Horangi

Short thoughts considering I'm many scotches in:

Block A looks like it'll be the more interesting and better match-wise one. I do understand this is the best they could do considering everything. Should be some good stuff, but it's getting harder and harder to get excited with 3/4 empty arenas and dead crowds. I'll still do my best to watch everything though haha I'm sure there'll still be some great stuff somewhere.

DOUKI has really upped his game in the last 12 months, he might be the most underrated guy on the New Japan roster. Really good match! I was worried DOUKi was going to land on the railing when he did the DOUKI Bomb... Robbie and Wato was good too. I remember their BoSJ match being very sloppy, so I had my reservations about this. I'm hoping Robbie gets a bit longer with the belt. As much as I love Hiromu, I want to see him chase again. Hiromu and Robbie had my favourite non-final match of the BoSJ last year so I'm really looking forward to this one. Agree with Fujita and Oiwa looking good so far. Nakashima getting frustrated on the outside will hopefully lead to some fun young lion rivalry stuff, I'm guessing he is very close to an in-ring return.

A couple of new young lions debut tomorrow - Ryohei Oiwa and Kosei Fujita. Both have amateur backgrounds, Oiwa is a little bigger (180cm/90kg vs 178cm/83kg) but Fujita is the first from the dojo to the debut born after 2000 (he's 19)...boy do I feel old haha.

There won't be any AEW or Impact I don't think, unless something changed, Japan isn't issuing new work visas at the moment so only guys who already have visas (I.e. Cobb, Owens, Eagles) can go to Japan. I guess the gaps will be filled with juniors and veterans. Kojima and Nagata would be fine, but there's no way Makabe, Tenzan or Honma could handle the schedule.

Shingo and BUSHI just both tested positive for COVID-19. They should hopeful clear in time, but still if not, that title is definitely cursed.

For the replacements of last year's competitors, Owens and O-Khan are locks. I guess for the others, possibly Kojima and some juniors (Hiromu and Desperado?).

Hell of a show! Imagine it'd be held in a higher regard with a bigger and vocal crowd. Ranbo was what it was, wish they'd make the order less predictable in these. Enjoyed the Jr. Tag match and (obviously) loved the second match! Such a huge result for Aussie wrestling and am so looking forward to Robbie/Hiromu - they killed it during the BoSJ. Need to rematch Cobb and Okada as I was cooling down from the previous match. Tag Title match went long but didn't feel as long as it was to me. Much better than the Sapporo match. I hope Dangerous Tekkees get a good run this time, but I'd also like to see both guys chasing Shingo. I don't think I need to say much about the main, it was excellent. I thought EVIL was going to challenge after no-showing the Ranbo. EVIL vs Ishii in Nagoya was shaping up to be a great match until the usual shit happened, but should be a safe defence for Shingo.

It's confirmed (unfortunately not the 5 way or Dick Togo)...Hiroshi Tanahashi will replace Kota Ibushi in the main event tonight. Go Ace!

Taichi was the real MVP of those matches, loved the callbacks to old All Japan. Purely my own opinion but I rank the 4 matches as follows - Taichi v Naito, Taichi v SANADA, Zack v SANADA, Zack v Naito. All were really enjoyable though, can't go wrong with any of them.

Tanahashi vs KENTA at Nagoya could easily be made into a number 1 contenders match. I guess Ishii v EVIL could also be made into one as I think they're the only other top-ish guys not on the Dome besides Suzuki. Is it known why New Japan doesn't work with other promotions? You'd think while they can't really bring over AEW or foreign talent as easily it'd be a no-brainer to stimulate interest. Even if it isn't at the Dome, Takagi v Kento or Kiyomiya or even a big rival from his DG days (YAMATO maybe? Not super familiar with DG since 2008) should generate buzz than say Takagi vs EVIL or SANADA presently.

Completely agree, pull him and have either Okada or Tanahashi challenge him in Osaka for the Dome, still enough time to change it. Maybe Tanahashi so Shingo can avenge the February loss.

