El-P

Hum...not exactly. "he wants to get more wrestlers with a relationship WWE involved in New Japan. He says he's going to do that until "the other side" says: "Let's get along."" So basically, he wants to be able to get guys like Jericho, from WWE fame, working in NJPW. So yeah, that "article" title is bullshit. Gotta get those clicks, man.

This. Whenever I feel "obligated" to watch something, be it because of hype or taking part to a discussion, it totally spoils the fun for me. It has to come from within and the idea of enjoying what you're doing/watching. Of course, this is the right way to approach this project for me, whenever I'll feel like watching/pimping stuff because it's fun to do so, then it will a good time to do it. But forcing yourself is only gonna get you burned out and be bitter about stuff because you can't watch/talk about everything (which I guess is also partly why some people got a negative outcome out of the GWE poll I guess).

I signed up. May push some nominations. Not sure how much I'll contribute in the end, kinda like Matt & Gordi.

Expectations are a bitch. I watched the event in three days. That probably helps not getting burned out. But despite knowing most of the results, I totally was drawn into Naito vs Okada, to the point where the result didn't bother me. It was just great pro-wrestling from the intros to the post-match. So, is Omega the guy to dethrone Okada before any native can ? Kinda like Steve Williams beat Misawa for the TC before Kawada or Kobashi could ?

The fact people are ignoring Omega all together to concentrate on Jericho speaks loudly of how great his (I mean Omega's) performance actually is. Also, I find it quite funny nobody mentions Jericho loudly calling spots on the corner, something he was regularly blasted for in WWE. Don't get me wrong, I think it's one of Jericho's best match (especially considering he's 47), but ignoring the Omega part of it is quite short-sighted. Tanahashi's really banged up and had a dull-ass opponent. All things considered, he made the best out of what he had to work with. Good point on Goto & Cody. And really, that main event, seriously... I totally see this as a classic.

Okada vs Naito What the fuck. All-time classic Tokyo Dome bombfest. At the very end, you can just listen to the heat go up, up, up, you don't even need to watch the match. And while watching the match after being spoiled (my own lazyness), and despite me being a Naito fan, I can live with that decision because at least it's not "your turn" predictable and the idea of building a living legend is quite a bet. So there. Yeah. 9 stars and 2/3. Watching great pro-wrestling as it happens after being a fan for almost 30 years is pretty sweet. Maybe I should go to Japan watch a Dome Show or a G1 final once before it's too late... Anyway. When you consider a 5 hours + show, it was pretty fucking great, and I don't say that often. Nothing *bad*, only one kinda boring match (thanks Jay White) and one fun clusterfuck on the weaker side; two MOTYC (you could argue Suzuki vs Goto was one too), a molten crowd. And since I watched the TV Asahi broadcast, I didn't get to hear the english speaking announcers blabbing about, I guess, star ratings and shit. Yeah, great way to start the pro-wrestling year.

Wow, that's actually spot-on ! Except Vamp has a much better naturally creepy look because of the crazy tatoos, but yeah, that's exactly it otherwise.

There's nothing that says badass less than fake-ass attitude + random collection of clean executed spots from every current pro-wrestler, along with awful emo/fluokid hairdu. He's like a vaporwave worker. Kenny Omega vs Chris Jericho - I kinda wish I had watched this before the crazy hype. That being said : MOTYC. I have no problem putting this along Jericho's best matches ever, especially impressive for a 47 years old guy. Seriously, remember Ric Flair or Randy Savage at 47 ? Jericho has had a fascinating and fantastic career when you think about it, from Bore-us Malenko 20 years ago to semi-main event of the biggest NJ Dome Show event in forever and having one of his best matches there. The Lionheart throwback spots were cool as hell. That being said, I feel Omega's performance is being slept on here. He made Jericho's offense look better than ever thanks to his fantastic bumping and selling, without putting on the Omega show (like say, a guy like Michaels or Flair would have done). He worked to the strenghts of the match and his opponent without compromising his own style or working at half-speed. Yeah, it took me some time, but at this point, I'm on the Omega bandwagon. Anyway, super fun match, way better than it had the right to be when you think about the borefest Jericho worked in WWE with Owens last year.

Thanks for the infos. Yeah, that's what I understood about Brandi, but I think it's pretty funny to have Cody & Brandi Rhodes together, wink wink. Tanahashi vs Jay White was the first kinda boring match of the show. Tana is banged up, it kinda shows. I have no idea what to think of White. He looks like random ROH guy N°X to me. He does a bunch of stuff you've seen other do just as well if not better, he showcases exactly zero personality, he's looking like an uglier version of HHH circa 1998. He's competent but overdoes dangerous spots for no reasons (see random ROH worker N°X point). There's no reason such a guy should get a win over Tanahashi of all people at the Dome for his first match back (and no, you can't compare everything with WWE, it's a different culture, you don't beat an Ace like that). It was a decent but kinda faceless match, although Tana is always fun to watch. Those slaps. Cool finish too.

Holy shit. Crazy. The HHH/Boromir doesn't work for me. On the other hand :

Does Great Match Theory applies ?

