NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18.

[The Natural]

I liked the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada match more than most even though I hated the seizure sell by Bryan Danielson but turned out it was to get his broken arm looked at. I was shocked seeing Danielson tap Okada out, only the second wrestler to do so since he returned from excursion as the Rainmaker. Even Zack Sabre Jr was never booked to. I thought Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 was much better. That's the match I was expecting the original to be. Nasty work by Danielson wanting to break Okada's arm and Okada going after Danielson's orbital bone. Here's an example of the rematch surpassing the predecessor.

[Dolfan in NYC]

 

[ChrisPBacon]

I'm not sure if it was mentioned here, but Nic Nemeth released a video just prior to this debut in NJPW, called "Wanted Man" where he goes full Jack Burton and it's tremendous cheese.

[The Natural]

Spoiler thoughts:

Spoiler

NJPW matches have a tendency to overstay their welcome going too long whereas most here needed to go longer like Kazuchika Okada/Bryan Danielson, Yuya Uemura/Yota Tsuji and Guerrillas of Destiny/Bishamon. 

The show of respect between Bryan Danielson and Kazuchika Okada might not be for everyone with what both had said done previously and during this match but I liked it. Particularly rare for Kazuchika Okada to do so boring like that.

Surprised there was no Stardust Press by Tetsuya Naito. Thought we'd get that, not even an attempt.

Swore out loud when EVIL and Dick Togo stopped Tetsuya Naito's LIJ roll call. The heat that got. You got me, Gedo.

SANADA proved me wrong. Hope his shoulder injury isn't too bad.

The exchanges between Will Ospreay/Jon Moxley reaffirms it should have been a singles match between the two. See little in David Finlay.

The IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship looks great and better than the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. I know I'm a broken record but I detest that fucking thing. I'd just change the strap length of the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship, too long.

The aforementioned match gave us one of the funniest table breaks ever with Alex Coughlin's arse going through the middle while the rest of the frame was still up. You could hear the crowd laugh.

I was hoping Zack Sabre Jr would retain the NJPW World Television Championship. Can't be mad at the new NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi winning another IWGP Championship in his legendary career plus the 15 minute time limit should help his knackered body. Hope this frees up ZSJ to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, criminal he hasn't or better still the IWGP Heavyweight Championship when that was active.

Hard to believe Shingo Takagi is 41.

Top five matches:

5. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

4. David Finlay vs. Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay.

3. Shingo Takagi vs. Tama Tonga.

2. SANADA vs. Tetsuya Naito.

1. Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson. *****.

 

[TheVileOne]

Since I get a lot of stupid BS here from some a-holes here who say I'm always negative and dislike everything:

I frelling loved this show. I felt everything clicked relatively well for WK18. Up and down everyone looked solid and ready to bring their A-game. You saw fun entrances and great ring attire throughout the show. It definitely felt like the right shot in the arm that New Japan needs right now.  From start to finish, I haven't liked a big wrestling show this much in quite a while.

The first couple of matches were short little sprints, and they didn't go that long. That worked though because they kept the pace fast and they didn't feel like there was any filler. I think having President Tanahashi win the TV title now is fine. He can have a couple of defenses and transition the belt to someone else hopefully. Sabre got to run with the title for a whole year, so he had a decent run with it. I think Sabre is very underrated as a heel worker sometimes. Those neck twists were brutal.

Kind of surprised that Uemura beat Yota Tsuji at WK since everyone seems so high on Tsuji as a future ace right now.

Tama Tonga and Shingo Takagi also had a fun match. If Tama Tonga is leaving the company I don't get putting him over with a victory here. Does he relinquish the belt? Is he going to stay and defend it a couple more times? I don't really get that booking decision. I've seen reactions on Reddit saying this was done as a reward for all the time Tonga put into New Japan. No doubt Tama Tonga is a hard worker, and he's underrated as a singles talent, but dunno, having him win over Shingo in a title bout especially when he's leaving seems like an odd choice. Regardless, this was a fun match, and both guys looked like they were ready to put on a show tonight. Everyone from top to bottom felt like they were trying to outwork one another.

Happy that ELP and Hikuleo won the belts. I think it's probably time to merge the Strong titles or drop them already. It feels like Strong is kind of irrelevant as a sub-brand at this point, and I'm not sure what purpose Strong or the Strong titles really serve at this point. ELP is actually one of my favorites, and I'm happy he picked up another title but I feel like he could be doing more in singles, which I hope he does at some point down the line. Still shocked he never won the junior heavyweight singles title.

El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi was cool. However, I do kind of want to move on from this matchup and see some fresh faces and matchups for the Junior Heavyweight division. Shocked that they never got El Phantasmo in there for a title run. But another good Despy/Hiromu match. Hiromu's entrance attire was fire.

Okada/Danielson topped their match at Forbidden Door. I think it went just about the right length and didn't need to go any longer. Visual with the UV color-changing attire for Okada was a neat concept. I do feel you could run this match one more time as a tiebreaker now that Danielson and Okada are 1-1. You could tell this was an emotional experience for Danielson. I feel like Okada is really good at trying to keep it very cool and stoic even when his opponents are clearly trying to make him angry and you can see it getting to him. You can see the change when his fuse is about to blow and he's had enough.

