Horangi
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Posts posted by Horangi
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Daisuke Sasaki vs El Desperado announced for Wrestle Peter Pan in July! Have not watched a DDT show in probably 15 years, but I guess I'll be checking this one out. My 2023 wrestling watch expansion continues
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2 hours ago, Eivion said:
Will they give Okada a run less than six months, especially after he beat a current GHC champ while being champ? I think Finlay and Sanada are kind of screwed regardless of which wins.
I think if SANADA wins, he beats Okada, otherwise he surely would be Goto'd (and yet at the QF stage, Goto was the guy I was pulling for...shock NJC win, go on to beat Okada, slay his demons...oh well). Liking SANADA's new look though
Finlay on the other hand, if he was to win, I think it would make more sense for him to lose to Okada, cause more friction in Bullet Club (with ELP in particular) as he couldn't get the job done.
The Ospreay injury really messed things up, either SANADA or Finlay was probably meant to get a big win over him to cement their title challenge. I don't have a ton of interest in this final, but am hyped for Hiromu/Rush.
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Ospreay is out of the cup, replaced by Dunkzilla. Ospreay vs EVIL was kind of intriguing as a styles clash (they did have a good G1 match a few years ago when it was pre-BC EVIL). Still no word on how long he'll be out for, apparently he did hear a pop in his shoulder when it happened.
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Fletcher has been having a really solid run of singles matches over the past few weeks with the Robbie Eagles match at Tamashii, then both the YOSHI-HASHI and Goto matches now. He's only 24, bulking up too, I'm sure if NJPW doesn't snap him up on a proper contract (Davis too, but part of me thinks they probably do have some kind of agreement with New Japan), someone else will very soon. UE has probably been leaning more face than heel ever since Bea left, they don't cheat & have each other's backs, the only heelish thing they really do is that they are cocky loudmouths.
Still on the Empire, apparently at the WSW show in Sydney last night, after beating Robbie Eagles, TJP handed him a United Empire armband which Robbie kept. I guess this is something that may play over the next Tamashii shows in April. Hirooki Goto & Shingo Takagi will be making the trip to Aus for these, which I am so stoked for as I've been a huge Takagi fan since he debuted in Dragon Gate as a Crazy MAX member (have my meet & greet ticket!)
Most of the New Jacan Puc (thanks KENTA...) has been fun, no huge MOTYCs but some really solid, good wrestling. The aforementioned Fletcher/Goto, Davis/Ospreay and probably SANADA/Taichi are my top 3, but most has been pretty good outside of the HoT matches (who thought it was a good idea for another EVIL push?) and I really didn't dig SANADA/KENTA. Some of the undercard TMDK matches have been really fun, Fujita is really coming into his own with Zack, yesterday's one against Shota & Tama was a blast for an undercard 10 minute match.
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Seen a lot of reviews calling the main event one of the best NJPW tag matches of all time. I don't think it was THAT great (compared to lets say Nagata & Iizuka vs Kawada & Fuchi), but certainly one of the best in the modern era where the tag division really hasn't been that heavily in the spotlight.
YOSHI-HASHI's growth has been impressive, it wasn't long ago that the only real thing of note with him was slipping and KO'ing himself on a big save spot.
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20 hours ago, Belgian_Waffle said:
I love Dave and I will always pre-empt my criticism of Dave by saying "I love Dave" because the people who pathologically hate him are so insufferable. That said, his casual throwing around of "second-best-match-of-the-year-contender" because he already knows nothing will top Omega vs Ospreay is really juvenile and petulant. His quote this morning was like "I've heard Miyahsra vs Nagata was a second best match of the year contender" as if the people recommending it to him to that degree are also routinely already relegating everything to sub-Ospreay status.
I re-upped my AJPW TV subscription due to the hype behind the Miyahara/Nagata match, really enjoyed it! So much that I probably do have it so far as my second favourite match of the year (ahead of Omega/Ospreay, behind Okada/Takagi). Nagata (and Kojima last year) proving he's still got gas in the tank and I wish New Japan would utilise better.
