W2BTD

Where would you stand on Okada if he used any other finish in the world? I think he does so many little things well, and his selling is far ahead of many of his New Japan contemporaries. I think he blows Naito out of the water, curious to see where you stand here.

One has nothing to do with the other. The point I was trying to make was, 'middle aged guys exchanging holds' is one notch above 'deathmatch' for me in the pantheon of things style wise I can't get into. That's all. No direct comparison or anything.

I watched the Rey Hechicero vs Charles Lucero and hated it. Just not my style of wrestling. I will never be into chubby middle aged guys exchanging holds, it's the quickest way to lose me unless you are talking deathmatch. I'll leave it at that, I just don't like the style, so no point bashing it further. I liked these six man matches you linked much, much more. Even though Black Terry is one of the last wrestlers on the planet I would ever choose to watch, I always enjoy the other five guys from the first match. I couldn't take my eyes off of Negro Casas in that one, and Blue Panther is one of my favorites of all time. Why is Blue Panther wearing his mask?

This is the Big Japan match with the greatest amount of hype. Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Ryuichi Kawakami 6/30 form Korakuen Hall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClwN5RlPABA...ayer_detailpage

I'm glad somebody else has noticed Okada's excellent selling. His selling in the most recent Tanahashi match was fantastic, especially after seeing Naito's awful, awful selling all week long.

You aren't going to like Okada/Ibushi, as it's probably exactly what you think it is in your mind. However, you have surprised me before. I would be very interested in what you think of the Shingo/CIMA title match from Kobe World. could see you loving it or loathing it. There is also a tag match that people are raving about (some gave it 5-stars) that you will absolutely hate (A.Tozawa & BB Hulk vs Ricochet & N.Doi) that was an athletic spectacle and will likely be the DG match of the year. Here is my review of that show if interested: http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2013/07/2...review-results/

Can somebody point me in the direction of this Charles Lucero vs. Rey Hechicero match, please? Thanks.

Not mentioned by rovert as strong support: -Ibushi vs Okada from DDT -PWG TEN -Two very well received ROH shows -Cesaro vs Zayn from NXT -8/1 Dragon Gate & 8/23 Dragon Gate Korakuen Hall shows Of course this is all dependent on your taste in wrestling. G1 was without question the greatest G1 ever and perhaps the best week of wrestling of all time. SummerSlam had two classics and a third match that was very strong. RAW & SD produced some strong TV matches. Also PWG has two days of BOLA that hasn't even happened yet on 30 & 31. Some recent April's, including this years, are worthy of discussion as well now that everybody piggy backs WM. This past WM weekend, when you consider NJPW Invasion was Sunday morning, was pretty incredible.

http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2013/08/2...est-month-ever/ Joe and Rich are back with a brand new Voices of Wrestling podcast talking WWE SummerSlam 2013, why Daniel Bryan wasn’t buried, if August 2013 is the best month in wrestling history, AJ Styles’ contract situation, breaking news about NJPW stars coming stateside and much more! As always check it out, rate, review and subscribe on iTunes and Stitcher. Last but not least, support this show’s sponsor Virtual Sports Network (www.virtualsportsnetwork.com).

"Naito Forgets to Sell Knee, Wins G1" http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2013/08/1...-finals-review/ If you've been reading these things, you know I don't like Naito very much. Anyway, the match was good thanks to incredible drama, off the charts heat, and Tanahashi. Okada/Kojima was the best match, and don't sleep on that six man, because it rocked. Great show. 2, 4, 8, 9 are absolute must see shows. 5 & 7 are for hardcores only. The rest are good but not go-out-of-your-way good.

Nice hyping. I'm sold. Can't wait. I feel like i've been pretty fair in these reviews up to this point, ripping night 5 hard, giving "meh" reviews to nights 3 & 7, etc. I've been handing out lots of 3's when most are doling out the 4's left & right. Rereading my post, it sounds like an oversell, but holy shit was this show good. And a lot of people like the Ishii/Makabe match even better than Tanahashi/Okada.

I'm running out of words for these shows. http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2013/08/1...nother-classic/ "This sounds like a broken record, but another all time show for New Japan. I’ve run out of superlatives to describe what this company is doing. Tanahashi & Okada have surpassed every in ring rivalry ever, with the possible exception of Misawa/Kobashi, in terms of match quality. And all of the matches have taken place over the course of roughly one year. I have no more words for how good these two are together and have no idea how they can ever top this run. This show was amazing. Do whatever it takes to see it." I consider myself a hard marker, and have skewed low on some ratings compared to others throughout this thing, but Okada/Tanahashi was absolute perfection and the second 5-star match they've had this year. If you are into the style, you absolutely can not miss this show under any circumstances. Three to four 4-star matches, and the main event. I'm done with adjectives when it comes to this company. I have no more.