Global title triple threat felt like the 2024 NJPW version of Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles from TNA Unbreakable. Moxley looked fired up and was moving like a junior heavyweight. Whatever he does to maintain his cardio and stamina definitely came through for him here, especially since he had the long travel and was coming off a pretty physical, grueling match with Eddie Kingston on PPV. It's on YouTube, but he also did a great job putting over David Finlay in his press conference. I'm not a David Finlay hater like some people. I think he held up his heel role fine in this match, and Finlay walking away with the win and the title is the right decision for right now. It is crazy to kind of see how far Will Ospreay has come over the last 7-8 years. You can see the little changes and things that have improved his overall game, and he's also put on more muscle and mass. But the Triple Threat just had this epic, big match feel that was cool. Even though this isn't goodbye for Ospreay and New Japan, this is sort of like a goodbye for Ospreay as a full-time "New Japan guy." But it feels like he truly hammered out and discovered himself through his matches and run in New Japan. Through the ups and downs, Ospreay has found himself and become fully formed, so now it's time to see what he can do in AEW. This may not make sense, but it kind of reminds me of the changes Styles went through after leaving TNA and only becoming an even bigger star from there. It was nice to see Moxley reminiscing about Fit Finlay and saying he respected David for smashing the belt because it took balls. For Moxley, it makes sense that he'd respect a guy smashing titles since that's the kind of rebellious, anti-authority shit he goes for.

Nic Nemeth I think is a good pickup for NJPW, and I hope it's one that sticks. AEW is overcrowded right now, and where would he even fit in there right now? NJPW can use him, and it could be a way for Nemeth to easily reinvent himself and give the veterans on the roster someone new to face. The brawls with Finlay were fun, and this could be good for everyone involved.

Sanada's transition to being champion and headliner has been impressive to watch. I'm glad he dropped the whole unkempt hobo lion mane look. Now he looks super clean-cut, wears custom suits and looks every bit like a main event champ. He carried the match here very well for Naito, and the fans were all in for Naito winning the big one one more time. Not sure how much time Naito has left as a top guy, but enjoy it while it lasts I suppose. At first, I was ticked when EVIL interrupted the post-match speech, but they got it well with Sanada rallying back and helping Naito, paying tribute to his senpai. Naito clearly has an emotional connection with the fans and the fans were rabid to see him get the win, so it was the right decision to end things. 

I think going back to one night this year was the correct decision. And even at one night, this year's card didn't feel overstuffed. I think they can go back to two nights if it makes sense, but it worked out well this year.

Man, I've always found Chris Charlton to be a good, solid analyst who knows what he's talking about along with acting as a translator for the English-speaking audience, but this is the most switched-on I think I've ever heard him for an event like this. Charlton sounded really fired up throughout the show. Usually, Charlton sounds really level, but he was very fired up throughout the event. I nearly lost it when Sanada and Naito retaliated against Evil and he said something like, "Ain't that a kick in the dick!" Good for Charlton he brought it to this show. I don't know what it is but it was like everyone drank some espresso doubleshots or Celsius before the show started. Charlton doesn't have to bring that level of enthusiasm every show, but he definitely shined on commentary. Walker Stewart isn't quite there yet, so it felt like Charlton had to pull a little more weight, but I think Stewart will get there eventually.

Edited January 5 by TheVileOne

[lostinube]

New Years Dash just finished:

Tanahashi had his first defense of the TV title against Taguchi. After the win we got a video and it was...Matt Riddle. Western fans on Twitter went (rightfully) "WTF NJPW?" and Japanese fans and Tanahashi were all like "Who?"

Bishamon beat Oiwa and some jobber from NOAH.

G.O.D. beat Yuto Nakashima and Oskar Leube. I think they're going on excursion (the Young Lions, I mean). Chase Owens attacked El-P and challenged G.O.D. to a match. His partner will be speed walking enthusiast KENTA.

Twelve man tag with H.O.T. on one side. Umino pinned Togo but the main thing that happened is that EVIL cuffed and then cut Tama Tonga's hair. Tonga is leaving at the end of the month so it's almost a lock EVIL gets the NEVER belt. At least he's staying away from Naito. Kanemaru and SHO attacked Despy the night before so there's probably something there too.

United Empire and the Bullet Club had a wild brawl that ended up with Will challenging them to what ended up as a five on five cage match in Osaka, which will also be Will's last match in NJPW.

J5Gs beat LIJ. SANADA asked for a rematch but Naito tranquilod him. SANADA also wanted a..something between J5G and LIJ.

Ishimori won the KOPW.

TMDK beat a team of Ishii/Okada/Danielson/Moxley. TMDK want the six-man titles. Okada vs Ospreay was announced as the main event for Battle in the Valley.

They also announced a Chicago show for April.

