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NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam 2021: MetLife Dome.


The Natural

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On 8/1/2021 at 1:58 PM, Spontaneous said:

Show today was worth watching if you have enjoyed NJPW this year. The send off matches were what you'd expect. Tsuji-Naito was slightly better overall but I liked the finish to Uemura-Okada better. Uemura just not quite there yet, so close. Did it ever get confirmed exactly where they are going on excursion? I've heard both are going to Mexico but I don't follow lucha so I have no clue what the state of the scene is. I presume it'd be CMLL then. 

Yota Tsuji is going to RevPro starting in September:

Awesome!

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Owens and Yano are going to be meeting for the KOPW title in either a Texas Strap match (Owens choice, with touch 4 corners rules) or an I Quit match (Yano's choice). I really hope the I Quit match wins cause while I imagine Yano could think of some fun shenanigans for a touch 4 corners gimmick I really hate those kind of matches and want to see if Yano will follow up his words of showing Owens how serious he can get and see if he goes back to his more violent roots.

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3 hours ago, Horangi said:

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.

Damn. The NJPW World Heavyweight Championship really is cursed.

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18 minutes ago, Archibald said:

Looks like first night is going to have Tanahashi/Ibushi for USA title.

I like that. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi in the G1 Climax 28 Final is one of the best matches of all time, *****. I hope we don't get a third NJPW United States Championship title change in quick succession. I'd like Tana to get the long reign he didn't get as NEVER Openweight Champion wanting him to build the belt up with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship getting retired.

Edited by The Natural
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Here are the announced lineups for both nights: 

NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome night one, Saturday, September 4 --

  • IWGP United States Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
  • Provisional KOPW 2021 No DQ I Quit match: Chase Owens (c) vs. Toru Yano

NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome night two, Sunday, September 5 --

  • IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. EVIL
  • IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Robbie Eagles (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi

If I had to watch one show, 4th September it is for Tanahashi/Ibushi and Okada/Cobb. EVIL sucks. So does SANADA.

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I'm guessing a jr tag title match will be added to one of the nights since they just had the Jr tag league end and didn't announce anything. Could see Sho vs Yoh get added since they won't have anything to do during the G1, might as well do it now unless they are facing off in BOTSJ.

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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.

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Hiromu vs Douki from today's show was fantastic. Go out of your way to see it. A brutal jr match. 

Eagles vs Wato was solid. Wato has moments here and there where he still seems out of place. I did like him clawing at the referee while in Robbie's leg submission. He has improved a lot from one year ago. 

The two new rookies look to be very promising. Excited to see them develop. I love the journey NJPW gives their young lions, it's exciting to watch them from day one. 

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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.

Edited by Horangi
Adding part about young lions
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After testing positive for COVID-19, Shingo Takagi and BUSHI have been medically cleared to appear at NJPW's Wrestle Grand Slam.

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo will return at NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome on Sunday, according to Tokyo Sports. BUSHI's return has been announced for a tag team match on night one on Saturday.  

Shingo and BUSHI were pulled from a Summer Struggle show on August 15 after presenting with fevers. Both would undergo PCR tests. NJPW announced on August 18 that both had tested positive for COVID-19. They missed the rest of the Summer Struggle tour. 

Six wrestlers who were identified as close contacts with Shingo and BUSHI worked the show on August 15, but were then pulled from the remainder of the tour. The six close contacts were Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL, Gedo, Dick Togo and Yujiro Takahashi.

Of those wrestlers, EVIL, Tetsuya Naito and SANADA are all still listed for the Sunday Wrestle Grand Slam show, although no specific announcement has been made regarding their status. 

Here are the lineups for both nights at MetLife Dome: 

NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome night one, Saturday, September 4, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World --

  • IWGP United States Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
  • Provisional KOPW 2021 No DQ, I Quit match: Chase Owens (c) vs. Toru Yano
  • SHO vs. YOH
  • Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask vs. Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI
  • Pre-show: STARDOM exhibition match TBA

NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome night two, Sunday, September 5, 2 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World --

  • IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. EVIL
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Robbie Eagles (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
  • IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (c) vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
  • Pre-show: STARDOM exhibition match TBA
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Wrestle Kingdom 16 announcement:

Spoiler

Wrestle Kingdom 16 keeping the 4th/5th January format at Tokyo Dome and adding the 8th in Yokohama Arena, first time since 2014. NJPW's 50th anniversary year.

 

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

 

  Reveal hidden contents

This. Glad Yano won but his match with Owens went too long, 25+ minutes. It's a criticism I have with NJPW more so this year.

 

Spoiler

The Magnum TY finish made it all worth it. If this had taken place in front of an AEW type of crowd people would've been going crazy for that finish. 

Also remember the length of matches is in part because the company is short handed so to fill out the show matches are longer. Will agree if they shaved 10 minutes off the match it would've been even better but the story of Yano going back to his roots as a brawling heel and that finish still made it a big thumbs up.

 

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On 8/18/2021 at 7:51 AM, The Natural said:

I like that. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi in the G1 Climax 28 Final is one of the best matches of all time, *****. I hope we don't get a third NJPW United States Championship title change in quick succession. I'd like Tana to get the long reign he didn't get as NEVER Openweight Champion wanting him to build the belt up with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship getting retired.

C'mon Hiroshi Tanahashi! Amazing how he's still going as he has. Go Ace!

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On 8/18/2021 at 7:51 AM, The Natural said:

I like that. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi in the G1 Climax 28 Final is one of the best matches of all time, *****. I hope we don't get a third NJPW United States Championship title change in quick succession. I'd like Tana to get the long reign he didn't get as NEVER Openweight Champion wanting him to build the belt up with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship getting retired.

 

Spoiler

Right result with Hiroshi Tanahashi retaining the IWGP United States Championship. I liked the shorter match length as well, 17:47 because NJPW matches tend to overstay their welcome recently. Case in point, Yano/Owens on the same show going 28:03. Great effort from Kota Ibushi in his first match back in two months after aspiration pneumonia.

 

Edited by The Natural
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Spoiler

Can't believe I sat through 28 minutes of Yano/Chase and didn't hate it. Not saying it's a classic but boy I was dreading this one. Popped huge for old blonde heel Yano coming back.

SHO/YOH I enjoyed, but like most criticisms for current NJPW, needed time shaved off.  I'm hoping this House of Torture actually splits from BC at some point because BC is stacked (especially with higher tier juniors). Could also be a good way to fix EVIL.

I thought Ibushi put in a hell of an effort considering the time he missed, and all things considered the match was enjoyable. Glad Tana won, he's a good one to hold the US belt as he's someone the US/AEW audiences will recognise when he goes over to defend.

Need to rematch Cobb/Okada as I had to do some work, but I did catch some spots. I know it gets said a lot but damn Cobb is impressive.

 

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