NJPW G1 2019

[LoneWolf&Subs 4,416]

47 minutes ago, Super Ape said:

I’m definitely trying to get Philly tickets. I just hope Liger is on the show since it’s probably my last chance to see him live before he retires.

Watch Liger pull a Cher, and keep this “Farewell Tour” going on for decades.

[Super Ape 462]

3 hours ago, LoneWolf&Subs said:

Watch Liger pull a Cher, and keep this “Farewell Tour” going on for decades.

See, I would be perfectly OK with this. He may be hobbled by age and injuries, but old and busted Liger is still Liger.

[Custos 446]

That Archer match was the best that he has ever looked. And the new look was pretty cool too, accentuating his height even more. One thing in the evolution of Ospreay - in the New Japan Cup match, he got Archer into the Stormbreaker position with assistance from the turnbuckle. This match, he hefted Archer up like a proper hoss, showing even more that he can hang with the heavies.

ZSJ / SANADA was probably my favourite match of the night though. ZSJ turned the dickhead dial up to 11, with the mock desperation of beating the 20 count, the tantrum and the young boy beating after the match. Between being such a prick in the ring and the amazing invective of his promos, it must be a toss-up between him and MJF over who is the best dick heel in current wrestling. Shayna is probably still my favourite heel overall though.

KENTA looked a bit saggy and a little rusty but wow those double stomps and kicks looked nasty. I think he’ll come into his own as the tournament progresses, but Ibushi was probably the perfect punching bag for an impressive start.

[TheVileOne 1,889]

7 hours ago, Custos said:

That Archer match was the best that he has ever looked. And the new look was pretty cool too, accentuating his height even more. One thing in the evolution of Ospreay - in the New Japan Cup match, he got Archer into the Stormbreaker position with assistance from the turnbuckle. This match, he hefted Archer up like a proper hoss, showing even more that he can hang with the heavies.

ZSJ / SANADA was probably my favourite match of the night though. ZSJ turned the dickhead dial up to 11, with the mock desperation of beating the 20 count, the tantrum and the young boy beating after the match. Between being such a prick in the ring and the amazing invective of his promos, it must be a toss-up between him and MJF over who is the best dick heel in current wrestling. Shayna is probably still my favourite heel overall though.

KENTA looked a bit saggy and a little rusty but wow those double stomps and kicks looked nasty. I think he’ll come into his own as the tournament progresses, but Ibushi was probably the perfect punching bag for an impressive start.

I think Ospreay is going to do well when he does a proper move up to the heavyweight division.

Edited July 8 by TheVileOne

[alstein 503]

2 minutes ago, TheVileOne said:

I think Ospreay is going to do well when he does a proper move up to the heavyweight division.

I could see Ospreay as a future IWGP champ in 3-4 years.   I won't be shocked if he beats Okada in the G1 this year.

 

[Pete 13,763]

11 hours ago, Super Ape said:

See, I would be perfectly OK with this. He may be hobbled by age and injuries, but old and busted Liger is still Liger.

Look at him vs Taichi in the BOSJ last year. He basically did nothing but smoke and mirrors, yet it completely worked. He's one of the smartest wrestlers ever and there's no reason he couldn't do this another 5-10 years.

[sevendaughters 580]

best NJPW show in the US by some distance. really loved it

thought KENTA looked great. I think if you spent his NXT run wondering why he was meant to be a big deal then saw that you'd get it, surely. That fake out head stop into impudent brush kick was A Character Note. sure he's not at 2007 levels. who immediately gets to their best when changing styles from WWE to whichever mad place they came from?

would give ****+ to all the G1 matches except Fale, which I enjoyed.

[NikoBaltimore 3,333]

I still need to catch Sanada/ZSJ and the rest of Okada/Tanahashi.  But I really loved Ospreay/Archer and really hope this around that they consider signing him full-time if he's not already.  While it might seem like a surprise Will lost I kind of like the idea of this being an indication that working heavyweight will be a challenge for him.  Plus it made Lance look like somebody that people should take seriously as the G1 goes on.

I'll need to re-watch the Ibushi/Kenta match as I went into it expecting something else.  So while it was a good match I couldn't help but feel disappointed.  Hopefully things turn around as it goes on.

[Archibald 491]

5 hours ago, Pete said:

Look at him vs Taichi in the BOSJ last year. He basically did nothing but smoke and mirrors, yet it completely worked. He's one of the smartest wrestlers ever and there's no reason he couldn't do this another 5-10 years.

His title match this year against Taiji was also great, I still have it on my MOTYC list.

[Rowland 0]

1 hour ago, Archibald said:

His title match this year against Taiji was also great, I still have it on my MOTYC list.

I'm right with you on that.

[Ziggy 249]

I really enjoyed this show, Ospreay vs Archer was my MOTN, I thought every match pretty much was to set the tone for the rest of the G1 and sort introduce the G1 to the American audience.

[Pete 13,763]

On 7/7/2019 at 10:23 AM, The Great ML said:

My wife knows little about wrestling and the first thing she noticed on television was the empty arena. Her response, "Why didn't they book the (Kay Bailey) Dallas Convention Center? It's just a few minutes down the road?"

The DCC seats 9-10,000 and would have been much cheaper, I'd imagine.

They could do worse than to book a place like Moody Coliseum (SMU). 7,000 seats, plus it was just renovated a few years ago.

