Sanada looking clean. Without the beard and flashy highlights he actually looks more intimidating. Looks like a classic njpw top guy.

Not gonna lie, sanada's new theme is kinda lame. Cold Skull way cooler.

"If he doesn't win tonight, he becomes Hirooki Goto."

Sigh

Sanada in trunks.

Someone check on slik.

So so so so so happy right now. Been a Sanada mark for years, but after all the failed attempts combined with not being a trueborn had me convinced this would never happen.

Match itself was great. Had a classic njpw title match feel, with both guys having a clear strategy.

I came for Okada vs Sanada. But this whole show really impressed me. Much better than wrestle kingdom.

Good for Sanada.

That's awesome for Sanada. Very much deserved this accolade. I was very skeptical of him turning and was worried that it would be go on to be another EVIL type of deal, but they've quickly assuaged those concerns.

EVIL's problem is who he beat, when he beat him, and the fact that he cannot for the life of him deliver in a high-profile singles match.

Even if this runs turns out to just be a transitional run for Sanada and he drops it sometime in the summer, he's now got a clean title win over Okada on the ledger and has basically solidified himself as someone you can comfortably slot into a main event whenever you need him to, and now people could buy that he actually can win.

They've announced a mini tournament to determine the number one contender for the US Title, with the title match being at Forbidden Door

-Lance Archer vs. Juice Robinson on April 16 in Philly
-Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Will Ospreay on May 21 in Long Beach
-Winners face off June 4th at Dominion

Seems pretty obvious this is setting up Omega vs. Ospreay II at Forbidden Door, but you can never totally dismiss Tana if either Ospreay's shoulder is still fucked by May 21st or if they want to save the rematch for Wembley.

To give more context to the Just 5 guys name, the point is that they are a group of guys who have been overlooked as guys who are "just a good hand".

Additionally, they are touting themselves as champions of the people, looking to change new japan not just for themselves but for the audience. Thats why the enter through the audience. Because they're just 5 guys, no different from the people in the crowd.

Its an interesting idea. Not sure if it will work though, as the whole point of pro wrestling is that these people are not like everyone else. Thats why you want to see them. But I guess a godly physical specimen like Sanada saying "hey brother, you're just like me" might win some people over.

I would have the rematch at fd2, and the rubber match at wembley

Omega beats Ospreay again at Forbidden Door. Ospreay finally gets a win over Omega in Wembley.

Main events of the show are MJF/Punk for the men’s title and Jamie Hayter/Britt Baker, Lights Out, for the women’s.

The Bucks team with Adam Page to wrestle for the six-man belts. I’ve got them going against Death Triangle in my head. Big spot for PAC. House of Black will probably end up in there too.

I see Danielson going against either Okada or ZSJ. I’d prefer Danielson vs. Okada, with Danielson vs. ZSJ being something that you can do if you go back. You can do an angle with him or something. Maybe he wins the ROH Pure Championship in a taped match before the show that you can do make a big deal out of on ROH TV?

Saraya is in a big tag team showcase alongside whatever heels are in the Outcasts. I can see them throwing Athena in there, maybe kicking out a Toni Storm and/or a Ruby Riott by then. I can see them trying to get Sasha Banks & Bayley, at least for that match. Saraya, Mercedes Mone, Pamela Martinez, Mercedes Martinez & Serena Deeb (is she even still there?) vs. Toni Storm, Ruby Riott, Riho, Willow Nightingale & Jade Cargill. If you do it that way, you can have Mercedes & Martinez and Mercedes Martinez teaming together. If you can’t get Bayley, keep Toni on the heel side and just throw in Hikaru Shida.

Taya Valkyrie drops the TBS Title to Kris Statlander, maybe taped before the show to actually air on Dynamite. That’s where they are. They do something with the TNT Title. Maybe Hook wins it? Swerve? Doesn’t matter. You do a men’s tag team showcase between Sting, Darby, The Acclaimed & Paul Wight and whatever heels are going at the time. It could be QTV, The Embassy, Jeff Jarrett and co. Doesn’t really matter.

If you can get Kairi, do a ROH Women’s Title match between her and Athena.

FTR defend the AEW Tag Titles against Moxley & Claudio.

There’s some sort of Wembley Rumble where you can feature some special appearances and guys who don’t fit on the card. You try and get Nick Aldis for that.

Yota Tsuji made his return from excursion, attacking SANADA and effectively laying down a challenge for the title immediately. Also did the LIJ pose so presumably that’s the faction he’ll be joining.

Came across looking like a star in that segment.

