Evil Otto

Night 5 in Sendai, another great show with a super hot crowd. Bailey vs. Titan was tremendous, and I would've been satisfied with that, but hot damn, YOH and Desperado somehow managed to top it.

The 5/14 card in Nagoya was another really solid show all the way through, but I would strongly recommend Fransesco Akira vs. Robbie Eagles, TJP vs. Mike Bailey, and the Hiromu vs. Lio Rush rematch in the main event. Hmmm, there appears to be a pattern emerging...

Outstanding show last night, as expected. The crowd was pretty much molten hot from start to finish. The matches I mentioned right above all completely delivered. Highly recommended. I could definitely see YOH or Eagles ending up in one of the B block semifinal slots. They both belong there, to be sure. Titan and TJP have incredible chemistry, with TJP being so precise and Titan being, well, a lunatic. I couldn't stay focused for the whole duration of the show, darting in and out at times, but Kanemaru-Desperado and especially Douki-Kushida seem to be getting strong reviews as well, and from I saw, deservedly so. Hiromu vs. Bailey was unbelievable. I could say "what a year Hiromu is having!" but Bailey isn't so far behind.

First show tonight: Hiromu vs. Mike Bailey in the main event at Korakuen! Hooray! Free show on New Japan World as well, if that helps anyone. The show kicks off with Kevin Knight vs. Clark Connors. They are obviously high on Knight, but Connors just joined Bullet Club, so it'll be interesting to see his approach to being a heel. He's definitely a guy who already has shown a nasty, brutal in-ring aspect to his character in the past, so I have high hopes. Hard to pick that one. I'm also particularly intrigued by YOH vs. Robbie Eagles and Titan vs. TJP, but there are plenty other possibly great match-ups. A 10-match, all hands on deck show, but I reckon it'll breeze by and the promise of Hiromu-Bailey at the end will surely keep me motivated!

I am just saddened beyond belief to hear the news. Dean Rasmussen's love of pro wrestling and the way he was able to express it with such sheer joy was his gift to the world. Finding the DVDVR site in 1997, and never leaving it since, undoubtedly changed my life for the better. Through Dean's words, I was forever convinced that what I had been watching for many years up to the point was not just a weird hobby, but truly an art form. Dean's words themselves were works of art. Seriously folks, one of the funniest motherfuckers I've ever come across in my entire life, bar none. Dean, what you have given to us over the years goes far beyond The Full Worldwide Point. No sir, with a phrase that I yell at my computer or TV screen every time a match just blows me away and gives me that transcendent bliss that you could encapsulate so well, for the joy and positivity of this crazy thing called The Professional Wrestling that you so beautifully and hilariously shared with us: A Million Billion Stars! RIP.

Tsuji's been fun to watch in CMLL in recent months (from what little I've seen), and no doubt he's picked up plenty of new tricks and ideas. However, If anyone's curious about what Yota Tsuji can really do in the ring, in regards to a hypothetical singles match you might see in Japan, I highly recommend watching his RevPro match with Tomohiro Ishii from last October on New Japan World. I had to do a search to find it, but it's still there. It's one of the most definitive "okay, I see it now" matches in recent memory. It's really quite the eye-opener.

I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer on a New Japan pay-per-view. This is by far Vaquer's biggest break, and it's long deserved. This alone earned my PPV buy. I guess I'm easy to please.

Try to avoid, or at least deeply consider the visual consequences of, wearing special all-white gear. Especially in matches in which you have a strong sense that your opponent aggressively dislikes you.

I guess we're now in the spoiler "gray area" but, oh well...

The Kyle Fletcher vs. Hirooki Goto match from last night in Shiga was outstanding, maybe even better than Fletcher vs. Yoshi-Hashi. I think the only matches that equal Fletcher's two outings so far were the first night's matches (ELP-Naito, Taichi-Sanada) and Shingo vs. Henare. I'm pretty excited for Lio vs. Hiromu, and Bishamon vs. Aussie Open (whenever that may be). The matches already feel important. The ELP-Finaly saga continues, and it's really pulling me in, mostly due to ELP's creativity. The crowds are all way into it as well. I have to admit, I'm kinda liking Finlay as a super-dickish heel. Part of the reason I never really got fully invested into Jay White was that he's such a cool heel, whereas Finlay in this role comes across as a guy who doesn't deserve his spot, and he's actually leaning into it and being surly about it. It's a work in progress, and I'm still not so sure if Finlay is a main event-level guy, but the interesting twist of this angle is certainly helping to establish this new character much better, with a huge assist on ELP's part.

Henare picks up the win in Takagi's hometown as well! Shingo did his absolute best to make it really special for Henare. You couldn't help but feel happy for him. I also really enjoyed Fletcher vs. Yoshi-Hashi, maybe even more than the main. I have to say, I think Kyle Fletcher is already pretty damn great, and I can only imagine what a full year of wrestling in New Japan will further bring out of him. Massive long-term potential there. I was very pleased that ELP didn't just accept Finlay as the new leader because it actually makes a lot of sense for him to be skeptical, character-wise. It keeps both of them important, neither lesser to the other, and is clearly moving towards some kind of breaking point. It's a nice simmering storyline to watch unfold while the NJ Cup plays itself out.

