Sublime

Terrible news, Vader is at the same time a one of a kind wrestler and a total broad stroke wrestler. If you looked at him and had only the slightest knowledge of pro-wrestling you'd think that is exactly what a pro-wrestler looks like, either that or a muscle bound guy like Luger, but at the same time he never felt like that, he was Vader and Vader was unique Vader had an aura that was only his, it couldn't be replicated and even when he showed up on Raw with Coachman and was out of shape it didn't really matter because he was Vader and that aura was still there. Truly one of the best big men of all time, possibly the best depending on how you define big man. I wasn't a big WCW fan as a kid but Vader was a guy I'd stop to watch when I saw him on. How could you not like watching him he was a monster but he was athletic, he looked unstoppable but still vulnerable at the right moments. I'm sad that WWE never gave him his due while he was alive, he should be in the HOF he should be revered as an all time great but in WWE's retelling of history they haven't given him the place he deserves and that feels wrong.

I was asked the same question RE: voting for Eddie over Bryan and here is my response: I think very highly of Danielson, he is probably one of my favorite of all time in ring performers, however he happened to be paired against Eddie who is my favorite wrestler of all time. The choice between the two for in-ring only was very hard and I almost voted the third option. Both men have very diverse bodies of work, both excel at every aspect of in-ring performance, Bryan is better on the mat, Eddie is better in the air. It came down to my consideration that Bryan, during his indy run, could seem self-indulgent and do things just because he was able to do them because he had the freedom to do so and sometimes that wasn't always to the benefit of a match. Whereas Eddie only ever did what the match needed, he was able to do amazing things anytime but he wasn't afraid to scale it back when the time called for it. I think Bryan is able to do the same now but hasn't always been. Bryan may also suffer from the fact that so much of his body of work has made tape that was easily accessible especially during the time he was still putting things together that maybe I'm treating him unfairly but again Eddie is my fav and that bias will be hard to overcome.

Not very surprised by that only surprising thing is that they didn't put Bryan over him stronger at MITB. But in the lead up with Bryan cutting a promo about how Cass didn't work hard enough to be a good wrestler that's a sign he was on the bubble and he needed to show them something and he was terrible at MITB, they tried to light a fire under him and he just kept sucking so long Big Ass

I felt like I stuck with 205 live for months after it started and now I'm noticing I had given up on it before episode 6 cause I never saw Tajiri. I keep telling my self I'll check it out again I know that's probably a lie. Sorry Gran Metalik, Ali, Gulak and others I would like to watch.

Well I think you can pencil Okada into the final cause I don't see anyone else possibly taking Block A also Yoshi, Elgin, and Makabe in the same block? well I know three matches I'm probably gonna skip. Sad that Yano and Suzuki are in different blocks. Block B looks interesting for sure.

I like that the article recognizes the YBs as the IWGP Heavy Tag Champs but doesn't make mention of Omega having a title.

Would Rey/Marty help move tickets? I could see that being added but idk why they'd hold off on announcing Mysterio having a match