Don’t know who that guy is, but taking your word that he comes off like a star, it wouldn’t be the most shocking thing in the world to have him take the belt off Sanada. I don’t think Sanada needs a long reign and it could help to freshen up the product. Would kind of be another Okada against Tanahashi moment, with Sanada also being a freshly crowned guy.

Good look on the guy. I’m kind of sick of reading about the same names in New Japan.

Disagree with completely about Sanada having a short reign. Guy has been giving it his all as a premier workhorse for the company for years and he deserves a solid title run.

I understand the fatigue with seeing the same names, but given his transformation, he might as well be a new guy. Can't reiterate enough how much he comes off like classic 80's new japan stars like fujinami and inoki. I just get a whole throwback vibe and its awesome.

Okada/Tana/Ishii vs. Mox/Claudio/Umino and SANADA/Tsuji were both fantastic matches. Hell of a fucking showing for Tsuji going straight into a main event spot. I think they've really got something with him

G1 field announced - bumped up again from 28 to 32 participants:

Aaron Henare (United Empire)
Alex Coughlin (Bullet Club)
Chase Owens (Bullet Club)
David Finlay (Bullet Club)
Eddie Kingston (AEW)
El Phantasmo (Main Unit)
EVIL (Bullet Club)
Gabriel Kidd (Bullet Club)
Great-O-Khan (United Empire)
Hikuleo (GoD)
Hirooki Goto (CHAOS)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (Main Unit)
Jeff Cobb (United Empire)
Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH)
Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS)
KENTA (Bullet Club)
Mikey Nicholls (TMDK)
Ren Narita (Strong Style)
SANADA (J5G)
Shane Haste (TMDK)
Shingo Takagi (LIJ)
Shota Umino (Main Unit)
Taichi (J5G)
Tama Tonga (GoD)
Tanga Loa (GoD)
Tetsuya Naito (LIJ)
Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS)
Toru Yano (CHAOS)
Will Ospreay (United Empire)
YOSHI-HASHI (CHAOS)
Yota Tsuji (LIJ)
Zack Sabre Jr. (TMDK)

Yuck at Kingston being in there, but it should still be pretty good. I played out some scenarios in my head the other day. I think Tanahashi could have a shot for “one more main event.” Sanada could put him down and that could add fuel to the Sanada/Okada rivalry.

Another thing that would be kinda cool is if you get a pretty fresh winner or even two guys in there that you wouldn’t expect. Tsuji winning the thing would be PrettyCool.

I think we’ll also have to wait for Forbidden Door and see what goes down there. If Danielson/Okada is just the greatest match ever, they’ll probably run that again at the Tokyo Dome. But I’m predicting Okada/Omega and Danielson, Moxley, Claudio, Yuta & Umino against…fuck it, LIJ.

Is that Vito putting AEW next to Kingston? Didn’t he do a “fuck AEW” thing and “go to” ROH?

New Japan has no time for AEW’s shit storylines.

It would also be possible to do something where, say, Tsuji wins the G1. Tanahashi can still challenge Sanada on Night 1. You could do LIJ vs. BCC on night 1 too. Tsuji can challenge Sanada night 2. That would be a pretty cool way to make a star. Tsuji pins Danielson and Sanada over the course of Wrestle Kingdom.

Oh man, imagine if Tanahashi/Punk is lined up for night 2 and Punk is all mad because Tanahashi doesn’t win the belt and bring it into their match. Tsuji wouldn’t be guaranteed a title shot then, but it could agreed upon that he goes on to wrestle the winner of Tanahashi/Punk. Could be a good chance for Sanada to cut some really good promos (if he can talk) about how he’s not going to lose the belt to Tanahashi.

Kaito has to beat okada here. Come on.

I just saw Kaito Kiyomiya’s name in there. Is there any chance he could be a dark horse in this thing? I mean, a strong showing is probably good enough, but the story of a NOAH guy going for the belt could be…interesting.

Kaito beats Okada and shockingly wins the G1. Okada beats Sanada for the belt. Okada vs. Kaito II in the Dome.

I've been saying for a while now that the noah vs njpw thing at wrestle kingdom isn't half as good as it could be. Create actual builds and feuds around it, all culminating in a noah guy going for the iwgp title. Hell, get even crazier and have him win the damn thing.

It would actually be kaito vs okada III. Okada has beaten him twice now. The most recent one was the hottest angle in japan for a while.

I’m down for Kaito/Okada in the G1 and then Kaito winning the belt at Wrestle Kingdom.