I'll stick around for the CC, specifically looking forward to Kento/Yuma/T-Hawk matches with each other.
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15 hours ago, lostinube said:
New Japan Cup 2023 Bracket
Dangerous Tekkers explode in the final! Come on New Japan, make it happen.
Realistically I think it'll be Will/ELP and Shingo/Shota semis. I'll go with an outsider pick of ELP winning as new BC Japan leader
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Spoiler
Only watched the main as i was at MCW tonight, hell of a battle! I was really pulling for Takagi like the crowd despite knowing it wasn't gonma happen. Was expecting a Kiyomiya attack post match but it didn't happen...
I wonder if this is Tanahashi's last world title shot. I loved the Okada/Tanahashi feud back in the day, it's what brought me back to Pro wrestling completely. Most say Invasion Attack was their best, but the Ryogoku King of Pro Wrestling one is my favourite.
Lio Rush challenged Hiromu, Robbie Eagles got shitty at Lio on Twitter...Robbie needs to join TMDK ASAP.
Jay vs Hikuleo went over 20...wow. Anyone who sat through it, let me know how it was...
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8 hours ago, Salads said:
Every time I see Ren Narita I think about that breakout match he had with Ishii. Which in turn gets me thinking about how when I started watching New Japan the stocky gatekeeper dads for the up and comers were Tatsutoshi Goto and Hiro Saito. Ishii is too big of an upgrade to comprehend.
Also, getting 3300 to show up for a YOH main event after running the same building the night before is a miracle. The big NJPW / NOAH show only got 5500!
It was thinking about that the other week, I miss Mr. Backdrop!
Hiromu vs YOH was good, crowd was even hot for YOH and sounded like they were more behind him than Hiromu which shocked me. The Sapporo double-header had some great wrestling with Ospreay/Taichi being the pick of the bunch. Catch-22/Just 2 Guys & Hiromu/YOH round up the really good stuff, while Bishamon/TMDK was fun. Umino/Naito on the other hand...just long and disappointing.
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I don't know if this is the place, but when it is uploaded onto New Japan World, the Kyle Fletcher vs Robbie Eagles match from tonight's Tamashii show was a hell of a match.
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34 minutes ago, Ace said:
People missing from the units page:
Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club)
David Finlay (NJ Army)
Gedo (Bullet Club)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJ Army)
Rocky Romero (CHAOS)
They're there, just written below the photos (I.e., Rocky, Lio Rush and Eagles for Chaos)
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I think this might be the best place to ask, if not maybe someone can point me in the right direction, but KC Navarro has recently been announced for a local here in Melbourne. I'm completely out of the loop with US indies, does anyone have any recommendations of matches or promos to see of his?
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On 1/10/2023 at 1:01 AM, sevendaughters said:
just doing a bit of a recap of 2022 in my spare time, what BOSJ matches were must see?
If I had a top 5 to watch, I'd go with:
- Robbie Eagles vs El Phantasmo - 26/5/22
- El Desperado vs Robbie Eagles - 29/5/22
- El Desperado vs El Lindaman - 24/5/22
- Hiromu Takahashi vs YOH - 25/5/22
- El Desperado vs DOUKI - 28/5/22And of course the final. Block B was stacked with the good match ups compared to Block A.
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The Sapporo double-header has me more interested than the Osaka show. Catch 22/Just4Guys team gel really well together, really enjoyed their Junior Tag League match. Ospreay and Taichi had a really good match in the 2020 G1, and I think Ospreay has improved a lot since then so this one will be interesting as an Ospreay loss could continue his further descent into madness/establish Taichi as a solid leader, and an Ospreay win could be the start of his road back to Omega. Also excited to see what Umino can produce against Naito, the Umino/Narita/Tsuji/Uemura (Oiwa too but he's obviously further down the line) I think will form the core of NJPW's main event scene over the next decade so its time to start injecting them into high profile spots. Hiromu and YOH had a good match in the Super Juniors, so I do expect much more of the same. I'm assuming winner of Ishimori/Wato in Osaka will challenge the winner (Hiromu I'd say).
