NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15.

[The Natural]

NSFW. Savage barb by ZSJ to Chase Owens.

[EVA]

I still have to watch all this, but man, putting the belts back on GoD certainly seems to undo all the work that was done to revitalize the tag division this year.  It’s not *entirely* their fault, but GoD reeks of a return to the WGAF? era of the tag titles.

[dragonzombie]

Kota wants to unify the two titles.

[Jiji]

https://www.njpw1972.com/88636

"BREAKING: ‘I’m Done’ Jay White states New Year Dash will be his last night" 

Jay gives an amazing post-match press conference. Hams it up for sure but God damn. I don't buy that it's the end of him in NJPW. He's spoken to his loyalty to NJPW and this comes off more as a transition to something else there other than generic bullet club bad guy. Haven't watched the show yet but that gif of him grasping at the titles as the ref, I believe, yanks them away is some wrestling as high art stuff. He gets it. He's not perfect and still has room to grow but he's very smart, charismatic, and knows how to put together compelling matches as a heel. 

[EVA]

That’s the sort of promo that you can’t do in any of the other major promotions in the world.  No other promotion would give a guy a live mic and let him sulk and moan for 10 uninterrupted minutes until he finally arrives at something transcendent.

And it could smartly go either way.  It would work as a heel leaving the territory promo or as a “dark night of the soul” moment that starts the build to a babyface run.

[John E. Dynamite]

Taichi selling the fuck out of his own weapon is Big Brain Pro Wrestling. I can live with the loss if there's a chase to a rematch, babyface Suzuki-gun is a thing and the Tekkers are easily the best tag act the company has. Off-topic but there's nothing stopping ZSJ and Taichi from challenging Kanemaru and Despy for the Jr. Tag Belts. I just think it would be neat.

A few matches overachieved, or prior quarantine NJPW singles matches underachieved so much and a lot of people learned to adjust. KENTA/Kojima was sturdy. When commentary mentioned Kojima's prior 1/4 Main Event spot (he actually had two), I couldn't help but think "oh, so he's used to this kind of house". I was drifting in and out during SANADA/EVIL but what I was conscious for seemed better than I expected. Shingo/Cobb was a great snowflakey beef-and-bump, near-fall neanderthal fight. It's elevated by being the first great Cobb performance and solidifying the idea that giving Shingo the ball and watching him run =  ¥¥¥. I know he's being groomed to be the next Ishii but you really have to wonder what his ceiling his. He's 38 - is he an old 38 because he's worked such an athletic style, or a young 38 because he didn't have to bump for those DG twerps?

Naito/Ibushi took it easy. They got most of their drama out of teasing insane head drops than actually doing them, went relatively short, and Kota went over clean as a sheet. This is what the puroresu sommeliers wanted, right? Eh, bullshit. Still a Dome-worthy main event despite feeling inhibited. Maybe booking knew they'd chill out if Ibushi had to go 50 the next night. It's also within the realm of possibility that Naito is a physical wreck and this was his swan-song as a main eventer.

I don't mind it when 1/4 Main Events try to be epic. They should, that's the whole point to having a Biggest Match of the Year, a perfect 20 minutes is going to leave most of the crowd feeling cheated. Going longer than Omega/Okada when circumstances dictated they were never going to surpass it? Yeah, it's a valid point of criticism. The match was still a success. Ibushi looks like a world champion in there. They went back to the well with White's guardrail onslaught and Kota's fugue state strikes, two of the best sequences in wrestling, and there was plenty of water for everybody. Jay White is fucking awesome, man. Athleticism, selling, jaw-jacking, timing, look, character work, facials, he is a ten-tool player. Anyone criticizing him is just criticizing the NJPW heel gaijin routine they've been running since Devitt. I'm usually one to defend that but I'm afraid it could hold Jay back from being viewed as one of the best guys in the world, which is a conversation that should be following him in 2021. So fuck it, ditch it, why does Gedo have to pull the ref out of the ring on the Phoenix Splash nearfall? Why are there no consequences at all? The wrestlers are good enough to get their own heat and do it in a way that makes sense. The ref push -> nut shot sequence was a pitch-perfect example. Kota's berserker rage is an established thing that gives plausibility to a babyface knocking a ref down. Jay's inviting Kota's strikes is in line with his late-match selling and his cunning. Jay blasting him in the boys is still a heel move, but it's a consequence of Kota's actions. Jay even shouts at the camera "hey, he knocked the ref down!". There's no point in having a fictionalized sport if you're not using it to tell good stories, and these two keep telling good stories every time they share a ring.

