Jump to content
DVDVR Message Board

Purotopia General Discussion: 2017!

Kevin Wilson

By Kevin Wilson
in JAPAN

 Share

Recommended Posts

Curt McGirt

Curt McGirt

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, EVA said:

who don't really have much of a uniting principle besides wearing matching jerseys on Taguchi's insistence.

"C'mon, let's humor the man. I mean, he has 'Funky Weapon' written on his ass and he thinks it's cool. You know how many stories he's made up about getting laid this year?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kyuubi

Kyuubi

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, EVA said:

Kind of a quick summary on factions:

CHAOS are basically The Establishment.  They're all about tradition and doing things the honorable way, for the most part (a notable exception is notorious cheater Toru Yano, but he's largely considered a harmless court jester type).  Although, as is often the case with Establishment types, they (specially Okada) can be arrogant and somewhat unlikeable at times.

Los Ingobernables are their polar opposite, essentially wrestling nihilists who get their kicks undermining whatever fans and other wrestlers hold dear.  That said, they've been softened considerably over the last half year, and I'm not sure there's a chapter in the anarchist's cookbook about marrying stuffed animals.

Bullet Club's driving principle these days seems to be that NJPW's global expansion would be better served by having gaijin like them on top, but there's considerable division within the group as to what their methods should be and who should be leading them.

Suzuki-gun are the purest heels in the company.  It's largely comprised of NJPW expatriates and NOAH guys who returned to the company as invaders this year to cause havoc.

There's also Taguchi Japan, which is a loose affiliation of otherwise unaligned babyfaces who don't really have much of a uniting principle besides wearing matching jerseys on Taguchi's insistence.

Okay. 

Los Ingobernables sounds like my dream faction so I guess I am rooting for them.

I am guessing Shibata is part of Suzuki-gun?

And why is Will Ospreay part of Chaos? I mean he is pretty much the antithesis of any sort of establishment. Sure, he doesn't cheat...in NJPW, but he is an arrogant asshole.

So far, your description has been immensely helpful and has a lot of interesting stuff like I can see a ton of stories working with the mechanics of this structure NJPW has. Bullet Club's internal strife works in it's own way because I do recall hints of tension between Cody and Omega and that guy with the face paint.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EVA

EVA

Posted
Posted

Ospreay is in CHAOS because.....well...Gedo wanted the group to have a top junior and he was the guy available.  Not much reason beyond that.  And, no, he doesn't really fit the group.  Honestly, the group's membership has gotten really unwieldy in recent years and is probably overdue for the split that likely would've happened by now if Nakamura had stuck around.

Shibata is actually one of the few top guys who isn't aligned with a faction.  He had real life heat with a lot of people in NJPW due to walking out on the promotion back in the day, so they built that into his character as kind of a lone wolf who has somewhat tense relations with most everybody.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sublime

Sublime

Posted
Posted

Shibata's only sort of ally is Goto because they have been friends since childhood. CHAOS is over crowded for the most part and could lose a few members for sure (I'd say the same about BC but it seems they're heading for a split anyway). Osprey doesn't really fit in as mentioned already, YOSHIHASHI is the lame but works fine as six-man fodder and Jado is starting to really show his years and could ride off into the sunset anytime.  Goto needs freshening up and a split from CHAOS to align with Shibata (if he can come back) could be something interesting. 

 

What's the best way to watch recent AJPW? Can it mostly be found on youtube and daily motion?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mattdangerously

mattdangerously

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, Kyuubi said:

And then there are the matches which I guess are like cultural things with fighting spirit or whatever, but please explain what is the point of a finisher if you have to hit the damn thing at least five times to get the count or why Kenny Omega's V-Trigger actually looks better than his convoluted One Wing Angel. 

