Puro and creating new stars

[Stopspot]

Two out of the three major Japanese promotions are far from prime condition right now. All Japan is lacking a lot of guys since the Mutoh exodus and a real clear direction and Noah hasn't been the same since Misawa died and just like AJPW lack direction. Both these companies are falling behind while New Japan is pulling ahead and growing bigger whilst companies like Wrestle-1 are establishing themselves and smaller companies like Dragon Gate and DDT are taking ground as well.

But something all these promotions need going forward is new stars, aces as they are called over there to carry the companies and draw crowds. This is particularly clear in NOAH and AJPW, who have a lot of older guys, but a lack of young guys to step up. NOAH has top guys like KENTA and Morishima but who has the potential to step up after them? All Japan is currently headlined by Akebono who ain't a spring rose himself, as far as younglings go they have Shiozaki I guess (31years) and the injured Soya (28) but do they have what it takes? New Japan has made Okada into a star and they seem damn focused on making Naito one as well.Dragon Gate's entire storyline right now is focused on young guys "taking over" with the Millenials and CIBA (some greenhorn impressed CIMA and was gifted with the gimmick of...mini CIMA) as well as young guys like Tozawa and Shingo. I'm not that into DDT to claim to know anything about that roster. And Wrestle-1 have Sanada who was All Japan's top prospect before the exodus.

If you're a puro fan, who do you see the companies building around in the years coming? Who will become aces or otherwise top stars for their respective companies?

 

[Farooq]

Jackie Chan!

 

[Bort]

KAI is going to become W-1's ace, not Sanada. He's way better and more charismatic.

Suwama is still All Japan's ace. Shiozaki's there. Kento Miyahara is 24 and already awesome. All Japan is in better shape than W-1 if we talk about the future.

Fuck Dragon Gate for their recent macchinations.

Ibushi is still the (f)ace of DDT, he puts butts in seats. HARASHIMA is #2. Shigehiro Irie might top them net year, he's so awesome. YT him.

Big Japan has few dudes that are awesome, they're in safe hands.

NOAH? I hate to say it, but putting the title on KENTA was the best possible decision at the time. They got smarter and had him defend his title every month, which meant bigger attendances, even against the likes of Haste and Nicholls. So yeah, business wise, they didn't go down this year, plus they got lucky by having two huge ass retirement shows from Kobashi and Taue happening under their banner. Although, not putting the title on Nagata might be a colossal mistake.

 

[Stopspot]

KAI is going to become W-1's ace, not Sanada. He's way better and more charismatic.

Suwama is still All Japan's ace. Shiozaki's there. Kento Miyahara is 24 and already awesome. All Japan is in better shape than W-1 if we talk about the future.

Fuck Dragon Gate for their recent macchinations.

Ibushi is still the (f)ace of DDT, he puts butts in seats. HARASHIMA is #2. Shigehiro Irie might top them net year, he's so awesome. YT him.

Big Japan has few dudes that are awesome, they're in safe hands.

NOAH? I hate to say it, but putting the title on KENTA was the best possible decision at the time. They got smarter and had him defend his title every month, which meant bigger attendances, even against the likes of Haste and Nicholls. So yeah, business wise, they didn't go down this year, plus they got lucky by having two huge ass retirement shows from Kobashi and Taue happening under their banner. Although, not putting the title on Nagata might be a colossal mistake.

Granted I know fairly little about most of the companies, I am trying to get into All Japan though since it seems like a promotion I would like, just need to find more shows to watch. I enjoy Suwama, Shiozaki and Soya a lot from their current roster (really enjoyed the Suwama vs Shiozaki triple crown match).

And Dragon Gate is the king of weird booking, who books it, Cima?

I haven't watched any DDT but I figured that Ibushi was the face of the company.

Need to get more into NOAH, I've only seen the Final Burning show in full.

 

[Bort]

All Japan is in rough shape because of the Muto exodus, they have hard times in gaining the fans' trust back, but they're getting there. The numbers are slightly going up with Akebono as the champ. But the first half of the year was amazing for them, both booking and match wise.

This is their best match since 2011, it's a human chess game with hard earned transitions and mat struggle, where every little thing matters (see: Finlay), and in terms of quality it gives Okada/Tanashi a run for their money:


This tag is from the same show, great underdog performance from Manabu Soya:


Again, from the same Sumo Hall show, great nifty, fast paced Junior tag:


This one's from the opening day of Champion Carnival, very good little match:


Champion Carnival - Day 6, the best match of the tournament:


Suwama/Shiozaki II, 2 out of 3 Falls; amazing match, similar to Suwama/Funaki, although there's a sleeper spot in the middle of it, I'm still not sure what to think about it, I wanna hear your opinion, it screamed TKO, but w/e:


- - - - - - - - - -

But if you're bored with that, there's always TENRYU VS. DANGEROUS K:


To quote Ditch, the match is "an absolute grade-A demonstration of how to base a full-length title match around striking", and you don't quite get the art of selling until you see Kawada's and Tenryu's matches.

 

[Stopspot]

All Japan is in rough shape because of the Muto exodus, they have hard times in gaining the fans' trust back, but they're getting there. The numbers are slightly going up with Akebono as the champ. But the first half of the year was amazing for them, both booking and match wise.

This is their best match since 2011, it's a human chess game with hard earned transitions and mat struggle, where every little thing matters (see: Finlay), and in terms of quality it gives Okada/Tanashi a run for their money:


This tag is from the same show, great underdog performance from Manabu Soya:


Again, from the same Sumo Hall show, great nifty, fast paced Junior tag:


This one's from the opening day of Champion Carnival, very good little match:


Champion Carnival - Day 6, the best match of the tournament:


Suwama/Shiozaki II, 2 out of 3 Falls; amazing match, similar to Suwama/Funaki, although there's a sleeper spot in the middle of it, I'm still not sure what to think about it, I wanna hear your opinion, it screamed TKO, but w/e:


- - - - - - - - - -

But if you're bored with that, there's always TENRYU VS. DANGEROUS K:


To quote Ditch, the match is "an absolute grade-A demonstration of how to base a full-length title match around striking", and you don't quite get the art of selling until you see Kawada's and Tenryu's matches.

I'll get on it once I am back on proper internet (see this weekend.)