concrete1992 Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 Thing is, it looks like most of the workers I would want to see, minus Cavernario, is gonna still be in CMLL. So it doesn't feel like much will change. But i could be off I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 I wonder if they'll do a GFW/NJPW card soon? Can you imagine the main event?Jeff Jarrett vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisZ Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 Stigma & Gran Guerrero are related to the right people (Stigma to Black Cat & Panico and GG is Ultimo Guerrero's brother) Polvora isn't very good, Angel de Oro is inconsistent, & Niebla was brought over for his gimmick only, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 I bet CMLL is happy to have a few week vacation from Niebla. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted January 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Very underwhelming lineups. Cavernario/Cometa should be great. I wonder if either guy will be able to hit their trademark dives right with how close the barricades are to the ring in Korakuen. Atlantis/UG will no doubt be the same match they've been having all year (likely spot-for-spot), but it should be cool to see how a Japanese crowd reacts to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Enthusiast Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I wonder if they'll do a GFW/NJPW card soon? Can you imagine the main event? Jeff Jarrett vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi? Does GFW actually exist to anyone other than Jeff Jarrett? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I wonder if they'll do a GFW/NJPW card soon? Can you imagine the main event? Jeff Jarrett vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi? Does GFW actually exist to anyone other than Jeff Jarrett? Vince: "What's GFW, that some kind of hair mousse?" Getting back on topic, Dave gave Nakamura/Ibushi ***** and Okada/Tanahashi ****3/4. Tana and Naka are honestly like Misawa and Kobashi of this generation, it's just amazing how many frequent top quality matches they are having. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stomperspc Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I wonder if they'll do a GFW/NJPW card soon? Can you imagine the main event? Jeff Jarrett vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi? Does GFW actually exist to anyone other than Jeff Jarrett? Vince: "What's GFW, that some kind of hair mousse?" Getting back on topic, Dave gave Nakamura/Ibushi ***** and Okada/Tanahashi ****3/4. Tana and Naka are honestly like Misawa and Kobashi of this generation, it's just amazing how many frequent top quality matches they are having. For fun, Meltzer’s star ratings for the two series of matches (singles matches only): Tanahashi vs. Okada 02.12.12 **** ½ 06.16.12 **** ¾ 01.04.13 **** ¾ 04.07.13 ***** 08.10.13 **** ½ 10.14.13 ***** 01.04.15 **** ¾ Misawa vs. Kawada 10.21.92 **** ½ 03.27.93 **** ½ 07.29.93 **** ¼ 06.03.94 ***** 07.24.95 **** ¾ 03.30.97 **** ¾ 04.19.97 *** ¾ 06.06.97 ***** 03.29.98 **** ¼ 05.01.98 **** ¼ 01.29.99 **** ½ 07.23.99 **** ½ The April 19, 1997 match should probably be excluded or at least heavily caveated given the context of the match. It was the second of three matches in what was a three way round robin for the 1997 Champion Carnival. Misawa had just wrestled a 30-minute draw versus Kobashi and the story was he was worn out from that match, which made him easy prey for Kawada. The match was only 6 ½ minutes long. Taking that out, Misawa/Kawada averaged a tick over **** ½ (4.6) in eleven singles matches from AJPW that Meltzer rated. Okada & Tanahashi have averaged a **** ¾ rating from Meltzer over seven singles matches. There isn’t a lot whole of difference separating the two going by Meltzer’s ratings. We are talking decimal points or about a ½ of a star in either direction. Both had two ***** matches. It should also be noted that six-man and regular tags were a far more featured and important part to mid-90’s AJPW than they are to modern day NJPW. Between 1993 and 1997, Meltzer gave 10 tags or six-man tags with Misawa & Kawada on opposing sides the full *****. Going by Meltzer’s ratings, Tanahashi & Okada haven’t come close to touching Kawada & Misawa’s tag output. Granted, Okada & Tanahashi haven’t had the same opportunities in tags because current NJPW does not feature main event tags and six-mans like AJPW did but it is what it is. Meltzer would be stretching things to claim that Okada & Tanahashi have had a higher quality series of matches than Kawada & Misawa going off of his own ratings. That’s also with Meltzer rating the Tanahashi & Okada matches as highly as anyone. I think if you went by other’s opinions, it wouldn’t be that close of a contest. Edit: Just saw you said Misawa/Kobashi and not Kawada. Meltzer did rate the Kobashi matches higher but I guess I chose to see what I wanted to see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W2BTD Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 dave's rating for the 1/4/13 match is mental. That was easily the worst of the series for me, I had that at ****, and most of the hardcore NJPW fans agree that it was the least interesting of all seven matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W2BTD Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Nothing says in-fighting like the N W A Anyone know more of what happened? More on Ronquillo - http://www.examiner.com/article/chris-ronquillo-quietly-leads-the-nwa-to-renewed-prominence You can trust it, a doctor wrote it. Nobody knows what happened because neither side will say anything other than non answers like "philosophical differences". Ronquillo was always pulling the key strings, Tharpe was the "president" but that was sort of like a figurehead thing because he was the lawyer and obviously has the charisma. There are a bunch of promoters who have very little