General Puro Discussion Thread

[Stopspot]

Zero1 are doing Koji Kanemoto vs Ikuto Hidaka later this month.

Why doesn't this company get more TV time than they do? That match is going to be a junior grappling master class.

 

[Stopspot]

Here are the full team line up for the upcoming AJPW Real World Tag League:

Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori
Suwama & Kento Miyahara
Zeus & The Bodyguard
Shuji Ishikawa & Hoshitango
Osamu Nishimura & KENSO
Yutaka Yoshie & Shigehiro Irie
Naoya Nomura & Yuma Aoyagi

That's a proper heavyweight tag league outside of Nomura and Aoyagi. Irie is taking Akebono's spot as Yoshie's partner since Akebono is going freelance, but AJPW has announced that he will keep working with AJPW, just not under a written full time deal.

 

[Bort]

So long, Greatest Ever!
:steve:

 

[Stopspot]

I need to catch the first half once it is up on demand. But it was a heck of a ride. Now the greatest of all time can ride off into the sun

 

[Bort]

 

[Roadster]

(1) Yoshinari Ogawa & Hitoshi Kumano vs. Yoshihiro Takayama [FREE] & Shiro Tomoyose
(2) Mitsuhiro Kitamiya, Maybach Taniguchi & Akitoshi Saito vs. Muhammed Yone, Quiet Storm
(3) Takashi Sugiura vs. Takashi Iizuka
(4) Shelton “X” Benjamin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima [FREE]
(5) GHC Junior Tag Championship Match: [25th Champions] Daisuke Harada & Atsushi Kotoge vs. [Challengers] El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku
~ 1st title defense.
(6) GHC Junior Championship Match: [29th Champion] Taichi vs. [Challenger] Taiji Ishimori
~ 5th title defense.
(7) GHC Tag Championship Match: [33rd Champions] “Killer Elite Squad” Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. [Challengers] “BIG in USA” Chris Hero & Colt Cabana
~ 5th title defense.
(8) GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: [23rd Champion] Minoru Suzuki vs. [Challenger] Naomichi Marufuji
~ 5th title defense.

Hopefully Minoru slaps the shit out of Marufuji.

 

[Stopspot]

Getting empty around Akiyama.

Kotaru Suzuki are leaving AJPW at the years end, sighting multiple restructurings of his contract as the primary reason.

I love what All Japan puts out most of the time. But it seems that they just cannot make any money these days. Maybe they need to burn to the ground completely and be rebuilt from the ground up.

 

[Bort]

They're getting Zero1ed.

 

[Stopspot]

They're getting Zero1ed.

Except Zero1 actually has a financial backer. But who runs them on the tightest of budgets.
AJPW seemingly only has sponsors.

 

[Bort]

I'd be fine with Zero1ing. No shame in that. Why pretend you're something big or important? Why lose money because of trying to live up to the idols of the past? As Littlefinger once said, "only by admitting what we are, we can get what we want".

 

[Stopspot]

I'd be fine with Zero1ing. No shame in that. Why pretend you're something big or important? Why lose money because of trying to live up to the idols of the past? As Littlefinger once said, "only by admitting what we are, we can get what we want".

True. And all the bigger names hogging the big money should allow them to keep guys who are lower on the payroll around, and open up some money for some PPA deals with guys like Ishikawa. Also maybe they should look at another Tokyo venue that doesn't cost as much as I assume Korakuen does despite the strike it would take to their pride of not running Korakuen.

 

[Stopspot]

I know I've shat on Wrestle-1 a few times (read a lot) in this thread before. But I've always kept up with the results to know what is going on. And I sat down to watch their show from November 3 last night (got the main and semi main event left) and I am here to eat crow. I enjoyed it.

From what I have gathered their booking seems to have stablized (or maybe it only turns shit when KAI gets put in a big spot, who knows?). I could see myself getting into it if it keeps going solidly. And hopefully Sanshiro Takagi has managed to do something about the debt the company is in in his near six months in charge.

 

[Stopspot]

The scene is going to change if this week's Tokyo Sports is anything to go by. And not for the better necessarily.

Japan has fallen into another recession, and the yen is taking a beating as expected. Expect most of the smaller/not as financially strong companies to make cutbacks to avoid going under.

 

[Stopspot]

Colby Corino, son of Steve Corino. Is going on an extended learning stay of Japan with Zero-1. The same promotion his father worked for for a number of years.

Congratulations to Colby. If I could pick to train in Japan outside of the New Japan or Dragon gate systems, Otani (Zero-1 president and head honcho) would be my go to.

 

[Roadster]

Word is going around that Sabre has left or is intending to leave NOAH. That would be horrible. First KENTA, then TMDK and now Sabre...ironically people are leaving NOAH in boat loads.