Evil Otto Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 Well, here's some good news...Yota Tsuji vs. Jeff Cobb was a fabulous match! Best match of the tournament so far. More thoughts below: Spoiler Jeff Cobb should be going much further in tournaments in general , but if he's going to lose to someone at this stage, Tsuji is a perfect choice. This match felt epic and special. Despite not being at a major venue, I still felt similar vibes to Shingo vs. Cobb at the Dome in 2021, as Cobb is this incredible force of nature and by somehow defeating him, Shingo finally felt made to me. That's a gift that Cobb has and it makes him a special performer that I truly appreciate. Yota earned every bit of his victory. Undeniably a star. Tsuji vs. ELP in the second round sounds splendid to me. ELP-Nicholls from tonight was pretty fun as well; well-worked and easy to watch, if you're so inclined. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salads Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 Seconded. Seems like Cobb has been working semi-hurt for ages so good to see him work a proper main event singles match. Uemura / Shingo was a good match too but Uemura is exciting because of his potential and the crowd here were excited for what Tsuji is now. Great noise for the size of the crowd. No way someone would group him with Umino and Narita if they started watching the product today. Side note: Starting to really appreciate how much a protruding belly helps a splash. The bigger the bulge the less Jeff's standing moonsault looks like a cute flex. Spoiler I'm not buying into the common Western take that NJPW need to start giving all the big wins to younger guys then voila lots of new stars, but if you wanted to have an inter-faction title defense between Naito and and Tsuji then this NJC is the way to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoeCristyV.1.6 Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 Maybe Ishii winds down, and needs some backup. I heard New Japan has some AEW wrestler who can now recruit him to his group. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Monday Morning Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 11 March spoiler Spoiler Unfortunately it seems even Yano cannot prevent the rise of Scapegoat Perry vs Sanada 2 - Electric Boogaloo coming soon (Yoshi-Hashi v Sanada was pretty good, actually) Tomorrow is Tanga vs Finlay and Goto vs Chase at the top of the card. As nature intended. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinube Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 That the final four of one side of the tournament could have been Yano, YOSHI-HASHI, Tanga and Chase is brilliant. I would have booked it just to melt everyone's minds. They can still make half of it happen. Do it New Japan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinube Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Most of wrestling fandom: New Japan needs to get going with moving their younger talent up the ranks! Narita beats ZSJ via HOT chicanery in the NJ Cup. Everyone: NOT LIKE THAT! Still, it does set up Ren and Yota. And really, Zack has won the cup twice and had nothing to show for it. Another deep G-1 run or god forbid, winning the G-1 (or the title, even) is probably better for him. The only person who has been able to thwart HOT completely by himself was Okada during the last G-1 semifinals. It will be telling if either Takagi or Yota can overcome the shenanigans on their own. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salads Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Yeah I think everyone had that nanosecond 'hey!' reaction seeing that result before coming to terms that becoming Goto 2.0 probably isn't a priority for Zack at the moment if we assume that Naito isn't dropping anytime soon. My sub isn't active at the moment but I'm hopeful for the new and improved HOT Narita I keep hearing about considering I never rated any of his Shibata Jr stuff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 3 hours ago, Salads said: Yeah I think everyone had that nanosecond 'hey!' reaction seeing that result before coming to terms that becoming Goto 2.0 probably isn't a priority for Zack at the moment if we assume that Naito isn't dropping anytime soon. My sub isn't active at the moment but I'm hopeful for the new and improved HOT Narita I keep hearing about considering I never rated any of his Shibata Jr stuff. That's why I'm glad Zack Sabre Jr won't be winning the New Japan Cup 2024 because Tetsuya Naito isn't losing the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship any time soon. I don't think he will until Wrestle Kingdom next year. Hope ZSJ is the next champion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinube Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 (edited) Other than EVIL and SANADA, aside from having lower case letters in their names everyone else would represent a relatively fresh match-up for Naito. He and Goto have gone at it in the G-1 and tags mainly. He and Takagi had one G-1 match four years ago and that's it. He sent Tsuji away overseas but that was also a while ago. He's never had a singles with Finlay or Narita. I don't think he's ever had a match with Jungle Jack. Edited March 16 by lostinube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SturmCRF Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 9 hours ago, The Natural said: That's why I'm glad Zack Sabre Jr won't be winning the New Japan Cup 2024 because Tetsuya Naito isn't losing the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship any time soon. I don't think he will until Wrestle Kingdom next year. Hope ZSJ is the next champion. I really hope you're wrong about Naito. I'm so bored by him, I can feel myself turning into a David Finlay cheerleader if that's the only shot at getting the title off him in the next 10 months. