peachchaos Posted January 29, 2014 Report Share Posted January 29, 2014 It certainly did not feel like Bret was the champion in '95. Hakushi was a flash-in-the-pan; Tajiri was a marginal success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FedEx227 Posted January 29, 2014 Report Share Posted January 29, 2014 I saw Hakushi as more of a 2 to 3 month special attraction but I can certainly see the argument both ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollinger. Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Just some nonsense fantasy booking, especially after this week, but you could build to something pretty unique at Wrestlemania. Restart a little Paul Heyman/CM Punk thing for a couple weeks, then have Paul run him down as a hack, stealing all of his stuff from a Japanese star who made it on his own, while Punk to borrow someone elses schtick to get to where he is. Could even play it as Paul was the one who turned Punk on this Japanese star, and now that Punk has pissed him off, Kenta wants revenge, and Paul is facilitating that. The kind of booking WWE would never do, but it would make for a cool spectacle at Mania, and if you're going to get a dude like that over, that's the crowd to do it in front of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollinger. Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 That was mostly gibberish, reading it back, but I think you know what I meant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingears Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Yoshi Tatsu actually got a nice push in ECW before it was replaced by NXT. What happened to him afterwards is another story. You don't win a pre-Wrestlemania battle royal by accident. Wasn't there something with Japanese press covering the weekend's event because of Inoki's HOF induction that facilitated this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jushin muta liger Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Didn't Takeshi Morishima & Go Shiozaki have tryout dark matches in the past with WWE also? What was the response by the way they worked? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvd356 Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Wow I've been waiting years for them to bring in KENTA. He's been one of my favorites for the past decade or so, ever since I got into Puro. Of course he would have to tone down the stiffness but he has the tools to impress a crowd and get a following just based on his ring work. First of all the Go 2 Sleep is back open as a finisher but honestlt I think his Flying Stomps would get over in just a few weeks. Especially the one where the opponent is laying on the ropes kinda like a 619 position. But ya definitely don't want him as a joke guy like Taka, Funalo and Tajiri became. He needs a good hype man like Heyman also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steenalized Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 For whatever reason, the WWE hates using managers to talk for their guys who can't. That puts someone like KENTA at a real disadvantage if he did make the jump. Plus, he's Japanese, and I have a hard time thinking they'd sway from their illustrious record there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Source: PWInsider Pro Wrestling Noah star KENTA has blogged about why he was at the WWE Performance Center this week. Here is a translation from Japanese to English from yottsumepuroresu.blogspot.jp: "I am sorry for having you all confused over the various information about my visit in the US. As a matter of fact, I am in the States and enjoying the WWE training. But as for now, it's not about getting a tryout or a contract. It is indeed true that I have always been yearning for a spot in WWE, and I've always wanted to give it a try sometime. After all, you only live once. "I should have given it a try." "I should have chosen another way." I've had those regrets when I was in my middle and high school, and even after I got in to this business. I just did not want to regret later about something I haven't tried, so I used my time off to participate in the WWE workout. The executives were at the workout, so perhaps I may have left a mark. The place is full of competition and hungry guys. It's not as simple as being good at Puroresu or having strength. There are so many guys with monster physique and guys who are way athletically superior to me. And even they don't get into the big league. That's how tough this place could be. I can easily imagine that surviving in this environment could be severe. And spending a few days in that environment became a really good experience for me. I'm sorry to have caused the confusion, but one thing I can say for sure is that "I'm glad I came". I would like to work even harder making use of this experience. And lastly, I would like to thank [NOAH] President [Akira] Taue for letting me take this chance." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cox Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 In other words, they didn't offer him a contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeCampbell Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Didn't Takeshi Morishima & Go Shiozaki have tryout dark matches in the past with WWE also? What was the response by the way they worked? I'm not sure about Shiozaki, but Morishima got buried by Michael Hayes because of all the Terry Gordy comparisions people like to make, and Vince didn't think he was marketable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidebottom Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 KENTA is a great talent, but a good fit for the WWE? I don't know. We'll see if it materialises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheGreatPuma Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Such a KENTA mark I am and that interview makes it even stronger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Rob Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Yeah fair play, that's a pretty humble interview from KENTA. I'm surprised that they haven't picked up a Japanese guy lately, they always seemed to like having one on the books most of the time, and whilst they still have Tatsu he doesn't make TV, even NXT, any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jushin