[TheVileOne]

 

And the Oscar goes to...Jay White.

[Curt McGirt]

6 hours ago, Casey said:

Wrestling World 2004 with Sasaki vs Nagata

One god thing about having access to NJ World was getting to see that and their other match from the feud I found on there. Both of those deeply belong in the Blood thread. 

6 hours ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

Doctor Zhivago wasn't as long as some of these matches. 

 Man, this is why I'm wondering if NJ coming to US television is a good thing or not... I'll want to review these things again...

[Spontaneous]

I remember reading somewhere that the original plan for the double gold rush at Wrestle Kingdom 14 had Omega instead of Jay White. I wonder if this the planned continuation of that. I recall hearing Gedo prefers to plan out and stick to story arches. Perhaps the original vision was Ibushi vs Naito and then Ibushi defending vs heel Omega. But I also recall the reason this was 2 nights this year was because of the money the first double Dome did. I believe it was always the plan though as I think Jay has been slotted into whatever role Omega would have played in storylines after he left. He's been perfectly fine in it, but I can see Omega-Ibushi in the Finals of G1 29 and Omega losing to Ishii on the last day in the G1 this year easily. 

That aside, I thought Hiromu-Ishimori and Ibushi-White as co-match of the night. I think I rank Okada-Ospreay slightly higher. I felt Night 1 was a stronger show. Hoping to see EVIL and Bullet Club turn on Jay White lead to some shake up of the factions and also see a Never Six Man tag titles defense at New Year's Dash. 

[The Natural]

Related to the above subject, I have a feeling Jay White was going to be the one to beat Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight/IWGP Intercontinental Championship at Dominion 2020 but with the coronavirus pandemic causing travel restrictions, EVIL won instead.

Edited January 5, 2021 by The Natural

[Spontaneous]

I think they should unify the heavyweight belt and the ic belt. Elevate the Never Openweight title as a bridge between the Jrs and the contenders.

I agree with @The Natural, I think they sub guys into spots as needed. I think they leave the broadstrokes in and touch up as they go. 

My point is everyone just remember Taichi is a torn acl or broken neck from being iwgp champion, ok?!

[Craig H]

2 minutes ago, Six String Orchestra said:

 My point is everyone just remember Taichi is a torn acl or broken neck from being iwgp champion, ok?!

Oh, well that's just great... Unless you're weird like @Jiji

[John from Cincinnati]

Jay White owes someone money for making a storyline out of the bullshit rumour about Sasha Banks laying on the floor and having a pout after that one Mania. 

[Curt McGirt]

Having a 10 minute "interview" after a 48 minute match is something else. Appropriate? Gilding the lily? Hilarious? You tell me.

Edited January 6, 2021 by Curt McGirt

[John from Cincinnati]

I'd push back on the notion that it could be the basis of a face turn. Maybe they'll take it in an interesting direction that justifies liking him. But in the context of an athlete responding to a difficult loss in front of the media, that segment amounts to a little baby tantrum. Pure whiney heel. 

[Jiji]

31 minutes ago, Andy in Kansas said:

I'd push back on the notion that it could be the basis of a face turn. Maybe they'll take it in an interesting direction that justifies liking him. But in the context of an athlete responding to a difficult loss in front of the media, that segment amounts to a little baby tantrum. Pure whiney heel. 

Sure, he's whiney but he's also human and relatable, especially during a pandemic where most of us have felt like we just worked 40 minutes with Ibushi trying to cave in our skulls and chests. He recognized that he gave everything he had and it wasn't good enough. Total heel move. 

[Curt McGirt]

You know Wrestling Twitter is gonna rail on him as Emo Switchblade or something

[Spontaneous]

I think his (Jay White) low point is whatever is happening to him at New Year's Dash. His past year has been one of failure. He choked against Ishii in the G1 block Finals. He needed to cheat to beat Ibushi the third time. He lost the IC title to Naito at WK14. Now he's lost again in the biggest stage and Ibushi even survived the Blade Runner for the first time. 

