Wrestle Kingdom 8

[rovert]

You made three Twitter accounts just this week solely trying to get my attention with me ignoring you there you've now you are using this place...

 

For example:

https://twitter.com/HenryWill10

https://twitter.com/GeneRed1

 

What a thread.

[dknick]

I am a big New Japan fan and have seen almost every match that has aired over the past 4-5 years. I have to say every year I tend to like the Dome show less and less (except for many of the entrances) every year. I was somewhat sour on last years show overall and feel the same about this years. I am sure I am in the minority of NJPW diehards, but I like the 12/21 and 12/23 shows so much better. NJPW at Korakuen is great. NJPW at the Dome - ehh.

[pantherwagner]

I remember the good old days of wrestling message boarding, when the Europeans were only distinguishable by paragraphs of TL;DR nonsense about PAL and NTSC.

And then Jerome would chime in about SECAM.

 

It was odd how back in the 90s I was able to trade tapes with Australians and Kiwis but not the French until PAL/SECAM VCR's were the norm.

 

When I bought my first tapes in 1998 I already had an NTSC compatible VCR. But I can't seem to convert my tapes onto DVD though, which sucks, although it would take a ridiculous amount of time I wouldn't be ready to spent these days I believe.

 

This has got nothing to do with the thread, but I was very lucky that as a teenager I was in a Barcelona tape trading circle. One of the members was an elderly man who befriended a guy in his mid 40s that was very well paid (he was the military police head security officer for the Mallorca airport) so he spent stupid amounts of money importing NTSC tapes and making free copies for us in Barcelona. This was in 1994 or 1995 when that equipment would cost something like 10.000 EUR in today's money adjusted for inflation. NTSC compatible VCR's back then were something like 2.000 EUR which we could have afforded but there was no way they were going to buy that so I could watch more wrestling.

 

My first NTSC compatible VCR was bought in either 1997 or 1998 when I had enough money from my part time job, I paid around 480 euro as it wasn't yet obsolete technology. And even so, I could watch NTSC videos, but I could not duplicate them so I could not trade them.

 

I can convert my tapes but it's a pain in the ass to do it. Eventually I found that it was easier and cheaper to buy DVD's off some people and in many cases those guys had better video quality than my 3rd or 4th gen copies. I only converted those things that I had that were unique and threw away maybe 95% of my collection (mostly bootlegs) sometime in the mid 00's as there was no market in Spain for anybody to buy them.

[JazeUSA]

Devitt's won the super jrs twice, does everyone really hate his work that much?

[W2BTD]

Devitt's won the super jrs twice, does everyone really hate his work that much?

No.

 

While I understand the critiques by the majority here, in many other circles people really like his work.

[goodhelmet]

What do they like about him... Not his interviews or business plan or whatever Rovert was talking about.. What do they like about his wrestling?

[rovert]

Goodhelmet don't pretend you are unclear about what I said when I broke it down in detail the ways he is respected and by whom.

[W2BTD]

What do they like about him... Not his interviews or business plan or whatever Rovert was talking about.. What do they like about his wrestling?

He works an exciting, fast paced, athletic style. He fits nicely into the evolution of the Japanese style of junior worker. He's a good flyer and has great matches if you're into the style.

 

Not sure if you are goading rovert here or if you're being genuine.

[Jimmy Redman]

Goodhelmet don't pretend you are unclear about what I said when I broke it down in detail the ways he is respected and by whom.

I think he's asking a genuine question. If you don't want to take a swing at it, someone else might. Explain Devitt the in-ring worker.

 

We just went through this same shit with Tanahashi and Angle. Curious minds want to know.

 

I mean to me personally, like I said pages ago, to me he's a really fake, play-acting wrestler. I want to know what makes him stand out compared to even other Juniors in puro.

[rovert]

Goodhelmet don't pretend you are unclear about what I said when I broke it down in detail the ways he is respected and by whom.

I think he's asking a genuine question. If you don't want to take a swing at it, someone else might. Explain Devitt the in-ring worker.

