Jmare007 Posted August 23, 2018 Report Share Posted August 23, 2018 I guess it depends on how long Gedo wants to run with Okada's current angle. At some point he's going to comeback to form and win big matches. Doing it at Destruction and then at WK again would serve the purpose of telling that story and ending it with him as the big Ace again. I don't think it will happen though. 15 hours ago, Tetsujin said: -Ibushi, you know, hasn't sign anything and probably never will. Too risky. People have been saying this for a long time and it makes little sense to me. New Japan has bent over backwards to please Ibushi ever since he was a Junior. Even when he hang them (and DDT) dry by taking that year off, he was brought back ass soon as possible, given a big gimmick (Tiger Mask, just when the anime was back) and then put in big programs as a heavyweight as soon as he dropped the TW persona. Ibushi has shown countless times he can draw, and New Japan has always treated him well, but he has a really weird booking ceiling that I've never figured out why it exists. And the "well, he might leave at any time" argument has never convinced me. We are talking about a company that gave it's secondary belt to a guy that flat out told them he wasn't going to work in the US and that he was good for 1 or 3 more dates (in the span of a year), but fucking Ibushi is "too risky"?. It's a promotion that gave the IWGP title to a gaijin that wasn't likely to stay long term (AJ Styles). New Japan tends to take full advantage of people that might leave soon, hell they might be doing it right now with Omega too - though he'll probably not go anywhere before he finishes up his anime-like Golden Lover story with Kota -, so the fact they have never done it with Ibushi, even with an IC title run, has always been puzzling to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted August 23, 2018 Report Share Posted August 23, 2018 Can you imagine Okada beating Tana for the case and beating Omega at the next WK? Would that be the most cowardly decision possible in this scenario? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 8 hours ago, KawadaSmile said: Can you imagine Okada beating Tana for the case and beating Omega at the next WK? Would that be the most cowardly decision possible in this scenario? 1) Yes. 2) Perhaps, but hardly unrealistic. I'd prefer they even veered from clean finishes (G1 Bullet Club nonsense aside) and had Jay White cost Okada the match to (a) preserve White's shot at the case, which Tana already addressed, and (b) set up Okada/White for WK. But that's a lot less likely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted September 14, 2018 Report Share Posted September 14, 2018 New Japan is back, and yet another MOTYC contender with Omega/Ibushi vs Ishii/Ospreay. That match was insane. Ishii vs Omega is gonna be insane too. The LIJ vs Suzuki-Gun brawl was something else too. Hopefully Naito & Suzuki redeem themselves from the most disappointing match of the year. Judging from the mess they did here, it's promising. Takahashi checking on the first row girl who almost had a young lion slammed on her knees was pretty damn funny and cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
...TG Posted September 15, 2018 Report Share Posted September 15, 2018 So the show last night was called "Destruction in Hiroshima"? Maybe it's a translation issue, but yeesh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childs Posted September 15, 2018 Report Share Posted September 15, 2018 Ishii-Omega was disappointing. Not bad but they didn't touch their G1 match or their best work from last year. They failed to hook the crowd (or me) for the first 20 minutes. And even though they picked it up over the last 10 (some great counter spots including an out-of-nowhere lariat from Ishii) they never achieved the feel of a big-time main event. Part of the problem was that, unlike in the G1, no one thought Ishii had a prayer. And these guys have done so much to each other over the last year and a half that it's hard for them to push it to another level. But I was really looking forward to the match, and it left me a little deflated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted September 16, 2018 Report Share Posted September 16, 2018 Anybody eyeing the Okada/White interactions ahead of Okada/Tanahashi's briefcase match next weekend? That match is absolutely the first of the "G1 winner gets a WK title shot" era where the outcome feels like a real tossup. Its hard to envision Okada taking a decisive loss after the path he's traveled since dropping the title at Dominion, but on the other hand there's no program or issue remotely big enough for Tanahashi if you push him out of the Dome main event. If this were a domestic promotion, it wouldn't be hard to envision a scenario where Jay White gets involved to cost Okada the match, preserve his own shot at the case and create an issue for a potential WK match between those two. It'd be a rare enough angle that perhaps NJPW would consider it, yet it does feel like a natural way to tie together these storylines. Any thoughts or predictions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted September 17, 2018 Report Share Posted September 17, 2018 On 9/15/2018 at 8:49 PM, Childs said: Part of the problem was that, unlike in the G1, no one thought Ishii had a prayer. I haven't watched it yet, but I thought this could be an issue compared to the G1 match, which *could* be won by Ishii. Watching the Blue Justice Togane City show with the main event worked by the Lost Generation guys, it's amazing how good Nagata & Kojima look and move despite being 50 years old. That match was quite good too and a nice change of pace from the usual NJ deal. That the cool thing about some of these special house shows, you get something different (the undercard was fine, but