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NJPW 2017 G1 Climax 27


Raziel

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*Expects the fourth Kenny/Okada match to go over 2 hours and have no time limit*

It will also be an empty arena cage death match like Murakami/Tanahashi. No, that is not as interesting as it even sounds, which isn't very. Do not seek it out.

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5 hours ago, sevendaughters said:

agree on the bod slippage. Goto looks doughy and tired. I wouldn't go to the gym if I were them.

I think I'd like to see some kind of jr. tag/young lions tournament on the early card to be honest (or spread throughout the night). It'd make me watch it for a start. I think it is slightly ridiculous that they get the in-competition guys to come out and work a match.

I was thinking the same thing the other day.  I'm loving the quality of work we're seeing in this year's tournament, but it's clearly hell on these guys' bodies.  If they're going to keep going this hard next year, I feel like they need to rethink how they book this tour.

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7 hours ago, Oyaji said:

It was in Yokohama, Suzuki's hometown, so I think Okada was waiting for the crowd to really turn on him instead of going 50/50. 

I was wondering if that was the case.  Downside of not knowing what anyone is saying until Lion Marks translates it, I guess.

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34 minutes ago, EVA said:

I was thinking the same thing the other day.  I'm loving the quality of work we're seeing in this year's tournament, but it's clearly hell on these guys' bodies.  If they're going to keep going this hard next year, I feel like they need to rethink how they book this tour.

Isn't that why they started the alternating nights thing? Also it seems like they get a bunch of days off on the tour as well. 3-4 days off until the triple shot.

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45 minutes ago, Pete said:

Isn't that why they started the alternating nights thing? Also it seems like they get a bunch of days off on the tour as well. 3-4 days off until the triple shot.

they did which at first was well received but they still have to come out and take a couple of bumps in the lower card. just seems mad. 19 nights where at least 7 you're asked to put your working boots on is hard. the old format where it was 22 guys and two got a night off (1 per block) per night may have meant fewer nights off but the matches on average were a little shorter (even the mains) and the tour was much shorter. i can't imagine there's much in it, pain-wise. long tour obviously better for business. they drew 400 more to Hamamatsu this year than in 2013 and gave away half as many matches with similar calibre mains (Devitt-Okada, Ishii-Tanahashi).

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2 minutes ago, sevendaughters said:

they did which at first was well received but they still have to come out and take a couple of bumps in the lower card. just seems mad. 19 nights where at least 7 you're asked to put your working boots on is hard. the old format where it was 22 guys and two got a night off (1 per block) per night may have meant fewer nights off but the matches on average were a little shorter (even the mains) and the tour was much shorter. i can't imagine there's much in it, pain-wise. long tour obviously better for business. they drew 400 more to Hamamatsu this year than in 2013 and gave away half as many matches with similar calibre mains (Devitt-Okada, Ishii-Tanahashi).

Well, half of them also get a singles match with Yano which is like getting the night off. :lol:

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I know they made changes last year to accomodate the wear and tear on the guys, but it's clearly not enough to keep up with the rate that these guys are destroying themselves.  I mean, look at how Naito's tournament started:

Day 1: starts right off with that insane Ibushi match, including taking a fucking avalanche piledriver.

The next night there's little rest for the weary, he's working a tag match.

The night after that, he's going 20 with Yoshi-Hashi

Guess what?  He's working again the very next night in a 6-man.

The next night, he's bumping his ass off against Fale, including getting absolutely splatted on a Bad Luck Fall.

Then he gets 1 night off before he's right back on again for 3 days straight.  Then 1 night off and another 4 on.

That's kinda insane, and it's no surprise his body has started giving out on him.  

I think a big problem this year is, with the exception of Yano, EVERYBODY is going hard.  I mean, everybody thought Tama Tonga was going to be an off night for guys, but he's out there trying to prove he's ready to move up the card, so you're not catching any slack from him.  Even the old-timers haven't been walkovers for anybody this year.

Unless they want a roster full of the walking dead, they're either going to have to tone down the matches (which they're not going to do, because going hard is their brand now and it's driving big business for them) or figure out a way to get these guys even MORE rest.