 

Why would I do that when all he has done is be difficult for whatever reason about my fairly basic point about Devitt's general standing in the industry? It doesn't really inspire me to go further the topic than I already have when something that is widely known or acknowledged is meant with such resistance or as W2BTD said goading.

[Jimmy Redman]

Because there are other people in the room? Because we're here to talk about wrestling stuff?

[rovert]

Because there are other people in the room? Because we're here to talk about wrestling stuff?

Devitt was always going to be a hard sell on this forum. With goodhelmet seeming spoiling for a fight about it or whatever I feel it would be an even more waste of time.

 

W2BTD's last post is ultimately a good summation of him in terms of in ring.

 

In terms of why he is very respected here is something from the latest Observer and the reason his match was "off" compared his previous matches with Ibushi:

 

Devitt was really sick with the flu the day before, shaking and throwing up. He was feeling a little better the day of the show, but not himself, and people were really impressed he went out there and had the match he did, as one of four straight **** or better matches that closed out the show.

He looked very gaunt without the body paint on him the show the day after the Tokyo Dome. I don't agreed with Dave's rating it was more in the ***1/4-1/2 range for me.

[goodhelmet]

Goodhelmet don't pretend you are unclear about what I said when I broke it down in detail the ways he is respected and by whom.

I think he's asking a genuine question. If you don't want to take a swing at it, someone else might. Explain Devitt the in-ring worker.

 

Why would I do that when all he has done is be difficult for whatever reason about my fairly basic point about Devitt's general standing in the industry? It doesn't really inspire me to go further the topic than I already have when something that is widely known or acknowledged is meant with such resistance or as W2BTD said goading.

 

I don't give a shit about his standing in the industry. Like Tanahashi and Angle before him, I am concerned about his in-ring style because it is his in-ring performance that is being criticized in this thread. I am trying to establish if you are a fan of his in-ring style and WHY and if not, is his appeal simply hometown hero and internet savant? You can call it goading... I call it asking a question to a specific poster looking for a specific answer. When you refused to explain why you like him as a wrestler, I opened it up in the microscope. The whole intent was to move the Devitt hate away from this thread and into the microscope where his in ring merits could be discussed. We had Tanahashi and Angle (who are considered contentious on this board) posts created and people had no problem detailing the positives. So when Loss came to your defense, you are admitting you are not a fan of Devitt's in-ring style?

[NintendoLogic]

When did rovert ever say that he personally was a fan of Devitt in any capacity?

[Loss]

When did rovert ever say that he personally was a fan of Devitt in any capacity?

Exactly. He never did. He was only responding to this ridiculous post. Nothing more.

 

Most of the European fans suck Devitt's dick so hard just because he is Irish and likes to mess around on twitter.

That got turned into him defending Prince Devitt as a worker, which was never his intent.

[goodhelmet]

Exactly, and my intent was to focus on Devitt the worker, not the dick sucking bullshit that derailed this thread. People have no problem saying they're not a fan of the guy's work and explaining why. I am asking Rovert if he is a fan of Devitt's work. If so, what does he like about his in ring performance? That is a question he has refused to answer directly and has never said either way if he is a fan. I am guessing by his huge sig on the Observer board he is but sigs mean difference things to different people.

[dknick]

Exactly, and my intent was to focus on Devitt the worker, not the dick sucking bullshit that derailed this thread. People have no problem saying they're not a fan of the guy's work and explaining why. I am asking Rovert if he is a fan of Devitt's work. If so, what does he like about his in ring performance? That is a question he has refused to answer directly and has never said either way if he is a fan. I am guessing by his huge sig on the Observer board he is but sigs mean difference things to different people.

I am not a huge fan but will give answering your question a try. The current Japan jr style focuses heavily on high spots, quick transitions and presenting wrestling as something exciting. I get that style isn't a favorite of lots of people. And while I enjoy it, there are lots of other genres I enjoy more. But for that style, Devitt is one of the best. His execution, smoothness and timing are all excellent. In working that type of match, there are none better in NJPW. If you want to criticize the pace, the lack of long term selling of high spots or overly quick transitions, I am with you. But for that style of match there are few better. And he obviously is viewed that way by his promotion who have pushed him on top for 4+ years now.

