NJPW The New Beginning 2024.

[The Natural]

4 minutes ago, Lawful Metal said:

Haven’t watched anything else, but that main event was amazing. Literally everyone in the match got time to shine and everyone went hard. Genuine chaos in a good way. A million billion stars.

a worthy successor to the pool hall death match.

Recommend Zack Sabre Jr vs. Bryan Danielson and Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi as well.

[Brandon Bones]

Bryan vs. Zack was amazeballs.  
 

Again.

So much grapple goodness.  So glad to finally have.

[HarryArchieGus]

On 2/12/2024 at 8:50 PM, RazorbladeKiss87 said:

I watched the English commentary because I don't follow NJPW and wanted to know what was going on. Mistake. They were terrible. Selling how solid and heavy the cage was when it's almost falling over as guys hit it.

I wish I could watch all wrestling with Japanese commentary. The seriousness, and emotion where needed, allows my focus to flourish. Especially away from the generally distracting talk I hear on US TV.

Fuck yeah, Danielson v Sabre! The future of pro wrestling on display (I hope).

Edited February 19 by HarryArchieGus

[The Natural]

Meltzer:

Sabre Jr vs. Danielson, *****1/2.

Bullet Club vs. United Empire, ****1/4. That's really low by Meltzer for one of his favourites in Will Ospreay.

Okada vs. Tanahashi, ****.

Natural:

Sabre Jr vs. Danielson, *****.

Bullet Club vs. United Empire, ****1/2.

Okada vs. Tanahashi, ****1/2.

[lostinube]

A bunch of questionable title changes in Sapporo:

Spoiler

SHO won the Jnr Hvy title after Despy's "if I win, SHO quits H.O.T." backfires and he gets counted-out, which I believe according to the stips Despy laid down, allowed the title to change hands.

Riddle beat Tanahashi clean to win the TV title.

Nemeth beat Finlay to win the Global title. Match was fine but the crowd didn't really warm up to Nic until after the match, I think.

Also, EVIL retained over Umino.

 

[The Natural]

22 minutes ago, lostinube said:

A bunch of questionable title changes in Sapporo:

  Hide contents

SHO won the Jnr Hvy title after Despy's "if I win, SHO quits H.O.T." backfires and he gets counted-out, which I believe according to the stips Despy laid down, allowed the title to change hands.

Riddle beat Tanahashi clean to win the TV title.

Nemeth beat Finlay to win the Global title. Match was fine but the crowd didn't really warm up to Nic until after the match, I think.

Also, EVIL retained over Umino.

 

 

Spoiler

Not happy with those results.

 

[Evil Otto]

Spoiler

I actually thought Nemeth came across quite well in New Japan, as I had suspected for years that he would.  I was reminded that the guy may be a top 10 all-time bump taker, too.  I have to hand it to NJPW for realizing he looks like a bigger star...when he actually wins matches!  It's a good start, at the very least.  

I'm taking a "wait and see" approach to Riddle at this stage.

Poor Sapporo, though.  They gave the crowd very little to feel happy about.  Not a bad show, because at least lots of stuff happened.  But a weird show for sure, and leaning towards not in a good way.  

Dear New Japan:  no, you are not booking geniuses because everybody hates House of Torture and wants them to go away and <pats on the back> "you see, that's good heel heat!"  I mean, it's not like we secretly like or even appreciate them.  They just suck. You're wasting all of our collective times.  Regards, Everyone

The IWGP women's title match was pretty solid, and I have a hunch we'll see Mercedes back in New Japan for at least a few dates now that the AEW Boston event is officially happening.  

 

[Curt McGirt]

There is precedence for House of Torture getting canned though; even Heisei Ishingun, who had their own branded shows FFS, eventually got phased out. You may have to wait a couple more years at worst of course.

[The Natural]

Spoiler

My issues:

Short title reigns. David Finlay only won the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship, Hiroshi Tanahashi the NJPW World Television Championship and El Desperado the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Championship at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 last month. Hiromu Takahashi should have retained and went on to break the record for defences in a single reign.

