gordi

NJPW would like to book Bruiser Brody from July 1-28th as a featured participant in the IWGP Climax Tournament. NJPW would like to book Stan Hansen for September 26th through 28th, to fight for the title on September 27th. NJPW would like to book Mil Mascaras and Stan Hansen for November 20th through 25th, for featured bouts on the November 24th Tokyo show. NJPW would like to book Bruiser Brody and Abdullah the Butcher for as much of December 3rd through 23rd as possible, for the build up to the big January 4th show. NJPW would like to book Stan Hansen, Bruiser Brody and Abdullah the Butcher for January 4th, 1986 as attractions for the big card.

NJPW would like to book Andre from July 1-28th as a featured participant in the IWGP Climax Tournament. NJPW would like to book Andre for as much of December 3rd through 23rd as possible, for the build up to the big January 4th show. NJPW would like to book Andre for January 4th, 1986 as an attraction for the big card.

Nice sense of forward momentum with that card: Building to Dusty vs. DiBiase and bringing in a new monster heel. Nice!

You should fail to get the job and write all your stuff from the point of view of an angry, bitter fan who hates everything.

There can be real issues with *how* an opinion is expressed. Adding "in my opinion.." or "maybe..." to a potentially inflammatory opinion can reduce the chance of fire spreading. Just flat out stating a potentially inflammatory opinion as if it were fact can increase the chance of people reacting angrily. Disingenuously and impolitely stating an opinion that you expect to upset people in an effort to get a reaction? That's trolling, and it does happen here sometimes. In such a case, it can sometimes be difficult to stick to discussing the argument being made.

The 49ers t shirt is a really nice touch. Hogan, Savage, and Ivan & Nikita are great champs to go forward with heading into 1985. Having both this show and Starrcade to read recently has been a real treat for me.

http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2015/04/27/muhammad-ali-ric-flair-oral-history-pro-wrestling-north-korea There are quite a few awesome Norton tidbits in that story. Well worth reading.

Really looking forward to reading what happens tomorrow.

It certainly makes for more interesting reading to book your TV this way.

I appreciate you building up hype for the Tag Fest in February. Thanks!

Take care.

To me, the way Christmas and New Year are celebrated in Japan feels like the reverse of the way they're celebrated in Canada. What I mean is, in Japan New Year is when the whole family gathers together and eats a big traditional meal and watches seasonal special TV programs. Christmas is more of a night where it's important for single people to find a date, and go out somewhere nice. When I told Yuka that I really wanted to back to that little steakhouse where we had that meeting with the Inokis, she immediately agreed. She said she wanted to eat her whole steak this time. "You should wear the jacket," she told me. The last time we went there, the owner told me my steaks were on the house (only mine... Maybe it's a thing they do for first-timers, or gaijin, or something) and he brought out three cheap-looking shiny satin jackets with the restaurant's logo on them. One was baby blue with red print, one was black and red, and one the one Yuka chose for me was silver with black lettering. When we arrived, we were surprised to find Mutoh, Chono, Yamada, and a Dojo boy named Asai were already there. After making a big jokey fuss over me wearing the jacket, they and their (crazy hawt) dates made room at the table so that Yuka and I could join them. It was pretty tightly packed, but we stayed there for hours, eating and drinking and talking and laughing. Doriya-mon is busy with some other pressing business over the Holidays, so I had to make do without the Honyaku Konyaku, but I felt like I did OK keeping up,with the jokes and conversation in Japanese. It's amazing what a shared passion can do to help break down the language barrier. I miss the big Turkey dinner we always used to have in Canada, but steak and beer with a bunch of wrestlers was a pretty good Plan B. This week's a little sad for Yuka. Without Doriyamon's help it's going to be impossible for her to spend New Year with her family this year, considering that they are 10 years in the future. I had a couple of lonely Christmases myself when I first came to Japan, so I can maybe kind of relate. Anyway, it looks like I'm her family this year. Knowing that there is at least one future timeline where we have at least one kid together makes things a little intense... but if things are going to get intense with anyone, it might as well be with the woman who is happy to spend Christmas drinking with a bunch of wrestlers.

Come on, JvK, first you flat out say lucha sucks, then you agree with N.L.'s post where he complains about people flat out saying Tanashi sucks... Then you make an ad hominem attack on all lucha fans (thin-skinned), then you accuse GOTNW of making ad hominem attacks... There is a fair amount of cognitive dissonance going on here. It isn't pointless. It's an appeal to you to treat other people (and their opinions) in a manner similar to how you'd like to be treated. So, in a way...it's very Christmassy

Please reconcile those two statements. Here's my guess: When you say "It sucks" about something people like, there is no distinction. When other people do it... it's wrong? He's saying Lucha fans come across as being thin skinned so people feel like they have to tread on egg shells around them. Whereas, for example, you come across as taking criticism with maturity and restraint? ;-)

Please reconcile those two statements. Here's my guess: When you say "It sucks" about something people like, there is no distinction. When other people do it... it's wrong?

