The Natural Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Really enjoyed watching my first Wrestle Kingdom live. Kota Ibushi vs. Cody turned out a lot better than I expected. Very good IWGP Tag Team Titles match. The Jr. Heavyweight scramble went too long. White wasn't right for Tanahashi, one of the worst Tanahashi matches I've seen. Omega vs. Jericho was a spectacle. The main event between Okada and Naito was amazing with a surprising finish with Okada retaining. It reminded me of Wrestle Kingdom 7 and 9 main events when going in we thought it was the time to give Okada the big win at the biggest stage against Tanahashi but Hiroshi Tanahashi won both of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 White will be fine. Look at the crowd apathy towards Roppongi 3K after they came back and destroyed their opposition. Japanese fans love watching wrestlers evolve and struggle before becoming top guys. Look at Okada crying at the Dome when he lost to Tanahashi when everybody thought it was Okada's coronation. White will put it together in time but he didn't deserve to win with the match he put forth tonight in both kayfabe and quality terms. Edit: agree with most everything Sevendaughters just posted. I'd go 4 for the Jr. Tag and bump the Cody match to 4.25 but splitting hairs that. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Fuck, listening to the Japanese commentary of the main event replay has me desperately regretting sticking with Kevin Kelly. K Double did one of his finest jobs but he still sounds so forced in big moments whereas the Japanese crew are organically losing their collective minds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E. Dynamite Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 1 minute ago, Oyaji said: Fuck, listening to the Japanese commentary of the main event replay has me desperately regretting sticking with Kevin Kelly. K Double did one of his finest jobs but he still sounds so forced in big moments whereas the Japanese crew are organically losing their collective minds. I just had the exact same response. It's a lose/lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beech27 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 18 minutes ago, Casey said: Is it stupid to think they'll pull the trigger on Omega at the Long Beach show? That could be the official kickoff for their Western expansion. Maybe. Though he could just as easily beat Naito for that belt, whose story was more getting to the mountaintop than staying put. You'd also have to get the US belt off of him, probably with a ton of interference so he stays looking as strong as possible. Most of all, I just don't know who Okada works next. Tana and Omega are busy, he just beat Naito... and that's the main event scene. Ishii? Ibushi? He's beating whomever it is, but either of those guys would benefit from the match taking place anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nofuture Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 5 minutes ago, Oyaji said: Fuck, listening to the Japanese commentary of the main event replay has me desperately regretting sticking with Kevin Kelly. K Double did one of his finest jobs but he still sounds so forced in big moments whereas the Japanese crew are organically losing their collective minds. Nothing worse than Kelly going on and on about the betting line for the main event's star rating. Shouldn't who wins matter, not how many stars the match gets? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevendaughters Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 2 minutes ago, Beech27 said: Maybe. Though he could just as easily beat Naito for that belt, whose story was more getting to the mountaintop than staying put. You'd also have to get the US belt off of him, probably with a ton of interference so he stays looking as strong as possible. Most of all, I just don't know who Okada works next. Tana and Omega are busy, he just beat Naito... and that's the main event scene. Ishii? Ibushi? He's beating whomever it is, but either of those guys would benefit from the match taking place anyway. I guess Ibushi is the prime player being the only one who got a win that isn't the end to a story in itself...though do not rule out Kakihara 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firebreaker Chip Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Kelly's intonation is also really annoying, like half of the big spots his call is just to go "AWWWWWW" in this irritatingly musical tone, or as if falling down a lift shaft Lmao at the Jericho Omega match teasing a countout after the first ten minutes had two table spots and Jericho beating up the referee and his son Lots of good stuff in that one though, and the false OWA finish and the real finish were very well executed Can't help but feel deflated at Naito not getting the big one, as good as the match was Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Ibushi makes sense seeming as he did fail earlier but that was under that ridiculous hood. I do think they should avoid making him look like a bridesmaid too many times though or he'll be a way more talented Goto. If they split the bullet club it makes a lot of sense for Cody to win the US strap with all the interference. Edit: I should be exhausted and passing out but I'm so amped after that motherfucker of a show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E. Dynamite Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Cody or Ibushi are the only guys who have a reason to beat Kenny. The Cody thing could also set up storylines that could work for the "All In" show in Chicago. Jericho might still be a player in all that, too. Some of that might even go down tomorrow, given the track record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beech27 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Just now, Oyaji said: If they split the bullet club it makes a lot of sense for Cody to win the US strap with all the interference. Yeah. And it's worth noting Omega first won the IC belt with a ton of help, and gradually built up his credibility from there. So I don't think it would hurt Cody at all--who has been a great stooge recently anyway--to take over in that fashion. But we'll see. I've been trying to predict the BC schism for like 18 months now. (Same with booking Omega/Ibushi. He could credibly take the belt from Kenny and act as a catalyst for him coming around to his older, less psychotically villainous self.) Other things going forward: Where does White end up, stable-wise? EVIL won his belt(s), while Naito didn't win his. Do they keep sorta teasing friction there? Goto/MiSu ruled, but what does Goto do now? This was less a crowning moment than last year, and that didn't ultimately mean anything for him. Speaking of, Suzuki-gun has no belts. That's gotta change soon, right? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 One thing I may hope or think to come out of this huge failure for Naito's character is the nonchalance that people love could be explained as to why he couldn't beat a god. I don't want him to become generic fighting spirit Japanese fighter 2000 but maybe a more focused and determined sense of self if he gets another bite. I think Cody earned a shot at running with the US title tonight. He's a big star and he's based in the US so it all makes sense rather than some rando Japanese undercard wrestler (I still have hilarious/horrible nightmares to that terrible challenge promo Yoshi fucking hashi laid on Kenny last year). I also feel a bullet club implosion and a golden lovers reunion are heavily linked and they've been playing up to both. Gedo won't let us down after hyping something for a long period of time despite all things pointed towards it, would he!!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beech27 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 4 minutes ago, Oyaji said: I also feel a bullet club implosion and a golden lovers reunion are heavily linked and they've been playing up to both. Gedo won't let us down after hyping something for a long period of time despite all things pointed towards it, would he!!? I mean... Ibushi then followed it up with some vintage offense, and they included a Golden Lovers clip in Omega's hype video. Regarding Naito: I could see it as a failure of motivation. His goal was to get here, but he didn't need to win (in his own mind, he already had). Same as when he tapped to Tana when it was for the IC belt--which he didn't really care about--but wouldn't when the G1 was on the line. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 It will be the feel good, cathartic moment in wrestling. Maybe the best I could imagine outside of maybe D-Bry's turn on Wyatt in the cage and winning at Mania 30. Stuff that makes me feel like a child and just having the simple capacity to get swept into professional wrestling emotionally 100%. To love it in a pure manner I find so hard to do these days. No thinking about cynical booking or any of the shit WWE has ingrained in me the past 15+ years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 For me, Kazuchika Okada is the best wrestler in the world...but it was Tetsuya Naito's time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beech27 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 A thing to note: Omega's goofy entrance attire was apparently a Destiny 2 reference, so let's hope someone--preferably him--was paid well for it, and he wasn't just cosplaying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSJ Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 1 hour ago, Brian Fowler said: I feel like I saw a different match than you guys. Jericho's delayed bumping, inability to keep up, the terrible comedy spot... They was a really bad match with a really good stretch run. But it damn sure wasn't a great match. Actually I think this is a perfect example of a match being vastly entertaining without being technically very good. Turning the clock back to when I was a kid, this is the sort of thing that Johnny Valentine and Mark Lewin (after his heel turn) excelled at; bizarre pacing, ill-advised comedy spot in what otherwise looked like a fight to the death, grotesque over-selling and sounds dreadful on paper yet somehow delivered as completely enjoyable. A more recent example would be Playboy Buddy Rose's entire body of work in the Portland/Seattle territory where he pulled entertaining matches out of stiffs like Rip Oliver, Billy Jack Haynes, and Dizzy Hogan (Brutus Beefcake) week in and week out. Nothing over *** but fun as hell to watch... We can dissect Jericho/Omega and conclude it was a bad match or conversely we can enjoy the storyline of the two greatest Canadian wrestlers not named "Hart", the old lion and the young upstart travelling very different roads that ultimately concludes with this showdown in Japan; and from that standpoint, the match delivered and then some... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ka-to Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 3 hours ago, Casey said: Does the crowd just not care or what? It was bathroom concession stand break for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevendaughters Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 at first I thought Y2J-Omega was going to go the way outlined a little above, Jericho's gut was out and was blowing a bit after 2 minutes. maybe it feels better because of low expectations but I just enjoyed it (I don't ACTUALLY use star ratings) in its spot, which is really what matters when you're putting a show together. if anything my criticism of the show was that going back to 6hrs is tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spritenaut 32 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 For me, the worst thing on the show was Okada's goofy pants. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevendaughters Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 should never debut new gimmicks or overhauls of gear on major shows imo. a different colourway, a subtle shift, fine. but i want to see the culmination of what led up to this moment, not a reboot. so yes, Okada's trousers not for me, but i daresay they'll grown on me, like Go Ace or EVIL or Lance Archer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 36 minutes ago, ka-to said: It was bathroom concession stand break for me. Yeah, equivalent for me. Match dragged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSJ Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 1 hour ago, EVA said: I guess the theory is if there are going to be more eyeballs on this than any show you’ve done before, you want to put over your ace to that new audience. And despite how hot Naito is right now, Okada is still the ace they’re going to be centered on for years to come. Which is exactly why they should give Naito a decent run with the belt. You want to push your ace to a new audience? No better way to do it than to have him in a chase to regain his title while a hated rival (Omega) is also an obstacle that needs to be overcome. There you go, a perfectly good way to establish your top tier guys and give your new audience points to identify with without the language barrier being an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerva Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 How dare anyone insult Okada's pants. I mean what is wrong with you people I wonder how many bottles of water Archer goes through on a New Japan/NOAH show. Looked like he wasted a 12 pack on this show alone. Jay White losing doesn't really bother me because the gimmick is so new. I mean he hasn't even done it in the US much less Japan. If he is just a guy in 6 -8 man match at New Years Bash then it might be time to wonder. Now Naito I have no idea where you go with him. He already had the Intercontinental belt and the other belts are beneath him. If 'eyeballs' was the reasoning for Okada keeping the title then shouldn't Jericho vs Omega actually have been the main event. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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