C.S.

I completely forgot to mention that I think being a heel really helps Sabre. I can envision him being a Bret Hart-style babyface down the road, once he gets more experience and seasoning - but for right now, being a heel suits his style more.

AstroBoy assigned me Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tanahashi from NJPW G1 Climax on 07/17/17. He admitted to digging into my posting history, where I've been very vocal about my dislike of Zack Sabre Jr. based on what I saw of him in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic. If this match was given to me with the intention of changing my mind about ZSJ, it mostly succeeded. First, the things I still don't like about ZSJ: His offense still looks way too "light" at times, and he's clearly still very young and green in places. At this point, all he does is wrestle - there's very little in the way of character work, facial expressions, or crowd interactions. With that said, I walked away from the match thinking he's one of the most creative wrestlers I've ever seen. His submission game is masterful to watch. Not everything looked impactful, but when he was bending Tanahashi's fingers, etc., you better believe I was wincing. He's doing things in ways no one else is, and I have to tip my hat to him for that. It's great fun to watch all of the different locks and traps he devises. One particular spot I liked was Sabre turning a Tanahashi legdrop into a submission. With a few more years of experience and seasoning, ZSJ has the potential to become something really special. Some would argue he's already there, and in some ways, that's true. But he's still very young yet and still needs seasoning in certain areas. For example, Tanahashi had an injured arm, which Zack didn't really focus on too much until the end (or least he didn't make that focus obvious to me). Still, I'm glad it at least played a role in the finish. ZSJ removing Tanahashi's arm cast and unwrapping his bandages was a nice touch. I went into this match completely cold, knowing very little about ZSJ outside of what I saw in the CWC, and even less about Tanahashi other than the raves I've read online. I had no idea where this was situated in the G1 Climax, what title Tanahashi was holding, or if ZSJ walked away with said title because he won. None of that really matters though. I was expecting to be blown away by Tanahashi, and...well, I wasn't. The fans seemed quite taken with him, but he came across to me like Terry Taylor wearing a colorful costume. No matter what Taylor wore, he was still going to be one of the least interesting and least charismatic wrestlers on the card (outside of his Taylor Made Man run with Alexandra York and tag team with Greg Valentine - those ruled!). Tanahashi struck me the same way. I don't know if it was a clash of styles, or Tanahashi purposely slowing down and looking weak to sell his injury (or if it was a legit injury), but he didn't really show me much. This was The Zack Sabre Jr. Show all the way, to my surprise. Now that I've said all of that, I'm sure I've opened myself up to being assigned a Tanahashi match in the next round. Everything written above was also posted here: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/38860-hiroshi-tanahashi-vs-zack-sabre-jr-njpw-g1-climax-071717/&do=findComment&comment=5827078 (Note: I purposely avoided reading any of the posts in that thread ahead of time because I didn't want my own initial impressions and opinions influenced in any way.)

In the Match Reviews Trade thread, AstroBoy assigned me Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tanahashi from NJPW G1 Climax on 07/17/17. He admitted to digging into my posting history, where I've been very vocal about my dislike of Zack Sabre Jr. based on what I saw of him in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic. If this match was given to me with the intention of changing my mind about ZSJ, it mostly succeeded. First, the things I still don't like about ZSJ: His offense still looks way too "light" at times, and he's clearly still very young and green in places. At this point, all he does is wrestle - there's very little in the way of character work, facial expressions, or crowd interactions. With that said, I walked away from the match thinking he's one of the most creative wrestlers I've ever seen. His submission game is masterful to watch. Not everything looked impactful, but when he was bending Tanahashi's fingers, etc., you better believe I was wincing. He's doing things in ways no one else is, and I have to tip my hat to him for that. It's great fun to watch all of the different locks and traps he devises. One particular spot I liked was Sabre turning a Tanahashi legdrop into a submission. With a few more years of experience and seasoning, ZSJ has the potential to become something really special. Some would argue he's already there, and in some ways, that's true. But he's still very young yet and still needs seasoning in certain areas. For example, Tanahashi had an injured arm, which Zack didn't really focus on too much until the end (or least he didn't make that focus obvious to me). Still, I'm glad it at least played a role in the finish. ZSJ removing Tanahashi's arm cast and unwrapping his bandages was a nice touch. I went into this match completely cold, knowing very little about ZSJ outside of what I saw in the CWC, and even less about Tanahashi other than the raves I've read online. I had no idea where this was situated in the G1 Climax, what title Tanahashi was holding, or if ZSJ walked away with said title because he won. None of that really matters though. I was expecting to be blown away by Tanahashi, and...well, I wasn't. The fans seemed quite taken with him, but he came across to me like Terry Taylor wearing a colorful costume. No matter what Taylor wore, he was still going to be one of the least interesting and least charismatic wrestlers on the card (outside of his Taylor Made Man run with Alexandra York and tag team with Greg Valentine - those ruled!). Tanahashi struck me the same way. I don't know if it was a clash of styles, or Tanahashi purposely slowing down and looking weak to sell his injury (or if it was a legit injury), but he didn't really show me much. This was The Zack Sabre Jr. Show all the way, to my surprise. Now that I've said all of that, I'm sure I've opened myself up to being assigned a Tanahashi match in the next round. (Note: I purposely avoided reading any of the posts above this one ahead of time because I didn't want my own initial impressions and opinions influenced in any way.)

