New Japan Pro Wrestling News and Card Announcements Thread

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

I watched it on the World stream as it happened and it was electric! My big worry was about how the match would be received by people who already knew it was a draw. If you already know it's going 60 minutes... Are you as invested? For some matches it makes no difference of course. Styles vs Joe vs Daniels for example.

But I think a match like Okada vs Suzuki is ruined if you already know the result, because it's essentially a 40 minute attempt at tricking you into thinking Suzuki is going to win.

 

[ShinChan]

I watched it on the World stream as it happened and it was electric! My big worry was about how the match would be received by people who already knew it was a draw. If you already know it's going 60 minutes... Are you as invested? For some matches it makes no difference of course. Styles vs Joe vs Daniels for example.

But I think a match like Okada vs Suzuki is ruined if you already know the result, because it's essentially a 40 minute attempt at tricking you into thinking Suzuki is going to win.

I wish that I could watch it live. It would be even more fun watching a classic match. But I was very invested in the match although I knew the result.

I rarely get matches live so I'm habitual of seeing them later when I get to download it. I prefer keeping them and seeing them whenever I want to.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I watched Dominion later in the day unspoiled, but I was on the end of a really long work week, and by the end of the show I was pretty burned out. Okada/Omega II did seem paced a bit better in the first half than the 1/4 match, but the end stretch wasn't as electrically engaging. I'd have to check it out a second time to give a proper rating but I feel safe saying that It was a top ten match in the world this year.

And Hiromu/KUSHIDA was better than their 1/4 match but still runs second behind the Super Junior final for best junior match in the company this year.

 

[Black Anaconda Vise]

G1 Participants were announced:

- Hiroshi Tanahashi
- Togi Makabe
- Michael Elgin
- Kazuchika Okada
- Hirooki Goto
- Tomohiro Ishii
- Toru Yano
- YOSHI-HASHI
- Kenny Omega
- Bad Luck Fale
- Tama Tonga
- Tetsuya Naito
- SANADA
- EVIL
- Satoshi Kojima
- Yuji Nagata
- Juice Robinson
- Minoru Suzuki
- Zack Sabre Jr
- KOTA FUCKIN IBUSHI

It's safe to say that given the participants, this is gonna be a sweet G1

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Yes, I would've liked Ibushi in as Tiger Mask W, then perhaps reveal himself/get unmasked mid-match when he would face Kenny. What a moment that would've been. But it's of no real consequence.

I'm extremely curious to see how Zack fares in this, especially when he goes up against the top guys in his block. Him vs Okada or Tanahashi will be amazing (for me, maybe not the usual fan haha).

 

[ShinChan]

I would prefer Kenny Omega making a sort of history and winning the G1 Climax for the second consecutive time leading to a trilogy at Wrestle Kingdom 12 where Omega finally defeats Okada for the title.

Don't make Okada win it as it's not required. Would like to see a match between Elgin and Ishii. Also, Omega Vs. Elgin. The latter would be apt as a final as well. Or Omega Vs. Tanahashi.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Last night's "Best in the World" ppv from ROH adds a little dynamic to New Japan's upcoming G1 Special next month. At the ppv last night, Cody, AKA Cody Rhodes, cleanly pinned Christopher Daniels to become ROH World Champion. As a result, Cody could potentially make history as being the first man to be ROH and IWGP Champion simultaneously if he beats Okada at the G1 Special.

I'm expecting some sort of screwy finish for this match. I don't see Cody Rhodes losing, or at least losing clean, barely more than a week after winning the first World Championship of his career but I can also imagine the backlash online if Cody beats Okada. However, if Cody is able to deliver a performance unlike anything we've seen out of him, and deliver something somewhat akin to an Okada vs. Omega outing, then it'd take a lot of sting out of the backlash. Since Cody is now ROH World Champion, I wouldn't be at all surprised if their match goes to a time limit draw like Okada vs. Omega II and Cody has a huge opportunity to jack up his standing to being a legit main eventer if he's able to post a strong showing against Okada.

 

[ShinChan]

Happy to see Cody win a World Championship.

However, I can't even imagine him going over Kazuchika Okada. I can't see NJPW giving a newcomer a big win over the best NJPW has today. No way. Can't blame them either. Kenny Omega couldn't do it and Cody is too new to do so. It would be a bad decision if it actually happened.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Jesus... Has Cody ever had a match over 3 stars? What was his match with Daniels like?

If he beats Okada... I'll cry. (I'm SUPER high right now lol)

 

[ShinChan]

Jesus... Has Cody ever had a match over 3 stars? What was his match with Daniels like?

If he beats Okada... I'll cry. (I'm SUPER high right now lol)

Eh. He isn't that bad. I do remember multiple memorable matches from him. So he isn't as bad as you're making him out. Atleast not for me. Opinions vary though.

I still can't imagine NJPW giving Cody a win over Okada.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Outside of him and Goldust vs the Shield I can't remember any... As far as singles matches go, I can't think of any memorable matches.

