Puro fans, UNITE!

[The Dragon Saga]

Get ready, cause NJPW is coming to America. And their not going it alone.

The Observer.

New Japan is also looking at doing U.S. shows but it would be working with an existing group as opposed to running New Japan shows they would promote on their own, which they tried a couple years ago and took a pretty big loss, largely due to travel costs and low attendance numbers. The impression I was given was there would be a May show in the New York market which their top names would be appearing on. I do know as of a month ago, that New Japan was working on a deal with ROH. And coincidentally ROH is running the Hammerstein Ballroom in May. Who better to promote NJPW to than the hardcore wrestling audience ROH attracts? And ROH has been hyping a big announcement this coming Saturday at their "HonorCon" event. I think we all see where this is going and it's going to be pretty big.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

Get ready, cause NJPW is coming to America. And their not going it alone.
The Observer.

It's actually a good move and it will give some much needed hype to Ring of Honor as well. I don't know if this is going to be anything more than a "one" type show, but I expect it not to be. There is some cool matches they can have, but I hope this doesn't mess with NJPW's order. I would be down towards an AJ Styles vs. Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Jr. Hvt. Title. Also Steen would be great cutting somehow "racist" promos and delivering lines like: "You all look Chinese to me man", but as soon as you had Ishii or Okada delivering him a legit lariat he would be out of breath.

 

[Gibby]

Anyone follow NOAH? Can I get some insight into what they're thinking regarding the booking of the big belt over the last few months. I understand they're in a bit more jeopardy compared to when Misawa was around and in my mind the GHC has always been a very strongly booked belt on guys who are there day-in, day-out. Now, putting it on Nagata is hardly the worst decision ever, but it seems odd that Morishima would drop so quickly. Is this just a way of getting the belt back on KENTA now he's staying, without pissing off Morishima?

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

Anyone follow NOAH? Can I get some insight into what they're thinking regarding the booking of the big belt over the last few months. I understand they're in a bit more jeopardy compared to when Misawa was around and in my mind the GHC has always been a very strongly booked belt on guys who are there day-in, day-out. Now, putting it on Nagata is hardly the worst decision ever, but it seems odd that Morishima would drop so quickly. Is this just a way of getting the belt back on KENTA now he's staying, without pissing off Morishima?

It looks like Invasion Attack from NJPW will have NOAH as the "invaders" so that could have something to do with the title change to Nagata. However I am not an avid follower of NOAH.

 

[Gibby]

Nagata beat KENTA in his first defence. Interesting. I have no idea what is going on now. I hope they don't defend the GHC on New Japan shows, there's already too many belts kicking around.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

I'd just like to answer these questions in the original post since I never did. I think I'm the noobiest of the puro fans here, only having gotten into at last year's G1 Climax. However I have watched much since, it's pretty much the only wrestling I enjoy now!

Who is your favorite Japanese wrestler?
Currently, Okada. He's just a great wrestler and a fine world champion, and his matches are a joy to watch.

Alltime though, I think Jushin Liger.

Who is your favorite gaijin wrestler?
Lance Archer. I think he has all the tools to be a superb main eventer! And I'm probably the only man who thinks he's better than Davey. Archer is just a great big man wrestler.

What's your favorite match?
Hmm this is a tough one, out of all the matches I have seen so far, my favourite was probably the KOPW 2013 match between Okada and Tanahashi. While I do think that objectively their Invasion Attack match is better, this one I didn't know the result for and genuinely believed that Tanahashi would win (because the stipulation was made if he lost he could never challenge for the IWGP HW title again) and there were so many great things in it like the fake injury Tanahashi does at the start, GENIUS. And that finishing sequence, amazing, had me marking out left and right.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

I'd just like to answer these questions in the original post since I never did. I think I'm the noobiest of the puro fans here, only having gotten into at last year's G1 Climax. However I have watched much since, it's pretty much the only wrestling I enjoy now!

I think that ends up happening to anyone who really tries it. Puroresu has it's own psychology and while I understand why most of the old-school guys wouldn't like to see a guy getting clotheslined six times and no sell the whole thing, I believe that in Japan it's a statement to the wrestler's toughness. I think that they really use a match to be the most creative possible and it helps a lot the fact that at the end of the day, the wrestlers could indeed knock some heads out of a park.

I started really following it the moment MVP put his foot on the door. It's weird, but I've always been a fan of MVP and I said: "What the hell". Now it's my favorite promotion by far and I've watched some stuff from the past too, to at least understand guys like Suzuki and the rises of Tanahashi and Nakamura. I've seen however Okada becoming a big star on his own. Also Giant Bernard aka Tensai was a beast in New Japan. He could have easily won the intercontinental title at least if he had stayed with the company.

