Boss Rock

Caught the Chaos 8-man tag from yesterday and the Ishii-SHO interaction was something. I know it's only to fuel the NEVER 6-man match, but man would that be an awesome G1 match if it weren't for Yujiro.

It will definitely be nice to have pretty much the full roster again.

Only real disappointment is no Hiromu. Like seriously, why Yujiro? Even Makabe would've been better. Or give Kojima another shot. Or Dick Togo. I dont expect Ibushi to win as they typically dont do the same winner two years in a row, but Ibushi-Tanahashi would make sense as a final given their tension. Otherwise Okada vs. EVIL seems likely.

I didn't catch all of the show on Saturday so re-watched pretty much the entire thing (except Hardy-Guevara) and honestly I don't think it was a bad show. Not as good as the previous 3 which were all excellent, but not bad either.

From what I'm seeing folks say, neither test for a concussion. So this definitely looks like damage control.

Funny you mention that, Jericho talked about it being similar to FMW-style matches in this SI interview. https://www.si.com/wrestling/2020/09/04/aew-all-out-chris-jericho-orange-cassidy-mimosa-mayhem

I'll eat a bit of crow in admitting that MJF isn't quite main event-ready, but he'll get there in time. And the Wardlow stuff could be interesting (honestly kinda thought they dropped the angle). Don't think it was a bad show and there were some good matches, but definitely their worst (or at least their worst since making TV). Refusing to stop Hardy-Sammy and the J.R. garbage made things even worse.

Mimosa Mayhem was better than I expected but they took a bit too long. Still, happy for OC. I thought #FTR-Page/Omega was very good but the structure was a bit odd with the leg work thrown in near the end. From what I've seen it's been a solid show at least but the Hardy stuff and J.R. being J.R. has definitely hung over this show.

That's where I'm at. The feud just felt rushed and this honestly should've been part 1. Given how well he did in the Cody feud, I don't think it's an issue of him not being ready. I also don't really have any issue with his current gimmick and don't think he really needs to adjust anything. They just rushed a feud that could have had way more juice.

While I agree the build to MJF-Mox has been underwhelming due to the thrown-together nature, I'm not sure what you do with MJF afterwards or how to rebuild momentum with him if he loses. Might be worth just pulling the trigger on him now unless the plan is for Kingston or a major surprise win the battle royale. Rest of the card looks good, but Mimosa Mayhem still feels too WWE-gimmicky for me. I think OC needs the win more but wouldn't be surprised by a Jericho victory.

I thought this episode of Dynamite was pretty solid, although as a go-home for a ppv it could have been a lot better.

Naito's definitely past his prime but I don't think he's completely shot either. I think a lot of it was on EVIL and too many BC shenanigans. The G1 will be the real test though.

I knew he had been sick but 26 is way too young. RIP.

Yeah I liked this one more as it was shorter and got to the point quicker. The BC shenanigans are beyond stale though and are a great misuse of Togo. Put him in the G1 and let him wrestle.

I remember reading 30% capacity somewhere, but it seems like at least as recent as two weeks ago capacity for spectator events was being kept at 5,000. https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/08/ebdfbed2164c-breaking-news-tokyo-reports-389-new-cases-of-novel-coronavirus.html

Really liked the show, almost felt like a "return to form" after a disappointing return. And although I wish the circumstances were better, I really like that they kept this show under 3 hours. They don't need to do so many undercard tags nor do the main events need to go 30+ every time. I also agree that Naito was always going to win it back. For at least the past few years, heel Heavyweight champions usually get just one or two title defenses before dropping it to a face. And faces almost always go over in the main event at big shows like these. Looks like the Golden Aces are done with the tag titles, but it's so nice to see how good the tag division can be without G.O.D. having a stranglehold on it.

Honestly, the only match I don't care for is Okada-Yujiro as Yujiro sucks and there's bound to be BC shenanigans regardless. SHO-SANADA will probably have a repeat of their NJ Cup match which should be fun. Kojima-Desperado could be fun if there are no finishers allowed. Could make for a more interesting finish. And Yano-BUSHI should be high comedy.

I like that these guys are given something to do and that SHO and Desperado are getting opportunities. The whole KOPW thing is still whatever to me, but I'm not against more singles matches.

Caught some of the NEVER tournament and there were a lot of fun matches, the Goto, Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI vs. Ibushi, Tanahashi, Wato match and the final in particular standing out. Great moment for YOSHI-HASHI. I watched a little bit of the U.S. #1 contender tourney and Fredericks-KENTA was an awesome sprint. Further proof that Fredericks is gonna be a big deal for them. King-Tonga was also pretty fun. King is a beast and Tonga looked better than he has in years.

Apart from the middle dragging a bit, I think this is a super underrated chapter in their rivalry if admittedly their "worst" championship match together. The desperation in Misawa's offense and elbows is off the charts and Kobashi's onslaught is excellent. I also love how Misawa can only get his foot on the rope to survive, proving that Kobashi is getting closer to besting him. The ending is also a great bit of "Chekov's gun" with Kobashi hurting his injured knee that Misawa targeted earlier on. ****3/4

https://www.njpw1972.com/77731 This looks interesting.

I think it could be argued that the death of Dusty is when things first started to turn south. This is evident with 2016 having no real stories or feuds beyond #DIY-Revival and everything else being "dream matches". But when folks like Nakamura, Asuka, and Joe got called up they found their footing again with an emphasis on stories and characters (break-up of #DIY, formation of Undisputed Era, Andrade teaming up with Zelina, etc). So while Dusty's death definitely impacted the product, NXT was able to rebuild and regroup. I think the true beginning of the end was 2018 and the Gargano-Ciampa feud in particular. This correlates with Shawn's arrival as a trainer and an increased focus on epic, melodramatic matches. Call-ups also became more and more sparse meaning guys like Ciampa, Gargano, and Aleister were stuck way past their expiration dates. Not sure if that has to do with Vince's reluctance for call-ups, Triple H's insistence on NXT being its own brand, or both. For a brief period last year it looked like they had somewhat righted the ship with Gargano finally getting his moment at Takeover: New York. But a lack of call-ups meant that Gargano, Undisputed Era, and Ciampa were still stuck and Shawn's influence began to permeate the house style more and more.

Not surprising, but that's still pretty big news.

I remember thinking Kawato had all the potential in the world and sort of saw him as the next ace of the Junior division. Kinda disappointing how things are now. Fredericks is also pretty clearly poised for great things. Although I wonder if he gets a babyface run rather than be the next in line to lead Bullet Club.

The finish is probably the only reason I have the '97 Kobashi-Misawa match over the '98 one. '97 just has a much more definitive ending while the '98 match feels just a smidgen too abrupt. Both are in my top 3 though.