Jenalysis

They'll just do them from the balcony instead.

I don't think they've lost it yet- I mean, AEW hasn't put anything out yet, and it's not like you can't watch and like both.

This is why I feel sorry for Taichi, He's going to be doing all the jobbing now instead of Iizuka. Best way for wins and losses to matter are all the Cups NJPW does- the G1/BOSJ wins and losses matter. An AEW version of G1 would also be a great way to get say, 55 singles matches you can have in a short time and fill up 8-10 weeks of TV with a small roster. They could use it to pick their first champ, and the Bucks could do a tag version six months down the line. I also hope they keep the NJPW post-match comments and put those on the internet. That's one of the most fun parts of NJPW. That can't be your whole promotion, and I really enjoyed the whole Kenny/Tana "it's how you win" aspect of it a lot more than I should have (probably because I prefer Tana's way 100% despite also liking Kenny), but I think it's a great easy way to keep things interesting for half the year, and then you got the other half for storylines. Didn't Memphis have something like this where Jarrett booked it one way for six months, then Lawler got to fight movie monsters and aliens for six months?

Cody is a guy who would have been great in the 80s territories, but not today when more athleticism is required. Juice has real underdog charisma. Just look at his match with Jay White which elevated both of them. I won't be surprised if Juice ends up getting an IWGP title shot in the next year or two.

I think last best hope is a good way to describe AEW. I can't see any other group having the talent and the ambition to go for it the way Kenny/Cody/Bucks/Page will. They've got a lot of challenges ahead of them, and might have to survive ROH trying to snuff them out (I think ROH and AEW are going to have some really bad blood- and it might spill over into NJPW), but if AEW can fill out its roster with talent they can build up, they can do it. The last part is what I worry about. If AEW fails, I don't see anyone ever trying again. Kenny Omega is the biggest non-WWE star since the demise of WCW, and has some crossover appeal with the geek culture crowd that AEW is going to need to support them in order to survive. The tie-in they have with CEO is going to be very important.

Curious- how big is the gap between NJPW and Dragon Gate/DDT/NOAH/AJPW? With Juice leading that faction in ROH- assuming NJPW stonewalls Kenny- how much impact could Kenny have going to another Japanese promotion (with Ibushi and friends?)- unsure how much of draw Kenny actually is in Japan, but judging by crowds not totally booing him vs Tana and being the face vs Okada.

having a promotion where the tag belts are equal in prestige to the singles belt could be interesting- and might open up some cross-promotional ideas.

I'd say to make wins and losses matter- the secondary belt gets defended every week until the champ wins 10 straight. draws mean rematch next week (15 min time limit, then 20, then 30, then none), DQ means champ can lose on a DQ next time. Belts can change on a countout. If champ wins 10 straight he automatically gets a world title shot with a week's notice (to promote it) , and a tournament is held for new secondary champ. I fully expect Kenny to do some sort of wacky event around a fighting game major, probably CEO, where he has Alex Jebailey throw the heel manager into Sonicfox's fox costume.

This is the crowd I think they'll go after- assuming Kenny signs. CEO x NJPW really was a good , well-done crossover (if they do CEO x AEW I'll go and see if my Talim is good and see some quality wrestling) If it's done the way NJPW does it, where pinning a guy in a tag match is used to set up title shots, or if they have a TV belt and being on a win streak gets you a shot, it's a good thing. A G1 or Bound For Glory series type deal can be good too. Lots of ways to do this right. I think AEW could draw 8-10k to the Greensboro Coliseum. Just tie it in to Wrestlecade so you get some legends matches to go with the AEW stuff. Wouldn't mind seeing Rock N Roll Express vs Young Bucks.

One thing I've always wondered- why can't wrestlers just use the ACA? Most aren't super old so it should be reasonably affordable insurance for the amount they spend on healthcare. If you were AEW, I'd just say, ok we'll just give you $500/mo for premiums. I'm hoping sports-like presentation means they keep some of the structure of New Japan in AEW in terms of how they book, but with their own twist (which I think will be videogame wrestling style- lot more emphasis on athleticism since that is what Omega/Bucks are best at)

SCU is officially gone from ROH as they signed with AEW. I'm kinda hoping NJPW sends over Owens/Yujiro for the Crockett Cup.