House of Torture fucking suck. The absolute fucking drizzling shits.

 

[Teflon Turtle]

Since this doesn’t really spoil any event results, I’m not spoiler tagging this:

Apparently, during the show Minoru Suzuki took to social media to state that he’s “giving back” the Strong Style name. As is probably evident, the translations I’ve seen are a bit spotty, but he basically seemed to say the name isn’t needed by him or Despe any longer. On his Instagram, the post starts with the translation “departing on a new journey” and he reiterates his status as a freelance wrestler.
 

One would think if he was leaving New Japan for good, he’d get a larger send-off. But…also kinda seems like he’s not going to be around for a while. Personally…you could see his involvement dwindle after Suzukigun disbanded, but it’s still jarring to have him potentially on the departure list with Okada, Ospreay, and Tama.

Edited February 23 by Teflon Turtle

[dragonzombie]

Very interesting results.  I wonder if Tanahashi wants NJPW to be even more western? Former NJPW President Takami Ohbari was the one who wanted NJPW to be more like the old Strong Style days, but he is gone. I remember reading this link years ago below, about Tanahashi thoughts about the term Strong Style...

https://yottsumepuroresu.blogspot.com/2014/05/njpw-hiroshi-tanahashi-talks-about.html

[The Natural]

Meltzer:

The New Japan show features the final match of Kazuchika Okada and Tama Tonga with the promotion. Okada's run in NJPW as a star since 2012 has been one of the great runs of championships and great matches in history.

Meltzer's right.

[The Natural]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MOiJn7Iem4E&t=300s

Kazuchika Okada documentary.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uDu9yP-dg7Q

Kazuchika Okada top three matches as voted for by the fans.

Spoiler

Fans:

3. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega. NJPW Dominion 2018. *****.

2. Kazuchika Okada vs. Katsuyori Shibata. NJPW Sakura Genesis 2017. *****.

1. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11. *****.

Natural:

3. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega. NJPW Dominion 2018. *****.

2. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10. *****.

1. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11. *****.

 

[Evil Otto]

Slight tangent alert!  For those of you with NJPW World, if you're looking for a palate cleanser after last night, I would strongly recommend four matches from the final two Korakuen Hall nights of FantasticaMania:

Soberano Jr vs Templario / Rocky Romero vs. Volador Jr. / Atlantis Jr vs. Hechicero / Stuka Jr vs. Mascara Dorada

All great, but in particular I thought the Hechicero match really stood out because he and Atlantis Jr have insane chemistry.  The announcers mentioned Zack a bit during the match, which gives me hope that we'll see ZSJ vs. Hechicero sooner than later.  Soberano Jr and Templario tried some incredibly difficult spots (with varying degrees of success) and had much more of New Japan style match than a CMLL one, which is why FantasticaMania can be so rewarding at times.  

It looked to me that there was particular interest in Dark Panther during this tour on the New Japan side.  He's guy with a lot of skills who just seems to lack a few things to bring him up to the next level, such as struggling a bit in longer singles matches and even his gear and overall appearance need more fine-tuning.  He would be a great candidate for an excursion in Japan for a while, and I wonder if the powers that be might be thinking the same thing.  I guess we'll see.  

 

[Horangi]

Night 1 in Sapporo is hard to defend even for a big New Japan mark like me. I will say I think the Nemeth/Finlay match is getting dragged down due to the 3 shitty matched ahead  of it. It's not MOTYC but was certainly enjoyable. Nemeth cut an awesome backstage promo after.

Apparently Tanahashi may have been hurt in the Riddle match, he's been pulled from tonight's show.

[The Natural]

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 and NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2024 was the most positive I'd been about NJPW since 2019. There's things I'm very concerned about. Hot potato title changes, new belts made, the House of Torture I can't stand, big blow in losing Kazuchika Okada and pushing the wrong people: EVIL/SANADA/HoT. Not convinced by David Finlay. Using Matt Riddle and Jack Perry.