You asked me this, but Loss beat me to the punch. I'm sure I can think of others too, but the point has been made. It might be, but I'd say Cody and Brandi on the same show gave Jericho a run for his money. I didn't think Ibushi vs. Cody was a great match, but it was a lot of fun because of Brandi and Cody's heeling.

Really?! And you guys accuse Meltzer of being too easy on Japan. Look, the match was fun, very entertaining, and Jericho deserves more of the lion's share of the credit for that with his great heel work. No doubt, he surprised people and exceeded expectations. But calling it the best match of his career is a major stretch IMO. If this same match happened on a WWE PPV or NXT show, no one would be gushing about it nearly as much. I guess Meltz was onto something with his ridiculous "the match is better because it's in Japan" talking point (or whatever the hell he said that one time), because some of you are parroting the exact same sort of thinking. I hesitated even posting this, because I'm not looking to dampen anyone's excitement or shit on a super-fun match - I really enjoyed it too - but the hyperbole on this board can sometimes be excessive. (Another example: I remember everyone acting like the match where Rusev beat Sheamus for the U.S. Title was one of the greatest matches they'd seen in years, when in reality, it was just a fun hoss brawl and nothing more.) Edit: If you meant it was the best match of Omega's career, disregard this entire post, haha - I am not familiar enough with Omega's matches to argue against that.

I watched it last night before bed. While I didn't consider it a great match like some of you, it was a hell of a lot more fun than I thought it would be - and, shockingly, I credit Cody and Brandi Rhodes with that. They've turned into an absolutely awesome heel pairing. The spot where Brandi faked being knocked out, Kota Ibushi being her knight in shining armor, and Cody taking advantage of the situation and laughing with Brandi afterward - incredible! And Cody's bleached blond hair? I hope he never gets rid of it and wish he had done that ten years ago. If he grows a sleazy brown mustache with it, I'll love him for life. Cody in the WWE felt like an incomplete package. Cody cosplaying as an '80s-style NWA Champion in ROH felt like an incomplete package. This Cody, with Brandi by his side, finally feels like a finished product.

Without spoiling the result (I've managed to avoid finding out who won and lost), was Cody vs. Kota Ibushi worth bothering with? It has ZERO buzz compared to Jericho-Omega and the Naito match. Ibushi looked incredible in the CWC and so did all of his opponents. Does that streak stop cold with Cody?

I'm really glad you enjoyed the match. It was one of the first ones I watched on the Network. Just the sheer spectacle of it alone intrigued me, but I wasn't expecting a match nearly as fun and well-worked as this one ended up being. For all of the revisionist history people spew about the "limitations" of wrestlers like Andre and Kamala, they knew their characters backwards and forwards - more than most of the "great workers" today who don't have a prayer of being able to connect with the audience the same way these old masters did.

I'm really glad you enjoyed the match. It was one of the first ones I watched on the Network. Just the sheer spectacle of it alone intrigued me, but I wasn't expecting a match nearly as fun and well-worked as this one ended up being. For all of the revisionist history people spew about the "limitations" of wrestlers like Andre and Kamala, they knew their characters backwards and forwards - more than most of the "great workers" today who don't have a prayer of being able to connect with the audience the same way these old masters did. BTW, I haven't forgotten about the match you assigned me - I'm still very excited to watch it and give it a write-up - I just got sidetracked by Jericho vs. Omega today.

