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NJPW G1 2019


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6 minutes ago, Oyaji said:

She distracts and slaps people then laughs about it.

...And she makes sure to check on ringside attendees that get caught in the crossfire. I think she gets carried away a little, but she isn’t malicious.

I’m sorry, but I won’t let you besmirch Miho!

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6 hours ago, LoneWolf&Subs said:

I don’t know, she seems like a good sweet beautiful angel who is oblivious to Taichi’s evil ways. To say she’s a “femme fatale” misjudging her character as an attractive human being. 

I think they get inconsistent, or they've changed her character- sometimes she acts all innocent, but at least when she first started coming out I remember her taking part in some of Taichi's antics.

I do think she really gets pro wrestling, which puts her up above most valets.

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22 minutes ago, Archibald said:

For those who care, Ibushi/White got 5.5 from big Dave.

Not surprised considering how he tends to rate them nowadays, especially with it being a G1 final.  But star ratings aside it was a really excellent match that delivered in terms of story and action.  I still remember when Jay beat Okada for the title and I just wasn't feeling it.  But his showing in G1 really impressed me and I may be on board if/when he gets it again.

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2 minutes ago, Archibald said:

Ibushi/Okada got 5, Ospreay/Tanahashi I don't remember now, but it wasn't 5, maybe 4.75.

Correct. And then there's this from Meltz:

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Ospreay had nine matches of ****½ or better out of ten, failing only with Fale. Evil had four. Sanada had four. Sabre had four. KENTA had four. Ibushi had seven. Okada had seven. And Tanahashi had six.

On the B Side, Takagi had four. Naito had two. Ishii had eight. And White had four.

I just want to know who Ospreay's tenth G1 match was against...

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On 8/11/2019 at 2:25 PM, Oyaji said:

I haven't watched the first one but the second Juice/Mox match was fucking great and I liked it a lot more than my boy @sevendaughters. I read what happened in the first and for Juice to pull things around after Moxley trying to maim his face again was a really nice touch. As was Mox getting caught after wasting time with his weapons. All the chickens came home to roost. Incredible job by Juice selling as always but much like with Jay, the Budokan audience fully played their part which doesn't usually happen anywhere close to this degree. The attack on Ibushi was perfect and sets the stage for an immense match tomorrow! 

I was excited for the first one due to it being Moxley's debut.  I enjoyed it, but thought the quality of the bout was overstated.  Some of the brawling was meh, and Juice's total overshot of the balcony dive kinda soured it.  At least momentarily.  Admittedly, it took a strong showing from Juice in the G1 to really care about his work.  I thought some of his matches were terribly overrated especially the discussion of his match with Jay White being something special .  But the Ishii match and (tho it may not have been as strong) especially this rematch with Moxley made me a fan.  A Juicer, if you willl.  Ha, I just loved his sportsmanship in that bout.  In part because I was really tired of Moxley's repetitive use of plunder in this tournament.  Couple the rematch with what I saw of the end of the follow up tag, and I'm excited for the rubber match.
 

On 8/12/2019 at 9:12 AM, sevendaughters said:

imo, who comes out of G1 (the tournament) enhanced, same, or downgraded.

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Ibushi (arguably had better tournaments in-ring but now the shackles are OFF)
Shingo (looked very much i. a heavyweight and ii. a world class talent)
Jay (super character work, still has doubters but they're falling away)
Archer (breakout tournament, everybody dies)
Moxley (brought big dick swagger to G1, embraced NJPW with his Shota stuff, slightly bumpy finish, but the different thing he brought made it all very watchable)
Juice (now, for me, a big deal wrestler from being my least favourite guy in WWE)
Ospreay (getting better inch by inch)

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Okada (his throne unchallenged, did big stuff when he needed to without breaking too much of a sweat)
Tanahashi (selfless jobbing, could get major league reactions if his moveset was reduced to air guitar)
Goto (Goto)
Ishii (probably the best in-ring G1 but that's Ishii)
Sabre Jr (sometimes better, sometimes worse)
EVIL (nearly put him in the up arrow but the whole losing record business did for him. glad he took it safer this year but still had some burners)
SANADA (they either needed to push him or Ibushi. hard cheese)
Yano (some good matches, hardly any of the slightly flat ones)
Taichi (I enjoyed him a lot this year, at no point did anyone say "this is the best G1 field assembled and Taichi as well", he was part of it, he bought in)

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Cobb (come back Elgin, all is forgiven)
Fale (some humour to his run but we've also abandoned the pretence that we need to protect him)
Kenta (he did well, but disabused a lot of people that he is still one of the best workers in the world. his angle at the end probably resets this though)
Naito (difficult to rate but it seems like the cumulation of injuries and cooled-off booking combined to see him brought lower than the stratosphere he resided in)

