Current New Japan

[El-P]

After Ospreay vs Okada, which is an easy MOTD candidate already (yeah, I said it, after 4 days), I had forgotten about the undercard, which was actually quite fine but did not exactly set the world on fire to me.

I'd say Hiromu vs Phantasmo was very good and tons of fun, but it's obvious Hiromu was basically preserving himself for tomorrow. Phantasmo is the best heel, he's a riot.

The tag team match overachieved thanks to the excellent work of Taichi & ZSJ, but damn those titles for the seventh time around the waste (see what I did here ?) of the GoD shows how much they mean nothing. I sure hope Taichi (BTW, no Miho Abe at the Dome show ? That's bullshit !) and Zach go back to do meaningful stuff in single matches.

Great O Khan looked "ok" against Tanahashi, I'm glad the right guy won. Seriously, the gimmick is trash, he looks like a drunken magician during his entrance and that's not scary unless you're the girl he's supposed to cut in half. The worker behind the gimmick is mediocre at best and has zero charisma nor presence. JTTS 4 Life. Hope Tana gets some cool stuff to do in 2021.

The 1-2 punch main events were awesome, with Naito vs Ibushi not being quite as awesome as Okada vs Ospreay, but still pretty clear MOTYC level to me. A few little miss here and there but overall Naito looked good. The ending stretch is what took it over the edge of just "excellent" to me. Great post-match with Naito handing over the belts. 

Odds of White winning tomorrow ? To me : 0. And if by chance he does, that would not only make Ibushi look really bad but also be a complete downer. So, no. They also have no shot of following the two big matches of the day. Two Tokyo Dome shows back to back really is not a great idea, the second night looks way weaker. I'm actively dreading SANADA vs EVIL (so I guess it can only be better than I think it will ?). I guess Hiromu steals the show tomorrow. Cobb & Takagi could be great or not, depending on Cobb's level. I don't even remember what other match we get apart from the useless four-way.

[sek69]

We're getting Desperado/Kanemaru vs Taguchi/Master Wato for the Jr tag team titles too.  Should be a decent enough match that won't set the world on fire or anything. 

The top two matches are def. carrying day two for sure, I wish that the Stardom matches would air but I suppose that won't happen because of different TV deals made before both promotions were under the same umbrella. 

[kas]

Main event was MOTN for me, but Okada/Osprey was great, and the undercard was solid. Here's hoping Ibushi walks out still champ

 

[joeg]

Okada Osprey was amazing. Main event was good. Undercard was perfectly fine. Was really impressed with ELP, the guy is freaky athletic. 

Ok, lets talk about Oka. He was so hyped when he was at the dojo, I was expecting the next Nakamura. Or at the very least the next Kaz Fujita or Nakanishi. Prototypical size with blue chip athletic background, you just expect more. He looked decent as a young lion. But this gimmick, there is such a disconnect between the gimmick and how he works. Oka has a funamental lack of understanding of psychology, I think he actually got worse on excursion. With this gimmick you expect a punch kick Killer Khan type of guy, not a guy that busts out slick elite level grappling and big suplexes. His gimmick should be more along the lines of Taz of Kaz Fujita, something that matches his athletic background and in ring work. And he shouldn't work any matches longer than 8 or 9 minutes. At this point all his matches should be some slick grappling, a couple big throws then a finish until he gets over and/or learns to work.  

[Boss Rock]

Finished the rest of the show. The Ranbo was fun a battle royal but I wish guys like Ishii, Suzuki, and SHO had something better to do on the card. Hiromu-ELP was really good although it's clear there is a much better match between them down the line. I agree that the tag title match overachieved and that's mostly due to how good the Tekkers are. Taichi's stock has risen higher in my book than anyone else this past year. The finish yet again put a damper on things and we're stuck with another dull G.O.D. reign. They're so frustrating because you have two handsome, athletic guys with an undeniable charisma and swagger about them who proceed to wrestle these boring, overbooked trudges. Kojima-KENTA didn't quite reach my expectations but the match was still solid. And Tanahashi-O'Khan was as good as it was going to be. Tanahashi really did his best and it's a testament to how great he truly is. O'Khan still just doesn't have it. It's funny how divisive a figure he's become among fans. Some see a great deal of potential and others (myself included) see another Fale.