- Favorite Japanese Wrestler - Current:
Shinsuke Nakamura - I know. What a shock!

All Time: Keiji Mutoh, Riki Chosu. I've also watched obviously Misawa and Kobashi tearing it up. One of my favorite matches is Vader v. Inoki. Those two, by god almighty. Vader is legitimately a legend in Japan, and I mean a pop-culture reference. Like Inoki is a legend and everyone respects the guy even though he's good friends with the Koreans, but people fear Vader. It's unbelievable. Also Stan Hansen of course, but I've seen more of Hansen's work in the US than so in Japan but of course his lariat is legendary and no one does it better. Ripping heads off is Hansen's thing!!

There are a lot of variables in New Japan and I watch everything I can, but I skip filler matches or at least some matches that I'm just not into it. Usually everything Nagata does or even Suzuki as I don't like either guy. The openers/legends like Liger, Tiger Mask IV, Taka Michinoku and friends are definitely on my "skip list" as well. It's the best way to watch it or else it will feel as big ass shows all the time.

 

[Gibby]

I never answered these questions either.

Favourite current Japanese wrestler: this is so tough. Nakamura shaves it by a whisker, but I think I am really getting behind Ishii and enjoying Okada's title run.

Favourite all-time Japanese wrestler: again, incredibly tough, but I think Kenta Kobashi shaves it from a crowded field including Misawa and Kawada. When Chono retires he'll have a good case too. But Kobashi just oozes charisma and skill and would recommend the Kobashi/Kikuchi v Can-Am Connection (Kroffat and LaFon) match to anyone.

Favourite present gaijin: Alex Shelley.

Favourite match: either the really brief and brutal tear-up that Ishii and Shibata had at GHC or Tanahashi v Okada from WK7.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

If I were booking, I'd keep Ishii strong and fit and have him do it at WK9. His match against Naito was something else and you could play the CHAOS break-up there.

I just caught that match. Yeah pretty good! Ishii being world champ, I'd like to see that and I do think is absolutely possible. I have read people disiking his noselling but I enjoy it being a part of his character, and think he does sell when necessary.

 

[Gibby]

Must say I'm not hugely feeling the card for the NJPW 42nd anniversary show outside the big names, should be some impressive matches but with nothing at stake. Where's Alex Shelley?

(1) Raising an Army Anniversary Opening Match: Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi
(2) Manabu Nakanishi & KUSHIDA vs. Gedo & Jado
(3) Raising an Army Anniversary Special 6 Man Tag Match: Super Strong Machine, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs. Captain New Japan, El Desperado & BUSHI
(4) Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Prince Devitt, Tama Tonga & Bad Luck Fale
(5) Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI
(6) Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows
(7) Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii
(8) Raising an Army Anniversary Special Single Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi

 

[Gibby]

Just watched the 42nd anniversary show, it isn't essential as no titles are on the line but if you're looking for an hour of contemporary grappling fun then look no further than the last two matches on this show. Two spoiler elements from elsewhere on the card.

Spoiler

- Shibata & Goto cleanly beat the tag champs Anderson & Gallows in a non-title bout.
- Liger to face El Desperado in a mask v mask match somewhere down the line. Obviously we know who will win.

 

[Gibby]

I haven't seen it but the last NOAH event sounds pretty good. I'll include it in spoilers but the last five matches have something for me to get excited about.

Spoiler

(5) GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Championship Match: [19th Champions] Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. [Challengers] Kenou [Michinoku] & Hajime Ohara [Free]
◆Winner: Sabre (15:34) with the Jim Breaks Armbar on Ohara.
~ Champions 1st successful title defense.
~ Sabre withstood the cheap tactics of Kenou and Ohara to eventually lock in the submissiion victory win and solidify his team as the rightful champions.

I've seen Sabre Jr wrestle in England, he's really good. Bit of an indy-look (thin) but really has the talent. Glad to see him making waves.

(6) GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: [26th Champion] Taiji Ishimori vs. [Challenger] Daisuke Harada
◆Winner: Harada (18:41) with the Katayama German Suplex Hold.
~ Champion falls on his 11th title defense. Harada becomes the 27th generation champion.
~ Harada made his previous statement clear that he has counters for Ishimori’s latest moves, and countered the Kaze Muso with a knee strike… which then led to the setup of the Katayama German.

From what I know of these two this must have been a good match, and something of a shock win.

(7) Beyond The Border Special Tag Match: Naomichi Marufuji & Tetsuya Naito vs. KENTA & Masato Tanaka
◆Winner: DRAW (30:00) Time Expired.