Edited February 24 by The Natural

[lostinube]

Show just finished:

Spoiler

Nothing much happened other than DOUKI getting a big win over Hiromu. Crowd was really behind him by the end too.

Naito retained over SANADA in a so-so bout. Naito hilariously (to me, anyway) pins SANADA with his tornado cradle after SANADA gets all pumped up. Naito then invites Okada (who did commentary for the last three matches) in to the ring, offers him the LIJ fist, spits in his face when he is about to, and the two do a little dosey-do. Then NJPW gives us a literal shot of Okada going through the EXIT.

So far, the Anniversary main will really be Naito versus SHO.

 

Edited February 24 by lostinube

[The Natural]

3 minutes ago, lostinube said:

Show just finished:

  Hide contents

So far, the Anniversary main will really be Naito versus SHO.

 

 

Spoiler

Very underwhelming. A month ago it was going to be Tetsuya Naito vs. El Desperado. Such a shame Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi never happened on the NJPW anniversary show.

 

[The Natural]

How was Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura? That was the match I was most looking forward to and haven't seen the show yet. Thanks.

[lostinube]

It was fine. Not as much fire as one would want in a hair vs hair. They actually went through with the stip.

[The Natural]

2 hours ago, lostinube said:

It was fine. Not as much fire as one would want in a hair vs hair. They actually went through with the stip.

Thank you.

[The Natural]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uPRM8I9V99c

[HarryArchieGus]

Nemeth v Finlay was a solid TV Main Event. I hate Nemeth's flimsy finisher, but he looked really good otherwise. Good promo backstage. Riddle v Tanahashi was solid. Interested to see how both Riddle and Nemeth do with more interesting competition like Sabre, Ishii or Takahashi. The former superstars at least feel fresh. A missing element in NJPW24. 

p.s. I sense Nemeth ends up in AEW after some time spent abroad. A smart play to give him some credibility after his wasted WWE years. The guy clearly has a lot more to offer than that company, or the parroting critics, have given him credit for. I love a redemption story. 

Edited February 24 by HarryArchieGus

[Ace]

Nemeth's in TNA.

[Salads]

On 2/24/2024 at 5:31 AM, Evil Otto said:

Slight tangent alert!  For those of you with NJPW World, if you're looking for a palate cleanser after last night, I would strongly recommend four matches from the final two Korakuen Hall nights of FantasticaMania:

Soberano Jr vs Templario / Rocky Romero vs. Volador Jr. / Atlantis Jr vs. Hechicero / Stuka Jr vs. Mascara Dorada

Thanks because I'm lost without the recs. I'd already seen Atlantis Jr vs. Hechicero which I enjoyed (the latter has proper 'this guy's a pro wrestler' energy, something which I keep on referring to while wanting a way to articulate better). Lucha is 100% blind spot for me and I feel like a filthy casual doing it wrong by watching these guys work singles matches in Japan. I wonder how much appeal this kind of thing has to regular viewers. I assume not a lot but maybe there's a Dragon Gate in ROH element to some of it where they're playing the old hits to a new audience and its fresher for it.

On 2/24/2024 at 9:28 AM, The Natural said:

How was Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura? That was the match I was most looking forward to and haven't seen the show yet. Thanks.

They went long. I was a bit down on the match afterwards because some of the transitions were a bit weird and there were often sequences which were not as smooth as we're used to. Felt like they were too green to be working a half hour match in the semi-main. Then I remembered that despite them being heralded as NJPW TNG these guys had been back from excursion for less than a year, and Yuya has very little singles experience so yes of course they're green and they did well. Good match to see them flesh out their movesets, but noticeable that Yuya doesn't have a character yet.

The impressive bit was that the haircut wasn't even the spiciest part of the post match. On his way out Yota went over to Okada who was with the commentary team and gave him an earful about the way he left the company. Perfect fit for LIJ.