matwarz

GLEAT is great. Viva La GLEAT!

I have to go back and watch the whole show due to brain fade, but I will give the main of tonight’s GLEAT show a big fat holy fuck. So good I almost forgot about the fans not cheering.

Always a pleasure listening to Kenny talk wrestling, a really interesting guy and always some insightful stories and recollections. Also love him just dropping in that Cody was on a flight to Saudi

Desperado and Wato going 30 minutes just because Gedo said they could; that’s discussion on talent, push and booking all neatly packaged. Remember when every NJPW show was a date in the diary? Two great matches every big show ain’t going to cut it. Even I’ve got to admit they are pretty much on their arse right now.

Emerged from the nightly yt rabbit hole to find myself one match into the GLEAT show. Obviously I stayed, naturally I had a great time. GLEAT good!

Good god man, I’d totally forgotten about Apple. Hang my head in shame

Rocky got a touch of covid

Yes please. Always loved that strap

Rhio clearly a porn hub fan. Damn.

My first thought was immediately that terrific first defence he had against Naito at korakuen. What a great match that was.

Not at all. The injury was at the finish and had no impact. To me the match was simply a directionless mess. No flow, no heat and just uninspired. Even JR was having a hard time with it. The match they had on Rampage previous was far better. This one, meh.

Just took time for the Yamashita v Mizuki match and it was indeed ‘fucking great’. Sign me up to the Miyu fanclub. Props also to an awesome Korakuen crowd who totally made me forget about the ban on cheering

I don’t generally feel that way but it was painfully obvious tonight. Stellar opening and then it was amateur hour. One of the great things about AEW is the something for everyone flavour. That said, when you’re following a presentation like the opener, you damn sure better be able to hit all your marks regardless of what meal you’re serving.

Great pro wrestling to open but the rest of the show blew. Jericho segment was death, women’s match was a snooze and main was a tired spot fest capped by a horrible injury.

The problem with two wrestle kingdom shows is two wrestle kingdom shows. Good god that would be spooky sitting in a nosebleed. Unrelated, Uncle Dave stopped tweeting after the kopw match. Can someone check on him as I have this hilarious visual of him slumped across his keyboard slowly drowning in all those piles of paper and magazines.

Cosmic Angels, Starlight Kid and Mina bloody Shirakawa. But no Stardom Cafe. The world is cruel. Just an observation you understand. Wait, you never watched Stardom Cafe? Oh, you lie!

I’ve checked that out. There were many good points. For my sins, I’m pro-Ospreay however. He’s among the greatest live performers I’ve ever seen, regardless of crowd size, and I find his evolution undeniable. I understand he’s polarising but so were plenty of the tools I grew up with in Norfolk. The hair really is a bloody disgrace though. Kidani is right to sense panic though. It’s far from a lifting of restrictions. Whilst it certainly applies to all companies, NJPW has arguably fallen the most rungs. The climb back to selling out the dome is going to require some serious rebuilding.

And two nights was a bad idea from the get go. I want the 1/4 magic back again!

I can’t argue. They were still clinging on up until WK14 but covid was the final nail. The persistence with horrors like the KOPW and six man titles and guys like Yujiro and Owens shows just how much a change is needed. But man, WK11. I had Kushida v Hiromu and Shibata v Goto at ****1/2, Tana v Naito at ***** and the main however high you want to go.

Given the current state of NJPW I was actually fondly recalling that show tonight and how lucky I was to be there. A string of 4-5* matches and an all-timer for a main event. That match will do down in history as a classic and one of the most influential matches of this generation. I can still see the faces as we filed out of the dome, people in disbelief and awe of what they had just seen.

Thanks for the info. I was impressed on all fronts. A friend of mine in Japan was surprised I checked out the show but stated a lot of insiders were looking forward to the show and was impressed with Chikuzen-san’s mind for the business. Certainly a show I would have attended had I been in Japan.

Just randomly stumbled into Kyushu Pro on ‘the tube’. Stayed for a sprightly jr tag and nice hoss 3 way and some quality production. I like, I come again Kyushu Pro.

ZSJ with a British Christmas in a nutshell. Mind you, last time I enjoyed festivities in Blighty I was smashed on fosters and killing myself at Morecambe and Wise

Think TK feels it’s time to re-do the wrestle war 89 crazy funkin’ judge angle again? ?

I generally tend to fall in line with Dave’s ratings, but listening to him talk about the show I knew he was going to be off the mark. Ultimately it’s about one viewers perspective. I would have said: MJF vs Darby Allin: 4 3/4 FTR vs Lucha Bros: 3 3/4 Danielson vs Miro:4 1/4 SuperKliq vs Jurassic Express/Christian: 4 Cody/PAC vs Andrade/Black: 4 Baker vs Conti: 3 1/4 CM Punk vs Kingston: 4 1/2 Inner Circle vs American Top Team: 3 3/4 Hangman vs Omega: 5