 

 

Edited January 5 by lostinube

[Horangi]

RE VileOne's post: Thank you for that write up, only thing I kind of want to comment is that Uemura needed that win, Tsuji didn't. I still think Shota is the Ace of the group with Tsuji filling that Chono/Naito role as the uber charismatic anti-establishment guy who doesn't necessarily need the belt to be the guy.

As for Dash...soooo much anger over Riddle. I have never seen a Riddle match so no idea what to expect, I only vaguely know about the speaking out stuff. Maybe it's just a one and done thing...(I hope based on the outrage)

One other thing I noticed between J5G and LiJ was Taichi staring at the belt and squaring up with Naito before SANADA asked for a rematch. Taichi won their last singles match in 2021, maybe he finally gets a shot at the big one this year.

As a TMDK guy, so stoked with how the main event went. Be a huge statement for Fujita if he can win gold before anyone else from his generation 

[lostinube]

Yeah, Tsuji stays over no matter if he wins or loses. Since he's come back, and maybe because of the way he came back, the fans buy into him. Uemura was a puzzling choice to join J5G after the Kanemaru turn but there really was nowhere for him to go. I think it seems like only Narita can pull off the goofy H.O.T. heel schtick. I'll like Umino more when he ditches the Roughneck stuff (stop carrying that damn jacket to the ring) and is just the uber-face. As is, I just want every tag partner to turn on him for taking too long to get to the ring.

As for Riddle..well, as we've seen, internet outrage, especially wrestling internet outrage does not always translate into action. It's probably a one and done at Battle in the Valley.

[Raziel]

Given Japan's general attitude toward Weed, I don't see Riddle being a fixture in NJPW, at least not in Japan itself.

[hammerva]

I have a hard time believing that New Japan fanbase and Tanahashi has no idea who Riddle is.  I mean is the recent WWE hitting so slow in Japan that they wouldn't notice Riddle and yet goes reasonably hard for Dolph Ziggler?  Now apathy I can completely understand.  

 

[worldcupfever]

1 hour ago, Raziel said:

Given Japan's general attitude toward Weed, I don't see Riddle being a fixture in NJPW, at least not in Japan itself.

I assume he's around to sell some tickets for NJPW USA.

[The Natural]

Meltzer:

Catch 22 vs. War Dogs, ***3/4.

Tanahashi vs. Sabre Jr, ****.

Uemura vs. Tsuji, ****.

House of Torture vs. Umino/Kiyomiya, **3/4.

Tonga vs. Takagi, ****1/2.

Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Bishamon, ***3/4.

Desperado vs. Takahashi, ****.

Finlay vs. Moxley vs. Ospreay, ****3/4.

Okada vs. Danielson, *****1/4.

Naito vs. SANADA, ****1/2.

Natural:

Catch 22 vs. War Dogs, ***3/4.

Tanahashi vs. Sabre Jr, ****1/4.

Uemura vs. Tsuji, ****1/4.

House of Torture vs. Umino/Kiyomiya, ***.

Tonga vs. Takagi, ****3/4.

Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Bishamon, ***3/4.

Desperado vs. Takahashi, ****.

Finlay vs. Moxley vs. Ospreay, ****1/2.

Okada vs. Danielson, *****.

Naito vs. SANADA, ****1/2.

[The Natural]

Best thing about NJPW New Year Dash was Bryan Danielson and Zack Sabre Jr going at it for six minutes in an eight man tag: Zack Sabre Jr/ Shane Haste/Mikey Nicholls/Kosei Fujita (TMDK) defeated Bryan Danielson/Kazuchika Okada/Jon Moxley/Tomohiro Ishii. Zack Sabre Jr challenged Bryan Danielson to a rematch and says he'll tap him out.

[worldcupfever]

45 minutes ago, The Natural said:

Meltzer:

Finlay vs. Moxley vs. Ospreay, ****3/4.

Okada vs. Danielson, *****1/4.

 

So if Meltzer says 4 3/4* is basically 5, is 5 1/4* basically 5 or 5 and a half?

[lostinube]

Until the latest ABEMA deal, RAW and Smackdown were not being carried by anyone in Japan for about a year so it's possible that casual fans were not quite familiar with Riddle. The way he was presented probably didn't help.

[TheVileOne]

I'm open to the idea of Riddle trying to rehab his image and career in NJPW and places like MLW, GCW, other indies, but he's got to be serious about wanting to salvage his career. Otherwise, he's going to be another footnote on Dark Side of the Ring.

[lostinube]

Riddle is in a tag match with X against ZSJ and Bad Dude Tito at Battle in the Valley. So they may actually try to bring him over to Japan.

[Teflon Turtle]

I watched this last night to get my mind off of the Vince stuff. Slo-mo, high def footage. The NJPW/TV Asahi camera crew has done it again. Watch on the biggest screen you can find.

 

[The Natural]

1 hour ago, Teflon Turtle said:

I watched this last night to get my mind off of the Vince stuff. Slo-mo, high def footage. The NJPW/TV Asahi camera crew has done it again. Watch on the biggest screen you can find.

 

Thanks for this.

[The Natural]

Behind the scenes documentary:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_5qGpTEFeRI