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I totally agree that they need to spread out the matches for these guys if they don't want even more injuries. They do get 3 weeks off after the tournament to at least begin to recuperate and, as Meltz said recently, the rest of the year is kind of a slow meander towards the Dome barring a few big shows here and there. They also get a 3 week light schedule in May/June for the BOSJ where they're in meaningless tag matches to fill out the cards. It's not like they're working a WWE schedule before and after the G1. With that in mind, they could maybe stretch out the tournament so there are more off days and perhaps cut down on the number of tag matches. I know they use them to set up the next match, but maybe do that for every other singles match. I can't imagine how badly beat up Tanahashi is. I remember reading a few years ago during the G1 he couldn't even sit down his back was so fucked up. And he's had another 2 years of intense physicality added to that. He's definitely starting to slow down but I think he's smart enough to adapt. To paraphrase Meltzer again, he said Tana's starting to wrestle like late '90s Mutoh more, relying on dragon screws and the cloverleaf instead of the figure 4.

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They may never do it because they value some kayfabe still but a backstage documentary about a G1 tour would be great. It's like a wrestling version of the Tour de France or other endurance tests plus they have to deal with booking, audiences, and injuries. You could even go full Morgan Spurlock and compare their physicals from before the tour and after (although maybe that's info we don't want to know).

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I'm way late as I've been travelling, so I've missed a ton.  But here are the block victory conditions, which are easier than they've been and not as complicated as the BOSJ was:

 

Block A:

Naito wins with a WIN vs. Tanahashi OR a DRAW vs. Tanahashi AND a Fale LOSS

Tanahashi wins with a WIN vs. Naito OR a DRAW vs. Naito AND a Ibushi LOSS.

 

Block B:

Okada wins with a WIN OR DRAW vs. Omega

Omega wins with a WIN vs. Okada.

 

I might be off on the Draw conditions for Block A, but I can't look up all the tiebreakers, and I don't think it actually comes down to a draw.

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I think Naito wins Block A, but I'm still pulling for Tanahashi.

Block B would be intriguing. I'd prefer Omega to win, but I could see Okada winning the tourney, and handpicking Omega as his WK opponent since he's already beaten him a few times, only for Omega to finally beat him.

I don't think Naito gets to the WK main, much as a lot of people probably want him to.  Not this year.I'd be ok with Tana-Okada one more time.  Think Omega is the likely opponent, though.

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Evryone left with a shot has won the G1 before, and Okada has beaten the other three at Wrestle Kingdom already. Given that, I really think the question is: who's right to beat him?

Tanahashi, frankly, is past that point in his career, even if he were healthy.

I'd argue Naito might need the win more than Omega, since he's got no belt, and nothing obvious to do otherwise; but Omega, for all his emerging superstardom, has never won the top prize.

I think Omega might have the stronger narrative case, following the thread of their recent matches; but Naito, finally the star he was supposed to be while simultaneously totally unlike that character, taking the final spot on the card he was denied years ago... it's pretty classic (anti)hero's journey. 

Really though, it's remarkable we can make cases for several scenarios, and they basically all work.

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DAVE weighs in on Days 12-16

8.2 - Fukuoka Juice-SANADA 3 / Elgin-Yano -1 (MINUS 1) / Kojima-Suzuki 3 / Okada-Tonga 3.25 / Omega-EVIL 4
8.4 - Ehime Nagata-Ibushi 4.25 / Ishii-Fale 3.5 / Goto-YOSHI-HASHI 3.25 / Sabre-Naito 3.75 / Tanahashi- Makabe 3.5
8.5 - Osaka Yano-Tonga 1 / Kojima-SANADA 3.5 / Elgin-Suzuki 3 / Juice-Omega 3.75 / Okada-EVIL 4.25
8.6 - Shizuoka Nagata-Sabre 3.5 / Ibushi- YOSHI-HASHI 3.5 / Goto-Fale 2.25 / Makabe-Naito 3.25 / Tanahashi-Ishii 4.5
8.8 - Kanagawa Kojima-Tonga 2.75 / Robinson-Yano 1.5 / Elgin-EVIL 4 / Omega-SANADA 3.75 / Okada-Suzuki 4.75

SOMEONE is rattled that Yano got a win over Elgin (it was stupid tho)

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5 hours ago, Ryan said:

Working with Yano? Imagine being him. He's had to do almost nothing for like 5 years except in some NOAH matches.