That was perfect timing. Kids in bed, some time to myself, fixed a little snack... now, what to do? Read? Listen to some music (with headphones), watch something?... and then, I find this posted here. Perfect. Very well-booked show. I particularly liked how the Battle Royal played out, and how you had two ref bump/foreign object finishes but managed to make each one distinct. Enjoyed the whole show tremendously. Thank you.

New Japan Pro Wrestling is pleased to announce that there is going to be an astounding collection of outside talent coming to our federation in February to participate in our Tag Festival. We hope to demonstrate the depth and richness of the Art of Tag Team Wrestling. The NJPW Tag Festival will take pace February 3rd through 27th, at various arenas throughout Japan. Semi-finals and Finals will be held on the 25th and 27th in Tokyo. The winner of the Tournament will be crowned the first-ever IWGP Tag Team Champions, Confirmed to particpate: From MACW: The Grapplers, The Windhams. From CCW: The Guerreros, The Strongbows, The Super Destroyers. From Lutte Int. The Caribbean Connection, The Samoans, The Sheepherders. From USWA: The Assassins, The Bruise Brothers, The Fort Bragg Brotherhood, The Freebirds. From the WWF: The Hart Foundation, The Islanders, The Killer Bees, The Youngbloods. From the AWA: Can-Am Express, Buzz Sawyer and "Doctor D" Dave Schultz. From Memphis: The Rock and Roll Express, The Bolsheviks. From CMLL: Tony Acre y Vulcano Note: If there appear to be any errors or omissions in the above list, please contact NJPW booker "gordi" by pm, letter, or fax.

Merry Christmas to you, too, and lots of happy wrestling watching in the new year.

With regard to this, I often wonder what people are referring to when they say they've tried getting into lucha. Does it mean they tried following cubsfan's uploads, or watched the matches getting MOTY hype, or does it mean they've tried to watch some of the more famous bouts? For me, it's always meant checking out some of the super-hyped classic bouts, like the '97 Tourneo Cybernetico or less widely hyped bouts that sound like they might float my boast, such as Pirata Morgan vs El Faraon 11/90. Recently, it's always something that I read about on here. Almost every time, I think, "That was good/great/really enjoyable/amazing, I'm glad I watched that..." and then I don't watch another lucha match for at least three weeks. There are always so many things I wanna check out, and my wrestling-watching time is pretty limited these days. I'm very much in the "enjoy wrestling in all it's crazy variety" camp.

"Goldilocks fan" is a really nice turn of phrase. I can respect that even though I (like El-P) tend to prefer pro wrestling at its more extreme edges. I mean, I am a guy who went to almost every big Osaka Pro card - and a TON of tiny Osaka Pro shows at Move On Arena - for three straight years. I love super-stiff styles like 93 All Japan, but I also deeply respect guys who work loose and safe and take care of their opponents. I love crazy death matches, RINGS matwork, BattkeARTS fusion style, super-goofy comedy style, super-fast-paced choreographed mayhem like mid-90s M-Pro, Huge Epic Main Events, matches wrestled in tiny community halls with no ring... As much as anything, it's the crazy variety and wild extremes of this ridiculous form of entertainment that keep me hooked. But I could totally see how someone might prefer it straight-down-the-middle and done just right.

With a guy dressed as a Tiger doing lucha spots. Kinda. Pro-wrestling is ridiculous. It sure is!

You disagree that Karl Gotch was THE major influence on the early practitioners of Shoot Style? That doesn't help your argument. I absolutely agree that the intent was to distance themselves from the fake aspects of wrestling (specifically, Inoki's "Fake" Strong Style), but the UWF was still way closer to pro wrestling in presentation and style than it was to any of the traditional Japanese Martial Arts. So were RINGS, PWFG, and so on. You'd be better off trying to argue that Shoot Style was European Cultural Imperialism, frankly.

Not really. Shoot Style is WAY more rooted in the traditions of Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson (so, Lancashire Catch-as-Catch-Can, Billy Riley's Snake Pit and...classic American Pro Wrestling) than it is in the traditions of Jigoro Kano, Kanga Sakugawa, Morihei Ueshiba, or Masutatsu Oyama.

Exactly lol. ...and for the rest of your lives, you will constantly be wondering "Why is everyone mad at me? I was just politely expressing my opinion in a matte of taste."

But you didn't say it's not for you. You said it sucks. There is a big difference between those two ways of expressing an opinion. Pretty much everyone actually is cool with "it's not for me," and everyone should be. Nobody should be cool with "it sucks" in reference to something that they care about.