I think that's the case right now- it explains why NYD didn't have any huge surprises- they might be waiting on Kenny's decision and have made a plan A and plan B. I think we'll know the decision by who wins Taichi/Naito. If Kenny stays Naito wins, if Kenny's gone Taichi wins to free up Naito for NJC.

Iizuka is also retiring 2/21. Suzuki-gun is gonna need somebody soon. I think someone heel turns this year (my guess is Finlay or Henare) EVIL and SANADA are a great tag team, but one of them can become a singles contender easily, most likely SANADA who has a higher ceiling and more room to grow character-wise. Kenny thing sounds like a work/take time off thing. This might actually be the best thing for Kenny. It would be ironic if he's taking the old Cornette advice he constantly pushes of "you can't be missed unless you're gone"- if Kenny comes back in a year the pop will be insane for it. Also might give Jay White some breathing room and make Jay going over Kenny in a big way mean a lot more in a year's time.

I'm thinking right now NJPW has set up a plan A if Kenny stays and a plan B if he leaves. Plan A is Omega wins NJC, White beats Tana, Omega is fed to White to legitimize him at MSG. Plan B is Taichi beats Naito, Naito wins NJC, Naito wins NJC and has a match with White at MSG. Either way I think White is beating Tana, but Taichi's fate depends on Omega. I can't see them using a non main-event talent, or two Japanese wrestlers at MSG, and I can't see them going straight to a Tana/Omega, Tana/Okada, or Okada/White rematch either so soon.

I think that was more folks expected Ibushi to win the G1, so Tana winning was a huge surprise. The AEW announce, I'm sure the Japanese fans knew, and with the right of the Elite jobbing, I think most were expecting Tana to win, so the pop wasn't as huge. I think the two matches were pretty even in terms of quality- the Kenny match maybe a bit better technically, but the Ibushi match had more heart and the unexpected outcome, and a good unexpected outcome that's logical is going to be remembered better.

Isn't Becky right around that age herself?

That match was as good as the first Okada/Kenny match. Hopefully this isn't the last we see of Kenny in NJPW. Was rooting for Tana.

That Okada/White match needed more. Not Jay's fault at all, he was more than holding his end up, but it needed more hate and longer. Maybe the double Tokyo dome is needed so all these matches get sufficient time.

You can say the same for Ibushi and SANADA in terms of Zack. He just has good matches with so many of NJPW's upper midcard.

I thought the women's talent on Impact was on per-appearance deals mostly, for very little money. Pushing women could be a good thing for AEW- it gives them something unique, and their fanbase will be open to it. One of my predictions is that AEW is going to go for the "geek culture" audience primarily- if they can get the New Day, they'd do it in a heartbeat. We're going to see some experimental stuff, and I think some of it won't be good.

All they need to do is pay more than the $50 and a hotdog Impact pays their women. Hopefully, she gets a living wage though.

I think it's more likely you see Alex Jebailey in AEW than Corny. Especially since I think Kenny and the Bucks are going to try and grow an adjacent audience to the traditional indie wrestling audience through geek culture in general. (Jebailey runs one of the biggest gaming events in the US, and organized a lot of Kenny's CEO show, and wrestled a match with a torn Achilles there) For those wondering why Kenny hasn't talked about AEW, my simple guess is he's still under contract to NJPW for a few more days, so he doesn't think it's a good idea until after 1/6 or whenever his contract expires. The Bucks/Page were under ROH contract and my guess is they're doing WK as a one-off.

If they're turned down, DDT would almost certainly be invited in, Kenny had Michael Nakazawa on his CEO show, and I could see him working with NOAH. The question is whether Kenny's a big enough draw to get NOAH and DDT over in the US. If he is, that could hurt NJPW's western expansion plans. Here's the question, would Kenny (and likely Ibushi) in a non-NJPW Japanese ring be a draw in Japan? The safest play for NJPW would be to try working with AEW and ROH in the short-term , then ditch whichever one isn't doing as well. The only thing ROH really gives NJPW is a good place to do excursions, and AEW might give the same thing. Jay White's ROH excursion went really well.

Hopefully they understand this is a business, and luck out on all their risks. Some predictions: CEO (the fighting game tournament) becomes one of their big annual events They struggle to build stars outside of the Elite. If a relationship with NJPW happens, Kanemitsu heads there on excursion.

I wonder how much of that 40% is fujoshi. I'm betting many of them secretly ship Naito x Hiromu.