Yano really lives a charmed life when you think about it. His gimmick is he isn't a good wrestler (false) and cheats and coasts through every single match in this incredibly hard-hitting promotion. And yet the fans love his shtick, I imagine he makes great money off merchandise and the like, and he runs his own bar between tours. May we all live that way. 

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2 hours ago, sevendaughters said:

Okada-Suzuki 4.75

Was hoping this would get five, because I was working with the erroneous memory that Suzuki had never received that "official" designation. For some reason, I "remembered" both of his Observer MOTY only getting 4.75, but that was only true for Suzuki/Styles 2014, whereas Suzuki/Tanahashi 2012 did get five, after all. (I mean, none of this matters, ultimately. And it will take an act of god to pry the award from Okada and Omega's metaphorical ~wrist control~ this year anyway.)

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1 hour ago, Pete said:

Yano really lives a charmed life when you think about it. His gimmick is he isn't a good wrestler (false) and cheats and coasts through every single match in this incredibly hard-hitting promotion. And yet the fans love his shtick, I imagine he makes great money off merchandise and the like, and he runs his own bar between tours. May we all live that way. 

Remember when he went full bore with the gimmicks and different weapons when he first was basically the new Ueda? He's got a bunch of moves and he never even has to use them.

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42 minutes ago, Ryan said:

Remember when he went full bore with the gimmicks and different weapons when he first was basically the new Ueda? He's got a bunch of moves and he never even has to use them.

As I've said time and time again, he would've been a territorial superstar in the US 40 years ago. I could totally see him holding the tag belts with Professor Tanaka or Mr Saito.

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1 minute ago, Pete said:

As I've said time and time again, he would've been a territorial superstar in the US 40 years ago. I could totally see him holding the tag belts with Professor Tanaka or Mr Saito.

agree. I think one think that helps Yano's credibility (aside from his credentials) over say someone of a not dissimilar M.O. like Ogawa is the fact that he is actually quite big, like you could imagine a shithead of that size rolling you up or hurting you with a punch to the knackers and even if you retaliate he's not going to crumble. like, i could name 10 NJPW guys i would rather have an actual fight with ahead of him.

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13 hours ago, sevendaughters said:

agree. I think one think that helps Yano's credibility (aside from his credentials) over say someone of a not dissimilar M.O. like Ogawa is the fact that he is actually quite big, like you could imagine a shithead of that size rolling you up or hurting you with a punch to the knackers and even if you retaliate he's not going to crumble. like, i could name 10 NJPW guys i would rather have an actual fight with ahead of him.

That sounds like a fun list-making exercise.  Which 10?  And no Young Boys either!

 

Spoiler

#1 Juice Robinson

#2 Marty Scurll

#3 Chase Owens

#4 Desperado

#5 Taichi

#6 Gedo

#7 Jado

#8 Ryusuke Taguchi

#9 Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson

#10 Yoshitatsu

Would also fight Yujiro Takahashi in a winner gets Tokyo Latina Valet Match

 

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top 10 NJPW regulars/semi-regulars I would rather fight ahead of Toru Yano but expect I could beat maybe none of. I won't count young boys but I reckon all the current crop would whip me. That Kawato knows some sick judo. I haven't looked at your list to avoid being influenced.

Ryusuke Taguchi


BUSHI
Jado
YOSHIHASHI
Yujiro
Young Bucks (count as one)
Will Ospreay
Takashi Iizuka
Tiger Mask IV
Zack Sabre Jr

most of these are because they're old or I am a bit bigger than (6', 185lbs) so I might have a chance, but I don't like throwing strikes so think I'd get grapplefucked

 


 

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