FlaeBlazer

They sold out Osaka-Jo Hall and Budokan Hall immediately this year and they aren’t that much smaller. I really think if they held a show like Dominion or G1 Finals at Yokohama, it would sell out. Unless Yokohama is a bad wrestling market?

Do you guys think NJPW should go back to the Yokohama Arena? I know they did in 2014 and it flopped massively only drawing 7,500 in a 17,000 seat arena but they are exponentially more popular now than they were then. I think a big show there could definitely sell out. They already have sold out Osaka-Jo Hall and Budokan Hall with ease. May as well give it another shot, right?

I could see KUSHIDA/Shingo at WK if Roppongi 3K wins the tourney.

You don’t know who Lanny Poffo is?

So is Taichi gonna face a replacement or will the NEVER Title be scrapped from the card entirely?

I take this loss.

Lol, Meltzer claims him and Chris Jericho got Don Callis his job back with NJPW.

Follow-up:

It’s undeniable that the Elite guys are using Meltzer’s influence to their advantage. They are Western wrestlers who’s primary appeal is to a Western fanbase so it makes sense that they would get in good graces with the predominant voice in pro wrestling in the West. But you really veered into crazy conspiracy theory when you suggested the entire company of NJPW was tailoring their entire product to one single journalist/critic in America. Gedo isn’t going into booking meetings with the mindset of getting the most rave reviews in the Observer. Okada and Tanahashi when planning their matches, aren’t discussing what to do to get a 5* rating from Dave Meltzer. I do think many of the foreign wrestlers use Dave Meltzer to get a higher profile with the IWC but he’s almost certainly a complete non-factor to the Japanese natives.

People give Dave shit for throwing 7 stars at Okada vs. Omega but Scott Keith did it first! ?? https://blogofdoom.com/index.php/2018/06/13/the-smark-rant-for-new-japan-dominion-06-09-18/

I really don’t think NJPW are in booking meetings discussing what they should do to make Dave Meltzer like their show. Their business has increased rapidly in Japan working this style of wrestling and type of booking. I don’t think to them that Dave Meltzer’s influence is their number one priority. If what they’ve been doing over the last few years in the Gedo era is just Meltzer bait to get over with American fans instead of growing the Japanese audience, that’s ass backwards. It makes no sense.

Taichi will probably be the highest Suzuki-Gun guy on the card LOL. Imagine telling someone like 6 months ago when Zack was coming off the NJC win and Suzuki was IC Champion, that Taichi will be in a bigger match than both of them at the Dome.

Holy shit! What wrench does this throw into the Dome plans?

I’ll throw Seth Rollins’ name into the hat.

Who would you say are the worst offenders of reversal dances in wrestling?

Here it is, it’s a very long match but I don’t think it drags and I think the length is appropriate for the story but YMMV. I’m very curious to see your thoughts on it when you’re done because it’s very different from the NJPW main event style that you’re not fond of.

Obviously you aren’t a fan of Okada and he is probably the symbol of modern NJPW. Your feelings on him will likely depend on your opinion on the style. But you said you loved Shibata. What did you think of Okada/Shibata? That match is not a typical NJPW main event style match AT ALL. From what I read, I don’t really think any of your grievances apply to that match. Amazing storytelling. It’s a long match but everything matters. It doesn’t seem like they are killing time at any point. This is worked like a heavyweight match of old NJPW. No high spots, nothing like that. Just a fight, a titanic struggle. I don’t think that there was a single nearfall in the finishing stretch. None of those 2.99 kickouts that have disenchanted you. In most people’s minds, it seems to be seen as Shibata’s greatest match, and in my opinion, it’s Okada’s greatest performance ever. I noticed it wasn’t on your list with other Shibata matches so I’m wondering how you feel about it because it’s in my own personal top 10 greatest matches of all time. Even vociferous Okada detractors seem to really love that match.

What are your issues with the current NJPW main event style? You mentioned that you would much rather watch Kobashi/Akiyama Dome main event than the Okada/Omega 7 stars “classic”. The thing is in my opinion and this is coming from somebody who’s favorite wrestler ever is Kobashi, I thought Okada/Omega IV was superior to Kobashi/Akiyama in psychology, selling, and storytelling. Kobashi/Akiyama was an awesome bombfest but I really think they overdid the nearfalls down the stretch and it was too headdroppy for my taste. I have my grievances with NJPW main event style but that Okada/Omega match was that style of wrestling done to perfection. At least in my opinion.

I’ve noticed from some of your other posts that you really don’t like modern NJPW main event style. Are there any matches from modern NJPW that live up to the hype for you or you see as legitimate classics?

As in if you had two supercards with peak NOAH and current NJPW at the Tokyo Dome, which would draw more people?

Is current NJPW more popular than peak NOAH? Because it seems WK12 drew better than the NOAH Dome shows and WK13 almost certainly will too.

NJPW for example, currently has been announcing real paid numbers as they are preparing to go public, and they announced 35,000 for WK12. The Wrestling Observer reported that there were 43,000 people in the building. It was said to be the highest selling Japanese wrestling card since 2005, which was NOAH Destiny. Would you say WK 12 actually legit drew more people than NOAH Destiny? Or even in general, what’s more popular, peak NOAH or current NJPW?

I know everybody is loving that turn but in the hypothetical scenario, god forbid that Roman doesn’t pull through or at least never wrestles again, that segment will look REALLY BAD. It’s one thing if Roman got an injury where he’d be out for a while and I’d be fine with it. But cancer is a whole different animal. When a man’s life is legitimately on the line, I’m not okay with using that for heat.