New Japan Pro-Wrestling General Discussion Thread

[Kim Jong Umb]

Both blocks have some fucking banging match ups. The one guy I wish was't in this at all and would get out of the upper midcard/main event scene immediately is Bad Luck Fale. That guy cannot fucking wrestle to save his life. I don't think I can recall the last big man who was as useless as him in the ring. Maybe Kozlov but even he could move around bring some intensity.

Ospreay and Shingo being in this is pretty big for both of their careers and an indication that they are in fact moving to Heavyweight very soon.

I'm still hoping Ibushi gets to hold the IWGP Heavyweight Championship sooner than later. Someone like Okada, Naito or Tanahashi winning this would be expected. Hopefully they go another route and give it to someone fresher. Ibushi would be my first choice. I wouldn't complain one bit about Moxley, Robinson or SANADA though.

Maybe why Juice lost US Title was to get him ready to win G1?

 

[Chris]

Maybe why Juice lost US Title was to get him ready to win G1?

I really haven't watched much of his run since leaving WWE, so I'm not the best judge here as I only really really loosely keep up with NJPW through results and news...but that would still feel kinda underwhelming to me.

 

[Geese]

I finished watching Dominion. What a fast paced, highspots match between Dragon Lee and Will Ospreay for the Jr. Heavyweight title! Sportsmanship displayed by Dragon Lee as he extended a handshake to Will before the match began.

 

[Snowman1]

What about Ospreay? This would be an amazing year for a surprise winner like that.

If it's a repeat the B-Block is looking a little thin, and Naito's story is still too great, especially if he keeps his promise to beat Okada at WK AS IC champ

 

[Geese]

Davey Boy Smith Jr. is finished with NJPW. He wasn't happy with the way he was being booked.

https://www.ewrestlingnews.com/news/davey-boy-smith-jr-done-with-njpw

 

[Rosie]

Davey Boy Smith Jr. is finished with NJPW. He wasn't happy with the way he was being booked.

https://www.ewrestlingnews.com/news/davey-boy-smith-jr-done-with-njpw

I mean, it's a little unfortunate for him, but considering he seems to be doing well in MLW, I think it's best for him to leave and try elsewhere. Like, with LIJ, the G.O.D, the Bucks when they were around, they were kind of overlooked. At least he had a few tag titles.

 

[Jay-Ashley]

Also, apparently a lot of New Japan people hate working with RoH, so may soon see that partnership go away, which open the door for AEW and New Japan.

 

[Rosie]

And it was in that moment, New Japan knew, they fucked up.

 

[Jay-Ashley]

Davey Boy Smith Jr. is finished with NJPW. He wasn't happy with the way he was being booked.

https://www.ewrestlingnews.com/news/davey-boy-smith-jr-done-with-njpw

Also, apparently he wants to go work with IMPACT now as well.

 

[Rosie]

Also, apparently he wants to go work with IMPACT now as well.

Then they will tell him to work a second job as they did to Killer Kross if he wants more money.

 

[Kasumi]

What about Ospreay? This would be an amazing year for a surprise winner like that.

If it's a repeat the B-Block is looking a little thin, and Naito's story is still too great, especially if he keeps his promise to beat Okada at WK AS IC champ

Osprey and his constant high spots can suck it, slow your roll Osprey this aint a gymnastic floor routine and a high wire circus, slow ya roll.

 

[Jay-Ashley]

Then they will tell him to work a second job as they did to Killer Kross if he wants more money.

I mean, he still does MLW so he has that going for him.

 

[Rosie]

Osprey and his constant high spots can suck it, slow your roll Osprey this aint a gymnastic floor routine and a high wire circus, slow ya roll.

Calm down there Kasum E. Cornette. Either you're just relying on something you heard from a critic without watching a match, or you saw a couple of gifs and that's it.

Frankly, Will Ospreay is one of my favourite wrestlers going right now because he isn't just a "high-spots" guy. His two most recent matches against Shingo Takagi and Dragon Lee both were matches of the year contenders and he can mix his athletic moves with a story. Especially now that he's rounding his game. He doesn't even refer to himself as the "Aerial Assassin" anymore. Like one example of a match which he really toned himself down was actually last year at Dominion against Hiromu Takahashi. It was a match he was very subdued in his high-flying and wrestled a more power-based game. That's kind of also why he's added moves like the Hidden Blade Elbow and the Stormbreaker into his move-set. The hidden blade is a back elbow strike and the Stormbreaker is a power based move. Both are like key moves in his move-set now, with the Stormbreaker being his main finisher now.

