NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling 2024. Contains G1 Climax 34 spoilers.

[The Natural]

Just now, Horangi said:

  Hide contents

I would have said Shota but with how unmercifully he was booed I'm not sure anymore. Maybe pivot to Takagi with Naito vs Hiromu under it as the dream draw match until they figure out what to do with Shota?

 

You know what that reminded me of:

Spoiler

Tetsuya Naito when he won the G1 Climax 2013 and he went up to Kazuchika Okada after he retained the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on a later show, think Naito either got crickets or was booed. That Wrestle Kingdom 8 match was so unpopular, it lost the public vote to determine the Wrestle Kingdom 8 min event to Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.

I agree with you. Zack Sabre Jr vs. Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi. Don't think you can delay the latter match as Naito's physical condition has deteriorated.

 

[Horangi]

7 minutes ago, lostinube said:

Did they even announce who is in the Super Jr. Tag League?

Nope, based on the dates I'd say it's probably an 8 team field. Probably will get announced in a press conference tomorrow. 

 

[matwarz]

Hiroshi Tanahashi; first ballot hall of famer, legend and probably the most important man in modern Japanese wrestling history. I think of certain guys when you mention Tana so I’d propose ace, Omega and Shibata vs Nakamura, Okada and Nagata as a final dance. I guess the most appropriate scenario would be Shota in there taking the torch. Get me on the plane

[The Natural]

My top ten Hiroshi Tanahashi matches:

10. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii. NJPW G1 Climax 2013. *****.

9. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. NJPW G1 Climax 2015. *****.

8. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11. *****.

7. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada. NJPW Dominion 2012. *****.

6. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kenny Omega. NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13. *****.

5. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada. NJPW Invasion Attack 2013. *****.

4. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi. G1 Climax 2018. *****.

3. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada. NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling 2013. *****.

2. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki. NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling 2012. *****.

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

Edited October 14, 2024 by The Natural

[The Natural]

Spoiler

https://twitter.com/Gunther_AUT/status/1845798806006231543

Gunther congratulations to Zack Sabre Jr.

 

[Salads]

Spoiler

Hiromu/Mistico was a bit of a dud to the point where I'm wondering if something didn't go to plan. Hiromu's new finisher apparently finally has a name and it's 'Maximum the Holding Second Form'

The heavy tag title match was heartwarming in the sense that NJPW recently is becoming an outlet for the long-suffering Australian wrestling scene in a similar way to how it has been for the UK. So here you get Ugg getting a spot and all the other Aussies are bumping away for him because I assume they're all happy for him to be there and are up for the occasion. Fale largely (lol) kept out of the way which was perfect.

Saw the NJPW World TV title recently described as the American TV style division and that was apt here for the 3-way. Narita finally gets the belt most assumed was made for him when they had the initial tournament, but suits him more now that he's a HOT staller.

The Young Bucks announce that they're coming back to New Japan to crickets.

Tanahashi's announcement wasn't one that I saw coming. Considering that Naito has said he's going to bow out early rather than become one of the dads, could we have a similar attraction for Wrestle Kingdom in 2027?

Douki / SHO was a dream match if you're into over the top facial expressions. Personally I felt that Douki's kishin unmasking was a miss. I guess Liger's was plenty long ago to be able to rehash the idea but the look was too goofy for me. Also we had Desperado's unmasking still in the memory which is going to be hard to beat.

Two things that I thought were done well from the angle side. Firstly, Yoh posted before the show that he was at Sumo Hall saying he was back (from injury). Yoh having history with SHO made this a good swerve when a completely separate junior recovering from injury shows up instead. Secondly, after Douki unmasks he squashes SHO and spends a full minute sat in the ring looking creepy as the scene settles. He then picks up his mask, puts it on and the ref helps him to his feet, giving him his title back. THEN Kanemaru attacks him. What do we do if our opponent hulks up Uncle Nobu? 'Eh, just wait for them to hulk back down again.'

For those who don't follow the product, I think it's worth drawing attention to the angle Finlay brought to his match against Goto:

'I want you to bring your children so I can whoop your ass and bloody you in front of them

I grew up watching my father. I grew up idolising my father just like Goto's kids. My father was not good enough to win the world title. So the sooner they learn that their father's a failure the better.'

Then Finlay wins lol. Great stuff. Taichi challenges so people can remember him before he does his last big money match against Zack. I don't think the Yuya mention was simply a device to get to Taichi. Along with the deadbolt reference in the G1 semis, I think this is a (well-earned) case of characters asking Where's Poochie? because they want Uemura to hit the ground running when he gets back.

 

Hopefully this is Shota's come to Jesus moment. The comparison to young and governable Naito are clear, but Naito was coming off of winning the G1 at the time and the booing was the fans rejecting his push. In this case, what push? The hardcore fans are familiar with the rumours about his conduct, he hasn't got any connection to the fans and he's no longer considered anything special in-ring since all the other young guys broke out.

 

Happy with Zack winning, though he doesn't have nearly as many options going forward. I'm going to echo the idea suggested by the We Work Stiff podcast that the big Naito career arc could come to closure/full circle by losing the title at KOPW and then main eventing the dome anyway by way of fan vote, mirroring his defining low point and proving that he transcended the title he always said he didn't need. As mentioned before he's not going to hang around getting older so there will be an end to his story lined up and this could be part of it. If they did that then the question would be who would he be pissing off in turn by demoting them to a non-main event title match, and that could could be an LIJ stablemate. The possibility of this current, meaner Hiromu getting a new short-haired look might fit with a LIJ explodes angle.

The Natural mentioned the possibility of a Danielson challenge for Zack but in my mind having Forbidden Door in the UK next year was simply so that the match could happen there.