Quoted to say: I love this breakdown.  I don't entirely agree, but well put.  Partially disagree because I loved pretty much everything Zack Sabre Jr did in this tournament.  Chalk that up perhaps to only having seen him wrestle a couple times prior to the tournament, but I just love his style.  I assume many of you are over the honeymoon stage with ZSJ.  I sometimes watch Sabre and wish his matches and style was the prototype for all wrestling.  Also, no way am I taking Michael 'Piss on an unsuspecting woman and then brag about it in a video interview' Elgin over Jeff Cobb.  Cobb was certainly hit and miss in this tournament, but I see a bright future ahead of him.  That said, he needs to drop the tacky pleather tights especially the white one that accentuates his belly.  I say go traditional Varsity Club style with 'Hawaii' across the front. Or whatever his alma matter is.  And see if the Taskmaster can provide the game plan.

On 8/12/2019 at 10:13 AM, Lawful Metal said:

They can’t do that angle and not have Shibata not come back. They should not risk his health, but if he can’t wrestle one last match, don’t do the angle like that.

I actually thought this was kinda genius use of a guy who can't do a whole match, but could still explode a crowd, and make a heel turn that much stronger. 

On 8/12/2019 at 1:59 PM, sevendaughters said:

- on the note of White (it was @Archibald who made that point about the pacing, @Oyaji) - I thought the best bit of the match was when Ibushi got irate after all the BS, all the interference, it's FINALLY you and me. White cowered rather than begged off and ate a load of strikes. When he regained control, he came across more like "tough and resilient wrestler" rather than "sneaky shit". When he lost, he took a ton of punishment and went down like a man. I'd like to see them gradually have White shed Gedo - at least the interference - as a crutch and draw on this tough guy who appeared here and momentarily at MSG. the overbooking (at times) combined with the push so early could end up Nakamuraing him.

This is a great point.  Such an intelligent move from White.  

On 8/12/2019 at 7:15 PM, Tromatagon said:

Fuck his shitty looking cum tights

Man up and go full Scott Hall cum tights if you're gonna do it.  Volume not scatter coverage

Wha? I thought KENTA's gear was incredibly stylish.  Cum?  To me that looked Jackson Pollock inspired.  'The Shape of Wrestling Tights to Come' not Cum.  Say what you will about his 2019 abilities, but the man is a fashion plate the likes this industry hasn't seen since the great Fred Blassie.  Or his predecessor the Doctor of Style.

On 8/13/2019 at 2:42 PM, Oyaji said:

Stopped at 18. ZSJ, 17. Taichi.

I appreciate the time that went into writing that guy's blogspot piece and I appreciate an alternate view.  But... first, can these 'bros'' call a moratorium on the use of the term 'rats'.  It takes a special kind of person to degrade another with such a term.  I know there's a tradition there, but there are a lot of trads that need to go.  Further, I am kind of astonished that anyone watching this tournament could speak so miserably about goddamned Zach Sabre Jr.  Specifically his offense..

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the haphazard cheap slight of hand shit that he passes off as TECHNICAL WRESTLING but which most of the time just looks like an invertebrate eel flopping around his opponent’s body.

And... yes, Jay White is certainly a rising talent who had some really solid matches in this tournament, but let's not ruin his rise with Flair'd overstatements.  His matches all featured cartoon heel cheating that was a challenge to continue to care about following (save of course the finals).  That shit would have worked had it not been the focus of every f#*king match.  I completely agree with the poster (apologies, I've forgotten who mentioned it) concerning White's ability to adapt to his opponent with his heel offence. 

I'm writing this now as I've just caught up to the finish of this, my first G1 experience, and overall I was completely blown away!  I've just started following NJPW after not having watched much of any wrestling for over a decade, so all these fantastic performers (Ishii, Naito, Ibushi, Okada, etc.) are all fresh.  That said, it does seem like an excessive amount of wrestling to watch.  

So pleased to have NJPW World (especially the Japanese commentary).  And love the thoughtful comments and analysis in this thread.    

Edited by HarryArchieGus
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On 8/13/2019 at 2:37 PM, sevendaughters said:

my friend Neil reviews the main event and then ranks the 20 guys in the G1. here's a taste:

I said it already but I’ll say it again, Jay White is Ridley Scott’s version of Ric Flair, a Trans-Pacific nightmare that gets away with it only because he is just that damn good. If you can’t appreciate what this dude is doing, I don’t know what to tell you. It’s everything . . . his sick throws, his insolence, the way he talks during a match, the way he pulls everything around him into his story, including the announcers, the fans at ringside and yes, you and me watching this an ocean away.

https://g1spot.blogspot.com/2019/08/g1-final.html

Neil's entire ongoing blog was fantastic, and honestly enhanced my viewing of it by a lot. If you guys missed out on following along with it the first time around, go back and read it. 

