NJPW Thread (New Japan Pro Wrestling)

[Spens1]

Naito is the new IC champ, with him likely to face Tanahashi at WK in what could be the main event if we have a fan vote

Okada v Omega OR
Naito v Tanahashi to main event, now that will be close

Though the world title match may change to Okada v Goto (bleh) if Goto beats Omega for the case at KOPW (i really hope not)

[Spens1]

so Okada vs Omega is going to be at the dome for the IWGP world heavyweight championship. Omega cut a promo that was straight fire as well. (mercifully too). Okada has been champ for a year and a half (well except Naito's 70 day reign) so i think he should drop it to Kenny at the Dome (even if its via shennanigans cause Bullet Club). Thing is, Kenny isn't the standard gaijin also, he speaks fluent japanese and pretty much qualifies as a japanese national now and he's one of the best all round talents in the world today. Why not do it, Also Bullet Club vs LIJ AND Omega vs Naito for the belts, book it Gedo. Also Okada himself i think needs a feud outside the world title picture, well he doesn't need it but it would add an extra dimension to him (how does the ace handle himself without the title, something Tana could do really well). I think Okada vs Heel Goto would be a feud of the year potential matchup (the story is there with Okada belitteling him earlier this year).

Shibata vs the World at this stage. EVIL attacked him after the match (after he had a staredown with Go Shiozaki) so at power struggle its going to be Shibata vs EVIL for the NEVER title. Should be good.

Naito vs Lelgin for the IC title at Power Struggle. Elgin has no chance Naito retains and leads to the potential main event of Naito vs Tanahashi (think Naito retains, drops the belt shortly after and goes after the world title again).

G.O.D got the tag team titles back (whyyyyyy). Briscoes back to ROH (Jay and mark are both needed badly their also, Jay may be one of the few legit main eventers left).

Apart from that random things happened.

Main takeaway though, Ibushi wrestled as tiger mask This guy right here just doesn't care and its great.

not really a NJPW (well it kinda is) but now Gedo & Jado decide to dance on NOAH's grave and give themselves the tag team championships. ffs just book the show properly, or better yet try put some guys who aren't really top guys in New Japan and build them as the top stars (i.e. Suzuki was good, the whole angle wasn't, also have Makabe, Goto and SANADA there feuding for the GHC heavyweight title, would actually make the show somewhat worth it without detracting hugely from New Japan, well maybe losing Makabe and Goto hurts a bit, but not a whole lot). NOAH should be used kinda like NXT, but also sort of not. Bring guys from across Japan who you want but don't bring them in immediately and also have some top guys come down and give the company some legitimacy, they deserve that much for whooping New Japan for most of the 2000's (though Inoki did lose his mind around then too).

[Spens1]

Matt Sydal is basically done in New Japan after being caught with weed. It was for his foot (which yeah, i can see why, its messed up) but still, not the best idea travelling with any drugs into asia, since almost all of them carry a death penalty for posession (Japan will most likely just bar him from coming into the country for at least 5 years). That sucks too because Ricocchet and Him looked poised for a push. Oh well.

Apparently AAA released Jack Evans (they're trying really hard to compete with TNA in terms of ineptitude) over comments he made (which where entirely true because AAA sucks right now). So maybe him to New Japan to help the junior division. OR Maybe New Japan can finally go and hire Eita (only been linked for 2 years).

[Spens1]

so apparently NOAH has been sold to some company called estbee

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So this is a bit like the new japan takeover (minus the fact that they got no talent in comparison). I think that means Suzuki-gun are going back to NJPW as well as Jado (maybe if Gedo&Jado together for the booking, they can avoid some of the weakness in their cards, which are mostly great, but they have their moments also).

Suzuki-Gun coming back would be great as it means Shibata vs Suzuki at the Dome for the NEVER Championship. sign me right up for that. New Japan gaining another legit talent only helps them more

Also on New Japan talent, wonder how it affects their deal, i assume they may still have a deal in place but i rather they stay as seperate entities for the most part.

[tugs]

Thought the roster will be kept intact?

[jakecronus8]

New Bullet Club member

Spoiler:

Cody Rhodes

[Dunthreevy]

New Bullet Club member

Spoiler:

Cody Rhodes

Spoiler:

Thought they were probably going that way with his heel turn at Final Battle and Adam Cole's rumored departure. Should work. Cody as a heel sounds awesome to me.

[Dunthreevy]

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The American Nightmare. Love it.

[Spens1]

Anyone watching WK11? anyway so far so good. solid debut by Cody Rhodes even if it was more a WWE style match (by no means a bad match, very pyschological).

