Boss Rock Posted February 15, 2019 Report Share Posted February 15, 2019 11 hours ago, Jmare007 said: My guess is that one Dome show will be Okada vs ?? (probably Naito) and the other will be Ibushi vs Omega. Would LOVE to see some interpromotional matches to boost up the cards. I would hope so. Had been thinking for a while it would be those two matches at WK 14. And I'm sure they would allow Kenny to come back and do a program, seems like the door is still open there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted February 25, 2019 Report Share Posted February 25, 2019 Thought night one of Honor Rising was pretty good. Scurll-Narita was decent, BC-Gresham/Liger was brilliantly booked, Sabre-Umino was really good (Umino is definitely someone to watch for), Ospreay-Dalton was a lot of fun even with Dalton working through an injury, and Goto-Cobb improved upon their NEVER match last year. Main event wasn't anything special but did what it needed to. Also stoked at Charlton and Kelly basically confirming Gresham will be in BOSJ this year. In some rather bad news Finlay separated his shoulder at the end of the main event for night 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjaminkicks Posted February 25, 2019 Report Share Posted February 25, 2019 New Japan Cup bracket has been released: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjaminkicks Posted February 25, 2019 Report Share Posted February 25, 2019 Really surprised to see Naito vs. Ibushi in the first round, as I thought they'd want to keep the hopes of both of them winning alive for longer, but I can't complain because that's guaranteed to be a banger. Also looking forward to Nagata/Ishii, Elgin/Okada, Juice/Chase, Ospreay/Fale, Tanahashi/Umino, EVIL/Sabre, and Goto/SANADA throughout the first round. Lots of first-time entrants this year: Chase, Mikey Nicholls, Hikuleo, Ospreay, Henare, Umino, Finlay, and Cabana. Very clear they see Umino as a future star as they match him with Tanahashi in the first round. I was a big fan of TMDK before they went to NXT and was bummed they weren't really used more, so I'm happy to see Mikey Nicholls getting a shot in New Japan and I hope he does well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Migs Posted February 25, 2019 Report Share Posted February 25, 2019 The size of the tournament definitely explains why they're going live with every show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Like that they're doing something different with such a huge field. Awesome to see Nagata, Kojima, Tenzan, and Nakanishi getting spots. Would have preferred them keeping Naito and Ibushi's hopes of winning alive longer, but yeah that match will rule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjaminkicks Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 I've been thinking more about the Naito/Ibushi match, and I think it's purpose might be to set up a rematch for the IC title at MSG. A lot of people seem to have Ibushi pegged to with the Cup in light of the news of him signing a contract, but I don't think he'll be getting the belt so soon and I don't think White is gonna lose the title on the first defense. Ibushi/Naito at MSG would give the crowd there a guaranteed awesome match to look forward to, and seeing Ibushi win would provide a feelgood, babyface win before White wins in the main event. Plus it will free Naito up from the IC belt so he can go on to take the heavyweight title from White at Dontaku or Dominion. That leaves the person winning the Cup and challenging White, and if White retains there I think his challenger should be someone the crowd can get behind but won't think MUST win like one of the top guys. I think you'd get a lot of unhappy fans if they put Okada, Naito, or Ibushi in that spot and they lose to Jay White, who a lot of western fans already think is being pushed too hard. So I've settled on maybe Ishii being perfect in that spot, or maybe Juice, who would be elevated with the Cup win and would have a natural storyline with White as it'll be a rematch of the awesome match they had for the US title last year in the States. The nice thing for the company is that the stakes are relatively low regarding who they choose for that spot, because MSG is already sold out and the Cup finals always draws a good number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stiva Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Anything worth watching from the Honor Rising shows? Or is ROHs complete and utter blandness impossible to overcome? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Hmm, watching the brackets. It seems like Okada has a pretty clear path to the Finals and probably to get the title shot at MSG and get the belt back. And it's funny how Naito losing the IC belt "frees him up" to got for the main title 1 month later. When his whole thing right now is being double champion and Gedo will basically be giving an IWGP title shot to a guy who just lost a big match. I'm all for Naito finally winning but that's just bad booking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Migs Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 2 hours ago, Stiva said: Anything worth watching from the Honor Rising shows? Or is ROHs complete and utter blandness impossible to overcome? Quite a bit! Castle-Ospreay was really good (and the tag match on night two was fun as well). The Young Lion matches with Sabre and Scurll on Night One were good. Both Gresham tag matches had lots of fun mat wrestling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 On 2/25/2019 at 4:43 PM, Migs said: The size of the tournament definitely explains why they're going live with every show. It also makes the whole thing way too much of a hassle to follow. This reeks of something you'd want to watch a best-of after the fact. I mean, Lance Archer vs Toa Henare, Cold Cabana vs Makabe, Elgin vs Whoever, Nakanishi vs Yoshi-Hashi... It's like those old KOTR qualifiers matches on Superstars... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stiva Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 2 hours ago, Migs said: Quite a bit! Castle-Ospreay was really good (and the tag match on night two was fun as well). The Young Lion matches with Sabre and Scurll on Night One were good. Both Gresham tag matches had lots of fun mat wrestling. Awesome, thanks. New Japan and ROH have a strange ability to make me look at a card and, despite seeing match ups that look intriguing, not have a single clue if they'll actually be good or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Ospreay's match with Fale should let us know how serious they are about pushing him as a heavyweight. To be honest, though, I'm increasingly convinced that the junior division is an anachronism. It really struck me when I watched KUSHIDA's match with Tanahashi. The IWGP heavyweight champion was barely larger than the former junior ace. And most of the company's top heavyweights are his size or smaller. Plus, current New Japan is more of an entertainment-based product, so there's no real need to try to maintain sports legitimacy. They should do away with the division or at least significantly lower the weight limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 I dunno, the junior division has a great legacy. Guys like Ishimorii will never graduate to the heavies. They should absolutely do away with useless belts like the Openweight title, the 6 men whatever titles, the US belt which is akin to the old WWF European belt, hell even the IC title doesn't seem to be necessary (was it ever ?). Way too many titles, it's like Crockett in 87 or so. And honestly, although I totally do understand the culture as an old joshi puroresu fan, NJ should totally do a women's division. They have the best pool of talent available in their own country. Not sure the daughter of Animal Hamaguchi is still available though (old-school joke). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Migs Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 5 hours ago, El-P said: It also makes the whole thing way too much of a hassle to follow. This reeks of something you'd want to watch a best-of after the fact. I mean, Lance Archer vs Toa Henare, Cold Cabana vs Makabe, Elgin vs Whoever, Nakanishi vs Yoshi-Hashi... It's like those old KOTR qualifiers matches on Superstars... I think the first round might be a bit of a chore, but after that it looks pretty intriguing, and two matches a day isn't a terrible amount to keep up on. The good first round matches are pretty easy to circle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 20 minutes ago, Migs said: I think the first round might be a bit of a chore, but after that it looks pretty intriguing, and two matches a day isn't a terrible amount to keep up on. The good first round matches are pretty easy to circle. Oh, I have no doubt it will probably end up being very good, especially in the later phases, but I meant no way I'm watching all those live shows to follow the tournament from the beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 7 hours ago, El-P said: I dunno, the junior division has a great legacy. Guys like Ishimorii will never graduate to the heavies. They should absolutely do away with useless belts like the Openweight title, the 6 men whatever titles, the US belt which is akin to the old WWF European belt, hell even the IC title doesn't seem to be necessary (was it ever ?). Way too many titles, it's like Crockett in 87 or so. The IC title during the Nakamura days was definitely a big deal, although in a lot of ways it felt like a sort of consolation prize for Nak not getting THE push. Still, guys like Tanahashi, Naito, and Nak did a really great job making it feel like a legitimate number 2 belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 The IIzuka retirement show was one of the most fun of the year thus far, with a lot of cool matches with unusual pairings. The retirement match and post-match mess was terrific. Crazy how they managed to get a great moment out of IIzuka. Suzuki's ten count was quite funny too. NJPW can really thank Suzuki-Gun, they are the true life of the heel side in the company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conker8 Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 Jyushin Thunder Liger will retire at the next Wrestle Kingdom in 10 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 That's pretty huge. With the words "legendary", "GOAT" thrown around like nothing, Liger retiring will remind everyone what a true legend and legit greatest of all time is all about. So, I guess that was part of the plan of having two Dome shows, the Liger retirement being enough to pack one of the two I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 He better get the main event of one of those shows. Liger truly deserves it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 15 minutes ago, El-P said: That's pretty huge. With the words "legendary", "GOAT" thrown around like nothing, Liger retiring will remind everyone what a true legend and legit greatest of all time is all about. So, I guess that was part of the plan of having two Dome shows, the Liger retirement being enough to pack one of the two I suppose. It should have a ton of people from other promotions so there should be some fun/interesting interpromotional matches. I'm all for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 The Taiji match was proof Liger can still go at a high level, he hasn't really lost a step at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NintendoLogic Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 Not only can Liger still go, he looks like he's barely aged in the past 20 or so years thanks to the costume. I would suggest that Blue Panther losing his mask is what killed his chances of being elected to the WON HOF. With the mask, he was ageless. Without it, he was an old man who looked even older, which meant that he couldn't be utilized beyond a certain level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 Let's not forget he's been at this level of greatness after having a brain tumor removed like 23+ years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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