Overall, a good show with nothing truly bad and two absolute must-see matches.

[joeg]

3 minutes ago, Boss Rock said:

. And Tanahashi-O'Khan was as good as it was going to be. Tanahashi really did his best and it's a testament to how great he truly is. O'Khan still just doesn't have it. It's funny how divisive a figure he's become among fans. Some see a great deal of potential and others (myself included) see another Fale.

I think Oka booked properly with a gimmick that highlights his bluechip shooter background and size properly and hides his flaws could be a big, big deal for them. Instead he has a gimmick that is corny as fuck and doesn't suit his talents what so ever. And on top of that his only singles matches match since coming back have been long matches against top guys, something he's obviously not ready for.

Two years ago had somebody said  "hey New Japan is going to take their top young lion, and send him away for excursion. They will change his name to Great O'Khan. They will give him a Mongolian/Killer Khan type gimmick where he's dressed like mid 90s WWF The Sultan. In his 16 month excursion he's only going to work 40 times so he never actually gets better. When he comes back from excursion he's going to be booked to go 15 minutes plus every match, including  20 minute singles matches against Okada and Tanahashi, which he will lose." Immediately you would think somebody was trying to end this guy's career before it started. 

[sek69]

New Japan hasn't really had a great track record with gimmicks as of late, Jay White seems to be the only one who's been able to make it work as of late. Master Wato isn't exactly setting the world on fire and the last couple of posts were spot on about O'Khan. 

[cm funk]

Not a prolific NJPW watcher who watches full shows on the regular, but definitely a fan who watches stuff, so bear with me

parsed the show today, didn't watch it live, but avoided spoilers and treated it as if I was watching it live, but with breaks

weird show in the Dome with so few fans.  hard to tell how many were in the building, you could see for sure on the pre-show how they had people on one side, and on the wide shots there were weird clusters and non-clusters.  It is what it is.

What is the deal with Chase Owens?  It's an honest question.  I don't get what he brings to the table to be featured other than he's friends with everybody.  Which is fine with me.  I assume that about a lot of people in NJPW, but why give this guy a featured spot?  Anyway, the rumble was what it was.  I like all 3 of the Young Lions who were featured, lots of guys I liked in the match, and it ends up with 4 I don't much care about.  Meh

I like Great-O-Khan.  He's a work in progress for sure.

Liked El Phantasmo and Hiromu quite a bit.  Dug Phantasmo disrespecting the jacket and cribbing stuff from Omega, Jericho and AJ.  Talking trash to Liger who wasn't there.  I dig his character and I liked the apt comparison on english commentary to him reminding them of Sean Waltman.  In the moment I felt this was a solid opener, but in hindsight I think it was a really solid one.

GoD and Dangerous Trekkers was good for what it was but I didn't really get into it too much.  I'm not all aboard the Taichi train yet, and I don't feel like this was the type of match that shows off the best of GoD.  For the purposes of putting them over as a legendary dominant team it didn't do it for me.  And ZSJ/Taichi, just because they beat Tanahashi and Ibushi a few times, didn't have the feel to me of a dominant team.  So overall kinda whatever for me personally.  If I was booking it would have been a total squash by GoD, Road Warriors style, where you wouldn't even feel like ZSJ and Taichi losing mattered because nobody on the planet could beat these monsters on this night.  That didn't happen.

KENTA and Kojima was solid.  I wanted Kojima to win for old times sake but this was what it should have been.  KENTA has the most snakebit career.  I like his OL FLA Club shirt.  He really should be the one to win the US title after his horrible WWE run, but Kojima had a run in the USA way back too, so this was a fun match to have

I hope Jay White beats Ibushi.  The proper booking with the story they seem to be telling is for Ibushi to win, but I have to honest I'm not that into Ibushi these days.  I was a big fan of his like 15 years ago it feels like, back in the DDT days, and I'm not really on board with this story now of him "becoming GOD".  I was hoping Naito would win on both nights.