Must be said, Yano + Ishii that could be a sitcom (i mean they are CHAOS), either way Yano in a title match why (and i love him )

oh yeah this ain't PG (Juice Robinson assured that by himself i think )

[Spens1]

Ok the Junior Heavyweight division is back, that match was amazing. Hiromu Takahashi is phenomenal, same with Kushida, but Takahashi is special.

Anyway that match had it all, high flying, lucha-libre, power moves, submissions.

Now the NEVER title match which is surely a potential classic, i'd be dissapointed if it wasn't at least excellent, Goto and Shibata are two of the best, absolutely elite wrestlers. Must be said too, Shibata is super popular, he got probably the loudest pop from the crowd (aside from Takahashi winning the title that is)

Admittadly the way the show has gone so far, bit worried about Omega's chances right now

edit: NEVER title was fantastic, oh yeah Omega's title chances went down..... (seriously i love Okada but the man's been champ for, aside from Naito's 2 month reign, almost 20 months).

double edit: IC title was also fantastic, sadly i think thats all but dashed Omega's chances of winning the title, unless Gedo goes all in.

Spoiler:

seriously though Tana losing to Naito, that was a shock, though this raises a lot of questions about whats next for Tana, i think its official, Tana's run as a main eventer is over i think, sure he may get a brief run, but i doubt he gets the belt for a full blown run. Also Naito going over Tana in a way is a great way to complete that story, after being robbed of his spot at WK8, he has gotten his revenge.

[Spens1]

Spoiler:

dammit, main event was great but by god it was so long, still bit dejected after that (and i'm an okada fan), seriously let the G1 winner win once ffs, probably the wrong decision here since its a LOLOKADA wins (even if he did it rough). either way main event and IC title match were 5 stars for me. Omega looked ultra ultra strong though in defeat, he went through a table, kicked out of i think 2 rainmakers. Oh yeah Bullet Club got destroyed tonight, they lost all their titles, LIJ and CHAOS gained huge, retaining the big 2 and taking the 6 man tag and the Jr Heavyweight title with CHAOS taking the tag team, jr tag team and NEVER title's. Also only 2 titles were retained (Naito's IC title, Okada's HW title.

Needless to say, top to bottom i thought this entire card was fantastic from what i saw (missed the pre-show rumble which i heard was rubbish but anyway won't judge). One of the best PPV's i've ever watched, every match from the Jr Heavyweight title match had that big match title feel, and the last two matches you felt that it was almost life and death. Something WWE has really struggled to do with any of their titles aside from the WWE and IC title. Also something they couldn't do, the intensity of the last 3 matches, just marked out, didn't worry about anything else such as analytics etc, thats how drawn in i was, idk most WWE shows don't captivate enough to do that so thats why people complain about other stuff, i.e. universal title design at summerslam. But enough about them.

I think despite the loss, Omega, if he wasn't already made, i think just became #3 with Tanahashi moving to #4, maybe leaving that elite main event scene given how he lost (relatively clean it must be said). Shibata may be primed for a push i think (IC title perhaps, would make sense), Omega isn't falling down the card, he'll be firmly in that IC title to world title picture permanently now, Ishii and Yano is the oddest tag team to exist, Elgin i worry for a bit since he was on the pre-show, then again he may just end up in the NEVER division which would make a lot of sense.

Anyway How i would have rated this:

Battle Royal: N/A

Cannot rate it, didn't see it sounded like it was fun though (it had Cheeseburger at least)

Tiger Mask W v Tiger Mask Black: N/A

Again, didn't watch but should have been good since under those masks were supposedly

Spoiler:

Kota Ibushi & ACH

Young Bucks v Roppongi Vice - Jr Tag Team Titles: ***

It was a good match, young bucks are hillarious with their trash talk, they say they have no pyschology but thats how they do it. They just talk smack.

Spoiler:

Rocky Romero becomes the first 7 time Jr Heavyweight tag team champ, he deserves it given how succesful he has been.

NEVER 6 man Tag Team Titles: **3/4

Well given it was a gauntled it wasn't too bad (also thank you Tokyo Pimp for providing that proper view). Ospreay started off and had it at a high pace, but yeah a bit irritating to be honestly from him also too, it got better as it went on i thought, either way not too bad overall, was rooting for the old boy to pull through but probably made sense to have who won win.

Cody Rhodes v Juice Robinson: ***1/2

Basically a WWE styled match but its ok since it focused a lot on pyschology, Cody being the much more experienced world class talent dominated whilst Juice showed his heart and determination (and his array of vocabulary that would make a sailor blush, he still has plenty of CJ Parker in him though which was great). Match displayed Cody's arrogance, heel work and him working limbs etc, basically good way to establish yourself (though they did chant his name so they now who he is).

