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If they could somehow parlay the momentum they have now with everything they've got going on and tie in getting something out there that they are negotiating with Punk and/or Bryan, it could finally bring back the feeling of faux competition of two big promotions stateside.

 

Between being able to bring in either of those guys at some point down the line, the California shows, the weekly TV on AXS but with current content, adding a US tour, building to Omega-Okada III, and keeping the Bucks fresh...things could be real fun again.

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My god the first 40 minutes of Okada vs Omega were fucking horrible. Nothing happened (story wise, a whole bunch of moves and spots happened) and it felt like a fucking chore to watch. I really liked what they did after they teased throwing in the towel. But those first 2/3 of the match were way too fucking bad for the rest of the action to overcome it. It was another unnecessary long spotfest.

 

Naito vs Tana on the other hand. Loved it.

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Watched the two AXS episodes showing matches from 2/11/17, and saw Meltzer went ***1/2-***** on all of them, which is just...crazy. Those two 6 mans were outright poor. You could take any 6 people in WWE, give them 12 minutes, and it would be a better match. And even then it would be a total throwaway match that nobody would rate. He's just off his rocker with NJ love.

 

I reviewed Hiromu Takahashi/Dragon Lee and Elgin/Naito matches:

 

http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2017/06/2017-doesnt-make-list-4-12-5-star.html

 

I didn't care for the former, and I was a big fan of Kamaitachi within the CMLL structure. Elgin match was really great until Elgin started dropping massive spots back to back that all got kicked out of. They had me until the lost me.

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The decision to run Okada vs. Cody for the US Long Beach show is an [insert adjective i'm still searching for here] idea. My devil's advocate thought is that I can't think of someone else they would use in a spot like this. They're not running Omega/Okada III. No Naito/Tanahashi. And they had already said the belt would be defended so they had to deliver.

 

This just isn't something that gets me excited at all.

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There's a definite bias/preference, but watching people troll him on Twitter aboiut it and see his reaction is always a delight

 

Watched the two AXS episodes showing matches from 2/11/17, and saw Meltzer went ***1/2-***** on all of them, which is just...crazy. ... He's just off his rocker with NJ love.

 

 

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Dominion was fun but I felt like Okada/Omega & Naito/Tanahashi were both lesser than their previous Tokyo Dome encounters. I liked the War Machine/GoD match (although not the ending) & the Jr. Title match though. I expected more from the Suzuki/Goto match but all-in-all, really glad with the show & that I watched it. Time flew by while watching it with a buddy & eating some pizza. That's when wrestling feels the best to me, when you're having fun and lose track of time.

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The decision to run Okada vs. Cody for the US Long Beach show is an [insert adjective i'm still searching for here] idea. My devil's advocate thought is that I can't think of someone else they would use in a spot like this. They're not running Omega/Okada III. No Naito/Tanahashi. And they had already said the belt would be defended so they had to deliver.

 

This just isn't something that gets me excited at all.

 

Add Tanahashi facing Billy fucking Gunn (https://twitter.com/jaudiowrestling/status/874100231587090432) and the interest in those shows is getting lower by the minute for me.

 

I hope the tournament is fun at least.

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The decision to run Okada vs. Cody for the US Long Beach show is an [insert adjective i'm still searching for here] idea. My devil's advocate thought is that I can't think of someone else they would use in a spot like this. They're not running Omega/Okada III. No Naito/Tanahashi. And they had already said the belt would be defended so they had to deliver.

 

This just isn't something that gets me excited at all.

 

Add Tanahashi facing Billy fucking Gunn (https://twitter.com/jaudiowrestling/status/874100231587090432) and the interest in those shows is getting lower by the minute for me.

 

I hope the tournament is fun at least.

 

That's straight Japanese style. Reminds me of when Kobashi wasn't buying it when Gabe told him that people wanted to see him be Kobashi and not some stupid Japanese heel when he came to ROH.

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My god the first 40 minutes of Okada vs Omega were fucking horrible. Nothing happened (story wise, a whole bunch of moves and spots happened) and it felt like a fucking chore to watch.