You can do all sorts of tricky stuff with booking too. For example, Kaito could lose to Okada a third time but still win the tournament. Leaves you Kaito/Okada IV with Kaito defending the belt against the guy he never beat. Or you can go the other way and have Kaito beat Okada.

Imagine kaito having a vice grip on the title for a year, and at the next wrestle kingdom, njpw trueborn Tsuji dethrones him to bring the title back home.

Or Shota. It's between those two in terms of being the next ace.

I don’t think it even has to be one of them. You could use the win to cement Sanada, Shingo or anyone. That wrestler can lay credit to being the one to save New Japan and put over the next gen.

The japanese fans would want a trueborn to beat kaito in that situation. They might even completely reject anything else. They are super passionate about that stuff.

I think that would be the best direction, but a guy from NOAH that has chosen New Japan could be a story. Would work better for an undercard match though.

I’m now thinking my preferred direction is Kaito winning the G1 and Okada winning the belt. Kaito should beat Okada in the G1 too. Match 4 is either Okada breaking away or Kaito evening it up and getting the belt. No clue what you do with Sanada, but a good strong win underneath is probs a good idea.

How about Sanada beating one of the top gaijin? Omega, Danielson or Moxley would be good.

AEW are very likely to always have a G1 participant especially with the field being this big now. I'm sorta surprised Lance Archer isn't in given he had a nice run last year and he isn't being used on AEW much, but he's also battled some injuries and AEW might not've wanted him in a grueling tourney.

So Eddie's probably the next most sensible guy for AEW to send. Storyline wise, he played a part in running Jay White out of New Japan, at least from the US side of things. He's also someone that AEW won't particularly care that he's gonna eat a few losses along the way.

The dream would be to see Danielson do it next year but I don't know if Khan will ever be down for it.

I’m interested in New Japan’s upcoming Independence Day PPV. Seems to feature a lot of New Japan Strong talent. Headlined by Jon Moxley in garbage matches though.

I like Clark Connors and what I’ve seen from Gabriel Kidd. They’ve got good spots on the show. I’ve heard good things about Bad Dude Tito too, but haven’t seen anything from him.

What’s Fred Rosser doing? Dude got REALLY good outside WWE.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">If you’re not a fan of NJPW that’s okay but one thing you gotta credit them on is how they made these young lions into stars like Alex Coughlin for example great promo.<br> <a href="https://t.co/gV6B3wg73O">pic.twitter.com/gV6B3wg73O</a></p>&mdash; Kenan (@KenanFields) <a href="https://twitter.com/KenanFields/status/1679875908960649217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

damn that's a good promo

CM Punk lite.

Nah that was pretty good. Does tend to be a bit more believable when you’re cutting a promo based on the truth. Wonder how he’d do with something from the WWE scriptwriters.

Not impressed by that. Quite dry and performative. Too much swearing. Don’t buy him. I’ve seen the guy before and I don’t think he’s an offensive wrestler or anything. Youngish and in good shape. But the promo is pretty bad.

It would be a great explanation for a heel turn. Did he turn heel? Or is he just publically airing greivances?

He turned heel and aligned with Bullet Club a couple months ago. He and some of the other Dojo guys also joined (Gabriel Kidd, Clark Connors etc) and airing their grievances is part of the reason they’ve joined Bullet Club and want to take the place down.

Kinda bringing BC back to its roots in a way. These guys have a purpose for wanting to be in there.

Of course, the Dojo was/had been legitimately mismanaged for a while so the grievances have elements of truth to them as well, but at least they’re parlaying it into an angle.

You can’t push them all though. Everyone doing the same thing sounds boring.

Cant believe we had ZERO posts about the 2 G1 shows that are free on New Japan World.

Night 1 had some great moments. Shoota / Narita had an absolute banger. Everything else was okay.

Night 2 was one of the best shows I've watched in a while. Ishii/Finlay was a 4* match. Yano/Goto had a classic comedy match with some truly hilarious stuff. Shingo and Eddie Kingston fucked each other up I highly recommend it. Cobb/Naito had a great main event too. Lemme put them links down:

https://njpwworld.com/p/s_00658_2_1

https://njpwworld.com/p/s_00658_4_1

I might check them out. I don’t know why, but I’m really hoping Finlay becomes something. I would actually like to see him cross paths with CM Punk. I think Punk talking about his father would be interesting and I think Punk & FTR vs. Finlay, KENTA and someone else from Bullet Club would be a cool way to get some Punk and KENTA interactions out there without making it all about them.

