Warning: lengthy
I don't like to play fantasy booker too much and I have built up a fair trust in Gedo & Jado's booking, especially given the interference from their paymasters, but if I had a bit of a criticism then I'd say that this is an attempt to make a short-term gain in the US more than it is a solid bit of booking/writing.
Don't get me wrong, I love Styles. And I thought they protected Okada well at Dontaku by having him beaten by shenanigans, not pinned at WOTW and then needing two finishers to lose at Yokohama.
But clearly they needed, in their mind, to have the title on a recognisable name heading into those two US shows. iPPV probably makes a huge difference to them and cementing an extra 2000-3000 buys is a lot of money. Styles is a worthy champ for any promotion and NJPW should be pleased to have him: I just think having him debut on the title in front of Fukuoka's frosty crowd, having seen none of his stuff, was a rare error in judgement. It also doesn't help me personally that I don't really love Bullet Club. As title changes go, it was a little bit...cold?
Okada was a great champion who really grew into the role. There's something very Joffrey-esque about him; a somewhat autistic boy king who oozes the skillset for his role, but none of ability to generate or feel love. Which is why he became such a great heel, because he was pompous and detached and kingly and delivered all his moves with such grandeur.
Having Okada go slightly face is interesting; they clearly need a new company Ace if Tanahashi is being moved down due to injury and Okada fits the bill on paper. Will he make that connection to the crowd the way Tanahashi has? It will be really interesting to see.
Had I booked it, it would I have been a little simpler. Okada defeats Styles at Fukuoka. CHAOS v Bullet Club at Yokohama and Okada defeats Yujiro at Dominion. Okada loses or draws to Styles in the G1 blocks, leading to a title showdown with the crowd understanding the rivalry between stables, the talent of the two workers and the history of the feud. You can put either over depending on whichever way the wind is blowing, because they're both worthy champs and we now know they can work well together.
That said it seems like they have inserted Ishii into the picture a little by having him counter Bullet Club's interference: CHAOS don't really interfere on each other's behalf, so it felt more than just a brother saving a brother from a beatdown. With CHAOS losing two members, this could be the crumbling of CHAOS leading to Okada v Nakamura and Ishii stepping up to the main event picture (probably to lose).
I daresay they're going kick things off with the G1 and BoSJ. There have been NJPW critics stepping up recently and not everything they say is unwarranted; things have been moving slowly and some of their expansionist ideas haven't paid off (two events for New Beginning, 8000 paid entry in the 17000 capacity Yokohama Arena) but the roster is still great and you can get good matches from most given good circumstances.