muta liger Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Didn't Takeshi Morishima & Go Shiozaki have tryout dark matches in the past with WWE also? What was the response by the way they worked? I'm not sure about Shiozaki, but Morishima got buried by Michael Hayes because of all the Terry Gordy comparisions people like to make, and Vince didn't think he was marketable. Well that's a shame about Morishima cause I think the WWE could use a big guy like him as a heel. Ryback looks like it he's not working out along with Mark Henry and Big Show being faces now. As for KENTA, I would've been extremely surprised if they offered him a contract. Like it said before in the thread, it seems to me that they are putting a cap limit on the smaller guys in the company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted February 1, 2014 Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 As I recall, Vince saw Morishima's tryout match and said he looked like a fat Japanese schoolgirl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Posted February 2, 2014 Report Share Posted February 2, 2014 As I recall, Vince saw Morishima's tryout match and said he looked like a fat Japanese schoolgirl. And there's his gimmick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwide Schrude Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 I agree with W2BTD symbolically. It didn't matter who besides Bret had the belt at the time because it felt like Bret was the champion, supposed to be the champion and would be the champion again. Not sure I agree with this. Bret wasn't anywhere near the title picture and wasn't until the Survivor Series where it almost felt like they booked that match out of nowhere. We often have a favorite wrestler and like to consider them "uncrowned champion" and I get that, but that logic doesn't really apply to this topic. By that logic, can we say Daniel Bryan just defended his title against Bray Wyatt at the Royal Rumble? No and Diesel was the champion. And had Bret been the champion then ironically, Hakushi wouldn't have been fighting him at ppvs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 I don't know how long he has been doing it but KENTA throwing his shirts into the crowd after he signs them is pretty fucking cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 As I recall, Vince saw Morishima's tryout match and said he looked like a fat Japanese schoolgirl.Wasn't it more that people online assumed that's what Vince would have said and now it's being attributed to him as if he actually said that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Redman Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 Dave on the subject: (WO 1/9/08) A deal between WWE and Pro Wrestling NOAH put together by John Laurinaitis regarding use of NOAH’s future top star, Takeshi Morishima, appears to have fallen apart in a split second when Vince McMahon dismissed Morishima after seeing one of his tryout matches. Others made a point to say that for someone who was getting a WWE tryout, he disrespected that offer by showing up out of shape. ...The description is Laurinaitis was pushing his ability hard the first night until McMahon said, “The kid can’t connect with the audience.” At that point, everything looked to have gone south. Apparently Vince made the comparison to Kenzo Suzuki, who was the last Japanese guy he had signed and scheduled for a big push and it didn’t work out, even though Morishima and Suzuki couldn’t have been more opposite. Suzuki had a good body and no ability. Morishima has a lousy body and tons of ability. Laurinaitis was his big advocate as none of the agents and writers pushed for him. It’s pretty much impossible to get over to a live crowd in three minutes when they don’t know who you are, particularly when WWE doesn’t want a big guy doing flashy moves. Apparently Michael Hayes was told that he was the living incarnation of Terry Gordy, and that immediately made him skeptical because in his eyes, few in history inside the ring could match his long-time best friend. It was his body, which we figured would be a negative based on how the company thinks, that we were told did him in. There was the feeling that if he had a fat body that he should have worn different attire. There were those who liked his facials and would have interest in him if he were to come back having dropped about 40 pounds. Being a star in ROH and Japan is generally a negative because there is the feeling people on the Internet liked him, so a company that has to prove people wrong, immediately has a mind set of looking for what’s wrong as opposed to what’s right on a guy like that. The Hayes example was perfect, the comparison in ability to Gordy, which has been made about Morishima from the start of his career. The two look similar and wrestle somewhat alike, appeared to immediately give the mind set of “No fucking way,” and look for reasons why not. The body also led to whispers that he blew up from being out of shape, which I’m skeptical of since he regularly does long singles matches in Japan, that are faster paced and far more physically taxing than WWE matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 Being a star in ROH and Japan is generally a negative because there is the feeling people on the Internet liked him, so a company that has to prove people wrong, immediately has a mind set of looking for what’s wrong as opposed to what’s right on a guy like that. The more things change and all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steenalized Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 Kinda surprised Laurinitis was a Morishima advocate. Didn't think he had the body to fall in that category Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Bennett Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 Why do you guys believe those sort of reports? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheapshot Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 Meltzer seems to think we won't be seeing any more Japanese guys brought in to WWE any time soon as they don't see the Japanese market as a priority. Shame they are that short sighted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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