Still, I love Okada/Takagi matches, I would love another Takagi run with the World title this time with bigger & vocal crowds, he was one of the few bright sparks during the COVID era and deserves a real run.
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Posted a lot already about WK17, so final thoughts after Dash and letting things settle.
SpoilerI stand by I thought WK17 was a blast - to add to what Teflon Turtle said, I think NJPW itself is really divisive, especially on here. People like me who really enjoy the New Japan style loved it, those that don't hated it. But thats the beauty of pro wrestling is that we all enjoy things differently and the great thing about this board unlike Twitter or other forms is that the discussion is constructive and civil. My big 2023 wrestling ambition is to get out of my NJPW tribal mindset and watch more of other groups than I did in 2022.
I wont touch much on Ospreay/Omega, enough has been said. I think the undercard may feel rushed but I thought both the Jr. Tag and Zack/Narita were really fun, the IWGP Tag Match was fine for what it was (travel problems and injuries impacted it) and the Mutoh match didn't need to be anything else than Mutoh hitting some of his big spots and further pushing Umino. Biggest negative was the women's match getting fuck all, shave 5 minutes off Tama's match and have him just destroy Anderson, give those 5 to the women and I think the biggest grievances from the undercard are solved. No real thoughts on Mercedes as I haven't watched WWE in so long, but am interested to see what she can do against KAIRI in Feb.
I think one of NJPW's strongest assets is their junior division, and thought this 4 way was much stronger than the one a few years back with Ospreay & Scurll (based on Cagematch reviews I am in a minority though). I do think Despy was the better option, but understand the Hiromu choice - I wonder if they will go for the title defence record again. For Jay/Okada, I think if it was before Omega/Ospreay people would have felt better about it, as it was fine for what it was. I agree Jay & Okada seem to struggle to get to that next level, they just don't have strong chemistry. I think the Dominion match was better though. Agree that Ibushi is Jay's best opponent, and Ishii probably second best.
Now for New Years Dash thoughts
SpoilerBiggest New Years Dash show since I think the one with Suzuki Gun's return maybe? The pandemic ones have been pretty flat, and don't recall anything major shock happening at the 2020 one as it was Liger's retirement. I doubt VOW's news that Suzuki-Gun breaking up was due to guys not signing contracts, I think they just wanted Zack & Taichi to lead their own groups, and with JONAH leaving there was a vacancy to fill which Zack easily could do due to his history with TMDK members. Sharp-dressed TAKA is now my favourite TAKA, I do think they'll add another heavy though, possibly a leader because as much as I love Taichi, he's been booked as a henchman for so long. TAKA did say something about changes in the next coming months so we'll see. Loved Zack dragging Fujita into TMDK, and the cameras cutting to miffed Oiwa.
Going forward, the pairings for titles & big feuds seem to be for New Beginning tour/San Jose PPV:
IWGP World/KOPW: Okada v Takagi
IWGP US: Omega v Cobb
IWGP Tag: Bishamon vs TMDK
TV Title: Zack vs Ishii
IWGP Jr: Hiromu vs YOH
IWGP Jr Tag: Catch 22 vs Kanemaru/DOUKI
NEVER 6-Man: House of Torture vs Suzuki/Narita/Desperado
Jay vs Hikuleo
Ospreay vs TaichiI don't think they built anyone for Tama off memory, maybe ELP or KENTA? The Bullet Club/GoD-Hontai match seemed more to build up Jay/Hikuleo than anything. I guess its bye-bye Jay, and hopefully they'll let Bullet Club die off after that, though doubt it as they still move merch. I guess ELP or KENTA take over when Jay leaves? Probably would have been Juice if he stuck around.
