tanahashi/Naito vs. Ospreay/Shingo in the semis. There’s always room for spoilers and huge shockers, but those would be the most reasonable picks. Only guy outside that I see with even half a chance is ZSJ. They could get cute and try and keep Naito and Shingo away from each other to save them for Wrestle Kingdom. I’m thinking it will likely be Okada vs. White and Naito vs. Ospreay with an Okada/Naito final. |
Seems like AEW killed interest in New Japan too. The G1 is already underway and no one is talking about it.
I think Naito takes the tournament. |
I don't like that they're dragging this out super slow. 1 match from each block per show along with the preview matches.
I would have ditched the preview matches, do 2 blocks a show with the odd men out having an off day or non-tournament match. Like A & B one day, C & D the next or some other combination. |
Fair point. I guess you always know where you are with this way though.
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Yeah if I had to guess why there’s less interest there’s a number of reasons
1) the bigger field potentially diluting and elongating the competition 2) the lack of perceived stars currently in NJPW. Who’s their big US star that they’re had for the majority of the years where they’ve had renewed interest 3) it’s early days, once the field starts to clear a bit they’re will be a bit more interest |
Honestly think Zack Sabre Jr. should win the whole thing as a thank you for sticking around all this time during the Pandemic. Piggy back it to a nice title reign.
I mean, winning the New Japan Cup is nice gesture. But I don't think the dude left the country once as opposed to the other gaijin roster members coming in and out. |
I’ve seen a few people pulling for a ZSJ win. I’ve never been a big fan. It’s likely that Tony Khan will give New Japan access to some top AEW guys for Wrestle Kingdom. I can see ZSJ getting a match with Bryan Danielson, even though I think there is a better use for both.
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My gut tells me that Naito is going to win. I can see the finals being him and Okada. I can see Ospreay losing the US Title before WK and making a special challenge to Okada. I can see Okada vs. Ospreay at the Tokyo Dome being New Japan’s sly dig on Kenny Omega. It’ll be a big “spectacle” that will get the New Japan nerds in the west very excited and doesn’t necessarily need a belt on the line (although they could just make it for the US Title).
I don’t think they will want their show dripping with AEW talent, but I can see Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Jericho, CM Punk and FTR all involved in the show to some degree. Danielson in the “dream match” against ZSJ (ugh). Punk & FTR against a configuration of The Bullet Club (possibly EVIL, KENTA and Sho?) for the NEVER Six-Man. Punk vs. KENTA has intrigue but isn’t huge enough. Throwing the belts and a team with FTR in there increases the appeal and also gets some other Bullet Club guys on. Claudio against Shingo Takagi, because come on. Jericho can do something with…fuck me, I don’t know and I barely care. But I can see Jericho insisting he be involved. Hirooki Goto is always someone they want people to care about. I guess Mox can do a US Title match with Minoru Suzuki or something. I thought he would be higher, but I also struggle to care about him. Oh, Lance Archer will probably do something on there, since they seem enamored with him. A match with Tomohiro Ishii seems too “low” for WK, but maybe it could be a cute spot for both guys. Or they could have Archer win the NEVER Title and have Tama Tonga go against him or something. As far as other gaijin being involved, you’ve got the guys New Japan already has under contract and The Briscoes are now probably available. You can put The Good Brothers and The Briscoes into a match with a Japanese team for the Tag Titles. The other big match I can see happening, should they be able to get/keep him on side, is Tanahashi vs. Ibushi. I can see there being a “clash of philosophies” there that could carry the program. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen when they’ve interacted. And there, that’s basically Wrestle Kingdom. |
I thought about a BCC vs. LIJ series. You could have done Mox vs. Naito, Danielson vs. Sanada, Claudio vs. Shingo, Wheeler vs. Hiromu and BUSHI against Jonathan Gresham (who would join) or another member. Maybe they throw Chris Hero a spot? But there does seem to be better matches for almost all the guys.
Mox vs. Naito and Claudio vs. Shingo work though. I’d strongly consider them in place. Claudio and Shingo can be for the ROH World Title on night one. Danielson against Okada is optimal, but I can see why you want to build to that. Danielson vs. ZSJ does have the thread and is the western nerd’s “dream match.” Yuta isn’t really high profile enough for a spot, although AEW clearly want him to be. |
I don’t think it should be understated just how little pairing with AEW has helped New Japan. They can join Impact in that.
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Caught up with the tourney matches and so far the ones I would've expected to delivery have done so.
