Current New Japan

[stro]

Tanahashi got hurt at the ROH TV tapings, so his participation at Dominion and G1 is in doubt right now.

[joeg]

Tanahashi got hurt at the ROH TV tapings, so his participation at Dominion and G1 is in doubt right now.

 

Shit.... match vs Naito or scrapped or Naito retains or he drops to somebody else?

[stro]

It's unknown at this point. It's a biceps injury and if it's a bad tear he's off everything.

[Coffey]

Ugh. That stinks.

[Jmare007]

He should be back for Dominion

 

~ New Japan announced that Hiroshi Tanahashi has suffered a rupture to his right bicep tendon and will be out of action until the June 9 show at the Korakuen Hall. Satoshi Kojima will be replacing Tanahashi on the BOSJ tour shows.

 

 

I hope he isn't rushing back, though it kinda looks like it.

[stro]

Marty Scurll is fucking dog shit. For all the heat Ospreay gets for his dumb flippy shit, at least he's athletic, looks in shape, can bump, and can catch people on dives.

[clintthecrippler]

This tournament was my first exposure to Volador Jr.

 

Does he always wrestle with the same exact emotionless expression on his face? Every match I watched from the tournament I swear I didn't see his facial expression change once whether he was on offense or defense.

 

He's obviously very athletic but for the most part he looked like he was wrestling in a vacuum. For all his faults, at least Ospreay looks like his actual intent is to pop a crowd when he does his insane moves.

[William Bologna]

Volador looks like Bret Hart.

 

He also a completely flat tournament. I've already forgotten all his matches.

[clintthecrippler]

Volador looks like Bret Hart.

 

He also a completely flat tournament. I've already forgotten all his matches.

 

Yeah, my vibe with him was basically he looks like Bret Hart without the selling on defense.

[sek69]

For some reason Volador doesn't seem to translate well to NJPW. His CMLL work is (usually) far better, and it's not like he's being matched with guys in this tournament who can't work his style.

[stro]

Volador looks like Bret Hart.

 

He also a completely flat tournament. I've already forgotten all his matches.

 

The whole tournament has been completely flat, imo. Every dude has a roster of similar spots that all the match have felt interchangeable. Everyone has: Pumphandle set up, fancy cartwheel/flip out of basic mat wrestling, specific poses after every few moves, an apron move, a move into the corner, a running strike into the corner, a Canadian Destroyer variant, a seated running strike.

 

Plus, much like the G1, everyone blows their wad in the first or second shows and then coasts until the end. Guys capable of good matches with each other are just going through the motions to get through the tour.

[SirEdger]

Meltzer would probably disagree with you then. I literally heard him on LAW Radio tonight say that this year's BOSJ was the best he had ever seen live, although he questioned Jushin Thunder Liger's booking in the whole tournament.

[stro]

DM really loves flashy shit, but I don't know how he didn't want to shoot himself after 15 shows of every match starting with 2-3 minutes of cartwheels and pose stand offs.

[El-P]

I kinda thought about checking it out, because it's fun to watch a whole thing that has a beginning and an end, but what stro describes is exactly what I feared, and it sounds like a personal pro-wrestling nightmare to me. So I'll pass and wait for the next big NJ show to check them out.

[Mad Dog]

I think the G-1 is more worth the sit through than BOSJ is. G-1 has more on the line and the matches are usually better top to bottom.

[stro]

Of course. The Juniors always have only 2-3 dudes half worth watching, and the rest are either dogshit or old and busted. They also all more or less work the same fucking match. At least with G1, you know you're going to get all of the top talent in NJ and they save all the shitty matches you don't want to see during the middle of the tour when all the shows are tiny and everyone is half assing to rest up.

[Matt D]

This tournament was my first exposure to Volador Jr.

 

Does he always wrestle with the same exact emotionless expression on his face? Every match I watched from the tournament I swear I didn't see his facial expression change once whether he was on offense or defense.

 

He's obviously very athletic but for the most part he looked like he was wrestling in a vacuum. For all his faults, at least Ospreay looks like his actual intent is to pop a crowd when he does his insane moves.