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Spoiler
Loved the Sephiroth song, as a massive FF7 fan I lost my shit.
My apologies for any randomness,I've been drinking a lot tonight watching this one haha.
Anyway claimed paid crowd number was about 26k, on par with the last Wednesday Wrestle Kingdom which was Okada vs Omega
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5 minutes ago, lostinube said:
Did he give a date? It's not for the 21st, right? Looks like that's going to LIJ/KONGO but they haven't put the backstage comments online yet.
In the end, it had to be Okada/White going on last because you needed Okada to deliver that promo with tears in his eyes and then the final 1, 2, 3, Da at the very end.SpoilerI was listening to Chris Charlton's translation but it sounds like he didn't hear the date correctly. Chris was debating between 21/1 in Yokohama or 1/2 in Aomori, but it seems 11/2 in Osaka was the date.
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Spoiler
Main event was good, but obviously couldn't follow what came before it. Okada (and Hiromu) may feel like stale choices, but also these two are super talented and can drive forward whatever the new direction is.
Shingo challenged Okada for Osaka New Beginning I think post match...could be great!
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1 minute ago, Ziggy said:
I don't know what that move was she was going for but the entrance music sounds lit. I think I'm resubscribing to New Japan World after 3 years this month. I want to watch Ospreay vs Omega and be able to catch up with what's currently going on and be able to watch the February PPV
Don't know if it sways your decision but the Feb US show is not included in the monthly fee and is extra. But this show is definitely worth the subscription fee.
Agree with TheVileOne, if there is a fault with tonight it's the stream quality. If NOAH can get a perfect hi-def stream on their app, why can't New Japan?
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Spoiler
How do Okada and Jay follow THAT!?!?
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2 hours ago, Evil Otto said:
I've been meaning to ask this for a while, as I've seen others mention it recently: what exactly is the problem with Kevin and Chris these days? Bear in mind, I only ever listen to the Japanese commentary, so by default, I really don't get the criticism at all. Not trying to stir anything up, just curious.
For me, it's their attempts at comedy and pandering to their twitter friends. I much preferred Chris in the Mike Tenay role instead of a play-by-play or colour guy. Also at times I think they unintentionally bury some guys, like Wato for example.
In saying that, when they're on, they're on. I actually like Charlton's dramatic monologues like for Ospreay during his G1 entrance (some don't).
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So Gino Gambino was at the English fan event organised by Kevin Kelly & Chris Charlton today. I really hope he's back on commentary, I'll watch in English if he is (I can't do Kevin/Chris on their own anymore...)
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As someone who doesn't watch NOAH regularly, I felt this show was dragging until the tag team title match, which I really enjoyed. I thought Kiyomiya vs Kenoh was a war and absolutely great. Normally I struggle to get into Kenoh matches, he's one of those guys I just have an irrational dislike towards.
I'll probably stick around and watch more of the January shows if they're on Wrestle Universe and see if NOAH can replace All Japan on my watch list, just wish Japanese commentary was an option.
SpoilerDisappointed in Jake's choice from a selfish personal standpoint, but definitely get it. Jake vs Inamura should be a blast
NJPW 51st Anniversary Show/New Japan Cup 2023.
in JAPAN
Posted · Edited by Horangi
Spelling errors + multiverse stuff
SANADA wins, used a Shining Wizard in the lead to the win. Good choice with a full cheering crowd to have the home town lad win. Hoping he actually beats Okada, digging the new SANADA.
Hiromu/Rush was match of the night, Robbie is next at Sakura Genesis. Robbie and Hiromu mesh really well together, but I think Hiromu is going for the record.
UE/CHAOS 6 man was a blast, Aussie Open's stock has increased significantly on this tour.
There was also a mysterious coming soon video...lots of speculation for who it's for, from Danielson to Goldberg but my gut feel is Tsuji returning.
If Ospreay can't make Multiverse, Tanahashi offered to replace him against Mike Bailey. A match I never knew I wanted!