-They added a tag team opener to fill the card after the Goto/Tenzan issues. It was better than it had any right to be, thanks to Honma who is great. I usually hate hate hate anything with Cpt. New Japan but this wasn't bad at all. YOSHI HASHI is such shit, and is getting out of shape to boot. -The Ibushi/Yujiro match was the same match Ibushi has had all tournament when he's in a prelim. It was fine. -Nagata/Anderson was the typical *** G1 match. -Devitt match was the same riot style match he always has. You've been there, done that. Skip unless you love Devitt, or want to see him with the boxing gloves on taunting Shibata. I guess it was interesting seeing Shibata deal with the shenanigans, too. -Okada/Ishii was the best match. Not Ishii's best stuff of the tournament (or Okada's, for that matter), but the best match here and worth watching. -I really liked Tanahashi/Archer. After a great start, Archer cooled off the last few shows. He was back here. Lots of cool new stuff, playing off the idea that Tanahashi couldn't do a lot of his offense against the monster. Fun match. -Suzuki/Shelton. Suzuki worked clean against his stablemate. Post match was something. Suzuki chased away the young boys who were helping Shelton, and demanded he get up on his own. When he finally did, Suzuki stuck a finger in his chest to tell him "you have heart". Then they FIST BUMPED. I loved this moment. -Makabe/Kojima - Slowest pace of the night, but that's not meant to be a knock. Kojima is having one hell of a tournament. For that matter, so is Makabe. Most like this better than Okada/Ishii, I didn't, but it was good. Overall, neck & neck with N2 & N5 for worst show. Nothing essential to see unless your a die hard. On the flip side, everything was really short and you can pound this out in roughly 90 minutes if you're creative.

Sorry guys, I had to take a night off because the lack of sleep was catching up with me and I had important work conferences in the morning. Rich from the site still put together a recap with some gifs, standings, and some english translations. This isn't a show review, so if you are looking for that you'll have to find it elsewhere. I'm watching the show now but I won't be reviewing for the site because it'll be old news by the time I publish it. Anyway, here is Rich's recap: http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2013/08/0...sults-kanagawa/

Night 6 from Sendai: http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2013/08/0...-review-sendai/

The crowd, with the candlestick, in the conservatory: "If you are behind on your G1 viewing, dont worry about this one. Move along, nothing to see here. I liked Davey Boy vs Okada best, but its hardy must see. Look, this thing has been beyond awesome so far. They werent all going to be winners. The crowd was horrendous, which did not help matters, but I can cut some of these guys a break for not killing themselves every single night. Its a hard tour." G1 Night Five, full review here: http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2013/08/0...commits-murder/

"Another amazing show from New Japan. This is shaping up as the greatest G1 in history. Two nights after Korakuen got Best Show of the Year buzz, Osaka tops it with multiple MOTY contenders and a red hot crowd. It’s starting to sound like a broken record, but go out of your way to watch this, particularly the Ishii/Shibata match onward. If you aren’t watching New Japan these days, you are missing out on a special place & time in the history of pro wrestling." Night 4 in Osaka. Amazing show. http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2013/08/0...s-itself-again/

http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/201...t-three-recap/ Weakest of the three nights, with some first half stinkers, but still a good show. Davey Boy Smith Jr is the man. BIG APPEAL.

http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2013/08/0...ana-harrington/ Joe and Rich chat with the foremost expert on wrestling analytics Chris “mookieghana” Harrington (@mookieghana) of IndeedWrestling.com about all things wrestling data. The guys chat with Chris about his upcoming book “Wrestlenomics”, how he got his start in analyzing wrestling data, correlation of internet feedback and PPV buys, WWE Second Quarter reports, WWE Network analysis, listener questions, how you can help him advance the subject and much more!

Hey, thanks mookeighana, I was just coming here to post that.

Night One, with lots of gifs: http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2013/08/0...sults-capsules/

I take a look at how far NOAH has fallen, and how they got there. Plus, a review of the dreadful 7/14 show from Korakuen. Enjoy, and feel free to leave feedback. Thanks. http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2013/07/2...e-71413-review/

Our new columnist, Nich Lichter (ex-SB Nation's "Cageside Seats") takes veiled shots at the latest Masked Man piece. http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2013/07/2...ilityvsreality/

Leilani Kai, who had worked with them in Japan before, suggested them as opponents for her and Judy Martin. Yeah, a lot of the US girls that WWF would use like Kai, Martin, Velvet McIntyre, etc... worked a ton of Japan in the late 70's & 80's. WWF had also brought in the Crush Girls, Dump & Bull the year before. I have no recollection of this. Who did they work?

WWE recently signed northeast indie wrestler Smith James, who is below average in every way and has a look that is the total antithesis of what they generally look for. He's a big blubbery fat dude who looks like an 80's jobber. That's not something I personally typically care about, but it's certainly something WWE does. There is a match floating around against Carlito that is the drizzling shits.