confidence in Tharpe calling all of the shots. I would expect several affiliates to drop before the end of the year. Tharpe is calling for ringside mats, barricades, and some other expenditures in order to remain affiliated, and I've had one promoter tell me directly "I am not spending the money on any of that shit until Bruce produces a TV deal". I like Bruce, but I like Chris too. I'm 100% neutral. The feeling I get, at least among the Texas promoters, is most of the key ones are Ronquillo guys. And fwiw, the Ronquillo/Tharpe team really did clean up the NWA and do some great things. People not paying attention still stick to the same narratives, but the days of buying title reigns, low rent champions, sleazy affiliates, and other assorted junk ended under Ronquillo/Tharpe. Not to mention the New Japan connection. The champions under this regime have been people like Rob Conway, KES, Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Liger, Ricky Morton, etc unlike a few years ago when guys like The Sheik were buying title runs and low level indie guys were holding the other key titles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 dave's rating for the 1/4/13 match is mental. That was easily the worst of the series for me, I had that at ****, and most of the hardcore NJPW fans agree that it was the least interesting of all seven matches. That one definitely dragged and was easily the worst. But Nak/Sak and Suzuki/Nagata more than made up for it on that show. Like you said, it wasn't terrible. Just a far cry from their other matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted January 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 Awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted January 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 Looking at Twitter, it looks like NOAH ran an angle today where Suzukigun invaded and Suzuki laid out Marufuji with the Gotch piledriver. I'm all for any opportunities Suzuki gets to have more spotlight singles matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 I know Suzuki can carry Marufuji to something good because Ogawa just did. Still of all the people for Suzuki to have an interpromotional feud with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
concrete1992 Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 If that NJPW is on at 9AM on Saturday, that commercial just sold 8 year old me to sit my ass down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted January 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 I know Suzuki can carry Marufuji to something good because Ogawa just did. Still of all the people for Suzuki to have an interpromotional feud with Hopefully it leads to a GHC run for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strand Peanut Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 Nothing says in-fighting like the N W A Anyone know more of what happened? More on Ronquillo - http://www.examiner.com/article/chris-ronquillo-quietly-leads-the-nwa-to-renewed-prominence You can trust it, a doctor wrote it. Nobody knows what happened because neither side will say anything other than non answers like "philosophical differences". Ronquillo was always pulling the key strings, Tharpe was the "president" but that was sort of like a figurehead thing because he was the lawyer and obviously has the charisma. There are a bunch of promoters who have very little confidence in Tharpe calling all of the shots. I would expect several affiliates to drop before the end of the year. Tharpe is calling for ringside mats, barricades, and some other expenditures in order to remain affiliated, and I've had one promoter tell me directly "I am not spending the money on any of that shit until Bruce produces a TV deal". I like Bruce, but I like Chris too. I'm 100% neutral. The feeling I get, at least among the Texas promoters, is most of the key ones are Ronquillo guys. And fwiw, the Ronquillo/Tharpe team really did clean up the NWA and do some great things. People not paying attention still stick to the same narratives, but the days of buying title reigns, low rent champions, sleazy affiliates, and other assorted junk ended under Ronquillo/Tharpe. Not to mention the New Japan connection. The champions under this regime have been people like Rob Conway, KES, Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Liger, Ricky Morton, etc unlike a few years ago when guys like The Sheik were buying title runs and low level indie guys were holding the other key titles. Thanks for your insight into this. Modern NWA news gets very little attention, but I'd like to echo your sentiment.. The NWA has been much better under them. Certainly had come across as more professional, and had leveraged their limited exposure quite well, I thought. Too bad about the break-up. Feels like they were just starting to get noticed for all that work. The NWA, as a concept, just so fraught with opportunities for in fighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shining Wiz Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Just bought tickets to the ROH/NJ shows for May. Hoping the lineup is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 In NY? Those are already on sale? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Just bought tickets to the ROH/NJ shows for May. Hoping the lineup is good. Me too, apparently. In NY? Those are already on sale? Toronto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Got it, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=85027636&v=SioTfnUpo7M&x-yt-ts=1422503916 So Super Crazy revealed that the New Japan-NOAH relationship goes far deaper than just exchanging talent for shows. He basically said that New Japan is in charge of what gaijin will be working for NOAH and that Jado will have a major role in booking them. He compared NOAH to NXT and that the booking model will change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W2BTD Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 If you needed more evidence as to who was really pulling the NWA/NJPW strings, Jushin Liger currently has one date scheduled in the U.S. next month, and it's for PWS. The NWA/NJPW relationship is tenuous at best right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soup23 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 My rankings for the January New Japan matches that have surfaced so far: ****3/4 IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: [10th Champion] Shinsuke Nakamura vs. [Challenger] Kota Ibushi 1/4/15 ****1/2 IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: [61st Champion] Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. [Challenger / G1 CLIMAX 24 Winner] Kazuchika Okada 1/4/15 ***3/4 Special Single Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. AJ Styles 1/4/15 Rey Cometa vs. Barbaro Cavernario 1/19/15 ***1/2 IWGP Tag Championship Match: [64th Champions] Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs. [Challengers / WTL 2014 Winners] Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata 1/4/15 Mascara Dorada vs. La Sombra 1/19/15 Special Single Match ~ Complete Conclusion Rules: Kazushi Sakuraba [FREE] vs. Minoru Suzuki [Pancrase MISSION] 1/4/15 ***1/4 Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi & Volador Jr. & Atlantis vs. Kazuchika Okada & Shinsuke Nakamura & Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero 1/19/15 Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe, Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI ***1/4 KUSHIDA, Captain New Japan & Mascara Dorada vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Tetsuya Naito & La Sombra 1/13/15 Atlantis vs. Ultimo Guerrero 1/18/15 *** Special 8 Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata & Tetsuya Naito vs. AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Yujiro Takahashi 1/5/15 Yohei Komatsu vs. Kyle O’Reilly 1/30/15 Hiroshi Tanahashi, Volador Jr. & Atlantis vs. Kazuchika Okada, Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero 1/13/15 Special 6 Man Tag Match: Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata & Kota Ibushi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI 1/5/15 **3/4 NEVER Openweight Championship Match: [5th Champion] Tomohiro Ishii vs. [Challenger] Togi Makabe 1/4/15 KUSHIDA & Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger & Stuka Jr. vs. Gedo & Yoshi-Hashi & OKUMURA & Tomohiro Ishii 1/19/15 Cavernario Barbaro and Okumura vs. Kushida and Triton 1/18/15 Special Tag Match: Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga 1/5/15 NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: [90th Champion] Jushin Thunder Liger vs. [Challenger] El Desperado 1/5/15 Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov vs. Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish 1/5/15 KUSHIDA & Mascara Dorada vs. Matt & Nick Jackson 1/30/15 **1/2 IWGP Junior Tag Championship 4WAY Match: [39th Champions] “reDragon” Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish vs. [Challengers] “Time Splitters” KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley vs. [Challengers] “Forever Hooligans” Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov vs. [Challengers] “Young Bucks” Matt & Nick Jackson 1/4/15 Captain New Japan & Triton vs. Tetsuya Naito & Ryusuke Taguchi 1/19/15 Tiger Mask IV & Sho Tanaka vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi 1/5/15 Alex Shelley vs. Jay White 1/30/15 Special 6 Man Tag Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Jeff Jarrett, Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi 1/4/15 Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Captain New Japan & Tiger Mask IV 1/30/15 **1/4 Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship – Mephisto vs. Stuka Jr 1/18/15 Jushin Liger & Mistico vs. Gedo & Polvora 1/13/15 Battle Royal ~ New Japan Rumble 1/4/15 Tiger Mask, Stigma & Stuka Jr. vs. YOSHI-HASHI, Shinsuke Nakamura & Mephisto 1/13/15 Special 6 Man Tag Match: Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley vs. Kenny Omega, Matt & Nick Jackson 1/5/15 Triton & Rey Cometa vs Barbaro Cavernario & Mr. Niebla 1/13/15 Mistico vs. Polvora 1/19/15 ** NWA Welterweight Championship – Volador Jr. © vs. Gran Guerrero 1/18/15 Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga & Kenny Omega 1/30/15 OKUMURA debut 20th Anniversary & CMLL 10th Anniversary: OKUMURA vs. Angel De Oro 1/13/15 Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan vs. Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, Shelton “X” Benjamin, Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. 1/5/15 Tomohiro Ishii, Gedo and Yoshi Hashi vs. Angel de Oro, Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask 1/18/15 Toru Yano, Naomichi Marufuji, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste vs. “Suzuki-gun” Takashi Iizuka, Shelton “X” Benjamin, Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith, Jr. 1/4/15 *3/4 IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: [69th Champion] Ryusuke Taguchi vs. [Challenger] Kenny Omega 1/4/15 *1/2 Ryusuke Taguchi, Tetsuya Naito, and La Sombra vs. Captain New Japan, Mascara Don and Mascara Dorada 1/18/15 Hiroshi Tanahashi, Stigma & Mistico vs. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Polvora 1/18/15 Kazuchika Okada & Gedo vs. Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi 1/30/15 Stigma & Angel de Oro vs. Mephisto & Yujiro Takahashi 1/18/15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strand Peanut Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 If you needed more evidence as to who was really pulling the NWA/NJPW strings, Jushin Liger currently has one date scheduled in the U.S. next month, and it's for PWS. The NWA/NJPW relationship is tenuous at best right now. Woof. Conway still coming to Japan to defend the title ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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