Purotopia General Discussion: 2016 Edition

[Kevin Wilson 1,035]

I think the point is that he is volunteering his time to help rookies.  It doesn't say the rookies are required to get in the ring with him and he chases them around the ring breaking their limbs, I am sure they want to learn from one of the best wrestlers in that style of wrestling.  They are men making men decisions, they will be ok.  Wrestling is painful, if a wrestler can't handle being stretched by Suzuki they probably should become cooks or something.

[The Z 1,600]

A cheap shot against Akiya Anzawa in 2015? Come on.

[Kevin Wilson 1,035]

Aw come on, that was funny.  And a reference only like six people would get.

[MoeCristyV.1.6 861]

The Suzuki Army just invaded NOAH! Awesome! Cross Promotion feuds rule!

[Irving 19]

Akiya Anzawa was the shit though... but Suzuki did the same thing during his All Japan runs. For some reason he had a particular fascination with torturing Brute Issei and actually dislocated his shoulder and Brute ended up retiring within a month or so later.

[Salads 123]

I can think of no greater tribute to Anzawa than this board belittling his decision to quit pro wrestling for at least the next few decades.

[Spritenaut 32 4,589]

Anzawa quit due to Suzuki hazing him?  I didn't know that.

[Kevin Wilson 1,035]

Akiya Anzawa was the shit though... but Suzuki did the same thing during his All Japan runs. For some reason he had a particular fascination with torturing Brute Issei and actually dislocated his shoulder and Brute ended up retiring within a month or so later.

A bit of an exaggeration here, Suzuki hurt Issei (no idea of the intent) in September of 2006, he retired in September of 2007.  The last four months of his career he was on an excursion wrestling in America.  So while I don't know if they were directly related, and they probably were, the time frame was a lot wider than that.

[Ace 4,639]

Yeah... So.... Mauro Ranallo and Josh Barnett are already the best commentary team in the U.S. No contest.

[Oyaji 7,390]

What is pururesu though?

 

I do like the history lessons they doled out. I wonder how much an appreciation of the contrasting pedigrees would add to newer viewers of WK9. The Fujinami/NJPW Dojo link for Tanahashi was basically what was the difference in that match.

[offspring515 1,617]

I am a completely clueless newbie when it comes to Japanese wrestling.  This new AXS tv show is great for someone like me who requires some hand holding to dip my toes into it.  The announcing was perfect in explaining who these guys are, why they are fighting, and what they are fighting for.  Loved watching it and got really caught up in the action.  

[Linus 126]

I just watched Doering vs Shioaki from 1/3. Anyone know if Doering got legit concussed in the multiple DDTs spot? He seemed punch-drunk for the rest of the match.

[Irving 19]

 

Akiya Anzawa was the shit though... but Suzuki did the same thing during his All Japan runs. For some reason he had a particular fascination with torturing Brute Issei and actually dislocated his shoulder and Brute ended up retiring within a month or so later.

A bit of an exaggeration here, Suzuki hurt Issei (no idea of the intent) in September of 2006, he retired in September of 2007.  The last four months of his career he was on an excursion wrestling in America.  So while I don't know if they were directly related, and they probably were, the time frame was a lot wider than that.

 

He had already had a problem with his shoulder earlier that year. Suzuki continued to crank that arm bar until he completely dislocated it. Suzuki would also single him and another trainee out at the time during harsh training sessions, the trainee left, and Brute ended up never fully recovering from his shoulder injury and retiring a year later.

[John E. Dynamite 711]

I can think of no greater tribute to Anzawa than this board belittling his decision to quit pro wrestling for at least the next few decades.

Dude sees a few episodes of "Top Chef" and all of a sudden I have to watch a decade of Ryusuke Taguchi title matches. That's fair grounds for discontent.

[EricR 156]

http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2015/01/new-japan-pro-wrestling-on-axs-episode.html

 

So I checked out the new AXS TV show and liked it more than I expected. I don't usually go out of my way to watch much NJPW, although I often like Nakamura and Suzuki. So, going into this project with an open mind.

[KidKash202 268]

Not uncommonly, my NJPW fandom went from like 91-96 and then 2011-present.  Bit of a gap. 

 

What are a handful of must-see matches from, say, 2006 on (I guess the beginning of the Tanahashi-era).