The song of my people:

 

 

http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2016/04/mlj-sombra-spotlight-27-la-sombra-vs.html

 

http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2015/08/mlj-volador-2015-something-something-8.html

 

http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2016/05/mlj-volador-jr-vs-mascara-dorada-liga.html

[WingedEagle]

BOSJ was very disappointing this year. I'd like to say especially so given the lineup, but perhaps its due to that as they have so many great flyers but all they do is fly and put together choreographed sequences. I'm also firmly a believer that Hiromu Takahashi is overrated. Some fun stuff with Dragon Lee during that feud, but his work since returning to New Japan has been mindlessly spotty.

 

The Liger booking was undoubtedly a downer as every live crowd wanted a reason to get behind him and never got one. Even the wrestlers were relishing their matches wit him despite finishes that didn't build any mini storylines for purposes of the tourney.

 

That being said, there were some legit highlights. Kushida vs. Taguchi was an awesome match with real psychology rather than the prototypical my turn/your turn antics. Ricochet/Ospreay 2, on the other hand, was exactly that. Some people seem to think this surpassed last year's outing. It was certainly longer but I didn't find it any more compelling. Given their objectives and approach, it was pretty damn impressive. Its just not something I think is well served going nearly half an hour. But if you enjoy that kind of showcase you will like this.

 

The tourney final of Kushida vs. Ospreay was absolutely spectacular. This was a legit MOTYC that told a story, featured selling and did a great job incorporating some truly outrageous spots for maximum impact rather than simply crossing them off some sort of to-do list as the match progressed. Highly recommend that everyone check this out. ****1/2 stars at a minimum, and my initial reaction was to go slightly higher, something I rarely do for all but truly classic matches.

[SPS]

BOSJ was very disappointing this year. I'd like to say especially so given the lineup, but perhaps its due to that as they have so many great flyers but all they do is fly and put together choreographed sequences. I'm also firmly a believer that Hiromu Takahashi is overrated. Some fun stuff with Dragon Lee during that feud, but his work since returning to New Japan has been mindlessly spotty.

 

The Liger booking was undoubtedly a downer as every live crowd wanted a reason to get behind him and never got one. Even the wrestlers were relishing their matches wit him despite finishes that didn't build any mini storylines for purposes of the tourney.

 

That being said, there were some legit highlights. Kushida vs. Taguchi was an awesome match with real psychology rather than the prototypical my turn/your turn antics. Ricochet/Ospreay 2, on the other hand, was exactly that. Some people seem to think this surpassed last year's outing. It was certainly longer but I didn't find it any more compelling. Given their objectives and approach, it was pretty damn impressive. Its just not something I think is well served going nearly half an hour. But if you enjoy that kind of showcase you will like this.

 

The tourney final of Kushida vs. Ospreay was absolutely spectacular. This was a legit MOTYC that told a story, featured selling and did a great job incorporating some truly outrageous spots for maximum impact rather than simply crossing them off some sort of to-do list as the match progressed. Highly recommend that everyone check this out. ****1/2 stars at a minimum, and my initial reaction was to go slightly higher, something I rarely do for all but truly classic matches.

I agree with you sentiments completely. This was my first year with NJPW world and the first time I had the chance to watch the BOTSJ completely and I was very underwhelmed. I thought there were a few gems but like you said most of it was tons of flip, flop, fly and face offs. The Will/Ricochet rematch was a tremendous display of athleticism but I though the story was even worse than last years debated match(and everyone who was going crazy online for that springboard Dragonrana had me baffled as I've seen it done for 15 years or more now).

 

The Kushida/Will final was exactly what utilising the newer more impressive manoeuvres should be, added elements to great selling,drama and storytelling and not in the place of them. Will was better here than anything else I've seen him in.

 

As for Liger, I really think NJPW missed a great chance to do something special with such a legend and really could've given this tourny an extra spark rather than a few bright spots in an otherwise dull and bland series.

[William Bologna]

This is the first time I've watched a tournament like this all the way through, and that did expose some of the flaws. All those hardcam house shows where it was ten minutes of shtick and then go to the finish. Seeing everyone's spots every other day instead of a couple times a month. You really noticed the difference in effort when they got to Korakuen.