Watching them today

Eddie vs Ishii was 7.5/5 stars in Korakuen Hall and I'm changing my last name to Meltzer

Hearing no buzz about this at all.

Naito wins the G1.

So that SANADA/Naito match I totally forgot about will be happening at Wrestle Kingdom.

Not a shocking outcome. If they’re planning an Okada/Danielson rematch in the Tokyo Dome, Naito is probably like the low-hanging fruit for a Sanada opponent.

So I checked out the Wrestle Kingdom card just to see what’s going on. Nothing really too exciting outside Naito/Sanada and Danielson/Okada. “Exciting” might be too strong a word.

There are rumors that WWE are interested in Okada. That would be a good move for Okada. Totally fucks New Japan tho. Unless they can work out something with WWE, which would send ripples everywhere.

Going through the card:

* Shingo vs. Tama for the NEVER Title. Not sure if I’ve seen Tama wrestle. People used to say he wasn’t very good, but they also said that about Hikuleo and when I saw him, he was actually impressive.

* Takahashi vs. El Desperado…eh. If it’s your sort of thing, I guess this feels like the biggest juniors match they can put on? I dunno.

* Tanahashi vs. ZSJ…so boring. I guess it’s their first time at WK? Tanahashi used to be a really good worker. ZSJ hasn’t been very good.

* Tag Team Titles…don’t care. New Japan has never been very good with tag teams, have they?

* I’m glad Clark Connors is making a WK card. He’s a great little wrestler. Don’t know what his tag team is like, but I hope they beat Catch 2/2.

* Three-way loses a lot of suspense when you know Ospreay is leaving and Mox is AEW. I guess David Finlay, the Bullet Club leader, is going to win it for New Japan? It’s just a weird dynamic. And Moxley sucks. Oh well.

* Bryan Danielson vs. Okada will be good.

* Sanada vs. Naito doesn’t feel special to me. Given their histories and all that. Naito just underwhelms me.

Okada is leaving New Japan.

Selfishly, I want to see him in WWE. It’d certainly be an interesting move for Okada, legacy-wise. I could also have an effect on WWE/New Japan politics.

Anyone excited for Wrestle Kingdom 19? Anyone at all?

Most NJPW fans accept that AEW and TK have hurt them. They’re rebuilding and seem cold as ice, but I’ve been intrigued by some of the moves they’re making out of desperation.

It’s not ideal, but I think it’s making chicken salad out of chicken shit to have two guys entering their first Wrestle Kingdom main event against each other. I like that it’s got those stakes. Where they go from here is important.

Lol at Ricochet being Zack Sabre, Jr’s opponent night 2 though.

I watched some New Japan to see how I’d take to the current product.

Zack Sabre, Jr. is better than I last saw him. Wish he wouldn’t invite people to hit him. It’s just a hack trope at this point. But his overall performance was a lot better than when I last saw him at Wrestle Kingdom against Ishii years ago.

Ishii is a bit shit. He was the weakest part of the Road to Wrestle Kingdom tag I watched. He doesn’t even register getting hit. The match structure protected him, but they should really move him out of that spot soon.

Ryohei Oiwa impressed me. He seemed to have it together really well. His facial expressions and overall presence was good. Thought his pants looked a bit shit.

Speaking of shit pants, Shota Union probably needs a main event look. His work was excellent. I thought he and Oiwa were the better halves of that match.

I also watched two Takeshita matches from the G1, since people rave about him. He’s good. He’s got a shit-sniffing look and plays to the crowd well. I saw him against Hirooki Goto and Yota Tsuji. Those guys were great too. Goto apparently stepped up this year. Tsuji has got real good flare to him.

I might give New Japan World a go. I’ll check out more stuff tomorrow. I think I want to check out some Gabe Kidd, Jeff Cobb and maybe some of the junior heavyweights.

I liked Gabe Kidd vs. Shingo from the G1. Gabe has got something. A bit too much “hit me, I’ll hit you,” but I can kind of buy it from their personalities. Some cute spots.

I decided to get WK19. Why not? Here are my thoughts:

Ladder Match:

Had to go and do something so I lost my place. Made it back for the top four matches.

El Desperado/Douki:



Yota/Finlay:



I’ll get to the other two matches later. Finlay/Tsuji was my favorite.

Women’s Title:



TV Title:

I say this as someone who doesn’t like Kenny Omega: Check out his match with Gabe Kidd at Wrestle Dynasty. The best Omega match I’ve ever seen. Kidd is great.

I watched Battle in the Valley. Pretty boring show. Gabe went from impressing me to boring the fuck out of me. Easy come, easy go.