Ok, screw cherry picking, as it may be the only NJ show I watch all year. Roppongi 3K vs Young Bucks - Can anyone enlight me on Roppongi 3K ? Anyway, this was an excellent opener. When the Bucks want to work classic heel and less meta-bullshit, they are fucking good. Did Nick (actually Matt) hurt himself on that tope or was he selling his back masterfully ? The Gauntlet match had its moments, especially at the beginning with War Machine, whom I only saw once or twice before. Love those guys. The Fuyuki-gun team was kinda atrocious though. I guess Juice still competes in "worst look possible" contest or something, not a fan of his gimmicky punch sequence either. Ishii still looks godlike. The tongan guys are kinda good, I wonder if WWE would pair them up against the Usos. Decent stuff overall. CODY vs Ibushi - When did Cody get a personnality transplant ? I never saw shit in him before, and here he is, sporting a Dustin hairdu, with his hot-as-fuck valet/wife, playing old-school bastard heel-with-workrate, looking stylish doing so. Of course Ibushi still looks like one of the best worker in the world, which can only help, but Cody was tons of fun here and the use of Brandi (got a big kick at her being called Rhodes, nice fuck-you to the WWE) was excellent, as the heel valet stuff is kind of a lost art these days. Really liked this a lot. Kudos to Cody for "finding himself" ( ). Lance Archer & BDS Jr. vs EVIL & Sanada - Wow, it's odd to switch from Lance Hoyt in 2008 to Lance Archer in 2017. Guy looks good and seems to have improved quite a bit. Yeah, DBS really looks like his dad sometimes. Two big gaijins mofos beating up people, having the Ingobernables working from underneath, that works with me. Tons of bomb throwing. Very good match. Suzuki vs Goto - I like all those changes of paces and style a lot, it makes the show flow really well. Holy fuck, stiffness, psychology and drama. Loved the hell out of this. Suzuki is truly a special kind of worker in the big match context. Super fun match again. Making me care about Goto is a feat too. The four way junior match was fun in a complete clusterfucky way. Scurl's entrance was boss, but his antics scream a little bit heeling-cosplay to me. Hiromu's airbrush pants are wonderful, as is pretty much everything he does. The story is Ospreay I guess. Kinda fun because of everything he can do physically, but he overdoes everything and really isn't much more than a crazy spot worker. He's like RVD mixed with Lance Storm circa 96. He looks like a douchebag too. Fun, but if I'm honest, probably the worst match thus far. Super fun show until that point.

What a bunch of cool dudes. Kana !!! Damn Gordi. You're one degree removed from Stephy.

She's quite fun on those Legends of Extreme reunion shoots too. She actually mentionned during one of those that being a mom is basically all that she ever wanted to begin with.

I'll be plenty happy with what I have watched until now. All of the US stuff I have loved and made fun of, lots of Japanese classics from four different decades, Lucha Underground & ARSION. Yeah, in a heartbeat. After a while, you get happy just revisiting your classics, so n°2 is a rather easy choice. At some point, trying to watch everything new that happens is just mass consumption and gavage for the sake of it (not to mention will end up failing anyway, for obvious reasons), especially if you only watch stuff once. It's like those people who have already "listened" to 10.000 albums at 22 years old and have rated them to boot. It's ridiculous. So there.

I'll watch the last two matches. Cherry picking is the law. (and there is way too fucking titles in NJ already)

What I'd like : Rusev & Asuka (or Sane) What will happen : Roman & Jaxx (the ultimate troll)

With all the previous talk, I rewatch that interview (which is great BTW) in a whole new different light. With his kinda husky voice and self-confidence, Ray sounds like a regular goodfella here. "You think I'm funny Dyno ? How am I funny ? Is it the way I talk, is it my French accent ? Is that funny ? What is so funny about me ?"

Thank Bruce and Conrad sooooo much for pointing out how fucking stupid it is to clean up the announcers table from the monitors and whatnot before dropping someone on it, because you're supposed to HURT the guy. I hated this shit for the very first time I saw it, it's one of the oldest, most infuriating, idiotic WWEism there is.

Bomb fest for the ages. Yeah, the same kinda match as AJ vs Cena at the Rumble (which I loved) was, only better. Not the absolute masterpiece their last year's G1 match was, but holy shit nonetheless. But don't do that again. MOTYC.

Ok, so, seriously now. Finally watched those G1 finals and a few other hyped matches. Okay. Okada-Omega-Naito. In whichever order suits you.

Resolutions : Zero Hopes : Zero (Samuel Beckett)

For fuck's sake. I haven't watched any NJPW since the Dome show, but these G1 finals are ridiculous. Glad to see Naito is still the greatest big match worker in 2017. And Tanahashi, as banged up as he is, working such a great match is mind-blowing too. Sometime, I guess you just have to believe the hype. MOTYC.

Ok, I'm sold. Another great match, another MOTYC, Omega really has come a long way since his overactive junior days. Great story, great selling, great spot progression (mostly, although I didn't like the piling up of neck spots after the huge reverse hurricanrana outside, this spot was enough to warrant a great nearfall), great execution (yes, it does matter), great drama. I love to be proven wrong in these matters.

The Starrcade series leading up to the infamous 97 edition was something else. Schiavone's show won me over once again. The clusterfuck that was Hogan vs Sting at 97 is still fascinating to this day, especially with the 2017 commentary. WCW, still miss ya...