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 I find it hard to believe that Naito both has the belt and hasn't disintegrated yet, but then I remember this is New Japan and with Okada gone, as long as he can move in a physical approximation of pro wrestling without his neck crumbling into dust he will probably have the title. If you are fed up with him you better pray for an injury. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinube Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 And....Finlay had to pull out of last night's match due to illness. So one side is SANADA/Goto. The other side will be decided tonight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinube Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Yota and EVIL in the other semi. We are still on track for the worst possible final of SANADA/EVIL where EVIL would have to win because even NJPW has to realize that they can't do SANADA/Naito again. Or maybe not. On the other hand, relative to most HOT matches, Shingo made it work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoeCristyV.1.6 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 SANADA wins and joins the HOT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonzombie Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 2 minutes ago, MoeCristyV.1.6 said: SANADA wins and joins the HOT. Sounds good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted March 17 Author Share Posted March 17 (edited) On 3/16/2024 at 12:15 PM, SturmCRF said: I really hope you're wrong about Naito. I'm so bored by him, I can feel myself turning into a David Finlay cheerleader if that's the only shot at getting the title off him in the next 10 months. We'll soon see, mate. If it's any consolation I think this will be Tetsuya Naito's last big reign on top of NJPW with his age and injuries. Edited March 17 by The Natural Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinube Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Finals are set as Tsuji and LIJ finally got the best of EVIL and Goto beat SANADA. Tsuji and Goto have never met one on one and even then Tsuji only has one win out of a number of tags (mainly six-mans). Since the beginning Naito has been waiting for either Tsuji or Takagi to get through to face him at Sakura Genesis. On the other hand, Goto is Mr. New Japan Cup, having been in the finals six (now seven) times and winning three..but his last visit was eight years ago. And also the announcers played up his father passing away earlier in the year a bit. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 6 minutes ago, lostinube said: Finals are set as Tsuji and LIJ finally got the best of EVIL and Goto beat SANADA. Tsuji and Goto have never met one on one and even then Tsuji only has one win out of a number of tags (mainly six-mans). Since the beginning Naito has been waiting for either Tsuji or Takagi to get through to face him at Sakura Genesis. On the other hand, Goto is Mr. New Japan Cup, having been in the finals six (now seven) times and winning three..but his last visit was eight years ago. And also the announcers played up his father passing away earlier in the year a bit. I'd say Hirooki Goto was the Lex Luger of NJPW but Lex Luger eventually won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice. Sucks Goto never held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship when it was active and not the fucking awful IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinube Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 For better or worse, SANADA was on the road to being Goto'd until he got a haircut and left LIJ. And he got to win the title over Okada which now in retrospect was the beginning of the end of the Okada era. If Goto goes through Tsuji and Naito though, they may as well just give him a chyron that says "Transitional Champion." Or "Lifetime Achievement Award Before Moving on to Limit Break." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 (edited) Even Nakanishi (who actually had Luger's finisher) got a gold watch reign. You think it's about time? Edited March 18 by Curt McGirt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinube Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 I wouldn't be against it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonzombie Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Let's go Yota Tsuji! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SturmCRF Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 I'd fucking love Goto to win the title. Tsuji will have his time, but Goto deserves to finally have his moment after getting geeked out by Okada and joining Chaos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 I wouldn't be against a Hirooki Goto IWGP World Heavyweight Championship reign even though it should have happened years earlier with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Minoru Suzuki should have won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as well. Zack Sabre Jr also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Though I haven't followed closely in awhile, even though the TV is on every Thursday, I always liked Goto and thought he was cooler than everybody else thought he was. To me he was kind of a perfect MOVEZ Japanese wrestler (because he had ten thousand variations), his gimmick looked very Japanese, he always lost and I love underdogs, etc. It never felt fair to me that he didn't at least get a transitional win. He has been gatekeeper for sooooooo looooooong that he made a career out of it! Throw the man a bone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now