Kushida vs. Takeshita was great though. Takeshita is very talented. He even cut a good broken English promo afterward. Kushida more than held up his end. ZSJ vs. Hechicero and El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori were fine in execution, but they just didn’t pull me in. Takeshita vs. Kushida goes on my list of “matches you should watch” for 2025.

Jeff Cobb is pretty great too. It seems like he’s got stuff to do if he sticks around, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Triple H poaches him.

So after ruminating over Omega/Kidd for a bit over a week, I think it was pretty overrated (by myself included). I popped on Backlash 2001 and Raven vs. Rhyno from that PPV is basically in-line with what Omega/Kidd was. No springboards, so I guess what makes classic matches are springboards.

Yeah, after thinking about it, Omega/Kidd felt overrated. It had the hype, but it didn’t hit the mark. Raven/Rhyno from Backlash 2001 was actually more solid, no flashy moves, just good storytelling.

My NJPW trial continues! Bring on Blue Justice!

Shota Umino is teaming up with the young lions.

I don’t think NJPW is going to make the cut. Still haven’t gotten around to New Beginning. Product just isn’t very good. Goes against Dave Meltzer’s assertion that this is the easiest time to book and you can do almost anything and people will eat it up.

The Rock accidentally posted a photo of him trying to solve a Rubik’s cube in a New Japan shirt.

Doesn't seem like an accidental post

He also was probably trolling and knew what wearing the shirt would do. Immediately cause all the newz goblins and internet fans to immediately start jumping to wild speculations and theories about what it means....

Tetsuya Naito has gotten the fuck outta there.

New Japan fucking sucks. I tried watching the Dontaku shows. Boring as shit. It got to the main event of night 1 and they’re doing a garbage spotfest in the main. I turned it off after one clown smashed another over the head with a steel chair. Got no time for that shit in 2025. Reeks of desperation.

Zack Sabre, Jr. is probably my least favorite wrestler on the planet. He is aggressively boring. He’s a collection of these annoying ticks and tropes that come together in this poorly presented package. His limb work never goes anywhere. The neck twist he does is just lame as hell — Giulia should stop doing it in WWE too. His selling is poor. His gear barely fits him. I cannot stand him. Of course he drives down business and of course these fuckers go back to him as a main eventer.

Wrestle Kingdom is gonna be on Japanese national TV for the first time in 22 years

Time for them to royally fuck it up by basing the entire card around House of Torture as they have been

I watched Dominion. Oh boy…

Sabre is everything wrong with modern wrestling

Thank you! I’m glad someone else sees it. Well, I guess lots of people do since the attendance for NJPW shows dropped off when he became champ. But it’s nice to see it here.

When I checked out Dontaku (I think that was the double night show they did recently), about the only thing that didn’t absolutely suck was the young lion match. I quite enjoyed Murishima vs. Nagai lol. It’s like they have to forget everything they learn when they graduate.

Modern Puro took the worst of the US indy style that made TNALOL sucha meme and fused it with the worst of worked mma and flooded the circuit with guys who look half as tough as Punk.


Sabre is the crown jewel of the farce stylistically. He cant work a hold. He cant sell a shotgun to the face. He looks like he's going to die from malnutrition at any moment. He cant talk. He's a blackhole where charisma goes to die. His psychology is nonexistent. The only thing he has going for him is his ring timing. Not his crowd timing mind you cause i dont think he's aware he's working in front of an audience. But he's where he needs to be in order for the nonsense to continue.

So his memorization is fine too i guess. Congrats.

If i were going to shoot any 2 wrestlers into the sun he'd be my 2nd pick only behind Orange Cassidy and for shockingly similar reasons.

This is perfect. I was comparing OC and ZSJ the other day. They both lack credibility in the same way. ZSJ will just swim through holds while OC will do dives.

When WWF and WCW starting locking talent down in the 90s, I think the days of big name stars going to Japan started to die. Then AJPW died, Inoki went to his dark place, Misawa literally died and puroresu has been left with what they can get. I’m starting to question whether or not they’ve convinced themselves they actually prefer that nonsense though. I think the coverage guys like Meltzer gives them has colored their thinking and they believe this stuff has a chance of catching on.

Puro died with Misawa. Once we lost NOAH the form shriveled and died. The more they court a global audience the more true it is.

You might be right, but I’m not sure it’s their pursuit of a global audience so much as the type of global audience they are seeking.

LOL at fucking New Japan.

I gave them a shot. Fucking dogshit promotion.