Ibushi winning on both nights is good storytelling, and I guess after that it would be him against Okada?  My issue is that I'm not interested in it.  I'm not that interested in Ibushi anymore.  Maybe the titles makes him more interesting?  Him and Okada will always be great, him and Tanahashi have a great story to tell now.....he's the perfect champion for now I guess in the sense that he's going to deliver and there are great matchups all over the board for him

All that said, WAR KINGSWITCH

 

 

 

[cm funk]

the other thing with the dome is how much you could hear the guys grunting and selling and whatnot, and noticable how little communication there was due to people being able to hear it.  I noticed at least one of the refs talking a bit in english under breath when it was quiet so maybe fans couldn't hear his instructions on shit

it was kind of a fun show to watch in that way, and I'm sure it was weird as fuck for the performers out there in that giant stadium

[cm funk]

and the match where I noticed the ref speaking english was with two japanese wrestlers, which is why it stuck out to me so much.  I know that's a thing in Japan, but you don't usually hear the refs talking to the wrestlers like that.  It's super noticable in the states, but bizarre when you have a Japanese ref speaking to two Japanese wrestlers, IN F'N ENGLISH lol

[cm funk]

And in my last string of half drunk/half high tribute to Johnny Sorrow posts on Night 1 of WK15?

Okada was the best wrestler on that show.

[Coffey]

I legit don't know how Chase Owens is a professional wrestler. 

[Dav'oh]

Wouldn't be surprised if Vince shows Bad Luck Fale tapes to Keith Lee to teach him how to work (in a universe where Vince knows who Fale is...). Sad.

Not as pumped for tonight, Ishimori is less appealing than Phantasmo, EVIL can suck an egg or a lemon or whatever's considered rude in 2021, but I like genuine shit-heel Jay White so let's rock.

[sek69]

Chase Owens is just a guy to work six mans with Young Lions and to take the pinfall in any even somewhat meaningful match. 

iMO Fale's peak was as the guy who's shoulders Prince Devitt would ride on to the ring.

[Coffey]

LOVED Shingo Vs. Cobb. Good, hard hitting stuff. My kind of wrestling there. Awesome. That's the Jeff Cobb I've been waiting to see again in New Japan. He disappointed me last year but he definitely brought it tonight. Even with the tired wrestling trope that is the strike exchanges rearing its ugly head again, I enjoyed this one a lot.

The sound when Shingo hit the driving forearm to the back of Cobb's knee was good shit. Cobb has some freakish strength & I loved him during his Lucha Underground run as Matanza Cueto. Shingo is fantastic. That fucking pumping lariat that flipped him... my god.

[kas]

Well, Ibushi Vs White absolutely ruled. I think that might also be the longest WK main event ever.

[Boss Rock]

It is.

[joeg]

4 hours ago, Dav'oh said:

Wouldn't be surprised if Vince shows Bad Luck Fale tapes to Keith Lee to teach him how to work (in a universe where Vince knows who Fale is...). Sad.

 I think Fale has a much greater understanding of psychology and working as a big man than Lee does. Fale works like a big, strong, awkward oaf. All of his matches tell a simple logical story around him being the bigger, stronger, yet less athletic man in the ring. It might not always be the most action packed and entertaining wrestling but its aways logical and makes sense. He reminds me of Kevin Nash in that way.

Lee's matches are the opposite. His matches are usually action packed and entertaining but there's no logic in them. At all. There's no story and on top of that he pinballs around like he's Jerry Lalwer wrestling Kamala when he's working guys half his size. 

[Migs]

I loved Shingo-Cobb, probably Cobb's best NJ performance and a really nice twist on the NEVER style.

Also thought Ibushi-White was incredible, with White's pacing really working for the longer match. Loved the various stages Ibushi went through over the course of the match, and it's why I'm really excited about his reign - seems like there's some interesting places for his character to go as champion.

[Log]

12 hours ago, cm funk said:

What is the deal with Chase Owens?  It's an honest question.  I don't get what he brings to the table to be featured other than he's friends with everybody.  Which is fine with me.  I assume that about a lot of people in NJPW, but why give this guy a featured spot?  Anyway, the rumble was what it was.  I like all 3 of the Young Lions who were featured, lots of guys I liked in the match, and it ends up with 4 I don't much care about.  Meh

I didn't (still don't really) follow New Japan all that close a couple years ago.  When I started hearing about them pushing Jay White and him winning the title, I had him mixed up with Chase Owens.  I thought they'd lost their damn minds.