pretty much a lesser version of the two Korakuen shows from the days before). I watched it in japanese, so no idea what the special occasion was, but I guess it's Nagata's town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Migs Posted September 17, 2018 Report Share Posted September 17, 2018 8 hours ago, El-P said: I haven't watched it yet, but I thought this could be an issue compared to the G1 match, which *could* be won by Ishii. Watching the Blue Justice Togane City show with the main event worked by the Lost Generation guys, it's amazing how good Nagata & Kojima look and move despite being 50 years old. That match was quite good too and a nice change of pace from the usual NJ deal. That the cool thing about some of these special house shows, you get something different (the undercard was fine, but pretty much a lesser version of the two Korakuen shows from the days before). I watched it in japanese, so no idea what the special occasion was, but I guess it's Nagata's town. I believe the special occasion was Kojima's return (from what I'm not sure). The show this morning was solid. Taichi's thing is so dumb that I kind of love it (I also enjoy karaoke and have a dad bod but maybe still think I'm cool, so maybe I just relate to him). Naito-Suzuki was sort of like a 1992 Randy Savage match if you sub Destino for the Big Elbow, but it was enjoyable enough. Very interested in where they're going with all the CHAOS stuff and White. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNLister Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 It's a bit of both. Blue Justice is an annual show in Nagata's home town. Kojima was returning from an ACL injury earlier this year that was serious enough that he got surgery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childs Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 23 hours ago, Migs said: I believe the special occasion was Kojima's return (from what I'm not sure). The show this morning was solid. Taichi's thing is so dumb that I kind of love it (I also enjoy karaoke and have a dad bod but maybe still think I'm cool, so maybe I just relate to him). Naito-Suzuki was sort of like a 1992 Randy Savage match if you sub Destino for the Big Elbow, but it was enjoyable enough. Very interested in where they're going with all the CHAOS stuff and White. The Naito-Suzuki match felt really long to me. They don't seem to mesh that well. It's like the match belongs entirely to the guy who's on offense instead of feeling like a competition between styles. And I never love it when Suzuki goes down like a church mouse after dominating most of the way. I actually think White-Okada would be a good direction for the Dome, though I wouldn't be particularly excited for the match. But I don't want to see Okada in the main event, so that probably colors my view of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Migs Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 16 minutes ago, Childs said: The Naito-Suzuki match felt really long to me. They don't seem to mesh that well. It's like the match belongs entirely to the guy who's on offense instead of feeling like a competition between styles. And I never love it when Suzuki goes down like a church mouse after dominating most of the way. I actually think White-Okada would be a good direction for the Dome, though I wouldn't be particularly excited for the match. But I don't want to see Okada in the main event, so that probably colors my view of it. Yeah, those two just can't seem to have a great match with each other, and you might have hit the nail on the head about why. I get the sense they're really struggling with how fast to do the Okada "comeback" from losing the title. They burned through so many of his in the reign. So to not feel like a retread, the most reasonable scenarios for the Dome are something like Okada-White or Okada-Jericho. That would let him move down a bit while still using the fact that he's a top guy in his prime for a big match. The Dome show feels very open this year, maybe because I still have trouble believing they are going to do Omega-Tanahashi as the main event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childs Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 On 9/17/2018 at 6:10 AM, El-P said: I haven't watched it yet, but I thought this could be an issue compared to the G1 match, which *could* be won by Ishii. Watched Ishii-Omega again because I was groggy the first time, and I liked it a good bit better. Ishii's performance and the crowd's support for him popped a lot more. It lacked the hellbent intensity of the G1 match, but that's not a criticism. It was a great match in its own right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted September 21, 2018 Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 Loved Ishii vs Omega. Great match, and different from their G1 classic. At one point, you could almost trick yourself into believing Ishii had a chance. Glad Taichi won. I really like his act. Gotta love the Larry Z. like stalling at the beginning and the dog & pony show later on, with one really good false finish (that damn Gedo clutch). Goto is a good worker but I never can get myself to care about him for whatever reason. Taichi brings something different. Such a douchebag, he didn't even look happy that he won. He probably will lose the title pretty quickly though, but he's so much better than the Elgins of the world... Naito vs Suzuki redeemed themselves from their miss earlier on, with some crazy brawling and nice intensity overall, but yeah, it's a case of Hansen vs Jumbo, two great workers who just don't click that well. A bit too long and the finish again seemed a bit anti-climatic (although it's been established that Suzuki doesn't take finishers well, once you get him in a finisher he's usually done). I wonder if they are