Jmare007

That finish made no sense - both took big moves but shrugged them off just to hit their own move - but up until that point I really liked that match. It was really annoying how the crowd refused to give them a chance though.

It's amazing how far people move the goalposts when it comes to New Japan booking

They could come up with an angle/rivalry thing for him to get a title shot in the Fall anyway, but if that was the plan it's weird they didn't do the typical thing of pinning the champ in the G1 to earn a title shot. Or maybe he's actually gonna win the whole thing back to back. I'm all for Gedo no repeating the 2015 story with Naito/Okada, but the WK 12 finish is gonna look as stupid as it did in January if Okada wins the G-1 and the payoff of WK is Naito being out of the title picture for more than a year. White beating Okada was actually expected. Day 1 upsets are almost mandatory in the G-1 (and most puro tournaments) and they are running with the angle that Okada has lost a step after losing the belt and is trying to find his groove again. RE: Naito. It's kind of hard picturing him winning the tournament back to back - specially before today's results - so his best bet to get to the WK 13 main event title match (and make this year's ending worth a damn for him) was winning the belt from Kenny before January. The path for him to get that title shot would've presented itself if he pinned Omega today, as it's become a tradition of sorts for every guy that beats the champ in the G-1 to get an IWGP title match in September/October/November. With him losing, he either has to win the G-1 or they gotta come up with a new reason for him to challenge Kenny before WK. Or hell, maybe Naito becomes the first person to challenge the G-1 winner and actually beat him for the n°1 contendership.

Naito losing today is kind of a shocker.

As WingedEagle said, not as quick as it used to but way better than last weekend.

I wonder what kind of new deals Daniel Bryan will be getting from WWE in the coming weeks. Everything seems to point to him not signing anything yet and we are 2 months away from his current deal expiring.

From what people that have worked on creative say, they come up with ideas for a specific wrestler, or an angle or a feud. But after that it all comes down to Vince and if he's willing to follow a certain direction or just fuck everything up because he changes his mind all the time. They probably had a plan for Almas that was going to take X number of weeks but by the third one, plans changed and they had to go back to the drawing board. With other people still having programs on TV, he just got shoved to a side and spent like a month or more without any TV appearance. I'm not defending creative by the way, I'm just saying that their job is very limited and more often than not is scrapped eventually or significantly changed.

A very simple match. Nakajima is the veteran - his new sleazy look works perfectly with his demeanor - and does not give one single fuck about the Strong BJ young kids, so he takes any chance he gets to beat the fuck out of them. Kitamiya is the enforcer of the team, though he never establishes control like a Nak, he's there to change the pace and do some cool exchanges with Kamitani. As we know, Nomura and Kamitani are not easy to put down so we basically get one of those "4 people stiffing each other for 20 minutes" tag matches. Everyone involved plays their role perfectly so of course the simple formula works like a charm. Korakuen is red hot and behind the Big Japan underdogs to give this a proper atmosphere. The ending sequence was fucking brutal and it served a very clear purpose, loved it.

Tyson Kidd

Tha hell? I guess they are gonna change it to a tag match after the first segment or something?

And to think the IC title started exactly like the current US belt. Once Nakamura won it, the whole status of the title began to change.

I'm only having issues with the main page, it takes forever to load. To the point I'm just going straight to the board (which has no issues at all for me).

Yeah, this was pretty awesome. Juice did a great job as the babyface with his facial expressions, selling and timing for his hope spots. White did a good job too with the cutoffs and pissing the crowd off. Also loved how it only had 1 nearfall (that worked perfectly), and for a 2018 New Japan match, they kept the excess to a minimum and didn't went for a "your turn/my turn" type of match. Really glad I watched this.

I'm surprised Dave talked about the zabuton/pillow throwing thing as a "never seen before" thing when it was a tradition in Sumo. I get not knowing about it when Vader/Mutoh first happened, but still going with it in 2018 is weird. Or at least that was my impression when I heard him in the WOR podcast.

Yup, can't wait to see what's in store for him next.

I knew superkix would love it as much as I did. Nomura is TWENTY FUCKING FOUR YEARS OLD, and he sold out Korakuen Hall in his first title challenge. This is another "Bati Bati meets Strong BJ" type match the young kid has had this year - the other one being the MOTYC against Abe, who is at ring side supporting the prodigy - and what's most impressive is that, in a promotion that has deathmatch wrestling as (at the very least) half of it's main attraction, the crowd KNOWS what match they are gonna get. Every hold might be the finish, and every strike counts. Takuya had a sold out Korakuen going crazy as he, the 22 year old punk, made Hideki Suzuki, the most dominant wrestler the promotion has had in the last two years, look beatable. The ending might be a little underwhelming but I thought it was fucking genius, not gonna spoil it though. Nomura's 2018 is fucking insane, this match doesn't have the work or intensity as the Abe one, but it has the stakes, the story and fucking Korakuen.

Another fantastic D-Bry interview. Talks about his return, how people shouldn't be too hopeful for a Mania match against Miz because of how WWE booking works - I love how he doesn't give a single fuck about this kind of stuff -, the (then) ongoing feud with Cass and how his fans ask for too much sometimes Seems he's still working on his new deal, hopefully they do give him less dates and stop acting like they can overwork him like nothing ever happened.

This was amazing. Harley's selling was a mixed of weird and just plain bad, but Boesch's commentary made it make sense (sorta) so I wasn't too bothered with it, that and the 3 minute of lost footage are the only negatives I can muster about this 40 minute match. Terry was amazing as always, awesome selling, mat work, hope spots and strikes. I agree with shoe, this was a game of human chess. Loved Harley getting pissed in the 2nd fall, rushing into Funk and getting caught for a powerslam to a huge pop, and then just using a desperate headbutt to shut everyone up. Third fall was great drama all around. By the way, Harley spent more time working the head than Funk working the arm.

Unless the feud/match goes past Extreme Rules and into Summerlsam, I see nothing wrong with the Team Hell No reunion. They gotta burn time until August. And tagging with Kane (and specially the anger management skits) is what got Bryan over with everyone - kids, women and casuals - which he wasn't even during his heel WHC run bullying sweet little AJ and the start of the YES thing. It also lead to him feuding with the Shield and figuring out the hot tag that made him the hottest wrestler in the company. I see no revisionist history there, I thought everyone knew this.

Such a talented dude in the ring, no question one of the to ever do it. He had been sick for a long time it seems, rest in peace.

Bryan is the king of Gauntlet matches. He's had 3 so far in WWE with amazing performances and 2 others that were very good too.

Agreed, I just think it's completely random. Sanity costing him the match, just because, and Bryan helping the Usos for a trios match at Extreme Rules would've been cool too. Him and Harper better not try the same shit they were doing before D-Bry retired though, no need for sleeper suplexes and head droppy stuff.

HOLY SHIT RUSEV WON!!!! Can't fucking wait for AJ vs Rusev, I'm so happy right now.

Not sure a filler feud with the Bludgeon Brothers is what's hot in these streets, but that win by Miz was perfect.

I need this fucking match in full. WWE better upload it on youtube or something