Kevin Wilson Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 The tournament is from March 5th to March 15th. For those that don't read Japanese, the First Round (in order) is: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano Kota Ibushi vs. Doc Gallows Tetsuya Naito vs. Karl Anderson Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale Togi Makabe vs. Tomoaki Honma YOSHI-HASHI vs. Yujiro Takahashi Hirooki Goto vs. Yuji Nagata Satoshi Kojima vs. Katsuyori Shibata Styles, Ishii, and Nakamura are not in the tournament since the winner gets to challenge one of them for their titles. So who ya got? For those interested in such things I am having a Tournament Pick'em over at Puroresu Central, with the winning prize being a box of King of Pro Wrestling cards . So feel free to enter if you feel so inclined, you can just post your tournament predictions in this thread and I'll count it if you prefer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimLivingston Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 God, they really wouldn't actually job Okada to Fale again, would they? Doesn't it seem primed for him to win it and take on Styles? Or pull the SWERVE~! and take on Nak? I have a feeling Ibushi will get to the final. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 My early prediction is that Makabe wins and challenges Ishii. Common sense says you wouldn't use a title shot on the NEVER Openweight but it just wouldn't surprise me if they go that route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Isn't Makabe still the champion? Or was he stripped because he couldn't defend it this weekend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 That is correct. Ishii and Honma had a match on Saturday to crown a champion. Good viewings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raziel Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Well the last year, the board overwhelmingly picked Shibata to win, and he got bounced first round. So that makes it dead on that we're not all picking Okada this year. I'd go out and say Semi's would be Ibushi/Okada and Makabe/Goto. Or Gedo could swerve us and Shibata actually win this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidKash202 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Can't wait for that Ibushi/Tanahashi 2nd round matchup. Should have gotten that in the G1 from last year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucky Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Can't wait for that Ibushi/Tanahashi 2nd round matchup. Should have gotten that in the G1 from last year Instead we got a ton of fresh Honma matches. Fair trade off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Resnick Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Well. 4/8 in my New Japan Cup picks. I can't imagine that anyone was 100% after that. Last time I base my picks off of Meltzer. Bastard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoeCristyV.1.6 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Can't wait for that Ibushi/Tanahashi 2nd round matchup. Should have gotten that in the G1 from last year Or maybe this year, because it won't happen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Honma stole the show again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belgian_Waffle Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 could this be the first big thing Yano ever wins? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 Absolutely not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoeCristyV.1.6 Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 There were some really great matches! Not surprising! Yano's way of beating Tanahashi was awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOTNW Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 could this be the first big thing Yano ever wins?This is (at least) the third time he beat Tanahashi. So......nope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinube Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Semi-finals are set. So it's going to be Ibushi/Naito and Makabe/Goto. I have no idea who is going to win this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Resnick Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Did anyone have that winner?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoeCristyV.1.6 Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Yes! But I thought he would choose Nakamura. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomAct Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Honestly, if you already know the results, Naito vs Ibushi is actually a pretty bad match. Everyone hyped it all day, and of course spoiled the winner. I watched it and thought it was just really not good. Naito brought nothing as usual. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Resnick Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I watched that match and thought it was alright, but not a blow away affair. I saw a lot of people say ****+ stars, and that it was must see, but watching it I kept thinking it was okay but not hitting on all cylinders. Naito selling the neck/shoulder after the the piledriver type move off the reversal was great though. I'll give him credit there. He still looks like a goof though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Z Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Really, really good show in my opinion. Even the non-tournament matches were pretty good. Naito/Ibushi was the match that people hyped? I thought the final match was better. Was Naito actually hurt in the Ibushi match or is his selling just that good? Ibushi vs. Styles is an absolute dream match of Lesnar/Bryan poportions in my opinion. Can't wait for that. Loved the shenanigans between Honma and Shibata. Cody Hall will be in the WWE before the end of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoeCristyV.1.6 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Cody Hall's Corner clotheslines are soft as hell, but wow does his Spinning Lariat rule! And Tanahashi was totally out of any good workrate in his match. That ending was just bad. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Jesus, that Cody lariat was ridiculous and that match as a whole was really good. Honma might be the best in the world right now. He's so fucking good at engaging the crowd and building up to his moves. He and Shibata being the odd couple that still manages to win could and should be a long-term thing. Hall's green as turtle shit still and looks like he hasn't grown into his massive frame yet but he's got some really good spots and some of his moves are done incredibly crisply (the scorpion death drop was so tight) and some that need a lot of work (as Moe noted, that corner lariat was the worst). He has a great deal of potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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