ROH World Title - Adam Cole v Kyle O'Reilly: ****

Shocking result and a bit short but great match, O'Reilly is a treat to watch and Adam Cole is just so good and charismatic and not a slouch either in the ring to be fair.

Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: **1/2

What in cartnation was this on one hand you had the english commentary laughing so hard the entire match (can't blame them, i was laughing so hard because of Tanga Loa's swearing too that made this match for me). It wasn't bad but more or less filler, Yano i think actually got booed by the fans which i was a bit surprised, anyway dusty finish (as is Yano's way) did detract a bit i thought but whatever.

Hiromu Takahashi v KUSHIDA: ****3/4

Was an amazing match, an absolutely amazing match, would have been ***** for me had they not botched a few times but it wasn't a huge deal either. This match had a bit of everything, high flying, power moves, brawling, lucha-libre, pyschology and mind games, submission and technical moves. Kushida had Takahashi in that submission forever and he never tapped, showing he is an absolute madman really.

Spoiler:

And then to pull off the win, poor Kushida had no defenses this time but Takahashi, that was a star making peformance in Japan, i think he could very well be one of the guys who goes on to be a future world champion, he is that good.

NEVER Title: ****1/2

It was every bit as amazing as i thought it would be, maybe a bit more. Shibata and Goto go back as far as one can imagine and it showed in this match, the no-selling, stiffness and overall not wanting to look weak for each other made this, in the words of JR, 'an absolute slobberknocker'. This was a war, headbutts were flying, kicks, slaps, chops, stiff punches. Not only that but it had a fair bit of wrestling too. It may not have been as flashy as the previous match but it delievered in the best way imaginable.

Intercontinential Title: *****

I said this could have been a 5 star match, even i didn't expect this, this was, well, one of the best matches i'd seen in idk how long (would have to go back to maybe MITB 2011 or maybe Nakamura vs Tanahashi). This was full of storytelling, and one-upsmanship. Tanahashi proving he still belongs, Naito after revenge of WK 9. Every move had purpose and had me, and basically everyone at the Dome by the looks of it, glued to the ring. Words cannot do this match justice.

World Title: *****

Some people are already calling this the best of all time (ok maybe not me, i did feel they maybe went a bit overboard and went long but regardless, was certainly better than last years title match also, which was also amazing). Omega i think with this one performance showed that Japan can rely on him to be even bigger than AJ Styles or any other Gaijin that came before him, they need to go all out with him. With Okada, the franchise is safe, he looks to be every bit of an ace as Tanahashi is, admittadly, he's much more of a prick too, which is why i like him so much though, he plays the tweener role so well. This was back and forth action, it had everything, technical, high-flying and Lucha Libre from both men (yes Okada was busting out springboards and all that, its really incredible how athletic he really is), brawling, teasing finishers, hitting finishers, kicking out of finishers. Also that big table spot and that Dragon Suplex from the top rope, i thought it killed Omega and Okada respectively. Either way both men showed that this company is in good hands and is only going to get better.

Overall, an absolutely incredible show. I watched 6 hours of this and for the most part it just flew by, was rarely ever bored and almost entirely into it, especially with the last 4 title matches, wow, those last 2 though, forget match of the year, i'd say they're Match of the Decade Candidates, they were that freaking good. I'd recommend everyone watch this, it really has a bit of everything for everyone.

[Dunthreevy]

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[jr lucosa]

Awesome review Spens. I very much enjoyed the show too, 5 something hours just kinda flew by.

I think the best of all time talk was a bit much too, it just seems like such a reactionary response that's easy to throw around. Like, did Meltzer really have time to process it and compare to whatever his greatest match(es) ever was before? That said, who cares, I always thought one of the coolest aspects of pro wrestling is at the end of the day, it's all subjective.

It was a great match and though I agree it ran a bit long, it was really impressive watching those two work at that high of level that long. To go full sports cliche, they left it all out there.

[studcrackers]

if you have AXS tv they'll be airing wrestle kingdom in 4 parts. part 1 airs tomorrow and is the okada/omega match and bonus, JR will be on commentary for it!

[Spens1]

Awesome review Spens. I very much enjoyed the show too, 5 something hours just kinda flew by.

I think the best of all time talk was a bit much too, it just seems like such a reactionary response that's easy to throw around. Like, did Meltzer really have time to process it and compare to whatever his greatest match(es) ever was before? That said, who cares, I always thought one of the coolest aspects of pro wrestling is at the end of the day, it's all subjective.

It was a great match and though I agree it ran a bit long, it was really impressive watching those two work at that high of level that long. To go full sports cliche, they left it all out there.