Of course, he earned the high spot reputation with his decisive match with Ricochet a few years ago. But I believe he's worked hard to prove he's more than that. High-flying is still a part of his game, but it isn't the only thing he relies on and I think he knows personally to help the longevity of his career while still being exciting, he has to round his game more and he has and considering the fact that Kenny Omega hasn't wrestled as much this year, may be one of the best performers on the planet right now.

 

[Jay-Ashley]

Here is all the matches for G1

Spoiler: Matches

Night 1 (July 6, Dallas - A Block)

Lance Archer vs. Will Ospreay
Bad Luck Fale vs. EVIL
SANADA vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
KENTA vs. Kota Ibushi
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada

Night 2 (July 13, Tokyo - B Block)

Juice Robinson vs. Shingo Takagi
Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano
Jeff Cobb vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Hirooki Goto vs. “Switchblade” Jay White
Jon Moxley vs. Taichi

Night 3 (July 14, Tokyo - A Block)

SANADA vs. Will Ospreay
Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
EVIL vs. Kota Ibushi
Bad Luck Fale vs. Lance Archer
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA

Night 4 (July 15, Sapporo - B Block)

Shingo Takagi vs. Toru Yano
Hirooki Goto vs. Juice Robinson
”Switchblade” Jay White vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Jeff Cobb vs. Jon Moxley
Taichi vs. Tetsuya Naito

Night 5 (July 18, Tokyo - A Block)

KENTA vs. Lance Archer
Bad Luck Fale vs. Kazuchika Okada
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
EVIL vs. SANADA
Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay

Night 6 (July 19, Tokyo - B Block)

Jeff Cobb vs. Juice Robinson
”Switchblade” Jay White vs. Toru Yano
Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito
Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi
Jon Moxley vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Night 7 (July 20, Tokyo - A Block)

Bad Luck Fale vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Lance Archer
Kota Ibushi vs. SANADA
EVIL vs. KENTA
Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay

Night 8 (July 24, Hiroshima - B Block)

Juice Robinson vs. Toru Yano
Hirooki Goto vs. Taichi
”Switchblade” Jay White vs. Jeff Cobb
Jon Moxley vs. Shingo Takagi
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Night 9 (July 27, Nagoya - A Block)

Kota Ibushi vs. Lance Archer
Bad Luck Fale vs. Will Ospreay
EVIL vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA
Kazuchika Okada vs. KENTA

Night 10 (July 28, Nagoya - B Block)

Juice Robinson vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Jeff Cobb vs. Taichi
”Switchblade” Jay White vs. Shingo Takagi
Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano
Jon Moxley vs. Tetsuya Naito

Night 11 (July 30, Takamatsu - A Block)

Bad Luck Fale vs. Kota Ibushi
Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer
EVIL vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
KENTA vs. SANADA

Night 12 (August 1, Fukuoka - B Block)

Jeff Cobb vs. Shingo Takagi
Juice Robinson vs. Tetsuya Naito
Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Jon Moxley vs. Toru Yano
”Switchblade” Jay White vs. Taichi

Night 13 (August 3, Osaka - A Block)

Bad Luck Fale vs. KENTA
Lance Archer vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
EVIL vs. Will Ospreay
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi
Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA

Night 14 (August 4, Osaka - B Block)

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Toru Yano
Juice Robinson vs. Taichi
Hirooki Goto vs. Jeff Cobb
”Switchblade” Jay White vs. Jon Moxley
Shingo Takagi vs. Tetsuya Naito

Night 15 (August 7, Shizuoka - A Block)

Lance Archer vs. SANADA
Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
KENTA vs. Will Ospreay
EVIL vs. Kazuchika Okada

Night 16 (August 8, Yokohama - B Block)

Jeff Cobb vs. Tetsuya Naito
Hirooki Goto vs. Jon Moxley
”Switchblade” Jay White vs. Juice Robinson
Taichi vs. Toru Yano
Shingo Takagi vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Night 17 (August 10, Tokyo - A Block)

KENTA vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
EVIL vs. Lance Archer
Bad Luck Fale vs. SANADA
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Will Ospreay
Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi

Night 18 (August 11, Tokyo - B Block)

Taichi vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Hirooki Goto vs. Shingo Takagi
Jeff Cobb vs. Toru Yano
Jon Moxley vs. Juice Robinson
”Switchblade” Jay White vs. Tetsuya Naito

 

[Rosie]

Night one... Tanahashi vs Okada, KENTA vs Kota Ibushi, Sanada vs ZSJ... DAMN!

Although I think they missed the opportunity to have the US Champ to have his first tournament match on US soil.