stomperspc Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 I thought that Naito v. Archer match was off point, and I'm actually fairly surprised people were high on it. I thought the transitions were really weak and a couple exchanges looked off time to me. I liked the idea of the match, but didn't think it was executed that well, though the build to the chokeslam was something they delivered well enough. Still thought it was a middling-to-weak match. Agreed that the execution was spotty in places. However, I thought Naito ate Archer's offense (which generally looks awful) as well as I can recall. They laid out the match in such a way and Naito's bumping was strong enough that Archer controlling a large portion of the match didn't feel as forced as it could have. It is not a match I am probably going to remember in a month but I thought it was fine for what it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaymeFuture Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 New Japan is suffering from keeping guys in their spots for too long at the moment - the big attempts at elevation this year were Naito and the Bullet Club, both of which fell flat, which is particularly frustrating when you could see genuine momentum for Ishii and Shibata at the turn of the year that made it obvious these there two guys to run with in a major way, and while they've done more with Ishii, they've put a ceiling on him it seems. Liked Ishii/Kojima a lot, and Nagata/Honma was really strong too, definitely recommend seeking them out to anybody that is looking to pick and choose the key stuff on these shows as opposed to watching it all. Day 2 was helped a lot by a very lively crowd that was responding well to everything, even Benjamin/Fale, whereas Day 1 that didn't come alive for too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Day 3 was a pretty weak show overall but Okada vs. Makabe was the best match of the tournament so far and one of the best matches of the year. Tana/Kojima was also a good match and I enjoyed YTR/Naito. Naito deserves credit for how he adapted his selling after being accidentally busted open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 I hated Day 2 & thought it was super overrated, even by a few people here in this thread on this site. Not that Day 1 was anything great but at least it had matches I cared about. Getting ready to watch Day 3 & the bar isn't real high, so hopefully it's better. Okada Vs. Makabe should be good. One of the matches of the tournament I'm anticipating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shining Wiz Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Because I'm nerdy, crazy or both, my goal for the evening is to be up to date on g1 shows by the time the show starts at 5:30 am my time tomorrow morning. I'm in a tie for fourth over at the Voices of Wrestling pick'em, so I might as well watch them. So far...I've watched the opener of night one. Fale doesn't blow me away, but he certainly doesn't suck. And Ishii.....he is on a really fun roll. And because I assume a bunch of people I don't know care about my opinion, I'm sure I'll post some comments here and there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shining Wiz Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 The grumpy old man battle of Kojima and Nagata was pretty fun, with a really exciting end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 The important thing here is that I'm currently running away with the VOW pick em, out to a commanding one point lead at the end of Day Three. Time to close things down to avoid embarrassing others and hand me my reward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shining Wiz Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 I'd trash talk, but I'm the idiot who picked Tenzan today. Totally unintentional, but nonetheless. Also, I may have to rethink my general blahness towards Naito and Takahashi. Naito I figure is just now fully back from the knee....not sure why I liked Takahashi more than usual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shining Wiz Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 Shinsuke/Shibata was not too shabby. Has me enthused for Shibata/Tanahashi tomorrow. I actually enjoyed their jiu jitsu sequence......still looked like flow rolling, but at least aggressive flow rolling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Ewiak Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 The important thing here is that I'm currently running away with the VOW pick em, out to a commanding one point lead at the end of Day Three. Time to close things down to avoid embarrassing others and hand me my reward No, no, the more important news is that we're both proving we know more about New Japan booking than Alan4L, at least through three days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shining Wiz Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 Okada over Styles was a really good main event. For all the shit NJPW takes for the Bullet Ckub run ins, the Takahashi run in got a huge response, and the first win for Okada over AJ was better for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shining Wiz Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 I fell woefully short of my goal, but that's ok since ustream fell woefully short of being worth my $25 this morning. On night 2, Nakamura and DBS Jr had what has been my favourite match of the tournament so far. They took the mma references I usually hate in wrestling, made