 

For all the hype about the super flippy A block, I think I liked B better. Taguchi, Kanemaru, ACH, Bushi, and Tiger Mask all exceeded my expectations.

 

Meanwhile, Ricochet was a huge disappointment - he's got no presence and little to keep you involved between flips. Dragon Lee and Scurll suffered from seeing them every other day. Takahashi has enough charisma and big spots that I don't mind him as champ, but he's not top tier.

 

I hated the final. Why did Kushida decide to work Ospreay's leg? He's going to ignore it, and you're going to the arm later anyway. Also, Kushida debuted a new finisher in this tournament. Three matches later, he's doing it off the top rope. At least it led to the finish.

 

I think Kushida is the best guy around, and he had a good tournament, but that match was silly.

[stro]

BOSJ was very disappointing this year. I'd like to say especially so given the lineup, but perhaps its due to that as they have so many great flyers but all they do is fly and put together choreographed sequences. I'm also firmly a believer that Hiromu Takahashi is overrated. Some fun stuff with Dragon Lee during that feud, but his work since returning to New Japan has been mindlessly spotty.

 

The Liger booking was undoubtedly a downer as every live crowd wanted a reason to get behind him and never got one. Even the wrestlers were relishing their matches wit him despite finishes that didn't build any mini storylines for purposes of the tourney.

 

That being said, there were some legit highlights. Kushida vs. Taguchi was an awesome match with real psychology rather than the prototypical my turn/your turn antics. Ricochet/Ospreay 2, on the other hand, was exactly that. Some people seem to think this surpassed last year's outing. It was certainly longer but I didn't find it any more compelling. Given their objectives and approach, it was pretty damn impressive. Its just not something I think is well served going nearly half an hour. But if you enjoy that kind of showcase you will like this.

 

The tourney final of Kushida vs. Ospreay was absolutely spectacular. This was a legit MOTYC that told a story, featured selling and did a great job incorporating some truly outrageous spots for maximum impact rather than simply crossing them off some sort of to-do list as the match progressed. Highly recommend that everyone check this out. ****1/2 stars at a minimum, and my initial reaction was to go slightly higher, something I rarely do for all but truly classic matches.

 

As I watched the interesting looking matches from the first 7 days, I literally made a list of all the common spots that were used in almost every match. Kushida/Ospreay literally checked off every box, almost in spot by spot order. Sure, they were physically impressive most of the time, but by the time of the finals, I had already seen 15 apron bumps, every kind of dive, all types of flippy cartwheeling counters and stand offs, GTS style strikes, super finishers, move theft, finisher kick outs, guys second to last moves being far more brutal looking than their actual finisher, chained finishers, etc etc.

 

It's interesting to me that you'd see them as not just checking off a to do list whereas I made an actual to do list 7 shows prior that they actually checked off everything from. To me, the finals was just the basic match that almost everyone had done in the whole tournament, multiple times, just turned up a notch or two. They brought nothing new for themselves or the tournament, and Gedo has ran this angle of a guy losing matches, then winning a tournament/getting a new finisher and beating the guy he couldn't beat I believe 4 times in the past 5 years. Twice with Okada.

 

 

Never mind that it's 2017 and Tiger Mask vs Dynamite kid from nearly 40 years ago is still the standard basis for every junior match.

[Mad Dog]

The Jim Cornette meltdown when Kenny Omega wins the IWGP Title is going to be pretty hilarious.

[sek69]

The Jim Cornette meltdown when Kenny Omega wins the IWGP Title is going to be pretty hilarious.

 

To be honest, I'm kind of impressed Corny keeps up with current wrestling enough to even notice. I'd think the holder of the IWGP title would be the furthest thing from his mind.

[Mad Dog]

It's hard to tell how current he is. He'll go off on some shit that's years old like it's relevant. I think he watches a couple of things and then people send him things they know will piss him off.

[joeg]

I'm also firmly a believer that Hiromu Takahashi is overrated.

 

 

Could not disagree with you more. He's easily the best junior to come out of New Japan's dojo in the past 20 years. (I know not saying much) , but really he's next level good. He's the only junior in Japan I go out of my way to see.