NJPW G1 Special in USA 7/1 - 7/2

[Niners Fan in CT]

1 minute ago, Oyaji said:

It's an incredible looking move. Only Marufuji's knees come close. He uses it as purely a set up move but I wouldn't mind him putting away lower tiered wrestlers with it. 

I think we can all agree that Seth Rollins should STOP doing it.. 

[nofuture]

My only problem with the V-Trigger is that he seems like spam it a little too much.  He needs to stop doing it 20 times a match.

[Ace]

Move spamming is an all-around NJPW issue, really. Tanahashi used to set up his High Fly Flow with a cross-body version of it.

 

 

[peterien]

3 hours ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

I don't think it came across as well in his match with Cody but in big matches right now I have it AJ Styles, Kenny Omega, John Cena and Okada.  Whenever those dudes are involved in something (maybe add Brock Lesnar too)  it feels special and it's not because of the booking,  they do have that aura about them and it creates a buzz in the arena unlike anyone else on the rosters. 

Okada's selling of exhaustion in big matches is so fucking great,  I feel like I've watched an absolute war and given the impact of some of the moves he takes and dishes out he pretty much has been in a war.  His stamina is ridiculous,  same as the other three guys I mentioned. They can go an hour and keep going and going...  Okada's finishing stretches are amazing. Some say he's too reliant on The Rainmaker these days but he also has variations he does that switches up the formula. Plus,  some confuse his regular lariat with his actual Rainmaker finisher.  The finisher must have the full wrist control setup.  

I think you hit the nail on the head with Okada and finishing stretches,when he was having classics with Tanahashi every 6 months it used to be about 3/4 Rainmakers and it would border on tedious at times but now he's able to integrate/time them better while also using the German sulplex/tiger suplex/tombstone.

For me,Okada is THE MAN in pro wrestling these days. Him and Omega are on a different level at the moment,Kenny is probably the better wrestler but Okada has everything the ace of a company should have.

[Jiji]

That visual of him refusing to let go of his opponent's wrist is so fucking great. It adds a layer of determination that I think he was missing from his character and that an ace needs and is such a crazy dramatic sequence in the final moments of a match. It's basically like when the Bulls would pass to Jordan at the end of a tight game. It's all over but the crying. 

[OSJ]

You guys are sleeping on the fact that Naito is better than Okada and Omega in every possible way. (And I think both Okada and Omega are great).

[Michael Sweetser]

Also, Omega and Okada are the real Time Splitters, because they make 30-40 minutes feel like 15.  At least live, those matches FLEW by.

[mattdangerously]

5 hours ago, nofuture said:

My only problem with the V-Trigger is that he seems like spam it a little too much.  He needs to stop doing it 20 times a match.

It really feels like it's his go-to move when he runs out of more creative things to do.  

[Beech27]

I kinda like the V-Trigger as Omega's jab, honestly. It's easy to hit, and allows him to stifle opponent's offense, or set up his own. Signature strikes, though, are a guilty pleasure of mine. (Especially when they look and sound so brutal.) What bothers me is when offense is omnipresent, not unique to anyone, and used the same way. Forearm exchanges as a match reset, in every match, for instance. 

[grilledcheese]

23 hours ago, Beech27 said:

I kinda like the V-Trigger as Omega's jab, honestly. It's easy to hit, and allows him to stifle opponent's offense, or set up his own. Signature strikes, though, are a guilty pleasure of mine. (Especially when they look and sound so brutal.) What bothers me is when offense is omnipresent, not unique to anyone, and used the same way. Forearm exchanges as a match reset, in every match, for instance. 

I have about the same idea of it. I kind of connect it to his Street Fighter play. It's a move that he can throw out to set an opponent back on their heels. It's a momentum turner, like Cody's Zonk Knuckle. If it lands, you can chain something else to it and keep it rolling. If it misses or gets blocked, you aren't in a whole lot of trouble.

[Michael Sweetser]

If it were protected just a little more, it'd be similar to Okada's dropkick, which was pretty much the difference maker in their second match - every time Omega got on a roll, Okada hit that dropkick and shut him down.

[Belgian_Waffle]

Just scrolled back a few pages and saw the pics of Haku in the BC shirt...is Haku in working shape at all these days? When was his last match? I'd love to see him do some six mans with Tama and Loa against the older guys like Tenzan, Nagata, Kojima and Nakanishi. 

[Ace]

Haku's last match was Friday or Saturday in Mexico. He's shown up in the Tokyo Dome preshow for their Battle Royal.

 

[Jiji]

Looked really immobile but he's Haku though, so...

[Ace]

And Nakanishi and Tenzan are still being booked.

 

[Michael Sweetser]

14 hours ago, Oyaji said:

Looked really immobile but he's Haku though, so...

If Haku asks you if he can work, you say YES.

[OSJ]

19 minutes ago, Michael Sweetser said:

If Haku asks you if he can work, you say YES.

No, you say: "Yes, your majesty!"

[The Iron Yuppie]

I went to both nights and just wanted to give a few quick thoughts. 

- First and foremost, this was EASILY the most fun I've ever had attending a wrestling event. I've never done Mania weekend, though I did do Rumble weekend this past January. G1 Special blew that out of the water. Just a really great energy throughout the whole weekend. 

- The wrestling very much lived up to my expectations. Kenny-Ishii and Kenny-Elgin were both tremendous; I would personally give both 4.75 stars. I would also rate Ishii-ZSJ a solid 4.5. Great storytelling that made both guys look like total bad-asses. 

- Many of the mult-mans were great fun, though CHAOS-Bullet Club from Night 2 was my favorite. It managed to weave five solid minutes of comedy into some tremendous action. That match leads me into my next point...

- Cody's over. He gets a lot of criticism, a lot of it warranted. I watched Best in the World and was mortified at him popping up before Daniels after taking big offense. However, I thought his worst tendencies were reined in for the Night 1 main (which I'd rate a good 4.25 to 4.5). 

He also elicited real, genuine heel heat and he felt like a real star. He's someone who I don't think is too far from being molded into a truly special worker. 

- On the same tip, Michael Elgin and Juice Robinson were two guys I gave zero shits about in ROH and NXT. Both have become sooooo awesome. Juice had an excellent match with Naito for the IC title previously this year, so it's no surprise the two had an awesome interaction in Sunday's 10-man. Still awesome and somewhat mind-blowing to see CJ Parker working so well with a bonafide Wrestler of the Year contender. 

[EricR]

Saw Night 2 was airing on AXS tonight, decided to live blog it the way I did Night 1:

http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2017/07/njpw-g1-special-in-usa-night-2-live-as.html

 

[nofuture]

Looks like someone was not a fan of the commentating.

 

[Curt McGirt]

The six-man opener was really fun, I imagine that was a blast live. Ishii/Sabre was also great and a wonderful style clash. Sabre needs to work on his facial expressions though, he always looks so dead-eyed, show something for fuck's sake. If it takes Ishii headbutting you directly in the jaw for you to express something you've got a problem. 

[Godfrey]

I was about to write that I liked that Sabre showed more facial selling in that match, but you're right, it's Ishii, he didn't have a choice.

[Web Conn]

Finally gotten around to seeing Night One and holy cow what an awesome show. Shameless plug time I reviewed it on my podcast. The review starts at 37:55.