Yeah not sure how much of what he said was Hype, i mean you have to consider so many matches Kobashi, Misawa, Taue, Inoki etc had that were absolute classics. That's before you mention the high quality matches in America back in the day.

I do stand by what i said that both Naito v Tana and Okada v Omega have good cases for match of the decade (i was surprised he only gave Naito v Tana 4.5 stars, i thought it was a certain 5 star match but anyway its opinion i guess).

Like you said though, its all subjective really and how you interpret it.

Also Okada really is not getting enough crtical aclaim for the match, he did as much as Omega did in this really. Omega didn't carry him and Okada didn't carry Omega, that was a 50-50 contribution and it showed (its why it was that good of a match), so it would be nice to see Okada get some praise for his work.

[jr lucosa]

Yeah they both did an amazing job, I agree. Maybe it's just guys showing love for the North American.

[Spens1]

Watched the Osaka show and that delivered big time.

Michinoku v Henare was solid (Michinoku can still go well, and Henare could be a future star). It wasn't the usual rubbish match that goes on as opener, this was actually a reasonably good wrestling match, nothing wrong with it at all (2.75 stars)

TenKoji v Tatsu and Kushida was better than it had any right to be. Maybe because of Kushida being so damn good, i hope he goes into the junior division or challenges Shibata, after all it is an Openweight title (3 stars)

6 man tag was solid as was LIJ vs Taguchi Japan (Taguchi Japan making all the dad jokes), still, LIJ get their titles back, i mean these belts are a joke it must be said, only company that does 6 man tag team titles well is Lucha Underground and i think a lot of that has to do with not having normal tag team title belts (3.25 stars)

Shibata vs Ospreay was great, Ospreay looked solid, i am amazed he is alive though after that match and he has to wrestle tomorrow apparently. Was thinking they'd have to book his ghost. (4 stars)

Takahashi vs Lee was great as expected, they're basically wrestling soulmates though so of course it was going to be a MOTN contender. They both have no regard for each other and themselves, just a crazy high flying match full of excitement. Takahashi, with all the respect to Kushida, is really taking that belt to the next level, much like Nakamura took the IC title belt to the main event, and Shibata and Ishii made the NEVER title relevant, Takahashi is bringing back the Jr Heavyweight division with support from Kushida and Dragon Lee. Taguchi for some reason challenged him afterwards and actually got an ankle lock. I know he's liked but just why (4.5 stars)

Naito vs Elgin was for me MOTN though, Elgin's best performance in a New Japan ring thus far. Just a straight forward match with no LIJ nonsense which was smart. (4.5 stars)

Overall great show, this was a lot better than the Sapporo card which was basically a great main event and pretty bad-mehish matches for the rest. This was a solid night of pretty decent to good matches with the crescendo at the end.

[Spens1]

45th Anniversary show was solid but some of the booking was just bizarre.

I like TenCozy but them as tag team champs in 2017 isn't exactly going to help the heavyweight tag team division which already has its issues (they need a legit team, its a shame Archer got injured when he did otherwise i think KES could have filled that void).

Worse though was Taichi and Kanemaru beating RPG Vice. Those two just downright suck to be honest. There is no real redeeming factors about Taichi at all, why the hell did they think having them as tag team champs was a good thing. I mean i know they had to get a win but honestly it should have been the 8 man tag (suzuki should have murdered Yoshi-Hashi or Gedo/Jado if they wanted them to get over more).

ZSJ joining Suzukigun well that came out of nowhere. Still though poor Shibata, hopefully though this means Naito vs Shibata for the IC title (it needs to happen again, such a good matchup).

What is Tanahashi at this point, it seems like he's getting desperate or something. His new theme, coupled with the pleading for a match, its like a star past his prime wanting to stay in the limelight, if so its pretty good, if not just slightly uncomfortable .

Either way it seems like they're slow burning an Okada heel turn (and he's always been at his best being a cocky, silver spoon, rich kid anyway so why not have him be the corporate champ heel and have Omega and Naito playing the anti-authority roles, just to completely switch the roles).

[Spens1]

So the Final for this years G1 is

Katsuyori Shibata (who has beaten Suzuki and just beat Ishii in the one semi) vs..... Bad Luck Fale

I mean i like the fact that Fale is getting another push but sadly no one buys him as a main eventer. I think EVIL at least has a storyline with Shibata potentially (especially if Shibata beats him and goes after the IC title).

[Spens1]

PSA: even though this is a road too show, there is a NEVER title match tonight between Hiroki Goto and Minoru Suzuki. should be a great one (possibly with a title change tonight, well hopefully there is, Suzuki-Gun needs some respect).