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NJPW Dominion 2021.


The Natural

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@Gordberg: Has the new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship grown on you? Do you feel same way about it? What's your favourite version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship?

My answers to all three:

No.

Yes. Really don't like it. It's my least favourite of the five and how it's a championship with a new lineage when the IWGP Heavyweight Championship has the years of history/names who have won it.

Version 4. V3 closely follows. Shame V3 wasn't around as long as V1-V3.

Edited by The Natural
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7 minutes ago, The Natural said:

@Gordberg: Has the new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship grown on you? Do you feel same way about it? What's your favourite version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship?

My answers to all three:

No.

Yes. Really don't like it. It's my least favourite of the five and how it's a championship with a new lineage when the IWGP Heavyweight Championship has the years of history/names who have won it.

Version 4. V3 closely follows. Shame V3 wasn't around as long as V1-V3.

I agree with your first two answers completely. 

I am afraid that I don't generally think about the belts as physical objects enough to really have a particular favourite. 

My all time favourite IWGP champion is definitely Shinya Hashimoto.

Edited by Gordberg
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Spoiler

Meltzer thinks Shingo winning is "probably the right move", somewhat dismissively posits he only won because Okada is too banged up, and laments that we got denied Ospreay vs Okada (who he just noted was super banged up) because it would have been a "friggin classic". I love Dave and could listen to him go on about WWE all day but his totally uncritical love for Ospreay and his unwillingness to accept anybody other than Ospreay, Okada and Ibushi on top of NJPW is a real drag. How can anyone who loves wrestling not be super jacked for Shingo as champ?

Click spoilers above for my venting about Meltzer re: his reaction to Dominion results. content warning: lots of complaining about things that definitely do not matter. 

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21 minutes ago, Belgian_Waffle said:
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Meltzer thinks Shingo winning is "probably the right move", somewhat dismissively posits he only won because Okada is too banged up, and laments that we got denied Ospreay vs Okada (who he just noted was super banged up) because it would have been a "friggin classic". I love Dave and could listen to him go on about WWE all day but his totally uncritical love for Ospreay and his unwillingness to accept anybody other than Ospreay, Okada and Ibushi on top of NJPW is a real drag. How can anyone who loves wrestling not be super jacked for Shingo as champ?

Click spoilers above for my venting about Meltzer re: his reaction to Dominion results. content warning: lots of complaining about things that definitely do not matter. 

I'm with you. Cheers. Ospreay sucks, same for Scurll and I said that before Speaking Out.

Edited by The Natural
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5 hours ago, Belgian_Waffle said:
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Meltzer thinks Shingo winning is "probably the right move", somewhat dismissively posits he only won because Okada is too banged up, and laments that we got denied Ospreay vs Okada (who he just noted was super banged up) because it would have been a "friggin classic". I love Dave and could listen to him go on about WWE all day but his totally uncritical love for Ospreay and his unwillingness to accept anybody other than Ospreay, Okada and Ibushi on top of NJPW is a real drag. How can anyone who loves wrestling not be super jacked for Shingo as champ?

Click spoilers above for my venting about Meltzer re: his reaction to Dominion results. content warning: lots of complaining about things that definitely do not matter. 

I often don't like Dave's opinions, but its not like there is some "must like X" law. Its ok for someone to prefer certain wrestlers over the others. I'm also not sure if it really matters since Ibushi very likely is taking back his title on next big show.

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4 hours ago, Archibald said:

I often don't like Dave's opinions, but its not like there is some "must like X" law. Its ok for someone to prefer certain wrestlers over the others. I'm also not sure if it really matters since Ibushi very likely is taking back his title on next big show.

I hope not. The new title needs stability and not another title change.

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I hope Shingo holds it all summer. No reason not to. There's still a lot of uncertainty with covid in Japan. Shingo has been on a tear in ring since he got to NJPW.

I just ignore Meltzer, he plays favorites in his reviews. The less influence he has over fans, the better. A match doesn't need him sprinkling stars over it to be good. I'm elated Shingo won, it's a breath of fresh air and as I said he is more than deserving/capable. 

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22 minutes ago, Spontaneous said:

I hope Shingo holds it all summer. No reason not to. There's still a lot of uncertainty with covid in Japan. Shingo has been on a tear in ring since he got to NJPW.

I just ignore Meltzer, he plays favorites in his reviews. The less influence he has over fans, the better. A match doesn't need him sprinkling stars over it to be good. I'm elated Shingo won, it's a breath of fresh air and as I said he is more than deserving/capable. 

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I'm also hoping Shingo Takagi holds the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship through the Summer. Be refreshing if Takagi keeps it till Wrestle Kingdom. Have to think Jay White, Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito are the favourites for the G1 Climax. Ibushi won't win three straight yet he lost the contract last year but still got an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match at the Tokyo Dome. Someone had to lose their title shot at some point but there was no consequences for Ibushi, dumb that.

