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Conversely, Omega is athletic as fuck and really good at constructing some exciting stretches within a match. But he's a total non-entity in terms of being a character. Wacky, wide-eyed expressions and forced Street Fighter poses don't convey character.

People point to Pillman charisma as if to say that's what he's reaching for, but I'd say Jerry Lynn would be a more apt description of where he's actually landing. And that'd be generous.

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20 hours ago, Boss Rock said:

While probably not as exciting an option as say Shingo, Kawato's always had loads of potential is already better than more than half the junior division. I'd be thrilled.

Fair enough, not familiar with his young lion days but he's been generally bad in CMLL. Maybe it's just the setting.

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44 minutes ago, Jmare007 said:

It WAS Shingo!

 

So glad I was wrong, great get by New Japan. I do hope he's not a Junior or if he is, he doesn't stay one for long.

I think he'll be LIJ's Junior representative until Hiromu returns and then he'll start his assault on the Heavyweight division. 

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36 minutes ago, Viking Hall said:

I think he'll be LIJ's Junior representative until Hiromu returns and then he'll start his assault on the Heavyweight division. 

Maybe I misheard this morning because it was very early, but it sounded like they were talking up him and Bushi for the Jr Tag League tournament.

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New Japan does these non-G1 Sumo Hall shows twice a year and haven't sold less than 9k tickets for one since King of Pro-Wrestling 2015. 

There's a core New Japan fanbase in Tokyo that seems to trust the company to deliver a stellar show, regardless of the card. And even if people didn't like the card going into it, they still got one of the most newsworthy shows of the year. 

 

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Tanahashi vs White was a terrific match, although I must admit I'm not that crazy about that much of an US style match worked in NJ for a "main event". What I did not enjoy though, was the post match angle. White & Gedo didn't need to be associated with the Tongans, especially if that means tons of interferences in White's matches from now on. But the one thing that bugged me the most was the old nWo style beatdown, with no sight of the babyfaces. Isn't Okada the leader of a faction called CHAOS ? So, where the fuck were Ishii, Ospreay, Goto, Yano, SHO & YOH ? Unless it was specified they left the building (which would be odd if Okada stayed), it really made them look like the worst faction ever. Too much lazy style american booking, this. On the other hand, the prospect of Okada & Tana on the same side in the future is interesting.

Loved the three-way main event, and I usually don't care at all for the format. My first reaction to the absence of Brandi was "Damn. :(", as the act is better than Cody by himself. Cody did prove me wrong though, as it's probably his best in-ring performance that I've seen. Ok, it doesn't hurt to have Ibushi & Omega with you along for the ride. And what a ride, so much cool stuff character wise and quite a crazy match which actually had me believe Ibushi could win (and Cody has a great nearfall with the small package). 

Jericho showing up and Takagi as the new LIJ member were cool moments in a decent undercard.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Dave gets shit for saying it,  but it really is amazing how a four hour NJPW show seems to go by quickly as opposed to the usual WWE slog. Just so much more respectful of the viewer's time: each match has a quick video recap of the storyline building it and off we go. No filler backstage bullshit, no endless video packages shown multiple times. 

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Thought the show was really good. The Junior Tag League final was fun even if I thought Takagi and BUSHI should have won. Goto-Taichi was proof Taichi CAN be decent when he wants to be. Ishii-Suzuki was their best match yet and unbelievably physical. Naito-Sabre was great. I know the main event was kept shorter than the typical 30-minute format due to Jericho's age and physical limitations, but I really wish it was something we got more of. I tend to be more forgiving of the format then others, but I see this match and then remember Naito-Suzuki NEVER needed to be 30+ minutes. Brawler Jericho continues to deliver and EVIL turned in maybe his best performance of the year. And Naito remaining in the IC picture isn't ideal but I resigned myself to that after the G-1 and it stings less and less, heh.

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I'm loving later-in-life Jericho here.

See, I don't think the advanced age/physical limitations are hindering him. At one time? Sure. It was like he was struggling to keep up and being overly ambitious for what he was actually capable of doing anymore.

Now? Not so much. I think he's proven to be smart enough to adapt, and his matches have been a blast. They're heavier on brawling, on character elements, and on storytelling. But I'd argue that those things were always his better attributes anyhow.

As someone who has seen his precious spare time decrease considerably (and progressively) over the last few years, I have to say - I appreciate shorter matches. Fuck the idea that these main events all need to be some iteration of the Okada/Omega draw. Or anything remotely close. Give me variety in these time lengths. Give me a ten-minute sprint to shake things up once in awhile. I'm down for all that.

And I just don't have the time or patience to sit through a bunch of filler wrestling and padded match lengths anymore. If it doesn't feel essential to the story, I'm usually skipping ahead or glancing at the clock & feeling guilty for not using my free time more wisely anyway. I get that this is an odd stance on a site called ProWrestlingOnly and all, but I'm just being honest. I'm not 18 years old with seemingly unlimited free time. Fuck going Broadway. Give me great matches, for sure. But get on with it.

I'm not bothered one bit by the rematch with Naito. It fits. Seems like the next logical step for both guys. I wasn't really expecting Naito to headline again just yet. Maybe I'm in the minority there, but it's like - if he wasn't going to get that top spot, then this is a suitable consolation. NOT going with the Jericho rematch would've felt like an equally egregious missed opportunity at that point.

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Finally got to finish that show. The last half was terrific, Suzuki vs Ishii was absurd in its simplistic greatness, Naito vs Sabre was excellent and tons of fun and Jericho vs EVIL was about as good an EVIL match will get. Crazy to think that Jericho, 20 years after being that young hungry potential star on Nitro, has basically became the Terry Funk of his generation (as in a terrific old-guy worker).

Naito vs Jericho II at the Dome should be terrific, but honestly apart from the awesome G1, it's been kind of a off year for Naito in term of development. Hope he's not gonna cool down before he eventually gets the big one again. (he should get it or win the G1 next year, anything less would be too less).

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6 hours ago, El-P said:

Finally got to finish that show. The last half was terrific, Suzuki vs Ishii was absurd in its simplistic greatness, Naito vs Sabre was excellent and tons of fun and Jericho vs EVIL was about as good an EVIL match will get. Crazy to think that Jericho, 20 years after being that young hungry potential star on Nitro, has basically became the Terry Funk of his generation (as in a terrific old-guy worker).

Naito vs Jericho II at the Dome should be terrific, but honestly apart from the awesome G1, it's been kind of a off year for Naito in term of development. Hope he's not gonna cool down before he eventually gets the big one again. (he should get it or win the G1 next year, anything less would be too less).

I can only imagine he takes down Omega at Dominion or some other early year PPV. 

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5 hours ago, Boss Rock said:

Sabre vs. Ishii at WK for the RevPro title!

https://lastwordonprowrestling.com/2018/11/09/breaking-tomohiro-ishii-vs-zack-sabre-jr-announced-for-wrestle-kingdom-13/

I'm glad that even though NJPW won't give Ishii another singles title run, they'll at least let him defend the RevPro title at shows.

This is awesome. 1/4 looking even better than it was. Really excited.

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