The talent says it all and the length of the match means this has to be worth a look-in!

(8) GHC Heavyweight Tag Championship Match: [30th Champions] “Chokibogun” Takeshi Morishima & Maybach Taniguchi vs. [Challengers] “TMDK” Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste
◆Winner: Taniguchi (13:52) with the Maybach Bomb on Nicholls.
~ 1st successful title defense.

Least interested in this particular match but Maybach is on something of a roll, underlined by...

(9) GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: [21st Champion] Yuji Nagata vs. [Challenger] Takashi Sugiura
◆Winner: Nagata (26:32) with the Backdrop Hold.
~ 2nd successful title defense.
~ Maybach Taniguchi attacked Nagata after the match with the sasumata. Maybach stood over the champion.

...his rush to get involved with Nagata. Is this a bit of credibility returning to NOAH? I hope so. Nagata can be a good champion to carry them through the year.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

Excited for this Sunday's New Japan Cup - Round 1.
Ishii and Naito in their rematch will probably be very good. I'm also eager to see if they keep up with the losing streak for Nakamura or if they'll actually give him a push - I'm expecting yet another good match with Davey Boy no doubt.

 

[Gibby]

Excited for this Sunday's New Japan Cup - Round 1.
Ishii and Naito in their rematch will probably be very good. I'm also eager to see if they keep up with the losing streak for Nakamura or if they'll actually give him a push - I'm expecting yet another good match with Davey Boy no doubt.

Looking forward to this: I've been ill recently so am looking forward to a Saturday morning with the feet up watching this in peace. It's quite possible the potential quarter finals excite me more but Round 1 should be good. Standouts for me are the two you mentioned and Shibata v Anderson. Predicting Shibata - Nakamura final.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

Looking forward to this: I've been ill recently so am looking forward to a Saturday morning with the feet up watching this in peace. It's quite possible the potential quarter finals excite me more but Round 1 should be good. Standouts for me are the two you mentioned and Shibata v Anderson. Predicting Shibata - Nakamura final.

I've been finding Anderson to be quite stale recently. It looks like he's the same since teaming with Tensai and he needs to do something to feel fresh. He's been there for way too long and hasn't been anything more than a tag team specialist. His current team with Gallows feels a lot like a total rip-off from Bad Intentions but Tensai was a lot better than Gallows though.

Of course that Quarter Finals will have better matches. If by any chance Shelton Benjamin ends up winning his 1st round match, him and Shibata will probably turn into a kick fest and I love a good ol' kick fest.

 

[Gibby]

I've been finding Anderson to be quite stale recently. It looks like he's the same since teaming with Tensai and he needs to do something to feel fresh. He's been there for way too long and hasn't been anything more than a tag team specialist. His current team with Gallows feels a lot like a total rip-off from Bad Intentions but Tensai was a lot better than Gallows though.

Of course that Quarter Finals will have better matches. If by any chance Shelton Benjamin ends up winning his 1st round match, him and Shibata will probably turn into a kick fest and I love a good ol' kick fest.

I didn't see any of Tensai/Bernard's run in NJPW actually but I agree that Anderson feels stale. He can turn it on when he wants but generally speaking I think that Devitt aside, they are weak in gaijins and midcarders. Even Smith Jr has his flaws and it's taken a long time to grow into him. What hammered this shortage home to me was when Styles was linked with NJPW, and possibly Punk (long shot) - I started to think 'well that's MUCH better than what they have now'. Even NOAH's foreign guys like Mikey Nicholls are better than NJPW's.

 

[MrHashasheen]

Bad Influences contracts reportedly run out in April, so maybe you'll get to see them in New Japan this summer?

 

[enviousdominous]

Favorite Japanese wrestler?

Spoiler

Without a doubt, Jumbo Tsuruta.

The man looked, and carried himself, like a bad-ass and he was one Hell of a prolific worker. It's impossible for me to pick a favorite match of his, I grew up watching him so every match I've ever seen him in was epic unto me. I do recall his bouts against Stan Hansen as being my most favorite though.

Favorite Gaijin?

Spoiler

I would have to say, Stan Hansen. But, Prince Devitt has been looking damn good lately. Stan didn't just come out there as a cowboy gimmick, he was the litmus test for up and comers to prove they had what it took to play with the big boys. The fact that he was an American who was tasked with testing the abilities of Japanese performers is one Hell of a significant attribute to his legacy. Stan made pro-wrestling damn real when you were in a match with him, if you pulled a punch Stan would make you spend the rest of the week regretting it.

Favorite Match?