It's a different psychology than in the states.  In Japan, finishers aren't really finishers in the sense that they're always meant to end a match right away.  Matches are built around accumulating damage, so you may see someone eat multiple finishers before they lose.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kyuubi

Kyuubi

Posted
Posted

Alright thanks. You all have been super helpful. So I am going to watch a few matches this week. I did see Omega vs Okada and thought it was a decent match. I really do not like 30+ minute matches. It doesn't feel epic at all. Ot feels drawn out. Regardless, thanks again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sublime

Sublime

Posted
Posted

Give the KUSHIDA/Hiromu Takahashi's matches from this year at try if you can. The three matches tell a good story and are really fun, these two are the top of the junior heavyweights by a good margin and their matches work great, the first one from WK works in a vacuum but the next two from Sakura Genesis and Dominion will be best viewed as a part of a trilogy.

There are a ton of good matches from this years G1 too, Kojima and Juice Robinson have great runs and are pretty much always good, ZSJ/Tanahashi have a really fun match, EVIL has really good matches with Okada and Omega, and Naito has good stuff with Ibushi, Goto, Ishii, Tanahashi. And the G1 matches have 30 minute time limits so they matches can't really go overly long.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Belgian_Waffle

Belgian_Waffle

Posted
Posted
On 10/22/2017 at 12:44 PM, Eivion said:

Does Akiyama dislike Suwama? It just seems like every time I see AJPW result Suwama is getting kind of fucked with losses he really shouldn't have amount wise. I don't really pay too much attention so maybe its just big matches.

I would say it's possible except that he got the same treatment from Mutoh too. I just re-watched his Champions Carnival final with Tanahashi---one of the best matches either guy has ever had, and the whole building is on their feet cheering for Suwama the whole way through. A month later they put the belt on him at a show with no undercard,  then he feuded with Osamu Nishimura who pinned him clean like 10 times on the tour leading up to the title match, then he goes to a 60 min broadway with Kea whom he should have clearly beat at that point...then he drops the title to the Great Muta. He's been in four Carny finals and only won once, and he's been in nearly every RWTL final since he debuted and only won twice...seems like a Kawada/Tenzan thing where he's always booked strong but is rarely protected the way a top guy should be. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John E. Dynamite

John E. Dynamite

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, Belgian_Waffle said:

Just a correction to said RWTL thing: he's actually won three times, not two. But he still lost in 6 finals in 7 years with 6 different partners.

Still pretty sure Suwama has won two RWTL, 2013 with Doering and 2015 with Miyahara. He also has the most Triple Crown reigns out of anybody, ever, and is only beat by Misawa in combined reign length. Still doesn't excuse booking his last three reigns a combined 50 days with zero defenses, even if one (potentially long) reign was cut due to injury.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Belgian_Waffle

Belgian_Waffle

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, John E. Dynamite said:

Still pretty sure Suwama has won two RWTL, 2013 with Doering and 2015 with Miyahara. He also has the most Triple Crown reigns out of anybody, ever, and is only beat by Misawa in combined reign length. Still doesn't excuse booking his last three reigns a combined 50 days with zero defenses, even if one (potentially long) reign was cut due to injury.

Thanks, I love when I "correct" myself by in-correcting something I said that was right the first time. :S 
 

Lots of solid evidence being compiled here for a Suwama hard-luck conspiracy. Again, I point to Tenzan and his 3 G1 wins and who knows how many IWGP title reigns and the only things he has to show for it all is successful V1 defenses over Minoru Suzuki and Scott Norton...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sevendaughters

sevendaughters

Posted
Posted

Suwama is just one of those guys like Omori, Shiozaki, Goto, Nakajima, couple of others probably - really high class workers who are generally liked by the main fans but can't pop a rating/house for whatever reason. Plus I think it's good to have a bridesmaid/gatekeeper type around when you need someone to have a short reign or put over a future star.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
sevendaughters

sevendaughters

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Keep Calm, Akira Hokuto On said:

"Reason: 420" is going right over my head.  Not sure what the reference means, so I'm not sure why he's off the tour.  Drugs?

yes, it is a stoner reference. NJPW apparently found out (? now ?) about his UFC weed issue and his refusal to stop and cancelled him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...