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On 8/17/2019 at 4:05 PM, MoeCristyV.1.6 said:

Do you really? I sure don't!

This is why I have a bottle of brain-enhancing pills on hand which I use mainly for studying for an exam.  But guess when I didn't take those and my memory misled me.  You guessed it, it was right at that point in time.

But hey, maybe this is my brain wishing for something that hasn't happened yet.  So I still maintain that Jay beating Okada will be great especially with Bullet Club making a comeback.

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Ice cold take but that finale was a masterpiece in storytelling. 

Also, co-sign on Miho Abe being a great second. Great performer that really adds to his act.

Also, Kevin Kelly once introduced as "the beautiful and conflicted Miho Abe" during her pre-match prayer to Taichi and I laughed for like 30 seconds.

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Very late take as I put off watching the finals in a bit of whiny childishness after Naito's loss. I get it, and a lot of people have expressed the logic behind Naito being in the position he is in, but dammit logic has nothing to do with it! He should have won!

That said, it is probably for the best that he and Ibushi didn't kill each other again and the finals were great. White has firmly locked into his character and has a fun explosive offense to go with his sneaky shenanigans and dickishness. Ibushi, especially when his ice cold kill mode is activated, is awesome.

Count me in as marking out for Shibata. Less so for KENTA's turn, but it is what it is. I want Shibata to be able to wrestle again so much, but his health is obviously the most important factor. So good to see that old fire again though. 

Overall it was a marathon featuring a lot of great matches, some heavy dissatisfaction with booking and the addition of an individual I loath. So a mixed bag to be sure. Ishii was my MVP as he just seems incapable of having a bad G1 and I thought Shingo was lights out fantastic. 

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not sure anyone needs this at this point, but in case anyone pops in to check for recommendations on must watch stuff here are the matches I thought were really excellent (let's say ****1/4 and above):

- Zack Sabre Jr. vs. SANADA, 7/6
- Jeff Cobb vs. Tomohiro Ishii, 7/13
- EVIL vs. Kota Ibushi, 7/14
- Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr., 7/14
- Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, 7/18
- Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito, 7/19
- EVIL vs. Zack Sabre Jr., 7/27
- Juice Robinson vs. Tomohiro Ishii, 7/28
- Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Will Ospreay, 7/30
- Kota Ibushi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, 8/3
- Tetsuya Naito vs. Shingo Takagi, 8/4
- Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kota Ibushi, 8/7
- Shingo Takagi vs. Tomohiro Ishii, 8/8
- Hirooki Goto vs. Shingo Takagi, 8/11
- Taichi vs. Tomohiro Ishii, 8/11
- Juice Robinson vs. Jon Moxley, 8/11
- Jay White vs. Kota Ibushi, 8/12

It's funny, this tournament really didn't produce much in the way of matches that I'm gonna call match of the year contenders (that's just down to my stylistic preferences), but I thought it was consistently super fun and I was happy as hell to have time to mostly keep up with it. 

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Well, I went ahead and waited until AXS showed the last bits and they were two pretty bad tags wrapped up by really good endings (you will not get me not laughing maniacally at Suzuki being Suzuki) and the epitome of all Gedo matches for the final. That was the match he's been wanting for his entire life and he finally pulled it off, albeit not (entirely) in the ring. It was still great because of two great wrestlers who could sell their asses off, work their asses off, and knew their roles within the match and a ref who... goddammit... knew his place too. (Still, fuck you Red Shoes)

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On 8/24/2019 at 8:35 AM, maciej said:

It's funny, this tournament really didn't produce much in the way of matches that I'm gonna call match of the year contenders (that's just down to my stylistic preferences), but I thought it was consistently super fun and I was happy as hell to have time to mostly keep up with it. 

Obviously happy to see ZSJ appear so many times on your list. I agree about the consistency of the match quality, which I think is down to the ‘quiet achievers’ like ZSJ, Archer, Juice, EVIL, Goto keeping the bar high even for the matches with less potential on paper. Also Yano’s trickster antics were creative and varied enough to serve their ‘pallet cleanser’ role effectively.

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5 hours ago, Oyaji said:

Nooooooooo. Next year's G1 will be held during autumn instead of the normal time due to the Olympics. No summer vacation breezy watching. A fate worse than death. 

Any reason given for the change? It's been in the summer as long as I can remember.

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