them sensical and had a great match for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W2BTD Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 Night 4 is getting show of the year buzz. Great show, but if you are setting the bar that high it depends where you fall on Nagata/Nak & AJ/Naito. I thought those two matches were good, but short of great. Ishii/Honma was better than their bout at Dotaku. Tanahashi/Shibata was phenominal. To me these are the first serious MOTY contenders, since I wasn't as high on the three matches from Night 1 as others were and don't think Okada/Makabe was at that level either. Review, where i'm being blasted in multiple places for underrating things: http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/2014/07/26/new-japan-g1-climax-24-day-4-review-72614-two-classics/ Great show. Great tournament so far. Every show has ranged from good to great, all have been easy watches and a lot of fun. I rank them 4, 1, 2, 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stiva Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 I've enjoyed all three nights I've watched so far but I've learned to accept that just about everything is going to be overrated. Even the strong matches. I suppose that's just the price you pay when dealing with a super over promotion with invested fans. Everything is going to be nudged up a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 Day Three was a weird show. The bad stuff on the show was just awful. I really didn't like Archer v. Anderson at all and Fale v. Nagata was holy shit level bad, among the worst matches I've seen all year. I am completely amazed people enjoyed that match at all, and it makes me laugh thinking about how heavily the match would have been shit on if it had taken place in the WWE between someone like Roman Reigns and Randy Orton. Then you had Ishii and Honma matches that were hurt by their opponents (I like Gallows, but he stinks in New Japan). Then you had matches like Shibata/DBS and Tanahashi/Kojima which were really good at parts and really weak or disjointed in other ways an thus felt incomplete. Then you had Yano and Tenzan putting in really fun efforts again, even if their routines are on route to becoming really stale if they aren't careful. Amazingly the Suzuki v. Goto sprint might have been my favorite match going into the main event which was the biggest surprise as an New Japan main actually lived up to the hype once. I am not even a fan of Makabe or Okada, but I thought they put together a very good match, that built well and delivered in a big way. As a whole it was a hodge podge of a show, that I don't feel overly positive or negative on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 I've enjoyed all three nights I've watched so far but I've learned to accept that just about everything is going to be overrated. Even the strong matches. I suppose that's just the price you pay when dealing with a super over promotion with invested fans. Everything is going to be nudged up a bit. I think this is the best way to view New Japan. If you go in looking at the snowflakes and talk it is very likely you will be disappointed. I've seen this consistently with friends and non-hardcore (at least at our level) fans I know who have given heavily pimped NJPW matches or shows a try and responded with shoulder shrugging or "What the fuck?" reactions. That said they employee some strong talent, put on some good shows, and will occasionally knock a match out of the park. My rule of thumb is to subtract a full star or so from every hardcore NJPW fan rating if you are talking about snowflakes and usually that's closer to where I stand on the matches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W2BTD Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 I wish these forearm pervs would take a look at Gallows and learn the art of PUNCH! I tried watching day 1. Enjoyed the opening two matches oddly enough. Ishii is awesome and it was cool seeing him try to chop down the giant Fale. I felt bad for the poor egg when he was left stumbling to the back in agony . The novelty of watching Gallows in Japan for the first time was enough for Doc/Benjamin to be of interest, and to be fair it wasn't a complete Doc carry job. Suzuki's a don but it feels like I've seen his Yano match a hundred times. I lost interest after that. The rosters massively weak and stale at the moment. Half these guys I have no interest in. There's also something very hollow about the presentation and gimmickry. Skipped forward to Honma/Tanahashi which was disappointing. Gave up when Nak/Shibata started no selling germans. I really enjoyed last years tourney. Did this catch me in the wrong mood or is this roster as stale as it feels it is? You're not supposed to punch in New Japan, it's "illegal". Also, i'm sitting here scratching my head at the idea of Gallows carrying anybody in New Japan, where his entire run has ranged from mediocre to flat out dreadful. And this coming from somebody who likes him. You mentioned it was your first time seeing him here, but trust me when I say he's been one of the five worst guys on the roster his entire run, and hasn't done much to change that on this tour. He's been better than Fale, but oh boy talk about low bars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 I agree with Joe on Gallows. I'm a huge fan of the guy, but he really has brought nothing to the vast majority of his New Japan run. I did enjoy the Tanahashi match for what it was, but even that