sek69 Posted April 13 Report Share Posted April 13 Stephanie Vaquer retaining is interesting, but then CMLL seems to be paying more attention to their women's roster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted April 13 Report Share Posted April 13 Mox winning is at least something. It's been forever since New Japan had a proper Invader champ, I just hope he doesn't lose it soon (like at Forbidden Door) and new people can be made with his defenses. I'm glad Shota and Narita were immediately involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 13 Report Share Posted April 13 I sure did pre-shot that one. That's the most interesting dynamic on top for NJPW in a while. Also, apparently Jack Perry got over big time in Chi-town. His merchandise is flying off the shelves, so there is something there. Riddle losing his TV title, back to ZSJ. Good ! Stephanie Vaquer keeping the thing surely is interesting. Forbidden Door is sure looking more and more intriguing now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted April 13 Report Share Posted April 13 Strapping up Mox certainly makes for a fun spring. Umino & Narita seem locked in for Dontaku & the May US show, and I imagine Mox will make a couple more appearances in Japan before presumably dropping it back to Naito at Dominion. Then we're right back where we are today while hoping some outsiders spruce up a rather bleak looking G1. Hope! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control21 Posted April 14 Report Share Posted April 14 I honestly don't like the idea of putting the belt on Moxley but maybe it'll turn out to be a good idea in retrospect. We'll see. The Chicago show was fun. I think the whole NJPW/Jack Perry thing is weird. NJPW only got like what...2-3 months out of Perry? What was the whole point of that? It shouldn't be NJPW's job to heat up an AEW guy and he's really not a great wrestler anyway. The Umino/Perry match was merely passable. I'm not a big fan of the AEW/NJPW relationship and the way some of this stuff is working is just making me even more concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alucard Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 I was watching Moxley/Naito expecting a routine title defense for Naito, was pleasantly shocked when Moxley actually picked up the win and the title, cool moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Migs Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 Who they pick to take the belt from Mox is a fascinating question. Does Mox take this all the way to the Dome? Only 3 guys on the roster have main evented the Dome in the last decade - Naito (old), Tanahashi (older) and Sanada (very clearly not the answer long-term after how his title reign went). Given how they've treated the new Musketeers, no one seems like an obvious choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 1 hour ago, Migs said: Who they pick to take the belt from Mox is a fascinating question. Does Mox take this all the way to the Dome? Only 3 guys on the roster have main evented the Dome in the last decade - Naito (old), Tanahashi (older) and Sanada (very clearly not the answer long-term after how his title reign went). Given how they've treated the new Musketeers, no one seems like an obvious choice. Actually : Shota Umino. Wins G1. Takes belt from his mentor. Then again, I do not think Mox is keeping it until the Dome. SANADA should never ever even approach the main events. Tanahashi, that ship has sailed too by that point. I've been quite impressed with Naito's last matches. For a guy who was thought about to be kinda washed up, he had some great performances against Tsuji and Mox. He's still by far their biggest star, so he probably got some more mileage in him. Takagi should have another shot on top, really. They probably missed the boat on Taichii too, who was getting huge crowd support as he became a straight babyface worker having great matches. Anything would have been better than EVIL/SANADA anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 Shota's actually facing Moxley for the title at Resurgence (technically he's facing the winner of Moxley/Narita at Dontaku, but come on). I'd be shocked if they pulled the trigger on a title change, but I'd also be pretty impressed. Either way, they need to shit or get off the pot with the Musketeers. Having them continually face top guys and come up short every time is only going to make fans give up on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Migs Posted April 18 Report Share Posted April 18 22 hours ago, El-P said: Takagi should have another shot on top, really. They probably missed the boat on Taichii too, who was getting huge crowd support as he became a straight babyface worker having great matches. Anything would have been better than EVIL/SANADA anyway. I totally forgot about Shingo, who also main evented a Dome show. He's probably a good answer if it's not a Musketeer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetsujin Posted April 28 Report Share Posted April 28 Naito said he's ready for a rematch "in Mox territory" so maybe he takes it back at Forbbiden Door. Naito wants to do the roll call in his home neighborhood and that tour is coming, so I'd say he'll be the champion by the end of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 Doing a title change at Forbidden Door and then moving on to Umino (specially in a "he's taken the mantle from his mentor" way) would make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 The BOSJ final will main event Dominion ahead of the IWGP title match. I guess that's the company's way of acknowledging the EVIL main event push has been a failure. Better late than never. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted May 19 Report Share Posted May 19 Mox getting the IWGP title was really cool and all. But between the Ren Narita title defense and now EVIl, he's been served a pile a of dogshit as title defenses. Also, they better not book any of that stuff at Forbidden Door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted June 10 Report Share Posted June 10 So it's Naito vs Mox at Forbidden Door. I know booking 101 points to Naito getting the belt back but I feel no one really wins anything with that result. It would be one thing if they ran that match in Japan but I think a nothing title reign by Mox that started and ended in the U.S is just a waste of an opportunity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted June 17 Report Share Posted June 17 G1 goes back to two blocks thank God. Takeshita the only AEW guy competing. Final two spots to be determined by a tournament, but a G1 without G.O.D, Chase, and Yujiro would be a major step in the right direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted June 18 Report Share Posted June 18 Takeshita in the tourney has interesting political implications given he’s been vocal about his perceived misuse in AEW and this could be considered a bit of a tryout for a contract when his time is up in the US. Jake Lee has a chance to really show out too. But I think this has Umino/Tsuji written all over it for the final. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted June 23 Report Share Posted June 23 I was expecting Shota to miss the tournament but apparently he's still gonna do it. Doesn't seem wise. Although I expected him to win it so maybe that's why they're refusing to pull him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control21 Posted July 20 Report Share Posted July 20 A great start to the G1. Highlights from Day 1 include ZSJ vs O-Khan, Uemura vs Finlay, and Takeshita vs Tsuji. Oleg Boltin's match against Narita was awesome too. I haven't been this excited about a prospect since Takuya Nomura several years ago. Oleg has all the tools to be the future of NJPW. He's a Rolls Royce talent. I hope they don't drop the ball with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted August 17 Report Share Posted August 17 So, it's Tsuji vs Sabre in the Finals tomorrow. I know fans feel Sabre is due a title reign but New Japan needs to try and see if Tsuji can give them some much needed spark. Besides, if there's one thing Gedo loves more than a foreigner title reign is repeating a title match at the Dome were the younger guy wins (Naito retained against Tsuji at Sakura Genesis). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 Shocked Sabre won, thought for sure Tsuji would. Although it sounds like he actually wants to challenge at KOPW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 Yeah, ZSJ said he plans on cashing in at KOPW so he can defend the belt at the UK show that was just announced. He pretty much has to win with that setup because he'll look like a total chump if he loses. Naito must be in even worse shape than we realize if they don't trust him to make it to WK as champion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strobogo Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 Sounds like the perfect Gedo set up to have ZSJ win the title, get off one defense, and drop it back to Naito at the Dome like nothing happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 As long as Zack is dropping the belt back to Tsuji at the Dome, I'm more than fine with him winning it in October. We haven't had a title change that late in the year in a decade so at least is something new. I just don't want Tsuji to wait till mid 2025 or early 2026 to finally get the belt. that kind of storytelling from Gedo grew tired 7 years ago. 2 hours ago, NintendoLogic said: Naito must be in even worse shape than we realize if they don't trust him to make it to WK as champion. The fact he couldn't even make it to the quarterfinals was telling, I highly doubt the original plan was for O-Khan to get that spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control21 Posted August 18 Report Share Posted August 18 ZSJ vs Tsuji was a great final. A very well-deserved win for ZSJ because he stuck with the company during the pandemic when other foreigners like Ospreay peaced out. I think ZSJ will beat Naito next, especially with Royal Quest coming up right after their match. It's going to be an interesting fall for NJPW though, and I think decoupling the G1 winner from the Tokyo Dome main event is a good move because it makes the build-up a lot more interesting I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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