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If they do another double Dome, which I expect they will, they'll need two big main events. The two Wrestle Grand Slam shows are still to be rescheduled, there's still the G1, BOTSJ and WTL.

I doubt it now but I was really hoping if Hiromu finally won the Jr tag titles he'd move to heavyweight. He clearly made the Jr title important enough he was second from the top on 1/5.

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30 minutes ago, Spontaneous said:

If they do another double Dome, which I expect they will, they'll need two big main events. The two Wrestle Grand Slam shows are still to be rescheduled, there's still the G1, BOTSJ and WTL.

I doubt it now but I was really hoping if Hiromu finally won the Jr tag titles he'd move to heavyweight. He clearly made the Jr title important enough he was second from the top on 1/5.

I was hoping for the same thing. I think Hiromu Takahashi will take the time off through injury to bulk up to heavyweight. It's a new thing with IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champions becoming IWGP Heavyweight Champion as seen in Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi and shitty Will Ospreay with the shitty IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

Edited by The Natural
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8 minutes ago, The Natural said:

I was hoping for the same thing. I think Hiromu Takahashi will take the time off through injury to bulk up to heavyweight. It's a new thing with IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champions becoming IWGP Heavyweight Champion as seen in Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi and shitty Will Ospreay with the shitty IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

Hiromu going to the Finals of the G1 would generate a lot of interest. What a shame, covid cost us Naito-Hiromu. At least we got that awesome run to the semi finals of the 2020 NJ Cup he had vs Ishii and Okada.

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Just now, Spontaneous said:

Hiromu going to the Finals of the G1 would generate a lot of interest. What a shame, covid cost us Naito-Hiromu. At least we got that awesome run to the semi finals of the 2020 NJ Cup he had vs Ishii and Okada.

I was really looking forward to Naito/Takahashi at the NJPW Anniversary in March 2020 more than any other IWGP Heavyweight Champion vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion match usually on said show. Damn coronavirus. Time Bomb's had two major injuries, the broken neck in 2018 and the pec tear this year.

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Oh man, Ibushi winning the belt back so soon would undo a lot of the goodwill I’m feeling towards NJPW right now.  Nothing against Ibushi, but that would feel like a step back to the same old, same old to me.

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2 hours ago, Spontaneous said:

If they do another double Dome, which I expect they will, they'll need two big main events. The two Wrestle Grand Slam shows are still to be rescheduled, there's still the G1, BOTSJ and WTL.

I doubt it now but I was really hoping if Hiromu finally won the Jr tag titles he'd move to heavyweight. He clearly made the Jr title important enough he was second from the top on 1/5.

Night 1 main for IWGP title, semi-main for Jr. title. Night 2 main IWGP vs Jr. champ.

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I don't know what to think. Like many of you, I want Shingo to go on a run with this, but feel it likely that the reset button is getting pushed and the belt just goes back to Ibushi. 

On one hand...this still does a little bit to solve the "stratification" problem NJPW had a couple years back where the entire audience knew that there were only 3-4 guys at best who had any chance at all of beating Okada for the title. Shingo winning it at all, even if he doesn't defend it, at least adds some more potential drama to future title matches as he's now in the championship tier (contrast this to somebody like SANADA challenging Okada. Everybody knew there was a 0% chance of a title change at that point). On the other hand, look how well that's been going for Evil lately. 

I feel there's still some intrigue to be had, though. I'd be most interested if Shingo is still champ come the G1. His G1 results have been middling so far, where the IWGP champ usually has a dominant run, just missing out on the finals. Is Shingo Tokyo Dome main event material? What kind of stories could be told if, as champ, Takagi has his usual middle of the pack G1 showing? It probably won't happen, but what if he was the guy to finally win the G1 as champion and calls his shot for January 4? 

Edited by Teflon Turtle
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2 hours ago, Archibald said:

Night 1 main for IWGP title, semi-main for Jr. title. Night 2 main IWGP vs Jr. champ.

They need to start building that now. They actually have the first step, Desperado challenging Ibushi earlier in the year. Seems very unGedo though.

I really hope they use the G1 to reset the roster. Shingo should be the dominant champ but put two guys in the Finals who've never been there. It isn't until the fall so there is time to pivot. Put Desperado, Hiromu, a newly graduated Uemura, Khan, etc. Throw money at Bryan Danielson for a G1 to WK run. Naito and Tanahashi won't physically be there forever. You have a deep roster. Build them up. Let Cobb have some break out run, you just had him take Ibushi to the limit. Jay White holds the secondary title. Sabre and Taichi issued an open challenge for the tag belts. 

Man, fuck covid and the Olympics for making this so screwy.

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