was more novel than anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 Day 4 thoughts:Ishii/Honma was a great sprint with plenty of fun, brutal looking spots. I don't know about better than their first match though as I would've preferred something longer and less go-go-go. Still probably in my top 20 matches of the year though (I have their first match at #5 for reference). I hope we get to see these guys go at it many more times, as Ishii is clearly the best worker in the company right now and Honma is pretty damn high up there as well - at least top 5. Ishii is probably going to regret landing on his head so much in a few years. Nagata/Nakamura is getting talked up elsewhere, which I think is more a testament to how much a hot finishing stretch influences people's perceptions of a match than anything else. AJ/Naito was fun but I was expecting more. Thought it was really great early with AJ being a total asshole heel and reopening Naito's cut. Naito is a great bleeder and it's a shame he won't get many opportunities to take advantage of that. The early double count out tease felt unwarranted given AJ had been in control for most of the match. That derailed the match's momentum and they never really recovered. Shibata/Tanahashi had a big match feel to it. The bit with Tana dodging the PK and corner dropkick was maybe the best opening sequence this year as far as drawing you into a match. Tana's facials there did a lot to put over Shibata as a legitimate threat. Tanahashi is at his best working from underneath like this because a lot of his offense isn't so great (he needs to never do those shitty body punches ever again). I usually HATE no-selling of suplexes but it didn't bother me so much here as Shibata had taken very little offense in the match so far. The elbows Shibata was laying in towards the end sounded fucking brutal. Need to rewatch but could see this being a marginal MOTYC. Tanahashi's post-match promo was great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W2BTD Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 I think even harsh Tanahashi critics will enjoy his selling and overall performance vs Shibata, but i've been very wrong before when it comes to Tanahashi, so who knows. I hope every Naito match doesn't follow that AJ pattern of going after the cut. I think it gave AJ a real edge and the match felt very different than what you usually get in New Japan. If they do it again, it waters it down. I think AJ should have won. I still think he needs strong (clean) wins. Naito would have been perfect for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 I've softened a lot on Tanahashi in the last 18 months. He's never going to be a favorite of mine, and I still think he's comically overrated by his biggest advocates, but I also think he's a guy that is more enjoyable if you watch NJPW in an episodic way and not in terms of isolated matches. No one is ever going to convince me that he's not heavily flawed, and he often does things that drag down my enjoyment of matches (I really hated his offense in the Kojima match from Night Three for example, though I did think he did a very good job eating Kojima's bombs), but he absolutely can put on great performances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 I think even harsh Tanahashi critics will enjoy his selling and overall performance vs Shibata, but i've been very wrong before when it comes to Tanahashi, so who knows. I hope every Naito match doesn't follow that AJ pattern of going after the cut. I think it gave AJ a real edge and the match felt very different than what you usually get in New Japan. If they do it again, it waters it down. I think AJ should have won. I still think he needs strong (clean) wins. Naito would have been perfect for this. I agree AJ should've won but I've mostly hated the booking of this tournament anyway. That's just how they book this thing though and I don't think anybody ever comes out of it looking particularly strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shining Wiz Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 I haven't read a word anyone has written about day 4 yet......just finished Honma/Ishii. If that wasn't the best match on the show, this will be one of my favourite shows of all time. If it was, it may well still be. When Honma finally wins, probably on the last night, the crowd is going to explode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted July 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 I wish these forearm pervs would take a look at Gallows and learn the art of PUNCH! You're not supposed to punch in New Japan, it's "illegal". Punching is illegal, just like outside interference. Rules in wrestling exist to be broken. Punching is illegal everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 I haven't read a word anyone has written about day 4 yet......just finished Honma/Ishii. If that wasn't the best match on the show, this will be one of my favourite shows of all time. If it was, it may well still be. When Honma finally wins, probably on the last night, the crowd is going to explode. I literally just watched that too. Great match. Match of the tourney so far easily. The way they are using the teased no sell/hulk up as a way for Honma to set up for eating kill shots in all of these matches is genius because when he does finally make the full comeback it's going to be huge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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