 

And there goes my interest to even watch that match out of curiosity. I though the Dome match as an overblown spotfest, so… not spending the time for a match I feel I *have to* watch just to react to it. How long was that match ?

 

The idea of Okada vs Cody fucking Rhodes and Tanahashi vs Billy fucking Gunn makes this whole NJ in USA deal a no-no to me.

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My god the first 40 minutes of Okada vs Omega were fucking horrible. Nothing happened (story wise, a whole bunch of moves and spots happened) and it felt like a fucking chore to watch.

 

And there goes my interest to even watch that match out of curiosity. I though the Dome match as an overblown spotfest, so… not spending the time for a match I feel I *have to* watch just to react to it. How long was that match ?

 

The idea of Okada vs Cody fucking Rhodes and Tanahashi vs Billy fucking Gunn makes this whole NJ in USA deal a no-no to me.

 

 

 

Their first match was 47 minutes and change, yesterday was a one hour draw.

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Yeah the Cody thing was followed up with the IC announcement, which is just not good. I will say, I think it's unfair to paint this huge brush on the entire company that they don't know what the US market wants. That is just a misfire.

 

I think they're pigeon-holed a bit because big belts are not defended very often in Japan, and they felt the pressure (I guess) to have them defended in the US. I don't know why they wouldn't have gone with a ROH guy for Tanahashi to go over vs. Billy Gunn. That is just flat bad.

 

I'm not big on a US title tournament, especially because with the G1 coming up - are they going to have Omega lose again here? He seems above a secondary title like this (which I don't agree is a good idea in general).

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Thanks. One hour draw ? Fuck that. I want to watch good 15-20 minutes stuff now.

 

Honestly, if you pick Okada vs Omega II at the 37 minute mark or so (before the Bullet Club comes out) you might actually enjoy it. From that point on is a very fun spotfest and you wouldn't have to endure the meaningless bullshit that was the first 2/3 of the match.

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I'd say it's more the first 1/3rd was meaningless bullshitas opposed to 2/3rds. You should watch the show starting at the junior tag, El P. It's likely the best show of the year show far, which is weird because NJ shows are always so top heavy and dog shit on the undercard.

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It seems like this is the trap New Japan and DG keep falling into. People want a New Japan show in America. Not some New Japan talent mixed in with the usual indy names. We all know how that ends. They'll get lazy and it will just be the indy names after awhile with no New Japan talent.

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That's actually the plan. To basically run a promotion with their gaijin in SoCal and scout new foreign talent while sending in a mid carder once every few months. It will have far less involvement from top NJ talent than the ROH relationship.

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That's what I thought from the start even if they were sending top talent over. Then they seemed to intentionally temper expectations by having Billy Gunn and Cody Rhodes in top spots on the cards. That or they don't understand that the NJPW fans in America don't want to see a shitty American promotion with NJPW branding, they want NJPW shows in America.

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I thought the Tanahashi/Naito match was the best on the card in terms of being the overall package of good wrestling/telling a great story. I just hope Tanahashi takes the time to get his arm fixed properly, he deserves better than to become Japanese Paul Orndorff just because of the silly "never take time even if your arm is hanging off" mindset.

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Predictably stacked field. Really looking forward to seeing how the blocks shake out, particularly how Tanahashi, Okada, Naito & Omega are split up. I imagine the WK/Dominion partners will be paired up for round 3 here, but that's pure speculation. Juice & Sabre add some new flavor with fresh matches I'm looking forward to, particularly for Juice. Ibushi's return is a huge bonus and depending on how long he's committed for can add some real intrigue to plans for the tourney and big shows thereafter, without getting into the guaranteed big matches he should deliver. Cannot wait for block participants & lineups and for this to finally kick off.

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The other pleasant surprise from the lineup is the absence of Cody Rhodes. That just about eliminates any worry they'd do something rash like have him beat Okada on 7/1, and frankly there isn't any one I'd replace with him. Perhaps Makabe? But even he hasn't been featured at all as a singles in quite some time so its not quite that stale. I'm a big fan of Yano in the tourney for levity and keeping cards moving without being completely stacked.

 

Only real oversight I can come up with is DBS Jr.

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