Both of Naito's matches have been typically great as I'd come to expect from a Naito G1 match. He's started 0-2 and the announcers have been pretty much giving him the eulogy so he's bound to come back around, especially with EVIL sitting there as his next opponent. Either way you look at the schedule for Night 18 and they've got Naito/ZSJ just sitting there, so you know that'll be to decide the C Block. Pleasant surprise of the tourney for me so far was seeing Yano actually work a serious match against Okada, largely abandoning his usual tricks because Okada knows all of them. |
A Block is almost assuredly going to Okada. They gave Cobb a great showing last year but he's the only real other threat in the block and Okada's taken him down already. Can't say I'd be surprised to see Okada go 6-0 in his block at worst, and really I think they'd get him to the finals and have him lose there unless he's just gonna have a dominant repeat.
B Block is meant to be Jay White's to lose but don't know if they'll want to run Okada vs. White back yet again in the semis or finals (they've not conclusively said that the semis are A vs B, C vs D). White faces Tama on the final day and they've had longstanding business with White getting GOD and Jado booted from Bullet Club. Could actually see it being a situation where Tama beats him with botched Gedo interference, meaning Tama will get a title match that he'll lose and maybe a spot in the semi-finals. They could also have SANADA backdoor his way into winning the block with a Tama win. C Block as mentioned will definitely come down to Naito vs. ZSJ on the final day. I'm not entirely sure if they're giving Naito one last run up the main event ranks but I'd really hope they can get him a spot in the finals. D Block comes down to Ospreay vs. Juice on the final day, safe bet would be Ospreay I suppose as he'd be the more credible finals threat plus it's a logical result as Juice has physical possession of Ospreay's US title. |
Not really a fan of the format as a whole though. Stretching the tourney out like this makes it a bit more difficult to keep track of, some dudes get over a week off between tourney matches which would've been avoided had they expanded it to an even 32.
At the same time, even making it 28 led to people I don't care at all about being in this. No interest in watching Fale, Chase Owens, or Yujiro matches. |
Block A should be Okada’s, like you said. Block B I see going to Sanada, actually. I can see Tama beating White and that being the reason White doesn’t progress. Gives Tama something, which they clearly want to do, without actually pushing him too hard.
Block C coming down to Naito and ZSJ is interesting. That could really go either way. LIJ has got Sanada in the finals stage. Naito being on the other side is interesting. But Ospreay vs. ZSJ in a Best of the British has got its appeal to some fans too. I’d probably go with the Naito story, but whatever. Ospreay winning Block B was only really challenged by Shingo, I thought. Naito being the LIJ member to not make it has got some interest. You could build to an Okada vs. Shingo final that way. A few credible ways they could go. If I had to guess, I would predict Okada, Sanada, Naito and Ospreay. |
I can see Okada winning more and more. That might imply a match with White, but I wonder if they do a stunt where White loses the belt before the Tokyo Dome? In that case, I could see Danielson or Omega being prime candidates for that. A title switch in Arthur Ashe? Okada challenging either Danielson or Omega at the Tokyo Dome seems “rushed,” but if they want to lean on this relationship, it’s possible.
New Japan putting a card together with their own talent still sees White/Naito for the title and Okada/Ospreay, in my opinion. |
Block matches for the G1 are over. Final 4 is set.
The results: A Block - Kazuchika Okada B Block - Tama Tonga :eek: C Block - Tetsuya Naito D Block - Will Ospreay Okada vs. Tama Tonga and Naito vs. Ospreay are your semi-final matches. |
Bleh, Ospreay. Not surprised he won the block but ugh, I'd have preferred a Shingo/Naito clash which always brings the goods. Hope Naito takes him out.
Definitely figured Naito was winning with how the block progressed but didn't expect it in the matter it happened (a flash pin inside of three minutes). I had a feeling back when I saw the match schedules that this would set up for Tama to get a block victory, get a win over White given they had a score to settle. White will get his win back when they inevitably do a title match later this year. Okada vs. Archer was a main that, on paper, felt like such a formality because surely they weren't rolling out a Tama vs. Archer semi-final. Instead they got me to bite on several false finishes. I liked Archer a lot already but this might've been his best match ever. |
Eh, not really too excited about any of this. Haven’t seen much Tama Tonga. He’s probably better than most people say. Okada should win that side. It just comes down to who he is going to face in the finals. I don’t feel like it really matters.
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NJPW doing a show in Times Square in October at The Palladium, used to be The Playstation Theater. It's a nice space, they should be able to fit at least 1,000 or more people with the ring set up, maybe more. The site says they seat about 2,000 but with a ring in there it will be much less.
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