[JRV 266]

I marked out so hard during this show, especially for Tana/Okada. What a huge response from the US crowd, the hair on my arms just stood up straight from the goosebumps. I don't mind the arena, they set it up great and the place was still super packed for a Japanese promotion going to the other side of the world. You just had this huge crowd of people who all seemed totally in the know about NJPW and were having a big fat party sitting there in their New Japan merch and waving their Ingobernables beach towels Of course a fully sold out arena show in the US would be super cool but I really enjoyed the more intimate feel of the semicircle and that big stage and entrance ramp. What a dope card and what a ridiculous main event

[JRV 266]

Oh actually the only thing I really didn't like was the GTS to the armpit that was really too bad after that near perfect match and a little blemish on KENTA's return to non-cartoon wrestling

[sevendaughters 580]

I wonder if Okada getting his first win in G1 over Tanahashi has some significance. Like is this another Tanahashi comeback tale? With two days at the Dome (still no nearer to seeing how they pull that off) you can't just do your 'ok Tana is fucked now lads' depush.

[LoneWolf&Subs 4,416]

3 hours ago, JRV said:

Oh actually the only thing I really didn't like was the GTS to the armpit that was really too bad after that near perfect match and a little blemish on KENTA's return to non-cartoon wrestling

In defense, 95% of the time KENTA always hits the chest with that move. But this was a big match, so maybe Ibushi needed to make that move look as good as its ever going to look in this tournament.

Edited July 9 by LoneWolf&Subs

[JRV 266]

2 hours ago, LoneWolf&Subs said:

In defense, 95% of the time KENTA always hits the chest with that move. But this was a big match, so maybe Ibushi needed to make that move look as good as its ever going to look in this tournament.

I loved his bump where he dropped his arms like a for real knockout, but in the replay the impact looked pretty bad..

[Oyaji 7,443]

6 hours ago, sevendaughters said:

I wonder if Okada getting his first win in G1 over Tanahashi has some significance. Like is this another Tanahashi comeback tale? With two days at the Dome (still no nearer to seeing how they pull that off) you can't just do your 'ok Tana is fucked now lads' depush.

I think they can and are tho. He'll get a big win or two but I see him finishing third at best. 

[RIPPA 29,451]

Kota Ibushi's fucked up ankle (posted by Kota Ibushi)

Spoiler

 

 

[Oyaji 7,443]

That dude is a mad man. We already knew this but he's going to work the most grueling schedule in wrestling for the next month on an ankle he can't even do more than 30 steps with currently.

[Raziel 7,302]

Well, the good news is that he has until Sunday before he has another Tourny match.

Edited July 9 by Raziel

[alstein 503]

22 hours ago, sevendaughters said:

I wonder if Okada getting his first win in G1 over Tanahashi has some significance. Like is this another Tanahashi comeback tale? With two days at the Dome (still no nearer to seeing how they pull that off) you can't just do your 'ok Tana is fucked now lads' depush.

 

I think his dome match is going to be Jericho as a way to keep him away from the title picture, so they don't need to push him so hard.

 

[Lawful Metal 1,184]

Finally watched this. Kinda odd how they shot it, really showed how empty it was. Would have been better to curtain it off and lower the lights and better block the camera. 

Ospreay and Archer was probably match of the night. I also enjoyed Sanada and ZSJ. Love crazy technical displays like that, and I loved the counters to the counters to the counters. I don’t think it looked overly choreographed and ZSJ was a wonderful dick throughout. Funny how he’s the smallest and skinniest but he’s so skilled and dickish it doesn’t matter. That Sanada and Evil are red meat babyfaces is odd, but I don’t mind.

I don’t think the Ibushi - KENTA match ever got out of 2nd gear - maybe by necessity with Ibushi’s ankle and KENTA’s conditioning. I liked Ibushi’s selling of the kicks — he was being physically moved by them, not just taking them. I’m also happy the GTS was to the chest — I fully figured Ibushi would insist on taking it to the face — potential injury be damned. Also liked the busaiku knee? Wasn’t that the real finisher? Hit the GTS, stand them up and then blow their head off with the knee?

i love Okada, and I love Tana. Did not really feel their match. 

Also really looking forward to Ishii and Cobb. When’s the B block start?

[NikoBaltimore 3,333]

I caught the rest of the matches I cared to see and while Okada/Tana might not have been the best match they ever did I still loved it and mainly due to the crowd's excitement.  The second the bell rang they exploded and to do that without them even doing anything yet is wonderful.  Given that they didn't need to have a 5* classic and it looks like the crowd was very happy anyway.  But I still liked Ospreay/Archer the best though ZSJ/Sanada was pretty cool as well.

[Nice Guy Eddie 19,589]

1 hour ago, Lawful Metal said:

Finally watched this. Kinda odd how they shot it, really showed how empty it was. Would have been better to curtain it off and lower the lights and better block the camera. 

Ospreay and Archer was probably match of the night. I also enjoyed Sanada and ZSJ. Love crazy technical displays like that, and I loved the counters to the counters to the counters. I don’t think it looked overly choreographed and ZSJ was a wonderful dick throughout. Funny how he’s the smallest and skinniest but he’s so skilled and dickish it doesn’t matter. That Sanada and Evil are red meat babyfaces is odd, but I don’t mind.

I don’t think the Ibushi - KENTA match ever got out of 2nd gear - maybe by necessity with Ibushi’s ankle and KENTA’s conditioning. I liked Ibushi’s selling of the kicks — he was being physically moved by them, not just taking them. I’m also happy the GTS was to the chest — I fully figured Ibushi would insist on taking it to the face — potential injury be damned. Also liked the busaiku knee? Wasn’t that the real finisher? Hit the GTS, stand them up and then blow their head off with the knee?

i love Okada, and I love Tana. Did not really feel their match. 

Also really looking forward to Ishii and Cobb. When’s the B block start?

B Block starts Saturday morning @ 2 AM EST.