The first 3 Fantastica Mania shows were fine, entertaining enough, and satisfying for the audiences who attended. I can't strongly recommend particular matches, though. Have you seen the 2/26 show in Chiba yet? The Místico, Soberano Jr. & El Desperado vs. Hechicero, Templario & DOUKI match was amazing, probably my favorite of the tour. Dave rated Soberano Jr vs. Hechicero on the final Korakuen night lower than, say, Volador Jr vs. Templario on the previous night, and I would have completely switched those ratings around, but hey, everyone's got their specific tastes and all that. Point being, if you skipped the match for that reason, definitely go back and check it out. I loved it, and actually wished it could've gone a few minutes longer.

FYI, tonight's Fantastica Mania show from Korakuen is available for free on New Japan World. Expecting crazy hot crowds for these final two nights.

Tonight's Fantastica Mania card in Chiba, Japan had a trios match with Místico, Soberano Jr. & El Desperado vs. Hechicero, Templario & DOUKI which just went off into the stratosphere at times. It was the first match of the tour so far to finally hit that peak level and one of the best matches I've seen all year. If you have New Japan World, you should go out of your way to see it. Hechicero is really making the New Japan announcers' jaws drop this tour. They sound blown away by him. Really big emphasis on Atlantis Jr. this time around, he's clearly being presented as a top star. Please note, tomorrow's event, the first of the final two nights from Korakuen hall, is apparently airing live for FREE, and if you can catch it, the two top matches are Volador Jr vs. Templario, and the potentially insane main event of Titan vs. Soberano Jr.

Okay, it's gonna take me a while to process all of that.

This looks like an absolutely tremendous card, from top to bottom.

The Rosser-Lawlor rivalry is a trilogy at this point, and the previous two matches are also very strongly recommended. I'd love to see Fred Rosser in the G1 this year, as well as Lawlor returning.

It was so great to finally watch the Okada-Kiyomiya confrontation / spiral into darkness truly from beginning to end, entrances and all. Completely riveting.

It must have felt so good for Jamie Hayter to help showcase the incredible skills of Emi Sakura in such a definitive way. In turn, Emi helps make a further convincing case that Hayter should keep holding onto the title for a long time. A brutal but beautiful match to watch, in that sense. Plus, Mei Suruga! Everybody wins!

By the way, Rocky Romero vs. Volador Jr was really fucking great. Due to his work behind the scenes, Rocky has seemingly made a point to stay out of putting himself over too much, which I very much admire. As a result, main event Rocky Romero is few and far between these days. The good news is, no matter what promotion it is, main event Rocky always delivers. He was the star in this match, with Volador to his credit being a very willing participant to go along for the ride. Semi-main was more angle-driven, but everyone looked good, except for Dragon Rojo Jr., who was a bit out of his league. Oraculo was actually in Romero's corner for the main, and was a tremendous hype man, so I think we'll be seeing more of him in CMLL, and maybe even New Japan? Side note, Oraculo also has a Juice Robinson vibe which can't be unseen. The match seemed to point toward an Angel de Oro vs. Oraculo match-up somewhere down the line, which would be perfectly fine with me.

Hmm, it's really interesting that they’re broadcasting it, since it's apparently one of the Ticketmaster shows this time. If it keeps going as planned, the final two matches should definitely be worth a watch: Ángel de Oro, Bárbaro Cavernario, Niebla Roja vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Oráculo, Templario Volador Jr. vs Rocky Romero (credit to cubsfan)

Oh, I have zero problem with this, but Danielson vs. Hechicero would be even better, but that's just me. And hey, Danielson vs. Angelico is actually feasible! It's a broken record to say it at this point, and you could insert various names here, but Angelico deserves to be on the main shows with top-tier opponents. Of course, I'm still holding out hope for ZSJ vs. Bryan sometime this year or the next. Start getting chatty and brazen about dream opponents in interviews again, Zack! Make it happen! I'm not expecting all three matches to ever come to pass, but if even one of them does, I will be extremely thrilled.

Yeah, I think this has to be something regarding ROH. I was originally thinking they might do combined tapings for Strong and ROH going forward, but that might have been too complicated in the end. I'll be sad to see Strong go. When New Japan was in the doldrums in the past 2-3 years, Strong was a bright spot for them. One hour of wrestling which was painless to watch and gave exposure to a ton of guys and helped make the LA Dojo members into some serious badasses, which may have never happened that way without a pandemic to force them into it. I'm actually impressed with how they kept the program going for so long.

Sanada & Soya facing off against Sekimoto & Okabayashi live in Sumo Hall over 10 years ago is definitely one of my top memories of watching live events here in Japan. The match was brutal in the best way possible. Worth a watch if you've never seen their matches. All the matches in their short series were great, if I recall. A bit sad to say, those matches might have been a peak achievement for Soya, and maybe even Sanada. Sure, Soya had Get Wild with Omori, which I loved, and of course Sanada went on to some bigger stages in New Japan. Soya's in NOAH now, but I never really hear his name come up, and that tells me something. Sanada is still Sanada, if you know what I mean. What I'm saying is, the underlying theme (of mediocrity, to be honest) is already in place, so this is a surprisingly deep match (if such a thing could be said), and I would love for them to go all out and tell the story as viscerally as possible. It's in their hands to pull if off, so I guess we shall see. Shingo vs. Nakajima is going to be bonkers. Naito and Kenoh will have to follow it, but the level of swagger in that match will likely be incalculable, and that alone will carry it.