 

[Tsunaru]

A Block:
Tanahashi
Makabe
Nagata
Ibushi
Goto
Ishii
YOSHI-HASHI
Fale
Sabre Jr
Naito

Block B:
Kojima
Elgin
Robinson
Okada
Yano
Omega
Tonga
Suzuki
SANADA
EVIL

Well piss. Omega/Okada III is happening in the worst possible way. They don't have a singles match against each other that's gone less than 3/4 of an hour, and now we're getting a 30-minute time limit match. Please don't let us get another time limit draw, I can't take it.

Aside from that, blocks are pretty good. They've both got a handful of talent that could realistically take it. They're teasing the hell out of an Ibushi vs Omega encounter, so there's a chance that could end up being the finals.

 

[ShinChan]

A Block:
Tanahashi
Makabe
Nagata
Ibushi
Goto
Ishii
YOSHI-HASHI
Fale
Sabre Jr
Naito

Block B:
Kojima
Elgin
Robinson
Okada
Yano
Omega
Tonga
Suzuki
SANADA
EVIL

Well piss. Omega/Okada III is happening in the worst possible way. They don't have a singles match against each other that's gone less than 3/4 of an hour, and now we're getting a 30-minute time limit match. Please don't let us get another time limit draw, I can't take it.

Aside from that, blocks are pretty good. They've both got a handful of talent that could realistically take it. They're teasing the hell out of an Ibushi vs Omega encounter, so there's a chance that could end up being the finals.

I'm upset about getting Okada-Omega III as well. That match shouldn't be wasted in a tournament. That match can sell on its own.

However, give me another draw. I don't want the big Omega win in just a tournament. It is actually stupid and I don't like it in any way. I would've liked Cody actually participating in G1 Climax as well.

 

[tomthebodz]

There are a couple of ways that I can see this panning out.

1. Okada wins G1, but loses to Omega (his only loss) during the tournament. Then at some point between G1 Climax and Wrestle Kingdom Omega challenges him and defeats him for the title shot and goes on to face him at Wrestle Kingdom for the title in a match with no time limit. I think that this would have quite a lot of hype as it will be 2 wins each, they can finally decide who the true winner is. I can see Omega winning the belt if that was the case.

The second is that Cody wins the IWGP title at the US shows coming up, and does on to face Omega (G1 winner) at Wrestle Kingdom. With this you have BC v BC for the title which would mix things up a fair bit, and you could have Cody threatening to become the new leader as he was able to beat Okada first time round.

On a different note, what happens if Okada wins and keeps the title shot and the title all the way up to Wrestle Kingdom, who would he face?

 

[ShinChan]

There are a couple of ways that I can see this panning out.

1. Okada wins G1, but loses to Omega (his only loss) during the tournament. Then at some point between G1 Climax and Wrestle Kingdom Omega challenges him and defeats him for the title shot and goes on to face him at Wrestle Kingdom for the title in a match with no time limit. I think that this would have quite a lot of hype as it will be 2 wins each, they can finally decide who the true winner is. I can see Omega winning the belt if that was the case.

The second is that Cody wins the IWGP title at the US shows coming up, and does on to face Omega (G1 winner) at Wrestle Kingdom. With this you have BC v BC for the title which would mix things up a fair bit, and you could have Cody threatening to become the new leader as he was able to beat Okada first time round.

On a different note, what happens if Okada wins and keeps the title shot and the title all the way up to Wrestle Kingdom, who would he face?

I've some problems with both of the ways.

I don't want Omega's big win at any event except Wrestle Kingdom. It's big and should take place at a big event.

About second way, Cody in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom? Preferred over Kazuchika Okada? Plus, defeating Okada for the title when Omega couldn't do it? No way. That would be horribly stupid. That's what I think about it.

 

[tomthebodz]

I've some problems with both of the ways.

I don't want Omega's big win at any event except Wrestle Kingdom. It's big and should take place at a big event.

About second way, Cody in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom? Preferred over Kazuchika Okada? Plus, defeating Okada for the title when Omega couldn't do it? No way. That would be horribly stupid. That's what I think about it.

Fair enough. I did mean that Omega would be winning the title at Wrestle Kingdom. He'd just be winning the opportunity from Okada between G1 Climax and then.

Sorry if my post wasn't that clear. Sort of rushed it out at the end of my lunch break.

 

[Tsunaru]

If Omega is to challenge Okada once more for the title at Wrestle Kingdom, it will come in one of three ways.

A) Omega wins the G1 for the second year in a row and holds the briefcase until WK.

B) Omega loses the G1 but goes on to defeat the winner for the briefcase later on in the year.

C) Omega picks up the win against Okada in the round robin, but Okada wins the G1. He then picks Omega as his opponent for WK as the final encounter (for now) between the two, as at this point they would be 1-1-1 against each other.

 

[ShinChan]

Fair enough. I did mean that Omega would be winning the title at Wrestle Kingdom. He'd just be winning the opportunity from Okada between G1 Climax and then.

Sorry if my post wasn't that clear. Sort of rushed it out at the end of my lunch break.

No problem, buddy.

The thing with the scenario you stated is that it'll lead to the fifth match between Okada and Omega at Wrestle Kingdom which is too much, I guess.

