NJPW THE NEW BEGINNING 2019

[Jenalysis]

That Dominion match does have an end of en era feeling to it, alongside Hiromu's injury.   NJPW is still very good, but it's not as great as it was 2016-2018. 

Ospreay is probably their best chance at a new breakout star- he just feels like the leap is within him if he can get his character just right the way Omega did.

 

[Beech27]

Shibata’s injury removed the last real link to vintage blank trunks pseudo shootering, and a massively over ascending main eventer as well. That, combined with the losses of Styles, Nakamura, and now Omega had to hurt eventually. So far it’s mostly just hurt Tanahashi’s entire body, but I think there’s another big run (or two) in Okada, maybe one epic reign (or at least win) for Naito, and now a fully committed Ibushi. Do all that, and by then you’ve got this highly thought of young lion crop sent out and returned, plus a matured Jay White. (And maybe Ospreay does blow up.) 

White is a really interesting case to me, in that he basically tries not to indulge in the tropes that make up current great match structure—but he does so by calling attention to his awareness of them. It’s common in most fiction for the villains to have convenient trope awareness, but he spells it out in promos (and even in his ring work) in ways that maybe threaten the 4th wall too much. Do fans really want to be asked why wrestlers stand and trade strikes? Why they don’t just move out of dangerous areas? Maybe! But I think not always, and maybe not often. Certainly this approach lacks the visceral thrill of Okada being everyone’s blank canvas—that he then finished with signature strokes. 

[Jiji]

I feel like Ospreay's ceiling is considerably higher than White's for New Japan's current style. They should be the top foreign (cocky AF) face and top foreign (cocky AF) heel respectively for years to come.

[Jenalysis]

I like Jay White a lot, but I think he's going to be more successful when he eventually turns face than he will be as a heel.  I get the impression he's holding a lot of cool stuff back.

 

[Archibald]

12 hours ago, Beech27 said:

White is a really interesting case to me, in that he basically tries not to indulge in the tropes that make up current great match structure—but he does so by calling attention to his awareness of them. It’s common in most fiction for the villains to have convenient trope awareness, but he spells it out in promos (and even in his ring work) in ways that maybe threaten the 4th wall too much. Do fans really want to be asked why wrestlers stand and trade strikes? Why they don’t just move out of dangerous areas? Maybe! But I think not always, and maybe not often. Certainly this approach lacks the visceral thrill of Okada being everyone’s blank canvas—that he then finished with signature strokes. 

I think it is going to be okay as long as it remains "his thing". I also doubt that he is going to have a long reign so he probably won't be overexposed because even Okada's "get your shit in before I beat you" style got old towards the end of his run.

[Jenalysis]

New Beginning USA shows are up on NJPW World.