New Japan Pro-Wrestling General Discussion Thread

[Leo C]

Obvo. Because we all know how much more work Okada needs. ity:

I never said Okada needed work. I said Gedo doesn't seem to be interested in pushing someone else to be a long term main eventer other than Okada.

 

[Roadster]

I never said Okada needed work. I said Gedo doesn't seem to be interested in pushing someone else to be a long term main eventer other than Okada.

I was being sarcastic. And I wasn't directing it to you.

 

[Leo C]

I was being sarcastic. And I wasn't directing it to you.

:dawg: Oh OK. I did catch the yellow, but I thought it was a different sarcasm.
Not sure why you quoted me though :idk:

 

[Bort]

Oh, and Jr. Tag Division this year has to be one of the weakest runs I've ever seen in Japanese wrestlig history.

 

[Stopspot]

New Japan have never really had any "plans" for their juniors. But this is what happens when your division rotates around what gaijins Gedo can get in at the moment. And not even in the old New JApan way of "which gaijin can we bring in to feud with our champ this tour" but rather "which gaijin can we make our champ this tour".

 

[Roadster]

The Omega/KUSHIDA match was a great match, but Omega winning was a stupid move. Kushida should've held it to at least WK. I would've supported even retaining at WK, but that's just me. It's moments like these that I really miss the old Omega.

 

[Roadster]

Destruction in Kobe's reliance on tag team matches is pretty nauseating. To me, at least.

 

[Stopspot]

The Omega/KUSHIDA match was a great match, but Omega winning was a stupid move. Kushida should've held it to at least WK. I would've supported even retaining at WK, but that's just me. It's moments like these that I really miss the old Omega.

Try Japanese wrestling as a whole's reliance on tag matches. Because it's part of their style to make singles matches rare. When two wrestlers face off one on one it's supposed to mean something generally. So they pack their undercards with tag matches. Plus it gives the rookies easy experience working with a lot of established talent.

 

[Prince Bálor]

Prince Bálor's NJPW Journey
Destination: Destruction In Kobe
Date: 9/27/15

​

- Tanaka & Komatsu vs White & Little Finlay was a solid show opener. **½
The match lasted 5 minutes, which is a crime, but the young lions made the most of it.
Tanaka & Komatsu got the win in a nice finish, when Tanaka locked the Single Leg Crab Hold on White and forced him to tap out.

- Nagata, Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs Juice, Captain New Japan & Nakanishi was decent. **
I would've preferred this match being cut down to 5 minutes rather than the show opener, but oh well.
This was nothing to write home about, which perfectly describes Juice Robinson's run in NJPW so far.
Nagata got the win for his team when he hit a Backdrop Hold on Juice.

- Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & RPG Vice vs Mascara Dorada, Honma, Taguchi & Makabe was rock solid for the time given. **¾
This was a match with better pacing than the previous match and the best match on the card to this point.
Everyone got their trademark stuff in, just like in every multi-man tag match and honestly, Dorada made this enjoyable for me.
RPG Vice got the win for their team via Strong Zero on Dorada. Despite him eating the pin, he was man of the match.

- Matt Sydal & TenKoji vs Kenny Omega, Doc & Machine Gun was good. ***
The show picked up from here. TenKoji work well with Doc and Karru, so we were in for a good bout.
The true spotlight was on Sydal and Omega here, though. Their exchanges were crisp and highlights of this match.
The finish saw Matt-O pinning KO with the Shooting Star Press, as expected... Which, of course, sets the stage for their upcoming IWGP Jr. HW title match at KOPW. Again, Sydal and KO looked good working together which bodes well for their singles bout next month.

- Naito vs Shibata was good. ***
Given how this has been one of the best NJPW feuds, the match wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be.
I expected more fire from both men, especially from Shibata. Plus, the match should've lasted more than 12 minutes.
El Ingobernable Naito got the win after hitting Shibata in the ding ding a few times, followed by Destino.
It's such a treat watching heel Naito. Post-match, Naito attacked Jay White and one of the camera guys on the ramp.
Shibata ran wild and made the save and then brawled with Naito to the back. Looking forward to seeing more of these two.

- Okada, Sakuraba & YTR vs AJ Styles, Tonga & Hall was good. ***
All 6 guys brought something to the table and made this enjoyable.
Okada/AJ exchanges were once again magical, and YTR/Tonga interaction was hilarious.
Sakuraba tapped Hall out and got the win for his team!

- reDRagon vs Time Splitters was very good. ***½
reDRagon retained by hitting Chasing The Dragon on Shelley.
I'm flabbergasted there was no title change, considering the hot potato nature of the Jr. tag titles.
Post-match, RPG Vice showed up and laid out both reDRagon and Time Splitters. Then they proceeded to hit Fish with a Strong Zero on his title.
Ehh, the booking of Jr. tag division keeps spinning around. We're never really going past 4 teams being in the title picture.

- Tanahashi vs Bad Luck Fale was great. ****
This was even better than their G1 Climax bout. Ace Tana is the GOAT. Him pulling a great match out of Fale is magic.
Tana can make lemonade out of diarrhoea. Post-match, he challenged Naito for the title shot at KOPW.

- Nakamura vs Goto was a great ME and MOTN. ****¼
I love Nakamura, but him winning back the IC title is pointless, it doesn't do him or Goto any favors.
Post-match, Machine Gun challenged Naka for the IC title match down the line and Naka accepted.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Kobe was a tad bit better than Okayama, but some of the booking was in that same vein as the Okayama show. There were some head-scratching title changes, which hurt the Okayama show, but here we're just stuck in repetition... Naka is the IC champ again and the Jr. tag title contenders keep spinning around. Gedo and Jado need to mix things up.

 

[Stopspot]

KOPW is getting English commentary: Yay.
It's the combination of Matt Striker and Kevin Kelly: Booooo

 

[Prince Bálor]

Striker and Kelly on commentary? Nice! Would've been much better if Vampiro was there, though.

 

[Leo C]

I'll probably just watch the japanese version as I did for WK9, but still, great move on New Japan's part. Should've done it a long time ago. Now I just wish they would put subtitles on their video packages.

 

[Roadster]

Cool to see New Japan is tending to their massive US audience. But I don't like Kelly.

 

[Stopspot]

You know what would be better than Kevin Kelly and "I try so hard" Matt Striker? The actual English announce team. Barnett and Ranallo blow both these guys out of the water.

 

[Prince Bálor]

Hope they're saving Barnett and Ranallo for the best and biggest event, WK10.