[El-P]

Well, I just have to eat my words about night 2 and I'm glad.

Shingo vs Cobb was simply awesome and I would probably have it higher than Ibushi Naito from yesterday. Best Cobb match and performance ever. I hope Shingo is not gonna be the next Ishii aka the best worker ever who never gets to the main event level. He was godlike in this. Well, he was his usual self.

And then SANADA and EVIL actually have a really, really good match, with ton of cool psychology of them knowing the other like the palm of their hands, the best use of Togo yet (taking about him being countered on his senton, not his goofy-ass bump on the table which would be a laughing stock if a WWE green woman would have done it), a really excellent ending stretch to a perfect finish. 

As I was watching Hiromu vs Ishimori, I was thinking how Hiromu was having the best performance of the week-end. If only I knew... Yeah, great match, although to me they may have gone 2 or 3 minutes two long, I felt some of the stuff at the end became a bit redondant. Maybe that's me getting tired, I dunno. That part where Ishimori was blasting Hiromu with elbows was insane. 

However, I did not get tired during the incredibly long yet always compelling Jay White vs Ibushi. First, Jay White... That guy, people, is a pro-wrestling genius. He's just SO GREAT at what he does, and no one does what he does. I never ever get bored during a Jay White long-ass match. And then, fucking Ibushi, whom I'm not the biggest fan of, but still, there's just no way of denying the jaw-dropping back to back performances. This is legendary, really. So, I don't know which match I think was better, this or Okada vs Ospreay, but this demands a bunch of rewatching to truly enjoy everything. But at no point I thought this was going too long or this was getting redondant or not compelling. The post-match really had this very unique, special aura of truth that few moments in pro-wrestling have. Glad SANADA is gonna be the first one challenging, after his impressive outing today.

Job well done Gedo. Ya did it again, despite a mostly underwhelming 2020. Here's me getting hyped again. 

(of course, the wet dream is Ibushi vs Omega next year, but let's not get crazy and enjoy the moment)

[MoS]

I thought Hiromu-Ishimorinwas an unfocused confusing match with a bunch of high spots laid together in a haphazard way. There was some attempt at working Hiromu's arm that would promptly get forgotten as soon as it was time for the next high spot. 

I liked the main event, but there was no reason for it to go 48 minutes. They could have easily gone 10 less minutes. Regardless, Ibushi was the MVP of the 2-day event and I look forward to his title reign.

[C.S.]

Jay White: ‘I’m Done’ With New Japan Pro-Wrestling After New Year Dash (WrestleZone) 

I assume this is a work, but if it isn't, do you think he's better off going to the U.S. now like A.J., Omega, etc. did after their hot runs, or do you think he'd be better off spending another year (or three) in NJPW?

[El-P]

Angle.

He would own AEW. But he's got the NJPW Lifer profile (he's a dojo product) and why not, he's assured to be a huge star for years to come. He's just beginning (although that match was stuff of legend, really). Winner of G1 Climax this year maybe.

[RingoPlaysDrums]

Definitely the least hyped in years I've been for WK. Haven't been paying too much attention to the product for almost a year and generally haven't been into current wrestling much lately. That said, not much to do at the moment and knowing there'd be a sizeable crowd I was somewhat looking forward to watching.

Day 1 was solid top to bottom, top two matches delivered but there was a little something missing for me. To be expected given the lack of crowd noise perhaps. I had a few issues with EVIL/Sanada and the jr. heavy title match on day 2 - both overly long and I did tune out a bit towards the end. Sanada and especially EVIL still just aren't interesting enough to justify 25 minutes and I tend to find that both guys go too long regularly. Hiromu is a superstar and I just think he's incredible but that one got a bit excessive for me. Plenty of great moments though. 

But after all that I really did not expect Ibushi/White to be my favourite match of the whole lot. Even as they were making their entrances I was trying to resist the temptation to fast forward as I knew it was going to go long. I'm certainly glad I didn't though. Really drew me in after the first 10 minutes or so and I was along for the ride. Incredible effort from Ibushi over the two nights. Brilliant performance from Jay White. Such a blast.