My thoughts on Jericho vs. Omega (I didn't watch the rest of the card): Pros: - Intense match - Told a great story - BLOOD! - Some really creative spots (particularly the aerosol can) Cons: - The commentary by Kevin Kelly and Don Callis was BAD and made me pine for Michael Cole. Their voices had only one volume and tone: LOUD and SCREAMING! - The camera work was atrocious: missed spots, bad angles that exposed how much "air" some moves had, and they somehow made the massive Tokyo Dome look like an ROH bingo hall. - The instant replays felt like glitches instead of replays because there were no graphics indicating a replay. NJPW is decades behind WWE in terms of presentation. - The Omega win was too telegraphed. Jericho taking 80% of the match made it a forgone conclusion. Overall: - A very entertaining WWE-style match (but more intense) that felt like a WWE tryout for Kenny Omega - and I'm betting that's exactly what it'll end up being!

Very cool news! BTW, my guess is that the NJPW tie-in will be retroactively added to the Steam PC version, based on this picture.

I got paired with AstroBoy. We're both off to the races and excited about each other's picks. The Secret Santo? This is brilliant!

Wow, running one for ten years is incredibly impressive! I know how much work goes into them. You might like the feds I'm involved in. Definitely not afraid to be absurd at times. PM me if you're thinking of jumping back into the hobby.

*Raises hand* I've been e-wrestling in some form since the mid-'90s, and other than a couple of breaks for health or real life issues, I've never really stopped. Is this something anyone else still does? Have any of you thought about it in years? I sort of feel like the Last of the Mohicans over here. If anyone is interested, I know a couple of e-feds that are looking for people. I help book one of them and I run a character in the other. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, basically it works like this: There are shows every couple of weeks, and you write roleplays (think of wrestler promos) discussing your match on the next show, who you're feuding with, your storyline, etc. You can also submit angles for the show (i.e. "Attack Wrestler A after his or her match."). It's great fun as long as you don't let your ego get too wrapped up in it and take every loss personally - sometimes there are storyline losses, losses to set up something else down the road, etc. - just like real wrestling. To me, it's an awesome outlet for writing, creativity, making good buddies, you name it. I've known some of the wild and wacky people I've met through the game for over two decades now. Winning titles or booking a show everyone loves is awesome fun, of course, but I stay for the friendships and camaraderie. PM me or reply here if you're interested, and I'll tell you who to contact, etc. Or just post your own e-wrestling memories below... I'm genuinely curious if anyone else still does it or has in years.

Absolutely, and the Express is like $29 and works brilliantly. They are hands-down the leader in the market of streaming devices and I can’t see anyone catching them. Apple TV’s look slicker but still lack the channels, even on the new platform. The Amazon devices are generally always pretty much junk across the board from my experience, though like I said, I do have the Firestick solely for NJPW World. Have had four Rokus, two Apple TV’s, and the Firestick since 2011. Only reason I needed more Rokus was older models getting phased out and buying a house. Do you have the first-gen model of the Fire Stick? How is it with NJPW World? I have a first-gen Fire Stick collecting dust.

I assume the unfortunate part is that the match couldn't be streamed, because I'd take Pete Dunne over Zack Sabre Jr. any day of the week and twice on Sundays. With that said, I wish ZSJ a speedy recovery - being sick is never fun.

Highspots is sounding pretty good. Some questions: 1. How reliable is the Roku app? 2. How much shoot interview and documentary content is there? 3. How often is the selection of matches and other content updated?

Softball season?

I think it's a shame that all of this great Rougeau mob talk is going to end up getting buried in this thread. Is there a way to spin it off into its own thread and migrate the posts over there?

Thanks for the detailed insights, guys. Is this how Jacques Rougeau was able to cleanly defeat Hogan in Montreal?

In Dynamite's book, I remember him excusing away his lack of revenge as not being around because of injuries. Supposedly, Dynamite was planning something during a match that got cancelled or never happened for some reason. Survivor Series maybe?

He's a Rougeau. Mob ties really help financial security too. Not that I think the Rougeau family is tied into the Montreal Mafia. I would never ever say that. (I live within driving distance and don't need a visit from Rock Machine MC.) As the manager of Rougeau's Pizza and Poutine in Montreal, I can assure you that customers flock to this irresistible combination of culinary cuisine and we are in no way a front for illegal mob activity!

I wonder if Patrick Clark got tired of the awkward, limited Velveteen Dream gimmick. He was good in it, but it never, ever felt natural or the best way to use him. It would also die an instant death on the main roster. Not everyone can truly embrace something like that the way Dustin Runnels did with Goldust. Plus, "homosexuality" is still more frowned upon in the black community - from what I understand - so that could have something to do it with too. More troubling is that Clark had a pro-Trump heel gimmick that was apparently very effective but got yanked from him when - surprise surprise - Trump actually became President and Linda McMahon joined his cabinet. All pure speculation on my part, but it's as good a guess as any.

Are we sure those are their real homes on Total Divas though?

This sounds like fun!