 

While I have grown tired of the Bullet Club, I also though the execution of his turn was fantastic. And the first few months of the Bullet Club were such a nice change of pace, even if the act has grown somewhat stale.

[RyanClingman]

I am a big New Japan fan and have seen almost every match that has aired over the past 4-5 years. I have to say every year I tend to like the Dome show less and less (except for many of the entrances) every year. I was somewhat sour on last years show overall and feel the same about this years. I am sure I am in the minority of NJPW diehards, but I like the 12/21 and 12/23 shows so much better. NJPW at Korakuen is great. NJPW at the Dome - ehh.

Dean, I understand where you are coming from in terms of the Dome shows and have heard your thoughts on the 2013 show before, but could you please explain what you saw in the 12/21 show in particular. I personally found that show, with the exception of the main event, pretty bad when comparing it to major NJPW iPPVs and even other Korakuen shows over the past year. I know that you liked the Honma match, but what else was there for you? I felt that the Tanahashi/HASHI, Makabe tag and Nakamura/New Japan matches were all pretty bad. Naito/Gedo I also found really disappointing. I can see more of a case for the 12/23 show, considering that the main event, opener and Ishii tag were really good.

[dknick]

I am a big New Japan fan and have seen almost every match that has aired over the past 4-5 years. I have to say every year I tend to like the Dome show less and less (except for many of the entrances) every year. I was somewhat sour on last years show overall and feel the same about this years. I am sure I am in the minority of NJPW diehards, but I like the 12/21 and 12/23 shows so much better. NJPW at Korakuen is great. NJPW at the Dome - ehh.

Dean, I understand where you are coming from in terms of the Dome shows and have heard your thoughts on the 2013 show before, but could you please explain what you saw in the 12/21 show in particular. I personally found that show, with the exception of the main event, pretty bad when comparing it to major NJPW iPPVs and even other Korakuen shows over the past year. I know that you liked the Honma match, but what else was there for you? I felt that the Tanahashi/HASHI, Makabe tag and Nakamura/New Japan matches were all pretty bad. Naito/Gedo I also found really disappointing. I can see more of a case for the 12/23 show, considering that the main event, opener and Ishii tag were really good.

 

While I love the pageantry of the Dome, I just think shows in Korakuen are just more fun. While I would agree that the actual in ring on the Dome was better, I would much rather watch two and a half hours of fresh match ups at Korakuen then nearly six hours of the Dome. And I love anything that Gedo does! Should probably spice up that last statement w a few f bombs in tribute to Gedo.

[RyanClingman]

I am a big New Japan fan and have seen almost every match that has aired over the past 4-5 years. I have to say every year I tend to like the Dome show less and less (except for many of the entrances) every year. I was somewhat sour on last years show overall and feel the same about this years. I am sure I am in the minority of NJPW diehards, but I like the 12/21 and 12/23 shows so much better. NJPW at Korakuen is great. NJPW at the Dome - ehh.

Dean, I understand where you are coming from in terms of the Dome shows and have heard your thoughts on the 2013 show before, but could you please explain what you saw in the 12/21 show in particular. I personally found that show, with the exception of the main event, pretty bad when comparing it to major NJPW iPPVs and even other Korakuen shows over the past year. I know that you liked the Honma match, but what else was there for you? I felt that the Tanahashi/HASHI, Makabe tag and Nakamura/New Japan matches were all pretty bad. Naito/Gedo I also found really disappointing. I can see more of a case for the 12/23 show, considering that the main event, opener and Ishii tag were really good.

 

While I love the pageantry of the Dome, I just think shows in Korakuen are just more fun. While I would agree that the actual in ring on the Dome was better, I would much rather watch two and a half hours of fresh match ups at Korakuen then nearly six hours of the Dome. And I love anything that Gedo does! Should probably spice up that last statement w a few f bombs in tribute to Gedo.

 

Thank makes sense - the Korakuen shows are generally easy viewing.