Long post maybe, so my apologies (what can I say, I am passionate about NJPW and have been for nearly 20 years). New Japan certainly has problems, but I don't think it is as bad as some people are making it out to be. The matches are definitely too long, the Dangerous Tekkers/LIJ tag title match would have been much better if 5-10 minutes were shaved off (and I still think it was a great match!) but we also need to take into account why matches are too long. New Japan isn't running 8-10 match cards like other promotions as their way of being COVID responsible (from what I understand, could be wrong). They certainly could run a young lion match and a veteran match to make a 7 match card which would help reduce main event match times, but I can't see that happening until probably 2022. Despite this, I do think New Japan's top level matches are up there with the best matches this year (i.e. Shingo v Cobb, Shingo v Tanahashi, Okada v Ospreay, Ospreay v ZSJ). While the booking has problems, I do appreciate the attempt to elevate some new guys to the top in the past 12 months (EVIL, Ospreay, Shingo). EVIL fell flat and I do agree he would have been served better either in Suzuki-gun (who are missing a top level singles guy - Suzuki, ZSJ and Taichi are credible but are not on that top tier) or in his own group, which I kind of feel was the original idea..but again COVID left Bullet Club with no leaders and no idea when they could be back. I wont comment on Ospreay as a personal choice, but his matches with Shingo, Okada and ZSJ this year are some of the best this year. The Takagi rise is an opportunity for a lot of fresh top level matches, as long as they don't panic and switch back to Ibushi. There are other positives too recently, the Young Lion challenge series produced some really good matches, O-Khan has really stepped up in his major singles matches (Tanahashi, Naito etc) and the NEVER 6-Man matches have been a real highlight. Dangerous Tekkers/GOD at Korakuen might be my favourite tag match of the year (I don't watch WWE or AEW so I don't have a broad scope however). I really like EVIL, I think he has a number of upsides that unfortunately his current position doesn't highlight. He SHOULD be a relentless ass kicker, not a cowardly heel relying on Dick Togo, and his 2021 booking has made it very hard for him to recover (not writing him off yet, but he's got a mountain to climb). I'm not as high as SANADA, something doesn't connect with me to him. He is a good wrestler, but I don't look forward to seeing him if that makes sense. I am fine with the Dangerous Tekkers being plugged in the GOD place in the tag division - they are super entertaining and matches are generally good, but I am admittedly super biased as a massive ZSJ & Taichi fan. Anyway I am very much looking forward to Wrestle Grand Slam. Having seen how much work Robbie has put in the last 8-9 months (and I loved him wearing a Velocities shirt in his challenge, super underrated Aussie team that everyone should check out), I'm really excited to see him in a featured match. I don't think he wins, but then again Australia just cut its returnee arrivals in half so he might be there a while, so there is a possibility. I still think Despe wins as I think either ELP or Hiromu take it from him, but Robbie certainly would be an interesting and fresh option for the Junior division. Phew that was a lot...thank you to anyone that does actually read through all of that and I hope it made sense.

Card is set for the Dome, spoilers below for anyone catching up on the last few shows:

People should really check out the NEVER 6 man, a lot of fun, EVIL finally looked like he had some spark back and Togo still has the goods! Really looking forward to the Chaos vs 3rd Gen match (and the Ishii v Nagata and Goto v Kojima set up matches on the first) as well as what looked like the seeds to a Ishii v EVIL match down the line. The young lion vs vet matches from the last two shows were great too. Definitely recommend Ibushi v Uemura, Taichi v Uemura and Zack v Tsuji.

I'm all for Jake just dominating Miyahara, Aoyagi then sneaking a quick win and getting a big Jake v Aoyagi decider. In other news and not having to rely on my dodgy Japanese to translate, another forbidden door opens! SHO will take on Takanori Ito at next week's GLEAT show. Hoping we can see some GLEAT guys in New Japan, I'm a huge Minoru Tanaka fan and would love to see him have one more run there with a big list of fresh opponents.

Triple Crown to be decided on the 26th with a three way between Jake, Miyahara and Aoyagi. I really hope they pull the trigger on Jake this time, otherwise they run the risk of Goto-ing him

The NJPW collection stuff isn't really a sign I think. All the Ospreay/Cobb cards unavailable are the pre-United Empire ones (Cobb does have a UE 3 star in circulation currently), they did the same to EVIL when he switched to Bullet Club. All of Jay White's cards became sold out after Wrestle Kingdom when those WWE rumours circulated, none of the newer cards have re-entered circulation yet (anything after G1 last year hasn't come back into circulation yet). I'm too addicted to the app I think -_-

Ospreay sustained some kind of neck injury during the Shingo match, he has returned to the UK for rehabilitation. Consequently, the IWGP World Title has been vacated. New Japan can't catch a break at the moment.