going toward Okada vs White at the Dome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted September 21, 2018 Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 3 hours ago, El-P said: I wonder if they are going toward Okada vs White at the Dome. I hope that's the direction. It gives Okada a real angle and something to do without the belt being involved, besides, CHAOS is almost a decade old and it's time to reshuffle things a bit. And White gets another huge match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makai Club #1 Posted September 21, 2018 Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 Okada vs White seems like the right choice to go with. Okada desperately needs a break from the title and him having a proper feud instead of a one time match. White would benefit from this as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutenberger Posted September 21, 2018 Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 Yoshi-Hashi and Tanahashi is another thing that intrigues me, and I'm wondering if this could play into sunday's big match. The situaton in Chaos seems to be the main focus at the moment in general, at least from a storytelling perspective, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted September 21, 2018 Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 Prediction : Tana finally beats Okada. After the match, Jay White talks shit to Okada for losing. YOSHI-HASHI tries to talk some sense into him. White blasts him. Okada checks on YH, who shoves him back then becomes Tana's understudy. Tana vs Omega & Okada vs White at the Dome, while YH goes for Taichi's title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wahoos Leg Posted September 21, 2018 Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 3 hours ago, El-P said: Prediction : Tana finally beats Okada. After the match, Jay White talks shit to Okada for losing. YOSHI-HASHI tries to talk some sense into him. White blasts him. Okada checks on YH, who shoves him back then becomes Tana's understudy. Tana vs Omega & Okada vs White at the Dome, while YH goes for Taichi's title. I agree I think they're building to Okada vs White, with the winner maybe being declared the leader of Chaos. I do think White challenges for the briefcase before the year is over, though. And am I the only one that would get behind a Jericho-Suzuki brawl at the Dome? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeg Posted September 22, 2018 Report Share Posted September 22, 2018 Jericho vs Suzuki brawling at the Dome would be great, although I would like to see Naito get his win back at some point, and what bigger place than the Dome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmartMark15 Posted September 23, 2018 Report Share Posted September 23, 2018 Tokyo Dome build playing out pretty much as we called it which is definitely not a bad thing if you ask me. It's all been logical and great and also the Tana-Okada match was fantastic. Spoiler Gedo turning on Okada was an excellent twist to really heat up the road to the Tokyo Dome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted September 23, 2018 Report Share Posted September 23, 2018 Best thing Gedo has booked in years. And I'm not even that interested in White vs Okada as a match, but it was the right call and opens up a lot of stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutenberger Posted September 23, 2018 Report Share Posted September 23, 2018 Great main event and even better post match! Really looking forward to seeing how this all plays out. I could see an alliance between Tana, Okada and Yoshi-Hashi. That slip and subsequent gusher from Yoshi looked REALLY bad, though, even with what little there was to see of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted September 23, 2018 Report Share Posted September 23, 2018 Seriously now... When I thought it was simply about a great, great fucking pro-wrestling match (I would have it as an easy top 5 this year, which is a crazy notion to begin with considering how NJ has cracked the code), we get THIS post-match ? How far has Jay White come since his underwhelming match at the Dome ? Gotta love his instinct of going for YH's blood too, as a quick "cover-up", or rather a way to get the heat back on the angle rather than YH's injury (damn, poor YH, he can't catch a break, that fall was nasty as was the cut). And then, honestly, I've watched way too much pro-wrestling for 30 years almost, and I *didn't see that one coming at all*. I screamed like a complete mark. Awesome job by Gedo (both as a performer and obviously, what a great booker). This was just terrific from A to Z. So : Tana gets his stuff back from White then faces Omega. Okada faces White. In the meantime, Jericho shows up to fuck up EVIL, than Naito gets his revenge at the Dome. 2018 is absolutely an insane and great year to be a pro-wrestling fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjaminkicks Posted September 25, 2018 Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 The full card for next weekend's FIGHTING SPIRIT UNLEASHED show in Long Beach has been announced: Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) IWGP US Championship - Juice Robinson vs. Cody IWGP Tag Team Championship - Young Bucks vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) IWGP Jr. Heavyweight tournament semifinal bout - Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA vs. Jay White & Gedo Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) Jeff Cobb, Flip Gordon & Chris Sabin vs. Hirooki Goto & Best Friends (Chuckie T & Beretta) Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Hangman Page & Chase Owens ACH, Ryusuke Taguchi & Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. Roppongi 3k (Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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