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NJPW things before G1 Climax 2019 starts


Archibald

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6 hours ago, matwarz said:

I think looking at it that way is the whole issue. You have a company in a new market trying to offer themselves as the best company in the game. Presenting lazy house shows isn’t going to cut it or increase drawing past hardcores. Padding cards out with aussies is not what a new Japan fan wants unless you’re going to use them smartly and build them up as potential draws. It’s no good wanting to be the alternative to WWE and just doing the same as them. 

This show was a step up from the last Festival hall but I think the damage was done by the last. 

 

They do the same thing in the US.  It's like they're afraid to be a Japanese company outside of Japan, when the fans want a Japanese company.

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I think there are two reasons why they are "afraid of being Japanese":

1. Flying undercard guys to other countries is not really cost effective. More reasonable to just pick up local guys for that role. I mean, people always complain that NJPW shows does not have X or Y wrestler, but lets be realistic, someone like Makabe being on AUS shows would probably sell zero extra tickets, while cost of bringing him in would be way higher than picking up some local guy who might even wrestle for free since it is an opportunity for him to get his name out there.

2. New Beginning in USA this year and USA show last year that had Juice/Cody for the title kinda indicates that they want to do different "brands" for each territory. Meaning that it is going to be some key NJPW guys in AUS and then bunch of AUS related wrestlers. So basically you are unlikely to get all of the Big 4 (5?) in AUS show unless it is some historic show like MSG was. Sucks, but I think we should adjust our expectations accordingly.

In other news, RevPro had all LiJ guys on their show and this happened:

I remember watching some of his matches in What Culture promotion and he had that underdog charisma, but was very green and had roll up as a finisher. He looks in better shape now and I guess he got better in the ring, otherwise Shibata would not have picked him up. Either way, if NJPW continues building up their presence in UK then I think that Gabriel Kid will be one of the key people there, what with Ospreay, and likely Zack, moving away to focus on other places.

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Yeah, it started with random theory due to him bringing in KENTA and KENTA tagging with his lions, but lots of small things are happening that it starts to look not as a weird theory, but as something that is going to happen sooner rather than later.

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On 6/30/2019 at 4:22 AM, alstein said:

They do the same thing in the US.  It's like they're afraid to be a Japanese company outside of Japan, when the fans want a Japanese company.

I think that they are still afraid that they'll be perceived as a "niche product" when nothing could be further from the truth. Note to NJPW: We love you just as you are!

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You guys make good points but it’s not really what I was getting at. This show had the skirts, the refs and ring announcers. It was very much a NJPW show. The issue was it was lazy. In conception, promotion and work. As nice as it would be, I can’t expect the whole roster. So fine, use locals, but use them, create draws from guys that already have a local following. A string of matches built on wrestling and not just lazy sequences immediately makes a decent show. 

I’m not saying everyone has to work like Ospreay, but it’s that attitude that needs to be promoted in the roster. You can’t take this stuff for granted. 2000 in a 4-5000 seat building is a fail.

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Is Eagles booked on any of the G1 tag matches? Because that would be hysterical if he had to team with BC due to contractual obligations after the events of the Australia tour.

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On 6/30/2019 at 2:43 PM, Archibald said:

Yeah, it started with random theory due to him bringing in KENTA and KENTA tagging with his lions, but lots of small things are happening that it starts to look not as a weird theory, but as something that is going to happen sooner rather than later.

They got Dragon Lee as a junior ace as well, he'd almost certainly join with Shibata.

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