Thought the show was very good, not as good as WK or NXT: Takeover New Orleans but maybe a top three show of the year so far. The main event was very good, thought they did a good job and didn't over do it (relatively speaking) which I was worried about. Great moment at the end with Kenny, Kota and YBs. It was such a dramatic match and with no clear outcome going in. Liked that fact that the Rainmaker didn't decide any falls but the OWA did both. Look forward to where things go from here, well not the Cody/Omega match too much but everything else. Jericho/Naito was good not great. The thing I love about NJPW is that I'm truly invested in characters and I was gutted when Naito lost, I don't get that with WWE any more and it's a great reminder about what I love about wrestling. Sleazy brawler Jericho is kinda neat but I don't want to see him against Naito again, brawling Jericho is great because his best athletic days are behind him but when he's against someone in a straight match where he needs to match their athleticism we kinda get what we got. Going in I was worried about his ability to take a Destino and I was right to be worried there were some really ugly moments. I wonder if Jericho convinced Gedo that Jericho/Okada is a WK worthy match, I think Jericho would match up better with Okada then he did Naito and probably Omega as well, but idk if I want to see it. Hiromu is wonderful and as gutted as I felt later when Naito lost I felt elated when Hiromu won. I hope this is his moment to become the Jr ace for a while before moving up t heavyweight before he breaks his body too bad. I love that crazy bastard. Ospreay continued to impress me this year and I'm enjoying him more and more but I hope he takes a different path for a while (I'll expand on that in a moment). The sixman was ok wasn't big on the face legends losing especially in Rey's first match in NJPW but I figured Liger was there to do the job, it was either him or Page taking the fall but Page seems to be trying to be built up a bit. Hope we get to see Rey more in the future and being featured it certainly seems like him and Marty have a singles match on the horizon maybe at the Cow Palace. The Tag match was pretty good I was shocked that YBs won the belts in their first opportunity especially with how the match was set up. NJPW put the Bucks over strong here. I think it's likely they and Omega are in it for the long haul and are seen as key players in NA expansion but we all know people will be going on about The Elite going to WWE when December comes. The NEVER match ended was pretty meh, it was a decent three-way match I was pulling for Taichi and was disappointed that he took the fall and I wasn't thrilled with Elgin winning. I'd like to see Elgin drop the belt to Ospreay and let the belt be the openweight championship it's meant to be and let Ospreay have some matches against the mid card heavies as a test of him moving up to heavy. Like Ishii and Suzuki having a battle of surly-ness and ZSJ out smarting the Sublime Master Thief (though I hoped the match would end with Yano rolling up Suzuki). Hope Juice wins the US title shot he earned. Glad Suzuki-gun held onto the Jr Tag belts, RP3K need to earn their next reign they started hot but they need to work to get back there and I'm glad that El Desperado is getting a little spotlight.

Cause MITB is a Big Five show now so it gets a Takeover.

Initially I was thinking that Omega was going to take the belt here but after thinking about it I'm not sure anymore mainly because idk how that would play into the G1. I feel that if Okada drops the belt before the G1 he would be the odds on fav to win the G1 and then main event WK against Omega (or maybe Naito) but at the same time if Okada keeps the belt who wins the G1? I guess the big issue is that outside of Okada, Naito and Omega who else is there that is WK main event worthy? I think I'd like to see Omega win here and then Ibushi win the G1 leading to Omega/Ibushi at WK but then what about Naito and Okada do you run them at semi main for the IC belt? Give Okada/Suzuki and Naito/???. I feel like we're starting to really feel the hole that Shibata's injury has left since it seems like NJPW was planning on him being the fourth column to hold the main event scene up and they haven't found a replacement yet, maybe Ibushi will be that person. Suzuki was kind of that role but he has moved down the card and I don't know if Cody can fill that spot in Japan.

I think that Tanaka/Hash happened in ZeroOne in the early 2000s I'm almost positive I saw that match over ten years ago I have vague memories of it. Now I want to look it up.

Really looking forward to this card probably gonna watch the whole thing. Omega/Okada should be good at least but there is certainly a chance it will get over indulgent. Naito/Jericho probably has a ceiling of good, maybe Jericho will surprise us but his best days are behind him though him and Naito might be able to use character work to really up the quality of the match they are both great in that regard. Hiromu/Ospreay should be fantastic both have been on a hot streak and I say that as someone who generally has no time for Ospreay but he has made me start to change my mind this year. Bucks/LIJ tag should be good if not great. I'm not too hopeful for the NEVER match three ways are more miss than hit and Elgin has been devolving over the past year (plus he's a POS) but I hope Taichi wins. I hope Yano gets to continue his success against Suzuki cause I love that plot thread. Juice/Finlay vs CHAOS is the only match I might skip but Juice is always fun to watch and Knife Pervert is interesting to see develop but YOSHI-HASHI....

That was my only problem with the final. That butterfly head drop driver is a crazy awesome move and it sucks that it was used like it was. If that spot was was switched out with the Time Bomb and the head drop was was used as the pin, the match would have been a hair better. But it was an amazing match andboth men came out looking great. I was worried that Ishimori was going to win to establish himself more but I was so glad that Hiromu won I was marking out (at my desk at work luckily I have my own office so no one knew ). Really look forward to his match with Osprey at Dominion.

Detachable Penis is better than everything about Enzo ever amd should no be compared to him or his work in any way. of course nothing should Enzo is the worst.

Cass needs back to NXT and the PC, bad. All he ever had going for him in the ring was being a decent hot tag. He is not good and probably needs more than working with guys better than him, which is all of the SDL roster. I feel sorry for the guy being put out there when it's pretty clear he isn't ready for the push he's getting.