I have a top 3 of my favourite live matches: 1. Hiromu Takahashi vs Will Ospreay - Wrestling Kingdom 2020 1/4/20. I've said it before, but being a massive Hiromu fan, being there for his big stage return win was super emotional. Most will remember Okada/Ibushi from that night, but this was the highlight of my trip for me. 2. Kento Miyahara vs Jake Lee - AJPW 5/1/20. I bailed on a trip to Fuji Q with my friends for this and don't regret it at all. This turned me back onto AJPW and into a big Jake Lee fan. Awesome match, unfortunately All Japan hasn't been able to live up to thsi high for me since but I certainly understand the COVID world hasn't made things easy. 3. Gino Gambino vs Robbie Eagles MCW 5/10/18. This is the match that got me into the Australian scene. I had been to a few events after hearing about the infamous Ospreay matches against Eagles and Brooksy but nothing hooked me completely until this, great crowd and atmosphere at the Thornberry helped. Beats out Eagles/Ospreay at Southern Showdown as my Aussie match on this list.

First night was a lot of fun, enjoyed Aoyagi/Otani the most.

Similarly to Gordy, my scope is quite limited to NJPW, some AJPW and Australian Indies, but this is the list of my top 10 given that context. No real order to it besides number 1 though. 1. Hiromu Takahashi - my vote for best of 2020 (so many great matches with Ospreay, Ishii, Despy, Lee, Eagles to name just a few) and looked to be carrying that into 2021 until another unfortunate injury. So charismatic and unique, if he was a bit taller and a heavyweight I think NJPW would have their new ace (and they still might) 2. Hiroshi Tanahashi - Go Ace! I don't think he'll ever fall off my top 10, Tanahashi got me back into wrestling in 2012 after a few years off. He was the first Japanese wrestled I ever really hot into back in 2003. Hoping he has a great NEVER title run, looking good so far. 3. Shingo Takagi - maybe the best in-ring wrestler in New Japan at the moment (sorry Ishii!), would love to see him go the next step but fear he'll fill the Ishii role. 4. El Desperado - Super under rated finally getting some of the spotlight. Don't care what Meltzer or anyone else says, the BoSJ final was my match of the year, the unmasking part was boss. 5. Jake Lee - Only guy keeping me invested in All Japan, really hoping they pull the trigger on him soon or they'll risk Goto-ing him. Would actually love to see him mix it up with some of the New Japan guys sometime. 6. Jeff Cobb - Cobb is a beast! Been a huge fan of him since Lucha Underground. Tour of the Islands is my favourite move too. 7. Slex - it's hard to rate the Aussie scene after being switched off for so long. Slex is one of the guys I think has all the tools to make it big somewhere (signed to RoH at the moment). The recent matches with Brooks and Moretti are worth looking at, as well as his 2019/2020 feuds with Brooksy and Gino Gambino. 8. Dangerous Tekkers - My favourite tag team, love their chemistry and their feud with Golden Aces gave the IWGP tag belts some credibility and focus. Hope they win them back soon. 9. Robbie Eagles - A highlight of the Sydney scene, had a great BoSJ (besides the Wato match). Still get goosebumps from the 2.9 count from his match with Gino. Hope he can get back to Japan again soon, but stay away from the Empire. 10. Ritchie Taylor - Probably better Aussie options but Ritchie is a local Melbourne guy who gives it everything no matter if it's a big MCW show or infront of 50 people in Geelong. Really good match with Tommy Knight from the first DMDU show is in the matches thread and his stuff with DCT in MCW is worth checking out. Not to mention probably the nicest guy in Aussie wrestling. It was hard cutting that down to 10, apologies for the long post!

Henare tweeted himself on a plane indicating he's heading back to NZ, could very well be a ruse though. If Henare is back in NZ (quarantine makes it impossible to be him), Robbie is booked in Aus, difficult entry for 90% of the world unless having resident status (or a visa if from countries still allowed like Australia or NZ), the match itself indicates it'd be a heavyweight, who is left? Umino? Gabe?