[John from Cincinnati]

22 minutes ago, Jiji said:

Sure, he's whiney but he's also human and relatable, especially during a pandemic where most of us have felt like we just worked 40 minutes with Ibushi trying to cave in our skulls and chests. He recognized that he gave everything he had and it wasn't good enough. Total heel move. 

And like most of us, he processed his hardships and shortcomings by falling to the ground and throwing a tantrum in public in a professional setting. The kind of dignified human vulnerability we should all strive to be more comfortable expressing. So brave. 

[Jiji]

8 minutes ago, Andy in Kansas said:

And like most of us, he processed his hardships and shortcomings by falling to the ground and throwing a tantrum in public in a professional setting. The kind of dignified human vulnerability we should all strive to be more comfortable expressing. So brave. 

Indeed! I've always hated it when heels flip the switch on their babyface turn, so this is likely the beginning. I think that it can be interpreted either or both ways also speaks to how well it was executed. There are elements of both virtue and petulance.

[The Natural]

Kudos to Kota Ibushi going 31:18 vs. Tetsuya Naito, 48:05 vs. Jay White for 79 minutes and 23 seconds within 24 hours.

Edited January 6, 2021 by The Natural

[The Natural]

Be interesting to see whether the IWGP Intercontinental Championship gets defended alongside the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, separately or goes for good. Both belts are defended together ever since Tetsuya Naito was the first to unify at Wrestle Kingdom 14.

I foresee a long reign for Kota Ibushi as IWGP Heavyweight/Intercontinental Champion. I think his first reign goes to Wrestle Kingdom 16.

Edited January 6, 2021 by The Natural

[Archibald]

New year stars with a bang - closing promo by Bushi.

[Craig H]

Night 2 thoughts...

Wow. Ibushi vs Jay White was everything. I like Ibushi, but I'm still not sure I'm ready to see him leading the company or being in this spot. Whenever I think of or see Ibushi, I think of all of the dumb, silly shit he used to do and probably still does. White gave the performance of his career too, along with the post-match promo. Fantastic, fantastic match. I think all in all, I liked night 2 more. SANADA won! Shingo vs Cobb was fucking awesome. Hiromu vs Ishimori was great. And then this match. My biggest takeaways from night 1 was Okada had a badass match and Naito sadly lost.

Ishimori vs Hiromu was what I expected from ELP vs Hiromu. Going a million miles an hour, killing each other, etc. Both guys are the shit. Even with going so fast they're still paying attention to the psychology of working Hiromu's arm and hand. Hiromu's defense of blocking forearms with his face may not be the best. Man, this was great. Probably the third best match of both nights so far behind Okada vs Osprey and Shingo vs Cobb.

I hate how when a SANADA match starts I just feel like he's going to lose. SANADA is the man though, and was on fire in this one. Dude should be a top star in NJPW. Seriously, stop with the fucking ref bumps. The referring is the thing I've always hated the most in NJPW. That was also maybe the best Skull End from SANADA in awhile. Dick Togo took one of the funniest bumps through a table. Holy shit! SANADA wins! Fuck yeah! 

Shingo vs Cobb, fucking yes. Two big dudes slappin' meat. Jeff Cobb looks like he's in full Taz mode. I would have liked this match even if it was only Takagi and Cobb trading forearms for 10 minutes straight. This match was fucking awesome. It's the type of match that an old dad would say watching it will put hair on your chest. Jesus. This had everything. Just two big dudes trying to kill each other. I want a promotion that is only three dudes and those three are Shingo, Ishii, and Cobb and every match is like the brawl from Deadwood. It's also amusing, to me anyway, that it could have been Michael Elgin in this match, but Elgin is a piece of dogshit and thankfully it's Cobb who is doing what Elgin would have been doing.

Master Wato has a dumb as fuck name for a dude that's pretty good.

I wanted Yano to win just to annoy Dave Meltzer because there are fewer things that amuse me more about Dave than him never getting Yano. This match made me laugh for the wrong reasons. Bushi getting a head full of steam for a dive only to...slow down to a walk becase Fale is fat as fuck and can't get up to catch was funny as hell.

[Craig H]

Also, my man SANADA is going for it! Surely this is his time, right?!

LOLOLOL no, no, I know how this story with SANADA ends. One part of me is happy that SANADA will be Ibushi's first (second?) challenge, but it also pretty much guarantees he's going to lose.