 

[The Natural]

1 hour ago, Salads said:

  Hide contents

Hiromu/Mistico was a bit of a dud to the point where I'm wondering if something didn't go to plan. Hiromu's new finisher apparently finally has a name and it's 'Maximum the Holding Second Form'

The heavy tag title match was heartwarming in the sense that NJPW recently is becoming an outlet for the long-suffering Australian wrestling scene in a similar way to how it has been for the UK. So here you get Ugg getting a spot and all the other Aussies are bumping away for him because I assume they're all happy for him to be there and are up for the occasion. Fale largely (lol) kept out of the way which was perfect.

Saw the NJPW World TV title recently described as the American TV style division and that was apt here for the 3-way. Narita finally gets the belt most assumed was made for him when they had the initial tournament, but suits him more now that he's a HOT staller.

The Young Bucks announce that they're coming back to New Japan to crickets.

Tanahashi's announcement wasn't one that I saw coming. Considering that Naito has said he's going to bow out early rather than become one of the dads, could we have a similar attraction for Wrestle Kingdom in 2027?

Douki / SHO was a dream match if you're into over the top facial expressions. Personally I felt that Douki's kishin unmasking was a miss. I guess Liger's was plenty long ago to be able to rehash the idea but the look was too goofy for me. Also we had Desperado's unmasking still in the memory which is going to be hard to beat.

Two things that I thought were done well from the angle side. Firstly, Yoh posted before the show that he was at Sumo Hall saying he was back (from injury). Yoh having history with SHO made this a good swerve when a completely separate junior recovering from injury shows up instead. Secondly, after Douki unmasks he squashes SHO and spends a full minute sat in the ring looking creepy as the scene settles. He then picks up his mask, puts it on and the ref helps him to his feet, giving him his title back. THEN Kanemaru attacks him. What do we do if our opponent hulks up Uncle Nobu? 'Eh, just wait for them to hulk back down again.'

For those who don't follow the product, I think it's worth drawing attention to the angle Finlay brought to his match against Goto:

'I want you to bring your children so I can whoop your ass and bloody you in front of them

I grew up watching my father. I grew up idolising my father just like Goto's kids. My father was not good enough to win the world title. So the sooner they learn that their father's a failure the better.'

Then Finlay wins lol. Great stuff. Taichi challenges so people can remember him before he does his last big money match against Zack. I don't think the Yuya mention was simply a device to get to Taichi. Along with the deadbolt reference in the G1 semis, I think this is a (well-earned) case of characters asking Where's Poochie? because they want Uemura to hit the ground running when he gets back.

 

Hopefully this is Shota's come to Jesus moment. The comparison to young and governable Naito are clear, but Naito was coming off of winning the G1 at the time and the booing was the fans rejecting his push. In this case, what push? The hardcore fans are familiar with the rumours about his conduct, he hasn't got any connection to the fans and he's no longer considered anything special in-ring since all the other young guys broke out.

 

Happy with Zack winning, though he doesn't have nearly as many options going forward. I'm going to echo the idea suggested by the We Work Stiff podcast that the big Naito career arc could come to closure/full circle by losing the title at KOPW and then main eventing the dome anyway by way of fan vote, mirroring his defining low point and proving that he transcended the title he always said he didn't need. As mentioned before he's not going to hang around getting older so there will be an end to his story lined up and this could be part of it. If they did that then the question would be who would he be pissing off in turn by demoting them to a non-main event title match, and that could could be an LIJ stablemate. The possibility of this current, meaner Hiromu getting a new short-haired look might fit with a LIJ explodes angle.

The Natural mentioned the possibility of a Danielson challenge for Zack but in my mind having Forbidden Door in the UK next year was simply so that the match could happen there.

 

On that:

Spoiler

I forgot Forbidden Door was over here next year. Thanks for the reminder. Zack Sabre Jr vs. Bryan Danielson has to happen there.

 

[zendragon]

Having seen the match yet but for my money ZSJ is the best thing going in wrestling right now

[Horangi]

Jr Tag League was announced, 2 blocks of 6:

Block A: War Dogs, Hiromu & BUSHI, Tiger Mask & Captain Suicida, House of Tortuee, Taguchi & Dragon Dia, Eagles & Fujita

Block B: Jet Setters, Catch 22, YOH & Rocky Romero, DKC & Ninja Mack, Taiji Ishimori & X, The Velocities (hell yes!!!l

[The Natural]

20 hours ago, zendragon said:

Having seen the match yet but for my money ZSJ is the best thing going in wrestling right now

Now that Bryan Danielson has ended his full time career ;).

[The Natural]

20 hours ago, zendragon said:

Having seen the match yet but for my money ZSJ is the best thing going in wrestling right now

 

Just now, The Natural said:

Now that Bryan Danielson has ended his full time career ;).

It's between Zack Sabre Jr and Gunther for me.

[zendragon]

3 hours ago, The Natural said:

 

It's between Zack Sabre Jr and Gunther for me.

If I kept up with WWE more I'd probably agree with you.

[Lawful Metal]

Caveman Ugg FTW

I dont know what I was expecting but Ugg exceeded all of them

Hacksaw Jim Duggan in a Captain Caveman get up doing 360 crossbodys I don't even know what I wanted but now I want all of it

Caveman Ugg needs to be a regular Bullet Club guy just showing up and Finlay can be like who are you and he can be "UGG" and everyone just goes with it

[zendragon]

On 10/15/2024 at 10:46 AM, The Natural said:

 

It's between Zack Sabre Jr and Gunther for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GLxYlbHSD0

Think he reads the board....

[The Natural]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mfRjkxm33TE