 

It seems that everyone really hit their prime in the last couple of years, which is why the wrestling really improved. 

 

Of the current crop, what's the best stuff that probably a lot of us who jumped on board the last few years missed?

 

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZsZCBTpKjHzdbCpKZ1No1KAdpmOd2OcgSMfC1-oa7pI/htmlview?usp=sharing&sle=true

[Ace 4,639]

Here's a present for those who don't get AXS.

[NikoBaltimore 3,317]

If I didn't see it already I'd check that out.  Thanks.

 

My friend has AXS TV so I had him record/watch it.  I like how they're doing comparisons to American wrestlers so those who've never seen it aren't completly lost.  You can't go wrong with Tanahashi/Okada on TV, and the commentary was pretty great.  I'm bummed I don't have AXS TV as I'd gladly watch this at home.  But it's to know there's other options if I can't see it on the channel.

 

According to Bryan Alvarez episode three is going to be really good.  Looking forward to that.

[Brandon Bones 74]

I'm loving this. I've been making time for Puro for a long time but have fallen off in recent years. If you try really hard you can overcome the language barrier and follow along. Now with a top notch English speaking comm team the ease of watching makes the ride so much smoother.

Plus: Okada vs Tanahashi is the shit.

More of all of this.

The fucking Rumble better be good.

[EricR 156]

Boy I did not love the 2nd episode. That Goto/Okada match ticked all of the boxes of why I don't seek out NJ main events. Also not sure why they showed a clipped down version of that 6 man. Surely they could have found another match that fit into their time a bit better? 

 

Also it is now on my radar how much I cannot stand Red Shoes Unno. I have never heard of him until I looked him up yesterday, looking for an answer to "Who is this terrible ref who keeps making everything about him and tries to steal the spotlight from the actual wrestlers?" I've seen refs in Guadlajara that were more in the background than this guy.

[Linus 126]

Does anyone have access to a copy of the EWF Battle Royal from 2/27/2000? You know, that one.

[Casey 5,109]

Apparently NJPW bought NOAH and Jado is booking now?

 

https://twitter.com/minorusan01/status/560910545474166784

[Afmaldo 4]

He didn't actually said they bought  them, but Super Crazy revealed that Jado is booking them and that NOAH is gonna be like NXT.

 

 

Go to the 2 min mark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=85027636&v=SioTfnUpo7M&x-yt-ts=1422503916

[supremebve 4,239]

He didn't actually said they bought  them, but Super Crazy revealed that Jado is booking them and that NOAH is gonna be like NXT.

 

 

Go to the 2 min mark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=85027636&v=SioTfnUpo7M&x-yt-ts=1422503916

So does that mean that the likes of Morishima, Sugiara, and the likes will be called up to the big leagues?  I heard that NJPW bought a minority interest, but it was an unconfirmed rumor.  Who on that roster is worth bringing in? 

[Evil Otto 60]

If NOAH is going to be handled similar to NXT, my guess is they'll continue to run shows, just with more NJPW talent mixed in, such as Suzuki-gun.  

 

The NOAH roster itself is not a bad roster, they're just a skeleton crew.  If New Japan wants to cherry pick, so to speak, they have a lot of options:  the foreign guys like TMDK and Zack Sabre, Jr. are legitimately guys who are ready to move to the next level, whatever that may actually turn out to be.  

 

The junior tag team of Kenou and Hajime Ohara is tremendous, they could easily be slotted in to New Japan when needed.  Atsushi Kotooge seems like a good fit, too.  

 

Of course, guys like Sugiura and Morishima seem obvious on the heavy side, Sugiura especially.  Morishima is weird though, as he's been so inconsistent for so long, but maybe something like this will bring back the beast, who knows.  

 

Anyway, all hypothetical for now, but this is certainly interesting news.  It's funny, but when I heard Jim Ross of all people mention hanging out at the NOAH dojo during the Wrestle Kingdom jaunt, that really made me wonder if something was up, as it was such an odd tidbit of information.  

Quite frankly, NOAH as a promotion has been really dead for awhile now, with the same guys, though talented, wrestling each other over and over again.  Change is most certainly good in this case, especially the way it seems it's being handled, i.e. NJPW guiding the ship, to whatever extent it may be.