Omega himself admitted before Dominion that he felt that the rematch was happening too soon and I agree with him. And now another match thanks to G1 Climax.

As for the scenarios posted by Tsunaru, I would like Omega to win the tourney for the second time.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

The first day of the USA Special was pretty good. Unfortunately it was mired by technical fuckups (playing Ishii's music, then Naito's, perhaps ruined what would've probably been the pop of the night). I also listened to JR and Barnett, and wow it was awful! It feels so wrong that I (and I'm sure most here) know more about New Japan than Jim Ross.

He botched constantly, he couldn't even tell Evil and Bushi apart! Not to mention both him and Barnett calling ZSJ "Will Ospreay" that's messed up. JR is the greatest commentator ever and this is the worst I've ever seen from him. I suppose he has a reasonable excuse though.

As I expected Cody was exposed tonight in my opinion. Another 3 star outing, 3.5 if I'm being generous, not even Okada could get him higher. Keep Cody out of the NJ main events please!

Elgin vs Kenny was sick! Naito vs Ishii was also good. But believe it or not my favourite match was ZSJ vs Juice. I actually had Juice pegged to win the tournament, but as ZSJ kept laying on the pressure, I wasn't sure how Juice would get out of if. The setup to the finish was awesome with the ultimate "You are FUCKED!" ending. Loved it. I am so excited for ZSJ vs Ishii now because it's a complete clash of styles!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I watched the show last night with my brother at his place. He has AXS TV and he'd never watched anything of New Japan, I don't know that he ever watched the channel before. He's not a hardcore wrestling fan, hasn't really been since the Monday Night War ended, so I was curious to see what he thought about stuff.

The various eight man tag matches were okay, nothing to write home about; that's sort of how we both thought about the show as a whole in that it was good but not great. I couldn't help but laugh at some of his comments about ZSJ, mostly one where he said that he looked like the kid that helped him load groceries into his car earlier in the day though he was impressed with his technical abilities.

The matches that stood out the most for me was Omega vs. Elgin. Ishii vs Naito was also good, but Omega vs. Elgin was the strongest match on the show for me.

As for the main event, it was a good match that was ultimately what I figured it'd be. Cody is sorta the latest wrestler to part ways with WWE in which fans have said that he'll rise to a different level, that he'll be able to show what he's truly made of. Well, as with guys like Mr. Kennedy/Anderson and many others who were internet favorites or became them upon leaving WWE, I'm still waiting to see that different level. Outside of WWE, a main event title match against Okada is about as big a match as you can get these days and if that different level didn't wasn't hit last night, then I highly doubt that it was ever there in the first place.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Well colour me surprised! I was absolutely dead set on Ishii winning that US belt! I really should stop trying to outthink Gedo haha but what an outstanding talent Ishii is. Probably the overall MVP of this weekend! That rope teeth spot, and what came after, was the stuff of legend.

Also a really good showcase of Omega as a brawler vs Ishii. Like Okada, he is a real complete wrestler who can do it all. The match reminded me a lot of Okada vs Shibata.

But Omega as US champion now surely guarantees he will not be headlining the next WK?

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Something else I wanted to talk about was the Roppongi Vice split... This kind of came out of nowhere, don't you think? The last thing New Japan needs is another singles heavyweight, if anything Beretta could've been a transitional challenger for Kushida in junior singles. I like him but I think he's gonna get lost in the shuffle now... Maybe he could join Bullet Club?

The Jr. tag division is now even weaker than it already was! Now more than ever do the tag divisions need to be unified!

Didn't War Machine face the Young Bucks earlier this year in Korakuen? I don't think anyone had a problem with that. I'd say get the Bucks as Jr. champs in the World Tag League, have them win it, then unify the belts at WK.

 

[ShinChan]

Well colour me surprised! I was absolutely dead set on Ishii winning that US belt! I really should stop trying to outthink Gedo haha but what an outstanding talent Ishii is. Probably the overall MVP of this weekend! That rope teeth spot, and what came after, was the stuff of legend.

Also a really good showcase of Omega as a brawler vs Ishii. Like Okada, he is a real complete wrestler who can do it all. The match reminded me a lot of Okada vs Shibata.

But Omega as US champion now surely guarantees he will not be headlining the next WK?

Well, honestly, I was totally sure about Omega winning the title. Kenny Omega was the biggest star this inaugral tournament had so it made sense to give him the win and thus the title.

By the way, Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada are surely in the top 10 best wrestlers of the world at this moment. You could probably make a case for Tetsuya Naito as well.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Well the G1 matches are about to start, I am hyped! I'm gonna stick with my original choice of Naito... But I'm starting to doubt myself... Is he TOO obvious a choice?

Fuck it, I'm sticking with my guns! I've written out a block chart and I have Naito losing only to Ibushi and Goto.

If Okada wins, I would actually love that too haha but please Kenny pin his ass!

 

[ABMorales787]

After that first night, I gotta say, Tetsuya Naito seems like quite the favorite for the G1. Also that was a damn fine way for NJPW to put over Zack Sabre Jr off the bat in an impressive first outing for the tournament.