Spoiler

I've shared this in a different thread, that's still up by the way. My favorite match is very special to me because it involves my favorite all time female performer, Harley Saito.

Harley Saito vs Akira Hokuto

[YOUTUBE]ep81ETQ-b04[/YOUTUBE]

The following match deserves honorable mention, I could watch either a million times.

[YOUTUBE]Fr1ENPXyueI[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]3XHPu6Y7mJA[/YOUTUBE]

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Kevin Steen will face Michael Elgin at Supercard of Honor VIII to determine who'll face Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight title at War of the Worlds on May 17.

Hoping it's Elgin rather than Steen to be honest.

 

[Papa Pillman]

Kevin Steen will face Michael Elgin at Supercard of Honor VIII to determine who'll face Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight title at War of the Worlds on May 17.

Hoping it's Elgin rather than Steen to be honest.

Steen already has the ROH World Title shot on the first night of these shows in Toronto at Global Wars. Can you see them giving Steen the world title shot both nights?

I think it will be Elgin, which is actually the match I was most hoping for/anticipating from these events.

If Steen beats Elgin in New Orleans it opens the door for history though as it gives Steen the chance to become double World Champion.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Someone posted this on a forum I'm on from yesterdays Observer.

- The idea for Global Wars is to have ROH talent main event the show, do a couple ROH/NJPW matches and then do some ROH vs. ROH and NJPW vs. NJPW matches, with a majority of the ROH vs. NJPW matches coming at War of the Worlds. On the May 17 show, Hiroshi Tanahashi or Okada are expected to main event, with either their respective titles on the line or them challenging for Adam Cole or by then Jay Briscoe's ROH World title. Some matches floating around are Shinsuke Nakamura versus Roderick Strong in a match to determine who is the true king of strong style, Gedo and Jado against reDRagon, KUSHIDA against Tommaso Ciampa and AJ Styles versus Tanahashi.

 

[Papa Pillman]

If War of the Worlds does end up having Okada/Elgin for the IWGP Heavyweight Title, plus Tanahashi against Styles happens at one of the shows, I request permission to mark. Those are the two main matches I was hoping to see booked during these events.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

- AJ Styles has reportedly signed a one year deal with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and is expected to make his debut in some form on their Invasion Attack iPPV which takes place on April 6, the day of WrestleMania, that will be airing at 8am EST in the States.

Whereas Styles’ ROH deal prevented him from making appearances on other promotions TV shows (such as Impact Wrestling for example) this deal means he’s unable from appearing on any major promotions events without the consent of NJPW, which theoretically means a TNA return is not on the cards.

Dave Meltzer noted that Styles will still be appearing for ROH, and while under contract with NJPW won’t be featured on all tours. This opens him up for more ROH dates and will further NJPW and ROH’s working relationship.

Invasion Attack just got a lot more buys.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

Okada is in need of some new contenders and AJ Styles can clearly be food for thought for the IWGP World Hvt. Championship scene. The World's championship has been playing #2 role for Tanahashi and the Intercontinental Title and the lack of confidence in Okada needs to be put aside because the guy is a draw and he seems to be feeling insulted by the company with that mentality.

As much as I would like to see an AJ v. Tanahashi, I would rather have Styles as a good contender to put some value in the title once again in Okada's year long reign. But in any way shape or form do I want Styles to hold the gold, given his contract I don't believe it will happen and also I don't find AJ Styles to be a good enough reason to move the buyrates. So as far as I see this is probably the future contenders for Okada's title:

- Bad Luck Fale
- AJ Styles
- Shinsuke Nakamura
- Shibata

Those four are enough to hold him until January 4, 2015 and that is all I'm asking for. After the finals of NJ Cup I'm really interested in following what they have for Nakamura/Tanahashi round 3 this year. I could see Nakamura still winning the G1 Climax.

 

[Gibby]

The card has been announced for Invasion Attack, no AJ Styles yet. No IWGP Heavy or Jr Heavy singles matches.

- Tanahashi v Nakamura (IC)
- Naito v Ishii (NEVER)
- Taguchi v Devitt
- Goto/Shibata v Anderson/Gallows (Tag Titles)
- Bucks v Ibushi/Desperado (Jr Tag Titles)
- Okada/YOSHI-HASHI v Fale/Tonga (like what they've done here actually)
- Ten-Koji v Conway/Dax (NWA Tag Titles)
- Iizuka/Yano v The Faux-Gracies (this could be off-the-charts in the failure stakes)
- Sakuraba/Nagata/Makabe v SUZUKI-GUN (Suzuki/TAKA/Taichi)

Solid card.